Overview
- Reform UK, which announced the action Tuesday, suspended Jo Monk and Ashley Monk pending investigations for refusing a group decision and bringing the party into disrepute.
- Ashley Monk said he has quit the party and will now sit as an independent on Worcestershire County Council and Redditch Borough Council, adding an apology to voters who backed him under the Reform banner.
- Jo Monk remains the formal leader of Worcestershire County Council until Thursday’s full council meeting on May 14.
- The fallout follows an April vote by local Reform councillors that removed Jo Monk as group leader and installed former Conservative MP Alan Amos, a change Ashley Monk publicly attacked on social media.
- The suspensions land as Reform faces scrutiny over candidate vetting, with Mirror and Hope Not Hate reporting leading to the expulsion of Essex councillor Stuart Prior over racist posts and renewed criticism after other offensive online remarks by candidates were uncovered.