# Kent Current > Clear, independent reporting on Kent’s biggest stories. No ads, no clickbait. Public Ghost content for AI and LLM tooling. This file includes a bounded export of public pages first, then recent public posts. Append `.md` to any post or page URL to get the content in Markdown (for example, `/example-post.md`). ## Pages ### Independent journalism for a county that deserves better URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/about/ Last updated: 2026-06-29T13:19:23.000Z Kent deserves journalism that does more than repeat press releases or chase the latest outrage. We started the ***Kent Current*** because we believe local journalism should explain what’s happening across the county, ask difficult questions, and hold those with power to account. Our reporting is independent, reader-funded and free from corporate ownership, advertising and clickbait. Most of what we publish is available free to everyone. Readers who choose to support us financially help fund that work while receiving additional editions, investigations and interviews. **What readers say** “Excellent” - [Patrick Cockburn](https://inews.co.uk/opinion/trumps-peace-initiatives-foundered-us-looks-weak-3748623?ref=kentcurrent.news), The I “A new, quality news outlet for the county that is well worth supporting if you live here!” - [James O’Malley](https://bsky.app/profile/jamesomalley.co.uk/post/3lmhqpjblus26?ref=kentcurrent.news) “It's good to have in-depth reporting of local issues. I care deeply about Kent and Medway, so it's great to hear from reporters who feel the same but give the news as it is, both good and bad.” - Cllr Adrian Gulvin, Medway councillor **Why readers support the *Kent Current*** - Independent journalism, funded by readers. - Serious reporting on the biggest stories affecting Kent. - Calm, thoughtful coverage without clickbait or sensationalism. - Free briefing editions, with additional reporting for supporters. - Regulated by Impress, the independent press regulator. ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!gyC-!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb2875df2-d2be-4077-9ba5-706dbf292445_1862x1040.png) **Who we are** The ***Kent Current*** was founded by Ed Jennings and Steven Keevil after years covering local politics and communities across Kent. Having worked in local news, blogging and independent publishing, we believed the county deserved something different: journalism that takes its readers seriously, spends time explaining complicated issues and is prepared to challenge those in power. Today, the ***Kent Current*** covers everything from county politics and transport to housing, healthcare, culture and investigations, helping readers understand the decisions shaping life across Kent. **Independent and accountable** ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!jcgO!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F72c2bba0-838f-4595-9535-e604e48e8636_1418x438.png) ***Kent Current*** adheres to the [Standards Code](https://www.impressorg.com/standards/impress-standards-code/our-standards-code/?ref=kentcurrent.news) adopted by [Impress](https://www.impressorg.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news), which serves as the independent regulator of our work. If you wish to make a complaint about anything we have published, you can find details of how to do so [here](https://www.kentcurrent.news/complaints/). **Kent Current* is published by Authority Media Ltd, Valiant Suite, Second Chance Community Centre, Brompton Hill, Chatham, ME4 4XQ.* ✉️ ****Get in touch** Questions, story tips or feedback? ***hello AT kentcurrent DOT news** ### Events URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/events/ Last updated: 2026-09-07T08:26:17.000Z Our curated list of the most interesting events happening in Kent over the coming months. To inform us about an interesting event happening in Kent, email ****hello AT kentcurrent DOT news**. We can’t guarantee we can include everything, but we’ll do what we can. **September 2026** 🎤 Thu 10 Sep - [**John Kearns: Tilting at Windmills**](https://trinitytheatre.net/events/john-kearns-tilting-at-windmills/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Comedian portrays his life, books he hasn't read, and VAT. Trinity Theatre, Tunbridge Wells. Tickets £27\. *Also at* [*Gulbenkian Theatre*](https://thegulbenkian.co.uk/events/john-kearns-tilting-at-windmills/?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, Canterbury on 16 Sep, and* [*Faversham Assembly Rooms*](https://thealex.org.uk/event/john-kearns-tilting-at-windmills/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *on 9 Oct.* 🔊 10 - 13 Sep - [**Ramsgate Festival of Sound**](https://www.ramsgatefestival.org/programme?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Site-specific sound installations, experimental performances, films and live music, culminating with Eurovision electronic inventor Look Mum No Computer. Various locations, Ramsgate. Various prices. 🏛️ 11 - 20 Sep - [**Heritage Open Days**](https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Rare access to Kent sites including Dover’s sealed Western Heights tunnels, its former Marine Station, cathedral archives and historic lightship LV21\. Various locations. Free. 🎞️ 12 - 13 Sep - [**Prospect at Prospect Cottage**](https://www.creativefolkestone.org.uk/whats-on/prospect-at-prospect-cottage/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Previously unseen Derek Jarman footage is shown inside a part of his Dungeness home rarely opened to visitors, alongside a guided cottage tour. Prospect Cottage, Dungeness. Tickets £22. 📜 Sun 13 Sep - [**Jessica Rose: Gold**](https://www.ticketsource.com/avenuetheatre/gold-jessica-rose-poetry/e-djvkrr?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Award-winning spoken word artist returns to the stage with a collection of new work. Avenue Theatre, Sittingbourne. Tickets £12. 🎤 Wed 16 Sep - [**Phil Wang: Uh Oh**](https://www.assemblyhalltheatre.co.uk/whats-on/phil-wang-uh-oh.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Comedian tours new stand-up show, now with added moustache. Assembly Hall, Tunbridge Wells. Tickets from £29.25. 🎤 17 - 20 Sep - [**Maidstone Improv Festival**](https://maidstoneimprovfestival.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Four nights of unscripted comedy. Various locations, Maidstone. Tickets from £10. 🐺 Sat 19 Sep - [**Stewart Lee vs The Man-Wulf**](https://www.medwayticketslive.co.uk/event/Stewart-Lee-vs-The-Man-Wulf?ref=localauthority.news) // Comedian returns to Chatham and tries to unleash his new edgy alter-ego. Central Theatre, Chatham. Tickets £31. 🎨 19 Sep - 15 Nov - [**In Turner’s Wake**](https://thedockyard.co.uk/events/in-turners-wake-contemporary-visions-by-jake-wood-evans/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Largest display of original JMW Turner works yet staged at the Dockyard, shown alongside contemporary paintings by Jake Wood-Evans. Historic Dockyard, Chatham. Tickets £29, including Dockyard entry. 🎞️ Sun 20 Sep - [**Vox Lumiere: Metropolis**](https://www.woodville.co.uk/events/vox-lumiere-metropolis/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Fritz Lang’s silent science-fiction masterpiece screened with a live band, original music and singers. Woodville, Gravesend. Tickets £30. 🎬 Tue 22 Sep - [**People’s Emergency Briefing**](https://thealex.org.uk/event/peoples-emergency-briefing/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Documentary presenting evidence from scientists and security experts on the climate and nature crisis, followed by a panel discussion with local teachers. Alexander Centre, Faversham. Free. 🤼 Sat 26 Sep - [**UKPW**](https://www.fatsoma.com/e/nqj8wcag/ukpw-live-pro-wrestling-in-chatham-historic-dockyard?ref=localauthority.news) // Wrestling action returns with an even bigger show. Chatham Historic Dockyard. Tickets from £12. 🎤 Sat 26 Sep - [**Laura Lexx: Yo-Yo**](https://marlowetheatre.com/shows/laura-lexx-yo-yo/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Award-winning comedian back with a brand new show. Marlowe Studio, Canterbury. Tickets £20. 🎸 Mon 28 Sep - [**The Lemonheads**](https://www.dreamland.co.uk/event/the-lemonheads/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Cult US alternative rock band. Dreamland, Margate. Tickets £40. 📖 Tue 29 Sep - [**Enter the Castle with Jon Ronson**](https://marlowetheatre.com/shows/enter-the-castle-with-jon-ronson/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Acclaimed author tours his first book in 11 years. Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury. Tickets from £34. 🎤 Wed 30 Sep - [**Maisie Adam: Whatsherface**](https://marlowetheatre.com/shows/maisie-adam-whatsherface/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Recent Taskmaster winner tours brand new show. Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury. Tickets £28. **October 2026** 📚 1 - 11 Oct - [**Maidstone LitFest**](https://www.maidstonelitfest.org/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Author talks, workshops and family events, with guests including Iain Dale, Sian Williams, Dan Abnett, Milly Johnson, Adele Parks and Louise Candlish. Various venues, Maidstone. Tickets from £5. 🎤 Fri 2 Oct - [**Rory Bremner & Guests**](https://trinitytheatre.net/events/rory-bremner-guests/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Satirical impressionist headlines a night of comedy, preceded by two guest comedians. Trinity Theatre, Tunbridge Wells. Tickets £33. 🍎 2 - 4 Oct - [**Broadstairs Autumn Food Festival**](https://broadstairsfoodfestival.org.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Around 100 food and drink stalls alongside live music and children’s activities. Victoria Gardens, Broadstairs. Free. 🎸 Sun 4 Oct - [**Frances of Delirium**](https://www.ramsgatemusichall.com/tc-events/francis-of-delirium/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Power pop from Luxembourg. Ramsgate Music Hall. Tickets £12.50. 👻 Sun 4 Oct - [**Things I Took from the Dark as told by Reece Shearsmith**](https://marlowetheatre.com/shows/things-i-took-from-the-dark-as-told-by-reece-shearsmith/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Inside No. 9 co-creator explores the macabre objects, uncanny stories and childhood experiences that have influenced his work. Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury. Tickets from £34. 🎤 8 - 9 Oct - [**Harriet Kemsley: Floozy**](https://marlowetheatre.com/shows/harriet-kemsley-floozy/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Kent comedian plays Kent show. Marlowe Studio, Canterbury. Tickets £21. 🎤 Fri 9 Oct - [**Romesh Ranganathan Will Change Your Lif**](https://revelationashford.co.uk/events/romesh-ranganathan-work-in-progress/?ref=kentcurrent.news)e // Life advice from popular comedian. Revealation, Ashford. Tickets £25\. *Also at* [*Assembly Hall*](https://www.assemblyhalltheatre.co.uk/whats-on/romesh-ranganathan-will-change-your-life.html?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, Tunbridge Wells on 11 Nov.* 🎤 Sun 11 Oct - [**Lemn Sissay: Let the Light Pour In**](https://thegulbenkian.co.uk/events/lemn-sissay-let-the-light-pour-in-live/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Evening with the master of the spoken word, author, activist, and performer. Gulbenkian Theatre, Canterbury. Tickets £31.25. 🎙️ Mon 12 Oct - [**Jeremy Bowen: Truth Under Fire**](https://www.assemblyhalltheatre.co.uk/whats-on/jeremy-bowen-truth-under-fire.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Former BBC International Editor talks about his career in war zones and the state of the world. Assembly Hall, Tunbridge Wells. Tickets from £36.75. 📚 12 - 22 Nov - [**Folkestone Book Festival**](https://www.creativefolkestone.org.uk/news/folkestone-book-festival-2026-the-full-lineup-revealed/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Eleven days of talks featuring Sir Tony Robinson, Philippa Perry, Lynda La Plante, Ben Okri, Cory Doctorow and Billy Childish. Various locations, Folkestone. Various ticket prices. 🎤 Fri 16 Oct - [**Mark Steel: Work in Progress**](https://thealex.org.uk/event/mark-steel-work-in-progress/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Mark Steel tries out new material following the publication of his book about recovering from throat cancer. Alexander Centre, Faversham. Tickets £16. 👻 20 - 24 Oct - [**Paranormal Activity**](https://marlowetheatre.com/shows/paranormal-activity/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // The long-running film series moves into theatre to find new ways to scare people. Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury. Tickets from £19. 🎬 22 - 25 Oct - [**Folkestone Documentary Festival**](https://www.folkestonedocumentaryfestival.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Four-day festival of feature and short documentaries, artist films, filmmaker events and an industry day. Various venues, Folkestone. Ticket prices vary. 🪕 Fri 23 Oct - [**Alabama 3 Acoustic**](https://good-show.co.uk/events/3770?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Legendary band play stripped-down show. Booking Hall, Dover. Tickets £25\. *Also at* [*Swale Assembly*](https://good-show.co.uk/events/3769?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, Sittingbourne on 24 Oct*. 🎤 Sun 25 Oct - [**Nish Kumar: Angry Humour From a Really Nice Guy**](https://marlowetheatre.com/shows/nish-kumar-angry-humour-from-a-really-nice-guy/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Existential angst and political disquiet from one of the UK's best comedians. Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury. Tickets £29\. *Also at* [*Assembly Hall*](https://www.assemblyhalltheatre.co.uk/whats-on/nish-kumar-angry-humour-from-a-really-nice-guy.html?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, Tunbridge Wells on 22 Nov.* 🎤 Fri 30 Oct - [**Bridget Christie and Guests**](https://trinitytheatre.net/events/bridget-christie-and-guests/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Creator and star of Channel 4’s The Change performs an extended headline set, joined by two rising comedians. Trinity Theatre, Tunbridge Wells. Tickets £29. 🎸 Sat 31 Oct - [**Grace Petrie**](https://thegulbenkian.co.uk/events/grace-petrie-2026/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // One of the UK's most urgent songwriters. Gulbenkian Theatre, Canterbury. Tickets £22.25. **November 2026** 🎤 Mon 2 Nov - [**Richard Ayoade: Afterthoughts**](https://www.assemblyhalltheatre.co.uk/whats-on/richard-ayoade-afterthoughts.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Comedian reflects and shares insights from his new book. Assembly Hall, Tunbridge Wells. Tickets from £33.75. 🎤 Wed 4 Nov - [**Mark Thomas: 40 in Stand-Up Years**](https://thegulbenkian.co.uk/events/mark-thomas-40-in-stand-up-years/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Political comedian celebrates four decades on the mic. Gulbenkian Theatre, Canterbury. Tickets £21.25. 🤼 Sun 8 Nov - [**UKPW Showcase 2026**](https://www.fatsoma.com/e/fnpyv6yf/ukpw-live-wrestling-in-canterbury-showcase-2026?ref=kentcurrent.news) // End-of-year professional wrestling show featuring championship matches, high-flying action and concluding rivalries. Westgate Hall, Canterbury. Tickets from £13.20. 🎸 Thu 12 Nov - [**Firestations**](https://whereelse.live/events/firestations-104874?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Shoegazey alt-pop from London five-piece. Where Else? Margate // Tickets £10. 🎸 Sat 14 Nov - [**Railcard + Swansea Sound**](https://www.ramsgatemusichall.com/tc-events/railcard-swansea-sound/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // New indiepop band plays alongside indiepop supergroup. Ramsgate Music Hall. Tickets £14.50. 🪧 21 - 22 Nov - [**Pussy Riot: Riot Days**](https://thegulbenkian.co.uk/events/pussy-riot-riot-days-2/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Play from Russian punks combining theatre, music, and politics. Gulbenkian Theatre, Canterbury. Tickets £26.25 **December 2026** 🪕 Wed 2 Dec - [**James Yorkston**](https://folkestonemusic.co.uk/events/james-yorkston/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Scottish singer-songwriter and author performs solo with special guests, following an album of duets with Nina Persson and Johanna Söderberg. Quarterhouse, Folkestone. Tickets £22 plus booking fee. ## Sign up for the Kent Current Join our free mailing list for clear, independent reporting on Kent’s biggest stories. No ads, no clickbait. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. 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There is a list of possible [lawful bases](https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/advice-for-small-organisations/getting-started-with-gdpr/data-protection-principles-definitions-and-key-terms/?ref=kentcurrent.news#lawfulbasis) in the UK GDPR. You can find out more about lawful bases on the ICO’s website. Which lawful basis we rely on may affect your data protection rights which are set out in brief below. You can find out more about your data protection rights and the exemptions which may apply on the ICO’s website: - **Your right of access** \- You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information. You can request other information such as details about where we get personal information from and who we share personal information with. There are some exemptions which means you may not receive all the information you ask for. 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If you make a request, we must respond to you without undue delay and in any event within one month. To make a data protection rights request, please contact us using the contact details at the top of this privacy notice. **Our lawful bases for the collection and use of your data** Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information to **provide services and goods** are: - Consent - we have permission from you after we gave you all the relevant information. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to object. To be clear, you do have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. - Contract – we have to collect or use the information so we can enter into or carry out a contract with you. All of your data protection rights may apply except the right to object. - Legitimate interests – we’re collecting or using your information because it benefits you, our organisation or someone else, without causing an undue risk of harm to anyone. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to portability. Our legitimate interests are: - We might need to collect certain information reasonably expected as part of running our business, that will not have a material impact on your rights, freedom or interests. Examples could be your address, so that we know where to deliver something to, or your name, so that we have a record of who to contact moving forwards. For more information on our use of legitimate interests as a lawful basis you can contact us using the contact details set out above. Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information for **the operation of customer accounts and guarantees** are: - Consent - we have permission from you after we gave you all the relevant information. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to object. To be clear, you do have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. - Contract – we have to collect or use the information so we can enter into or carry out a contract with you. All of your data protection rights may apply except the right to object. - Legitimate interests – we’re collecting or using your information because it benefits you, our organisation or someone else, without causing an undue risk of harm to anyone. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to portability. Our legitimate interests are: - We might need to collect certain information reasonably expected as part of running our business, that will not have a material impact on your rights, freedom or interests. Examples could be your address, so that we know where to deliver something to, or your name, so that we have a record of who to contact moving forwards. For more information on our use of legitimate interests as a lawful basis you can contact us using the contact details set out above. Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information for **service updates or marketing purposes** are: - Consent - we have permission from you after we gave you all the relevant information. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to object. To be clear, you do have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. - Contract – we have to collect or use the information so we can enter into or carry out a contract with you. All of your data protection rights may apply except the right to object. - Legitimate interests – we’re collecting or using your information because it benefits you, our organisation or someone else, without causing an undue risk of harm to anyone. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to portability. Our legitimate interests are: - We might need to collect certain information reasonably expected as part of running our business, that will not have a material impact on your rights, freedom or interests. Examples could be your address, so that we know where to deliver something to, or your name, so that we have a record of who to contact moving forwards. For more information on our use of legitimate interests as a lawful basis you can contact us using the contact details set out above. Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information for **legal requirements** are: - Legal obligation – we have to collect or use your information so we can comply with the law. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to erasure, the right to object and the right to data portability. Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information for **dealing with queries, complaints or claims** are: - Consent - we have permission from you after we gave you all the relevant information. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to object. To be clear, you do have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. - Contract – we have to collect or use the information so we can enter into or carry out a contract with you. All of your data protection rights may apply except the right to object. - Legal obligation – we have to collect or use your information so we can comply with the law. 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If you remain unhappy with how we’ve used your data after raising a complaint with us, you can also complain to the ICO. The ICO’s address: Information Commissioner’s Office Wycliffe House Water Lane Wilmslow Cheshire SK9 5AF Helpline number: 0303 123 1113 Website: [https://www.ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint](https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/?ref=kentcurrent.news) Last updated 1 April 2023 ### See the bigger picture across Kent URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/start/ Last updated: 2026-07-28T06:48:24.000Z ## See the bigger picture across Kent. The **Kent Current* helps you understand the stories, decisions and changes shaping the county. Through original reporting, interviews and analysis, we connect the dots across Kent. No clickbait. No endless stream of minor updates. Just journalism worth your time. ## Stay connected to Kent. Subscribe for free to receive original reporting, thoughtful analysis and fascinating stories from across Kent, delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. Free to subscribe. Upgrade only if you choose to support our journalism. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/07/AdobeStock_445775256.jpeg) ### Kent is one county. Why is it covered like fourteen different places? Most local news stops at district boundaries. We don't. The *Kent Current* looks at the issues shaping the county as a whole, while still reporting on the places and people that make Kent unique. From local government and transport to housing, heritage and culture, we connect the dots across Kent to help you understand the bigger picture. ### What we've been reporting Recent reporting has included: - Why the biggest changes to local government in decades will reshape Kent. [Four new councils and a lot of unanswered questionsFour authorities, fourteen councils to unwind, and less than two years to build a new system of local government![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-bcda98a1-6ec3-486d-92d4-8b1c57452270.png)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/KC_Map-final-1-98e5b00f-964e-4c17-b1a8-6cb40bd72c15.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/four-new-councils-and-a-lot-of-unanswered-questions/) - The future of the SS Richard Montgomery and the complex operation to remove its masts. [Taking apart Kent’s most famous wreckFor 82 years, Kent has mostly dealt with the SS Richard Montgomery by leaving it alone. Now, the masts are coming down.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-d197610d-e4b3-498b-bb3b-31359e42e9a3.png)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/AdobeStock_1979849667-1-d63aff47-8787-414b-90da-48dea5cf6fce.jpeg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/taking-apart-kents-most-famous-wreck/) - How major infrastructure projects, from AI data centres to transport schemes, could transform parts of the county. [The data centre that skipped DartfordHow a contested area of land became part of Britain’s AI infrastructure argument![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-c7791495-e7c0-47ef-a93d-1ce1863db014.png)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/AdobeStock_1783345153-1-90e4e0a5-d4ca-4b0a-98fc-5b314dd2abdc.jpeg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-data-centre-that-skipped-dartford/) - The challenges facing Kent's water supply as demand continues to grow. [How many times can Kent’s water system fail the same test?South East Water says it planned for the heat. Thousands of Kent households still lost supply.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-d6c85720-c82b-4003-a0b5-6fcaf29b8496.png)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/AdobeStock_864995354-2-1-93593d5c-1018-44aa-ad68-27f69a1ecb4a.jpeg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/how-many-times-can-kents-water-system-fail-the-same-test/) - The people behind Kent's culture, politics, business and public life through our regular interviews. [“It had shamed me for having poor mental health”Our interview with Rich Lehmann, former Green Group leader at Kent County Council![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-ebf208c7-89e3-480c-a406-ff5319654c39.png)Kent CurrentSteven Keevil![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/IMG_20250330_121637b-2-1-bf167d89-77e3-4561-b8ce-dc6fabd25dd1.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/it-had-shamed-me-for-having-poor-mental-health/) - Planning decisions, public spending and the stories that often slip beneath the radar. ### What readers are saying *"A new, quality news outlet for the county that is well worth supporting if you live here!"* **James O'Malley** *"It's good to have in-depth reporting of local issues. I care deeply about Kent and Medway, so it's great to hear from reporters who feel the same but give the news as it is, both good and bad."* **Adrian Gulvin, Medway councillor** ### What you'll get Every free subscriber receives journalism that helps make sense of what's happening across Kent, delivered straight to their inbox. **A weekly briefing** A curated roundup of the biggest stories from across Kent, plus planning, culture, events and the conversations shaping the county. **Original reporting** In-depth journalism, investigations and analysis that goes beyond the headlines. **Interviews and features** Long-form conversations with the people making, changing and reflecting life in Kent. **The bigger picture** Connections, context and explanation to help you understand what's happening across the county, not just in one district. ### Independent, reader-funded journalism The *Kent Current* is funded primarily by its readers, not by clickbait or endless advertising. That means we can spend time on the stories that matter, not the ones most likely to generate clicks. That independence allows us to spend longer on stories, ask more questions and publish journalism that helps people understand Kent rather than simply react to it. We are regulated by Impress and are a member of the Public Interest News Foundation, reflecting our commitment to accurate, accountable public interest journalism. ## Ready to see the bigger picture? Join nearly 2,000 readers receiving independent journalism from across Kent, delivered straight to their inbox. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. Free to subscribe. Upgrade only if you choose to support our journalism. ### Editorial Policy URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/editorial-policy/ Last updated: 2026-08-02T11:37:49.000Z Trust is central to what we do. Local journalism only works if readers believe we have done the work, separated fact from opinion, treated people fairly and put mistakes right. This policy applies to *Local Authority* and the *Kent Current*, both published by Authority Media Ltd. It covers our websites, newsletters, official social media accounts and other editorial material for which we are responsible. Both publications are independently regulated by Impress. We follow the [Impress Standards Code](https://www.impressorg.com/standards/impress-standards-code/our-standards-code/?ref=kentcurrent.news). If anything in this policy conflicts with the Code, the Code takes precedence. ## Our approach We aim to produce independent, non-partisan and evidence-led journalism about Kent and Medway. That does not mean approaching every story without judgement or giving every argument equal weight. We will scrutinise decisions, challenge people and organisations with power, and reach conclusions where the evidence supports them. We will not manufacture balance between a well-supported position and an unsupported claim simply to appear neutral. Our reporting should be accurate, fair, informative and clear about what is known, what is disputed and what remains uncertain. Editorial decisions are made by our editors. Political parties, public bodies, businesses, commercial partners and paying members do not decide what we cover or how we cover it. ## Accuracy We take reasonable steps to ensure that everything we publish is accurate. Depending on the story, this can include checking primary documents, reviewing data, speaking to people directly involved, seeking corroboration and testing claims against other reliable evidence. We distinguish clearly between fact, allegation, analysis and opinion. Opinion or commentary will be presented in a way that makes its nature clear. Where we cannot independently verify a relevant claim, we will attribute it and explain what we have and have not been able to establish. 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We do not publish private information, precise addresses or other identifying details without a legitimate editorial reason. People in public life can reasonably expect scrutiny of their public duties and the exercise of their power. That does not remove their right to privacy in matters unrelated to those responsibilities. We take additional care when reporting on people who may be vulnerable, including victims of crime, people experiencing trauma and those at risk of harm if identified. ## Harassment and reporting methods Our journalists must not intimidate, harass or persistently pursue anyone. If somebody reasonably asks us to stop contacting or following them, we will respect that request unless continued contact is justified by a clear public interest. A person declining to comment does not prevent us from continuing to investigate or publish a story. Journalists will normally identify themselves and the publication they represent. 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Paying for membership supports our journalism but does not buy coverage, influence, favourable treatment or the suppression of a story. No advertiser, sponsor, business or other commercial partner may require positive editorial coverage or exercise advance approval over our journalism. Any paid-for, sponsored or reciprocal content that could otherwise be mistaken for editorial work will be clearly labelled. Relevant financial relationships will be disclosed. Editorial considerations take priority over commercial interests. ## Conflicts of interest Anyone working on our journalism must disclose significant financial, political, family, personal or business interests that could affect, or reasonably appear to affect, their work. Depending on the circumstances, the journalist may withdraw from the story, another editor may oversee it, the conflict may be disclosed to readers, or we may decide not to publish. 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Routine administrative uses that do not materially generate published editorial content may not be individually disclosed. Sensitive or confidential source material will not be entered into a public AI service without proper consideration of privacy, security and source protection. ## Contributors and reader submissions Freelancers, guest writers and other contributors are expected to follow the same standards as our staff. Opinion and contributed articles will be identified where necessary. Contributors must disclose relevant interests, and publication remains subject to editorial review. Comments and other reader-submitted material for which we are responsible may be moderated or removed if it is unlawful, seriously harmful or in breach of the Impress Standards Code. ## Complaints If you believe we have made a mistake or breached the Impress Standards Code, please tell us. Complaints are considered on their merits and handled in accordance with our published complaints procedure. We aim to acknowledge a complaint within seven calendar days and provide a final decision within 21 calendar days. If we uphold a complaint, we will explain any corrective or remedial action taken. If you are dissatisfied with our final response, or have not received one within 21 calendar days, you may refer the matter to Impress. - [*Local Authority* complaints procedure](https://www.localauthority.news/p/complaints?ref=kentcurrent.news) - [*Kent Current* complaints procedure](https://www.kentcurrent.news/complaints/) - [How to complain to Impress](https://www.impressorg.com/standards/complaints/how-to-complain/?ref=kentcurrent.news) ## Posts ### Inside the Kent you rarely get to see URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/inside-the-kent-you-rarely-get-to-see/ Last updated: 2026-09-09T11:56:22.000Z Kent is not exactly short of historic places. Castles, cathedrals and country houses litter our county and make up a large part of our economy, as well as a boom for manufacturers of brown road signs. Many of them will be free to visit from this Friday as part of [Heritage Open Days](https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/whats-on/printable-area-lists/kent.html?ref=kentcurrent.news). The annual event runs until 20 September and brings together unique buildings, tours, and exhibitions across the country. Some sites waive their usual admission charges, while others open locations that are usually inaccessible. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/09/grand-shaft-1-1024x768-2.jpg) The Grand Shaft in Dover. Across Kent, some of the most recognisable heritage sites are taking part. Canterbury Cathedral is offering specialist tours of its medieval monastic gardens, while places like St Augustine's Abbey and Sissinghurst Castle Garden are also opening for free. On the other side of the county, Knole, Ightham Mote, and Emmetts Garden are offering free admission on selected dates for those without a National Trust membership. Chartwell is running free events about the people who worked for the Churchill family and maintained the estate. Visitors will have the chance to go inside the towers at Reculver rather than just staring up at them from below. Thanet has a remarkable 36 events across Margate, Broadstairs, Ramsgate, and the surrounding villages, giving locals plenty to explore without going too far. These places alone offer a solid tour of Kent's tourist attractions for free. But we like to dig a little deeper, and the more interesting possibilities seem to exist in the places that few of us even know are there. We went through the full Kent programme to find the places genuinely worth a closer look. ****Register free** to see what made the cut. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### How did a masked far-right mob block Dover for hours without a single arrest? URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/how-did-a-masked-far-right-mob-block-dover-for-hours-without-a-single-arrest/ Last updated: 2026-09-07T13:30:47.000Z **How did around 200 masked activists block roads around Dover for hours without a single arrest? That's our lead story today. We also have breaking news as ministers scrap plans for Kent's local government reorganisation, alongside the latest politics, planning and council news from across the county.* ### Catch up Three things were not quite what they appeared to be in our journalism this week. The NHS Right to Choose scheme is supposed to give patients another route to an autism or ADHD assessment. But after Kent and Medway spent £28.9m against a £5.3m budget, providers were given tighter limits, leaving patients without reliable assessment dates. [We followed what happened](https://www.kentcurrent.news/right-to-choose-stops-feeling-like-a-choice/) to one man who thought he had finally found a way forward, and asked why the NHS cannot say how many people are waiting or how many have been affected. The Green victory in a Dover by-election looked like a surge. In fact, the party received only nine more votes than it had when it finished third in 2023\. [We examined how](https://www.kentcurrent.news/nine-more-green-votes-were-enough-to-take-a-tory-seat-in-dover/) the collapse of the Conservative vote, Reform’s arrival and Restore’s first Kent campaign changed everything around an almost unchanged Green total. And Kent is regularly visible on cinema screens without looking like Kent at all. Brands Hatch becomes Monza, Dover Castle becomes Sokovia, and Chatham Dockyard can apparently be anywhere provided it happened sufficiently long ago. [We looked at](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kents-greatest-screen-role-is-pretending-not-to-be-kent/) the films that use the county as a flexible backdrop, and the much smaller number that allow it to play itself. ### How did a masked far-right mob block Dover for hours without a single arrest? For several hours on Saturday morning, a masked far-right mob effectively took control of the roads around Dover. They blocked traffic around the country’s busiest ferry port, caused miles of queues and marched through the town dressed largely in black and wearing balaclavas. By lunchtime, they had dispersed, and traffic slowly returned to normal. Kent Police made no arrests. More remarkably, the force says it does not currently believe much of what happened amounted to a criminal offence. Assistant Chief Constable Nigel Brookes told the *Kent Current* that “the only associated offence we are investigating is criminal damage to a road.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/09/Screenshot-2026-09-07-at-13.18.29-2-1.png) A spontaneous, non-criminal protest. Kent Police has defended its handling of Saturday’s disruption, saying officers acted proportionately and that it must distinguish between behaviour that is objectionable or disruptive and behaviour that actually constitutes an offence. It is also sticking with its description of the event as “spontaneous”, although it has now said it will examine the intelligence process that preceded it. That description is becoming rather harder to explain. Evidence seen by the *Kent Current* shows that people connected with Saturday’s action had already gathered overnight in a village around half an hour from Dover. Their vehicles filled a village hall car park, were left on a recreation ground and spilt onto surrounding roads, attracting the attention of residents hours before the Dover blockade began. The action itself started early on Saturday morning. Kent Police puts the number involved at approximately 200, although other estimates place it higher. Many were dressed almost uniformly in black, with balaclavas obscuring their faces. Groups blocked roads around the Port of Dover, including the A20, bringing traffic to a halt. [National reporting described several miles of congestion](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cew9dq9we5eo?ref=kentcurrent.news), while ferry passengers faced delays and Dover parkrun was cancelled. The group later marched through the town chanting “stop the boats” and “whose streets? our streets”, accompanied by police officers. Kent Police’s initial public response was that officers were at the scene and “engaging” with those involved. Brookes said the force was “of course disappointed with the significant traffic disruption for several hours on Saturday morning in Dover”, but stressed that police must apply the law regardless of what those involved believe. “We will always support people’s right to peaceful protest, and we will always seek to police proportionately, fairly, and reasonably,” he said. “We do not take account of why people are protesting, or the rights, wrongs, or reasonableness of that as that is not a matter for the police.” The question for Kent Police is not why it failed to arrest people because they hold far-right views. It is why people were apparently able to block roads around Dover for several hours without their conduct crossing the threshold for arrest. Brookes said the right to peaceful protest was an important part of democracy but was not unlimited. If offences were committed, lawful police conditions were breached, or disruption crossed the legal threshold, he said, the force would act. Kent Police’s position is that, on Saturday, it apparently did not. There is also the question of just how spontaneous the whole thing really was. The action has been linked to [Patriot Platform](https://hopenothate.org.uk/2026/09/05/patriot-platforms-masked-members-march-on-dover/?ref=kentcurrent.news), a recently formed far-right network led by Daniel Thomas, better known as Danny Tommo. Thomas had indicated publicly in the days beforehand that some form of action was coming, while the organisation has subsequently presented what happened in Dover as its work. Residents of Preston, around 15 miles from Dover, began reporting an unusual influx of people and vehicles on Friday night. One resident described driving down Mill Lane at around 10pm and seeing “a lot of blokes” around the village school and a nearby van business. By Saturday morning, the gathering was disrupting the village. “Can whoever is housing all the people that arrived overnight ask them to remove their cars from around the village immediately?” one resident wrote in a local Facebook group. “They have filled the hall car park and have stuck cars on the rec, and we have the village breakfast this morning.” As events unfolded in Dover, residents began making the connection. Another wrote, “Seeing our village used for racists and xenophobes to gather makes me incredibly angry and sad.” None of that establishes what Kent Police knew on Friday night. A political mobilisation can be organised in advance without police knowing, and the force says it does not routinely monitor peaceful activists. But it does mean that a substantial number of people connected with Saturday’s action had travelled to Kent, gathered overnight and left enough vehicles behind to disrupt a village before appearing together in Dover the following morning. Kent Police says Saturday’s events “developed rapidly and, based on the information available to us at the time, was treated in-line with national guidance as spontaneous.” Brookes has now said the force will examine its intelligence process. There is an important distinction between monitoring people because of their political views and identifying preparations for a substantial mobilisation aimed at disrupting roads around critical national infrastructure. Quite how Saturday fell through that gap is now one of the questions facing the force. The absence of arrests raises another. Kent Police has previously taken a rather different approach when environmental activists blocked roads around exactly the same port. In September 2021, [Insulate Britain activists sat down on roads leading into and out of the Port of Dover](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/sep/24/port-of-dover-blocked-by-insulate-britain-activists?ref=kentcurrent.news). Kent Police arrested 39 people. The circumstances were not identical. Five years have passed, legislation has changed, and police decisions depend on precisely what individuals are doing rather than simply whether a road has been obstructed. Previous arrests do not mean everybody involved in a subsequent road blockade must automatically be arrested. But the contrast is striking. When climate campaigners blocked roads at the Port of Dover, Kent Police arrested 39 of them. On Saturday, at least 200 masked far-right activists caused what the force itself describes as “significant traffic disruption for several hours”, yet nobody was arrested and the only offence currently being investigated is damage to a road. We have asked Kent Police what was materially different about Saturday’s conduct that meant it did not cross the threshold for arrest, but have not received a response. There is a similar complication around the balaclavas. Simply covering your face in public is not a criminal offence, and Kent Police says the powers available to officers have specific statutory requirements that have to be met before they can be exercised. Brookes nevertheless offered a fairly pointed assessment of those who chose to hide their identities. “There is no need to wear a face covering in Kent, if your plan is to peacefully express your views,” he said. There is also a much older piece of public order legislation that may be relevant to the way Saturday’s group presented itself. [Section 1 of the Public Order Act 1936](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Edw8and1Geo6/1/6/section/1?ref=kentcurrent.news) makes it an offence in a public place or public meeting to wear a uniform signifying association with a political organisation or the promotion of a political object. The law was introduced in response to the political uniforms worn by fascist movements in the 1930s. That does not mean several hundred people wearing black and balaclavas automatically constituted an illegal political uniform. The legal test is considerably more specific than simply looking alike. But the strikingly uniform appearance of many of those involved raises a separate question about whether the legislation could have been relevant to Saturday’s mobilisation. The way the group presented itself was plainly part of the impact. Footage shows long lines of men in black, many with their faces concealed, physically occupying roads before moving together through Dover. It was an unusual sight even for a town that has repeatedly found itself turned into a backdrop for other people’s arguments about migration. Dover saw serious violence between far-right and anti-fascist groups in 2016\. Saturday appears to have been the largest far-right mobilisation in the town for years, although this time there was little of the open violence seen a decade ago. Instead, the tactic was disruption. A large group arrived with little warning to the authorities, concealed many of its members’ identities and stopped normal movement around the town for several hours. It worked. Patriot Platform has presented the action as a success and indicated that further mobilisations will follow. A day later, [another group of masked far-right activists appeared in Portsmouth](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/sep/06/far-right-protesters-descend-on-portsmouth-after-small-boat-arrival?ref=kentcurrent.news), where roads were again blocked. Kent Police says it now intends to identify and engage with people who attended in Dover to understand their future plans. Brookes said this would allow officers to support the right to peaceful protest while balancing it against the needs of the local community. By then, however, Saturday had already provided a fairly clear lesson. At least 200 people had assembled, many dressed alike and with their identities concealed, blocked roads around one of Britain’s most important ports for several hours and caused significant disruption across Dover. They then left without a single arrest. The group responsible says there will be more. Next time, they will know exactly how far they were able to go. ## ****Like what you’re reading?** Get independent reporting on the stories shaping Kent, delivered free to your inbox. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### In brief 🗳️ Breaking news as we publish: Plans to reorganise local government across Kent and Medway are being withdrawn, less than two months after ministers confirmed a new four-authority model for the county. The plan would have abolished Kent County Council, Medway Council and all 12 district and borough councils from April 2028, replacing them with new authorities covering North, East, Mid and West Kent. Those changes are now off, meaning existing councils will remain in place, and any previously scheduled local elections will go ahead next year. 🌳 Cllr Sarah Hudson is no longer a member of the Conservative group at Kent County Council, although she says she continues to sit as a Conservative councillor. Hudson told the *Kent Current* the move was for “personal reasons.” The group’s leader, [Harry Rayner](https://www.kentcurrent.news/nobody-needs-14-councils/), confirmed that she had left but said he had “nothing further to add at this point.” All very intriguing. 📄 Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council have been instructed by the government to [proceed with a consultation](https://www.tmbc.gov.uk/news/article/218/local-plan-to-proceed-following-government-intervention?ref=kentcurrent.news) on the authority's Local Plan. It comes after the full council voted not to proceed with the plan last week. 🏘️ Residents in Hythe have [told KentOnline](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/hythe/news/people-enjoy-living-here-but-this-will-destroy-our-neighb-344723/?ref=kentcurrent.news) that replacing derelict garages with five new homes will 'destroy' their neighbourhood. Yes, really. 🎟️ Canterbury City Council is [demanding priority access](https://news.canterbury.gov.uk/news/main-item/council-calls-for-bayeux-tapestry-priority-booking-for-district-residents/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to the Bayeux Tapestry for its residents. 💷 A bit of a whoopsie for Gravesham Borough Council, which accidentally [underpaid HMRC £320,000](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/gravesend/news/council-admits-320k-tax-underpayment-over-panto-tickets-and-344732/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in VAT on theatre ticket sales. 🎭 Meanwhile, Sevenoaks Town Council want to [purchase the Stag Theatre](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp30nz7x3kdo?ref=kentcurrent.news) from Sevenoaks District Council. Fingers crossed they understand how VAT works. 🧁 Maidstone Borough Council has bowed to the Big Cake Shed Industry and offered a [cheaper and simpler licensing system](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/this-is-much-better-delight-as-cake-shed-crackdown-lifted-344737/?ref=kentcurrent.news) for people running cake businesses in their gardens. 🚛 Ashford International Truckstop has been named the [best truckstop of the year](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y4g660731o?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🦡 Kent Police have discovered suspected drugs [hidden inside a badger set](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj06zjg1e28o?ref=kentcurrent.news), raising serious questions about the rise of organised badger crime. 🐦‍⬛ Choughs have been [born in the wild](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm2regzg54po?ref=kentcurrent.news) for the first time since being reintroduced to Kent in 2023. ⚽ Ebbsfleet United have finally had their [suspension from the National League lifted](https://www.thenonleaguefootballpaper.com/latest-news/623421/ebbsfleet-united-given-green-light-to-start-their-season-as-suspension-is-lifted/?ref=kentcurrent.news), so they were able to start their season over the weekend. 🏟️ Folkestone Invicta Football Club have announced [ambitious new stadium plans](https://folkestonedispatch.substack.com/p/invicta-reveal-ambitious-stadium). ### Council matters **Meetings this week:** - **Dover:** [Cabinet](https://moderngov.dover.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=121&MId=5517&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets tonight (Monday) to talk about social housing, car parking, finances, and more. - **Gravesham:** [Cabinet](https://democracy.gravesham.