Kent's Reform UK leadership under fire for “unsavoury” T-shirt
The Reform UK leadership at Kent County Council is under fire for appearing to make light of a controversy which plunged the authority into crisis last year.
It was sparked after the visit of Richard Tice MP, the national party deputy leader, was pictured with a T-shirt and posted online by KCC leader Linden Kemkaran.
A smiling Mr Tice is shown holding up the garment which carries the words “Suck it up” and signed “Linden” with a single kiss.
The words were a reference to comments the leader made during a heated discussion of Reform members last year.
A leaked video of the virtual meeting published by the Guardian last October, heard Cllr Kemkaran tell one member who had queried decision making over council reforms to “f**king suck it up”.
Seven councillors – who all protested their innocence – were later expelled for a variety of reasons but who were all suspected of disloyalty.
Cllr Kemkaran posted the image on X and the message: “Great to welcome @TiceRichard to #Kent today (January 28) to meet everyone!”
Leader of the Independent Reformers’ Group (IRG) at KCC, Cllr Bill Barrett said: “We just find Richard Tice’s endorsement of Linden Kemkaran’s swearing rant to be both wholly unprofessional and degrading to the honour and dignity of the institution that is KCC.”
Fellow IRG member Isabella Kemp, who was booted out of Reform for her alleged involvement in the leak – which she has always denied – and lost her job at the party’s headquarters, said the message from the T-shirt image is “contradictory”.
She added: “Our careers and financial position were adversely affected by all of this and yet they trivialise it like this.
“It’s obviously in bad taste but if Linden wants to make light of the situation, that’s down to her.”
Conservative member, Cllr Sarah Hudson said: “I just find it all rather unsavoury. There’s no substance to it – just playground politics.”
Comments on Facebook about Mr Tice made critical reference to his links to Dubai, where the Boston and Skegness MP spends some of his time.
The “suck it up” controversy kick-started weeks of damaging headlines for Cllr Kemkaran who is widely seen as the “shop window” for Reform’s fitness to govern at Westminster.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has so far backed Cllr Kemkaran and her top team to lead KCC towards local government reform, planned to by in place by 2028.
Reform UK was approached for a comment.