Reform councillor charged with threatening to kill his wife

A trial date has been set for a suspended Reform councillor accused of threatening to kill his wife.

Kent county councillor Daniel Taylor, 35, for Cliftonville, near Margate had the Reform party whip removed after his arrest in June.

He was one of 57 Reform candidates to win a Kent County Council (KCC) seat when they took control of the authority on May 1.

Since the whip was removed, he has continued as an independent councillor.

On Friday, Taylor, of Margate in Kent, appeared at Margate Magistrates Court wearing a blue shirt and grey gilet and spoke to confirm his name, date of birth and address.

At a previous hearing at Folkestone Magistrates Court in July, he denied three offences related to his wife.

The councillor is accused of threatening to kill his wife on June 1 and a separate charge of sending an offensive, indecent, obscene or menacing message to her that day.

It is also alleged between January 1, 2016 and July 2, 2025 he repeatedly or continuously engaged in behaviour which was controlling or coercive towards her.

This charge was initially set from 2014 until June 1 this year but was amended on Friday.

At the time of his suspension, calls for a by-election in the ward by other KCC councillors including Kent’s Green Party leader Mark Hood.

Mr Hood said that he thought it was “interesting timing” that KCC are hosting a women’s safety event next week after “one of their own” has appeared in court on these charges.

Reform UK removed the whip from Taylor after the matter was referred to the police.

The party’s Kent group whip has been contacted for comment.

A summary trial at Margate Magistrates Court is set to take place on May 22, 2026.

Taylor remains on bail with a GPS tag to enforce a location restriction and will next appear for a case management hearing in Margate on November 13.