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=149&MId=9632&ref=kentcurrent.news) will discuss finances and corporate vulnerability tonight (Monday). - **Kent:** [Devolution and Local Government Re-organisation Cabinet Committee](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=979&MId=10084&ref=kentcurrent.news) will meet on Tuesday to discuss KCC's response to the government's plan to break Kent into four and establish a Foundational Strategic Authority. - **Kent:** [Kent and Medway Police and Crime Pane](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk:9071/ieListDocuments.aspx?MId=10020&x=1&&ref=localauthority.news)l will question Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Scott on Thursday. - **Ashford:** [Cabinet](https://ashford.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=136&MId=5093&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Thursday to discuss pedestrian access to Park Mall car park, a parking strategy, and the Local Plan. **New planning applications:** - Construction of [15 homes](https://pa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=TJYELGTYL2I00&ref=kentcurrent.news) on Borden Lane in Sittingbourne. ### Property of the week This is Kearnsey House in Faversham, a substantial Victorian home that has somehow managed to avoid the fate of being painted entirely white. Original fireplaces, high ceilings, bay windows and ornate plasterwork are all still here, but the current owners have also filled the house with bold colours and enough personality that every room feels slightly different from the last. There are five bedrooms, a recently updated kitchen, a generous walled garden and even the option of reinstating the original driveway. It is a reminder that period homes can have plenty of character before you even start counting the architectural features. [Check out this 5 bedroom end of terrace house for sale on Rightmove5 bedroom end of terrace house for sale in Kearnsey House, Canterbury Road, Faversham, ME13 for £780,000\. Marketed by Foundation Estate Agents, Faversham![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/favicon-f54e9cd8-24d5-45b8-810f-40457a840466.ico)Rightmove.co.uk![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/10970a7d8019185ca98891ff1bd8d1bf-0e66ed57-c471-432d-9064-1af0c3fdb30e.jpeg)](https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/92765001?ref=kentcurrent.news#/) ### Events this week 🎤 Thu 10 Sep - [**John Kearns: Tilting at Windmills**](https://trinitytheatre.net/events/john-kearns-tilting-at-windmills/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Comedian portrays his life, books he hasn't read, and VAT. Trinity Theatre, Tunbridge Wells. Tickets £27\. *Also at* [*Gulbenkian Theatre*](https://thegulbenkian.co.uk/events/john-kearns-tilting-at-windmills/?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, Canterbury on 16 Sep, and* [*Faversham Assembly Rooms*](https://thealex.org.uk/event/john-kearns-tilting-at-windmills/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *on 9 Oct.* 🔊 10 - 13 Sep - [**Ramsgate Festival of Sound**](https://www.ramsgatefestival.org/programme?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Site-specific sound installations, experimental performances, films and live music, culminating with Eurovision electronic inventor Look Mum No Computer. Various locations, Ramsgate. Various prices. 🏛️ 11 - 20 Sep - [**Heritage Open Days**](https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Rare access to Kent sites including Dover’s sealed Western Heights tunnels, its former Marine Station, cathedral archives and historic lightship LV21\. Various locations. Free. 🎞️ 12 - 13 Sep - [**Prospect at Prospect Cottage**](https://www.creativefolkestone.org.uk/whats-on/prospect-at-prospect-cottage/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Previously unseen Derek Jarman footage is shown inside a part of his Dungeness home rarely opened to visitors, alongside a guided cottage tour. Prospect Cottage, Dungeness. Tickets £22. 📜 Sun 13 Sep - [**Jessica Rose: Gold**](https://www.ticketsource.com/avenuetheatre/gold-jessica-rose-poetry/e-djvkrr?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Award-winning spoken word artist returns to the stage with a collection of new work. Avenue Theatre, Sittingbourne. Tickets £12. ## ****Enjoyed this? There’s more where it came from.** Join readers across Kent receiving our independent reporting on the stories shaping the county, straight to their inbox. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### **Footnotes** Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via **hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance… Follow us elsewhere: [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews), [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news), [BlueSky](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news), and now [WhatsApp](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news) for new story alerts. ### Kent’s greatest screen role is pretending not to be Kent URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/kents-greatest-screen-role-is-pretending-not-to-be-kent/ Last updated: 2026-09-06T06:00:21.000Z At the most dramatic point in last year’s [*F1*](https://kentfilmoffice.co.uk/filmed-in-kent/2025/06/f1-the-movie-2025/?ref=kentcurrent.news) film, Brad Pitt crashes at the Italian Grand Prix. Except he was actually in West Kingsdown. The scene was filmed at Brands Hatch, the Kent circuit which hosted real Formula One races but was asked to become Monza, its better-known Italian counterpart. The production brought in the right flags, found the right camera angles and let the film do the rest. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/09/image-1.png) Kent. Or Italy. Kent has built a substantial screen career on this arrangement. Dover Castle became a secret base in the fictional Eastern European state of Sokovia for *Avengers: Age of Ultron*. The [Historic Dockyard Chatham](https://kentfilmoffice.co.uk/filmed-in-kent/tag/the-historic-dockyard-chatham-2/?ref=kentcurrent.news) has become Revolutionary France, Victorian London and a long list of unnamed historic places in need of cobbles, ropeworks and a prison yard. [Knole](https://kentfilmoffice.co.uk/filmed-in-kent/tag/knole/?ref=kentcurrent.news) appeared in *Pirates of the Caribbean*. The Thanet coast has supplied the period scenery for *The Electrical Life of Louis Wain*. The county has old streets, forts, country houses, industrial buildings, racing circuits, coast, estuaries and marshes. It is close to London, so a production can find a battlefield, a prison, a stately home or a continent without moving the unit very far. The [Kent Film Office](https://kentfilmoffice.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) now lists more than 1,000 locations. That explains the volume of work, but it also points to a slightly strange local achievement. Kent appears in some enormous films. The county’s reward is usually an eagle-eyed viewer noticing a familiar building in the background while the plot insists it is somewhere else. Location work is a form of selective vision. The camera takes what it needs. A Victorian terrace can be detached from the town around it. A castle can be cut free from the white cliffs. A racing circuit can lose its county, then acquire another country. The more useful a location is, the less likely it is to be allowed to keep its identity. There is no great injustice in this. A location is often chosen precisely because it does not arrive with too much baggage. Filmmakers want the substance of a place, not necessarily its name. Kent offers plenty of substance. Yet a few films have made the opposite choice. Kent is seen by millions of people on screen. They are rarely told where they are looking. ****Register for free** to see which films let the county keep its own name. [*A Canterbury Tale*](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/powell-pressburger-kent-locations-canterbury-tale?ref=kentcurrent.news), made by Powell and Pressburger in 1944, does not exactly advertise Kent as a restful destination. It is slow, strange and occasionally faintly sinister. A land girl, an American soldier and a British sergeant arrive in the fictional village of Chillingbourne, where someone has taken to pouring glue into women’s hair. Their journey ends at Canterbury Cathedral. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/09/image.png) Westgate Tower in A Canterbury Tale. Chillingbourne does not exist, but it is made from real Kent places. Fordwich, Selling, Wingham, Chilham and Canterbury appear, alongside the Cathedral. Powell grew up near Canterbury. The film was made during the war, after bombing had damaged parts of the city, and it pays close attention to the roads, railway stations and fields through which its characters travel. The fictional name is part of the film’s oddness. Chillingbourne is not an attempt to hide where it is. It is a composite village, assembled from places the directors knew well. The story is free to invent a glue man and a magistrate with a grand theory of English history, but its landscape has to feel real. A village near Canterbury could have been represented with a studio set and a few trees. The film would have been neater and much less interesting. Instead, the landscape keeps interrupting. There are long walks, a field of hay, small lanes, a railway line, a village hall and the sound of bells in the distance. The trip to Canterbury is the subject of the film, not the bit between its plot points. The Cathedral is more than a landmark saved for the last reel. It is the reason the characters are there. The past hangs around them, sometimes a little heavily. A local magistrate lectures on Kent’s history while a war is underway. An American soldier is introduced to a county that believes it has been here for a very long time and has no plans to become modest about it. Few British films are this interested in a county. Even fewer make the journey from a village near Canterbury to the Cathedral feel like an adventure. Andrea Arnold’s [*Bird*](https://kentfilmoffice.co.uk/filmed-in-kent/2024/11/bird-2024/?ref=kentcurrent.news), released in 2024, takes a very different route through Kent. It is set in north Kent and filmed around Gravesend, Northfleet, Dartford, Leysdown and the Kingsferry Bridge. Its world is estates, footbridges, roads, waste ground and the less photogenic edges of towns. The countryside is close by, but so are the pylons and the traffic. Arnold has no interest in showing off the county. That is partly what makes the setting work. The roads, homes and views across the estuary are not offered up as local colour. They are simply where the characters live. The film does not speak for north Kent, and it would be unreasonable to ask it to. It gives the area a specificity that most films avoid. The action is not shifted to a made up town outside London. Kent is named. Its mixture of open land, dense housing and industrial infrastructure shapes the film’s mood. This Kent barely features in the county’s best known screen image. That image has a castle, a cliff, a country house or a beach where someone in a historical drama can look troubled while walking into the wind. *Bird* has a rougher, denser setting. A child can cross from an estate to scrubland in a few minutes. It is not only a question of class or scenery. The Kent in *Bird* has an internal geography. The characters move through familiar routes and half-finished spaces. The place has its own scale. It is neither London nor an anonymous provincial town, even where the film leaves the exact location unsaid. [*Empire of Light*](https://kentfilmoffice.co.uk/filmed-in-kent/tag/broadstairs/?ref=kentcurrent.news) sits between those two approaches. Sam Mendes used Margate and nearby places extensively: Dreamland, Arlington House, the station, Broadstairs, Manston and the East Kent Railway all made it into the film. The art-deco frontage at Dreamland became its central cinema setting. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/09/010351-dreamland_as_the_empire-001-1536x638.jpg) Dreamland and Arlington House in Empire of Light. Margate is visible throughout, but it is not quite Margate. The film takes place in an unnamed south coast town in the early 1980s. Anyone who knows the area can see where it was made. Everyone else sees a promenade, an amusement park, a long beach and faded grandeur. Calling it Margate would have changed the film. The name brings its own history, with the town’s shifting fortunes, the Turner Contemporary, the argument about art and regeneration, the uneasy relationship between a seaside resort and its visitors. An unnamed south-coast town can take the architecture and the sea while making up the rest. This is the advantage and cost of Kent’s screen versatility. A place gains a second life, but gives up control of the story. Margate can be borrowed for a drama about cinema and loneliness. Chatham can become the past. Brands Hatch can become Italy. The audience gets the atmosphere, but Kent remains in the background. The wider filmography shows the range. [*Mr Turner*](https://kentfilmoffice.co.uk/filmed-in-kent/2014/10/mr-turner-2014/?ref=kentcurrent.news) used the Medway and Stangate Creek, while the Dockyard stood in for a vessel on the Thames. Jason Statham’s [*The Beekeeper*](https://kentfilmoffice.co.uk/filmed-in-kent/2024/01/the-beekeeper-2024/?ref=kentcurrent.news) used Castle Farm and the Kingsferry Bridge. Wes Anderson made his [Roald Dahl short films](https://kentfilmoffice.co.uk/filmed-in-kent/2023/09/the-wonderful-story-of-henry-sugar-2023/?ref=kentcurrent.news) largely at Maidstone Studios. There is a satisfying absurdity to the list. The same county has served Brad Pitt in a racing film, Marvel superheroes, Dickens adaptations, Wes Anderson’s formal little worlds and Andrea Arnold’s north Kent estates. A place that can supply all of those things is hard to reduce to a single film image. Most counties would be grateful for one famous location. Kent has too many competing versions of itself. Chatham’s industrial history is as useful to a filmmaker as a castle in Dover or a beach in Thanet. Marshes can look timeless until a pylon enters the frame. A camera pointed twenty degrees in another direction can turn a well-known place into a foreign city. Kent will keep making a good stand in. It can become 19th-century London because it has not been too tidied up. Dover can become Sokovia because a fortress with tunnels looks more convincing than a studio set. Brands Hatch can become Monza because an audience only needs to believe the image for a few seconds. None of this diminishes the pleasure of spotting somewhere familiar in a blockbuster. A recognisable road, building or stretch of coast can be more memorable than the scene it appears in. But *A Canterbury Tale* and *Bird* offer a rarer deal. They do not ask Kent to be interchangeable. One finds a county full of wartime pilgrims, old stories and stubborn local history. The other finds estates, scrubland and the difficult edges of north Kent. Both would lose something important if they were moved elsewhere. At the Italian Grand Prix in *F1*, Brad Pitt is crashing at Brands Hatch. Kent has become very good at that sort of deception. But it's more interesting screen life exists when the name stays in the script. ### Right to Choose stops feeling like a choice URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/right-to-choose-stops-feeling-like-a-choice/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T17:00:19.000Z **NHS Kent and Medway spent £28.9m on autism and ADHD assessments last year against a £5.3m budget. It has now tightened activity across providers, but cannot say how many Right to Choose patients are waiting or how many have been affected by the changes. We look at how spending ran so far ahead of budget, what the NHS is doing about it, and what that means for patients left without any certainty about when they will be assessed.* ### Autism and ADHD assessments tightened without knowing how many patients are affected Earlier this year, James thought he might finally be getting somewhere. He had struggled with his mental health for decades, while treatment for depression and anxiety had never really worked. When his GP suggested he might instead have autism or ADHD, an assessment offered the possibility of something he had not had for a long time: a different answer, and perhaps a different way of getting better. “Suddenly I saw there was a new path available,” he told the *Kent Current*. We are calling him James and have withheld identifying details at his request. He completed screening questionnaires with Psicon, one of the independent providers carrying out NHS assessments under the Right to Choose system. Then, in July, an email arrived telling patients in Kent and Medway that new NHS commissioning arrangements meant it could no longer progress all routine Right to Choose autism and ADHD assessments, with routine activity not expected to resume before April 2027. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/09/KC_queue-1.jpg) “After completing the screening, I felt positive. Probably the most optimistic I had felt in a long time, thinking that I might be finally getting somewhere,” James said. “The email seemingly came out of nowhere and sideswiped me.” Behind that email was a much bigger financial problem. NHS Kent and Medway spent £28.9m on autism and ADHD assessment services in 2025/26, against a budget of £5.3m. The year before, expenditure had been £5.9m. The integrated care board, which plans and pays for NHS services across Kent and Medway, says the increase was driven by a significant and sustained rise in demand across both traditional NHS pathways and Right to Choose. The latter added particular complexity because assessments were being delivered across a wider and changing provider market. The jump is still extraordinary. In a single year, spending rose by £23m and ended up at more than five times the budget. The ICB’s response has been to introduce provider-by-provider plans, setting expected levels of activity and financial envelopes for the current year. Providers are then expected to prioritise those with the highest clinical, safeguarding, educational, social care or vulnerability-related needs within the capacity available. The problem is that the ICB cannot tell us very much about what that £28.9m actually bought. It does not hold a validated dataset that consistently distinguishes between routine assessments, prioritised assessments and escalated activity across all providers during 2025/26\. It cannot say how many routine assessments will take place this year, how many Kent and Medway patients are currently waiting through Right to Choose, or how many have seen the timing of their assessment change as a result of the new arrangements. What it can say is that getting a more robust understanding of waiting list demand, waiting times and patient groups is now a priority for 2026/27. Which is not especially reassuring after spending nearly £30m on the service in 2025/26. The ICB is keen to stress that routine assessments have not simply stopped. “The 2026/27 arrangements do not stop routine ADHD or autism assessments,” it told us. Providers are instead expected to work within their individual activity plans and prioritise those judged to have the greatest need. It also says the arrangements are “not presented as a complete solution” to the underlying demand and capacity problem, describing them instead as “immediate commissioning arrangements” intended to manage clinical, quality, equity and financial risk while a longer-term all-age pathway is developed. Psicon’s correspondence with James shows why that distinction may not feel especially meaningful from the patient side. The provider has confirmed that his screening indicated enough evidence to proceed to a full assessment and added him to its waiting list. It told him that it still aimed to see patients within nine to 12 months, but that this could no longer be guaranteed because waiting times would now depend on each ICB’s agreed activity levels. James has therefore been accepted for assessment without anyone being able to tell him with confidence when that assessment will actually happen. There is also a noticeable difference between how the changes were initially communicated to patients and how the ICB now describes them. Psicon told patients in July that it could not progress all routine assessments and that routine activity was not expected to resume before April 2027\. The ICB says routine assessments have not stopped, only that providers must operate within the new limits, and says no decision has yet been made about what happens from next April. The *Kent Current* asked Psicon how many Kent and Medway patients were affected, how much assessment activity it had been permitted to carry out this year and whether it expected routine activity to increase again from April 2027\. It did not respond to those questions. ****To keep reading, register for free.** The rest of this story looks at how Kent and Medway’s autism and ADHD assessment system ended up £23.6m over budget, what the ICB knew about the growing problem, and why it still cannot say how many patients are waiting or what happens next year. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Nine more Green votes were enough to take a Tory seat in Dover URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/nine-more-green-votes-were-enough-to-take-a-tory-seat-in-dover/ Last updated: 2026-09-07T08:24:07.000Z **Nine additional Green votes were enough to turn third place in 2023 into victory in a Dover by-election last week, as Reform and Restore helped reshape the vote around them. Elsewhere, County Hall has mysteriously appeared as a potential housing site, KCC’s communications deputy complains nobody communicated with him, Canterbury faces an unlikely threat to its city status, and Ebbsfleet United face more trouble.* ### Catch up With our week off from the news cycle last week, this Catch Up contains no council rows, planning documents or alarming spreadsheets. Instead, there is one big question and two interviews. With County Hall losing much of its power, we asked where Kent’s real centre might be instead. Maidstone has the paperwork, Canterbury the cathedral, Rochester the castle and Bluewater the car parks, but none has an uncontested claim. [The essay prompted a lively response](https://www.kentcurrent.news/where-is-the-real-heart-of-kent/), much of it from readers confidently nominating entirely different places, which rather proved the point. One possible answer is wherever people still choose to gather. Steven spoke to Martin Latham, who opened Waterstones Canterbury and spent more than three decades in bookselling, about bookshops as public spaces, readers’ pleasing refusal to behave like algorithms and the day Umberto Eco quietly worked in the basement. [Read their conversation here](https://www.kentcurrent.news/publishers-and-booksellers-underestimate-the-public/). Steven also met Sam Cox, better known as Mr Doodle, whose work has expanded from university murals to sculptures, a documentary and an extensively redecorated family home. [They discussed](https://www.kentcurrent.news/its-a-mammoth-sized-project-that-is-only-one-per-cent-complete/) turning doodling into a family business, balancing it with fatherhood and his attempt to produce one million doodles, a mammoth project currently just 1% complete. ### Nine more Green votes were enough to take a Tory seat in Dover Local elections are not controlled experiments. Even so, the numbers from Thursday’s Guston, Kingsdown and St Margaret’s-at-Cliffe by-election are striking. At the 2023 district election, the ward’s Green candidate received 758 votes and finished behind two Conservatives. Last week, Green candidate Ingrid Dodd received 767 votes and won. Nine additional Green votes were enough to turn third place into victory and make Dodd the first Green councillor in Dover District Council’s history. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/09/Screenshot-2026-09-01-at-13.17.34.png) Green Party activists celebrate with Ingrid Dodd (right) following the result. The difference was everything happening around her. Reform’s James Defriend came within 34 votes of winning, while the Conservatives fell to third in a ward where the Conservatives secured both seats in 2023\. Restore Britain took another 284 votes, giving the three parties on the right 1,473 votes between them. Votes do not transfer tidily between parties, whatever losing candidates and spreadsheet enthusiasts might wish. Not everyone who supported Restore would necessarily have voted Reform, nor would every Reform voter have returned to the Conservatives. But it is difficult to escape the central fact of this result: the right divided and the Greens came through the middle. The Green vote share rose by 2.7%, while the Conservative share fell by 16%. Comparisons with 2023 are not exact because that was a two-seat election in which voters could support two candidates, but the direction is clear enough. ****Guston, Kingsdown and St Margaret’s-at-Cliffe by-election result** 🟢 Ingrid Dodd (Green) - 767 - Elected ➡️ James Defriend (Reform) - 733 🌳 David Hawkes (Conservative) - 456 🌹 Steve Wisbey (Labour) - 389 🏰 Jez Hermer (Restore) - 284 ⚪ Graham Wanstall (Independent) - 35 Dodd’s immediate reaction was restrained. “I am delighted to represent the people in my local area on Dover District Council,” she said. “I thank them for their trust, and I will do my utmost to deserve it.” Defriend had announced as polls closed that he would not attend the count because he had his three children that evening. He said he hoped nobody would interpret his absence as arrogance or an assumption that he had won. “Me being there won’t change the result,” he wrote. “Being a good dad is more important to me than being a good politician.” The following day, he congratulated Dodd and said he was proud of the campaign Reform had run. He thanked the 733 people who supported him and promised to continue “working hard, staying visible and doing everything I can for our communities.” Restore Britain was considerably more jubilant about finishing fifth. Its Dover and Deal branch described 10.6% as the party’s best by-election result so far, particularly given that it was only six months old. The branch thanked campaigners who had travelled to the ward, with a special mention for one volunteer who it said had been bitten while delivering a leaflet. No further details were offered about the assailant, their species or their political affiliation. Independent candidate Graham Wanstall had no doubts about the result. “Restore standing let the Greens in as I expected,” he wrote. Wanstall, who has stood in ten elections across 40 years, claimed he had never seen so much attention given to a local by-election. He said Reform, Restore and the Greens had delivered repeated leaflets and brought canvassers into the ward from across England. His own campaign was somewhat more analogue. At least 300 residents, he reported, now possessed a postcard bearing a pleasant photograph which he had distributed as his calling card. Labour’s Steve Wisbey took a philosophical approach to fourth place. “Today is not our day,” he said. “But there are lots more days to come.” In the end, this looked less like a Green surge than a rearrangement of the political field around a remarkably steady Green vote. Dodd takes the party onto Dover District Council for the first time, Reform has shown it can come within touching distance of winning here, Restore has a result it can present as progress, and Labour and the Conservatives have rather more difficult numbers to explain. A margin of 34 votes settles who won, but not which way the ward is heading. But for now, the Greens have the seat. ***Why Kent Current was not at the count*** *Regular readers will know that we ordinarily report from by-election counts. We have attended them across Kent without difficulty, but Dover District Council did not respond to our repeated requests for press accreditation, and we were therefore unable to attend this one.* *The BBC and KentOnline were admitted, so this was not a general exclusion of the press.* *After we raised the matter with the leader of the council the day after the election, the press office responded around an hour later. It apologised and said our earlier messages had been caught by the council’s email filters and had not reached their inbox.* *The council said it had reported the problem to its IT team and would take immediate steps to prevent it happening again.* *That means this account is based on the official declaration and the candidates’ subsequent public statements, rather than our own observations and interviews from inside the count. We don't usually need to make this distinction, but readers deserve to know.* ### Who put County Hall forward for housing? Kent County Council's headquarters, Sessions House, has appeared in Maidstone Borough Council’s Call for Sites as a potential housing site. Who put it there is less clear. The exercise is an early part of writing the borough’s next Local Plan, which will guide development for the next 15 to 20 years. It allows landowners, developers and others to suggest sites that might be useful one day. Inclusion does not mean anything has been approved. The Sessions House [entry](https://maidstone.oc2.uk/form/1736?ref=kentcurrent.news) selects 'Housing (of any type).' It suggests no number of homes and leaves the mixed-use box blank. The *Kent Current* asked Kent County Council who submitted the form, whether a planning consultant was involved, which parts of the site are no longer required and what future uses are being considered. Its reply did not answer those questions. Instead, KCC told the *Current* that Sessions House will remain its strategic headquarters “for the foreseeable future.” It said parts of the building are not currently needed for its operations, and that KCC or its successor will need flexibility over how it is used in the coming decades. It also described Sessions House as being identified for “mixed uses” in the Local Plan, despite the registered form only showing housing as a potential use. None of this amounts to a housing scheme, let alone a decision to sell. What it leaves is a public form proposing housing at Sessions House, no confirmed submitter, and a council response that talks about mixed use instead. For an exercise intended to keep the options open, it has explained remarkably little. ### The communications deputy who wasn’t told Emails seen by the *Kent Current* show Kent County Council’s deputy responsible for communications complaining that his own administration had failed to tell him about a scheme in his division. The exchange began when KCC’s communications team sent all 81 county councillors a press release on Friday afternoon. [It announced £150,000 of improvements](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/improvement-works-to-begin-on-colonel-stephens-greenway-in-tenterden?ref=kentcurrent.news) to the Colonel Stephens Greenway in Tenterden, including the resurfacing of 650 metres of the walking and cycling route. Work is expected to begin in October. “This has been sent to all Members,” the covering email helpfully confirmed. Unfortunately, that was slightly too late for Cllr Wayne Chapman. Chapman is the county councillor for Tenterden. He is also Deputy Cabinet Member for Communications and Engagement in the Reform administration running Kent County Council. “Shame that myself as the KCC Member for the Tenterden Division has not been contacted and kept informed about this scheme,” Chapman wrote in a reply sent to all councillors. He asked for the failure to be investigated and requested all the information about the project so he could “get up to speed” before the media release caught him out if residents approached him. On the positive side, he added, the scheme appeared to be “a fantastic improvement that will be enjoyed by so many.” The release said KCC had worked closely with Tenterden Town Council, Ashford Borough Council and community groups to develop the project. It included a quote from Spencer Dixon, the Deputy Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport. Somewhere during all that close working, nobody appears to have thought to tell the councillor representing Tenterden, despite him also being the administration’s deputy responsible for communications. Having used the council-wide email list to raise this communications failure, Chapman then encountered another one. “Did we all need to receive this?” one councillor replied. “Does the Cabinet Member not keep you informed?” Another councillor agreed that members should be told about developments in their divisions, but suggested Reform had not always extended the same courtesy to others. They cited a bus issue that had been resolved without the local councillor being informed, despite them having asked to attend a meeting and prepared an alternative proposal. Perhaps, the councillor suggested, Chapman and his Reform colleagues could reflect on that before asking others for greater courtesy. A press release about an improved cycle path had therefore become a council-wide discussion about Reform’s internal communications, its communications deputy not being communicated with and whether any of this needed to be communicated to everybody else. ## ****Like what you’re reading?** Get independent reporting on the stories shaping Kent, delivered free to your inbox. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### In brief 🎱 *Southborough News* has been [talking to users](https://southborough-news.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news) of a Tunbridge Wells snooker club facing demolition. 🎓 The University of Kent has [improved its finances](https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/kent-finances-improve-despite-near-ps10-million-drop-fee-income?ref=kentcurrent.news) by £10m following deep cuts. ⛪ Last Kent city standing, Canterbury, [could lose its city status](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2026/08/31/winchester-and-canterbury-risk-losing-city-status/?ref=kentcurrent.news) as part of local government reorganisation. 🚖 Swale Borough Council has asked taxi drivers to [remove poppies](https://www.phtm.co.uk/news/9178/phtm-news/swale-council-orders-icars-to-remove-remembrance-poppies-and-stickers-from-vehicles?ref=kentcurrent.news) from their vehicles. 🌳 Katie Lam, the Conservative MP for Weald of Kent, [has been appointed](https://www.instagram.com/p/DctzRyoisZI?ref=kentcurrent.news) Shadow Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary. 🌹 *Canterbury Tales* have interviewed Kent county councillor and Lord Mayor of Canterbury, [Alister Brady](https://canterburytalesnews.substack.com/p/the-least-i-can-do-is-sweat-a-bit). 🛫 Kent-born far-right grifter Milo Yiannopoulos has been [deported from the US](https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/far-right-commentator-milo-yiannopoulos-deported-uk-2026-08-29/?ref=kentcurrent.news) back to the UK. 🛞 Kent is lacking [nearly 1,300](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/they-have-nowhere-to-go-kent-faces-shortage-of-1-272-trav-344448/?ref=kentcurrent.news) traveller pitches. 🪏 A fascinating look at a [tunnelling operation](https://www.autonocion.com/us/german-machine-caroline-thames-flint/?ref=kentcurrent.news) under the Thames. ⚽ Ebbsfleet United are [facing expulsion](https://www.thenonleaguefootballpaper.com/latest-news/step-2/national-league-north-and-south/national-league-south/622838/banned-crisis-club-may-face-explusion/?ref=kentcurrent.news) from the National League over ongoing financial issues. 🪧 Maidstone Market [might survive](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/glimmer-of-hope-for-town-s-under-threat-historic-market-344446/?ref=kentcurrent.news) a little longer. 🏖️ Three quarters of the very expensive Folkestone Shoreline properties [have been sold](https://folkestonedispatch.substack.com/p/developers-reveal-shoreline-sales), based on new figures revealed by the *Folkestone Dispatch*. 🐟 Papa's have [opened a new fish and chip restaurant](https://frymagazine.com/features/fish/papas-moves-south-with-opening-in-kent/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Ramsgate next to the giant Wetherspoon. 🍞 Docker Bakery have [opened an outlet](https://www.instagram.com/p/DcnkRhNtBBe/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Dover. 🛩️ If you looked up in the air last week, you might have seen [Sydney Sweeney on top of a plane](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj4jxry5nyyo?ref=kentcurrent.news). ### Council matters **Meetings this week:** - **Tonbridge & Malling:** [Cabinet](https://democracy.tmbc.gov.uk//ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=146&MId=6336&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets tonight (Tuesday) to talk about local government reorganisation, budgetary control, AI governance, and more. - **Folkestone & Hythe:** [Cabinet](https://folkestone-hythe.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=142&MId=5900&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Wednesday to discuss fraud, welfare, complaints, social housing, and more. - **Tonbridge & Malling:** [Council](https://democracy.tmbc.gov.uk//ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=126&MId=6727&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Thursday to consider the Local Plan. **New planning applications:** - **Dartford:** Use of former adventure golf course at Bluewater for [seasonal events](https://publicaccess.dartford.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=TJX9W4BQMH200&ref=kentcurrent.news). - **Folkestone & Hythe:** Installation of [statue](https://folkestonehythedc.my.site.com/PR3/s/planning-application/a1nbH00000iwl70QAA/260803fh?c%5F%5Fr=Arcus%5FBE%5FPublic%5FRegister&ref=kentcurrent.news) of Jimi Hendrix bassplayer Noel Redding. - **Maidstone:** Construction of [47 retirement bungalows](https://pa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=TJ8POHTYMP100&ref=kentcurrent.news) in Coxheath. ### Property of the week This is The Crown Inn at Stone in Oxney, although calling it a property is slightly underselling things. It is a former village pub with planning permission to become a five-bedroom house, plus a separate one-bedroom annexe, summer house, and new parking area. The old bar is even set to survive as a reception room, which feels only fair. There is a catch, though. The building needs significant restoration, so this is less a case of unpacking the removal van and more one for someone who enjoys a very ambitious project. If you've ever looked at a closed village pub and wondered what you would do with it, this is your chance. [Check out this 5 bedroom detached house for sale on Rightmove5 bedroom detached house for sale in Stone, Tenterden, Kent, TN30 for £450,000\. Marketed by Hobbs Parker Estate Agents, Tenterden![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/favicon-32bd2439-bb28-4153-9b00-293f83e8c7c0.ico)Rightmove.co.uk![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/e3292eed9521ec1c099041929791605c-3d722ef0-6c28-49a0-be90-23b2553ce5df.jpeg)](https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/92552529?ref=kentcurrent.news#/) ### Events this week 🎤 1 - 2 Sep - [**Nish Kumar: Tour Warm-Up**](https://dice.fm/event/eoxg5y-nish-kumar-tour-warm-up-1st-sep-where-else-margate-tickets?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Political comedian tries out his new show ahead of its national tour. Where Else?, Margate. Tickets £20. 🎸 Wed 2 Sep - [**Altered Images: Happy Birthday**](https://www.twforum.co.uk/events/2026-09-02-altered-images-playing-happy-birthday-in-full-the-forum?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Clare Grogan and the Scottish new-wave band perform their debut album Happy Birthday in full. Forum, Tunbridge Wells. Tickets £37. 🍺 5 - 6 Sep - [**Faversham Hop Festival**](https://www.favershamhopfestival.org/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Two days of live music, street food, parades, Morris dancing and family entertainment celebrating the town’s hop-growing history. Faversham town centre. Free. ## ****Enjoyed this? There’s more where it came from.** Join readers across Kent receiving our independent reporting on the stories shaping the county, straight to their inbox. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### **Footnotes** Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via **hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance… Follow us elsewhere: [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews), [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news), [BlueSky](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news), and now [WhatsApp](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news) for new story alerts. ### "Publishers and booksellers underestimate the public" URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/publishers-and-booksellers-underestimate-the-public/ Last updated: 2026-08-30T06:00:35.000Z *The Bookseller’s Tale by Martin Latham is part cultural history of bookselling, part love letter to books and part reluctant memoir of more than three decades spent behind the counter. Steven met the former manager of Waterstones Canterbury at his home to talk about why bookshops still matter, judging books by their covers, hiring staff through questions about werewolves and vampires, and the day Umberto Eco came to work in the basement.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/08/main-martin-latham.jpg) Martin Latham [Martin Latham](https://martinlatham.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) is a Canterbury-based writer, author of [*Kent’s Strangest Tales*](https://martinlatham.co.uk/portfolio/kents-strangest-tales?ref=kentcurrent.news) and [*The Bookseller’s Tale*](https://martinlatham.co.uk/portfolio/the-booksellers-tale?ref=kentcurrent.news), and a former weekly columnist for [*The Bookseller*](https://www.thebookseller.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news). For the eagle-eyed reader, there may be a theme emerging. Before becoming a full-time writer, Latham spent decades as a bookseller, opening and managing Waterstones in Canterbury. He has now retired from management, but still organises events at the store and is helping establish the [Folkestone Book Festival](https://www.creativefolkestone.org.uk/folkestone-book-festival/?ref=kentcurrent.news). Sitting at the kitchen table of his country home, he tells me: “I write about bookshops and how rumours of their death are greatly exaggerated.” > I think part of me still wants to be robbing from the rich and giving to the poor Fiction remains something he would like to try. A childhood novelisation of Robin Hood left a particular mark. “I think I wanted to be Robin Hood. I think part of me still wants to be robbing from the rich and giving to the poor.” From there, the conversation takes a detour into why Robin Hood seems to lack a single definitive literary text. “Why isn't there one? It's strange. TH White's done Arthur, so has Malory.” Born at home in Earls Court, he was the seventh of eight children. His father had left school at 14 before joining the army and rising to sergeant major, later working as a painter and decorator, gardener and undertaker. His parents met on the Arabian Peninsula during the Second World War. “She was posh, and he was cockney. The only place they were allowed to meet was in the Catholic canteen for some reason, which is a good advert for Catholicism.” His father converted to Catholicism and the children were raised in the faith. Books were everywhere at home. His mother was an avid reader, while every Saturday his father headed to the booksellers on Portobello Road and “bought so many books.” History took him through university and eventually into a doctorate on the Punjab. “All my life, all I wanted to do is travel, do crap jobs, then travel again.” The PhD also had another advantage: postponing a proper job. “I certainly didn't want an office job,” he says, and stretching the doctorate over several years “seemed a good way to carry on being an eternal student.” Bookselling finally provided something approaching a career in 1984, first in the independent sector and then in second-hand books in Cheltenham. When the Chelsea independent where he worked closed because of rising rent, he joined Waterstones in Kensington in 1988, where “people like Princess Diana were coming in.” Canterbury followed in 1990, when he opened the city’s Waterstones and became its sole manager. That arrangement lasted until a few years ago, “but now there are about four different managers with long, different abbreviated titles,” he comments dryly. Author events remain part of his life at the store, “which is what I love.” Interviewing writers, he says, was always one of the best parts of the job. One thing bookshops have genuinely improved is accessibility. “The fact they've got lifts. One of the few good things about moving from the old shop was that you could get disabled people up and down.” At the previous Canterbury store, wheelchair users sometimes had to be physically carried upstairs for events. Martin is also helping with this year’s Folkestone Book Festival, having become involved after an event with its director, novelist Sophie Haydock. His contribution includes helping with some of the historians appearing on the programme. [Tim Waterstone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim%5FWaterstone?ref=kentcurrent.news) was still heavily involved in the business when Martin worked at Kensington. “He hired and fired everyone.” On one occasion, that apparently included instructing the store to hire an Algerian man he had met on the London Underground. His previous shop in Cheltenham had already given him a sense of what Waterstones could be. It carried the complete 15-volume edition of Byron’s journals “under the biography table in case anyone wanted it,” two shelves on Saint Helena in the travel section and a large graphic novel collection. “That was an extraordinary shop. I liked this company.” When Tim Waterstone interviewed him for the Canterbury manager’s job, the competition was apparently fierce. “He said, ‘Everybody wants this shop. Why should I give it to you?’ And my answer was, and it’s slightly embarrassing to tell you this, ‘because I'll set Canterbury on fire.’” “He was quite a glorious eccentric. He'd been sacked from WH Smith for buying too many books. He was quite Keevil-esque.” Martin is referring here to this writer’s own book collection. You can never have too many books “I'm still in touch with him. He came to my farewell lunch.” Martin Latham spent decades inside bookshops, opening Waterstones Canterbury and helping turn it into the kind of place people could linger, browse, meet and discover something unexpected. ****Register for free** to keep reading about why he thinks bookshops should resist algorithms, the strange questions he asked job applicants, the day Umberto Eco worked in the basement, and what he would tell anyone thinking of opening a bookshop of their own. When it comes to stocking a bookshop, Martin is quite happy to judge a book by its cover. “I think that publishers like Faber have become too formulaic. They imitate other covers too much. Whatever the latest popular craze had been.” He prefers publishers who go “off-piste a bit” with their covers, including sprayed edges and “all the way they're jazzing up books, people love that.” Changes to familiar editions can provoke strong reactions. “I love seeing how angry sci-fi customers get if you change the format.” Particular disdain is reserved for “the film tie-in cover with some soon-to-be-forgotten micro-star on the cover, grinning, with a false beard.” Which, to be clear, he is right about. After a career in bookselling, he believes “that publishers and booksellers underestimate the public. Not just their eclecticism, but their discernment and their weirdness.” That unpredictability is why he worries about algorithms trying to reduce readers’ tastes to predictable choices. “They're not as algorithmic as Amazon, constantly telling you, you're like this, you must like that. You think, what the fuck, I'm onto something else.” Calling upon the spirit of Robin Hood, he was always happy to discount books that had been sitting around too long. “The MD agreed with that, if you haven't sold an art book for two years, sell it for whatever you can sell it for.” Martin still thinks booksellers should offer more random reductions on old stock, “rather than just matching online prices.” > Bookshops should be welcoming, child-friendly, and the best ones will survive Chairs were another point of principle. “I insisted on it. You need to relax.” He also installed a chessboard and, when that became so popular there was regularly a queue, “I put three chess boards on the top floor of Waterstones.” What Martin wanted to create was what he calls, “I think the pretentious phrase is [third space](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third%5Fplace?ref=kentcurrent.news).” The wider erosion of public space, particularly through library closures, clearly irritates him. “I think that's what the bookshop is about.” One customer would come into the Canterbury store on their lunch break, sit down and read, eventually working through an entire book. “Somehow this got in the Guardian, and I thought that was good, that people should lounge around more in bookshops. Bookshops should be welcoming, child-friendly, and the best ones will survive.” When it came to hiring staff, Martin took a leaf out of Tim Waterstone’s book. “There was a bloke painting the front of the shop, and he walked in and seemed more interesting than some of the people I was interviewing.” Martin invited him into the office and “he climbed through the window off the scaffolding.” He got the job and became one of the store’s best booksellers. Character mattered more to Martin than polished interview answers, so candidates might be asked who would win a fight in a pub car park between a werewolf and a vampire\*, or simply: “tell me about a book that changed your life.” Odd as the questions seemed, they had a purpose. “The reason I ask these crazy questions is because you get asked all sorts of things in a bookshop.” Over the years, Martin has been asked for everything from ordinary recommendations to a book proving the existence of God. “It's no good looking down your nose at somebody.” “We had one staff member who was quite pompous, and he corrected a customer who was buying philosophy books and wanted something by Nietzsche, and he corrected the customer on his pronunciation of the name. The customer was a tourist and patient, and when he handed over his cheque, his name was Nietzsche. It transpired that he was a relation, and he said, ‘I think I can tell you how to pronounce this name.’” For Martin, “reading is reading,” and he has little time for anyone dismissive of graphic novels or manga. If something encourages people of any age or ability to read, he is all for it. The manga section in particular always cheered him, with customers comparing series and swapping recommendations. At their best, he believes Waterstones shops “offer an experience and a haven” for customers. The café in Canterbury is regularly full of young people. “It's a meeting place. They're not just there to buy the book.” One person who did work at the store, if only for a day, was [Umberto Eco](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umberto%5FEco?ref=kentcurrent.news). “I tried to get him for an event and was told he would not do workshop events.” Martin contacted the publisher in Milan instead and was told that, while Eco was in Canterbury to receive an honorary degree from Kent, “he'd love to work a day in the bookshop, which he did in the basement. I've got the photo.” “He was great, and he sold *Travels in Hyperreality* to a customer, and I thought, 'You've got to tell this customer who you are,' and he just shook his head. Someone is out there, with a signed copy of a book personally sold to them.” Turning one of his own interview questions back on him, I ask whether he can name a book that changed his life. “Blimey, now you've put me on the spot.” After seeing *Lawrence of Arabia*, Martin became obsessed with the story and read *Seven Pillars of Wisdom*, drawn to the idea of the maverick and of extravagant travel. > To anyone out there who's having hell at work, follow your dream in the evenings *Kent’s Strangest Tales* emerged during a period at Waterstones that Martin describes as “bloody awful.” The company had been taken over by HMV, “who were barbarians in those days.” “I was so disillusioned and stressed, because I didn't want to leave Waterstones.” Whatever frustrations came from head office, the customers remained the reason to stay. “I wrote the book as a counterweight. To anyone out there who's having hell at work, follow your dream in the evenings.” The book is still selling, helped perhaps by the sort of encounters that fed Martin’s interest in Kent’s stranger corners. One customer walked into the old Canterbury store, looked at the Mind Body Spirit section and said: “‘I can feel it. This is the portal, isn't it?’ And I thought, yeah, why not? Quite possible.” “I believe in strange psychic experiences, and there's more things in heaven and earth. Pascal said the key thing is to make a decision, and he preferred atheists to the agnostics. I don't really know.” Asked whether certain authors should be cancelled, Martin begins cautiously. “I won't get into mentioning any individual authors,” while pointing out that “we sell *Mein Kampf*.” He then immediately starts mentioning individual authors. “Virginia Woolf was a virulent anti-Semite. I read some of her stuff. Read Dostoevsky's journals. He makes Hitler look like a lightweight.” For Martin, the principle is that a bookshop should be somewhere you can find almost anything. “Don't associate the bookseller with some of the shit that's on the shelf, but that's how you learn to preserve good, not evil.” What advice would Martin give someone hypothetically considering selling up and investing everything in an independent bookshop? “Well, first of all, contact someone called Kate Gunning at the [Booksellers Association](https://www.booksellers.org.