Reform UK Suspends 4 Councillors

Reform UK has suspended four county councillors following the leaking of a private video meeting showing party members in dispute with their leader Linden Kemkaren.

The party said the Reform whip has been suspended from the four “pending investigation, following evidence they brought the party into disrepute”.

The four are:
Bill Barrett (Ashford Rural South),
Oliver Bradshaw (Maidstone Central),
Paul Thomas (Maidstone South) and
Maxine Fothergill (Sevenoaks Rural North East) 

Maxine Fothergill (pictured below) said: “I have done absolutely nothing wrong and I will prove my innocence. I will get a solicitor. I have done nothing wrong.”

The other three have not responded to a request for comment.

ON SUNDAY Simon Finlay of the Local Democracy reporting Service wrote:

The leader of Kent County Council, Linden Kemkaran, could face a vote of no confidence in weeks as the furore over a damaging leaked video shows little sign of abating.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) understands that a backbencher, who has asked not to be named, has already begun seeking the required number of signatures to spark the possible dismissal of Reform UK’s Linden Kemkaran.

Her position has also been described as “untenable” by the Liberal Democrat opposition group, which says she is “unfit” to lead the authority.

It comes in the wake of footage of a virtual meeting of Reform UK councillors showing Cllr Kemkaran swearing and raising her voice at Maidstone member Cllr Paul Thomas, and threatening to mute him.

In the clip, published yesterday afternoon by the Guardian, she told members they would have “to f***ing suck it up” as she explained her decision-making over forthcoming local government reorganisation.

Reform UK swept into County Hall in May with a landslide victory, winning 57 of the 81 seats. KCC, the biggest local council in the country, is now seen by the party’s hierarchy as a test bed for its ability to run a large authority.

The backbencher told the LDRS: “I am going to try and get the signatures I need to call a vote of no confidence and then I can voice the things that need to be said.”

Five signatories are required to spark a vote of no confidence in the form of a motion in a full council meeting agenda.

According to KCC’s constitution, section 14.43 states: “Dismissal of the Leader can only be made on the basis of a motion signed by five members of the council and included on the agenda for any meeting of full council.

“The motion shall indicate the reasons for the proposed dismissal. The motion shall take precedence over any other item of business but is otherwise subject to the same rules as other motions.”

Within hours of the Guardian story going live, Cllr Kemkaran wrote to members saying a “thorough investigation” was underway and that she has her suspicions about who the culprits are.

The message said: “To have people on the inside, who smile to our faces, sit next to us at meetings, share jokes, anecdotes, before stabbing us in the back is very sad indeed.

“The people who did this are cowards. They are weak. They are foolish. They are incapable of displaying true courage themselves, so they look to harm those who are. They are obsessed with personal gain at the expense of group success. They cannot cope with disappointment and personal inadequacies so they seek to bring down others to their level.”

The Liberal Democrat opposition leader at KCC, Cllr Antony Hook (pictured below), has today questioned Cllr Kemkaran’s ability to lead the authority.

“The leader of KCC is unfit for office and her position is now untenable,” he said.

“The shocking levels of abuse and unprofessionalism directed at her colleagues – who are elected officials – to silence them, is intolerable.

“If you thought the Conservatives were bad when they ran KCC, Reform is far worse, more disorganised, more inexperienced and more reckless.”

“Reform is wasting roughly £100,000 on consultants to launch their own separate plan for local government reorganisation, not supported by any of Kent’s 13 Borough and District Councils or Members of Parliament.

“The people of Kent should not be made to simply ‘suck it up’. KCC Members must be given a free vote on these plans”.  

In the leaked video, Cllr Kemkaran was was also sharply critical of other Kent council leaders, saying they displayed a “shocking level of ignorance” over local government reorganisation.

In a letter emailed to Cllr Kemkaran today, Medway Council leader Vince Maple asked her to apologise for the remark, adding: “That comment, even within a private meeting, is pretty disrespectful to the 13 other council leaders of the region of Kent.”

Cllr Maple also rejected the suggestion in the video that other leaders did not like Cllr Kemkaran because she is a woman, writing: “In every meeting I have been in with you, I have been courteous as I am with anyone I work with regardless of gender, party affiliation or any other characteristic.

“The potential implication that I have acted in a misogynistic way is one I find ludicrous. I would welcome some clarification from you on this matter.”

Cllr Kemkaran has been approached for comment.