"Last month a leaked video recording showed Linden Kemkaran, Reform UK's leader in Kent, swearing at councillors from her own party and telling them to "suck it up" if they didn't agree with her. The footage became national news - insights into tensions within local government are, after all, rarely made public, and Kent is Reform UK's self-professed flagship council."
"Danny Kruger, who is one of Reform's five MPs, has his own take. Last month he described the party as a bit of a pirate ship with an "ill-disciplined" crew and a "buccaneering" captain, but added: "A powerful ship with a dangerous broadside, a terror to its rivals "The job is to help turn this pirate ship into His Majesty's Royal Navy ship, ready to enter the King's service and serve our nation.""
Reform UK has topped national opinion polls since May and won control of 10 English local authorities that month. The party's first six months governing at local level have revealed internal tensions, most visibly in Kent. A leaked video showed Linden Kemkaran swearing at her own councillors and telling dissenters to "suck it up"; five Reform councillors have since been expelled. Local opponents labelled the council's management unprofessional and chaotic, yet Kemkaran remains leader and calls operations "business as usual". One MP compared the party to a "pirate ship" needing discipline to become a national governing force.
Read at www.bbc.com
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