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news), who runs a training course. It doesn't cost much, about how to do that and what the opening stock costs.” Martin has seriously considered opening a bookshop cinema. I think it could work. More broadly, he believes an independent shop needs to become a destination for events, reading groups, knitting groups, outreach and other community activity, “but without making yourself into a mug and doing things for nothing.” Even a small shop can attract authors. “Big authors will come to small shops because writers are all romantic about bookshops.” Martin has one final piece of advice for me, by which I mean the general reading public. “The rent will shaft you in the end if you go for the typical high street rent. There'll be a big bounce when you open, there'll be Christmas, and it'll feel great, but a rainy week in February, you'll think, what have I done?” --- #### Footnotes *\* “the answer depends on what time of day it is.”* *This interview has been edited for length and clarity.* *In our sister title, we previously interviewed bookseller* [*Patrick Fysh*](https://www.localauthority.news/we-were-very-keen-not-to-just-replicate/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *of Rochester's Store 104.* [“We were very keen not to just replicate something”What Steven asked Patrick Fysh, co-owner of independent bookshop Store 104![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/e0427958-7c7a-4313-89a6-4e4dee805f2a_256x256--2--a26422da-45e3-4687-b402-af112d554164.webp)Local AuthoritySteven Keevil![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/https_3a_2f_2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com_2fpublic_2fimages_2f9ae18e98-f861-4512-a320-d5b0337d4813_1200x800-af693c6d-6926-467a-8b24-14151b841fc8.jpg)](https://www.localauthority.news/we-were-very-keen-not-to-just-replicate/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *If you are a bookseller, or know somebody who is, who was born, lived or worked in Kent, and want to organise an interview, email* [*Steven*](mailto:steven@kentcurrent.news)*.* ### Where is the real heart of Kent? URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/where-is-the-real-heart-of-kent/ Last updated: 2026-09-04T16:36:44.000Z **Local government reorganisation will end Kent County Council and loosen Maidstone's long-held claim as the county's administrative capital. That raises a surprisingly difficult question: if Kent no longer has an obvious centre of power, where is the real heart of the county? Today we're stepping back from the daily news to explore a question that's been on my mind for months.* ### Where is the real heart of Kent? Kent is about to lose its capital. The awkward thing is that nobody can agree where it is anyway. For decades, Maidstone has made the best available case. County Hall sits there, the county council sits inside it, and a substantial share of the decisions affecting roads, schools, libraries, social care and everyone’s capacity for patience have flowed from it. Local government reorganisation changes that. County Hall will still be there, and Maidstone will still call itself the county town, but the institution that made it Kent’s default centre of power will not survive in the same form. So this is not really a story about the geographical centre of Kent, though [that question has already been answered](https://www.greatbritishlife.co.uk/magazines/kent/22586233.heart-kent/?ref=kentcurrent.news). It is about the more useful, and considerably less settled, question: where does Kent actually gather? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/08/AdobeStock_473141263--2-.jpeg) County Hall in Maidstone. A county can have more than one kind of centre. There is the place where power sits, the place outsiders recognise, the place people meet, and the place around which the rest of it seems to turn. Sometimes they are the same place. Kent has been less fortunate. Maidstone has the old paperwork. Canterbury has the cathedral. Rochester has the castle, Dickens and a very good claim to be more alive than most supposed county centres. Ashford has spent years being told it is the future. Bluewater has the car parks. Detling has one weekend each summer when half the county seems to arrive to look at tractors. None is entirely convincing. Kent is about to lose its capital. But where is its real heart? ****Register for free** to see which places make the strongest claim. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### “It's a mammoth-sized project that is only one per cent complete” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/its-a-mammoth-sized-project-that-is-only-one-per-cent-complete/ Last updated: 2026-08-24T10:58:18.000Z *Sam Cox is a busy man as* [*Mr Doodle*](https://www.mrdoodle.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, with a recent documentary, an album, a colouring book and a range of Kleenex! Thankfully, he made time to talk to Steven about completing one million doodles, maintaining a healthy work-life balance and how to persuade your partner to completely change your home.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/08/5-2.jpg) Sam Cox in front of some of his Mr Doodle work. Sam Cox has been known as Mr Doodle since 2017, although the character began several years earlier when a university tutor nicknamed him Doodleman. “At the end of 2014 I dressed up in this doodle outfit, and I went into university and stood against one of my murals.” Sam studied illustration at the University of the West of England in Bristol. “I knew the way I wanted to draw, but it helped me understand, giving reason for the drawing to exist.” Creating a character around the work “helped me package what I was doing a lot better.” Sam had interviewed at several universities, but Bristol stood out because it seemed willing to support the style he had already developed. “But for me, Bristol stood out as one that really wanted to support what it was that I was already doing.” > Doodling breaks the ice For Sam, doodling is about the act of making rather than trying to communicate a fixed meaning. “It’s not necessarily trying to say something particular,” he says. The process is deliberately subconscious: “you can't really be thinking about it, 100% of the time you're working on it.” Doodling, Sam says, actually benefits from distraction. He might have the television on or music playing: “something where your mind's mostly preoccupied and the drawing is happening all the time, but it's not the main focus of your brain.” Doodling can take forms that “don't always look like my work,” but for Sam the defining feature is the process itself. “That's mostly what I'm doing, that process.” What he likes most is its lack of exclusivity. “Doodling breaks the ice.” Even if the word is sometimes used dismissively, Sam sees that informality as a strength. “It feels open and accessible to everyone.” Sam remembers school positively. “My best friends are from secondary school. We've stayed a close bunch.” Halfway through secondary school, “I really found what it was that I should be doing.” He credits several teachers with helping him, including one he still works with today. “He really helped me find what it is that I should be doing, and having that help made school enjoyable for me. I have a lot of good things to say about school.” Sam is pleased to see doodling increasingly taken seriously in schools. “It's an amazing thing.” His own school offered subjects including graphics, ceramics and photography. Sam studied art and media, although his enthusiasm briefly became a concern. “At one point I chose so many art subjects that one of the teachers was concerned I was going to have too much coursework.” Now firmly established as Mr Doodle, I ask whether postgraduate study might one day turn him into Dr Doodle. “It's not something that I've thought that much about.” Sam admits, “maybe one day if the time was right, it would be kind of fun.” University was easier to contemplate when Sam was younger. Now he has a family, and Mr Doodle is a business, he cannot see himself committing that much time to education again. Calling himself a doodler perhaps understates how much of Sam’s life now revolves around running Mr Doodle as a business. He works with a team of five, including family members and a former secondary school graphics teacher. His brother Tom manages the business side, while Sam’s grandfather primes canvases and prepares backgrounds. “There's a small team of us, and it is a cool business, an interesting business.” “I can't really be off work too long, because it revolves around a lot of the stuff that I do.” The team allows Sam to spend most of his time drawing, “but they can't take it off my hands entirely because I do need an input into the projects we do and the direction of travel.” He estimates the split at “maybe 85% doodling and 15% stuff that isn't doodling.” That remaining 15% includes decisions about how a room should be covered, which colours to use and the wider planning around a project, “even though the doodles themselves aren't planned as such.” Sam has recently completed five sculptures across London’s West End, including work at Piccadilly Circus and an orange fish in Leicester Square. “The doodles on the fish are all themed around cinema and film premieres,” he says, with references to King Kong, Paddington and Batman. “They're never sketched out, but those drawings are relating to the cinemas around that area.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/08/16.jpg) Mr Doodle at work. The subject matter may be tied to the location, but the individual drawings are still decided in the moment. Sam’s most ambitious project yet is only just getting started: an attempt to create one million doodles. ****Register for free to keep reading** about the scale of the challenge, how Mr Doodle became a family business, the documentary that explores his mental health crisis, and how becoming a father changed the way he works. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### From 'stop the boats' to expelling 15 million people URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/from-stop-the-boats-to-expelling-15-million-people/ Last updated: 2026-09-01T12:49:09.000Z **Saturday's demonstration outside County Hall was presented as another protest against illegal migration. The speeches told a much bigger story. We examine how the rhetoric has shifted, what was actually said from the stage, and why the event marked a significant change in the message being promoted by one of Kent's most visible anti-migrant campaign groups.* ### Kent far-right rally shifts from 'stop the boats' to mass deportation The Kent Nationalist Movement had tied its logo to the gates of County Hall without permission. In front of it, another banner supplied the policy, if not the punctuation: REMIGRATION NOW MILLIONS MUST LEAVE. Then Britain First leader Paul Golding put a number on it. “We will expel at least 15 million uninvited immigrants from our country,” he told the crowd outside the headquarters of Kent County Council. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/08/KC_what-.jpg) This was not presented as a policy confined to people crossing the Channel in small boats. Golding said he did not care whether someone had arrived through Dover or legally through Heathrow, mentioning migrants from India. His message to all 15 million was simple: “Don’t unpack, you’re going back.” The crowd repeated it. For a movement which has built much of its profile protesting against illegal migration and accommodation for asylum seekers, that is a significant shift. Standing outside Kent County Council's headquarters on Saturday, the target expanded to include legal migrants. The nation being defended was repeatedly defined through ancestry, blood and whiteness. “Remigration” was not left as a convenient euphemism. Both principal speakers explained that it meant millions of people leaving. The scale of the event itself was rather less historic. [Searchlight, the anti-fascist magazine](https://searchlightmagazine.com/2026/08/far-right-chuckle-brothers-stage-another-silly-walk-in-maidstone/?ref=kentcurrent.news), reported a turnout of “barely 100,” around half the attendance at KNM’s previous Maidstone march in June. It said the demonstration was outnumbered by a younger and louder counterprotest. The limited turnout should not obscure what happened on the streets of Maidstone. KNM used its platform to move openly from opposition to illegal migration to the proposed removal of millions of people who were living in Britain legally. ****Keep reading with a free** ***Kent Current** **account.** Below the line, there's lots more on what the Kent Nationalist Movement said at County Hall, why its claims about KCC do not stand up, and where the movement is heading next. ****Register for free and continue.** _This post is for subscribers only._ ### International rail competition is coming, but not to Kent URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/international-rail-competition-is-coming-but-not-to-kent/ Last updated: 2026-09-01T07:10:55.000Z **International rail competition is finally taking shape, but Virgin’s planned services to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam would pass through Kent without stopping at Ashford or Ebbsfleet. We look at the regulator’s decision, the rival proposal that offered Kent more, and whether an Ashford depot could still revive local international services. Elsewhere, Whitstable reaches peak oyster, Dartford drivers pay to go nowhere, and Broadstairs hosts an anti-migrant protest at a closed Pizza Hut.* ### Catch up Five different companies supply Kent’s drinking water, which means neighbouring households can face different hosepipe rules, and even checking the bill may not tell you who supplies the tap. [We traced the county’s absurd water map](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kents-drought-and-hosepipe-bans-expose-a-messy-water-map/) through nearly 200 years of local boards, mergers and privatisation. In Dover, six candidates are fighting for a seat on a council that will shortly disappear, including three competing versions of the political right. [We examined a by-election](https://www.kentcurrent.news/three-versions-of-the-right-fight-for-the-white-cliffs/) featuring John Cleese, AI-generated cliffs, compulsory beach photographs and an argument about whether counties still belong on envelopes. Steven also met Gravesham MP Lauren Sullivan to discuss restoring the Tilbury Ferry, reorganising local government, her route from medical science to Parliament and why Westminster should resemble the places it represents. [Read their conversation here](https://www.kentcurrent.news/we-need-to-make-sure-that-parliament-looks-like-the-places-that-it-represents/). ### International rail competition is coming, but not to Kent We have written [fairly often about the possible return of international rail services](https://www.kentcurrent.news/can-international-rail-return-to/) to Kent. There have been campaigns, petitions, rival operators, economic studies and supportive statements from ministers. Last year, Kent County Council even held [an event inside the unused international facilities](https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-long-wait-for-paris/) at Ashford and Ebbsfleet. International trains still do not stop at either station. The latest development is more concrete than most. The Office of Rail and Road has [pre-approved a track access agreement](https://www.orr.gov.uk/search-news/green-light-virgin-trains-international-services?ref=kentcurrent.news) allowing Virgin Trains to operate up to 20 daily return services between London and Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/08/AdobeStock_293792383_Editorial_Use_Only-1.jpeg) The regulator made the decision on Thursday and announced it today. Virgin and London St Pancras Highspeed, which operates HS1, can now enter into the agreement by 4 September. Once signed, it would give Virgin access rights lasting from October 2030 until the end of 2040. Services would begin with six daily trains in each direction between London and Paris. That would increase to ten the following April and 13 from October 2031\. Four daily Brussels services would begin in February 2031, followed by three to Amsterdam that September. The Amsterdam rights would become conditional if the total number of outward international services from St Pancras exceeded 42 in one day. Firm rights must be accommodated before conditional ones when the timetable is constructed. Virgin still has substantial work to do. It must procure its trains, secure access to the railways on the other side of the Channel and obtain safety approvals in Britain and the EU. The agreement includes a deadline by which the rights will lapse if it does not procure its rolling stock. Even so, Virgin now has approval for access to the Temple Mills maintenance depot and is close to securing long-term rights on HS1\. Its plans are moving beyond the series of proposals and announcements that have characterised attempts to compete with Eurostar. For Kent, the significant part of the decision is that none of the services will stop here. The agreement states that Virgin’s trains will call only at London St Pancras on the HS1 network. By October 2030, it will have been more than ten years since international services last stopped at Ashford or Ebbsfleet. The first new competitor to Eurostar is currently planning to pass through both. Kent MPs, councils and development bodies took part in the consultation and argued for the stations to reopen. The regulator recognised the strong support for international services in Kent, but it cannot require Virgin to provide them. Virgin or another operator can submit a separate application for rights to serve Ashford or Ebbsfleet. The ORR says it would actively engage with anyone seeking to do so. Virgin has previously said it would stop in Kent if the stations were reopened, but that leaves the responsibility for restoring the facilities elsewhere. The agreement does not prevent Kent stops from being added later. An existing service could be amended rather than requiring a completely new train path. However, the first major agreement for a new operator establishes a service pattern that excludes the county, with Virgin’s firm rights protected until 2040. Accommodating the new services will require moving some Eurostar trains from non-standard paths into standardised slots, alongside minor changes to Southeastern services, freight and engineering movements. The regulator believes HS1 can manage the additional traffic, but the rights still represent a substantial allocation of railway capacity. For years, Kent’s campaign has rested on the argument that competition offered the best chance of restoring services. [Eurostar has no plans to return](https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-long-wait-for-paris/), so local leaders turned their attention to operators seeking to break its monopoly. Competition is now closer, but Kent services are not. The problem began with the regulator’s [decision over spare capacity at Eurostar’s Temple Mills depot](https://www.kentcurrent.news/a-win-for-virgin-but-not-for-kent/) last October. Virgin, Gemini, Evolyn and Trenitalia all applied, but there was room for only one new operator. The ORR concluded that Virgin had the most developed proposal and the strongest likelihood of delivering it. Gemini proposed serving Ebbsfleet and exploring an Ashford stop, while [Trenitalia later announced plans for Ashford](https://www.kentcurrent.news/protecting-imaginary-countryside/), although that commitment was not included in its formal submission. The regulator concluded that Gemini’s proposal most closely addressed the wishes of Kent stakeholders. It still chose Virgin because it had greater confidence that Virgin’s operation would happen. That was a reasonable distinction for a regulator concerned with deliverability. It also meant the operator offering the most to Kent lost the essential depot capacity to one offering no confirmed stop at all. The latest consultation raised further concerns about how capacity was allocated. Eurostar, Gemini and FS Group, the owner of Trenitalia, questioned the fairness and transparency of the process. They argued that Virgin had been given the opportunity to secure long-term rights before other operators had a realistic chance to compete. There were also objections to treating the proposed capacity as occupied for planning purposes before the ORR approved the agreement. London St Pancras Highspeed accepted that the draft had no legal effect at that stage but said the paths were being treated as unavailable while the application was considered. The regulator rejected those objections. It said other operators were discussing possible future rights, but no competing track access applications had been submitted. Its role was to decide whether to approve the agreement before it, not to compare it with plans that had not reached that point. This means the competing benefits were not tested against each other. The regulator did not choose between a Virgin service that bypassed Kent and another application that included it. Only Virgin had an agreement ready for approval. Some consultees also raised concerns about Equitix having financial interests in both London St Pancras Highspeed and Virgin’s proposal. The ORR says it was satisfied with the recusals and other governance controls introduced. The decision does not suggest the process was improper, but the overlapping interests added to the objections raised by Virgin’s competitors. Kent’s remaining hope may now sit on a disused railway site in Ashford, although that proposal is considerably less advanced. [KentOnline reported last week](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/it-s-a-golden-opportunity-abandoned-kent-depot-could-hous-343758/?ref=kentcurrent.news) that Gemini wants to use the former Chart Leacon works as its maintenance base after losing access to Temple Mills. According to its reporting, Gemini believes it would require a 200-metre shed covering two tracks and only a small part of the wider site. The company is considering either buying and upgrading Chart Leacon before subletting space to other operators, or renting the section it needs. It says potential investors are waiting for the government to decide how to provide additional international depot capacity. The site itself is credible. Chart Leacon was used for railway maintenance until 2014, and its former buildings were demolished in 2020\. Network Rail previously planned a new light maintenance facility with five sidings there and [secured government approval for powers to acquire the necessary land](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/chart-leacon-land-acquisition-transport-and-works-act-order?ref=kentcurrent.news). The depot was never built. Gemini now presents Chart Leacon as part of a plan to stop trains at both Ashford and Ebbsfleet, with Stratford International serving as its main London station. A depot in Ashford could bring skilled jobs as well as making the town part of the operation rather than another station passed at speed. None of it has been secured. Gemini does not have an agreement to buy or lease Chart Leacon, a confirmed funding package or government approval to develop the depot. It also needs trains, track and station access, border facilities and safety approval. The ORR previously judged Gemini’s overall plans potentially financially viable but had less confidence in its readiness than Virgin’s. Its [Temple Mills decision](https://www.orr.gov.uk/media/27666/download?ref=kentcurrent.news) found that Gemini had not explained how the substantial redevelopment of Stratford International would be funded and had not identified the costs of restoring international services at Ebbsfleet. The Department for Transport accepts that a lack of depot capacity is restricting competition and has [explored whether private investors might finance additional facilities](https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/060379-2025?ref=kentcurrent.news). That was preliminary market engagement, not a commitment to Chart Leacon or any other site. The contrast is now fairly simple. Virgin has regulatory approvals, a proposed start date and an agreement for trains that will not stop in Kent. Gemini offers more to Kent on paper but lacks the depot or railway rights needed to operate. Virgin could still add Ashford or Ebbsfleet. The government could choose Chart Leacon for new depot capacity. Gemini or another operator could eventually secure the necessary agreements. None of those things has happened. Kent’s campaign helped make the case for opening the route to competition. That competition may now arrive in shiny new trains in 2030, after more than a decade without local international services and with no way for anyone in Kent to board them. ****The** ***Kent Current** **is now on WhatsApp.** We’ve launched a [WhatsApp channel for **Kent Current*](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news). We won’t flood it with posts, but we will use it to share new stories and occasional major updates from across the county. If you’d like our journalism somewhere a little closer to your lock screen, you can follow along there. [Follow us on WhatsApp ](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news) ## ****Like what you’re reading?** Get independent reporting on the stories shaping Kent, delivered free to your inbox. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Three big reads 1️⃣ At the Dartford Crossing, the AA has proposed suspending the charge when roadworks leave drivers stuck in heavy congestion. Motorists would therefore no longer pay for the privilege of going nowhere, an innovation which may alarm anyone responsible for Britain’s transport policy. [The Telegraph has more](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/08/15/stop-dartford-tunnel-toll-during-heavy-congestion-aa-boss/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 2️⃣ Space is also at a premium on the Kent coast. In Whitstable, plans to extend the Forge oyster shack on to the beach have attracted more than 200 objections, including one from the Environment Agency. The Guardian examines a dispute involving flood defences, public access and whether the town has finally reached peak oyster. [Read it here](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/aug/16/whitstable-plans-to-expand-oyster-shack-kent-coast-opposition?ref=kentcurrent.news). 3️⃣ In Broadstairs, meanwhile, the far right found plenty of room on a deserted business park. Around 150 anti-migrant protesters, many brought in from elsewhere in the south-east, marched from a closed Pizza Hut to oppose an HMO that is not planned to house migrants. Searchlight endured the speeches, the broken PA and the AI country song so you don't have to. [Read its account here](https://searchlightmagazine.com/2026/08/thanet-patriots-import-far-right-activists-for-broadstairs-anti-migrant-demo/?ref=kentcurrent.news). ### In brief 🚓 A Faversham councillor [reported on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story%5Ffbid=pfbid0dUTGUJZ63zwi1is3bsPKhbDqqxSWdpkPwygqrBuP2oLbXvcbeaR7KQeAoAyPVBmDl&id=100085538007813) that a window at his parents' house was smashed. Inevitably, the Facebook comments are full of people taking great pleasure in this. 🚰 This week's [water outages](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwymzly270zo?ref=kentcurrent.news) included Cranbrook, Charing, and Challock. 💰 Meanwhile, our friends at KentOnline are [publishing paid advertorials](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/news/native/managing-water-through-hotter-drier-summers-343757/?ref=kentcurrent.news) on how great Southern Water are doing. 🚧 Barriers [have been installed](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sandwich/news/barriers-installed-at-damaged-toll-bridge-after-drivers-igno-343959/?ref=kentcurrent.news) on Sandwich Toll Bridge to enforce a closure that drivers kept ignoring. Incidentally, the bridge has been closed since, er, one of Southern Water's tankers crashed into it. ☀️ Councillors in Romney Marsh [want a solar farm project moved](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/romney-marsh/news/burnham-can-take-panels-up-north-councillors-oppose-kent-343949/?ref=kentcurrent.news) 'up north' because that's exactly how these things work. 🔥 Kent has proved [remarkably combustible](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cr59jy19623o?ref=kentcurrent.news) this week. 🚒 'Poor security' at Arlington House in Margate led to an [arson attack](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/poor-security-led-to-arson-attack-at-one-of-kent-s-most-ic-343795/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in the building. 🚘 Somehow, a car in Sittingbourne managed to [crash into the upstairs](https://metro.co.uk/2026/08/14/a-car-somehow-managed-crash-top-floor-a-house-kent-29374927/?ref=kentcurrent.news) of a house. 🧸 An argument has led to a [display of bizarre effigies](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/revealed-why-bizarre-effigies-distracting-drivers-have-appe-343935/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Littlebourne. 🏌️ Luxury golf resort, the Cave, near Faversham, has [scrapped plans](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/faversham/news/massive-country-club-style-expansion-of-kent-hotel-and-res-343804/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to develop an extensive country club-style resort. 🍷 Finding at least one positive in climate change, the BBC reports that Kent is [now a wine hotspot](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwylw8l547jo?ref=kentcurrent.news) following 'perfect' weather. ### Council matters **Meetings this week:** - **Thanet:** [Overview & Scrutiny Committee](https://democracy.thanet.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=119&MId=7121&ref=kentcurrent.news) will discuss safety issues at Arlington House, the Corporate Plan, and, most excitingly, the Car Park Signage Plan on Tuesday. - **Ashford:** [Planning Committee](https://ashford.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=139&MId=5154&ref=kentcurrent.news) will decide on 34 flats off Elwick Road on Wednesday. **New planning applications:** - **Dartford:** Construction of a [Lidl store](https://publicaccess.dartford.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=TJ1NAUBQLY900&ref=kentcurrent.news) in Stone. - **Medway:** Scoping opinion for [360 homes](https://publicaccess1.medway.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=TJK3BLKN04M00&ref=localauthority.news) north of Rede Court Road in Strood. - **Tunbridge Wells:** [184 homes](https://twbcpa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=TBDWAQTY0US00&ref=kentcurrent.news) and relocation of Tunbridge Wells Rugby Club. ### Property of the week This is a four-bedroom bungalow near Charing that packs an awful lot into a single storey. Set on 1.85 acres with views towards the North Downs, it revolves around a 44ft open-plan kitchen, dining and living space with vaulted ceilings and enough glazing to keep the countryside in view wherever you sit. The main bedroom has a dressing room and en suite, while outside there is a terrace complete with an outdoor kitchen, bar, barbecue and pizza oven. The specification also includes solar panels, battery storage, rainwater harvesting and infrared heating, earning the house an EPC rating of B. Whatever picture you have in your head when someone says bungalow, it is probably not this one. [Check out this 4 bedroom detached bungalow for sale on Rightmove4 bedroom detached bungalow for sale in Pilgrims Way, Charing, TN27 for £1,300,000\. Marketed by Sandersons, Covering Ashford![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/favicon-4ed72caf-7b6e-4ab8-97f7-eec4a432ce39.ico)Rightmove.co.uk![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/6df27c369a20920360950dc828100e06-a7ca99d3-2807-4390-9adb-8b24b3519105.jpeg)](https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/92059668?ref=kentcurrent.news#/) ### Events this week 🛶 Wed 19 Aug - [**Hythe Venetian Fete**](https://hythevenetianfete.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Decorated floating tableaux parade along the Royal Military Canal by daylight and again illuminated after dark. Hythe. Tickets £20. 🎸 Fri 21 Aug - [**Nile Rodgers & C**hic](https://www.dreamland.co.uk/event/nile-rodgers-chic/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Disco pioneers play an outdoor show with The Brand New Heavies and James Emmanuel. Dreamland, Margate. Tickets £65.85. 🏳️‍🌈 Sat 22 Aug - [**Medway Pride**](https://medwaypride.co.uk/?ref=localauthority.news) // Parade, live entertainment, stalls and more in Kent's largest LGBT+ event. Rochester Castle Gardens. Tickets £10. 🎭 Sat 22 Aug - [**A Midsummer Night’s Dream**](https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-midsummer-nights-dream-by-the-east-london-shakespeare-festival-tickets-1986191141170?ref=kentcurrent.news) // East London Shakespeare Festival stages an outdoor, family-friendly version of Shakespeare’s comedy. Oval Bandstand, Margate. Tickets £18. ## ****Enjoyed this? There’s more where it came from.** Join readers across Kent receiving our independent reporting on the stories shaping the county, straight to their inbox. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### **Footnotes** Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via **hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance… Follow us elsewhere: [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews), [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news), [BlueSky](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news), and now [WhatsApp](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news) for new story alerts. ### “We need to make sure that Parliament looks like the places that it represents” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/we-need-to-make-sure-that-parliament-looks-like-the-places-that-it-represents/ Last updated: 2026-08-16T06:00:01.000Z *As part of our series of interviews with Kent's MPs, Steven went to Gravesend to meet Dr Lauren Sullivan. When the temperature was too high to meet at her office, they met at the Gravesend Civic Centre, where they discussed what brought her to Gravesend, neglected tropical diseases, artificial intelligence, and lots more.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/08/Portrait--7-.jpeg) Dr Lauren Sullivan. Dr Lauren Sullivan is the Member of Parliament for Gravesham and a newly promoted Parliamentary Private Secretary in the Burnham government. “Is this a therapy session?” she asks when I ask her to describe the role. Lauren first stood for Parliament in 2019 before winning Gravesham in 2024\. The two campaigns were very different, not least because of the weather. “It was very cold,” she remembers of 2019, “pretty miserable and I don't think people enjoyed opening their doors in the dark to talk to me.” Lauren describes herself as a go-between linking Gravesham with government. “In parliament I am, as much as I can be, the voice of Gravesham.” The role also means challenging organisations including councils, health services and the police on behalf of constituents. “I can speak without prejudice in the chamber,” she says, describing the freedom Parliament gives her to champion causes and speak up for Gravesham. One of Lauren’s most prominent local campaigns is the effort to restore the [Tilbury Ferry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravesend%E2%80%93Tilbury%5FFerry?ref=kentcurrent.news). “It's important for so many reasons,” she says. One is historical. “There’s been a ferry crossing here since Roman times. It’s a part of our legacy.” The other is economic. “It is having an impact. When I speak to visitors on the high street, it has meant that they've had to let staff go because we're not getting the visitors.” The Tilbury Ferry between Gravesend and Essex stopped running in 2024 after its funding arrangements collapsed. Cruise passengers arriving at Tilbury also used the ferry to visit Gravesend, including St George’s Church and the burial place of Pocahontas. “I am on the case.” When Andy Burnham became Prime Minister, his first visit was to Gravesend. Lauren believes the choice was significant. “I think he picked here because he recognises that it's not all about the north. It's about places that have been forgotten and left behind.” The ferry also forms part of a much longer history of Gravesend as a destination from London. “Gravesend was a seaside town for Victorians to escape London.” “It's about how we facilitate getting that ferry back.” When Burnham visited Gravesend, Lauren wasted little time. “Literally the moment he stepped onto the pier, I said ‘Can I talk to you about the ferry?’” She is campaigning alongside Jen Craft, the MP representing Tilbury on the opposite side of the Thames. In his subsequent speech, Burnham acknowledged Lauren’s campaign and the importance of the ferry to the community. Born in Redhill, Lauren grew up with a mother who had worked as a nurse and a father who was first a greengrocer and later self-employed. “My mum had to give up nursing because she had me.” Gravesham came later. “I married a Northfleet boy.” Lauren “mostly” enjoyed school, although dyslexia made learning more difficult. She says she succeeded because she “just tried really hard.” Coursework helped. A chemistry project measuring the iron content in spinach gave her “the bug for science.” “So much of work now is project management. It's not about revising for an exam. We need more coursework, we need more life skills. If I’d relied on my exams I wouldn't have gone to university.” At sixth form, Lauren chose subjects that left both science and politics open to her: Biology, Chemistry, Government and Politics, and History. “I couldn't decide.” She laughs. “This IS like a therapy session!” > I want to make sure that I come and bring some expertise, that I can add value A history module on the Industrial Revolution and the Clean Air Act helped show her how the two interests could overlap. “Because of these things that were happening to the public health of the city, they enacted laws, they changed things, and fewer people died. That is amazing.” That link between evidence and political action still shapes how Lauren thinks about being an MP. “I want to make sure that I come and bring some expertise, that I can add value.” > I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for Tony Blair Lauren joined the Labour Party more than 20 years ago, around the time she became the first member of her family to go to university. “I was privileged and grateful and I wanted to ensure that others could have those opportunities.” She credits Labour with helping create the educational opportunities she benefited from. Despite Labour’s internal divisions, Lauren is clear about where she stands. She is a trade unionist and Unison member, “but fundamentally, I am in the Labour Party family.” Of the Labour leaders she has known during her membership, she considers Tony Blair the best, while acknowledging the mistakes of his premiership, particularly the Iraq War. “I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for Tony Blair.” Lauren first appeared on a ballot as a candidate for the Youth Parliament in Tandridge, Surrey. “I had to do assemblies and go around the different schools. It was really important that we made sure that young people were heard.” Her adult political career began in 2015, when she was elected to Gravesham Borough Council in Northfleet North. Two years later she won Gravesend West on Kent County Council, eventually becoming leader of the opposition. I ask how she would approach working with KCC’s new leadership if she were still opposition leader. “That's interesting. I don't know them, and working with people is based on relationships and knowing that you're going to be held to account.” Having represented Gravesham at borough, county and parliamentary level, Lauren has experienced all three tiers of local government. So what does she make of Option 4B, the model chosen for reorganisation? “I think it's probably the least worst.” She expects the transition to be difficult, but believes moving to a single tier of local government could ultimately make responsibilities clearer. Her example is gloriously mundane. “For instance, if we're seeing a lot of weeds on the side of the road, and not some wildflowers which are absolutely beautiful and should be supported, but weeds. That is a Kent County Council issue. As soon as they are dead plants, they are considered litter, and that is for the borough council to pick them up.” She believes keeping Gravesham intact “is a good thing because there is a strong Gravesham identity. We have just got to make sure we keep hold of that in this new structure.” Lauren Sullivan’s route to Parliament took her through science and local government. Since becoming an MP, she has also taken on a new role working on artificial intelligence. Register for free to keep reading about her work developing a test for African sleeping sickness, what she thinks AI could mean for government, and the lessons she believes aspiring MPs should learn before reaching Westminster. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Kent’s drought and hosepipe bans expose a messy water map URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/kents-drought-and-hosepipe-bans-expose-a-messy-water-map/ Last updated: 2026-08-20T19:25:15.000Z **Kent's drought and resulting hosepipe bans have exposed one of the county's strangest quirks. Two neighbours can face different restrictions despite living just a few miles apart, thanks to a patchwork of water company boundaries built up over nearly 200 years. We trace how Kent ended up with five different water suppliers, why the map makes so little sense today, and what it reveals about the way water is managed across the county.* ### Kent’s drought and hosepipe bans expose a messy water map The question keeps appearing in local Facebook groups. Is there a hosepipe ban here? The answers arrive confidently. Yes, it covers Kent. No, Southern Water has not introduced one. It only applies in certain towns. Someone posts a link to one company’s restrictions and is told, correctly or otherwise, that another company supplies the area. Frequently, at least some of the information is wrong. This is less surprising than it sounds because there is no single answer to whether Kent has a hosepipe ban. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/08/KC_drought.jpg) [South East Water introduced restrictions](https://www.southeastwater.co.uk/about/updates/tubs-26/?ref=kentcurrent.news) for its Kent customers on 3 July. [Thames Water subsequently imposed a ban](https://www.thameswater.co.uk/help/temporary-hosepipe-ban?ref=kentcurrent.news) across its supply area, including the part extending into far west Kent. [Southern Water’s restrictions](https://www.southernwater.co.uk/help-and-support/temporary-use-ban-advice/?ref=kentcurrent.news) apply in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, not its Kent drinking-water areas. [Affinity Water’s ban](https://www.affinitywater.co.uk/hosepipeban?ref=kentcurrent.news) covers its central region but not the company’s separate territory around Folkestone and Dover. [SES Water has activated its drought plan](https://www.seswater.co.uk/about-us/news-and-resources/news/ses-water-position-on-drought-announcement?ref=kentcurrent.news), but has not reached the trigger required to introduce a hosepipe ban. All five companies supply drinking water somewhere in Kent. Two households can therefore experience the same weather, live under the same council and be only a few miles apart, yet face different rules. The deciding factor is an invisible company boundary which may bear no relationship to the town, district or county in which they live. Kent’s water map is absurd, but not accidental. It has accumulated over nearly two centuries, and nobody has ever started again. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/08/Codex-Image-14-Aug-2026--09_23_17.png) South East Water covers most of the county, but there are notable exceptions. Thames Water reaches into Dartford from London and the Thames Valley. Southern Water supplies separate areas around Medway and Gravesham, Sittingbourne and Faversham, and Thanet and Deal. Affinity Water has a detached territory covering Folkestone, Hythe and Dover, extending across Romney Marsh. SES Water reaches a small part of western Kent around Edenbridge. Southern Water is almost everywhere on Kent wastewater bills and only in scattered places as the drinking water supplier. In Folkestone, Affinity delivers water to the tap while Southern takes it away again. Even the bills do not consistently present this division. Southern Water customers receive one bill covering both drinking water and wastewater. South East Water customers also receive a single bill, but it [collects Southern Water’s wastewater charges on its behalf](https://www.southeastwater.co.uk/help/water-supply/one-bill/?ref=kentcurrent.news). The arrangement changes in areas supplied by Thames Water, Affinity Water or SES Water. Those customers receive one bill from their drinking water supplier and another from Southern Water for wastewater. The underlying split is much the same. One company supplies the taps, and Southern takes the water away. Administratively, however, that can appear as one combined bill or two separate ones depending on which drinking-water company serves the address. This makes the apparently straightforward advice to check the bill less useful than it sounds. A South East Water customer may see Southern Water wastewater charges within a South East Water bill. An Affinity customer may receive a separate Southern Water bill. Neither arrangement means Southern supplies the drinking water. Hosepipe restrictions are imposed by the drinking-water company. Residents must establish who supplies the tap, rather than simply recognising a company name somewhere on their paperwork. ****How did Kent’s water supply become this complicated?** Register for free to discover how vanished water boards, privatisation and new housing developments created the boundaries still deciding who can use a hosepipe today. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Three versions of the right fight for the White Cliffs URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/three-versions-of-the-right-fight-for-the-white-cliffs/ Last updated: 2026-08-17T15:08:25.000Z **A rural Dover by-election has attracted three competing versions of the political right, a John Cleese endorsement, synthetic cliffs and an argument about counties on envelopes. We look at what the contest in Guston, Kingsdown and St Margaret’s-at-Cliffe could reveal about the Conservatives, Reform and Restore Britain. Elsewhere, Meopham’s public loos complete their £50,000 saga, Greens and Reform find common ground on solar farms, and Folkestone’s Leas Lift faces another delay. Plus water outages, a disputed Walmer sauna and so much more.* ### Three versions of the right fight for the White Cliffs Local by-elections do not usually require three competing versions of the political right, an endorsement from John Cleese and a debate about whether counties should still be written on envelopes. Guston, Kingsdown and St Margaret’s-at-Cliffe has managed all three. Voters will elect a new member of Dover District Council on 27 August following the resignation of Conservative councillor Martin Bates for personal reasons. The ward stretches east from Dover across a large rural and coastal area, taking in Kingsdown, St Margaret’s and most of the White Cliffs. It is, in other words, a near-perfect place for the Conservatives, Reform and Restore Britain to gather and argue over who offers the most authentic version of British patriotism. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/08/Dover.jpg) Ordinarily, this should be a straightforward Conservative defence. The party won both seats in the ward at the last district election, although the Greens were not far behind. Labour finished further back, while the far-right Heritage Party came last. Since then, the right has become considerably less tidy. The Conservatives have selected David Hawkes, who previously represented Mill Hill on Dover District Council between 2021 and 2023\. His earlier campaigns concentrated on dependable local concerns, including antisocial behaviour, a new play park and the need for a bench near the Co-op. He also proposed a 20mph zone while removing most speed bumps. Hawkes is standing as a 'Local Conservatives' candidate, a description the party regularly uses in council elections, particularly when some distance from national Conservative politics may be helpful. He will be hoping voters distinguish the local product from everything that has happened under the wider brand. His online campaign has taken a little longer to get moving. A Facebook page for '[David Hawkes Tory](https://www.facebook.com/DavidHawkesTory)' appeared today (Monday), nearly two weeks after nominations closed and after several of his rivals had already progressed to beach photographs, artificial cliffs and celebrity endorsements. The Conservatives may be hoping that voters value a candidate who waited until the election was underway before deciding it required social media. Reform has selected James Defriend, who is already one of two Kent county councillors for Dover Town. He led the poll there last year as Reform removed both sitting Conservatives and now chairs KCC’s Growth, Environment and Transport Cabinet Committee. Defriend has travelled a considerable political distance in a short time. He stood as an independent for Dover District Council in 2023 before joining Reform and taking control of a county council division two years later. He is now attempting to add a district seat covering the villages east of Dover to his existing responsibilities in Dover Town. His [campaign material](https://www.facebook.com/CllrJamesDefriend/posts/pfbid02AAuS2h5Xk4aXvHKuabHR7GivgV61qncf6oowGmMbacPyCtm2Nb6QrWCXwaX3ya9zl) describes him as 'a real Do-er. Not a career politician,' which is one way to describe a sitting county councillor trying to become a district councillor at the same time. Defriend has also adopted an unusual social media strategy. During the early campaign, he [announced](https://www.facebook.com/CllrJamesDefriend/posts/1589023922796142:1589023922796142) that he was “offline untill *\[sic\]* 10 August” and would not see anything posted there for several days. Any Dover emergencies were redirected to fellow Reform county councillor Albert Thorpe. The announcement was accompanied by an apparently AI-generated coastal scene featuring enormous chalk cliffs, a lighthouse and several obliging seagulls. Defriend’s wider social media output has shown a considerable enthusiasm for synthetic political artwork, making him the first candidate in the contest to create his own version of the local landscape. His previous county council campaign also featured a brief encounter with electoral law. Following the serious fire at Hammond House in Dover, Defriend proposed using campaign funds to help displaced residents. However well-intentioned the idea, election money cannot simply be redirected to charitable causes, prompting a rapid apology. Reform will see the ward as precisely the kind of traditionally Conservative territory it should now be winning. Unfortunately for the party, it is not the only insurgent force on the ballot. Restore Britain is contesting an election in Kent for the first time. Founded by Rupert Lowe following his increasingly bitter departure from Reform, the party has selected Jez Hermer, a retired Royal Marines major, MBE and member of Ringwould with Kingsdown Parish Council. The choice was coordinated by former UKIP leader Henry Bolton, now Restore’s national security spokesman and branch organiser for Dover and Deal. Bolton says the party began with a longlist of 12 potential candidates before settling on Hermer. Hermer grew up in the Dover area, attended Dover Grammar School for Boys and later became operations director at the Monkey World primate rescue centre in Dorset. More recently, he has campaigned against a proposed development of 70 homes in Kingsdown and accused Dover District Council of conducting a “cold war of attrition against Kingsdown beach.” His [campaign literature](https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story%5Ffbid=pfbid0WQ9dXwTQouFW8yjKKFC6ECrQed4viDFPBLPqqarodopKeJPuPCBtfvXA769q6dJMl&id=61592296274804) promises to put the villages first, protect the countryside, tackle speeding, support local businesses and oppose waste and bureaucracy. All fairly conventional territory for a district council candidate. His wider politics are less restrained. Hermer has declared himself fully behind Restore’s immigration policy, even if it costs him business, while his social media activity has included calls to defund the BBC, warnings about immigration and the ECHR, and sharing a video claiming that schools are teaching children to hate white people. He has also secured the [endorsement](https://x.com/JohnCleese/status/2086529396626575765?ref=kentcurrent.news) of Monty Python star and increasingly committed online culture warrior John Cleese, who has spent recent months promoting Restore and declaring his trust in Lowe. The first major campaign delivery round brought its own drama. Hermer reported receiving plenty of positive responses alongside a few “hard line antis” who became “awfully agitated.” One Green supporter apparently ripped up a Restore leaflet before dropping it in the street. “How very environmental,” Hermer observed, before confirming that his campaign team had picked it up. Restore’s first Kent election therefore places a decorated former Royal Marine, backed by John Cleese, against Reform and the Conservatives in a ward containing the White Cliffs. Sometimes political symbolism requires very little assistance. Bolton says Restore’s target is the electorate rather than the other parties. Whatever the intention, its arrival further divides the right and potentially creates an opportunity for everybody else. The Green candidate is Dr Ingrid Dodd, a retired GP who has lived and worked in the ward for many years. Her campaign is focused on protecting the countryside from overdevelopment, building affordable homes alongside the necessary amenities and improving seawater quality, an issue of particular interest because Dodd is a sea swimmer. She also has a history of direct action. During protests against the Iraq War in 2003, Dodd helped organise three cars driving towards Dover docks at five miles an hour. She [later said](https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/sep/27/iraq.iraq?ref=kentcurrent.news) the action brought the area to a halt and was about “lies and spin” rather than party politics. 