Reform UK has suspended another member of Kent County Council, Isabella Kemp, who also served as a data protection officer at the party's headquarters. This brings the total number of councillors lost since the May local elections to nine out of 57 elected.
Kemp stated she has initiated proceedings to take Reform UK to a tribunal for unfair dismissal, contacting Acas and the whistleblowing charity Protect. The suspension follows the leak of an internal meeting recording where council leader Linden Kemkaran told dissenting colleagues to 'fucking suck it up'.
Four Reform councillors were suspended after the leak, and one of them, along with another previously suspended, have formed an 'Independent Reformers' group on the council. The Liberal Democrats have urged Kemkaran to reinstate Kemp as chair of the adult social care and public health cabinet committee.
The suspensions have had practical consequences, including the cancellation of a committee meeting on school transport appeals because its chair had been suspended. During a full council meeting, Kemkaran compared her experience to her son's military training, saying some recruits 'couldn't hack it' or were 'thrown out for bad behaviour'.
Opposition councillors pressed the leadership on council tax, after Reform's election leaflets promised savings. A senior Reform member hinted at a possible 5% rise, but cabinet member Brian Collins said no decision had been made pending a government funding review. Labour's Alister Brady accused the administration of avoiding the question, while Conservative leader Harry Rayner called the council 'a laughing stock'.
