Reform UK suspends another Kent councillor after video leak

Reform UK has suspended another councillor following the leak of a video of a heated virtual council meeting.

The party suspended Kent County Council (KCC) member Isabella Kemp after five councillors were booted out of the local party following the leak.

Councillor Kemp told the BBC she was also sacked from her job at Reform UK headquarters and is exploring legal action against the party.

Reform UK has been contacted for comment.

Reform UK won 57 of the council’s 81 seats to take control of the authority in local elections in May, overturning 30 years of Conservative Party dominance.

They have lost a total of nine councillors since, leaving them with 48 representatives on the council, which is seen by the party as a test case of its ability to govern.

The video, which was leaked to The Guardian, showed KCC’s Reform UK leader Linden Kemkaran swearing and shouting during a council meeting.

She was shown telling party members to “suck it up” regarding her decisions.

Councillors Bill Barrett, Paul Thomas, Brian Black and Oliver Bradshaw were later expelled while Maxine Fothergill remains suspended by the party, which linked all five to the leak.

In the council chamber on Thursday, Kemkaran drew parallels between her party and her son’s army training.

“Some had quit because they couldn’t hack it, others have been thrown out for bad behaviour, because they weren’t good enough or they weren’t team players – not up to the challenge or were simply unable or unwilling to accept discipline,” she said.

Leader of the opposition, Liberal Democrat Antony Hook, claimed people were “placing bets on whether the administration will last until Christmas or Easter”.

Speaking outside County Hall on Thursday, Councillor Ford said he was “taking legal advice regarding defamation of my character by Reform UK and KCC” after his suspension.

He told the BBC he recently learned the complaints were related to his “novel writing”.

He said: “It’s astonishing that my name can be defamed in the media simply because I wrote an erotic novel and got it published by a major company, and I then mentioned it to a few people in the building behind me.

“It’s a shame that our great nation has come to this.”

Additional reporting by PA Media