Overview
- Isabella Kemp, listed as an independent before Thursday’s session, becomes the ninth departure from the 57 Reform UK councillors elected in May.
- Kemp previously chaired the adult social care and public health cabinet committee and had worked as a data protection officer at Reform’s headquarters.
- Numbers have fallen to fewer than 50 Reform councillors after suspensions and defections that followed a leaked recording of Linden Kemkaran berating colleagues.
- Kemkaran defended disciplinary actions in the chamber as opposition groups highlighted instability, with some suspended members forming an Independent Reformers group.
- A committee hearing on supported school transport appeals was cancelled last month after its suspended chair was removed, while councillors pressed for clarity on potential 5% council tax rises that officials said remain undecided pending a funding review.