23 years later, party politics has caught up with her. The Greens have reason to take the ward seriously after finishing relatively close to the Conservatives last time. If three right-wing candidates divide the vote efficiently enough, Dodd has a plausible route into contention. The party has also completed the now-obligatory campaign photograph on Kingsdown beach, where candidates and supporters assemble on the shingle to demonstrate that they are local and willing to stand near the sea. Labour has selected Steve Wisbey, who says he has lived in the area for nearly 60 years, with three generations of his family raised across St Margaret’s, Guston and Martin. Wisbey sits on the East Kent Economic Development Group and serves as secretary of St Margaret’s Football Club. His initial pitch is overwhelmingly local: he knows “every nook and cranny,” cares about the community’s future and can usually be found walking his dog on the cliffs and around the villages. Labour already controls Dover District Council, so the result will not threaten the administration. Winning a traditionally Conservative rural ward would be a substantial bonus, but the more immediate political interest lies in which part of the right emerges strongest. Wisbey has also fulfilled the requirement to be photographed on the beach. Unlike Restore and the Greens, he went alone, producing a slightly soft-focus selfie in which the cliffs behind him emerge with considerably greater clarity than the candidate. The final name on the ballot is independent Graham Wanstall, a longstanding Dover Town councillor and regular presence at local elections. He stood for Kent County Council in 2021 and came second in Maxton and Elms Vale at the last district election, but has yet to break through above town council level. His latest campaign has identified several threats to traditional British life. These include Royal Mail saying counties are no longer necessary in addresses. “We have had counties for over 800 yrs,” Wanstall wrote on Facebook. “I always use the county. I hope others also do. Lets not let another piece of our British way of life go unnoticed!!” He has also objected to candidates knocking on doors in rural villages on Sundays, warning that local people “do not appreciate being disturbed.” Leaflets might be acceptable after 11am, he suggested, but door-knocking should respect tradition and convention. Wanstall conceded that he might be “to *\[sic\]* out of date”, although he cited 40 years of election experience in support of his position. Candidates are welcome to compete for the future of Dover District Council, but preferably not during the traditional day of rest. His wider interests are not restricted by geography. Among the petitions shared by Wanstall are one opposing what its organisers call a “woke feminist takeover” of the United Nations and another demanding improved drainage, lighting and tree maintenance on the A413. The A413 is in Buckinghamshire, but unsafe highways apparently require independent representation wherever it can be found. Wanstall’s public career has previously taken him from local politics to the national press regulator. In 2015, he appeared near Dover’s Victory over Japan Day ceremony wearing a dressing gown. The Dover Express photographed him and reported that his appearance had shocked people attending the event, prompting a [complaint to IPSO](https://www.ipso.co.uk/rulings/05168-15/?ref=kentcurrent.news). Wanstall claimed he had recently undergone a serious operation that left him unable to wear normal clothes. He said he had not known the ceremony was taking place and was simply visiting the town centre on other business. Last year, Wanstall [took to GB News](https://www.gbnews.com/news/kent-news-christian-patient-forced-out-hospital-chapel-muslim-doctors?ref=kentcurrent.news) with a complaint that Muslim doctors had forced him from a chapel at Kent and Canterbury Hospital. He said the men asked him to move during communal prayers and eventually placed a chair for him in a corner, leaving him feeling “belittled and humiliated.” The hospital trust’s account was somewhat less dramatic. It said the room was a multi-faith facility open to staff, patients and visitors, and used by Muslims for communal prayer on Fridays. Wanstall responded by calling for them to be provided with a separate room. He is standing without a party label and has urged residents to vote for any of the six candidates, while reminding them that he is “the lone independent.” Whether voters are primarily concerned about development, council services or the gradual disappearance of counties from envelopes remains to be seen. The winner will not have long to settle in. Dover returns to the polls in less than a year, for shadow unitary authority elections for the councils that will replace districts under the government's local government reorganisation plans. This means six candidates are fighting over a seat on a council approaching the end of its existence. The result will not change who runs Dover and may ultimately tell us little about how the villages themselves will be governed. It will, however, show whether the Conservatives can still hold one of their better wards, whether Reform can continue replacing them and whether Restore Britain’s arrival merely splits the same vote into smaller pieces. There are less conspicuous places to stage that argument, but few come with their own patriotic backdrop and compulsory beach photography. ## ****Like what you’re reading?** Get independent reporting on the stories shaping Kent, delivered free to your inbox. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Catch up Kent’s fire authority has rejected plans to close four on-call stations, reduce cover at four more and remove overnight engines from Dartford and Thames-Side. The vote was 17-2, after which everyone involved began explaining that the victory was entirely theirs. [We looked at](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kents-fire-cuts-defeated-as-politicians-fight-for-credit/) what the decision protects, and the daytime cover and financial problems KFRS still has to solve. Elsewhere, Steven spoke to Christine Rayner, who went from a smoke-filled Chatham News newsroom in the 1970s to editing six Kent titles and teaching journalism. [Their conversation](https://www.kentcurrent.news/im-forever-curious-about-the-world/) is about reporting before newsrooms were hollowed out, the discipline of a good interview and why being accused of bias by every political party can be a reasonable sign that you are doing the job properly. ### Two big reads 1️⃣ In Meopham, the closure of a public toilet block became a £50,000 saga involving protests, a parish poll, two by-elections and five councillor resignations. The loos are now open again, having acquired new fittings, CCTV and a significance normally reserved for the windmill. [The Independent has the full story](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/public-toilets-meopham-kent-b3027084.html?ref=kentcurrent.news). 2️⃣ The Financial Times examines an unlikely point of agreement in Kent: Greens and Reform councillors opposing plans for large solar developments on farmland. It is not, as anyone involved is keen to stress, a blossoming cross-party friendship. [Read the FT’s account](https://www.ft.com/content/6fe70fa1-1173-4f7b-9eb9-d8ad9b2f5694?accessToken=zwAAAZ%5FWeqE7kc9v5w-hEXNPe9Oeuditmy9WlA.MEQCIHdHcJB0ab0dJrt4dTOe5Mc770lKUNUv33HITipfIJIyAiATNBPcfQsd-Fa4hRTjiuLQth2jFuQy1sdK0mZI%5Fsd6BQ&sharetype=gift&token=109450f6-402e-4a9f-89ef-9e0115a9b633&syn-25a6b1a6=1&ref=kentcurrent.news). ### In brief 🚰 This week's [water outages](https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2026-08-09/south-east-water-ceo-apologises-following-weekend-outages-in-kent-and-sussex?ref=kentcurrent.news) included Tonbridge, Lenham, Teynham, and Pluckley. 🏥 The NHS is set to open [new mental health units](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/they-will-be-a-lifeline-for-so-many-new-emergency-mental-343597/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Ashford, Gillingham, and Margate. 🖼️ Kent County Council was the only authority to [sell off artwork](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c304vrg2562o?ref=kentcurrent.news) in the past year. 🏗️ Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council have [begun work](https://www.tmbc.gov.uk/news/article/211/work-begins-on-new-modular-homes-for-local-families?ref=kentcurrent.news) on a complex of 12 homes for temporary accommodation in the middle of a motorway junction on the edge of Medway. 🚛 Panattoni have [submitted plans](https://www.constructionenquirer.com/2026/08/06/panattoni-submits-plans-for-1m-sq-ft-kent-scheme/?ref=kentcurrent.news) for a 1 million sqft industrial and logistics development in Lenham. 🛍️ Bluewater [contributed £233m](https://www.insidermedia.com/news/south-east/bluewater-contributes-233m-to-kent-economy-in-2025-landsec?ref=kentcurrent.news) to the Kent economy in 2025. 👃 Villages south of Dartford are being plagued with a [bad smell](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2m740d0y0o?ref=kentcurrent.news). 👷 Work to repair the Aylesford towpath, which has been closed since 2023, [will not start until at least May 2027](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c78gem290n0o?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🚂 The Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway had to [suspend services](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/romney-marsh/news/popular-tourist-attraction-suspends-steam-trains-due-to-exc-343515/?ref=kentcurrent.news) due to an 'exceptional' fire risk. 🚒 One screen at the Carlton Cinema in Westgate has been [damaged by a fire](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2026/08/07/fire-crews-called-to-carlton-cinema-in-westgate/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🍺 A pub application to install benches on a public square has [ignited a debate](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2026/08/09/concerns-raised-over-extra-seating-on-public-land-for-margate-pub/?ref=kentcurrent.news) over public and private spaces. 💷 If you're looking for an investment, the Pantiles in Tunbridge Wells are [up for sale](https://www.insidermedia.com/news/south-east/royal-tunbridge-wells-the-pantiles-brought-to-market?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🚠 The reopening of the Leas Lift in Folkestone has been [delayed by a year](https://folkestonedispatch.substack.com/p/leas-lift-reopening-pushed-back-by). 🐘 Staff are [facing redundancies](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cyvlg0n4903o?ref=kentcurrent.news) at Howletts Wild Animal Park and Port Lympne Reserve. 🌳 Eight Kent country parks have [retained Green Flag status](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/eight-kent-country-parks-retain-green-flag-award2?ref=kentcurrent.news). ⚽ Tonbridge Angels FC have [had to apologise](https://tonbridgeangels.co.uk/club-statement-2/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to their weekend rivals, Braintree Town, after fans let off a flare, caused damage, and used abusive and sexual language. 🚫 Meanwhile, Ebbsfleet United have been [suspended from the National League](https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2026-08-07/ebbsfleet-united-suspended-by-national-league-over-unpaid-debts?ref=kentcurrent.news) over unpaid debts. 🌪️ A dust devil, usually only arising in deserts, was [filmed near Lenham](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/cddjn4l5531o?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🐦 Rare curlews are [continuing to thrive](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly54v48n0zo?ref=kentcurrent.news) at Elmley Nature Reserve. 🌘 Kent will experience a [90% solar eclipse](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-2a268141-80ca-480d-bd04-6cf688bcc3dd?ref=kentcurrent.news) on Wednesday. ### Council matters **Meetings this week:** - **Maidstone:** [Overview & Scrutiny Committee](https://meetings.maidstone.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=699&MId=5916&ref=kentcurrent.news) will tonight (Monday) look again at the decision to close Maidstone Market after the decision was called in. - **Tonbridge & Malling:** [General Purposes Committee](https://democracy.tmbc.gov.uk//ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=127&MId=6810&ref=kentcurrent.news) will hold an extraordinary meeting on Wednesday to decide the warding arrangements for the new unitary authority set to replace it. - **Dover:** [Planning Committee](https://moderngov.dover.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=136&MId=5506&ref=kentcurrent.news) will decide the fate of a surprisingly controversial sauna in Walmer on Thursday. - **Swale:** [Planning Committee](https://democracy.swale.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=130&MId=4474&ref=kentcurrent.news) will meet on Thursday to decide on 23 new homes in Teynham and a Faversham pub garden. **New planning applications:** - **Ashford:** Proposal to cover the Stour Centre car park with [solar panels](https://ashfordboroughcouncil.my.site.com/pr/s/planning-application/a0hTw0000053L6fIAE/pa20261360?c%5F%5Fr=Arcus%5FBE%5FPublic%5FRegister&ref=kentcurrent.news). - **Folkestone & Hythe:** Screening opinion for a [new hangar](https://folkestonehythedc.my.site.com/PR3/s/planning-application/a1nbH00000mvc5YQAQ/261274fhscr?c%5F%5Fr=Arcus%5FBE%5FPublic%5FRegister&ref=kentcurrent.news) at Lydd Airport. - **Medway:** Screening opinion for [1,300 home mixed-use development](https://publicaccess1.medway.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=TJ8NKDKN02X00&activeTab=summary&ref=localauthority.news) south of Halling. ### Property of the week This week’s property is Iden, a Grade II listed house near Egerton with origins dating back to around 1390, making it considerably older than almost everything else we feature here. It sits in just under 2.5 acres, with far-reaching countryside views, three garages, a wildflower meadow and enough fruit trees to keep you occupied for a while. Inside, there are exposed beams, leaded windows, two enormous open fireplaces, an Aga and enough careful updating to make everyday life rather easier than it was six centuries ago. [Check out this 4 bedroom detached house for sale on Rightmove4 bedroom detached house for sale in Iden Lane, Egerton, Ashford, Kent, TN27 for £995,000\. Marketed by Hobbs Parker Estate Agents, Ashford![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/favicon-450eaba5-8411-475d-a733-7278e9989410.ico)Rightmove.co.uk![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/1fa49bdb0d3e9515065d6e16bb9bde09-465ce518-e4fc-40e6-812b-5b79785f3123.jpeg)](https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/91807869?ref=kentcurrent.news#/) ### Events this week 🎨 12 - 16 Aug - [**The Blue Garden**](https://www.visitthanet.co.uk/events/the-blue-garden-165584/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Exhibition by Krishna Shanthi exploring Hindu iconography, queer visual culture and Sri Lankan history through collage, textiles and painting. Limbo, Margate. Free. 🎮 13 - 14 Aug - [**Crash Festival**](https://www.wearecrash.com/home?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Talks, panels and masterclasses on animation, games, comics and visual effects, with speakers from ILM, Framestore and Marvel. Malthouse Theatre, Canterbury. Tickets from £30. 🚂 15 - 16 Aug - [**WonderWorks x One:One Collection Open Weekend**](https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hornby-hobbies-x-oneone-collection-open-weekend-2026-tickets-1985432724726?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Preview of Margate’s unfinished railway museum, including full-size locomotives, Churchill’s funeral carriage and the original Euston departure boards. WonderWorks, Margate. Tickets £25. 🚜 15 - 16 Aug - [**Biddenden Tractorfest**](https://www.tractorfest.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Around 300 tractors alongside steam engines, classic vehicles, machinery demonstrations, arena displays and traditional crafts. Holden Farm, Biddenden. Tickets £14.50. ## ****Enjoyed this? There’s more where it came from.** Join readers across Kent receiving our independent reporting on the stories shaping the county, straight to their inbox. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### **Footnotes** Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via **hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance… Follow us elsewhere: [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews), [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news), [BlueSky](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news), and now [WhatsApp](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news) for new story alerts. ### “I'm forever curious about the world” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/im-forever-curious-about-the-world/ Last updated: 2026-08-09T14:47:23.000Z *Christine Rayner was a journalist at the Chatham News in the 1970s when local news was well represented and financially supported. Imagine. She went on to become the editor of a number of Kent-based titles before a successful career as a journalism teacher before the closure of the Centre for Journalism. Steven met her at her home to talk about her coming to Kent against her wishes, why she isn't a fashion journalist and the legendary Gerald Hinks.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/08/Copytaking-1.jpg) Christine Rayner. Christine Rayner, who emphasises the “e” in her surname “because so many people add an ‘o’ of their own volition,” is a freelance journalist based in what will soon become Mid Kent Council. We meet at her home to talk about a career spanning reporting, editing and teaching journalism across Medway and Kent, and to hear her advice on the art of interviewing people. Christine has never had a particular journalistic specialism. “I've always said I can write almost anything about almost anything,” she explains, although there are subjects she steers clear of because she knows her limitations. When Christine isn’t working, she helps look after her grandchildren and works with her husband, Stephen Rayner, on [Bygone Kent](https://bygonekent.org.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news), the history publication they own and publish. As opportunities in journalism and teaching have narrowed, more time has opened up for those projects. “I'm afraid the work has pretty much dried up now, ever since, in their wisdom, University of Kent closed the Centre for Journalism,” she says. She still occasionally teaches short courses in journalism and effective writing technique for the University of the Arts London. Christine, the middle of three sisters, was born in the New Forest, where her father worked as a forester. “We had an idyllic childhood. We lived in a forestry cottage and were about four miles from the nearest house,” she says. In 1970, her father was promoted, and the family moved to Kent. Christine was less enthusiastic. “I was resistant to the move. I wasn’t really a rebellious teenager, but I did rebel against my parents’ insistence that we moved 130 miles, or whatever it was, to Kent, which seemed the end of the world.” She is rather happier about the decision now. Christine does not remember herself as particularly academic, although she worked hard. At Ashford Grammar School she took A-levels in English, French and art. “I liked the idea of working, once I found the subjects I was comfortable with,” she says. She left school unsure what to do next and took a gap year. During the year she combined work in the village shop with a part-time secretarial course, learning shorthand and typing, “which proved extremely useful once I got into journalism.” She then enrolled on a fashion journalism course at the London College of Fashion. “It was a year's course, and I realised pretty quickly that I didn't want to be a fashion writer,” she says with a smile. The journalism classes were the part of the course Christine enjoyed most, so she began applying to local newspapers. “I was fortunate to get a job on what was then called the [Chatham News](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medway%5FNews?ref=kentcurrent.news), working under the absolutely brilliant editor Gerald Hinks, who taught me the hard way all that I believe I now know about journalism.” Looking back on her years as a reporter and editor, Christine says the central purpose of the job was simple: finding out what was true. “This meant you had to be determined and sometimes one did come up against people who were trying to stop you finding something out.” One lesson Christine repeatedly gave trainee reporters and, later, university students was to listen carefully. “Sometimes people are keeping something back from you, and you need to have skill in interviewing, so that you can ask the right questions,” she says. Editing also meant standing up to people who disliked what her newspapers were reporting. “I was frequently put under tough scrutiny from people who didn't like what the newspaper was saying about them,” she says. “But if you believe that what you are doing is right, you find the ability to stand up and say, ‘no, this will not do.’” There were threats of legal action over stories published under Christine’s editorship, but no successful libel case. > Ultimately we were trying to put out what we believe to be true Christine has never been a member of a political party, having covered local politics from all sides. She is proud to have been accused of bias by all parties while editing a newspaper, a sentiment this organ recognises. “Ultimately we were trying to put out what we believe to be true,” she says. Christine spent four years working across the Chatham News and its Tuesday edition, the Chatham Standard. “It was very much an apprenticeship,” she says. After three years of training, including two blocks of classroom study, reporters sat the National Council for the Training of Journalists’ “pretty tough exams.” The Proficiency Test was considered “stringent in the extreme” and referred to as the equivalent of a degree. “I never did a degree, but I have that professional qualification,” Christine says proudly. Christine started in journalism in the mid-1970s, in what she describes as “entirely a different world to what it is today.” > You had to be prepared to talk to anybody about anything Her first day gave her an immediate sense of newsroom life. “It was press day and 12 reporters, almost all of them puffing anxiously on cigarettes, were noisily bashing out their stories on huge, heavy typewriters. The room was filled with smoke, and as a lifetime non-smoker it was a physically demanding environment.” Reporters were expected to get out of the office as well as work the phones. “You had to be prepared to talk to anybody about anything,” Christine recalls. That is one of the biggest differences she sees in modern newsrooms, where smaller teams and constant deadlines can leave reporters stuck at their desks. “They do everything online and rarely meet people face-to-face,” she says. Christine does acknowledge one major improvement: finding people has become much easier. “In the early days you had to actually find somebody's number in an old-fashioned phone book. I guess the ease of modern communication's a good thing, although it does have its downside if you can only interview someone via email. It doesn’t have the same impact.” Reporters also routinely worked alongside professional photographers. Today, Christine says, almost anyone can take a picture “with a camera in their pocket,” but she does not think that replaces the experience of going out with trained photographers. “They were good mentors, though they would tease you because they were always frustrated journalists and perhaps drop a question in for you at the crucial time,” Christine recalls. When Christine moved into university teaching in the 2010s, she found some students deeply uncomfortable with the idea of “actually go and talk to a person face-to-face.” For her, interviewing is a “very specialist piece of work practice,” and she reproaches me for referring to it as a conversation. “If you're on a deadline, you need to be very disciplined and keep the interviewee to the subject.” She does at least approve of the fact I have written questions. “You need to be listening to what the person is saying and have the next question in your head, ready to ask. Sometimes the question that you spin off into is not the question you thought you were going to be asking at the beginning of the interview. I'm far too interested in people really. I'm forever curious about the world and want to find out more.” Christine’s career took her from smoky 1970s newsrooms to editing six local newspapers, covering the courts and teaching the next generation of journalists. Register for free to keep reading about what she thinks local journalism has lost, why fewer reporters means more stories go uncovered, and why she still believes it is one of the best careers there is. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Kent’s fire cuts defeated as politicians fight for credit URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/kents-fire-cuts-defeated-as-politicians-fight-for-credit/ Last updated: 2026-08-14T08:39:45.000Z **Plans to close four Kent fire stations and reduce cover elsewhere have been rejected after months of opposition and additional scrutiny, leaving politicians and campaigners competing to claim the victory. We look at what the vote protects, the operational and financial problems it leaves unresolved, and the first implementation details for Kent’s four future unitary councils.* ### Kent’s fire cuts defeated as politicians fight for credit Plans to close four Kent fire stations and reduce cover elsewhere have been defeated, prompting the traditional rush by politicians to explain why it was all down to them. The Kent and Medway Fire and Rescue Authority voted on Thursday against putting the revised package out to public consultation in a 17-2 vote. On-call stations at Chilham, Wye, Cliffe and Westerham will remain open. Elsewhere, attached on-call provision will stay at Deal, Herne Bay, Faversham and Tunbridge Wells, while Dartford and Thames-Side will retain two fire engines overnight. The decision followed months of opposition, two demonstrations outside County Hall and six weeks of additional scrutiny by a cross-party working group. It took rather less than six weeks for the victory claims to arrive. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/08/KC_Fire-1.jpg) The FBU [called the result a “stunning victory”](https://www.fbu.org.uk/news/2026/08/06/fbu-claims-victory-after-kent-county-council-reject-all-fire-service-cuts-proposals?ref=kentcurrent.news) for Kent firefighters and local communities. Its general secretary Steve Wright said rallies organised by the union had forced the authority to change course. “Without our members forthright stand and organising impressive rallies over the last few months, we would not have forced this change,” he said. Firefighters demonstrated in Maidstone again on Tuesday, two days before the vote. An earlier rally preceded the June authority meeting at which members halted the consultation and established the working group. That intervention delayed the plans rather than defeating them. Members gave themselves six weeks to examine the evidence and find out whether there was a less contentious alternative. The delay produced concessions, but not a replacement package. Kent Fire and Rescue Service argued that its resources no longer matched when they were most likely to be needed. On-call stations depend on firefighters who live or work close enough to respond when alerted, but KFRS said those engines had become increasingly unreliable during normal working hours. Its proposed answer was to move resources from quieter periods and lower-demand stations into stronger daytime cover. Three additional wholetime engines would have operated between 8am and 6.30pm at Strood, Ashford and Folkestone. KFRS predicted that first-engine response times in those areas would improve, in some cases by more than a minute. To help fund the change, the second overnight engines at Dartford and Thames-Side would have been withdrawn. Both stations would have retained two engines during the day and one at night. Four standalone on-call stations would have closed, while on-call sections would have been removed from four stations that also have a wholetime engine. Seven new wholetime firefighter posts would have been created. KFRS said no wholetime posts would be lost and there would be no compulsory redundancies, although on-call roles would have ended at the affected stations. The FBU said the original package would have removed 63 firefighter posts and six engines, as well as closing five stations. By Thursday, those plans had already been softened. Grain was removed from the closure list after concerns about the isolation of the Hoo Peninsula, with officers proposing to collect another two years of data before reviewing its future in 2028. The four other station buildings would also have been retained for a year after their crews were removed. Members could then review whether demand had changed before deciding what happened to them permanently. In other words, the stations would have closed, but the authority would have kept the keys handy. That was not enough to persuade members to let the plans reach the public. KFRS chief executive Ann Millington [said the proposals were based on “comprehensive data and evidence”](https://www.kent.fire-uk.org/news/fire-service-governing-body-votes-against-risk-based-proposals-emergency-cover?ref=kentcurrent.news) and intended to strengthen daytime cover while relieving financial pressure. “We would never propose to close a fire station without valid reasons or thorough consideration,” she said. “Today’s outcome is disappointing, as there isn’t an alternative proposal to address the need for more daytime cover.” That is the awkward part of Thursday’s victory lap. During its six-week review, the cross-party group considered different staffing arrangements, further investment in recruiting and retaining on-call firefighters, additional wholetime resources and an alternative submitted by the FBU. The union proposed enhanced payments to guarantee the availability of four on-call engines when cover was weakest, initially through a 12-month pilot. Depending on the hours covered, KFRS calculated that the options would cost between £230,000 and £682,000 a year including employer costs. Officers concluded that the proposal would not provide the same reliable improvement as the wider package. They said none of the alternatives considered offered a better combination of operational effectiveness, affordability and long-term sustainability. 14 chief fire officers and their analysis teams were also invited to identify another viable option within the same budget. According to the meeting papers, none did. The rejected changes were expected to release about £900,000\. Approximately £500,000 would have paid for the seven new wholetime posts, with the remainder available for other investment or future financial pressures. KFRS must now find another answer to its daytime availability problem, alongside £2-3m of other savings it says are required during the current strategy period. There was less enthusiasm for discussing that once the political celebrations began. Faversham and Mid Kent MP Helen Whately called the result a Reform UK “U-turn”, saying the party had finally realised “their plan” was a bad one. The proposals were developed by KFRS management rather than written at Reform headquarters. But Reform has controlled Kent County Council since May last year and its councillors form the largest group on the fire authority, giving Whately an obvious political target. She credited her petition, the FBU campaign and the firefighters who opposed the plans. Reform councillors saw things differently. Spencer Dixon said his party had stood with residents and frontline firefighters. He claimed the Liberal Democrats were the only party to vote for the proposals and had been “massively outvoted.” Fellow Reform councillor John Baker said he rejected the package because he could not support reductions in frontline cover. The result was therefore not a Reform retreat in their telling, but Reform riding to the rescue. Labour also claimed a role. Its KCC group leader [Alister Brady](https://www.kentcurrent.news/you-should-be-able-to-disagree-well/) said Labour members of the authority recognised the problems caused by changing demand, recruitment difficulties, engine availability and emerging risks such as wildfires. But he said the package attempted too many significant changes at once and had not adequately addressed the effects on individual communities. Dartford Labour MP [Jim Dickson](https://www.kentcurrent.news/dartford-suffers-from-having-the-crossing-there/) celebrated the retention of his town’s second overnight engine, crediting residents, firefighters and campaigners who signed petitions and contacted councillors. By Thursday afternoon, the decision had apparently been delivered by union rallies, petitions, residents, firefighters, Labour MPs, Labour councillors and Reform councillors. Depending on whose account you prefer, Reform either stopped the cuts or belatedly abandoned them. Behind the competing versions is a simpler result. Authority members overwhelmingly rejected an unpopular package before it reached public consultation. They preserved four standalone stations, on-call provision at four others and two overnight engines. They also rejected the linked increase in daytime cover. As a result, Kent’s existing fire cover remains intact, but so does the problem KFRS was trying to solve. ![CTA Image](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/08/PrivateEye.jpg) [Our recent story about Kent County Council's national anthem saga](https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-anthem-the-loophole-and-the-american-subtitles/) has found its way into this week's Private Eye, appearing in the - offered without comment - Rotten Boroughs column. It's always nice to see **Kent Current* reporting reaching a wider audience, even if the route there involved councillors singing six verses of God Save the King while subtitles confidently switched to the Star-Spangled Banner. ### Kent’s four new councils get their names Kent’s four new councils have been formally given names that are unlikely to trouble future historians of municipal imagination. North Kent Council, West Kent Council, Mid Kent Council and East Kent Council are the names ministers intend to put into the legislation establishing the new authorities. The decision is contained in an [implementation letter sent to the chief executives of Kent and Medway’s 14 councils](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6a69bb414dda8076771a42b5/Local%5Fgovernment%5Freorganisation%5F-%5Fimplementation%5Fletter%5Fto%5FKent%5Fand%5FMedway%5Fchief%5Fexecutives.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) following the government’s decision to reorganise local government across the county. This story continues below. Register for a free **Kent Current* account to keep reading and receive our main editions straight to your inbox. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Northfleet plan that promised almost everything URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-northfleet-plan-that-promised-almost-everything/ Last updated: 2026-08-10T16:04:16.000Z **Northfleet was promised 3,500 homes, a football stadium, parks and thousands of jobs, but a public inquiry found remarkably little evidence that most of it would happen. Elsewhere, Margate considers the cost of its art boom, Dover tires of being used as political scenery, and a Londoner discovers that Tunbridge Wells does not contain the National Gallery. Plus a critical incident at East Kent hospitals, a Costco application in Aylesford, and the impending loss of Canterbury’s best ramen.* ### Catch up We begin with DOLGE, Reform’s flagship efficiency department at Kent County Council. The department has now disappeared, but the acronym survives as a council-wide strategy with no savings target, no additional powers and closed-door “star chambers” at its centre. [We examined](https://www.kentcurrent.news/dolge-is-dead-long-live-dolge/) how DOLGE became less a department and more a state of mind, and whether the new version amounts to anything beyond a remarkably durable name. KCC’s new finance and payroll software is also becoming difficult to define, although its price is increasingly clear. The expected cost has reached £37.96m, payroll remains in testing, and nobody has begun planning what happens to the system when KCC disappears in 2028\. [Our investigation followed](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kccs-finance-and-payroll-overhaul-heads-for-38m/) the bill from its original £13m approval to the latest request for another £7.56m. The cost, unlike the launch date, has made excellent progress. Finally, we escape County Hall and look considerably further upwards. Anton Vamplew went from Captain Cosmos on Radio Kent to becoming Blue Peter’s resident astronomer, and now runs the Night Sky Club. [He spoke to us](https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-universe-goes-on-and-on-it-never-stops/) about a lifetime explaining the universe, why Pluto remains a planet in his eyes and why August could bring one of the best nights for stargazing in years. ### Why Northfleet’s 3,500-home development was rejected [Northfleet Harbourside](https://www.northfleetharbourside.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) offered almost everything Northfleet lacks. There would be 3,500 homes, an 8,000-seat stadium for Ebbsfleet United, shops, offices, a hotel, healthcare facilities and two new parks. Around 1,500 jobs were predicted, alongside the comprehensive regeneration of a difficult stretch of the Thames. It was an enticing prospect for a borough with a serious housing shortage and some of the most deprived neighbourhoods in England. There was just one problem. Very little had been done to prove that most of it would happen. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/08/Northfleet-1.png) Plans for Northfleet Harbourside. Gravesham Borough Council backed the outline application in April 2024\. The government called it in the following February, preventing the council from issuing permission and sending the scheme to a public inquiry. After hearings stretching from May to November last year, housing minister Matthew Pennycook refused permission on behalf of the secretary of state on Thursday. Kent needs more homes and frequently finds elaborate reasons not to build them. But this decision does not read like another attempt to preserve an unremarkable patch of land from the arrival of people. The inspector gave significant weight to the proposed homes. Gravesham could demonstrate only around three years of housing land against the five it is expected to maintain. Few people seriously dispute that the borough needs to build. What the inquiry disputed was whether Northfleet Harbourside represented 3,500 homes or merely a planning application containing the number 3,500. Most of the land was not controlled by Northfleet Central 1 Limited, the company behind the scheme. Building the masterplan would have required Gravesham to use compulsory purchase powers against existing owners and businesses. That is not unusual in a large regeneration project. What was unusual was the shortage of evidence that the council had begun substantive work on doing it. There was no identified housebuilder with a record of delivering schemes on this scale. The inspector found “very little evidence” that the homes, hotel, offices, commercial space or football stadium would appear in the short or medium term. The finances were similarly aspirational. The applicant’s viability assessment calculated a return of 6.14% of the scheme’s gross development value and a 6.64% profit on cost. The inquiry heard that somewhere between 15% and 20% would normally be considered viable. That calculation was made before a further £25 million in infrastructure contributions had been secured. Of the 3,500 homes, 350 would have been affordable. That was 10% of the development, against the 30% sought by Gravesham’s planning policy. It left the scheme 700 affordable homes short of policy before getting to the awkward question of whether even the 350 on offer could realistically be financed. The government was therefore not choosing simply between 3,500 homes and an industrial estate. It was being asked to remove functioning businesses and protected infrastructure now in return for homes that might arrive at some unspecified point later. Then there was the lead. Immediately north of the site is Britannia Refined Metals, Europe’s largest primary lead refinery. It handles between 140,000 and 160,000 tonnes of crude lead each year. Britannia operates under an environmental permit and, the inquiry heard, below the maximum levels that the permit allows. The applicant argued that the proposed homes were predominantly upwind, that the refinery was properly regulated and that any effects could be managed through design. Its environmental assessment had not, however, included a detailed examination of lead pollution. Britannia commissioned the only site-specific scientific modelling tested under cross-examination. That work suggested most of the development’s approximately 7,000 residents would be living within areas experiencing moderate adverse effects from airborne lead. The affected land included proposed homes, Power Park, Riverwalk Park and allotments. Lead concentrations were said to be between 10 and 19 times those typically experienced in London and the South East. Children would be particularly vulnerable, along with pregnant women, babies and older residents. Mechanical ventilation and filtered air could reduce exposure inside homes, provided the equipment was maintained permanently. It was less useful for anyone hoping to sit in a park, walk a dog or grow vegetables. Possible outdoor measures included barriers, planting and discouraging people from spending time in the most affected spaces. A public park that the public is advised not to linger in is not generally considered the pinnacle of placemaking. The inspector found that no credible mitigation plan had been provided. This does not mean the inquiry found Northfleet generally unsafe or Britannia to be operating unlawfully. The refinery also had an obvious business interest in opposing the arrival of thousands of residents next door. But its scientific case went largely unanswered. The applicant did not call an equivalent lead specialist to challenge it, leaving the inspector to accept the only detailed evidence available. It was an extraordinary omission for a development proposing to place a new community beside a major lead refinery. The inspector said refusal would remain justified even if the health concern were given less weight. Robins Wharf provided another substantial reason. The operational minerals wharf receives sand, gravel and crushed rock from ships on the Thames. The materials are used to produce concrete, asphalt and mortar before entering the construction supply chain across Kent, London and the South East. Its protection was reaffirmed in the Kent Minerals and Waste Local Plan adopted last year. Nobody at the inquiry argued that the wharf was obsolete or unviable. Northfleet Harbourside would have retained the jetty while removing the land needed to unload, store and process materials. This preserved the wharf in approximately the same way that keeping a shop sign preserves the shop. The applicant said the market would adapt and other wharves could absorb the work. It did not identify a suitable replacement. Kent County Council, which opposed the wharf’s removal, has since [hailed the refusal](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/kcc-says-northfleet-harbourside-decision-is-a-landmark-planning-ruling?ref=kentcurrent.news) as a landmark ruling. This is not an entirely neutral assessment from one of the parties that won. KCC had not objected to the wider scheme on conventional highways, education, social care or waste grounds, provided conditions and financial contributions were secured. Its principal argument was that protected infrastructure should not be extinguished for benefits that could not be relied upon. Around 650 existing jobs were also threatened. The site contains specialist electrical contractors, engineering and manufacturing companies, haulage operations, scaffolding firms and traffic-management businesses. Some need specialist equipment, large premises or access to the river. The proposed shops, offices, hotel, stadium and leisure uses were expected to generate around 1,500 jobs. But jobs are not interchangeable simply because they occupy the same column in a spreadsheet. No completed relocation strategy was presented. Existing businesses told the inquiry that alternative premises were unavailable, unsuitable or outside Gravesham. This rather complicated the description of the site as underused brownfield land awaiting regeneration. Brownfield does not mean empty. The inspector found active and sometimes thriving businesses rather than a derelict expanse waiting patiently for an architect. The masterplan also proposed a substantial realignment of the A226 around Galley Hill Road, Stonebridge Road and Lower Road. When the inspector visited in May 2025, Galley Hill Road had already been [closed for around two years](https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-road-that-fell-off-the-map/). Dartford Borough Council asked for construction traffic to be considered with the road both open and closed. That closure was not a reason for refusal. It did, however, form the backdrop to a proposal for thousands of homes, a stadium and years of construction around a road network already missing one of its established routes. Despite the scale of the application, basic access arrangements remained unresolved during the inquiry. Plans for replacing Britannia’s staff parking and lorry-marshalling area changed repeatedly. The proposed access road to the retained industrial businesses risked crossing the underground foundations of a National Grid electricity pylon. The gap between the tower and a retained building was measured at 4.59 metres, below the six metres normally required for two-way lorry movements. National Grid was not persuaded that an asset protection agreement would fix the problem. Access and the main road layout were among the few parts of this outline application that were not being left to sort out later. The revised design would also have sent the King Charles III England Coast Path for more than 100 metres beside a lorry-marshalling area, before taking walkers across a car park entrance. Anti-cat fencing protecting nearby wildlife would have stood on the other side. It was less a riverside promenade than a carefully channelled encounter with logistics. Gravesham’s enthusiasm is not difficult to understand. Northfleet needs homes, investment, public space and better facilities. Ebbsfleet United wants a stadium capable of supporting its ambitions. The council’s failure was to treat those promised benefits as real while assuming land ownership, viability, public health, displaced businesses and unfinished road designs could all be dealt with later. Granting outline permission would have created a potentially valuable planning consent. It would not have built a home or laid a brick at a new stadium. Northfleet is now left where it started. It still needs housing and investment, Ebbsfleet United still needs a long-term plan, and the difficult boundary between industry and regeneration has not moved. The applicant has six weeks to challenge the legal validity of the decision in the High Court. That would require showing that the decision was legally flawed, rather than persuading a judge that the development was a good idea. Otherwise, returning to the site would require a substantially revised proposal. Northfleet Harbourside offered almost everything the area lacks. The inquiry found a glossy masterplan that had travelled considerably further than the evidence beneath it. ## ****Like what you’re reading?** Get independent reporting on the stories shaping Kent, delivered free to your inbox. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Three big reads 1️⃣ We begin in Margate, where artists priced out of London helped revive the town before making it considerably more expensive. House prices doubled between 2014 and 2024, while local wages and opportunities failed to perform the same trick. [Artnet looks at](https://news.artnet.com/art-world/margate-art-scene-2792465?ref=kentcurrent.news) what the art boom brought to Margate, what it put at risk and whether local people have been allowed to share in the revival. 2️⃣ One Londoner did attempt life in Kent, but lasted a month before asking her landlord for an escape route. Tunbridge Wells had green spaces, independent shops and a cottage with an actual garden, but it also required commuting and did not contain the National Gallery. [The Metro recounts](https://metro.co.uk/2026/07/30/i-left-london-for-the-suburbs-within-a-month-i-was-begging-to-go-back-29258664/?ref=kentcurrent.news) the shocking discovery that moving out of London involves no longer living in London. 3️⃣ Finally to Dover, now a favourite filming location for rightwing politicians and influencers making content about an “invasion.” Residents describe camera crews arriving to present their town as a national crisis, while its beach, marina and surrounding countryside remain largely absent from the finished product. [The Guardian visits the real Dover](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/aug/01/on-the-ground-dover-rightwing-influencers-invaded?ref=kentcurrent.news) and asks what happens when a town becomes scenery for somebody else’s political career. ### In brief 🚰 Tonbridge won the South East Water [supply failure lottery](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8ejy2kekgo?ref=kentcurrent.news) this week. 🏢 Residents of Miller Heights in Maidstone, who haven't been able to access their homes for three months, are [still being asked to pay service charges](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/it-s-an-absolute-nightmare-outrage-as-residents-told-to-p-343401/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🚣 Prime Minister Andy Burnham visited Dover yesterday to show he is [Very Serious](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dover/news/pm-visits-kent-and-vows-to-be-relentless-in-tackling-small-343454/?ref=kentcurrent.news) about small boat crossings. ➡️ Former Canterbury MP Julian Brazier has [switched from the Conservatives to Reform](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/former-kent-mp-i-ve-been-a-tory-for-50-years-but-i-m-swit-343297/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🌳 The Guardian have got wind of the [Oaken Wood quarry threat](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/30/oaken-wood-ancient-woodland-kent-quarry-expansion-reform-council?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🏥 Ongoing IT issues at East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust has led to a [critical incident](https://www.ekhuft.nhs.uk/news/critical-incident-declared-at-east-kent-hospitals/?ref=kentcurrent.news) being declared. 🎓 The University of Kent and University of Greenwich have [completed their merger](https://www.kent.ac.uk/news/uncategorized/38260/kent-completes-landmark-super-university-merger-with-greenwich?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🍜 The best ramen place in Kent, Tamago in Canterbury, is [set to close](https://www.instagram.com/p/DbWGjaus-qZ/?ref=kentcurrent.news) on 6 September. 