New Reform UK Council Leader Calls Ukraine War 'A Distraction'

A Union Jack flag and a Ukraine flag fly in front of the Houses of ParliamentA new Reform UK council leader has called the Ukraine war a “distraction”.Linden Kemkaran, named leader of Kent County Council a week after Reform UK’s sweeping victories in the local elections, appeared to downplay the impact of the largest conflict in Europe since World War 2.Speaking after she was named as council leader on Thursday evening, she promised to remove the Ukrainian flag from the chamber.It came after Reform UK chair Zia Yusuf’s claim that only the St George’s and union jack flags would be flow flown by the English councils the party controls.Kemkaran told the BBC: “This is Kent country council. We are here to represent the residents of Kent.“A foreign war being fought thousands of miles away is simply a distraction.“We are here to serve the people of Kent. That’s what we were elected on. That is what we are going to do.”The councillor said Ukrainian people are “amazing” who have contributed to British society, “but a flag doesn’t change any of that”.Kemkaran continued: “You have to understand that we won a massive majority and we have absolute, ultimate control.”She was chosen as the council leader from six potential candidates, after a total of 57 Reform councillors were elected.But, when pressed about her plans for the council, she said: “This is my first day in a brand new job and you wouldn’t expect me to have all the answers.“We are going to get the auditors to come in and take a leaf out of Elon Musk’s book and appoint some sort of DOGE [Department of Government Efficiency] to go through everything in detail and find out where the money is being spent and whether we can make any changes and make life better for the residents.”When Yusuf first announced Reform’s plans to change council flags on Monday, the Labour MP for Dover and Deal Mike Tapp accused the party of “sucking up to Moscow”.He said: “It tells you all you need to know about Nigel Farage’s Reform that their very first act after winning elections is to ban the Ukrainian flag from our town halls, in this of all weeks.“Farage and Reform councillors should stop sucking up to Moscow and drop their ban on flying the Ukrainian flag immediately.”Related...Putin's Ambassador Hits Back At UK's Latest Sanctions With 3 Dismissive WordsA Reform UK Councillor Has Resigned Less Than A Week After Being ElectedReform UK's Richard Tice Torn Apart On BBC Question Time Over Brexit: 'We've Been Duped'

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