Reform UK suspends another member of Kent county council | Reform UK
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK has sacked another member of its “flagship” county council in Kent, which held its first full meeting since the party’s councilors were thrown into crisis by a leaked meeting that revealed bitter internal tensions.
The departure of Isabella Kemp, who also worked as a data protection officer at Reform HQ, means the party lost nine of the 57 councilors elected in May’s local elections.
Kemp said he had begun the process of taking Reform UK to court for unfair dismissal. It said it had contacted conciliation service Acas and whistleblower charity Protection.
The latest uproar came after the Guardian published the recording of an incendiary internal meeting in which council leader Linden Kemkaran told opposition Reform UK colleagues they would have to be “fucked” if they didn’t like his decisions.
Four Reform councilors were sacked immediately following the leak. One of them, and another suspended over separate allegations, have now formed an “Independent Reformers” group on the council.
Kemkaran faced questions at a full council meeting on Thursday about the real-world impact of suspending Kemp, who chairs the cabinet committee on adult social care and public health.
The Liberal Democrats, the second-largest group with 12 councillors, called on Kemkaran to reinstate Kemp, who currently sits as an independent, as chair of the key committee.
Another impact of Reform alienating councilors was felt last month as another committee prepared to rule on objections from at least seven families who said they should be subsidized for school transport for their children. The committee meeting had to be canceled because the chairman of the committee was among those suspended by Kemkaran.
Kemkaran appeared combative at Thursday’s meeting, likening his experience to that of his son, who had just completed the first stage of military training and was “beaten and ambushed”.
He compared the dropout rate among his fellow new members to the sacking of former Reform councilors in Kent, telling the meeting: “Meanwhile, some resigned because they couldn’t hack it. Others were expelled for bad behavior or simply unwilling to accept discipline. It made me think about my own troops.”
Kemkaran had previously answered an opposition councilor simply “yes” when asked if he believed his behavior was in line with the Nolan principles, which set accepted standards in public life, and the City’s own code of conduct.
Kemkaran came under pressure from other council leaders in Kent after she complained about some in the leaked video, saying they had a “shocking” level of ignorance about upcoming local government reform plans and claiming they disliked her because she was a woman.
The council leadership on Thursday faced repeated questions from opposition councilors over whether it would increase council tax after Reform promised savings in leaflets to voters at the local election. A senior member of Reform’s Kent team said last month that rates may have to rise by up to 5%, the maximum allowed.
Reform cabinet member Brian Collins said no decision had been made on council tax as the local authority awaited the outcome of the government’s funding review.
Labor councilor Alister Brady said: “You’re avoiding residents when it comes to the question of what you’re going to do about council tax.” He said that although he disagreed with the previous Tory administration, they had at least managed to put together spending plans up to this point in his term.
Harry Rayner, leader of the group of Tory councillors, said the council was now “stuck in the consequences of its own self-inflicted damage” and had seen nothing in his 40 years of local government experience to rival it.
“Since I saw Bill Smart’s last circus this council has become a laughing stock with more clowns on display,” he said.
The city is one of the largest county councils in England, with an annual budget of £2.5 billion.
