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Opposition councillors at Reform UK’s flagship Kent County Council (KCC) staged a mass walkout on Thursday, after Nigel Farage’s party tabled a motion declaring an “illegal immigration emergency” whilst blaming migrants for the spread of “infectious diseases” — a move condemned as racist and divisive amid a deadly meningitis outbreak in the county.
The motion claimed there was an “invasion” of refugees coming to Kent, and using rhetoric of “fighting age” men. “Most of the men are leaving their women and children in their home countries,” the motion claimed. The motion also railed against “foreigners” committing crimes.
Amid a lethal meningitis outbreak that has taken the lives of multiple young people in Canterbury, Reform councillors claimed that “a number of infectious diseases are believed to be on the increase, potentially due to having been carried by migrants,” without providing evidence.
The Green party argued that the motion – which passed by 45 votes to nil, following the walkout – was an improper attempt to garner votes ahead of a council by-election Reform is defending in a couple of weeks.
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The by-election was brought due to a Reform UK councillor being convicted in Margate this February for admitting coercive or controlling behaviour towards his wife.
Reform’s critics argued that the motion — publicised by the party before it had been formally approved or appeared on the agenda — breached strict ‘purdah’ rules against using council resources to further a political agenda during the sensitive election period.
The council’s chairman, Richard Palmer, who chaired the debate, had himself proposed a very similar motion at Swale Borough Council weeks earlier, leading to accusations of bias.
When the Leader of the Opposition, Lib Dem Anthony Hook, attempted to criticise the motion’s content, Cllr Palmer ordered him to stop speaking and then to leave.
More than 30 councillors – including the Liberal Democrats, Conservatives, Restore Britain, Greens, and Labour – walked out in protest.
Opposition members also expressed their anger at the timing of the motion, given an ongoing meningitis outbreak in Canterbury that had claimed young lives.
KCC leader Linden Kemkaran posted on X before the vote: “Illegal small boat crossings are not a distant problem for Kent. As Leader of Reform in KCC, I refuse to sit back and do nothing. The people of Kent deserve councillors who will stand up to government on their behalf and speak truth to power.”
Labour group leader Cllr Alister Brady told the council chamber before walking out: “A discussion about immigration is very important but the timing of the discussion during the pre-election period stifles that debate.
“The Kent Labour Group have lost trusts and confidence in the process which has led to this, in light of this we do not feel comfortable to engage in the debate during the pre-election period, and will be reporting the process to the Electoral Commission and the Local Government ombudsman to investigate.”
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We spoke to Green councillor Stuart Heaver after he left the chamber.
Byline Times: Why did you walk out? Talk us through what happened.
Cllr Heaver: “In the afternoon session, we were about to begin [discussing] the motions, and number one on the agenda was Reform UK’s motion to declare an illegal immigration emergency.
“The content of this motion is really quite toxic — clearly racist, divisive, and unpleasant. It contains the usual false statistics, inflammatory language treating the crossing of a border as a crime, and implications of misogyny. It’s disgusting.
“But on top of that…there is a by-election currently under way for a KCC seat in Cliftonville. The previous member for that ward was accused in court of coercive and violent behaviour towards his wife…and is now serving a prison sentence, which triggered the by-election.
“Reform had already publicised this immigration motion — through a major media campaign — before it had even been checked by officers, discussed in the council, or appeared on the agenda.
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“This was clearly a political stunt, which you might say is fair enough in itself. But during the debate, the chairman refused to allow any opposition member to make critical remarks, on the grounds that doing so would prejudice the by-election — even though the motion had already been blatantly politicised before we arrived.
“[Chairman and Reform councillor] Richard Palmer has more or less unlimited powers to determine who speaks, who doesn’t, and for how long. He is, in