#lindenkemkaran — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #lindenkemkaran, aggregated by home.social.
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Kent shows Reform does not know how to govern
The problems that the council is facing suggests Nigel Farage’s party is far from ready to exercise power
[…]
For Reform, east of Edenbridge became an Eden; during a fractious internal party meeting during which council members attempted to discuss the budget, leaked by councillors, leader of the council Linden Kemkaran said: “We are a shop window. People are judging us every single minute of every single day – Nigel knows that, he is super aware that we are the flagship council.”
But like Eden, not everyone is capable of indefinitely living in paradise. Four members were initially suspended under suspicion of leaking the video, and five have now been removed from the party for bringing it into “disrepute” and displaying a “lack of integrity”.
Kent shows Reform does not know how to govern, telegraph.co.uk
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Five Reform UK councillors booted out of party
Five Reform UK county councillors have been expelled from the party for bringing it into “disrepute” and displaying a “lack of integrity”.
Kent councillors Bill Barrett and Robert Ford, who criticised the party’s “toxic” and “incompetent” leadership, were kicked out by email from Reform HQ, which said they had undermined the interests of the party.
Councillors Oliver Bradshaw, Brian Black, and Paul Thomas were also expelled for showing “a pattern of dishonest and deceptive behaviour which the party will not tolerate”, Reform UK said.
It comes after a damaging video leak showing the Reform UK leader of Kent County Council (KCC) Linden Kemkaran swearing and shouting during a council meeting.
#BillBarrett #BrianBlack #LindenKemkaran #OliverBradshaw #PaulThomas #Quiting #RobertFord #vettingFail
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Nigel Farage’s DOGE firebrands are already at war
Reform UK is mounting an Elon Musk-inspired bid to slash state “waste.” The fireworks have already begun.
MAIDSTONE, England — Half an hour into a Kent County Council meeting, council leader Linden Kemkaran has already taken aim at trans women in a “wig and a skirt” and migrants “invading” Britain.
This is the Garden of England — home to farmers, commuters, vineyards, seaside poverty, rich London escapees, and the beaches where tens of thousands of migrants have landed in inflatable dinghies — and it now belongs to Reform UK.
Nigel Farage’s DOGE firebrands are already at war, politico.eu
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Reform UK-Led Kent Council Removes Trans-Themed Books from Children’s Library Sections
Kent County Council, led by the Reform UK party, has announced the removal of all books featuring transgender themes from the children’s sections of its libraries—a move that has sparked significant backlash and concern.
The council’s leader, Linden Kemkaran, revealed the decision via X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, 2 July. “Another victory for #commonsenseinKent,” she wrote. “My brilliant cabinet member Cllr Paul Webb has just got this trans material REMOVED from the children’s sections of all Kent’s libraries. Telling children they’re in the ‘wrong body’ is wrong and simply unacceptable.”
The announcement did not include details on which specific titles or materials were removed, nor how many books are affected. Kent County Council oversees 99 community libraries and operates five mobile library vans.
Antony Hook, the Liberal Democrat opposition leader in the council, criticised the announcement as both “vague” and “bizarre”, particularly as it was made on social media rather than through formal council channels. Hook has formally written to the head of Kent Library Services seeking clarification on what materials are being removed.
#AntonyHook #backlash #bookBans #commonsenseinKent #Kent #libraries #LindenKemkaran #PaulWebb #Trans #Twitter #vagueOutcomes #warOnWoke #InTheNews
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No time frame for Reform Doge review in Kent
Reform UK have warned their Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) unit “will take as long as it takes” to provide recommendations.
On Monday the Doge team arrived at Kent County Council (KCC) in Maidstone for their first meeting.
Party chairman Zia Yusuf met leader Linden Kemkaran along with senior staff, accompanied by millionaire party backer Arron Banks and Nathaniel Fried, a tech entrepreneur said to be leading the Doge unit.
The party plans to use artificial intelligence, advanced data analysis tools and forensic auditing techniques to “identify wasteful spending and recommend actionable solutions”.
#AI #ArronBanks #DOGE #DOLGE #Kent #LindenKemkaran #NathanielFried #ZiaYusuf #InTheNews
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Does reform not know how councils work that it threatens our privacy?
Kent County Councillor, Tim Prater of the Liberal Democrats, has roundly condemned Reform’s latest attempt to emulate Donald Trump.
In a letter to Kent County Council (KCC) signed by Linden Kemkaran (KCC leader for Reform), Nigel Farage, and Zia Yusuf, Reform have demanded access to all KCC data (even sensitive information about residents) for a group of unelected persons that Reform has chosen not to let the public know about.
Cllr Prater called it an “attack on Kent by Reform UK national leadership”.
This embarrassing, threatening and totally misjudged letter to Kent County Council tonight is an attack on Kent by Reform UK national leadership, countersigned by their new Kent leader who clearly doesn’t have a clue.
Anyone with the first understanding of how local Government has worked for the last 30 years knows the information they request is almost all public anyway. I suggest their highly expert DOGE team try “googling a bit”.
The rest is either subject to the same FOI constraints as apply to the public or other Councillors. To suggest there is top secret information here is nonsense on shifts, brought to you by people who have no understanding of how any public organisation in this country works. Mainly because they have never worked within local government in this country.
The irony that they have not released the “appended” list of “DOGE” representatives who should be given access to any data they imagine is interesting is not lost on us. They can ask for information on millions of Kent residents, thousands of Kent employees, but you won’t even tell us who they are?
The Lib Dems stand with Kent residents, and Kent County Council staff.
There is a process. That process includes the Council meetings your administration have cancelled at KCC over the next 3 weeks. They can ask for information in a public and democratically accountable way. You might not understand the process, but that’s your fault, not theirs.
DOGE in the USA just fell apart, having failed to find much of interest or actual saving, making a highly embarrassing series of blunders, some life threatening, and its leader Musk slamming the most recent Government bill and then quitting to spend more time with his failing business. To visit that pain on Kent is to hold us in contempt. We say no.
Liberal Democrat Cllr Tim Prater, via Facebook
#DOGE #DOLGE #failedToDoHomework #LindenKemkaran #NigelFarage #TimPrater #ZiaYusuf #TheySaidThat_
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Reform introduce a department of local government efficiency (DOLGE) in Kent County Council
Reform UK presided over its first full Kent County Council (KCC) meeting last week, with the new leader announcing a cut in councillor allowances and a special post for finding savings.
On a morning dominated by frequent applause and table thumping by Reform’s members, KCC’s new leader Linden Kemkaran said she regarded her new role as a “privilege”.
But she pledged to look at every area of spending at the authority with the creation of a department of local government efficiency (DOLGE) and proposed to cut member allowances by 5%.
New Reform Kent County Council leader includes councillor allowances in planned cuts, kentlive.news
#cuts #DOGE #DOLGE #Kent #LindenKemkaran #ReformInefficiencyDepartment #InTheNews