Worcestershire County Council leader Jo Monk has been suspended by Reform UK.
Her son, Redditch councillor Ashley Monk, has also been suspended by the party.
Reform said both councillors are under investigation for bringing the party into disrepute and “refusing to accept the democratic decision” of the group.
SUSPENDED: Ashley Monk was elected to Redditch Borough Council last week but says he is now an independent councillor (Image: Worcestershire County Council)
It follows the election of former Worcester mayor and Tory MP Alan Amos as Reform’s new leader last month and after Ashley Monk’s criticism of Cllr Amos.
Ashley Monk said in a statement he had withdrawn his membership of the party “after it became clear I was no longer welcome.”
LEADER: New Reform leader Alan Amos is a divisive figure in Worcestershire politics (Image: NQ)
“I refuse to be led locally by a man whose views on the EU, the monarchy, and most importantly comments around rape, I find downright disgusting,” he said.
“Alan Amos is on record saying how he had sincerely changed his views and now wanted us to adopt the Euro and have an ever-closer relationship with Europe.
“He called our late Queen a parasite.
“He said it was now too easy for women to report that they had been raped.
“How someone with those views was allowed into the party, let alone allowed to lead Reform in Worcestershire, is beyond me.”
Cllr Amos has declined to comment.
Ashley Monk said he would now sit as an independent councillor on both the county council and Redditch Borough Council, where he was elected last week as a Reform candidate.
He added: “I believe in Brexit, I believe in stopping the boats, and I believe in saving our country, our county and our town.”
A Reform UK spokesman said: “Cllrs Ashley Monk and Jo Monk have been suspended from Reform UK pending investigation after, respectively, bringing the party into disrepute, and refusing to accept the democratic decision of the Reform UK Group on Worcestershire County Council.”
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Jo Monk remains leader of the county council until Thursday (May 14), when the authority’s next full meeting takes place.
Her year in office has been a turbulent one, marked by ill-tempered council meetings.
It saw council tax raised by nine per cent and the council need £59.9m in emergency government help to deliver a balanced budget.
We have asked Jo Monk for comment.
Cllr Amos declined to comment.