What a UK government led by Reform would really look like

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BBC

Reform UK could win more seats than any other party at the next general election - perhaps enough to form a government. Or so suggest repeated opinion polls, released since May. That was also when Reform won control of 10 English local authorities - so what does their first six months at the helm at local level tell us about what a UK government led by them could look like? Listen to Alex reading this article 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. Plenty of critics seized on the incident.

Reform suspends four councillors after video leak

Labour MPs in Kent labelled her "unprofessional" and "not up to the job," and local Liberal Democrat and Green groups claimed Reform's running of the council had descended into chaos. Five of Kent's Reform councillors have been expelled from the party amid the upheaval. Kemkaran, meanwhile, remains firmly in post. And she has declared that it is "business as usual" at Kent County Council. To some the fallout was undoubtedly damaging and has prompted questions about whether this insurgent party, that is consistently topping national opinion polls, really is a credible force ready to run the country - something they are trying to prove. 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."

Gareth Fuller / PA Five of Kent's Reform councillors have been expelled from the party. Linden Kemkaran (left) remains in post

Reform's performance at local government level can help start to give some insight into this: it has been exactly six months since the local elections that saw t