Reform UK’s Kent County councillors have declared an “illegal migration emergency” in the county despite warnings that to do so might breach electoral law.

Opposition councillors staged a mass walkout in protest at what they condemned as a cynical electoral stunt timed to influence an upcoming by-election.

Migrant frontier

A motion at Thursday’s council meeting, passed by the 45 Reform councillors who remained in the chamber, declares Kent a “frontier for the influx of illegal migrants” and demands the government stop small boat crossings “immediately” whilst providing full funding for the county’s costs.

The motion, proposed by Councillor David Wimble, had already been the subject of a formal complaint to the Electoral Commission by the Conservative group.

They argued it was designed to influence the outcome of the Cliftonville by-election on 9 April, a seat that became vacant after former Reform councillor Daniel Taylor was jailed for controlling and coercive behaviour towards his wife.

Refugee invasion

The motion claimed there was an “invasion” of refugees, deploying the rhetoric of “fighting age” men, and alleged that “a number of infectious diseases are believed to be on the increase”, this last claim made all the more inflammatory given a deadly meningitis outbreak currently affecting young people in Canterbury.

Opposition members were having none of it. Liberal Democrat leader Antony Hook declared the motion was based on “prejudicial, discriminatory assumptions” before leading all 31 opposition members, from the Lib Dems, Greens, Labour, Conservatives, and the newly-formed Restore Britain group, out of the chamber.

A Lib Dem source described the proceedings as “a circus,” noting that the councillor chairing the debate had himself proposed a virtually identical motion at Swale Borough Council only weeks earlier, while allowing council leader Linden Kemkaran free rein whilst shutting down opposition speakers.

Baseless and misleading

The Green Party’s Mark Hood dismissed the motion’s claims as “baseless and misleading,” pointing out that Kent hosts far fewer asylum seekers than most other counties, and that the South East supports fewer than regions such as the Midlands and the North East.

He also noted the irony that small boat arrivals only became a significant issue after Brexit dismantled the Dublin Agreement under which the first EU country of entry bore responsibility for asylum claims.

The episode is the latest in a string of controversies for Reform’s flagship council. Since winning 57 of 81 seats in May 2025, the party has seen seven councillors defect to Restore Britain, the harder-right party founded by former Reform MP Rupert Lowe, leaving Reform with 47 seats and a far less comfortable majority.

Suck it up

A leaked video last October showed Kemkaran telling colleagues to “fucking suck it up,” leading to suspensions and further internal chaos.

With the Cliftonville by-election shaping up as a straight fight between Reform and the Greens, yesterday’s Reform performance looks less like responsible governance and more like campaign theatre – divisive, inflammatory, and with consequences that may yet rebound on those behind it.