🛍️ The UK's largest Next has [opened at Bluewater](https://www.insidermedia.com/news/south-east/uks-largest-next-store-opens-at-kent-shopping-centre?ref=kentcurrent.news) in the former House of Fraser. 🚂 Herne Bay's land train was apparently a [great success](https://news.canterbury.gov.uk/news/herne-bay-land-train-thats-a-wrap/?ref=kentcurrent.news). ### Council matters **Meetings this week:** - **Swale:** [Licensing Committee](https://democracy.swale.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=215&MId=4566&ref=kentcurrent.news) will hold an extraordinary meeting tonight (Monday ) to discuss a new taxi tariff and a pavement licensing policy. - **Medway:** [Cabinet](https://democracy.medway.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=115&MId=6549&ref=localauthority.news) will meet to discuss finances, the Wigmore traveller site, climate change, ICT upgrades, and lots more on Tuesday. **New planning applications:** - **Folkestone & Hythe:** Conversion of part of former Debenhams into [21 flats](https://folkestonehythedc.my.site.com/PR3/s/planning-application/a1nbH00000mONxnQAG/261212fhpa?c%5F%5Fr=Arcus%5FBE%5FPublic%5FRegister&ref=kentcurrent.news). - **Medway**: New [outdoor pool, extended hospitality, padel courts, and additional hospitality](https://publicaccess1.medway.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=TIVPSBKNIP300&ref=localauthority.news) as Avenue Tennis in Gillingham mutates into a David Lloyd. - **Swale:** Conversion of Weston Works site into [36 homes](https://pa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=TH6H7NTYL3400&ref=kentcurrent.news). - **Tonbridge & Malling:** Construction of a [Costco in Aylesford](https://publicaccess.tmbc.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=TIGMI0QHHDO00&ref=kentcurrent.news). ### Property of the week This is a four-bedroom Edwardian semi on Hayle Road in Maidstone that feels like it belongs in a different price bracket. Behind the period frontage are two reception rooms, a large kitchen and breakfast room, a separate utility, a cellar and around 100ft of landscaped garden, with off-street parking for two cars thrown in for good measure. It has kept plenty of its original character, including fireplaces, bay windows and high ceilings, while still feeling like somewhere you could actually live rather than spend every weekend worrying about. It is on the market for £450,000. [Check out this 4 bedroom semi-detached house for sale on Rightmove4 bedroom semi-detached house for sale in Hayle Road, Maidstone, ME15 for £450,000\. Marketed by Simon Miller and Company, Maidstone![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/favicon-2064d460-1a7e-4572-8361-e47b401c09d4.ico)Rightmove.co.uk![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/159cebce3fcc6b65536394a039562435-fbeec445-9b35-40de-bb6c-05bf2d458256.jpeg)](https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/91552488?ref=kentcurrent.news#/) ### Events this week 🪕 7 - 14 Aug - [**Broadstairs Folk Week**](https://broadstairsfolkweek.org.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Acclaimed folk festival takes over town by the sea. Various locations, Broadstairs. Tickets from £63. 🏳️‍🌈 Sat 8 Aug - [**Margate Pride**](https://www.margatepride.org.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Seafront march followed by live music, DJs, drag and the Mx Margate pageant at Dreamland. Various locations, Margate. Free. 🎉 Sat 8 Aug - [**Herne Bay Carnival Day**](https://hernebayfestival.com/whats-on/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Seafront carnival with live music, family activities and an evening fireworks display. Various locations, Herne Bay. Free. 🎉 Sat 8 Aug - [**Medway Culture Club Carnival**](https://www.medwaycultureclub.co.uk/free-events?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Family fun day celebrating diversity in the Medway community. Royal Engineers Museum, Gillingham. Free. 🎸 Sat 8 Aug - [**Little Storping in the Swuff present Hassle Olympics**](https://www.ticketsource.com/mlt/little-storping-in-the-swuff-present-hassle-olympics/e-zpdavo?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Acclaimed Medway band plays show to mark release of second album. Medway Little Theatre, Rochester. Tickets £10. 🏎️ 8 - 9 Aug - [**Motors by the Moat**](https://www.leeds-castle.com/events/motors-by-the-moat/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // More than 600 classic and performance vehicles alongside stunt driving and jet-ski displays. Leeds Castle, Maidstone. Tickets from £34.50. 🌻 8 - 9 Aug - [**Great Comp Summer Show**](https://www.greatcompgarden.co.uk/the-great-comp-summer-show-saturday-8-sunday-9-august-2026/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Specialist plant nurseries, local crafts, food and live jazz across seven acres of gardens. Great Comp Garden, Platt. Tickets £10.50. ## ****Enjoyed this? There’s more where it came from.** Join readers across Kent receiving our independent reporting on the stories shaping the county, straight to their inbox. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### **Footnotes** Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via **hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance… Follow us elsewhere: [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews), [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news), [BlueSky](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news), and now [WhatsApp](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news) for new story alerts. ### “The universe goes on and on. It never stops” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-universe-goes-on-and-on-it-never-stops/ Last updated: 2026-08-02T06:00:14.000Z *Anton Vamplew first appeared on Blue Peter in 1997 as the programme's resident astronomer, but long before that he was known to Radio Kent listeners as Captain Cosmos. Steven met him to discuss a lifetime spent explaining the night sky, why Pluto is still a planet in his eyes, and why August could provide one of the best evenings for stargazing in years.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/08/AV-Headshot-2500w-1.jpeg) Anton Vamplew "I used to do astronomy on Radio Kent, where I was Captain Cosmos." During the era of Pat Marsh, Anton would present segments on the night sky before signing off with: "I'll disappear up into space, because I'm quite busy up there." Born in Rainham, Anton's family had moved from St Mary's Cray into North Kent. His mother worked at CAV in Gillingham before starting her own interior design business, while his father worked for British Steel. Anton’s fascination with astronomy began in childhood. “I was used to gazing out to the nighttime sky from our house when I was five and thinking, what is that?” He began learning about constellations and became even more fascinated after finding Patrick Moore’s *Boys Book of Astronomy* at a jumble sale in 1976. “Not ‘Girl’s Book…’ Girls couldn't have this. The girls had a book of ballet.” He later studied astronomy as a GCE at MidKent College. “It involved lots of coursework, following the moon over the course of the month and using a telescope to look at objects and draw them.” The course proved more important to Anton’s future than his first job. “What was I doing? I was entering computer data for a paper company in Croydon” What fascinated Anton was the scale of it all: “that the universe goes on and on. It never stops.” Astronomy has also changed dramatically since he first looked through a telescope. “Now we're doing infrared, ultraviolet, X-rays. In the olden days, you could only look with your eye and get visual light.” Anton is less certain how to describe his current occupation. “I've been doing art and design for a while,” he says. That began with his first book in the mid-2000s, Simple Stargazing. “I did all the illustrations and designs for that.” He also worked at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. “I used to teach astronomy there.” He is now trying to return more fully to astronomy, “doing a few more talks and getting astronomy out there,” while acknowledging that “if it earns some money, that would be great.” As he approaches retirement, his main focus is simply encouraging more people to look up. Anton's route into broadcasting began with the Mid Kent Astronomical Society, which he joined in 1979 aged 13 when it was based in Strood, before it later moved to MidKent College near Rochester Airport. Through the society, he was invited onto Radio Kent during the 1980s to talk about Halley's Comet. “I asked one of the producers at Radio Kent, ‘Would you like a regular contributor on astronomy? If there was anything to see in the sky?’ And they replied, ‘That'd be great.’” Working on Pat Marsh's programme led to another presenter commissioning a series of ten-minute astronomy features. “It wasn't a lot of money. About £15.” Around the same time, Anton's wife was working for the BBC World Service on a youth programme called Megamix. She passed one of Anton's tapes to the production team, who invited him to audition as a presenter, writing, interviewing and presenting features. He got the job. Within a few months, Blue Peter wanted to make an astronomy feature but, as Anton puts it, “they didn't know anybody.” In November 1997, Anton presented his first Blue Peter feature alongside Katy Hill in the Blue Peter Garden at Television Centre. “We talked about telescopes and how you could see things that are in the nighttime sky.” Afterwards, the programme's editor approached him with an offer. “I'd like to make you the Blue Peter astronomer.” The role involved around six features a year. Sometimes Anton would explain what children could see in the night sky. “We used to have the Cosmic Couch.” Over the next seven years he filmed everywhere from Jodrell Bank and Isaac Newton's Woolsthorpe Manor to the Canary Islands and Hawaii. The sacrifices. “Oh, to get paid to go to Hawaii. It was all economy class. It was still on a BBC budget.” Blue Peter also led to Anton's first book deal with HarperCollins and a role at the Royal Observatory. “I wrote to the Royal Observatory and said, ‘I'm on Blue Peter, can I come and work for you?’” They said yes. Anton believes astronomy can be exciting “if you get it right”, but “dull if you're not the right person.” He enjoyed presenting it and believes he “did it well.” After years talking about the night sky on television and radio, Anton stepped away to focus on other work. “You only have a certain amount of time. I was still watching the stars, but I wasn't doing anything beyond that.” Astronomy never stopped being his passion, though. It eventually drew him back through books, public talks and, most recently, the [Night Sky Club](https://www.thenightskyclub.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news). ****Create your free account to keep reading.** Continue with Anton's guide to August's eclipse and meteor shower, his memories of Blue Peter and Radio Kent, and why he's on a mission to get more people looking up at the night sky. It only takes a moment to register. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### DOLGE is dead. Long live DOLGE. URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/dolge-is-dead-long-live-dolge/ Last updated: 2026-08-06T18:02:42.000Z **Reform's flagship DOLGE project has undergone a transformation. The Department of Local Government Efficiency is gone, replaced by a new strategy carrying the same acronym but a very different approach. We examine why Kent County Council has changed course, what the new version is supposed to achieve, and whether it amounts to a meaningful shift or simply a new label for existing work.* **DOLGE is dead. Long live DOLGE.** Kent County Council leader [Linden Kemkaran](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-think-theres-a-lot-gone-wrong-with/) remembers taking control of the authority as finding herself “in the driver’s seat of a runaway train.” Long-term debt stood above £730m, daily interest payments exceeded £80,000, and spending on services including adult social care was moving out of control. “I knew I had to locate the brake lever and pull it hard, but without derailing the carriages behind me,” she told journalists gathered at County Hall on Thursday. Reform’s answer was DOLGE, the Department of Local Government Efficiency. The name was deliberately inspired by Elon Musk’s DOGE project in the United States, although Kemkaran insisted the Kent version was more restrained. “We’re British, and we don’t approach things in exactly the same way as our friends across the Atlantic,” she said. Kent’s version would be “subtle, focused, quietly observant, but quick to act when necessary.” Just over a year later, the Department of Local Government Efficiency no longer exists. In its place is the Delivery of Local Government Efficiency, retaining the acronym while replacing the small, member-led operation with a strategy intended to run through every part of KCC. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/07/KC_KCC-cuts.jpg) The new version is broader, more collaborative and harder to define. Its work will largely be performed by council officers through existing financial and performance systems, with Cllr Chris Hespe and his deputy, Cllr Paul Chamberlain, remaining as the political DOLGE team overseeing it. DOLGE, in other words, is no longer really a department. It is closer to a state of mind. The launch began with a video celebrating DOLGE’s first year, followed by slightly awkward applause from the Reform councillors gathered in the room. Kemkaran insisted the project had been an “unmitigated success” and was “very much alive and kicking,” pausing to take a swipe at KentOnline for reporting otherwise. Hespe then attempted to establish agreement around the project by asking anyone in the room who did not believe KCC should spend money wisely, seek savings or obtain value for money to raise their hand. Nobody did, delivering the expected consensus that wasting public money is bad. “Well, DOLGE is about all of the above,” Hespe concluded. He insisted this was now “a KCC strategy, not a Reform UK strategy”, endorsed by the chief executive, the council’s senior finance officer and the corporate management team. “All spend and savings work in KCC will have the DOLGE watermark running through it,” he said. For a strategy built around making systems work more efficiently, the presentation had its moments. A slide setting out DOLGE’s first-year actions initially failed to appear, leaving Hespe waiting before the technical problem was resolved. The strategy itself was described as launched and live, although the [published document](https://www.kent.gov.uk/%5F%5Fdata/assets/pdf%5Ffile/0005/240269/Delivery-of-Local-Government-Efficiency-DOLGE-Strategy.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) still labels itself 'First edition – September 2026.' The original DOLGE was created after Reform took control of KCC in May 2025\. It was intended to bring a new set of political eyes to a budget written by the previous Conservative administration. Its members promised to leave no stone unturned, interrogating every budget line for waste and monitoring whether planned savings were being delivered. Alongside it came a separate intervention from Reform’s national DOGE operation. Then-party chairman Zia Yusuf announced that a team of “world-class software engineers, data analysts and forensic auditors” would arrive at County Hall to examine the council’s records. Our account of [Musk-style politics arriving in Kent](https://www.kentcurrent.news/musk-style-politics-comes-to-kent/) recorded Yusuf appearing at KCC with Brexit backer Arron Banks and software developer Nathaniel Fried. Within days, Yusuf had resigned as Reform chairman and Fried had departed with him. The national circus quickly moved on, but the local acronym survived. The difficulty was that KCC’s finances did not contain the vast pool of easy savings the rhetoric implied. DOLGE has changed its name, but the harder questions start here. Register for free to examine KCC’s savings claims, why the new version has no specific target or additional powers, and how its closed-door “star chambers” will work. By the time Reform produced its first KCC budget, [the numbers described a council managing a narrowing margin for error](https://www.kentcurrent.news/reforms-first-kcc-budget-and-the-numbers-it-cant-escape/) after years of restraint. Its largest pressures came from adult social care, special educational needs and other statutory services where demand could not simply be switched off. That tension eventually broke into public view when DOLGE’s original Cabinet member, Cllr Matthew Fraser-Moat, [told the Financial Times](https://www.ft.com/content/fc3cade5-271b-4db3-8650-0067907603ee?syn-25a6b1a6=1&ref=kentcurrent.news) that the administration had not actually made any cuts. He resigned shortly afterwards, describing the conversation as a “lapse of judgement” and saying his words had been twisted. Cllr Chris Hespe replaced him, although he made a point of thanking Fraser-Moat at Thursday’s launch for laying DOLGE’s foundations. KCC credits the first phase with helping the authority deliver around £100m of savings, avoid £39.5m in future spending and reduce long-term debt by £114m during the financial year. Hespe said the total debt reduction since Reform took office had now reached £142m. Those figures describe several different things. The savings target was inherited from the previous administration, and much of DOLGE’s stated role involved monitoring whether directorates delivered it. The £39.5m relates to future spending that KCC says it avoided, rather than cash removed from the existing budget. The council’s final finance report recorded £98.6m in delivered savings and additional income. It also showed KCC ending the year £22.7m over budget, with the gap again covered from reserves. That apparent contradiction was the point of [our examination of KCC’s year-end finances](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kent-found-almost-100m-of-savings-it-still-overspent-by-23m/). The council can find substantial savings while still being overtaken by the rising cost of services it has a legal duty to provide. The new DOLGE is an acknowledgement of that more complicated reality. “Now that the administration has set our own budget, we enter the second phase of DOLGE,” Hespe said. “It would be surprising if we found massive waste in the budget that we had set.” The original version was sold as a disruptive group searching for waste. Its replacement seeks to make every directorate responsible for efficiency instead. Cllr Paul Chamberlain said the strategy provides a common destination for the organisation. “Everyone here now knows where we’re going,” he said. “They know why we behave the way we do, or why we do the things we do.” Asked by *Kent Current* whether the new strategy had an overall savings target, Hespe was unequivocal. “No, we do not have specific targets,” he said. He argued that setting one would mean KCC had effectively decided in advance how far services or staffing should be reduced. “It would be inappropriate to do that because that means that we’ve already made decisions on what we should be slimming down,” he said. “We would get in a right pickle if we were saying we have to take X number of staff out, we have to take these services out. It would just be the wrong approach completely.” Hespe insisted the programme was not about cuts. “This isn’t a game about cutting things, either chopping things off or salami slicing,” he said. Instead, KCC will consider different ways of delivering services. Hespe listed externalisation, management contracting, partnerships and divestment among the available options. “Just trying to find sensible ways in which we can do things better is a far better approach,” Hespe told us. Asked whether embedding DOLGE across KCC gave it greater power to implement changes, he was equally direct. “It doesn’t change our power,” he said. What changes, according to Hespe, is the likelihood of the political leadership’s intentions being carried out. “Officers understand it, officers endorse it,” he said. “This has been endorsed by the chief executive, the Section 151 officer, the corporate management team. They’re all fully behind this.” That leaves the new DOLGE in a curious position. Its remit extends across the authority, but there is no separate officer delivery unit and the strategy identifies no additional resources for the work. Hespe and Chamberlain remain the political team, while officers and directorates are expected to deliver the substance. Even the strategy’s own analysis acknowledges the problem. “DOLGE typically relies on other departments to implement changes,” it says. “Savings and improvements can be claimed but not realised.” The strategy does contain a long list of things KCC wants to do differently. The council will make greater use of unit costs, examining how much a service costs for each person using it rather than relying solely on large overall budgets. It plans closer account management of major suppliers, earlier commercial involvement in purchasing decisions and new measures of procurement savings. Staff logging into their computers are already being prompted to submit ideas that could save money or generate income. Successful suggestions can receive a £500 cash reward. The council will also develop what it calls “oven-ready options” that can be introduced quickly if monthly financial reports show a budget moving off course. These could sit alongside “pre-cooked options”, including recruitment freezes, limits on external conferences and other immediate spending controls. Cllr [Mark Hood](https://www.kentcurrent.news/we-havent-had-a-king-of-kent-for-over-1-000-years/), leader of the Green Group on the council, spotted a theme. With “oven-ready options”, “pre-cooked options” and spending freezes all appearing in the strategy, he said, “the only thing missing is an acknowledgement that this whole enterprise is half-baked.” Beneath the culinary criticism was a broader argument. Hood said the new strategy “seems to revolve around individual directorates taking a tighter control on their budgets,” raising the question of what they had been doing during Reform’s first year. KCC’s answer is that the work may use familiar council machinery, but DOLGE brings it together under a common strategy with political backing. Hespe said other authorities had sought advice about its approach and that DOLGE was being recognised as an example of “good practice.” More significantly, the strategy asks KCC to examine the difference between statutory services, discretionary services and “acceptable minimum levels of provision”. Its core principles tell staff and members to ask whether spending is necessary, whether KCC must provide the service, whether another organisation could do it and whether only part of it is required. Another principle is blunter. “Stop growing KCC.” Chamberlain said that reflected the approach of local government reorganisation, which will replace KCC, Medway Council and Kent’s 12 district authorities with four new unitary councils in April 2028. “Organisations love to grow,” he said. “The good idea becomes a department, becomes a budget line.” KCC would instead be handed over “as is.” Hespe said there were no current plans to cut jobs, although natural wastage was possible as reorganisation approached. He also declined to promise that DOLGE would mean lower council tax, saying the next increase would not be decided until the February 2027 budget process. At the centre of the new monitoring system will be a series of “star chambers” for council directorates. These will bring together DOLGE members, finance staff and senior officers to examine whether spending and savings are on track and identify emerging problems. Hespe described them as informal internal meetings. They will not be open to the public and will not follow a regular published schedule, instead taking place when considered necessary. Calling an informal meeting held behind closed doors a “[star chamber](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star%5FChamber?ref=kentcurrent.news)” is at least admirably on the nose. The term has a long second life in government as jargon for forceful budget-review panels. Its historical namesake was a court operating through the King’s Council that was abolished in 1641 following complaints about its practices. KCC’s [public explanation of the strategy](https://www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-council/strategies-and-policies/corporate-policies/delivery-of-local-government-efficiency-dolge-strategy?ref=kentcurrent.news) promises to be “open and clear”, regularly reporting what has been achieved. It does not say whether the star chambers will produce public records showing what was proposed, which interventions were requested or how much they were expected to save. When the *Kent Current* asked Hespe what formal scrutiny or outputs would follow from decisions made informally, he said there was “plenty of scrutiny” and directed us to the strategy’s monitoring section. That section says DOLGE will draw on KCC’s existing finance, performance and strategy reports. None provides a dedicated public record of what happens inside a star chamber, despite those meetings being described as the cornerstone of DOLGE’s monitoring. All of this will operate under the approaching abolition of KCC. Hespe said the council had around 20 months of existence remaining, but argued that choices made during that period could shape Kent’s services for another ten or twenty years. Reorganisation already affects decisions over long-term contracts, renewals and their cut-off dates. Hespe also sees it as an opportunity. “It’s actually a big opportunity for us to rationalise, and decide how we can divest, how we can disaggregate services in the best way for the public of Kent,” he said. He believes the four successor councils may eventually adopt much of the DOLGE strategy, or at least its underlying principles. There is an unresolved democratic question within that ambition. KCC must keep services functioning and prepare them for transfer, but the more it reshapes, contracts out or divests before 2028, the more it determines the inheritance of councils that do not yet exist. The strategy itself appears not to have entirely caught up with events. Published two weeks after the government selected the four-unitary model, it still discusses what will happen “should the government decide to proceed” with abolishing Kent’s existing councils. The new DOLGE may prove more realistic than the project Reform launched last year. It accepts that efficiency cannot depend on a few councillors discovering spectacular waste and instead places responsibility throughout an organisation managing genuine financial pressure. It is also harder to judge. There is no headline number against which it expects to be measured, and its most important challenge meetings will take place away from public view. The department is gone. The acronym remains. Whether the new version delivers anything distinct will depend on what happens inside KCC, and how much the authority eventually chooses to tell the people paying for it. ### Footnotes Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via **hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance… Follow us elsewhere: [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews), [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news), [BlueSky](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news), and now [WhatsApp](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news) for new story alerts. ### KCC’s finance and payroll overhaul heads for £38m URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/kccs-finance-and-payroll-overhaul-heads-for-38m/ Last updated: 2026-07-29T15:59:59.000Z Kent County Council is preparing to spend almost £38m on the back office software it uses to pay suppliers, approve purchases, manage its finances and, eventually, run payroll. That software is Oracle Cloud. Despite the name, it is not an online storage service. It is a collection of programs covering finance, purchasing, staff records and payroll, delivered online rather than run through KCC’s old technology. Only the first of its two phases is live. Finance and procurement launched in August 2025\. HR and payroll were supposed to follow in April this year, but remain in testing without a firm launch date. For a council with an annual net budget of around £1.6bn, Oracle sits at the centre of how money is approved, recorded and paid. It is the organisational plumbing, with an awful lot of public money running through it. KCC is now [seeking another £7.56m](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/mgIssueHistoryHome.aspx?IId=72810&Opt=0&ref=kentcurrent.news) to complete the programme. This money comes on top of the council’s previous £30.4m forecast. The *Kent Current* asked KCC directly whether the additional funding was included in that figure. “The £7.5 million is in addition to the £30.4m,” the council replied. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-29-at-16.19.30.png) KCC is seeking another £7.56m for its Oracle Cloud programme, taking the expected cost to £37.96m. Using the precise £7,562,446 contained in the [proposed decision](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/documents/s138284/26-00040%20-%20Proposed%20Record%20of%20Decision.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news), that produces an expected programme cost of £37.96m. KCC did not provide a separate revised total when asked. It did, however, confirm the two numbers should be added together, which rather limits the available arithmetic. The allocation has not yet appeared on KCC’s cabinet member decision list, so it remains a request rather than an approved increase. But the direction is clear. Payroll is not live, there is no firm launch date, the lessons learned work remains unpublished, and nobody has started planning what happens to the system when KCC disappears. This is not a full-blown IT failure. The finance and purchasing system is operating, and [external auditors have not identified significant problems](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/documents/s137222/External%20Audit%20Progress%20Report%20for%20KCC%20inclusive%20of%20FPF%20Update.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) with moving financial records from the old Oracle system into the new one. But the cost has climbed, a major deadline has been missed, and several important checks remain unfinished. The cost has been moving rather more confidently than the launch date. The first £13m was approved in February 2022 for what KCC called the Extended Discovery phase. This was the period in which the council was establishing what it needed and how the replacement should work. That £13m was not presented as a complete lifetime price for the finished system. It is an important qualification when comparing it with today’s figure, although it also means the programme began without councillors being given a full public price for where it might end. By November 2024, approved funding had reached £25.4m. It rose to £29.8m a year later. A Freedom of Information response to the *Kent Current* showed that £29.2m had already been spent, while KCC separately put the programme’s current forecast at £30.4m. The route by which that figure became public was not especially straightforward. KCC initially refused to provide the forecast through FOI. It said the number was under review with its commercial partners and that releasing it could damage continuing contract discussions. When approached separately for comment, the council’s press office supplied the £30.4m figure. Two months later, it has confirmed that another £7.56m was required on top. That is a substantial development to emerge from a forecast previously considered too commercially sensitive for disclosure through the formal information regime. The new money is intended to fund the second phase until February 2027\. KCC wants to take it from the [flexible use of capital receipts](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/documents/s134627/Appendix%20R%20-%202026-27%20Flexible%20Use%20of%20Capital%20Receipts%20Strategy.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news), which essentially means using proceeds from selling property or other assets to pay eligible transformation costs. Councils would normally use capital receipts for buildings, infrastructure and other long-term investment. Government rules also allow the money to support projects expected to transform services or produce continuing savings. KCC used the same approach during 2025/26, when £8m of Oracle spending was met from capital receipts rather than its reserves. Its strategy for 2026/27 then proposed using a further £9m across Oracle and several other transformation schemes. Any remaining Oracle costs would be met from money set aside for IT projects. The council says the latest £7.56m has already been identified and should be enough to complete the programme while leaving sufficient funding for its other digital priorities. Using capital receipts does not make the cost disappear. KCC says it received £9m more from asset sales than expected, so the proposed use should not increase its borrowing. ****The rising bill is only part of the story.** KCC’s own auditors identified financial weaknesses, testing problems and gaps in oversight. Register for free to continue reading about what remains unfinished and why nobody has started planning for Oracle’s future after KCC disappears. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Kent’s grammar school system has a £7.2m maths problem URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/kents-grammar-school-system-has-a-7-2m-maths-problem/ Last updated: 2026-08-03T17:50:54.000Z **More boys are passing the Kent Test around Maidstone than the area’s grammar schools have room for, leaving KCC with a £7.2m problem to solve. Elsewhere, a proposed mega-council stretches from Folkestone to the Isle of Sheppey, new border checks threaten six-hour queues, and a far-right march in Dover fails to live up to its online billing. Plus Southern Water bosses face trial, Thanet’s reserves run critically low and a village shop comes with rather more than somewhere to buy milk.* ### Catch up Kent County Council has been very keen to clarify that it did not approve an extension of Hermitage Quarry into Oaken Wood. This is technically true, in much the same way that opening a door is not the same as walking through it. [We looked at what councillors actually decided](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kcc-didnt-approve-a-quarry-but-it-did-move-one-step-closer/), why the wording matters and how the vote moved the quarry one significant step closer. Elsewhere at County Hall, Reform’s new requirement to end meetings with the national anthem met an obstacle nobody had apparently considered: the anthem has more than one verse. Opposition councillors kept singing, Reform started packing up, and the automatic subtitles decided everyone was performing The Star-Spangled Banner. [Our weekly catch-up has the full constitutional triumph](https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-anthem-the-loophole-and-the-american-subtitles/), alongside another South East Water failure, and a £7m sewage fine. Finally, our latest interview begins with a belief in the power of brevity. We could explain at considerable length why you should read it, but that would rather undermine the point. [Read the full conversation here](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-always-believed-that-there-was-power-in-brevity/). ### Kent’s grammar school system has a £7.2m maths problem Kent’s grammar school system has developed a maths problem. Unfortunately, it is one that will cost £7.2m to solve. Last year, 401 boys around Maidstone qualified for selective education. The area’s two boys’ grammar schools had 365 Year 7 places between them. [Kent County Council’s proposed solution](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/mgIssueHistoryHome.aspx?IId=72808&Opt=0&ref=kentcurrent.news) is a permanent expansion of Oakwood Park Grammar School, adding another 30 pupils to every intake from September 2027. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/07/Oakwood-1.png) Oakwood Park Grammar School. The plans include three more classrooms, an extension to the school’s science facilities and a new three-court sports hall. It will ease the shortage, but it will not entirely fix the imbalance. Maidstone’s four grammar schools currently offer 815 places each year. Girls receive 450 of them, or 55%. Boys receive 365. That split runs in the opposite direction to demand. Boys accounted for around 52% of children who qualified through the Kent Test in the area last year and approximately 51% of its wider pupil population. Invicta Grammar School offers 240 places for girls, while Maidstone Grammar School for Girls has 210\. On the boys’ side, Maidstone Grammar School offers 205 places, and Oakwood Park has 160. Expanding Oakwood Park would bring the boys’ total up to 395\. That is closer to the 450 places available for girls, although still some way from equal. There is a reason the girls currently have more capacity. [Maidstone Grammar School for Girls was expanded by 30 places in 2023](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?Id=2622&ref=kentcurrent.news). Three years later, the council is preparing to make a corresponding move on the boys’ side. KCC describes the proposal as an attempt to “seek to secure equity in single-sex places.” Or, put more simply, too many boys are passing the test for the number of desks currently waiting for them. The pressure is already visible. At the end of January, Oakwood Park had no spare Year 7 places, while Maidstone Grammar School was six pupils above its official admission number. Around 90% of grammar-qualified boys living in the Maidstone and Malling area attend one of those two schools, leaving KCC with few alternative places to send them. The shortage has not been caused by a sudden surge in Kent Test success. Since 2021, around a quarter of Year 6 pupils in the area have been assessed as suitable for grammar school. That proportion has remained broadly stable. What has changed is the number of children. The grammar-qualified cohort grew from 749 pupils in 2021 to 780 last year. KCC says this reflects population growth rather than any significant change in test participation or pass rates. Much of that growth has followed sustained housebuilding around Maidstone. Housing completions increased significantly from 2016 onwards, and development is expected to continue into the 2030s. Those new homes require more than roads, surgeries and occasional arguments about whether a nearby roundabout can cope. They also produce children, who eventually require school places. Maidstone’s secondary-age population has not yet reached its expected peak. KCC forecasts that Year 7 numbers [will continue rising](https://www.kent.gov.uk/%5F%5Fdata/assets/pdf%5Ffile/0003/195915/Commissioning-Plan-for-Education-Provision-in-Kent.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) through the rest of the decade, leaving the area short of between one and two forms of grammar entry if nothing changes. In most of England, a shortage of secondary places is principally a question of geography. Kent has made the exercise rather more elaborate. Here, the council also has to estimate how many children will sit an exam, how many will pass, whether they are boys or girls and which of the area’s single-sex schools they could reasonably attend. Every new housing estate eventually works its way into a spreadsheet about the 11-plus. The Oakwood Park project would add three general teaching classrooms, expand the school’s science accommodation and provide a three-court sports hall. Parts of the existing school would also be remodelled. The £7.2m would come from KCC’s Basic Need capital programme, which exists to ensure the county has enough school places. It is funded through a mixture of government grants, borrowing and contributions from housing developers. Around £411,500 of the cost is expected to come from developer contributions. Planning permission is still required, with the application process already underway. The proposal is described as creating 30 places, but that is 30 additional pupils in every new Year 7 intake. Once the larger year groups have worked their way through the school, Oakwood Park would accommodate around 150 more children across Years 7 to 11. That puts the construction cost at approximately £48,000 for each eventual additional place, rather than the rather more alarming £240,000 produced by dividing £7.2m by the first 30 boys through the door. KCC considered expanding Maidstone Grammar School instead but concluded that further development there would be more difficult. Since the area has only two boys’ grammar schools, the list of alternatives was not especially long. If approved, Oakwood Park’s larger intake would begin in September 2027. By then, another year of housebuilding will have passed, and another cohort will be preparing for the Kent Test. In Maidstone, the school place calculations rarely stay still for long. ## ****Like what you’re reading?** Get independent reporting on the stories shaping Kent, delivered free to your inbox. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Three big reads 1️⃣ We begin with the government’s entirely sensible decision to merge Folkestone and Hythe with Ashford and Swale, creating a new council stretching from the Channel to the Isle of Sheppey. Local opposition appears to have counted for little, as did such old-fashioned considerations as geography and whether the places involved have much to do with one another. [The Folkestone Dispatch examines](https://folkestonedispatch.substack.com/p/folkestone-to-be-merged-into-insane) the creation of this administrative monster and the questionable case used to justify it. 2️⃣ Next, another Brexit bonus for Kent. The EU’s Entry/Exit System could leave travellers facing a six-hour procession through holding areas, portable toilets and burger vans, with Folkestone Racecourse becoming an enormous car park when the queues get particularly bad. [The i paper takes the journey](https://inews.co.uk/news/ees-six-hour-queue-dover-folkestone-racetrack-4645850?ref=kentcurrent.news) through the elaborate machinery being assembled to stop Britain’s new border arrangements from bringing east Kent to a halt. 3️⃣ Finally to Dover, where weeks of online boasting produced a far-right march of around 50 people, many of whom had travelled from elsewhere in the country. There was one arrest, speeches nobody could hear, and a complaint from the stage that passing residents had declined to join in. [Searchlight reports](https://searchlightmagazine.com/2026/07/far-right-dover-march-falls-flat-despite-weeks-of-online-promotion/?ref=kentcurrent.news) on a damp squib made damper still by the organisers reportedly breaking down on the M2 and arriving in an AA recovery truck. ****The** ***Kent Current** **is now on WhatsApp.** We’ve launched a [WhatsApp channel for the **Kent Current*](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news). We won’t flood it with posts, but we will use it to share new stories and occasional major updates from across the county. If you’d like our journalism somewhere a little closer to your lock screen, you can follow along there. [Follow us on WhatsApp ](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news) ### In brief 💩 Former bosses of Southern Water are to [face trial](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jul/22/former-southern-water-employees-trial-alleged-cover-up-wastewater-testing?ref=kentcurrent.news) over allegations that they manipulated sewage data to avoid fines. 🚰 Darent Valley Hospital is still having to [provide bottled water](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckg38zr2vvvo?ref=kentcurrent.news) to patients, months after water supply issues began. 🧑‍🚒 Kent Fire Brigades' Union will [stage a rally](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/mass-rally-to-be-staged-against-fire-station-closures-and-jo-343039/?ref=kentcurrent.news) at County Hall next week to save stations from closure and protect jobs. ♻️ A Kent skip operator from Stockbury has [lost its permit](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/kent-waste-operator-loses-environmental-permit?ref=kentcurrent.news) to operate following an investigation by the Environment Agency. 🚓 Pretty grim reporting on the state of [Maidstone town centre at night](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/yobbish-youths-predatory-men-and-vulnerable-girls-what-s-h-342978/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🚗 The Thanet Way should be a [little less bumpy](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/a299-thanet-way-resurfacing-scheme-now-complete?ref=kentcurrent.news) now. 🏘️ Which is good news for the 300 new homes that [have been approved](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjejxzwygx0o?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Chestfield. 🏫 Swale is facing a [shortfall](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sheerness/news/i-m-gobsmacked-anger-as-borough-faces-shortfall-of-150-sc-342972/?ref=kentcurrent.news) of 150 secondary school places. 💷 Thanet District Council's cash reserves are '[critically low](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2026/07/26/thanet-council-reserves-at-critically-low-level-after-major-overspends/?ref=kentcurrent.news)'. 🚚 Kent County Council would rather you didn't [dispose of your fridge](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/kent-joins-national-call-for-residents-to-delay-disposing-of-fridges-and-freezers-where-possible?ref=kentcurrent.news) right now. 🚛 A Ramsgate resident is [launching court action](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2026/07/24/ramsgate-resident-issues-thanet-council-with-notice-of-court-action-over-bin-collection-failures/?ref=kentcurrent.news) against Thanet District Council over rubbish bin collections. 📡 A British aerospace firm trying to rival Elon Musk's Starlink has [begun raising £37m](https://www.insidermedia.com/news/national/britains-answer-to-starlink-opens-37m-raise-to-fund-new-factory-and-commercial-deployment?ref=kentcurrent.news) to begin manufacturing at Lydd. 💣 Archaeologists in Iwade have [dug up a Nazi bomb](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sittingbourne/news/nazi-terror-weapon-unearthed-on-nature-reserve-343115/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🎤 The BBC, for some reason, has been asking the people of Margate [what they want](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyxln02pmmo?ref=kentcurrent.news) from Andy Burnham. 🥗 Sainsbury's has launched a [Kent-grown salad box](https://www.fruitnet.com/fresh-produce-journal/sainsburys-launches-kent-grown-salad-selection-box/272206.article?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🏖️ Plans for new seating on Whitstable beach have [not proven popular](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/whitstable/news/are-they-just-objecting-to-us-oyster-boss-hits-back-as-hu-343117/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🏊 Some hard-hitting journalism from Great British Life, which has been to talk to [people who are happiest by the sea](https://www.greatbritishlife.co.uk/magazines/kent/26202649.kent-locals-share-like-living-coast/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 💃 It was [Kate Bush day again](https://www.instagram.com/p/DbQTLcLIzkS/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Folkestone. 🪜 Meanwhile, if you need to hide from thousands of Kate Bushes (Bushi?), a Cold War bunker in the town [could be yours for £45,000](https://www.milesandbarr.co.uk/auction-for-sale/land-for-sale-in-crete-road-west-folkestone-kent-ct18-57648/?ref=kentcurrent.news). ### Council matters **Meetings this week:** - **Dartford:** [General Assembly of the Council](https://dartford.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=108&MId=3482&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets this evening (Monday), with an agenda including a motion calling on the government to compensate the borough for disruption from the Dartford Crossing. - **Tonbridge & Malling:** [Planning Committee](https://democracy.tmbc.gov.uk//ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=535&MId=6725&ref=kentcurrent.news) will decide on a 1,300 home development in Aylesford and 65 new homes in Kings Hill on Thursday. **New planning applications:** - **Dover:** New [Domino's](https://publicaccess.dover.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=TIM8T5FZM0P00&ref=kentcurrent.news) within the Travelodge at Sandwich Discovery Park. - **Maidstone:** Conversion of football pitches to [padel courts](https://pa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=THY674TYMU000&activeTab=summary&ref=kentcurrent.news) at Maidstone YMCA. ### Property of the week This week’s property is the Mersham village shop, which also happens to come with a three-bedroom flat upstairs, a generous rear garden and the sort of property description that starts wandering into phrases like 'mixed-use opportunity.' The Grade II listed building is being sold with the shop already let on a 10-year commercial lease, providing rental income, while the upstairs apartment has its own separate entrance and parking. There is also an unused section of the ground floor that could potentially become additional accommodation, and an independent planning appraisal suggesting the garden may have development potential, subject to the usual planning caveats. It is one of those properties where buying a home also means accidentally becoming a landlord, and it is on the market for offers over £400,000. [Check out this 4 bedroom detached house for sale on Rightmove4 bedroom detached house for sale in The Street, Mersham, Ashford, Kent, TN25 for £400,000\. Marketed by Hobbs Parker Estate Agents, Ashford![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/favicon-26ba4037-a92e-4ec9-8aa3-be0387664efa.ico)Rightmove.co.uk![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/ffe8025c742e889044d79d6c48839e24-6e8cf2e6-0a84-4159-bea0-c30957ffb277.jpeg)](https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/91310601?ref=kentcurrent.news#/) ### Events this week 🎉 Until 1 Aug **\-** [**Deal 2026**](https://www.whitecliffscountry.org.uk/whats-on/deal-2026?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Deal Carnival celebrates its 200th anniversary with promenade parties, fireworks, a carnival procession, reggae and ska, and a classic car show. Various locations, Deal. Free. 🎤 Thu 30 Jul - [**Michelle Wolf: Best Job in the World**](https://thegulbenkian.co.uk/events/michelle-wolf-best-job-in-the-world/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Former Daily Show correspondent tours stand-up show. Gulbenkian Theatre, Canterbury. Tickets £30. 🎸 Fri 31 Jul - [**Belle and Sebastian**](https://www.dreamland.co.uk/event/belle-and-sebastian/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // 30th anniversary celebration of their incredible If You're Feeling Sinister album. Dreamland, Margate. Tickets from £64. ✈️ Sat 1 Aug - [**Rochester Airport Family Fun Day and Air Display**](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rochester-airport-family-fun-day-and-air-display-tickets-1991233320464?ref=localauthority.news) // Air displays, fun fair, food and drink, and live entertainment. Rochester Airport. Tickets £17.50. 🚜 1 - 2 Aug **\-** [**Weald of Kent Steam and Country Show**](https://www.wealdofkentsteamrally.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // More than 30 full-size steam engines alongside a Victorian fair, working machinery, classic vehicles and traditional sideshows. Little Engeham Farm, Woodchurch. Tickets £15. ## ****Enjoyed this? There’s more where it came from.** Join readers across Kent receiving our independent reporting on the stories shaping the county, straight to their inbox. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### **Footnotes** Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via **hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance… Follow us elsewhere: [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews), [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news), [BlueSky](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news), and now [WhatsApp](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news) for new story alerts. ### “I always believed that there was power in brevity” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-always-believed-that-there-was-power-in-brevity/ Last updated: 2026-07-26T06:00:01.000Z [*Martin Stirling*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin%5FStirling?ref=kentcurrent.news) *is a graduate of Bournemouth Media School, a Margate resident and a writer and director of viral charity films. Steven met him to talk about working with Javier Bardem, working for the National Youth Theatre and the feature film he is developing.