Reform UK has suspended four of its Kent councillors after a video of an animated council meeting was leaked.
The leaked video, first published by The Guardian, is of a virtual meeting which included Kent County Councillors. At the start, Kent County Council (KCC) leader Linden Kemkaran can be seen responding to criticism from another attendee about their non-involvement in the decision-making process.
Kemkaran says, “When it comes to making the really big decisions … sometimes, I will make a decision that might not be liked by everybody in the group,” before swearing and telling the attendee to “suck it up.”
Following this, Councillor Paul Thomas complained that Reform UK backbenchers were not being fully briefed on policy proposals. Kemkaran responded that “there physically isn’t time at this stage,” before saying she was supposed to be on holiday during the week of the meeting and would rather not have been present.
The KCC leader then muted Thomas so she was able to speak. In the final clip, Councillor Dean Burns complains about “backbiting,” which he says “tends to be coming from the top down.”
Reform UK said Paul Thomas, Oliver Bradshaw, Bill Barret and Maxine Fothergrill have been suspended whilst an investigation takes place.
After the leaking of the video, Kemkaran called for councillors to back her in writing. The statements they have been asked to sign says Kemkaran is “the best person for the job.” This stunt is widely seen as an attempt by Reform UK to gauge how much support she has.
The KCC leader also said she would be thoroughly investigating the source of the leak to The Guardian.
However, seven Labour MPs representing Kent constituencies subsequently wrote to Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, calling for Kemkaran to step down from the role as “the people of Kent deserve better.”
Striking a similar note, Antony Hook, the Liberal Democrat opposition leader at KCC, said Kemkaran was “unfit to lead.” Louie French, the Conservative MP for Old Bexley and Sidcup, said it was “a serious warning to the rest of the UK of what Reform in power looks like.”
A couple of days later, at least five Reform UK councillors lodged official complaints about the KCC leadership, which have since been passed on to the party’s HQ in London.
Kent County Council, the biggest local authority in the country, is viewed by many as Reform UK’s flagship council, one of the ten local authorities it now controls following the May 2025 local elections.
As a result, Kent is largely seen as a blueprint for how successful a Reform UK government may be, should one come into office after the next general election, which is not due to be held until 2029.
The right-wing populist party currently leads national opinion polls by around 10 percentage points.
