Two suspended Reform UK county councillors have been booted out of the party.
Cllrs Bill Barrett and Robert Ford were expelled in emails from London headquarters yesterday afternoon.
KCC councillors Bill Barrett, left, and Robert Ford, who have been expelled from Reform UK
It follows a week of torrid headlines for the Kent County Council (KCC) top table after a leaked video emerged of leader Cllr Linden Kemkaran swearing and raising her voice in front of members in a virtual meeting over the summer.
Cllr Barrett was one of four members suspended last Monday on suspicion of leaking the video, which he strenuously denies.
He said that he had been shown the door for WhatsApp messages in a private group chat in which he called deputy chief whip Cllr Wayne Chapman “daft”.
The party also cited Cllr Barrett’s description of leadership communications as “scripted horses**t” and that his language was “inflammatory and deliberately divisive”.
Cllr Barrett branded the leadership at KCC “toxic” and both members claimed they were bullied. Reform said there was no evidence of bullying in both cases.
Ashford borough and county councillor Bill Barrett
He said: “Toxic to the decent Reform back benchers, toxic to the opposition and toxic ultimately to the party’s reputation…”
Cllr Barrett added: “Linden Kemkaran has neither the leadership skills nor the ability to treat other members with respect, which is borne out by the fact I am aware of at least eight formal complaints to Reform HQ over her, (deputy leader) Brian Collin’s and (chief whip) Maxwell Harrison’s behaviour.
“Indeed, this behaviour has been occurring since we were elected to office in May and, unfortunately, Reform HQ has done the sum total of zero to rectify things. Often not even replying.”
The member for Ashford rural south said he was sacked from his deputy cabinet member’s post for transport on July 7, the official line being that it was by mutual agreement.
Cllr Barrett claims that far from being consensual, he was “subjected to 45 minutes of abuse at the hands of these three (Cllrs Kemkaran, Collins and Harrison)” and a statement was later “fabricated” about his departure.
“I offered no resignation,” he said.
Linden Kemkaran, leader of the Reform UK Kent County Council group, at County Hall. Photo: Gareth Fuller/PA
The councillor says he feels saddened by events since he believes in the Reform project and says his county council backbench colleagues are “loyal, decent, hard-working people”.
He added: “The reality is KCC at the moment is run by three incompetent individuals who are harming the party brand and the lives of people, like me, who have worked hard to get us all elected and then work hard for the residents of Kent.”
Cllr Ford was suspended on October 13 for alleged “unofficial” complaints by female KCC staff members.
He said no details were put to him about where, when and how he acted in the way it was claimed. A senior party source claimed he had failed to show up for a meeting when the allegations were to be discussed.
Rather, the 59-year-old believes, it was due to a strongly-worded email he sent to other Reform councillors expressing his concerns about the leadership at KCC.
KCC councillor for Maidstone Rural West, Robert Ford, who has been expelled from Reform UK. Picture: Robert Ford
Cllr Ford, who represents Maidstone rural west, said: “It is no coincidence – the timing of my message and my suspension.
“I have asked the head office what the allegations are and they replied to say they were not aware of them. The fact is, there is not one shred of evidence against me or they would have put that to me in writing or in some other formal way.”
In his email to fellow members on October 13, he described the leadership as a “dictatorship” after being assigned deputy chief whips with whom members were to have one-to-ones.
Cllr Ford described long-running concerns about his treatment by others in the party machinery, even before 57 Reform councillors were elected on May 1.
Several backbenchers have privately supported Cllr Ford, claiming the alleged complaints by female staff were “trumped up to get rid of him”.
County Hall, Maidstone
Now he says that he gets “filthy looks in the streets” because of the local and national coverage of the story, which he says has damaged his reputation. Cllr Ford said he is consulting lawyers.
A Reform UK spokesman said: “Councillors Barrett and Ford have been expelled as their conduct undermined the interests of the party and brought Reform UK into disrepute.”
On allegations of bullying, a party source said: “The party takes claims of bullying seriously. If there was any credible evidence of this we would not have hesitated to take action.”
Liberal Democrat deputy opposition leader Cllr Richard Streatfeild said: “Reform UK in Kent is becoming the laughing stock of the country.
“Linden Kemkaran’s leadership is untenable now and I cannot see how the remainder of her colleagues at County Hall can put up with this for much longer.
“The longer this goes on, the longer Kent’s reputation will be dragged through the dirt.”
Cllr Richard Streatfeild
The leaked video appeared on the Guardian website last Saturday afternoon and within hours Cllr Kemkaran sent a message to her councillors describing the culprits as “cowards” who had committed an act of “treachery”.
On Sunday, it emerged that a backbencher was considering gathering enough signatures to spark a vote of no confidence in the leadership of KCC.
The following day, four Reform councillors – Cllrs Barrett, Maxine Fothergill, Oliver Bradshaw and Paul Thomas – had the whip suspended pending an investigation into the Guardian leak.
Cllr Kemkaran sent a message to members on Tuesday asking them to sign a pledge of support to their leader.
Two days later, it emerged that at least five Reform members had lodged complaints with the party’s head office about the style and culture of the leadership at KCC.
“The longer this goes on, the longer Kent’s reputation will be dragged through the dirt…”
In another development, The Guardian newspaper has revealed this afternoon that an “administrative oversight” meant it wasn’t properly declared at KCC that Cllr Kemkaran’s husband was employed as the director of digital transformation at East Kent’s health authority.
The council says Cllr Kemkaran raised the issue during her induction, “but through no fault on her part, it wasn’t recorded on the system”.
The omission from her declaration of interests was corrected almost five months after her election when it was highlighted by an official.
The Liberal Democrats have criticised the council leader, saying all councillors know to fill out forms properly.