Four Reform UK councillors suspended after leaked video of chaotic council meeting

Four Reform UK councillors have been suspended after a video of their flagship council leader telling members to “suck it up” was leaked to the press.

Reform UK took control of Kent County Council (KCC) after winning 57 of the 81 seats at the local elections in May, overturning a 30-year Tory majority.

Footage of an online meeting where KCC leader Linden Kemkaran could be seen berating backbench councillors when they questioned her was leaked to the press on Saturday.

A Reform UK spokesperson said: “Cllrs Paul Thomas, Oliver Bradshaw, Bill Barrett and Maxine Fothergill have had the whip suspended pending investigation, following evidence that they brought the party into disrepute.”

The sweary video saw members told by Linden Kemkaran, the Reform leader of Kent County Council, to “f***ing suck it up” if they did not agree with decisions.

Cllr Kemkaran warned those voicing dissent that they would be “screwed” and that Reform would not be able to win a general election if they failed to balance Kent’s budget.

The chaotic recording, obtained by The Guardian, she allegedly shouted down fellow councillors and threatened them with being “muted”, prompting comparisons to the notorious “Jackie Weaver” parish council Zoom meeting during the pandemic.

“Let’s not forget, we are the shop window in KCC. People are looking at us, they are judging us every single minute of every single day. Nigel knows that. He is super aware that we are the flagship council,” Cllr Kemkaran told colleagues.

Kent is one of the 10 councils Reform took control of after a stunning set of local elections last May, with Nigel Farage’s party vowing to cut wasteful spending and reduce council tax bills.

But, despite rolling out its Elon Musk-inspired Department of Local Government Efficiency (Dolge) unit in the council, Kent’s Reform leaders are still set to hike council tax rates next year.

Cllr Kemkaran, who oversees the £2.5bn council budget, told the meeting: “We are going to live or die on that budget. If we don’t balance the books you can forget Reform winning the next election. It’s that crucial.”

She added: “If we can avoid putting up council tax by the full 5% that is going to be the best thing that we can do to show that Reform can actually run something as big as Kent council.”

There has been a rumoured split between many of Kent Reform’s backbench councillors and the appointed since they took over.

On Monday, Reform UK announced the suspension of four KCC councillors, including Paul Thomas who Ms Kemkaren threatened to mute during the meeting.

Mr Thomas had questioned whether Reform had the “right” leader and cabinet before he was muted by the council leader.