Three Kent county councillors expelled by Reform UK in October have formed a new group.
The new political group comprises Cllrs Paul Thomas, Brian Black and Oliver Bradshaw, who all represent Maidstone divisions on Kent County Council.
They were all expelled from Reform UK for allegedly displaying “a lack of integrity”.
The expulsions came in the wake of a video of KCC leader Linden Kemkaran swearing and shouting at her members published by the Guardian.
In the footage of the virtual meeting, Cllr Kemkaran told the councillors they would have to “f***ing suck it up” when questioned about decisions she took over local government reorganisation.
All three vehemently deny any wrong-doing.
Since Reform UK swept into County Hall in May having secured 57 of the 81 seats, seven have been thrown out, one has defected and another has been suspended pending criminal proceedings.
The Independent Group (TIG) is to be led by Cllr Thomas.
TIG will press for places on vital scrutiny committees and are not believed to be aligned to any of the other opposition parties, the biggest of which is the Liberal Democrat group.
Cllr Bradshaw said: “We have formed a new grouping and we hope to be able to get onto certain committees but we also hope to be able to respond to the leader’s speeches, put forward motions and so on.”
Two other expelled members, Cllrs Maxine Fothergill (Sevenoaks) and Isabella Kemp (Swale), who were widely expected to be possible members of TIG, have not joined.Neither was available for comment.
Cllrs Bill Barrett and Robert Ford, who were also thrown out of Reform, recently announced the formation of the Independent Reformers.
They were kicked out by email which claimed they had “undermined” the party’s interests and brought Reform into “disrepute”.
Cllr Barrett was suspended in the wake of the video leak while Cllr Ford faced allegations of misconduct after an “unofficial complaint” by female members of staff at KCC.
Both men deny any wrong-doing.
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