Tories suspend leader at Worcestershire council after he made deal to oust Reform

The Conservatives have suspended the party’s leader at Worcestershire county council after he made a deal with the Greens and Liberal Democrats to oust Reform.Reform UK gained control of the council a year ago but its tenure has been marked by a series of controversies and political infighting. This included a bitter leadership battle in which the now former Reform councillor Jo Monk was replaced as leader of the council in April.At a full council meeting to elect a new leader on Thursday, Reform UK lost minority control of the authority after the Conservatives teamed up with the Green Party, Lib Dems and independents to form an alliance. The Green councillor Matt Jenkins is now leading the council.Adam Kent, the leader of the Tory group in Worcestershire, was suspended from the party after the meeting. The Conservative party chair, Kevin Hollinrake MP, said it did not approve of an arrangement with the Greens and its position was “clear from the start”.“[Kent] told the national party he would not do a deal with the Greens,” Hollinrake said. “Then he went ahead and put together a rainbow coalition involving Green councillors anyway.“Worse, his group was told something that was not true. Fellow Conservative councillors were given the impression that this deal had party support when it did not. This was dishonest.”Speaking to the BBC before his suspension, Kent said residents in Worcester had “suffered appallingly due to the instability of Reform” and “at some point, responsible councillors have to stop standing on the sidelines”.“On national policy there are many areas where we continue to disagree with the Greens – however, local government is not Westminster,” he said.It is unclear how his suspension will effect the coalition in Worcestershire.Reform’s tenure there has attracted criticism after the council received £59.9m of emergency government funding and increased council tax by 9% to prevent bankruptcy. In March, Farage said he wished the party “hadn’t bothered” to take minority control of the country council. “Worcestershire, I have to say, we took minority control of a virtually bankrupt council, I wish we hadn’t bothered,” he said.The council meeting on Thursday came after Monk was ousted as leader of Reform, after an internal party vote, and replaced by Cllr Alan Amos. Monk, who is now an independent, was suspended from the party for “refusing to accept the democratic decision of the Reform UK group” on Monday.Reform took minority control of the council last year, gaining 27 councillors – two short of an overall majority.Monk said she was suspended by Reform for refusing to step down as council leader.David Taylor, a former Reform cabinet member who since quit the party, supported ousting the Reform administration in Thursday’s vote. He said he did not support the direction of the Reform administration, including the decision to increase council tax by 9%.Asked whether the new power-sharing arrangement was workable, he said: “We’re not dealing with national policy, the vast majority – outside of adult social care and children’s social care – most residents contact talk about pothole and parking issues.“So you would imagine at this level, adults can work together whatever their national ideology.”Reform UK has been contacted for comment.