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/07/d77973600609e8702f908dc5fcfb42fd9f47b6699ecfcbd8c087c77cb2dbe2b9.jpg) Martin Stirling. Martin Stirling is a film director and Bournemouth University alumnus. We first met when he was a first-year student, and he later worked as a runner on a short film that, embarrassingly, he had to remind me I had produced. The important detail, of course, is that I gave him his break into the industry. He now works as a writer and director, making acclaimed charity films while developing feature projects. Now based in Margate, we meet and, as with every interview, I begin by asking him how to spell his name. "M-a-r-t-i-n. S-t-i-r-l-i-n-g," he spells, thanking me for asking because people often add an e to his surname. "There's a guy who writes and directs *Coronation Street*, and I'm not that guy." Disappointed that I'm not about to interview somebody from *Corrie*, I ask whether he's known by any other names. “My dad called me Cunt for about 20 years, but other than that, not officially.” Today, Martin works as a writer and director, although his route into filmmaking has taken a rather different path from the one he imagined. > You can do incredible things in the short format For many directors, short films are a stepping stone. Martin always saw them differently. “I always believed that there was power in brevity and that you can do incredible things in the short format.” Martin cites the short stop motion film ‘[Dog’ by Suzie Templeton](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlmAX25r-Ek&ref=kentcurrent.news). “It was so moving. I saw that, and it was incredible.” But making traditional advertising for household brands wasn't taking Martin towards the career he wanted. “I started to get jaded, a bit disillusioned. I'm pitching and working so hard, not getting much traction.” He felt that he had developed skills that nobody wanted. Around this time, charities began approaching him about short films. "It was a bit of an awakening. I'd always wanted to make things that make the world better." He admits he has always held the romantic belief that filmmakers can change the world. As well as making films that could matter, Martin was also allowed creative freedom. “I don't think people expected much.” He created a video for Save the Children called [Most Shocking Second A Day](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBQ-IoHfimQ&ref=kentcurrent.news). This went viral over a decade ago and still gets referenced by people talking to Martin. “I get tagged in it every couple of weeks still.” Martin also made a film for Greenpeace called [Lego: Everything is Not Awesome](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhbliUq0%5Fr4&ref=kentcurrent.news), which criticised Lego’s partnership with Shell. This film also went viral, with the campaign making global news. “Amazingly, less than half a year later, they disbanded their partnership.” For Martin, it reinforced the idea that films really can make a difference. He continues to work on similar projects, which he feels is a “pleasure and a privilege.’ They don't, however, pay the bills, so Martin continues to "prop it up in other ways." But charity films remain central to his work, including the latest project we have met to discuss, [SLAPP Suit](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ai5COjEQ9og&ref=kentcurrent.news). The film was prompted by Energy Transfer's $667m lawsuit against Greenpeace. "Which is no small number," Martin notes. Greenpeace argues the case is what's known as a SLAPP suit, a [Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic%5Flawsuit%5Fagainst%5Fpublic%5Fparticipation?ref=kentcurrent.news): legal action intended to discourage criticism or protest. “Some people might say that it's a form of legalised fascism.” Greenpeace wanted a film highlighting what it sees as the growing use of lawsuits to silence campaigners. Martin explains how this is quite insidious, highlighting how we are seeing it across the board, not just in the climate conversation. “If you speak up against power, they're going to abuse you with these costly lawsuits, to try and intimidate and scare people into not standing up or critiquing.” Martin points to Sarah Wynn-Williams' [Careless People](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Careless%5FPeople?ref=kentcurrent.news) as another example. He notes that legal restrictions have prevented the author from publicly promoting the book. “She's not even allowed to talk to her family at home about her life at Meta, which is insane.” Martin’s work has taken him from viral charity films to a seven-hour shoot on Savile Row with Javier Bardem. Register for free to continue reading about the making of **SLAPP Suit*, the feature film he is developing and the career that brought him to Margate. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### KCC didn't approve a quarry, but it did move one step closer URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/kcc-didnt-approve-a-quarry-but-it-did-move-one-step-closer/ Last updated: 2026-07-31T17:29:53.000Z Four days after Kent county councillors voted to keep a proposed extension of Hermitage Quarry into Oaken Wood in the draft Mineral Sites Plan, and advance that plan towards independent examination, the council published something unusual: a [fact check](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/fact-check-what-did-kent-county-council-decide-on-the-kent-mineral-sites-plan?ref=kentcurrent.news) of its own decision. “The key fact is that Full Council did not vote to approve quarrying,” said council leader [Linden Kemkaran](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-think-theres-a-lot-gone-wrong-with/). The clarification was not subtle. It said “to repeat” before repeating the point. A little later, it said “again to reiterate” and did so again. No planning permission had been granted. No quarry extension had been approved. No mineral extraction could begin. This was all technically correct. It was also a careful answer to a narrow question. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/07/487774729_122201324066089449_2812095145815936921_n-2-1.jpg) Oaken Wood. The more useful question is what changed when 37 councillors voted for the Kent Mineral Sites Plan, against 31 who opposed it and four who abstained. KCC approved a draft plan retaining an extension of Hermitage Quarry into Oaken Wood as Kent’s only proposed site for hard-rock extraction. The allocation policy describes the site as “acceptable in principle for mineral development.” Hermitage is not a proposed new quarry. It is an enormous existing operation on Hermitage Lane near Aylesford, run by the Kent-based Gallagher Group. Gallagher says the quarry directly supports 140 jobs and business for around 400 Kent companies in its supply chain. It wants space to keep extracting stone once the current reserves run down. The space it wants is to the south and west, across 96 hectares of meadow and woodland near Barming and Allington. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-22-at-18.45.24-1.png) Quarry site extension allocation into Oaken Wood. This is [Oaken Wood](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oaken%5FWood?ref=kentcurrent.news). Much of it is managed sweet chestnut coppice rather than a collection of visibly ancient trees. But 41 hectares is classed as a Plantation on Ancient Woodland Site, meaning the land has remained wooded since at least 1600 even though it has since been felled and replanted. What survived that process is below and between the trees. Ancient soils, fungi, seedbanks and other ecological features that cannot be recreated by planting a new wood elsewhere. KCC did not give Gallagher permission to move into that land. It decided to advance a plan saying that, in principle, the company should be able to apply to do so. If the Mineral Sites Plan passes examination and is adopted, it will form part of the development plan used to determine any future Gallagher application. The company would still need to provide detailed environmental assessments, consult the public and satisfy the allocation’s conditions. KCC would still have to make a separate decision. But Gallagher would be applying to work land already allocated for mineral extraction by the authority deciding the application. Removing Oaken Wood from the plan would have left the company without that policy support. The significance of the vote became clear during last week's full council meeting. Green group leader [Mark Hood](https://www.kentcurrent.news/we-havent-had-a-king-of-kent-for-over-1-000-years/) attempted to remove Oaken Wood from the plan. The chair refused the amendment because it had not been submitted in advance, while officers said deleting the allocation would require further work to ensure the plan remained viable. Members were left to advance the entire document, including Oaken Wood, or reject it. Several opponents said they supported the rest of the plan but could not vote for that allocation. The meeting’s chair described the vote as a “substantive policy framework decision”. KCC’s subsequent presentation of it as simply allowing an inspector to examine some evidence did not quite capture the choice councillors made. The [plan approved by councillors](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/mgAi.aspx?ID=71716&ref=kentcurrent.news) will first undergo six weeks of consultation. KCC then intends to submit it to the Planning Inspectorate, which will examine whether it is legally compliant and sound. If the plan survives that process, potentially with modifications, KCC can adopt it. Gallagher would then be able to bring forward an application on land specifically allocated for an extension of its existing quarry. Register for free to continue reading about the case for the quarry extension, its proposed impact on Oaken Wood and what happens next. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The anthem, the loophole and the American subtitles URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-anthem-the-loophole-and-the-american-subtitles/ Last updated: 2026-07-27T16:26:41.000Z **Kent County Council’s first attempt at ending a meeting with the national anthem produced a constitutional loophole, four verses and American subtitles. Elsewhere, KCC has found documents it previously said did not exist, Andy Burnham has made Gravesend an early stop as Labour leader, South East Water has failed again in Tunbridge Wells, and campaigners are preparing to fight a quarry in ancient woodland near Maidstone.* ### Catch up You may already have caught our [deep dive into the government's decision to replace Kent's 14 councils with four new authorities](https://www.kentcurrent.news/four-new-councils-and-a-lot-of-unanswered-questions/), but it has quickly become one of our most read stories of the year. We looked beyond the headlines to explain why ministers chose Option 4B, what it means for every part of Kent and Medway, and the many questions that remain unanswered as the countdown to 2028 begins. We also took a closer look at the decision to [remove the masts from the SS Richard Montgomery](https://www.kentcurrent.news/taking-apart-kents-most-famous-wreck/). On the face of it, it's a story about dismantling three rusting structures in the Thames Estuary. In reality, it's about one of Britain's most dangerous shipwrecks, why action is finally being taken now and what happens next. Finally, if you missed Saturday's interview, Kent county councillor [Rich Lehmann spoke candidly about the mental health crisis](https://www.kentcurrent.news/it-had-shamed-me-for-having-poor-mental-health/) that led him to step back from frontline politics and leave the Green Party. It's an honest conversation about the pressures of public life, what happens when politics becomes damaging, and why he ultimately decided his story was worth telling. ### The anthem, the loophole and the American subtitles When Reform [rewrote Kent County Council's constitution in May](https://www.kentcurrent.news/less-scrutiny-but-more-prayers-and-singing/), one of its more eye-catching changes was the introduction of God Save the King at the end of every full council meeting. On Thursday, councillors finally got to try it. It lasted one verse. Or rather, Reform's version of it did. As the familiar opening verse came to an end, Reform councillors began gathering papers, packing away bags and preparing to leave the chamber. Behind them, however, the singing carried on. Green councillors had arrived armed with lyric sheets containing all six verses of the national anthem and had invited colleagues from other opposition groups to join them. Labour members sang on. Some Liberal Democrats appeared to do likewise. While one side of the chamber prepared to leave, the other was only just getting started. It was, in its own peculiar way, an entirely constitutional argument. When Reform amended the council's constitution in May, it required full council meetings to conclude with the national anthem. It never specified how much of it should be sung. The Greens decided to exploit the omission. Green councillor [Mark Hood](https://www.kentcurrent.news/we-havent-had-a-king-of-kent-for-over-1-000-years/) told the *Kent Current* his group had simply decided to take the new rules at face value. "The Green Group thought singing one verse of the National Anthem dedicated to only one person was a half measure. We decided to sing all six and invited colleagues to do likewise." According to Hood, the chairman eventually brought proceedings to an end during the fourth verse. The irony was difficult to miss. During the debate in May, Hood had argued County Hall was "not the Last Night of the Proms" and questioned why councillors should be singing the national anthem at all. Two months later, his group had become, however briefly, the chamber's most enthusiastic choristers. Not everyone appreciated the performance. Council leader [Linden Kemkaran](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-think-theres-a-lot-gone-wrong-with/) dismissed the extended rendition as "attention-seeking behaviour." "The meeting closed with the national anthem," she wrote on Facebook. "Sadly some of the opposition members decided to perform what can only be described as attention-seeking behaviour. Embarrassing for them." Reform councillor Robert Mayall reached much the same conclusion after [posting his own video](https://www.facebook.com/reel/1035213845717338) of the closing moments. "The Green Party and Labour councillors decided to embarrass themselves at the end of the Full Council meeting yesterday," he wrote. "Who are the adults in this Council?" His footage, however, also captures the moment that made the whole episode memorable. As Reform councillors packed away their belongings after the first verse, opposition members continued singing through the lesser-known verses behind them, creating the unusual spectacle of one side of the chamber apparently trying to leave while the other was still enthusiastically performing the national anthem. Even the technology appeared unsure what was happening. As the singing continued, the automatic subtitles on the [live stream](https://kent.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast%5Finteractive/1100004?ref=kentcurrent.news) abandoned God Save the King altogether and instead displayed lyrics from The Star-Spangled Banner. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-17-at-14.45.12-2.png) Screen capture from Kent County Council's live stream. After months of arguments over prayers, patriotism and constitutional reform, Kent County Council's first attempt at its new tradition ended with one group trying to sing all six verses of the British national anthem while the captions insisted they were performing the American one. ## ****Like what you’re reading?** Get independent reporting on the stories shaping Kent, delivered free to your inbox. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### In brief 🗄️ After the Information Commissioner demanded KCC look again for documents about cancelled meetings they told the public didn't exist, they have [magically found a whole pile of them](https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/cancellation%5Fof%5Fmeetings?ref=kentcurrent.news#incoming-3485736) hours before the legal deadline to provide them. ➡️ KCC leader Linden Kemkaran and her Reform cabinet [spent the weekend](https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story%5Ffbid=pfbid0LJmixHoh5UwKfT6DGENGtX9G6zgHmEmWEn2boCD3bLBzABFSfs35mD4TyhzHZbf9l&id=100077735710808) at the '[deeply odd, deeply scary](https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/steve-anglesey-deeply-odd-deeply-scary-my-48-hours-with-truss-farage-and-the-new-right/?ref=kentcurrent.news)' CPAC GB conference. 🌹 Andy Burnham [chose Gravesend as his first visit](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kmtv/video/andy-burnham-comes-to-kent-on-his-first-visit-65107/?ref=kentcurrent.news) after becoming leader of the Labour Party last week. 🗳️ Helen Grant, the Conservative MP for Maidstone and Malling, [will stand down](https://www.politics.co.uk/news/2026/07/20/conservative-frontbencher-to-stand-down-from-parliament-at-next-election/?ref=kentcurrent.news) at the next general election. 🚰 Because it's a day of the week that ends with Y, South East Water customers in Tunbridge Wells [have lost supply again](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jul/19/south-east-water-supply-disruption-tunbridge-wells-kent?ref=kentcurrent.news). 💩 Southern Water has been [fined £7m](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/17/southern-water-fined-7m-dumping-sewage-kent-coast?ref=kentcurrent.news) for illegally dumping sewage at Margate and Broadstairs. 🪵 Campaigners have [vowed to fight on](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1710qqp1g5o?ref=kentcurrent.news) against plans to turn an ancient woodland near Maidstone into a quarry. 🐴 Protesters dressed as horses have campaigned to [ban horse-drawn carriage rides in Canterbury](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/protesters-dressed-as-horses-call-for-carriage-ride-ban-342854/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🏨 An empty shopping parade in Ashford is set to be demolished and [replaced by a hotel](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/empty-shopping-parade-set-to-become-four-storey-hotel-as-pla-342805/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🚗 Plans have been submitted for a £77m [North Thanet Link Road](https://highways-news.com/kent-plans-submitted-for-77-million-north-thanet-link-road/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🚌 Fastrack buses will have [additional buses and increased frequency](https://www.kent-fastrack.co.uk/network-changes-1st-august-2026?ref=kentcurrent.news) around Dartford, Ebbsfleet, and Gravesend. 🚶 The Guardian has gone on a [nice walk from Canterbury to Dover](https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2026/jul/20/canterbury-pilgrims-walk-cathedral-to-dover-kent?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🍻 Wetherspoon in Folkestone [has reopened](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/folkestone/news/first-look-inside-as-wetherspoon-reopens-after-550k-makeove-342833/?ref=kentcurrent.news) following a £550,000 refurb. 🏖️ The Metro had a [lovely weekend in Folkestone](https://metro.co.uk/2026/07/17/forget-med-costa-del-kent-this-summers-trendiest-getaway-28765500/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🐻 Dartford has a [new bear hunt](https://wildinart.co.uk/events/dartford-bear-hunt/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🎈 Bluewater has a massive [new inflatable obstacle course](https://www.bluewater.co.uk/en/the-monster?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🎥 A year after KCC’s Reform administration celebrated removing LGBT+ material from children’s library sections, the council is [celebrating Heartstopper’s return to Kent to film its finale](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/global-netflix-hit-returns-to-kent-for-heartstopper-finale?ref=kentcurrent.news). Perhaps LGBT+ stories for young people are easier to embrace when filming them brings an estimated £99,000 into the local economy. ### Council matters **By-elections:** - **Medway:** Voters go to the polls in [Cuxton, Halling & Riverside](https://whocanivotefor.co.uk/elections/local.medway.cuxton-halling-riverside.by.2026-07-23/cuxton-halling-riverside/?ref=localauthority.news) on Thursday. The candidates are William Burvill (Reform), Iain Childs (Labour), Ron Gillett (Liberal Democrat), Trish Marchant (Green), and Richard Thorne (Conservative). **Meetings this week:** - **Kent & Medway:** [Kent and Medway Crime Panel](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk:9071/ieListDocuments.aspx?MId=9668&x=1&&ref=localauthority.news) will question the Police and Crime Commissioner on Tuesday. - **Folkestone & Hythe:** [Planning and Licensing Committee](https://folkestone-hythe.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=439&MId=5931&ref=kentcurrent.news) will meet on Tuesday to decide the fate of a solar farm in Lydd. - **Kent:** [Cabinet](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=115&MId=9795&ref=kentcurrent.news) will meet to adopt a new DOLGE Strategy on Wednesday. - **Canterbury:** [Planning Committee](https://democracy.canterbury.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=553&MId=14149&ref=kentcurrent.news) will meet on Wednesday to debate a data centre in Broad Oak and 300 new homes, alongside a school and retail space, east of Chestfield. - **Folkestone & Hythe:** [Council](https://folkestone-hythe.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=122&MId=5876&ref=kentcurrent.news) comes together on Wednesday to debate solar farms, the constitution, project funding, and more. - **Maidstone:** [Cabinet](https://meetings.maidstone.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=748&MId=5770&ref=kentcurrent.news) will discuss Lockmeadow improvements, council finances, catapults, and lots more on Wednesday. - **Swale:** [Council](https://democracy.swale.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=128&MId=4452&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets to discuss the Local Plan and community governance on Wednesday. - **Thanet:** [Cabinet](https://democracy.thanet.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=151&MId=7432&ref=kentcurrent.news) will meet to discuss council finances, funding, and regeneration on Wednesday. - **Dartford:** [Cabinet](https://dartford.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=105&MId=3413&ref=kentcurrent.news) will discuss public space protection orders, vehicles in Dartford town centre, funding, and more on Thursday. - **Tonbridge & Malling:** [Planning Committee](https://democracy.tmbc.gov.uk//ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=535&MId=6818&ref=kentcurrent.news) will decide on 66 new homes in Wateringbury on Thursday. **New planning applications:** - **Dover:** Conversion of former Halifax in Deal into a [banking hub](https://publicaccess.dover.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=TI64BCFZLPN00&activeTab=summary&ref=kentcurrent.news). - **Thanet:** Change of use of ferry arrival and departure lounge for [use by Sea Cadets](https://planning.thanet.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=TH3DXYQEMGI00&ref=kentcurrent.news). ### Property of the week This three-bedroom cottage in Boughton-under-Blean has far-reaching countryside views and a garden that is much bigger than the front of the house suggests. The former workers’ cottage has been extended over the years, but still retains the expected sash windows, country-style kitchen, and log-burning stove, alongside a first-floor bathroom, so nobody has to make a midnight trip downstairs. Outside, the garden has been landscaped across several levels, with terraces, winding steps and views towards the old hop picker huts, plus a heated brick outbuilding, summer house and large shed. There is also parking for two cars, although the neighbours retain a right of way through the garden, because even the most picturesque Kent cottage usually comes with at least one complication. It is available for £425,000. [Check out this 3 bedroom semi-detached house for sale on Rightmove3 bedroom semi-detached house for sale in South Street, Boughton-under-Blean, Faversham, Kent, ME13 for £425,000\. Marketed by Hobbs Parker Estate Agents, Ashford![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/favicon-3b0eccc2-6c08-42c5-a223-2c816bce8292.ico)Rightmove.co.uk![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/74eb5ac7b315d24d342d957390339e36-5f22f23b-5e7d-4704-831f-2e6684a45969.jpeg)](https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/91050819?ref=kentcurrent.news#/) ### Events this week ⛵ Until 24 Jul - [**Ramsgate Week**](https://www.ramsgateweek.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Kent's answer to Cowes Week, with six days of yacht racing off the coast. Ramsgate Royal Harbour. Free. 🎭 23 Jul - 15 Aug - [**Canterbury Shakespeare Festival**](https://thegulbenkian.co.uk/festivals/canterbury-shakespeare-festival-2026/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Selection of some of the playwright's most recognisable works. Various locations, Canterbury. Tickets £13.50 per play. 🎸 24 - 25 Jul - [**Blue Reef Festival**](https://www.bluereeffestival.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Independent music festival with five stages in the Kent countryside, headlined by Sleeper and Kula Shaker. Loddington Farm, Maidstone. Tickets from £59.50. 🏳️‍🌈 Sat 25 Jul - [**Folkestone Pride**](https://www.folkestonepride.org/event-details/folkestone-pride-2026?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Parade, live performances, food, drink, and community stalls beside the sea. Leas Bandstand, Folkestone. Free. 🚣 Sat 25 Jul - [**Maidstone River Festival**](https://www.visitmaidstone.com/whats-on/maidstone-river-festival-p306891?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Raft racing, visiting boats, live performances, market stalls, and fireworks. River Medway, Maidstone. Free. 🎸 Sat 25 Jul - [**OMD**](https://www.dreamland.co.uk/event/omd/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Synth-pop legends joined by Thompson Twins' Tom Bailey and Peter Hook. Dreamland, Margate. Tickets £58.25. 🎸 Sun 26 Jul - [**The Proclaimers**](https://marlowetheatre.com/shows/the-proclaimers-3/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // They would walk 500 miles to play in Kent. Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury. Tickets from £44. ## ****Enjoyed this? There’s more where it came from.** Join readers across Kent receiving our independent reporting on the stories shaping the county, straight to their inbox. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### **Footnotes** Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via **hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance… Follow us elsewhere: [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews), [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news), [BlueSky](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news), and now [WhatsApp](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news) for new story alerts. ### “It had shamed me for having poor mental health” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/it-had-shamed-me-for-having-poor-mental-health/ Last updated: 2026-07-20T16:02:40.000Z *Rich Lehmann almost didn’t agree to this interview. The former leader of Kent County Council’s Green and Independent group spent months reluctant to speak publicly about the mental health crisis that saw him step back from frontline politics and ultimately leave the Green Party. After a lengthy back and forth, he agreed to speak in the hope that sharing his experience might encourage others to take mental health seriously, particularly in the often unforgiving world of local politics...* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/07/IMG_20250330_121637b-1.jpg) Cllr Rich Lehmann. Born in Sidcup, Rich grew up in Medway before settling in Faversham with his wife in 2006\. He went on to serve the rural area surrounding the town as both a county and borough councillor, becoming leader of Kent County Council’s Green and Independent group after the 2021 elections. Following the 2025 local elections, Rich took time away from the council. He stepped down as group leader and eventually left the Green Party. I met him at his home in Faversham to talk about the events that led to those decisions, and why he believes it’s important to speak openly about mental health. Rich first joined the Green Party in 2014, while living in Medway, during the Rochester and Strood by-election. “It was because of the rise of UKIP and other elements that came along with that, i.e. Britain First.” Appearing on a ballot for the first time in 2015 for Watling Ward in Medway, where he lived at the time, Rich acknowledges he stood as a paper candidate to give residents the opportunity to vote Green. “I got a reasonable number of votes.” He briefly left the Greens in 2017 with a view to joining Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party, a move he ultimately never made. “I hoped the party would actually get behind him, but it was clear fairly quickly that that wasn’t going to happen and there was no point in me joining the Labour Party.” Rich moved back to Faversham and became involved with Plastic Free Faversham. “I put all of my efforts into that for a couple of years until the end of 2019, when the general election reinvigorated my interest in politics.” He rejoined the Greens in December 2019, with the party’s local election success in Swale helping persuade him to stand for Kent County Council in 2021\. It proved to be “a very intense campaign over the course of about nine or ten months.” From 2022, Rich became more heavily involved with the Green Party, putting himself forward as co-chair at the Kent Greens AGM. As his confidence grew, he became leader of the Green and Independent group at Kent County Council in October that year. “I felt that I really wanted to be delivering the speeches at full council meetings and managing the group, because it felt like we were five councillors, rather than a group.” The Greens are not a whipped party, so the role was largely about “coordinating the group, deciding who sits on which committee and chairing the group meetings that we had every fortnight.” That group included two independent councillors, Mike Baldock and Peter Harmon, who died in 2024. Initially planning to continue his work as a professional photographer to supplement his council income, Rich soon found he didn’t have the mental bandwidth to do “two very different things.” He successfully stood for Swale Borough Council, finding that taking on another council role meant his head would be “in the same space the whole time and it’s a lot easier to manage your day-to-day business when it’s all council work.” ## Want to keep reading journalism like this? Join our free mailing list to receive our latest reporting directly in your inbox, including investigations, interviews and in-depth coverage of Kent’s biggest stories. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. “I first considered the fact that I might be neurodivergent because I was struggling with my workload, and the people I was telling didn’t seem to comprehend why I was struggling as much as I was.” Rich received an adult ADHD diagnosis after being elected to Swale Borough Council in August 2023. Rich stood down as co-chair of Kent Greens in 2024 as he continued to struggle with the different roles. “My co-chair was excellent and took on the bulk of the work we were doing together.” I ask where the breakdown in relationships that ultimately led him to leave the Green Party began. Sitting opposite me with his eyes closed, Rich takes a deep breath. “That’s a really tough question to answer because it was a slow, gradual process.” Register for free to continue reading this interview, including Rich’s account of the accusations made against him, the Green Party’s response and the mental health crisis that followed. It takes seconds to sign up, and you’ll also receive our latest Kent reporting directly in your inbox. [Register to continue ](#/portal/signup/free) _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Four new councils and a lot of unanswered questions URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/four-new-councils-and-a-lot-of-unanswered-questions/ Last updated: 2026-07-24T11:50:54.000Z **The government has chosen Option 4B for Kent’s local government reorganisation, replacing Kent County Council, Medway Council and the county’s 12 district authorities with four new unitary councils in April 2028\. We examine why Whitehall backed an unexpected compromise, what the new map means across Kent, and the huge practical challenge of turning fourteen councils into four.* ### Four new councils and a lot of unanswered questions The first sign that Kent’s political map had changed wasn’t an announcement. It was the rumours. Kent County Council was in the first hour of its meeting yesterday morning when word began to circulate that Whitehall’s decision on local government reorganisation had arrived. Then came the verdict from a passing councillor. “4 fucking B?!” It wasn’t outrage. It wasn’t celebration either. It was disbelief. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/07/KC_Map-final.jpg) For months, councillors, council leaders and local government officers had convinced themselves they knew roughly where this was heading. Some thought ministers would favour the stronger financial case for three authorities. Others believed Medway had gained ground with its argument for four councils built around modern communities rather than existing district boundaries. Almost nobody seemed to think the government would simply reach into the pile of competing business cases and emerge with [Option 4B](https://kentcouncilleaders.org.uk/ministers-decide-future-shape-of-kent-and-medways-councils/?ref=kentcurrent.news). But that is exactly what happened. Just after lunchtime, ministers confirmed that Kent County Council, Medway Council and the county’s 12 district councils will all disappear on 1 April 2028\. In their place will come four entirely new unitary authorities responsible for virtually every major local service, from social care, education and highways to housing, planning, libraries and bin collections. Kent County Council has existed since 1889\. The two-tier structure, in which county and district councils share responsibility, has shaped local government for decades. Within less than two years, everything will change. Elections to shadow authorities are expected next spring, with those councils spending a year preparing to take over before formally assuming responsibility in April 2028. The destination itself has not been a surprise for some time. Ever since the government told Kent that local government reorganisation would need to come before any future devolution deal, the question has never really been whether the existing system would disappear. It has been what would replace it. That seemingly simple question produced eighteen months of increasingly complicated politics. Five business cases eventually reached ministers’ desks. Kent County Council argued for a single authority covering almost 1.9 million people. A coalition of councils made the case for three authorities, claiming they offered the strongest financial future. Medway wanted four councils too, but believed ministers should take the opportunity to redraw boundaries that no longer reflected how people actually lived and travelled. Instead, Housing Secretary Steve Reed chose the proposal submitted by Dover, Swale and Thanet councils. Known simply as Option 4B, it largely preserves the existing district map while grouping Kent into four new authorities: North Kent, West Kent, Mid Kent and East Kent. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/07/image-1.png) The final reorganisation map chosen for Kent. On paper, it looks like a compromise. In practice, it represents something rather more significant. Whitehall has settled the biggest political argument Kent’s councils have had in decades, but in doing so, it has ignored much of the local debate. The councils spent eighteen months arguing with one another over the future shape of Kent. The government listened, then made its own choice. Kent County Council, under Reform control, made the boldest case of all. Rather than dividing the county into several authorities, it proposed abolishing every existing principal council and replacing them with a single unitary authority covering the whole of Kent and Medway. It argued this would be the cheapest model to establish, deliver the greatest long-term savings and avoid the complexity of splitting county-wide services between multiple successor organisations. Even before Thursday’s announcement, ministers had repeatedly described authorities of around 500,000 people as their guiding principle. A council serving almost 1.9 million residents always looked like a difficult sell. Steve Reed’s [decision letter](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6a58d1d33ae256c99b702f05/Local%5Fgovernment%5Freorganisation%5F-%5Fdecision%5Fletter%5Fto%5FKent%5Fand%5FMedway%5Fcouncil%5Fleaders.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) confirmed as much. The proposal, he wrote, raised “significant concerns” because its scale far exceeded the government’s expectations. He also questioned how services could realistically be delivered across such a large area and how its untested federated model would work. It was the only Kent proposal that ministers concluded failed to meet their criteria. If the one-authority model had always felt unlikely, the real contest had increasingly centred elsewhere. ## ****Like what you’re reading?** Get independent reporting on the stories shaping Kent, delivered free to your inbox. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. For much of the process, the three-authority solution appeared to offer the most credible alternative. Supported by several councils and scoring highly in Kent County Council’s own options appraisal, it promised lower implementation costs, greater recurring savings and authorities comfortably within the population range ministers had originally indicated they preferred. Medway was never persuaded. Council leader [Vince Maple](https://www.localauthority.news/ill-stand-on-my-track-record-of-decades/?ref=kentcurrent.news) spent much of the past year arguing that the debate had become too focused on financial modelling and not enough on democracy. Four authorities, he maintained, would keep decision-making closer to residents and offer a once-in-a-generation opportunity to redraw boundaries that no longer reflected how people lived, worked and travelled. His preferred [4D](https://kentcouncilleaders.org.uk/lgr-consultation/?ref=kentcurrent.news) proposal would have done exactly that, breaking with some existing district boundaries in pursuit of what supporters argued was a more coherent long-term geography. Ministers accepted half of that argument. Kent will have four councils, not three, but the more ambitious boundary changes disappeared. Instead, the government opted for 4B, the proposal put forward by Dover, Swale and Thanet councils. It achieves four authorities while preserving the existing district map, creating North, West, Mid and East Kent without the additional complexity of redrawing local boundaries before the transition had even begun. It is, in many ways, a compromise. But if this was not the cheapest proposal or the one commanding the widest local backing, what was it about 4B that persuaded Whitehall? Register for free to continue reading our analysis of why ministers chose this map, where it makes sense, and what Kent’s four new councils could look like in practice. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Taking apart Kent’s most famous wreck URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/taking-apart-kents-most-famous-wreck/ Last updated: 2026-07-15T10:31:45.000Z In September, a team of specialist maritime engineers will travel into the Thames Estuary, build an underwater platform beside a ship containing around 1,400 tonnes of wartime explosives, and begin cutting bits off it. This is, according to the government, the safer option. For the past 82 years, the [SS Richard Montgomery](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS%5FRichard%5FMontgomery?ref=kentcurrent.news) has sat around one and a half miles off Sheerness, surrounded by an exclusion zone and carrying a substantial quantity of the explosives it was supposed to deliver to the Allied war effort. Most of the ship is underwater, but three masts still protrude from the estuary, becoming an unlikely part of the landscape around Sheppey and a useful reminder to passing ships that this particular part of the Thames is best avoided. Now, they are finally coming down. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/07/AdobeStock_1979849667.jpeg) The masts of the SS Richard Montgomery, which are due to be removed in September. The government confirmed this week that work will begin in early September to remove the three masts, following years of surveys, planning and delays. Specialist contractors Resolve Marine will construct an underwater platform before carefully cutting the structures below sea level over several weeks. The project is backed by £9.5 million of government funding and could be completed by the end of September, assuming the weather cooperates. The explosives are staying exactly where they are. The mast removal is not the beginning of an attempt to clear the SS Richard Montgomery. It is the latest stage in an eight decade long effort to manage a problem that successive governments have generally concluded is safest when disturbed as little as possible. The masts themselves have gradually become an exception. As the wreck has deteriorated, experts have become increasingly concerned about the possibility of the structures collapsing onto the ship below. In 2018, an expert advisory group recommended removing them to reduce the weight and stress on the wreck. A project was launched, but detailed investigations found that the site was more complicated than expected, with legacy munitions from both world wars lying beneath the surrounding seabed. The work was paused in 2023 while the government reconsidered how to manage that risk. Now, after further surveys, reviews and modelling, ministers say the operation can be carried out safely. It will be a rare intervention in a place where the usual policy has been to intervene as little as possible. The SS Richard Montgomery arrived in the Thames Estuary in August 1944, when the outcome of the Second World War was beginning to turn but was far from settled. The American Liberty ship had been built in Florida the previous year, one of more than 2,700 relatively cheap, rapidly constructed cargo vessels produced to keep the Allied war effort supplied. Its cargo on this particular journey was considerably less mundane. The Montgomery was carrying thousands of tonnes of munitions intended for the war in Europe when it was directed to wait at the Great Nore anchorage before continuing towards Cherbourg. On 20 August, it dragged its anchor and grounded on a sandbank close to the Medway Approach Channel. By the following day, a crack had appeared in the hull, and the forward end was beginning to flood. Salvage crews spent the following weeks unloading what they could, removing around half of the cargo before the ship deteriorated further. The operation was abandoned on 25 September. What remained was left behind. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/07/image--2--2_cropped.jpg) The wreck of the SS Montgomery in the Thames Estuary. More than eight decades later, around 1,400 tonnes of explosives are still believed to be aboard the wreck. Larger numbers are sometimes given for the remaining cargo, but the 1,400 tonnes used by the government refers to the estimated net explosive quantity rather than the total weight of every bomb, casing and piece of ammunition. Either way, it is a substantial amount of wartime ordnance to have sitting just offshore from Kent. Over the decades, governments, engineers and assorted interested parties have repeatedly considered what might eventually be done about it. The answer has generally been not very much. The problem is straightforward enough. Some of the munitions remaining aboard are still considered capable of exploding, while working close enough to remove them would require people and equipment to disturb the very cargo they were trying to make safe. Government assessments have repeatedly concluded that intervention could create a greater immediate danger than leaving the wreck where it is. So the Montgomery has instead spent decades under unusually close surveillance. An exclusion zone surrounds it, ships are prohibited from entering, and the site is monitored around the clock and subjected to regular surveys. The wreck is considered stable, but it is not static. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/07/AdobeStock_291813873.jpeg) The Montgomery lies around 1.5 miles off Sheerness, surrounded by an exclusion zone. The Montgomery is a steel ship that has spent 82 years in salt water. Its hull has corroded, parts of its structure have failed, the seabed around it changes, and the condition of the wreck continues to evolve. For decades, the government has effectively been balancing two risks, the danger of interfering with the Montgomery against the danger of eventually having interfered with it too little. Official studies have considered everything from continued monitoring to containment, complete entombment and outright removal. One possibility involved building a protective barrier around the wreck, potentially using dredged material. A more elaborate version would have enclosed it within a rigid structure. Neither was particularly attractive. Constructing an entombment around a ship full of explosives was itself judged to pose a considerable risk of a mass detonation, and the structure would eventually become another ageing piece of infrastructure requiring its own solution. At the more ambitious end of the scale was the only option that would actually make the Montgomery problem go away: Remove the remaining munitions and clear the wreck. This has the slight disadvantage of requiring someone to remove the remaining munitions and clear the wreck. Any such operation would involve working directly around a deteriorating ship containing a large quantity of ageing explosives. Depending on the method chosen, it could take years and require extensive safety measures for the surrounding area. The Montgomery even became a problem for an airport that did not exist. When proposals for a major Thames Estuary airport, or '[Boris Island](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thames%5FEstuary%5FAirport?ref=kentcurrent.news)' as it came to be known, were being seriously considered in the early 2010s, the wreck became one of the many difficulties confronting the scheme. The airport was not expected necessarily to make the Montgomery more likely to explode. It would, however, have placed thousands of people and billions of pounds of infrastructure much closer to it, making the consequences of the same low-probability event considerably greater. Studies suggested that the wreck might therefore have needed to be addressed before construction could begin. The airport was eventually rejected for several reasons. The Montgomery remained exactly where it was. ****There’s more to this story.** Sign up for free to the **Kent Current* to continue reading. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### How a Kent councillor briefly tried to save Clacton URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/how-a-kent-councillor-briefly-tried-to-save-clacton/ Last updated: 2026-07-20T13:17:24.000Z **A Kent councillor briefly considered standing in Clacton, decided two reality-adjacent independent candidates had restored seriousness to the contest, and withdrew within 24 hours. Elsewhere, Kent waits for the government to decide its council future, Operation Brock returns, and KCC launches Pokémon Go for walking.* ### How a Kent councillor briefly tried to save Clacton For 24 hours last week, Kent county councillor Amelia Randall was on her way to Westminster. Then, almost as quickly as it began, it was over. Randall, the county councillor for Birchington Rural, had decided not to stand in the Clacton by-election after all. Two other independent candidates had emerged, meaning her work there was apparently done. It was a brief campaign, but an eventful one. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/07/1672D0B3-018C-409D-9CE3-EC931322D052_1_105_c.jpeg) Randall leading a far-right march through Rochester. Photo: Authority Media. The Clacton by-election was triggered last Tuesday when Nigel Farage resigned as the constituency’s MP. Labour, the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Greens all declined to contest the resulting election, leaving the field open to an increasingly eclectic collection of candidates. Count Binface was in. Laurence Fox was in. Piers Corbyn was in, and Randall was concerned. “This is getting ridiculous,” she wrote on social media shortly after Farage’s resignation, criticising the “multimillion pound media circus” surrounding the contest. “We don’t need more media-driven gladiators,” she concluded. “We need structural predictability and emotional stability.” By the following day, Randall was considering joining them. Residents, she said, deserved “a real option” if they did not want Farage, rather than Count Binface or the Monster Raving Loony Party. Clacton, she had concluded, was “very similar to Kent.” “They need a representative that actually cares about their quality of life.” Randall is no stranger to sudden political developments. She was elected to Kent County Council as a Reform councillor in May last year, before leaving the party four months later because she believed it was “losing its identity.” She joined UKIP, becoming the party’s sole representative on the council and, for a time, one of its more visible activists in Kent. Last October, [she led a tiny UKIP march through Rochester](https://www.localauthority.news/a-protest-in-search-of-a-crowd/?ref=kentcurrent.news) that was heavily outnumbered by counter-protesters. Six months after joining the party, she left UKIP too. Randall then announced plans to launch a party of her own, Better Way Of, a name that raised more questions than it answered. Better Way Of has since become the Balanced Britain Party. Randall says the new party is “going through registration soon,” though it is yet to appear on the Electoral Commission’s register of political parties. Clacton would have been its first great electoral test. Or possibly Randall would have stood as an independent. The campaign did not survive long enough for this to become entirely clear. By Thursday, considering standing had become intending to stand. “I bring real, efficient, long term solutions, and not short term wins and hype,” Randall declared. “Clacton-on-sea constituents deserve better than the clowns that have stepped forward.” This was not, she later explained, a decision taken purely on impulse. Randall had approached a venue in Clacton about holding meet-and-greet events. She had designed a leaflet, looked at which community policies she should lead with and mapped out when she could physically be present in the constituency. All of this was happening while she remained the elected county councillor for Birchington Rural. Since Kent’s local elections in May 2025, Randall has attended three of seven meetings she was expected to attend at Kent County Council. Despite this demanding schedule, Westminster briefly beckoned. Conservative county councillor Andrew Kennedy was among those watching events unfold. “Just when you thought things in Clacton-on-Sea could not get any more absurd,” he wrote, before describing his county council colleague as the “White Witch of Birchington.” By Friday, Randall’s campaign was over. “I am formally withdrawing my candidacy from the Clacton by-election,” she announced. The circumstances which had prompted her campaign, she explained, had changed dramatically in the preceding 24 hours. “When I announced I was intending to stand, I did so from Kent because I was frustrated to see Clacton voters trapped between a career politician and a circus of joke candidates,” she wrote. “I wanted to ensure people had a serious alternative.” Fortunately, two had now arrived. “Now that serious independent candidates like Ollie Granger and Luke Worley are locked into the race, my goal has been met.” Randall withdrew to avoid “splitting the independent vote.” Granger, a broadcaster living in north Essex, had entered the contest on a platform focused on crime, jobs and the local economy. Worley was also local. He was perhaps best known for appearances on Married at First Sight UK and Dating Naked, a programme whose central premise is reasonably well explained by its title. “I’ve survived reality TV, so politics should be a walk in the park,” he told The Sun after announcing his candidacy. For Randall, though, his arrival helped restore seriousness to the Clacton contest. Granger has since withdrawn too, endorsing Worley instead. There would have been a few formalities before Randall could make her own move from social media to ballot paper. Parliamentary candidates must find ten registered electors in the constituency to subscribe their nomination and pay a £500 deposit, which is returned if they receive more than 5% of the vote. Randall has not suggested either requirement played any role in her withdrawal. The whole episode might have ended there. Instead, on Sunday, Randall published an essay titled [The Clacton Vacuum: Why We Must Refuse to Turn Democracy into a Comedy Act](https://balancedbritainparty.substack.com/p/the-clacton-vacuum). “Using a sociology essay that I wrote as an example, I explain to you why we shouldn’t be letting characters stand for or win at elections,” she wrote while promoting it. “It really irritates me to see such mockery,” Randall wrote in the article. “Standing in Parliament to represent your constituency should be considered one of the most important jobs you could ever have. Instead, people are stepping forward as ‘Characters’, coming up with foolish policies that will not help a single real family.” Her argument was that repeatedly exposing voters to joke candidates risked normalising them. “Visibility creates normalization,” she wrote. “Once you accept a character as a viable option in Essex, you lower the barrier to entry across the entire United Kingdom.” It is a danger Randall evidently spotted just in time. Her article also provides the fullest account yet of her aborted campaign. She insists she was not chasing media attention and never believed she was going to “magically beat Nigel Farage.” “It was born out of pure principle,” she wrote. Still, the parliamentary dream may not be entirely dead. “In all honesty, a little part of me still wants to stand,” Randall admitted, explaining that a woman in Clacton had contacted her to point out the lack of female candidates. For now, though, she is staying out. “I will focus solely on my local campaign rather than splitting my resources and time,” Randall said when withdrawing. After a turbulent few days, Clacton has lost its prospective Kent-based candidate. Birchington Rural, meanwhile, has its county councillor back. The next full meeting of Kent County Council is this Thursday. If Randall attends, she can take her attendance record to the dizzying highs of 50%. ## ****Like what you’re reading?