Overview
- Reform UK’s Kent County Council group has shrunk from 57 to 48 councillors since May following suspensions and expulsions.
- The Fire Brigades Union says the Kent and Medway Fire Authority has been left in disarray after its chair and vice-chair were among affected members.
- Former chair Brian Black, along with Robert Ford, Paul Thomas and Oliver Bradshaw, has been expelled from Reform UK, and vice-chair Isabella Kemp was suspended last week.
- Kent Fire and Rescue’s chief executive cannot approve large expenditures without a functioning Fire Authority, which is currently missing key members.
- Union leaders report no response to their meeting request to Linden Kemkaran, while Labour and Green group leaders back the warning and question Reform’s fitness to run services at a council with a budget exceeding £2.5 billion.