The leader of Reform’s “flagship” council says she has “no regrets” after a leaked video meeting showed her shouting and swearing at her councillors.
The leaked video of a Reform member meeting saw Kent County Council (KCC) leader Linden Kemkaran telling members to “f****** suck it up” when they disagreed with her on big decisions.
With a budget of more than £2.5 billion, Ms Kemkaran also called the council a “shop window” for what Reform could do if it ran the country.
Since the leak, Reform UK has suspended and removed multiple councillors for “deceptive” behaviour and “undermining” the party’s interests.
On Thursday, Ms Kemkaran defended her leadership style, calling herself “very blunt”, and said the removed councillors should be “ashamed” in an interview with ITV Meridian.
She said: “I don’t have any regrets, that’s my leadership. I’m very forthright, I’m very blunt, that’s why I was made leader.
“Listen, to run the largest local authority in the country and to keep such a large bunch of councillors working and pulling in the same direction, you know, you can’t pussyfoot around.”
In an interview with PA news agency, former Reform councillor Bill Barrett called Ms Kemkaran “a dictator” and said that having power went “straight” to her head.
He also argued that “any other” political party would have removed Ms Kemkaran following this controversy, which she disputed.
Ms Kemkaran told ITV: “Listen, this is a bunch of people who unfortunately put their own self-interest before duty and before service.
“They were elected as Reform county councillors, that is a huge honour and a huge privilege. They’ve thrown it all away with their very selfish actions.”
She added: “They’ve betrayed the trust of so many people. If I were them, I would feel too ashamed to show my face.”
Mr Barrett said Reform does not know who leaked the video, but has used it as an opportunity to “clean sweep” people who were vocal in opposition to the leadership.
“They just basically suspended everyone and then expelled everyone on individual points that had nothing to do with the Guardian leak,” he said.
He later asked: “If they’re prepared to treat each other in this manner, how are they going to treat power and how are they going to treat the public?”
When Reform took over the council in May after overturning a 30-year Conservative majority, they had 57 councillors, but they now have 48.
Ms Kemkaran said those councillors are still “100%” behind her as their leader and insisted she is not worried about a rumoured vote of no confidence.
Nigel Farage has also said that Ms Kemkaran still has his full backing as council leader.