** Get independent reporting on the stories shaping Kent, delivered free to your inbox. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Catch up You may already have seen our trip to Sarre last week, after a Reform litter pick somehow produced a photograph with a reconstructed fence and a newly improved pavement. We went to see what was actually there and ended up with a much bigger story about AI, political imagery and whether we can still trust the photographs parties put in front of us. [The Reform litter pick that edited realityA routine Facebook post becomes a story about AI in political imagery and whether photographs can still be trusted![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-70a16744-0df0-4b31-bcde-47a3f5280ce6.png)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/KC_select-1-e913cf2d-6286-4059-b16e-5b1c001adc28.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-reform-litter-pick-that-edited-reality/) We also published our latest interview, this time with [Tunbridge Wells-based broadcaster and writer Iain Dale](https://www.kentcurrent.news/ive-never-thought-of-myself-as-famous-enough/). He spoke to us about changing his mind on immigration, why failure is more interesting than success and the chapter about his sex life that he expects everyone to talk about. A candid conversation, and one worth catching up on if you missed it. ### In brief 🚓 Former Maidstone MP Ann Widdecombe was [found dead at her home](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jul/13/ann-widdecombe-counter-terrorism-police-investigation?ref=kentcurrent.news) on Thursday, with counterterrorism officers now taking over the investigation. Maidstone Borough Council have [opened a Book of Condolence](https://news.maidstone.gov.uk/home/news/26/july/ann-widdecombe?ref=kentcurrent.news). 📍 The government is set to [announce Kent's local government reorganisation plan](https://www.lgcplus.com/politics/devolution-and-economic-growth/minister-decision-imminent-on-new-unitaries-in-dpp-areas-23-03-2026/?ref=kentcurrent.news) this week, with word expected on Thursday. 🚧 Drivers of Kent rejoice, for Operation Brock is being enacted again tonight, with the barrier remaining in place on the M20 until 24 August. 🚘 Herne Bay and Sandwich MP Roger Gale [has warned](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dover/news/mp-warns-holidaymakers-could-die-in-traffic-jams-unless-ne-342609/?ref=kentcurrent.news) that queues at Dover for the new EU Entry/Exit System could be so bad that people will die. 🏥 Emergency care at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford '[requires improvement](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgdy45e3v7o?ref=kentcurrent.news),' according to a new report from the Care Quality Commission. 🚒 London Fire Brigade are [assisting with Kent fires](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8r2nn4d2r3o?ref=kentcurrent.news), after height vehicles were taken out of service. 🔥 The National Trust has asked people to [not set Knole Park on fire](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sevenoaks/news/people-told-to-close-windows-as-fire-breaks-out-near-deer-pa-342359/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🚰 South East Water has pledged £30m to [improve Thanet's water system](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c621yd4ym90o?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🗑️ Bin collections in Thanet [continue to be rubbish](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2026/07/08/council-adds-new-refuse-trucks-and-rounds-review-as-missed-waste-collection-complaints-continue-across-thanet/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🏭 Residents in Southfleet [don't seem thrilled](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgl3wkk0xypo?ref=kentcurrent.news) about a new AI data centre on their doorstep. 🗂️ 15 locations have been [shortlisted for UK Town of Culture](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/shortlist-for-uk-town-of-culture-revealed?ref=kentcurrent.news). None of the Kent bids are among them. 🎱 A Tunbridge Wells snooker club is trying to save itself by [getting its building listed](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1ey1gxq6w2o?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🌳 The first [nature area alongside the Lower Thames Crossing](https://nationalhighways.co.uk/our-roads/lower-thames-crossing/news-and-media/first-kent-nature-area-completed/?ref=kentcurrent.news) has been completed. 🦫 Beavers, butterflies, and bees in Blean are [set to benefit](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp3xg2zkkv8o?ref=kentcurrent.news) from over £1m in extra funding. 📰 KentOnline has [been to visit Lydd](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/folkestone/news/our-towns-been-forgotten-by-time-but-we-wouldn-t-change-a-342569/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🛍️ Big changes at Ashford Designer Outlet, with Denby set to close and [Wrangler set to open](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/us-clothing-brand-to-open-first-uk-store-at-kent-shopping-ce-342587/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🛒 The Grocer has pitted every supermarket in Folkestone against each other. [Tesco won](https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/the-grocer-33/tesco-takes-narrow-win-in-super-33-folkestone-battle/721147.article?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🖼️ The Bayeux Tapestry was [snuck into Kent](https://www.itv.com/news/2026-07-10/bayeux-tapestry-arrives-in-england-after-secret-overnight-journey-from-france?ref=kentcurrent.news) under cover of darkness last week. A projection on the Cliffs of Dover was a [bit less subtle](https://www.avinteractive.com/territories-news/uki/bayeux-tapestry-projected-on-to-the-white-cliffs-of-dover-13-07-2026/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🚶 Kent County Council have [launched WeRoam](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/kent-county-council-kcc-launches-weroam-the-free-app-that-rewards-you-for-walking,-wheeling-and-cycling?ref=kentcurrent.news), a kind of Pokemon Go for walking around Kent but with points instead of adorable monsters. Let us know if you have a go, as the Current didn't further with the one-star rated app than it crashing on signup. ### Council matters **Meetings this week:** - **Sevenoaks:** [Council](https://cds.sevenoaks.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=121&MId=3805&J=1&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Tuesday to debate the regeneration project east of the High Street. - **Tonbridge & Malling:** [Council](https://democracy.tmbc.gov.uk//ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=126&MId=6326&ref=kentcurrent.news) will gather to debate a new leisure centre for Tonbridge, HMOs, and the constitution on Tuesday. - **Thanet:** [Planning Committee](https://democracy.thanet.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=115&MId=7069&ref=kentcurrent.news) will supposedly decide on the plans for 150 homes on the former site of the Royal School for Deaf Children on Wednesday. - **Tunbridge Wells:** [Full Council](https://democracy.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=134&MId=6059&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Wednesday to discuss a Tunbridge Wells parish council, net zero, and neighbourhood development plans. - **Kent:** [County Council](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=113&MId=9804&ref=kentcurrent.news) will discuss mineral sites, water resilience, equality, solar developments, and SEND transport on Thursday. - **Medway:** [Council](https://democracy.medway.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=122&MId=6714&ref=localauthority.news) meets on Thursday to discuss fire station closures, budget amendments, councillor allowances, and the aforementioned changes to the mayoral system. - **Ashford:** [Council](https://ashford.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=137&MId=5101&ref=kentcurrent.news) gathers on Thursday to discuss the, er, creation of a temporary car park exit. - **Canterbury:** [Council](https://democracy.canterbury.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=138&MId=14124&ref=kentcurrent.news) will meet, just like it seemingly is everywhere in the county, on Thursday to discuss water supply, genocide, and the constitution. - **Dover:** [Planning Committee](https://moderngov.dover.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=136&MId=5505&ref=kentcurrent.news) will decide on a mixed use development in Deal on Thursday. - **Maidstone:** [Planning Committee](https://meetings.maidstone.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=112&MId=5853&ref=kentcurrent.news) is set to approve a solar farm in Marden. **New planning applications:** - **Sevenoaks:** [24 new homes](https://pa.sevenoaks.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=TG61Y1BKG4O00&activeTab=summary&ref=kentcurrent.news) in Kemsing. ### Property of the week This is a two-bedroom cottage in Hythe, perched high enough on the hillside to get views over St Leonard’s Church and a glimpse of the sea from the main bedroom, which is a decent reward for walking uphill. Inside, it has been renovated without sanding all the character out of it, with a big open-plan sitting and dining room, an open fireplace, and a separate kitchen at the back with a vaulted ceiling and French doors onto the courtyard. Upstairs are two double bedrooms and a bathroom with both a bath and walk-in shower, while outside there is a private courtyard and a small outbuilding. It is close enough to walk into the high street, canal or the seafront, and can be yours for £325,000. [Check out this 2 bedroom semi-detached house for sale on Rightmove2 bedroom semi-detached house for sale in North Road Hythe, CT21 for £325,000\. Marketed by Colebrook Sturrock, Hythe![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/favicon-5edd666c-5a39-4caa-9421-3c7ef70e90bb.ico)Rightmove.co.uk![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/62ca9b41408af8787b76d0d010eb9c17-2658b2f8-8f1a-4047-a970-492f03ddce0a.jpeg)](https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/90779817?ref=kentcurrent.news#/) ### Events this week **🎭** 13 - 18 Jul - [**Miss Saigon**](https://marlowetheatre.com/shows/miss-saigon/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Major revival of the epic musical arrives in Kent. Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury. Tickets from £46. 🎸 Sat 18 Jul - [**The Flaming Lips + The Beta Band**](https://www.dreamland.co.uk/event/the-flaming-lips-the-beta-band/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Acclaimed band with legendary live shows. Dreamland, Margate. Tickets £58.50. **🎸** Sat 18 Jul - [**RIEKO**](https://www.creativefolkestone.org.uk/whats-on/profound-sound-presents-rieko-rieko-whitfield-and-guests/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Margate-based artist and composer performs an immersive new live show. Quarterhouse, Folkestone. Tickets £11.50. **🏎️** 18 - 19 Jul - [**Streetcar Nationals**](https://4bk00h-0u.myshopify.com/products/spectator-tickets?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Grassroots drag racing with cars going head-to-head on the track. Manston Raceway Park. Tickets from £20. ## ****Enjoyed this? There’s more where it came from.** Join readers across Kent receiving our independent reporting on the stories shaping the county, straight to their inbox. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### **Footnotes** **Like the Kent Current?** [Become a paid supporter](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) to unlock every interview and subscriber-only story while helping fund our independent journalism. Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via **hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance… Follow us elsewhere: [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews), [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news), [BlueSky](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news), and now [WhatsApp](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news) for new story alerts. ### “I've never thought of myself as famous enough” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/ive-never-thought-of-myself-as-famous-enough/ Last updated: 2026-07-24T12:12:00.000Z *Last year, broadcaster Iain Dale released a successful biography of Margaret Thatcher, which* [*we spoke to him about*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/iain-dale-on-margaret-thatcher/) *at the time. This year, Iain has written his own autobiography. We caught up with him to discuss being a general election candidate, writing frankly about his sex life, and what nice things he can say about Tunbridge Wells.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/07/Dale_Iain_2_33----Nick-Gregan-1.jpg) Iain Dale. Photo: Nick Gregan. When I spoke to Iain Dale last year for the release of his biography of Margaret Thatcher, I found him open and engaging. So when he said his next book would be his own autobiography, I quickly followed up with another interview request, which Iain clearly obliged. Having lost his driving licence, Iain requested that we meet via Zoom, connecting from his home in Tunbridge Wells and a room dedicated to the books he has written and edited, of which there are many. Iain Dale currently presents a three-hour, phone-in-based talk show on LBC, four days a week. The first hour covers the big news story of the day, while the second hosts a panel, “generally two people from the right, two people from the left.” The final hour is a phone-in, “but not necessarily on a political subject. Often something to do with emotions.” The previous night’s subject concerned whether children should be allowed to stay up late to watch the World Cup, whose kick-off is at 1am. The consensus was “yes, but they have to go to school as well.” > I don’t believe in being nasty to immigrants Radio has changed him, particularly on social issues. “I’m more left of centre than I was before,” he says, suggesting that when you begin a phone-in show articulating one view and then actually listen to callers, “you change your mind a bit.” Immigration is one example. It is a topic he acknowledges he was once “quite hard-line on,” though he now finds himself accused of being “a woke Liberal Democrat.” Iain still believes the country needs border controls, but also that the economy cannot function without immigration. “I don’t believe in being nasty to immigrants.” As both editor and presenter of the show, Iain has been known to change the subject in the final minute if a news story breaks. He is also disarmingly honest about how much preparation goes into it. “It sounds awful, but I don’t do a lot of preparation,” he admits, relying instead on 40 years of accumulated knowledge and the audience itself. When there was unrest in Venezuela a few years ago, he put a call out on air for Venezuelans in the UK to phone in and “tell me what’s going on in your home country.” It is ridiculous, he says, to pretend you can be an expert on everything, “because you just can’t.” ## ****Kent, properly reported** ****Independent journalism on the county’s biggest stories, without the clickbait or clutter** Subscribe for free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. When not on air, Iain also works as an [author and editor](https://www.bitebackpublishing.com/authors/iain-dale?ref=kentcurrent.news), a [Telegraph columnist](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/i/ia-ie/iain-dale/?ref=kentcurrent.news), and a [prolific blogger](https://www.iaindale.com/articles?ref=kentcurrent.news), having recently launched [his own Substack](https://iaindale.substack.com/). Despite all this, he insists he does not particularly enjoy writing. He suffers from imposter syndrome, believing he lacks the writing flair of Matthew Syed or Boris Johnson. “I enjoy talking,” he says. That preference shapes how he writes. He writes the way he talks. When he first started blogging, he would post more than five times a day, though some entries were as short as 50 words. Now his Substack articles might run to over a thousand words, and while that is not to say they are not enjoyable, “it doesn’t give me the kicks that talking on the radio does.” I suggest that recording the audiobook version of his autobiography must at least have suited his love of talking. It turns out not. “I hate doing audiobooks,” he says, partly because he is not working from the final manuscript and stumbles across typos, and partly because of the sheer time involved. The final audiobook will be around 16 hours long, but took more than 24 hours to record. Iain records the audiobook and his podcasts at home, where he has no proper recording studio. This made him newly aware of the sound of passing traffic and singing birds. “I tend to record late at night. A bit of a pain in the arse, to be honest.” It was never his intention to write an autobiography. “I’ve never thought of myself as famous enough to warrant it,” he says. “Who would buy it?” He was eventually persuaded that his life had been varied enough, and interesting enough, to justify one. The suggestion was that he write a couple of chapters and carry on if he enjoyed it, which he duly did. “It was almost quite therapeutic.” He was determined that the book would cover both successes and failures. “I don’t like reading autobiographies that are about, ‘Aren’t I brilliant!’” For Iain, failure is always more interesting than success. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/07/Have-I-Said-Too-Much-cover-1.jpg) Iain Dale's autobiography, Have I Said Too Much? The initial version was more than 175,000 words long. When his publisher advised him to cut it down to about 100,000 words, Iain refused. “I mean it’d be a bit humiliating if it only sold ten copies, but to me it’s far more important to publish the book I wanted to write.” That meant not just focusing on his political experiences, but writing a more unfiltered version of his life. The hardest part to write was what Iain calls “the gay chapter.” While wanting to be honest, he did say that he “toned it down a bit,” though he still expects it to be the chapter that attracts attention. “I didn’t want to make it, how can I put it, yucky.” He showed the chapter to a few people, with one suggesting a complete rewrite. Originally, he was going to cover his sex life over two chapters: “One from my effectively straight days, and then one about coming out.” ****There's a lot more where this came from.** Register for free to continue reading our interview with Iain, and to get the biggest stories from across Kent without the noise. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Reform litter pick that edited reality URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-reform-litter-pick-that-edited-reality/ Last updated: 2026-07-17T08:38:31.000Z **A Reform litter pick in Sarre has become a wider row over edited political imagery after the branch posted a before-and-after photo that appeared to show more than just litter being cleared. The event itself appears to have happened, but the image, its replacement, and the explanations that followed raise broader questions about AI tools, political photographs and whether voters can still trust what parties show them online.* ### The Reform litter pick that edited reality Somewhere between picking up litter and posting on Facebook, reality took a wrong turn. According to Reform Herne Bay and Sandwich’s Facebook page, volunteers cleaning the entrance to Sarre had somehow managed to brighten a weathered fence, green the vegetation, and resurface a stretch of pavement. We needed to see this for ourselves. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/07/KC_select.jpg) That is how the *Kent Current* found itself standing at the entrance to the small Kent village on Tuesday morning, phone in one hand, looking back and forth between the scene in front of us and the Facebook image that had prompted our journey. If the photograph were to be believed, Reform volunteers had spent part of Saturday not only clearing litter, but quietly carrying out a programme of public realm improvements while they were at it. The Sarre we found was considerably less ambitious. Cars rolled steadily along the A28\. The village sign stood where it always had, backed by a lightly weathered white fence that had plainly spent years beside a busy road. The pavement looked exactly like the sort of pavement motorists and pedestrians pass every day without giving it a second thought. There was nothing remotely unusual about the scene. The photograph was another matter. It had appeared in a [Facebook post](https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story%5Ffbid=pfbid02rpx7qaowzdxRfdwDCRKhr9whTanjkqeVQJDTLcjSBoGT5nagQxZpoEoq9iA7ar1Bl&id=61565226124973) celebrating Reform’s involvement in the party’s national 'Clear Up Britain' campaign on Saturday. Branch members, the post said, had been litter picking in Sarre, Herne Bay, Garlinge, Westgate and Westbrook. Alongside a handful of photographs sat a familiar piece of political social media: A before-and-after comparison intended to show the difference a few hours of community volunteering had made. Except the 'after' image appeared to show considerably more than that. The fence looked brighter than the one standing in front of us, and had somehow acquired an additional beam. The pavement appeared freshly resurfaced rather than the rough, overgrown path we were standing on. Most remarkably, a car visible in the distance occupied exactly the same position in both images despite everything around it apparently changing. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/07/ezgif-6e3469d5f20737b7.gif) The 'before' and 'after' images posted on Reform Herne Bay & Sandwich's Facebook page. Litter picking is undoubtedly a worthwhile civic activity. Highway maintenance has never been a regular part of it. Facebook users reached much the same conclusion. Within hours, the comments beneath the post had become less about congratulating Reform’s volunteers than trying to work out what had happened to the photograph. Some concluded it had been generated using AI. Others simply sarcastically marvelled at the apparent ability of a handful of litter pickers to restore fencing and relay pavements over the course of an afternoon. One commenter described it as “a lesson in how not to use AI.” Something clearly wasn’t right. Before getting into everything that followed, it is worth establishing one important point. This is not a story about a litter pick that never happened. Reform’s 'Clear Up Britain' campaign took place across the country on Saturday, with local branches organising community clean-up events in their own areas. In east Kent, members of the Herne Bay and Sandwich branch appear to have spent part of the day in Sarre as well as other locations. The branch posted a [short video](https://www.facebook.com/reel/1185628927972783) from the day, showing four volunteers standing beside the village sign and chanting 'Clear Up Britain, Reform UK.' They may not have actually been chanting, but Facebook's looping video system very much gives that impression. Among the volunteers was Cllr Luke Evans, Reform’s Kent County Council member for Birchington & Rural and the council’s deputy cabinet member for education and skills. This was not an anonymous Facebook page posting into the void. It was an official branch event involving serving elected representatives. There is little reason to doubt the clean-up itself took place. Reform has consistently maintained that volunteers cleaned around the village entrance, and nothing we found during our visit to Sarre suggested otherwise. Indeed, one of the more curious aspects of this story is that the branch appears to have had perfectly good evidence of what happened. It had volunteers at the scene. It had video from the day. It almost certainly had genuine photographs documenting the work. So this is not a story about politicians inventing a community event. It is a story about a genuine community event becoming associated with an image that appeared to depict something entirely different. All of which leaves a much more interesting question. If the litter pick was real, why wasn’t the photograph? The disputed image wasn’t particularly convincing. There are AI-generated pictures that leave people squinting at hands or zooming into reflections, trying to work out whether something is genuine. This wasn’t one of them. Nobody needed specialist software or forensic image analysis. The overall impression felt wrong almost immediately. Looking closer simply made it worse. Take the fence. In the original photograph, it sits in front of the Sarre village sign looking exactly as a roadside fence should after years of exposure to traffic and the weather. In the 'after' image, it appears noticeably brighter, and, intriguingly, it also seems to have gained an additional horizontal beam. The branch had advertised a litter pick. It had apparently delivered a modest carpentry project as well. The pavement required an even greater suspension of disbelief. Standing in Sarre on Tuesday, it looked exactly as it had for years: A perfectly ordinary stretch of village footway, somewhat bumpy and overgrown. In the disputed image it had somehow become smoother, cleaner and considerably newer-looking. If Reform volunteers had genuinely discovered a way of resurfacing public pavements with nothing more than litter pickers and black sacks, Kent County Council’s highways department would probably be interested. Then there was the car. Sitting quietly in the background, it became the unlikely star of the entire affair. It appears in both the 'before' and 'after' images in precisely the same position. That left viewers of the image with two possibilities. Either the driver had displayed extraordinary patience while a group of volunteers apparently transformed the surrounding landscape, or the second image wasn’t simply a photograph taken a little later in the afternoon. By this point, the discussion had almost entirely detached itself from the clean-up. The volunteers had become incidental. The photograph had become the story. It was around then that the Facebook post started changing. Exactly when each edit was made is difficult to establish, but the broad sequence is clear. The original 'after' image disappeared first. In its place appeared another photograph of the entrance to Sarre, one that looked considerably closer to reality than its predecessor. At first glance, it appeared the mystery had been resolved. Looking more closely, however, another question emerged. Along the right-hand edge of the replacement image, the kerb line appeared distorted, suggesting it, too, had been digitally altered. The changes were far more subtle than in the original image, but they were there. The *Kent Current* contacted the branch to ask how the replacement image had been produced, whether it had also been edited, and how the original image had come to be published in the first place. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/07/Ref3-1-1.jpg) Signs of digital manipulation on the replacement image. After that, the image changed again. This time it wasn’t replaced altogether. Instead, it was cropped, neatly removing the section of the image where the most obvious distortion had appeared. No explanation accompanied the change. The first response from the branch to our questions arrived later on Tuesday, along with a [Facebook post](https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story%5Ffbid=pfbid02CzUymBAbLb5ejAEzkwK5c4fxYQ2f6Thpe97n5hSTprXFruVjzBm2Dy4t9TFAj53nl&id=61565226124973) containing the same text. It said the “incorrect image” had been uploaded “due to an administrative oversight,” describing the page as one run by unpaid volunteers independently of Reform’s national organisation. While acknowledging the image was wrong, the statement insisted the clean-up itself had taken place and apologised “for any confusion or misunderstanding it may have caused.” It was a perfectly reasonable place to begin. It just wasn’t the end of the story. The *Kent Current* followed up with a series of further questions. What exactly was the “incorrect image”? How had it been created? Had AI been used? Why had the replacement image also appeared to contain signs of digital editing before being cropped? And, perhaps most fundamentally, why had nobody spotted the differences before publication? Those questions went unanswered. Instead, on Wednesday, the branch returned to Facebook with [another statement](https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story%5Ffbid=pfbid0BFFGom4n1UGApjUJhkbwu3PNSPfjVbiSoLnmLEgepPmBLZowu71H7c3ty5R2R5Kbl&id=61565226124973). Headlined “EXCLUSIVE: The Truth About Gate Gate!” - and carrying the warning “VERY DULL” - it offered a much fuller explanation of events. According to the branch, the disputed image had been “inadvertently created” on the new phone of the volunteer who had taken the original photograph before being shared via WhatsApp. Because the images were selected from “very small tiles on a telephone screen”, it said, “the sender did not realise the incorrect image had been created, nor could they distinguish between the correct and incorrect image when selecting.” Alongside the statement came another gallery of photographs showing volunteers at the entrance to Sarre from several different angles. Unlike the disputed image, these simply showed an ordinary village entrance with no evidence of any manipulation. By this point, what had begun as a routine Facebook post about a Saturday afternoon litter pick had acquired multiple versions of the same image, two separate public explanations, an apology, an unanswered list of follow-up questions and, somehow, the title 'Gate Gate.' The litter pick itself had lasted little more than an afternoon. Working out exactly what had happened to the photograph was taking rather longer. The branch’s final explanation undoubtedly answers one important question. For much of the week, the obvious mystery was where the disputed image had come from. Reform’s latest account offers an answer. In 2026, that is not an inherently implausible explanation. Modern smartphones increasingly include AI-powered editing tools capable of generating alternative versions of photographs, removing objects, filling backgrounds and making subtle, or not so subtle, alterations. Whether the image was created automatically or via a phone feature is something the branch has not explained, but the existence of an altered version is no longer particularly difficult to understand. The more interesting question is whether that explanation actually makes the story better. It accounts for why there may have been two versions of the same photograph. It does not explain why no one involved noticed that the altered version appeared to depict a village noticeably different from the one they had spent the afternoon cleaning. Nor does it explain why the replacement image also appeared to contain signs of digital editing before later being cropped, or why those questions went unanswered. Most fundamentally, it still leaves one obvious question hanging in the air. Why did the altered image become the centrepiece of the Facebook post at all? By the branch’s own account, it already had genuine photographs from the day. It had video of volunteers standing beside the village sign with refuse sacks. It had exactly the sort of material local political parties publish every weekend to show members out doing something useful in their communities. Yet none of those became the image people remember. Instead, attention focused on a picture the branch now accepts was “incorrect.” Perhaps that really was the result of an unfortunate chain of small mistakes involving a new phone, WhatsApp and volunteers unfamiliar with modern AI tools. If so, it illustrates a different problem from the one many people first assumed. The concern is no longer simply that convincing synthetic images can be created. It is that they can be created, selected and published by people who, by their own account, no longer recognise the difference. That is also why this story extends beyond one Facebook post in one Kent village. Artificial intelligence has dominated headlines through spectacular examples: cloned voices, deepfake videos and fabricated images of public figures. But much of the concern among researchers is less dramatic. It is about the gradual erosion of confidence in photographs as reliable records of what happened. Recent research suggests that the process is already underway. The Social Market Foundation found [misinformation in local Facebook groups quadrupled](https://www.smf.co.uk/fake-news-quadruples-in-makerfield-social-media-groups-ahead-of-by-election-smf-finds/?ref=kentcurrent.news) during the Makerfield by-election campaign, with AI-generated images among the misleading content circulating online. Some showed streets lined with Reform flags or political scenes that had never happened. Others were dismissed by some users as obvious 'AI slop' while being accepted as genuine by others. The Electoral Commission has meanwhile found that [three quarters of the public now regard misinformation and disinformation as a problem](https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/media-centre/misinformation-concerns-grow-public-confidence-elections-remain-high?ref=kentcurrent.news) for UK elections. Earlier this year it also began examining the impact of political deepfakes, with the findings expected later this year. Asked about the wider issue of false imagery being used in political campaigning, Steve Nowottny, editor of [Full Fact](https://fullfact.org/?ref=kentcurrent.news), an independent fact checking organisation, told the *Kent Current* that AI-generated imagery was becoming an increasingly common feature of the organisation’s fact-checking work, including in political contexts. “AI-generated imagery increasingly features in our day-to-day fact checking, including in political contexts,” he said. “During elections earlier this year, we saw it used in various ways – from social media users sharing faked images with misleading claims, to one candidate using AI to make ‘illustrative’ videos and a party making minor edits to a campaign image.” He cautioned, however, against focusing solely on artificial intelligence. “A heavily edited, misleadingly cropped or miscaptioned photo can be just as harmful if it gives voters a false impression of what happened.” “At a time when trust in politics is fragile, parties have a responsibility to be clear, transparent and accountable in how they use images. If an image has been created or significantly altered with AI, or substantially edited in another way, that should be clearly explained.” Full Fact’s comments relate to the wider issue rather than the Sarre photographs specifically. They nevertheless help explain why a story that began with one village litter pick quickly became something larger. For generations, political photographs have carried an implicit promise. They may have been carefully framed, selectively timed or accompanied by optimistic press releases, but they were generally understood to show something that actually happened. As image editing becomes more sophisticated and increasingly built into everyday devices, that assumption becomes harder to sustain. The debate is no longer simply about whether AI can create convincing images. It is about whether the public can still rely on political photographs as evidence at all. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-09-at-12.40.59.png) Sarre when the **Kent Current* visited on Tuesday. By the time we left Sarre, the village looked exactly like it had been before any of this started. Traffic continued to roll along the A28\. The village sign stood beside its weathered white fence. Drivers passed through without noticing anything remarkable about the entrance. Which, in many ways, is the point. Sarre was never really the story. The volunteers probably weren’t either. Everything available suggests Reform members spent part of Saturday doing exactly what they said they had done, turning up with litter pickers and cleaning part of their community. The story began later, when an entirely ordinary afternoon was illustrated by an image that appeared to show something rather different. From there came the comments, the replacement image, the crop, the apology, the unanswered questions, 'Gate Gate,' the explanation involving a new phone and, finally, a fresh gallery of genuine photographs. Each step answered one question while creating another. That makes this more than an entertaining political mishap. It is an early glimpse of a much larger problem. When photographs stop being accepted as straightforward records of reality, every image published by a political party carries a little more doubt than it did before. Sometimes that doubt will be justified. Sometimes it won’t. Either way, trust becomes harder to earn. Reform might have spent Saturday cleaning the entrance to Sarre. They then spent the best part of a week trying to clean up the photograph. ## ****Enjoyed this? There’s more where it came from.** Join readers across Kent receiving our independent reporting on the stories shaping the county, straight to their inbox. Get the next edition Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Footnotes Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via **hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance… Follow us elsewhere: [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews), [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news), [BlueSky](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news), and now [WhatsApp](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news) for new story alerts. ### Kent keeps saying yes to homes. So where are they? URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/kent-keeps-saying-yes-to-homes-so-where-are-they/ Last updated: 2026-07-13T19:41:47.000Z **Kent built 7,660 homes last year, but delivery remains uneven, with Canterbury surging, Maidstone slowing, and nearly 48,000 approved homes still awaiting construction. We look at the state of housebuilding across the county, plus ancient woodland quarry plans near Maidstone, Dover border fears, Manston hydrogen proposals, Folkestone’s Grand plans, and the rest of the week across Kent.* ### Kent keeps saying yes to homes. So where are they? Kent does not have a shortage of housing arguments. It has them in village halls, planning committees, Facebook groups, election leaflets and occasionally on fences where disgruntled residents have put up a laminated sign. What Kent has rather less of is completed homes. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/07/AdobeStock_807211215.jpeg) The latest figures from Kent County Council’s annual [Housing Information Audit](https://www.kent.gov.uk/%5F%5Fdata/assets/pdf%5Ffile/0006/205827/KCC-Housing-information-audit-residential-land-supply.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) provide an answer. During the year to March 2025, 7,660 net new homes were completed across Kent’s twelve districts, up almost 8% on the previous year and comfortably above the county’s ten year average. So Kent is building. Just not very evenly. The surprise at the top of this year’s table is Canterbury. The district recorded 1,232 net completions, making it the only part of Kent to pass the 1,000 mark. That represented a 61% increase on the previous year and more than double Canterbury’s average annual output over the past decade. That isn’t how many people instinctively think about Canterbury. It’s easier to picture tourists, students and the cathedral than one of the busiest housebuilding districts in the South East. Yet much of that growth came from large strategic developments that have been working their way through the planning system for years. The district’s own monitoring report shows almost 700 homes were completed on strategic sites during the year, alongside substantial student accommodation and specialist housing. Those schemes rarely generate the kind of attention that a controversial planning application does, but together they quietly reshape the county. Elsewhere, the picture is rather different. Dartford continued to deliver strongly, with 817 homes completed, while Thanet added 848\. Tonbridge and Malling increased its annual total by more than half to 689, and Gravesham almost doubled its output from 293 homes to 546 in the space of a year. Then there are the places heading in the opposite direction. Maidstone has been Kent’s housebuilding machine for much of the past decade. Since 2015, it has averaged 1,185 completed homes a year, comfortably the highest in the county. Last year it delivered 605, a fall of almost 42% compared with the year before. Sevenoaks remained at the bottom of the table with just 145 net completions, though it should be noted that it is the smallest authority in Kent. Medway, while reported separately from the Kent district figures, saw one of the biggest changes anywhere. After completing 1,300 homes in 2023/24, it delivered just 634 last year. That single fall is enough to change the county-wide picture. Kent’s 12 districts built more homes than the previous year. Kent and Medway together built slightly fewer. On its own, that tells us where homes appeared last year. It doesn’t tell us where the next wave is coming from. For that, you have to look beyond completed homes and into the development pipeline. Across Kent, there are 47,839 housing units with planning permission that have yet to be built. Of those, 35,040 had not even started construction by March 2025, while 12,799 were already under construction. Those are homes that have already passed through the planning system but have not yet become places for someone to live. That is the figure that should make everyone pause. For all the arguments about whether another housing estate should be approved, Kent already has tens of thousands of approved homes somewhere between a committee vote and a moving van. Ashford alone has 9,584 permitted homes still to come, with 8,819 yet to break ground. Thanet already has 3,535 homes under construction, suggesting it is likely to remain one of the county’s fastest-growing districts for some time. Canterbury has identified capacity for a further 5,275 homes within its five-year land supply, although not all of those yet have planning permission. Planning permission, in other words, is not the same as a front door materialising. That may sound obvious, but it is often missing from the housing debate. A large development can be approved in one year, begin construction several years later and then be built in phases over the best part of a decade. By the time families move in, the original planning battle has often faded from memory. None of this means Kent doesn’t need more homes. It plainly does. Affordability remains a major challenge across much of the county, particularly for younger people and first-time buyers. Whatever your view of individual developments, the bigger picture is that Kent has spent years trying to balance growing demand with a planning system that is slow, complicated and frequently contested. The latest figures suggest that striking the right balance remains difficult. Using the government’s latest standard method for assessing housing need, only Canterbury and Dartford built enough homes last year to exceed their annual requirement. Most other districts fell short, in some cases by a considerable margin. Maidstone delivered less than half of its annual target. Medway delivered little more than a third. Those targets remain politically contentious, and councils will continue to argue over whether they are realistic. But they do provide useful context for the completion figures. Kent is building thousands of homes every year, yet most of the county is still not delivering them at the pace national policy now expects. The result is a picture that doesn’t fit neatly into the usual housing argument. Kent is building more homes than it was a year ago. Some districts are growing quickly while others have slowed dramatically. Tens of thousands more homes have already been approved but are still making their way through the system. If Kent is serious about tackling its housing shortage, planning permission is only part of the story. The equally important question is how quickly those permissions become homes people can actually live in. Which is worth remembering the next time a planning row breaks out over a field. ## ****Like what you’re reading?** Get independent reporting on the stories shaping Kent, delivered free to your inbox. Get the Kent Current for free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Catch up A proposed AI data centre near Ebbsfleet has become the latest test of what north Kent is prepared to build, and where. The scheme would put a major piece of Britain’s digital infrastructure on land near Dartford, months after the same developer withdrew a large battery storage project nearby. Since [we published this story on Friday](https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-data-centre-that-skipped-dartford/), it has started to blow up in local Facebook groups, which means politicians have finally begun to notice too. One of the pleasures of our interviews is finding fascinating people you might otherwise never have come across. This week, that was [writer and folklorist A W Earl](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-like-to-hide-from-public-view/). We talked about publishing, folklore, libraries, writing, being gender-fluid and why they are happiest staying out of the spotlight. It’s a thoughtful conversation that wanders into some unexpected places. ### The big read [James O’Malley](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-was-radicalised-by-trying-to-buy-a-house/) went undercover at Amazon’s giant Dartford fulfilment centre. Well, sort of. His “undercover investigation” actually consisted of signing up for one of Amazon’s public tours without mentioning he was a journalist, but the result is a thoughtful piece about automation, logistics, work and the uncomfortable tension between admiring remarkable engineering while questioning what it asks of the people inside it. James has written for us before, but more importantly here, he is very good on the strange places where technology, policy and everyday life crash into one another. This is well worth ten minutes of your morning. [I went on an Amazon propaganda tourIn which I’m forced to confront a contradictions in my values![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F5ffa16f2-e8fa-4b42-a439-2aeacd90b6ec-2Ffavicon-48x48-c5399779-c5ba-465e-8f52-c0f186d8b12f.png)Odds and Ends of HistoryJames O’Malley![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2Fbf20529f-ff2b-4a8a-a73f-8a495cb6c460_5712x4284-d9281972-c362-412e-b300-6cb1cddab38b.jpeg)](https://takes.jamesomalley.co.uk/p/i-went-on-an-amazon-propaganda-tour?ref=kentcurrent.news) ****The Kent Current is now on WhatsApp.** We’ve launched a [WhatsApp channel for Kent Current](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news). We won’t flood it with posts, but we will use it to share new stories and occasional major updates from across the county. If you’d like our journalism somewhere a little closer to your lock screen, you can follow along there. [Follow us on WhatsApp ](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news) ### Council matters **Meetings this week:** - **Dover:** [Cabinet](https://moderngov.dover.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=121&MId=5516&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets tonight (Monday) to talk about tenancy agreements, leisure facilities, Pride in Place funding, and more. - **Sevenoaks:** [Cabinet](https://cds.sevenoaks.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=120&MId=3777&J=1&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Tuesday to discuss the next stage of the Local Plan, housing, and homelessness. - **Dover:** [Council](https://moderngov.dover.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=122&MId=5532&ref=kentcurrent.news) gathers on Wednesday to debate Gaza and an utterly impenetrable report on the constitution. - **Ashford:** [Cabinet](https://ashford.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=136&MId=5091&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Thursday to discuss finances, homelessness, domestic abuse, AI policy, and more. - **Thanet:** [Council](https://democracy.thanet.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=141&MId=7075&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Thursday to discuss the budget, electronic voting, and more. **New planning applications:** - **Folkestone & Hythe:** Demolition and conversion of care home into [29 homes](https://folkestonehythedc.my.site.com/PR3/s/planning-application/a1nbH00000kBRidQAG/260952fh?ref=kentcurrent.news) in St Mary's Bay. - **Medway:** [80 bed care home and 11 adult social care units](https://publicaccess1.medway.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=THHNCFKNJF500&ref=localauthority.news) on the former Innovation Park Medway South site near Rochester Airport. - **Sevenoaks:** [52 new homes](https://pa.sevenoaks.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=TEOCRKBKFJK00&ref=kentcurrent.news) in Halstead. ### In brief 🪨 Kent County Council has [been accused of 'ecocide'](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg515vkzrdo?ref=kentcurrent.news) over plans to turn 100 acres of ancient woodland near Maidstone into a quarry. 🌳 Removing 30,000 tonnes of dumped waste from a woodland near Ashford will leave a '[sterile wasteland](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ced46jyj96wo?ref=kentcurrent.news).' ☎️ Hundreds of old landline phones have been [dumped near Folkestone](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/folkestone/news/that-s-out-of-line-hundreds-of-office-phones-dumped-in-coun-342211/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🗑️ Thanet's new recycling service [still seems pretty rubbish](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c932wg7y3rpo?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🪪 The Port of Dover has warned that '[time is rapidly running out](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdxdkvgx9n9o?ref=kentcurrent.news)' to find a solution to the EU's new Entry/Exit System causing chaos at the border. 👮‍♂️ A Kent Police officer based at Northfleet is [on trial](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/medway/news/police-officer-on-trial-accused-of-raping-colleague-342141/?ref=kentcurrent.news), accused of raping a colleague. 🇬🇧 Residents of Ashford are [getting a bit annoyed](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/i-know-it-s-an-emotive-issue-but-council-needs-to-remove-342128/?ref=kentcurrent.news) about 'eyesore' flags put up during last year's far-right lampost bonanza that now look rather tatty. 🗣️ Nigel Farage is [upset about graffiti](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/folkestone/news/nigel-farage-calls-out-graffiti-calling-for-his-assassinati-342096/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Folkestone that calls for his assassination. 🗳️ ITV have been [asking voters in Gillingham](https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2026-07-03/what-will-the-king-of-the-north-mean-for-labours-landslide-launchpad-in-kent?ref=kentcurrent.news) about Andy Burnham. 🏭 Plans for a [new hydrogen plant](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg75zqdj92o?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Manston have been submitted. 🪵 Mink numbers are set to be [reduced by 90%](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8ldg34l7zo?