In a statement posted on Sunday, Edmunds wrote: “Yesterday I woke up feeling very proud to be one of Reform’s 677 new councilors.
“This morning I woke up to an email from [Reform] head office advising me that I have been suspended from the party ‘pending an investigation’.”
“Why? Because I urged people here on X to lend Reform their support for the short term – for Thursday’s elections – even if they felt they couldn’t for the long term.
“According to head office, ‘this has brought the party into disrepute and damaged the interests of the party.'”
She went on to say the party was brought into disrepute when leadership “unceremoniously ditched” Rupert Lowe.
She said his suspension “provoked a wave of resignations” where whole branches resigned as one in protest.
“I called my branch chair to resign my membership, he asked me to stay on as we were struggling to find candidates.
“Out of loyalty to the party at the local level – all good, hard working people who merely want to live in a country that works for them – I agreed and remained on the ballot”, she wrote.
