Councillor Kemkaran was heard in the clip raising her voice at councillor Thomas during an exchange on council tax and local government reorganisation.
Kent’s 14 councils are set to abolish themselves under government proposals and be replaced with three or four new, larger unitary bodies.
In the leaked clip, Ms Kemkaran tells the councillors: “I am not a dictator or an autocrat. I like feedback. I like to discuss.
“However, when it comes to making the really big decisions, and LGR [local government reorganisation] is one of those really big decisions…..sometimes I will make a decision that might not be liked by everybody in the group.”
She then uses an expletive as she told them they will have to “suck it up”, prompting one councillor to gasp open-mouthed, before laughing.
The Guardian said that the comments sparked dissent from others in the meeting, including councillor Thomas who said backbenchers were not being briefed on the plans.
He said to the meeting: “Quite frankly, the question is…is that the right leader and the right cabinet?”
