Joshua Askew,South East and
Simon Finlay,Local Democracy Reporting Service
Kent County CouncilTwo suspended Reform UK county councillors have been expelled from the party for bringing it into “disrepute”.
Kent councillors Bill Barrett and Robert Ford, who criticised the party’s “toxic” and “incompetent” leadership, were kicked out by email from Reform HQ, which said they had undermined the interests of the party.
It comes after a damaging video leak showing the Reform UK leader of Kent County Council (KCC) Linden Kemkaran swearing and shouting during a council meeting.
As the largest local authority in England, KCC is widely seen as a test case of Reform UK’s ability to govern. Both Cllr Ford and Cllr Barrett have been approached by the BBC for comment.
Cllr Barrett, who sits on Ashford Borough Council, was one of four councillors suspended on suspicion of leaking the video – something he denies.
He said the Reform UK heads of KCC were “toxic to the decent Reform backbenchers, toxic to the opposition and toxic ultimately to the party’s reputation.”
Cllr Ford was suspended for alleged “unofficial” complaints by female members of KCC staff.
The 59-year-old, however, has claimed no details were put to him about where, when and how he acted, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
“There is not one shred of evidence against me,” he said, adding he now gets “filthy looks in the street”.
‘Laughing stock’
The Maidstone councillor said he believes it was due to a strongly worded email he sent to other Reform councillors expressing his concerns about the KCC leaders.
Liberal Democrat KCC deputy opposition leader Richard Streatfeild said: “Reform UK in Kent is becoming the laughing stock of the country.
“The longer this goes on, the longer Kent’s reputation will be dragged through the dirt.”
After the footage of her berating fellow councillors and using expletives was leaked to the Guardian earlier this month, Ms Kemkaran said the culprits had committed an act of “treachery”.
She later urged fellow councillors to back her in a letter, which called her the “best person for the job“, who is leading with “courage, integrity and discipline”.
A spokesperson for the party previously said Ms Kemkaran had the “overwhelming support” of the group and would remain as leader.
