1 in 18 Reform councillors suspended, expelled, or resigned since May

Some 38 Reform councillors have been suspended, expelled, or resigned since being elected in May.

More than 1 in 18 locally elected politicians acting on behalf of Nigel Farage’s party have resigned from their positions, citing a range of different reasons and scandals.

A whopping 5.6 per cent of the 677 councillors have now U-turned on their decision to represent their community, according to Private Eye.

Recently, in Kent County Council, Reform’s “flagship” council had a problem with a video leak revealing hot tempers and profanities during a private online meeting of party councillors. The footage captured leader Linden Kemkaran accusing dissenting colleagues of “treachery” and telling them to “fu**ing suck it up” when they questioned her decisions.

In the fallout, four councillors were suspended, and at least five more were expelled because the party said their conduct “undermined” its interests and brought it into “disrepute”, according to the BBC.

In Durham, one of the most chaotic episodes came when councillor Jack McGlenen was expelled after allegedly turning up drunk to an Armed Forces Day event. The party moved to remove him once complaints were filed, which added yet another early scandal to Reform’s already turbulent first months in local government.

In the same council, Andrew Kilburn quit less than two weeks after being elected when it emerged he had failed to disclose previous employment with the same council.

Thanks to Dr Mark Pack of the Liberal Democrats, here is a full rundown:

1. Donna Edmunds (Shropshire, suspended by Reform UK and then quit the party)
2. Luke Shingler (Warwickshire, now an independent)
3. Desmond Clarke (Nottinghamshire, resigned as councillor)
4. Andrew Kilburn (Durham, resigned as a councillor)
5. Wayne Titley (Staffordshire, resigned as a councillor)
6. Mark Broadhurst (Doncaster, expelled by Reform)
7. Adam Smith (West Northamptonshire, suspended by Reform and then expelled)
8. John Bailey (Durham, resigned as a councillor)
9. Daniel Taylor (Kent, suspended by Reform UK)
10. Sam Booth (Doncaster, resigned as a councillor)
11. Ed Hill (Devon, expelled by Reform)
12. David Maclean (Isle of Wight, resigned as a councillor)
13. Robert Bloom (North Northamptonshire, resigned as a councillor, later charged with harassment)
14. Paul Bean (Durham, suspended by Reform UK)
15. Amelia Randall (Kent, switched to Ukip)
16. Gaynor Jean-Louis (Worcestershire, resigned as a councillor)
17. Angela Nash (Devon, now an independent)
18. John Allen (Northumberland, suspended by Reform UK, later expelled)
19. Jack McGlenen (Durham, expelled by Reform UK)
20. David Knight (Doncaster, expelled from the Reform UK council group)
21. Nicole Brooke (Northumberland, suspended by Reform UK, later expelled)
22. Patrick Lambert (Northumberland, suspended by Reform UK, later expelled)
23. Christopher Marriott (Doncaster, resigned from Reform to sit as an independent)
24. Rowland O’Connor (Cornwall, now an independent)
25. Robert Ford (Kent, suspended by Reform UK, later expelled)
26. Jack Bradley (Derbyshire, resigned as a councillor)
27. Des Watt (Cambridgeshire, now a ‘non-aligned independent’)
28. Bill Barrett (Kent and Ashford, suspended by Reform UK, later expelled)
29. Oliver Bradshaw (Kent, suspended by Reform UK, later expelled)
30. Maxine Fothergill (Kent, suspended by Reform UK)
31. Paul Thomas (Kent, suspended by Reform UK, later expelled)
32. Karen Knight (Cornwall, now an independent)
33. Rob Parsonage (Cornwall, now an independent)
34. Christine Parsonage (Cornwall, now an independent)
35. Anna Thomason-Kenyon (Cornwall, now an independent)
36. Brian Black (Kent, expelled by Reform UK)
37. Richard Morgan (Derbyshire, resigned as a councillor)
38. Isabella Kemp (Kent, suspended by Reform UK)