00:00Four suspensions and suspicion in the halls of Sessions House.
00:05The fallout from a leaked meeting obtained by The Guardian last week
00:10that laid bare the infighting and divisions between Reform UK backbenchers
00:16and the Kent County Council leadership.
00:20Sometimes I will make a decision that might not be liked by everybody in the group
00:25There was as much fury in the aftermath as on the Zoom call.
00:46A message sent to the Reform group by the leader Lyndon Kemkaren
00:51slammed the people who did this as cowards with no political future.
00:56And a day later four members of the group were stripped of the whip
01:00including Paul Thomas, the man at the heart of the leaked call.
01:06An investigation is currently being undertaken which I'm fully cooperating with.
01:11I expect to be exonerated from all charges
01:14at which point I will welcome back into fold and continue the great work that I've been doing
01:19chairing committees and working for my local residents.
01:22This is obviously a setback on a political journey.
01:26However, I would reassure the local residents that voted for me
01:31I am still working tirelessly.
01:33But the opposition say the leader's position is now untenable.
01:38These things are shocking, I've never seen anything like it from this level of politics
01:43particularly the content of the policies where members of her own group have not been consulted
01:50haven't had any input in the policy that's come forward
01:53and it's not just the Reform group that's having to suck it up
01:56it's the whole county.
01:58There are rumours that a motion to dismiss Lyndon Kemkaren as leader
02:02could be on the table or even potentially defections.
02:07Well I would say to you, I would simply say to you that it's very early days at the moment.
02:13Obviously contacts have been made, I would be foolish to say otherwise
02:18but at the moment no decisions have been reached or made.
02:22Six months on from the May elections, the sunshine for Reform UK at KCC has disappeared.
02:29And with a budget to set in the coming months, it's not going to clear up any time soon.
02:36Olly Leader in Maidstone.