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Kent. 🦋 A colony of rare moths, not recorded in England since 1952, have been [discovered by accident](https://butterfly-conservation.org/news-and-blog/extinct-moth-rediscovered-after-73-years-by-accident?ref=kentcurrent.news) near Dover. 🐕 An artist behind a new sculpture in Deal is [annoyed that dogs keep peeing on it](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/deal/news/dogs-are-using-it-as-a-toilet-stains-spoil-new-45k-kent-342263/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🏨 [Plans have been launched](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/folkestone/news/we-want-to-transform-historic-kent-landmark-into-a-barbican-342234/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to turn the Grand in Folkestone into 'Barbican-on-Sea.' ⛪ Residents in Folkestone who campaigned against a homeless shelter and food bank will be delighted to hear that [funding for the project fell through](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/folkestone/news/it-was-a-painful-decision-plans-for-homeless-shelter-at-d-342158/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🛒 M&S could [return to Folkestone](https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/marks--spencer-submits-plans-11044894?ref=kentcurrent.news) following a 20 year absence. 🎈 The Goodyear blimp has been [visiting Kent](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/pilot-shares-breath-taking-images-taken-from-goodyear-blimp-342201/?ref=kentcurrent.news) quite a lot in the last few days. 🪻 A lavender farm near Sevenoaks has been besieged by so many influencers that they've [had to install wifi boosters](https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-15944865/Farm-besieged-influencers-wi-fi-boosters-lavender-fields.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) in the fields. 🚂 Herne Bay has spent some government regeneration funding on [a land train](https://news.canterbury.gov.uk/news/main-item/choo-choose-herne-bay-for-land-train-fun-this-summer/?ref=kentcurrent.news), which is hard to argue with. 🍓 The obligatory annual story of a [Kent farm supplying strawberries](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c932j434y7jo?ref=kentcurrent.news) to Wimbledon. 🏆 The [Kent Press and Broadcast Awards](https://www.kpbawards.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) took place on Friday. Two of our team members were up for awards, but even though we didn't win either, it was still a great achievement to be there. I did get a highly commended award for [my work on a story](https://www.localauthority.news/farage-football-shirt-offered-as/?ref=kentcurrent.news) for our sister publication, [*Local Authority*](https://www.localauthority.news/?ref=kentcurrent.news), so that was nice. Elsewhere, it was great to see fellow local independents recognised, such as our friends at the [Folkestone Dispatch](https://folkestonedispatch.substack.com/), the [Isle of Thanet News](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news), [Brightside Publishing](https://www.brightsidepublishing.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news), and [Bygone Kent](https://bygonekent.org.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news). ****Keeping track of Kent properly takes time, travel and a fair amount of patience.** The **Kent Current* exists only because some readers choose to support it. An [annual subscription costs £1.15 a week](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) and helps keep it going. [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) ### Property of the week This is Hawthorn Cottage, a three-bedroom country home near Lydd that comes with the full Romney Marsh package of big skies, open fields and the quiet suspicion that the weather is part of the architecture. It has the feel of a house that has been properly lived in and properly looked after, with a kitchen overlooking the rear garden, sitting and dining rooms linked by a double-sided multi-fuel stove, a separate study, a family bathroom upstairs and a ground-floor shower room. Outside is the real selling point, with cottage-style gardens wrapping around three sides of the house, several seating areas, parking for up to five cars, a garage, a store, and an outside WC, all set in about a quarter of an acre. It is rural enough to come with the usual practical footnotes, including a shared private water supply, shared septic tank and LPG heating, but that is probably the deal if you want this much space and silence just over a mile from Lydd. [Check out this 3 bedroom semi-detached house for sale on Rightmove3 bedroom semi-detached house for sale in Midley Wall, Lydd, Romney Marsh, Kent, TN29 for £500,000\. Marketed by Hobbs Parker Estate Agents, Ashford![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/favicon-20f510ab-3763-4145-8632-0b8a10a81198.ico)Rightmove.co.uk![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/eaa3e6b4ce2a95b7d3d861cff120b5aa-18ac5469-a12f-41c4-a8ea-65b06b057790.jpeg)](https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/90486606?ref=kentcurrent.news#/) ### Events this week 🧑‍🎨 Until 19 Jul - [**Medway Open Studios**](https://medwayopenstudios.org/?ref=localauthority.news) // Free trail of art with dozens of venues and hundreds of artists. Various locations. Free. 🗣️ 9 - 11 Jul - [**Gavin Esler Conversations**](https://theastor.co.uk/events/y/2026/m/07/cat/20?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Broadcaster interviews notable political figures, including Neil Kinnock, Jeremy Hunt, and Penny Mordaunt. Astor Theatre, Deal. Tickets £13. 🎸 Sat 11 Jul - [**Coach Party**](https://good-show.co.uk/events/3621?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Pop-rock four-piece tour new album. Swale Assembly, Sittingbourne. Tickets £18. ## ****Enjoyed this? There’s more where it came from.** Join readers across Kent receiving our independent reporting on the stories shaping the county, straight to their inbox. Get the next edition Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### **Footnotes** ✉️ Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via ****hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance… *Follow us elsewhere:* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [*Instagram*](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news)*,* [*BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and now* [*WhatsApp*](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for new story alerts.* ### “I like to hide from public view” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-like-to-hide-from-public-view/ Last updated: 2026-07-05T06:00:24.000Z *Steven first met A W Earl at the* [*Medway River Lit*](https://www.medwayriverlit.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *festival, where he purchased and later enjoyed their debut novel,* [*Times Fool*](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Times-Fool-Alys-Earl/dp/1912618842?ref=kentcurrent.news)*. Having recently interviewed their father,* [*Rob Earl*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/life-is-meaningless-and-short-but-its-life/)*, it was a perfect opportunity to follow up and talk about being a folklorist, publishing with Unbound, and gender fluidity...* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/07/Author-photo-AW-1.JPEG) A W Earl. Photo: M Tucker, 2005. **What is your official occupation?** I'm a writer. **What does the role entail?** It's always the difficult question. Writing obviously is what I want to be doing with my time. It's what I spend a lot of my time doing, editing and creating my own work. Obviously, like most people in the industry, I wear a lot of hats. I write for magazines, I write reviews. I sometimes edit other people's work. I've done a bit of library cataloguing. Basically, gig economy. It is what it is. **Do you have any current book plans?** I'm working quite heavily in poetry at the minute. I've had a lot of poetry published. I'm looking at putting together my first collection. I'm working on novels, and they're out on submission. I've had some interest but nothing that's come to anything yet. There's stuff in the pipeline. **Do you have any other additional roles, paid or unpaid?** The area I live in is currently having its first pride festival, and I'm running a poetry competition for that. I volunteer at a local museum as well. The museum is [Trimontium Roman Fort Museum](https://www.trimontium.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news), which is niche in its way, but it's great. It's one of the largest Roman forts in Scotland, and not a lot of people outside of the area know about it, but it was strategically important in its day. **You are also a folklorist?** Yes. Oh God, I didn't mention that. That was my academic study. It's an ongoing thing. I’m a storyteller as well, as one of the other many hats I wear. That involves a level of interest into folktales. Academically, I was interested in the transmission and fluidity of folk narrative, and I specialise particularly in Scots Border ballads. I'm in the perfect area for that. > We look at them as these archetypal fixed stories, but they actually exist in many versions **‘Fluidity within folklore.’ Can you give us an example of mean by that?** I don't know how academic to get really with this. The idea is that folklore is either a fully oral tradition, or it sits on the edge of literacy. People in society can read and write, but not everyone does. Stories happen in that space. They flow out of literature and into folklore and out of folklore and back into literature, and they change as they do so based upon the sort of material conditions of the time, and the prejudices of the people and the desires of the people who are telling the stories. Literary works have their own characteristics that you can recognise, and folkloric works have others. Three-dimensional characters are much more common in literary works. Things tend to be big, bright colours in folklore. I'm interested in how things move between Chivalric romance and Border ballad. Border ballads were quite a late orality although sometimes some of the roots of the stories are much older. They're early modern rather than pre-medieval. We look at them as these archetypal fixed stories, but they actually exist in many versions. I love to look at and find different versions of the same ballad that have been recorded across time and look at exactly how little nuances of sense and meaning shift between them. **Was there a particular piece of folklore that got you into this?** My parents were involved in folk revival stuff. I grew up with a lot of folk music playing when I was a kid. I think for me it was always [Tam Lin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tam%5FLin?ref=kentcurrent.news). It's always going to be Tam Lin. It captures the young imagination very thoroughly, and the [Fairport version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jy3ihk205ew&ref=kentcurrent.news) of that is part of the soundtrack of my life. Getting into what created that has been fascinating for me. But from there it's just gone everywhere really. **What would you say are defining differences in folklore either side of the Scottish Border?** The Borders were a lawless zone from the wars of independence through to the union of the crowns. The [reiving culture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Border%5Freivers?ref=kentcurrent.news) developed in this area was a high honour culture, but was incredibly violent. There were a lot of betrayal and revenge and longstanding family feuds. The Borders have been ignored by both governments. I'm talking about parts of Cumbria, most of Northumberland, what is now East Lothian, what is now Scottish Borders, and a bit of what is now Dumfries and Galloway. They were impoverished. A culture came up around cattle stealing. Cattle were wealth in that period. If you didn't have any major oversight, there were legal forms of murder you could commit. The ballads weave in and out of this strange legal and social system that capture that uncertainty and the wildness of the landscape. It's unusual. From the 17th century onwards, obviously things became much more a contiguous part of their individual countries. For a lot of that mindset, a place a bit resistant to change, a place that keeps to itself, remains very strongly in the area. **Your novel,** [**Time's Fool**](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Times-Fool-Alys-Earl/dp/1912618842?ref=kentcurrent.news)**. What can you tell us about that?** That came out in 2018\. It's quite a while ago. It was published by [Unbound](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unbound%5F%28publisher%29?ref=kentcurrent.news), which is a crowdfunding publisher, small independent press, which has since unfortunately gone bust. So, it's out of print. If people want copies, I have some. They can contact me on social media, I can post within the UK. That was a vampire novel. The other great love of my life is the Victorian Gothic. It was written in response to a lot of the stories that I grew up reading, obviously [Dracula](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracula?ref=kentcurrent.news), [Carmilla](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmilla?ref=kentcurrent.news). In the 90s, you could often get published collections of lesser-known horror fiction. When I was a teenager, I used to devour these, and there was often a vampire story in there, and a lot of that influenced me as well. **How did you come onto Unbound's radar?** Social media. It was in the old days of Twitter. Someone reposted a call for submissions, and I thought 'I could do that.' **How was your relationship with Unbound?** It was complicated. I had suspicions at points that something a bit dodgy might have been going on. Some people have been really badly let down by them as a publisher. I wasn't personally, but I was wary towards the end. I distanced myself a bit from the whole thing because I felt stuff was maybe not all above board. > I am not great at continuous self-promotion **Having had a successful crowdfunder, was there anything in that experience where you would consider self-publishing your next novel?** No. One thing I learned about myself is that I am not great at continuous self-promotion. I did not enjoy the crowdfunding experience. I'm quite shy, and I can do a big talk once in a while, and then I like to hide from public view. Whereas for crowdfunding you've got to be on the ball for the whole campaign, just driving it. A lot of writers are quite shy people, and that is quite a hard thing for me. ****Want the full interview? You'll need to become one of our supporters.** Our only income is from readers who choose to back our work, so if you want access to the most interesting stories from across the county, please consider joining them. An [annual subscription costs £1.15 a week](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) and helps make our work possible. [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) **Being a fan of gothic and vampiric lore, what would you say is something that is most misunderstood or misrepresented in the public understanding?** I think my big complaint is that you were only allowed to take vampires seriously if they are [Count Orlok](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count%5FOrlok?ref=kentcurrent.news), horrific monsters. The vampire myth has long been deeply tied up with questions of desire. When we talk about desire, the Anglophone world gets scared and silly. They like to make it all into a big joke, and I just wonder why. I've never understood that cringe response to talking about desire, about longing, about sexuality. There is strangeness in that field. I like to write into that space and to focus on that space, and I do it, and there's always going to be an element of camp and performativeness to that, but I like to do it with seriousness. Often people are uncomfortable around that. If it's going to be sexy, you've got to have a laugh at the end. I don't see why. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### The data centre that skipped Dartford URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-data-centre-that-skipped-dartford/ Last updated: 2026-07-09T11:34:18.000Z **Clearstone’s proposed AI data centre campus near Ebbsfleet has been accepted into the national infrastructure planning system, months after the same developer withdrew a major battery storage scheme in the same broad stretch of north Kent. This edition looks at what the new proposal says about power, land, local planning, and the infrastructure Britain needs to meet its digital ambitions.* ### The data centre that skipped Dartford Last October, [we wrote about what seemed like a very silly field](https://www.kentcurrent.news/protecting-imaginary-countryside/). It sat beside the A2, High Speed 1, overhead power lines, a recycling centre, a garden centre, polytunnels, storage containers and one of the most important electricity substations in north Kent. It was not a landscape anyone was likely to confuse with a National Trust calendar. No one was planning long contemplative walks through it. No one was painting watercolours of the view. It was, to use a technical planning term, a bit of land next to loads of stuff. Dartford Borough Council’s officers saw it differently. They recommended rejecting one of the largest proposed battery storage schemes in Britain because they believed it would harm the area's rural character. The Dartford Energy Hub would have stored up to 300MW of electricity, helping balance the grid as more power comes from wind and solar. It had no permanent staff, no emissions, no obvious technical objection from the usual national bodies, and the sort of location that would seem to answer the question everyone asks whenever energy infrastructure is proposed: If not here, then where? The answer, it turned out, was not here. Or at least, not then. The battery scheme was withdrawn before councillors ever voted on it. The field remained safe from the visual horror of helping keep the lights on. [Protecting imaginary countrysidePlus Reform suspends councillor in misconduct row, new hope for international rail in Ashford, news in brief, and more![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-8c907ffa-276a-4a51-b441-d7c4c39aaf12.png)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fb0a6ac65-a1b9-4750-a914-591eabd1b730_2500x1406-jpeg-2-16d5dee7-c06c-4fe2-9c63-e672269ac5a4.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/protecting-imaginary-countryside/) Nine months later, the same developer is back in the same broad stretch of north Kent with another 300MW project. Only this one does not store electricity. It consumes it. Clearstone now wants to [build an AI data centre](https://www.clearstoneenergy.com/project/ebbsfleet-ai-data-centre/?ref=kentcurrent.news) campus on land near New Barn Road, south of Ebbsfleet. The project would cover a 145-acre site, with a 90-acre development area, up to four data centre buildings, and up to 180,000 square metres of floorspace. It would connect to the electricity transmission network through Northfleet East substation and is being pitched as critical digital infrastructure for Britain’s AI future. There is a neat irony here. Dartford could not stomach a large battery site beside the A2, HS1 and a substation. Now the same company is proposing a large AI data centre campus in the same infrastructure corridor. One project was presented as a means of storing electricity. The other exists because Britain expects to need vast amounts of power to run artificial intelligence, cloud computing, digital finance, online services and all the other invisible machinery we have somehow decided to call “the cloud,” as though it floats gently above us rather than sitting in sheds full of servers. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/07/AdobeStock_1783345153.jpeg) A data centre under construction. But the really interesting part is not simply that one project disappeared and another has arrived. It is that last year’s battery plan now looks less like an isolated scheme than it did at the time. On paper, the Dartford Energy Hub was its own proposal. Nothing in the planning documents said it was enabling a future AI data centre, or that it formed part of a wider digital campus. The public debate, such as it was, treated it as a battery storage scheme and nothing more. But in hindsight, the geography is difficult to ignore. The same company had a 300MW battery scheme beside Northfleet East substation. It has now brought forward a 300MW data centre campus across the same corridor. Both depend on the same rare combination of land, grid access and transport links. One would store electricity, while the other would use an enormous amount of it. That does not prove the battery is coming back under another name. But it does change how last year’s proposal now reads. It may not have been an isolated battery project at all. It may have been the first visible part of a broader effort to secure the power infrastructure needed for a much larger energy and digital campus. If so, Dartford was not just arguing about whether batteries could sit beside the A2\. It may have been arguing, unknowingly, about the first piece of the AI development now being moved into the national planning system. That would also explain why the old debate felt so oddly mismatched. Officers were assessing a battery scheme against the rural character of a field. Clearstone may already have been looking at the same land as part of a strategic site to be wired for what came next. One side was asking whether batteries fitted into the landscape. The other may have been asking how the landscape could be made to work for a much larger infrastructure future. The route has certainly changed. Clearstone has not just submitted another ordinary application to Dartford Borough Council and hoped for a warmer reception. Instead, it asked the government to treat the Ebbsfleet AI Data Centre Campus as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project. On Wednesday, the [Secretary of State agreed](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/data-centre-campus-new-barn-road-dartford-section-35-direction-planning-act-2008?ref=kentcurrent.news). That does not mean the data centre has been approved. What has been approved is the planning route. Clearstone will now have to seek a Development Consent Order through the national infrastructure system. There will be consultation, environmental work, examination by the Planning Inspectorate, and a final decision by ministers. Dartford Borough Council, Kent County Council, parish councils and residents can all take part. They can support, object, argue and scrutinise. They just no longer decide. ****The** ***Kent Current** **is now on WhatsApp.** We’ve launched a [WhatsApp channel for the **Kent Current*](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news). We won’t flood it with posts, but we will use it to share new stories and occasional major updates from across the county. If you’d like our journalism somewhere a little closer to your lock screen, you can follow along there. [Follow us on WhatsApp ](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news) That is the real shift. Last year, Dartford’s local planning system looked at a 300MW battery beside a motorway, a high-speed railway and a substation, and managed to find an endangered rural character. This year, Whitehall has looked at a 300MW data centre in the same broad landscape and decided it is the sort of thing that belongs in the national infrastructure system. The landscape has not changed very much. The pylons were already there. The A2 was already there. HS1 was already there. Northfleet East substation was already there, humming away like the actual reason everyone keeps looking at this area. What has changed is the way the land is being read. Dartford’s officers treated infrastructure as an intrusion into the countryside. Clearstone and the government are treating the existing infrastructure as the point. The company’s [supporting statement](https://ebbsfleetdc.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Supporting-Statement-for-S.35-1.5.268069431280694355.1.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) makes this clear. The site has been chosen because it has land, power, high-speed connectivity, road access and proximity to London. It sits about 500m from the Northfleet substation, close enough to enable a direct connection to the transmission network. It is 300m from the A2, 5km from the M25, beside HS1, and within reach of the London Internet Exchange in Docklands. High-speed fibre is already in the ground. The project is not being proposed there because someone at Clearstone has developed a sudden passion for the Dartford-Gravesend border. It is being proposed there because the wires, roads and railway have already done the work. That is what makes last year’s battery row look even stranger in hindsight. The old argument was not really about whether battery storage was needed. Nationally, the need is obvious. Britain is building more renewable energy capacity, but wind and solar do not produce power in line with the planning committee's emotional needs. Some days there is too much generation. Some days there is not enough. Batteries help smooth the difference. They are not glamorous, but neither are substations, sewers, or motorway service areas. Modern life depends on boring things in awkward places. The battery site was not a perfect wilderness being asked to make a sacrifice for the nation. It was a chunk of grey belt beside major infrastructure. Even Dartford’s own officers accepted it no longer performed meaningful Green Belt duties in the usual way. The objection was essentially visual. The land might be compromised, severed and surrounded, but putting batteries on it would make the compromise too obvious. The data centre proposal makes that position harder to sustain. Clearstone’s new documents describe this part of Kent almost exactly as we did last year, though with more lawyers and fewer jokes. It is not treated as a fragile rural edge. It is treated as an infrastructure corridor with sufficient power, fibre, and transport access to be nationally useful. That does not mean the data centre site is identical to the old battery site. It is larger and more ambitious, and extends further south into land that looks and feels much more like conventional countryside. The battery proposal sat in the scruffier northern edge of the corridor, where the case for pretending nothing had changed was particularly weak. The data centre campus reaches beyond that, which means the landscape questions around it are more serious than they were last year. But that only sharpens the point. Clearstone is not simply trying to build on a compromised field. It argues that the presence of power, fibre, road, and rail infrastructure is enough to make a much wider landscape nationally useful. That is a bigger claim, and one that deserves more scrutiny. There is another detail that makes this story more than a simple sequel. The red-line boundary for the new data centre project appears to include land beyond the main data centre development area, extending into the north-western part of the site where the withdrawn battery proposal was previously located. The data centre buildings are expected further south and east, on land currently dominated by polytunnels. The wider order limits include possible cable routes to Northfleet East substation and associated infrastructure. That does not prove the battery scheme has quietly returned. But the map makes the question unavoidable. If the eventual Development Consent Order includes energy infrastructure on or near the old battery site, last year’s withdrawn application may end up looking like an early chapter rather than a dead end. It may have been the first attempt to establish the power side of a larger campus before the digital side was ready to be made public. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/07/image.png) Clearstone's proposed map of the Ebbsfleet Data Centre Campus. For now, the formal proposal is for an AI data centre campus and associated utility and infrastructure works. Clearstone has not publicly said the battery scheme is returning as part of it, but the ghost of that project sits over this one, not least because the planning route has changed so dramatically. It would be easy to treat this as a story about local democracy being bypassed by central government. There is some truth in that. The Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project regime exists because some projects have impacts and purposes that extend beyond the boundary of a district council. A railway line does not become local because it passes through a parish. A power project does not become purely local because its substation sits in one borough. A data centre designed to support national AI capacity, digital resilience and economic growth is not really serving only Dartford, even if Dartford gets the buildings. That is the uncomfortable bargain. Local places host national infrastructure. National infrastructure creates local consequences. The people who live nearest it are often asked to accept the noise, traffic, visual impact and disruption, while the benefits are described in national terms like growth, resilience, productivity, sovereignty, and competitiveness. These are not imaginary benefits, but they can feel rather abstract when what arrives nearby is a secure compound, construction traffic and the knowledge that your local council is now mostly a consultee. Being pro-building does not require pretending that every development is automatically wonderful. Large data centres raise real questions. They use huge amounts of electricity. They can require water for cooling, though Clearstone says this project will focus on sustainable water use through closed-loop systems. They generate construction traffic. They change landscapes. They promise jobs, though the long-term operational workforce of a data centre is usually much smaller than the scale of the buildings might suggest. Clearstone’s modelling suggests hundreds of construction roles and around 420 net additional jobs once operational, but the details of who gets those jobs, how local they are, and how meaningful the promised skills pathways will be remain questions for the future. Still, the basic physical reality cannot be wished away. If Britain wants more AI, more digital services, more cloud computing, more data sovereignty, more online public services and more technological growth, it will need more buildings full of machines. Those buildings need power, fibre, and land. The country cannot keep announcing national ambitions while acting as if the required infrastructure just happens. This is where Dartford becomes interesting. Not because Dartford is especially unusual in resisting development. Every council does that in its own way. Dartford is interesting because the landscape itself has become a test case for what Britain now considers useful land. For decades, we have been trained to think of land through familiar categories. Green Belt, brownfield, countryside, urban edge, employment land, residential land, and so on. Those categories still matter, but they are increasingly being overlaid by another map entirely. Where is the grid capacity? Where is the fibre? Where are the substations? Where can abnormal loads get in? Where is close enough to London but still large enough to build at scale? This does not mean every proposal should be nodded through. The data centre may yet change, shrink, expand, improve or fail. The consultation may reveal problems. The Planning Inspectorate may find issues that need addressing. Ministers may ultimately refuse consent. National significance is not a free pass, even if it can sometimes feel close to one. But it does mean the old local argument about preserving rural character has started to look inadequate. The land Dartford tried to protect last year was not really being protected from development. It was being protected from acknowledging what it had already become. The same stretch of north Kent is now being asked to carry a much larger argument. Britain says it wants clean energy, but often struggles to approve the batteries that make clean energy work. It says it wants AI growth, but that growth requires data centres with enormous power connections. It says it wants local democracy, but it also wants nationally important infrastructure delivered quickly enough to compete with other countries. None of these ambitions sit neatly together. They collide in places like this. Perhaps that is why this feels bigger than one data centre. It is not just about whether Clearstone should be allowed to build near Ebbsfleet. It is about whether the planning system is beginning to admit something local politics often avoids: The infrastructure of the future will not arrive invisibly. It will need fields, cables, roads, substations, buildings and compromises. Some of those compromises will land in Kent. Last October, the question at the end of the battery story was simple. Batteries cannot remain hypothetical. They must exist on land. If not here, then where? Nine months later, Whitehall appears to have offered a version of the answer. Here, quite possibly. But not just batteries. Data centres too. Maybe both. The imaginary countryside outside Dartford has not vanished. It was never really there. What has changed is that the national planning system now seems willing to say so. ## ****Enjoyed this? There’s more where it came from.** Join readers across Kent receiving our independent reporting on the stories shaping the county, straight to their inbox. Get the next edition Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Footnotes ✉️ Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via ****hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance… Follow us elsewhere: [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews), [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news), [BlueSky](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news), and now [WhatsApp](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news) for new story alerts. ### Kent found almost £100m of savings. It still overspent by £23m. URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/kent-found-almost-100m-of-savings-it-still-overspent-by-23m/ Last updated: 2026-07-06T12:32:00.000Z **Kent County Council found nearly £100m in savings last year but still ended £22.7m over budget, as adult social care, SEND and other statutory services continue to outpace cuts elsewhere. Plus 2,500 homes approved near Bobbing, a South East Water hosepipe ban, paused fire station cuts, Curzon exits one part of Canterbury, and the rest of the week across Kent.* ### Kent found almost £100m of savings. It still overspent by £23m. Kent County Council found almost £100m of savings last year. It still overspent by £22.7m. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/06/AdobeStock_58a77816-5f35-4515-a41b-43f6dc74f9fa.png) The council’s [latest finance report](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/documents/s137605/26-00030%20-%20Revenue%20and%20Capital%20Budget%20Monitoring%20Report%20Outturn%202025-2026.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) shows an authority that is getting better at controlling parts of its budget but still cannot keep pace with the rising costs of its largest services. County Hall is not struggling because nobody is trying to save money. It is finding more savings than it did a year ago. The problem is that adult social care, SEND and other statutory services continue to grow faster than the council can cut elsewhere. KCC ended 2025/26 £22.7m over budget, slightly worse than the £20.2m overspend recorded the year before. The gap will again be covered from reserves. On its own, that sounds like another bleak annual report from a council that has spent years warning about the pressure on its finances. Read a little further, though, and the picture becomes less straightforward. The council delivered £98.6m of savings and additional income during the year, up from £73.3m in 2024/25\. It also improved its forecast position by almost £14m in the final quarter, after tightening spending controls, restricting recruitment and requiring higher levels of approval for agency staff, requisitions and new posts. Several parts of the council came in under budget. Growth, Environment and Transport underspent. The Chief Executive’s Department underspent. The Deputy Chief Executive’s Department underspent. Non-Attributable Costs, the part of the budget that includes items such as borrowing and investment income, also contributed to the overall position. Even adult social care, still the largest pressure on the council’s budget, improved slightly. It overspent by £42.9m in 2025/26, down from £46.4m the year before. The problem is that £42.9m remains a significant overspend. Adult social care remains the area where Kent’s budget faces the hardest limits. The report points to rising care costs, more complex needs and savings that proved impossible to deliver during the year. Almost half of the adult social care overspend came from savings that were not achieved. The rest was driven largely by the cost of providing care placements. The council can slow recruitment. It can hold vacancies open. It can delay projects, squeeze discretionary spending, and push departments to find additional revenue. It cannot decide that fewer older residents need care. This is the central problem running through the report. KCC is saving money in one part of the organisation while demand rises in another. The savings are real, but so are the pressures. The scale of the savings target shows how difficult the position has become. Kent needed to deliver £121.5m of savings and additional income last year, partly because undelivered savings from previous years had been rolled forward. It delivered £98.6m. That would be a major achievement in almost any other context. For KCC, it still left a £22.7m hole. Then there is Special Educational Needs. The Dedicated Schools Grant deficit has climbed from £97.5m to £130.5m in a year, despite continued government support through [Kent’s Safety Valve agreement](https://www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-council/strategies-and-policies/service-specific-policies/education-policies/send-strategies-and-policies/safety-valve-agreement?ref=kentcurrent.news). The pressure is being driven by high demand for additional special educational needs support and greater need for specialist provision. Again, the council has some room to act, but not complete control. It can review packages, try to create more places locally and reform the system over time. It cannot quickly reverse the rise in demand from children and families who need support now. That is why the SEND deficit sits behind the main council budget as one of the biggest long-term risks facing County Hall. It is not the same as the £22.7m revenue overspend, but it points in the same direction. The services with the greatest pressure are the ones least easily controlled by annual savings exercises. Politically, the timing is awkward. Many of the figures will be a result of the final year of Conservative control. Reform took charge of Kent County Council in May, after the financial year had already ended, so the £22.7m overspend is not purely a verdict on how the new administration has managed the council’s finances. Reform did not create these pressures, but it came into office promising a different way of running County Hall. These figures show how difficult that will be. The council is already finding large savings, already tightening spending controls, and already leaning on reserves when the numbers do not add up. If Reform wants to go further, it will have to show where the extra savings come from, which services change, and how it intends to manage adult social care and SEND differently from the administrations before it. Inheritance is part of the story, but it is not an exit route. The latest report does not show a council doing nothing. It shows the opposite. Kent found more savings than the year before, tightened controls, and sharply reduced its expected overspend in the final months of the year. It still ended up in the red. Kent has spent years trying to cut its way back to financial stability. The latest figures suggest it is getting better at doing exactly that. The problem is that the biggest bills are still growing faster. ### Catch up There was a huge response to [our piece on the never-ending saga of Galley Hill Road](https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-road-that-fell-off-the-map/), which collapsed in 2023, but now has a glimmer of hope that it might be fixed. In several more years. It's a sprawling piece on what happens when critical infrastructure breaks, no one wants to take responsibility for it, and barely anyone has the resources to do anything about it. [The road that fell off the mapThree years after Galley Hill collapsed, north Kent may finally have a route back![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-65bd32c5-adee-4682-8f06-3efe40fa0f42.png)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/KC_Hole-op2-1-fd4af156-ca94-4395-aa7e-c4e8f25565db.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-road-that-fell-off-the-map/) For our big weekend interview, we sat down with [Ian Watson, a club promoter and debut novelist](https://www.kentcurrent.news/im-the-least-important-person-in-the-room/) who has spent much of his life in and around Kent. I used to regularly attend Ian's legendary How Does It Feel To Be Loved? club night in London over a decade ago, and I'm very excited to get stuck into his first novel. [“I’m the least important person in the room”What we asked Ian Watson, club promoter and debut novelist![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-17a60080-b362-40f9-94f2-541c44aa3e3f.png)Kent CurrentSteven Keevil![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/IanWatsonauthor2sm-2-1-6f344859-02c9-45b0-be5a-32be475c553e.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/im-the-least-important-person-in-the-room/) ****Covering Kent properly takes time, travel and a fair amount of patience** The **Kent Current* only exists because some readers choose to support it. A [subscription costs as little as £1.15 a week](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe), gets you access to all of our features, interviews, and reporting, and helps us keep doing this. [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) ### Council matters **Meetings this week:** - **Medway:** [Cabinet](https://democracy.medway.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=115&MId=6548&ref=localauthority.news) meets on Tuesday to discuss developer contributions, a mobile home policy, and the disposal of the Innovation Park Medway northern site to a mystery company that might want to take on a message plot of land right next to an ever-expanding BAE Systems. - **Canterbury:** [Cabinet](https://democracy.canterbury.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=755&MId=14162&ref=kentcurrent.news) gathers on Tuesday to discuss a housing strategy, finances, South East Water, and more. - **Medway:** [Planning Committee](https://democracy.medway.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=360&MId=6643&ref=localauthority.news) is set to refuse an application for 150 new homes east of Rainham on Wednesday. - **Maidstone:** [Council](https://meetings.maidstone.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=151&MId=5868&ref=kentcurrent.news) will discuss the creation of a Maidstone Town Council and more on Wednesday. **New planning applications:** - **Ashford:** [160 new homes](https://ashfordboroughcouncil.my.site.com/pr/s/planning-application/a0hTw000004oigHIAQ/pa20260999?c%5F%5Fr=Arcus%5FBE%5FPublic%5FRegister&ref=kentcurrent.news), office, and a bridge over the River Stour. - **Ashford:** Conversion of former council offices into [58 flats](https://ashfordboroughcouncil.my.site.com/pr/s/planning-application/a0hTw000004siPxIAI/pa20261082?c%5F%5Fr=Arcus%5FBE%5FPublic%5FRegister&ref=kentcurrent.news). - **Maidstone:** [30 new homes](https://pa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=TGCXJTTYKF000&activeTab=summary&ref=kentcurrent.news) in Harrietsham. - **Sevenoaks:** Demolition of buildings and [26 new homes](https://pa.sevenoaks.gov.uk/online-applications/files/17412A579071DD8E1E88FC5CC44D5F72/pdf/25%5F03527%5FFUL-PROPOSED%5FSITE%5FPLAN-4061789.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news). ### In brief 🏗️ 2,500 new homes, a local centre, school, a GP surgery, and sports facilities have [been approved](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpq31ew1lyzo?ref=kentcurrent.news) to the west of Bobbing. 🚍 Buses will [continue to run between Bluewater and London](https://greenwichwire.co.uk/2026/06/26/tfl-bluewater-bus-tax-kent-fastrack-reform-96/?ref=kentcurrent.news) after Transport for London and Kent County Council came to an agreement over fees to use Fastrack bus lanes. 🌩️ Lightning strikes [caused fires in Maidstone and Faversham](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly8dq7wg3wo?ref=kentcurrent.news) during last week's storms. 🥀 Dover MP Mike Tapp has been [making friends in the Home Office](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jun/26/minister-mike-tapp-row-home-secretary-shabana-mahmood?ref=kentcurrent.news). 👷 Southern Water has begun work on a 15 month project to [futureproof water mains](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c621594el86o?ref=kentcurrent.news) on the Isle of Sheppey. 🚰 South East Water have [imposed a temporary hosepipe ban](https://www.southeastwater.co.uk/about/updates/tubs-26/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🚒 Plans to cut fire stations [have been paused](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd95k011nwno?ref=kentcurrent.news) to allow the proposals to be examined further. 🚓 Kent Police are delighted after a [van driver assisted an armed officer](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jun/26/kent-van-driver-praised-giving-lift-armed-police-officer-chasing-suspect?ref=kentcurrent.news) chasing a suspect in Thanet. 🪧 Protesters have been calling for Kent's last remaining dog racing track [to be shut down](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sittingbourne/news/protest-calling-for-end-to-greyhound-racing-at-kent-s-last-d-342031/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 📽️ Curzon is to [close its Westgate cinema](https://www.curzon.com/curzon-canterbury-westgate-closure/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Canterbury to focus on its soulless Riverside venue. 🖼️ Creative Folkestone has a [new Chief Executive](https://www.artsprofessional.co.uk/magazine/faces/creative-folkestone-looks-forward-to-exciting-future-under-new-chief-executive?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🍞 The excellent Docker Bakery is set to [open a new venue in Dover](https://www.instagram.com/p/DaCsE-4CHgm/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in August. 🍷 The Observer likes [Keller in Whitstable](https://observer.co.uk/style/observations/article/keller-instinct-a-whitstable-wine-bar-that-wears-its-learning-lightly?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🎥 Scenes from the upcoming season of Apple TV's Silo were [filmed in Kent](https://kentfilmoffice.co.uk/filmed-in-kent/2026/06/silo-season-3-2026/?ref=kentcurrent.news). ****The Kent Current is now on WhatsApp** We’ve launched a [WhatsApp channel for Kent Current](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news). We won’t flood it with posts, but we will use it to share new stories and occasional major updates from across the county. If you’d like our journalism somewhere a little closer to your lock screen, you can follow along there. [Follow us on WhatsApp ](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news) ### Property of the week This is a detached home on Reservoir Road in Whitstable, close to the harbour, station and High Street, which is already doing a fair bit of work before you even get inside. The property has four double bedrooms, including a ground-floor main bedroom with an en suite and walk-in wardrobe, plus a large kitchen and dining room with a log burner, a separate lounge with an open fireplace, and a west-facing garden with a pergola and log cabin. The real twist sits at the back, where the sale includes ownership of an access road, giving vehicular access to a large detached workshop with its own WC and sink. There are also solar panels with battery storage and a feed-in tariff, which the listing says returns around £1,000 a year, so at least one part of owning a house in Whitstable is trying to pay you back. It is available for £675,000. [Check out this 4 bedroom detached bungalow for sale on Rightmove4 bedroom detached bungalow for sale in Reservoir Road, Whitstable, CT5 for £675,000\. Marketed by Kent Estate Agencies, Tankerton![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/favicon-37c2fea6-ebd8-4904-b893-7da12dadd794.ico)Rightmove.co.uk![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/6a680b226dbaaff1362cb59dbc8a35f2-2f168cea-a064-432c-b899-c6eb998af6ad.jpeg)](https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/90206229?ref=kentcurrent.news#/) ### Events this week 🏎️ Wed 1 Jul - [**Evening With Nigel Mansell**](https://www.assemblyhalltheatre.co.uk/whats-on/evening-with-nigel-mansell.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Former Formula 1 champion shares stories of his career in motorsport. Assembly Hall, Tunbridge Wells. Tickets from £48.25. 🏰 3 - 5 Jul - [**Rochester Castle Live**](https://rochestercastlelive.com/?ref=localauthority.news) // Three days of outdoor concerts, headlined by Ministry of Sound Classical, The Libertines, and McFly. Rochester Castle Gardens. Tickets from £32.50. ## ****Enjoyed this? There’s more where it came from.** Join readers across Kent receiving our independent reporting on the stories shaping the county, straight to their inbox. Get the next edition Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### **Footnotes** ✉️ Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via ****hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance… Follow us elsewhere: [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews), [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news), [BlueSky](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news), and now [WhatsApp](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news) for new story alerts. ### “I'm the least important person in the room” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/im-the-least-important-person-in-the-room/ Last updated: 2026-06-29T14:37:35.000Z *Ian Watson is a club promoter and debut novelist. Steven spoke with him about being Rolling Stone Australia's London Correspondent, running a successful club night and becoming a science fiction novelist.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/06/IanWatsonauthor2sm-1.jpg) Ian Watson. **What is your official occupation?** Well, I am a club promoter, I suppose, which I've done for the last 24 years. That is what I am, and how I make the most of my money these days. I put on gigs and run a small label. Before I got into that, I was a music journalist. It's kind of weird that I was a music journalist from my teens into my mid 30s and then drifted away from that, still in music, but on the other side. I would write about bands, review albums, interview people. Then I went to the other side of the fence and would work with bands, release their records, management, all that stuff. I always missed it, and I've now drifted back to writing again. **What does club promotion actually entail?** I run a small club night called [How Does It Feel To Be Loved?](https://www.howdoesitfeel.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) It is a night for dancing. There are no bands. It’s usually in a small room of about 150 people in the back of a pub somewhere. I thought I'd do it just one time for fun, and it became successful pretty quickly. 24 years later, I'm still doing it. I run the night, but I'm also the DJ. I employ someone to work on the door for me. We used to have guest DJs, but drifted away from that as well. Now I just DJ the whole thing. It was covid that changed that. I enjoyed it so much I didn't want to give it up. **Has it always been held at the same club, or does it travel?** It has moved around venues in London. Over the years, pubs shut. We're currently in a place called [Signature Brew](https://www.signaturebrew.co.uk/pages/the-signature-brew-taproom-venue-in-haggerston-east-london?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Haggerston in East London. But I have done it in loads of venues all over London. Sometimes it'll be fun to do a one-off here, a one-off there, and then I've had longer residencies of ten years in other places. It's such a fun thing to do, and you become part of a community of people. A good club night is really successful because of the people who go there. The music, of course, is important, but it's the atmosphere at the club itself. If you're at a really good club night, you can walk in and can sense that everybody's on the same side. Whereas a normal club night, you go in and it's a mess of people who are all there for completely different reasons, and you're struggling to work out where you fit in, and the answer is, you probably don't fit in. This is a club for people who want to go and dance. To the point in the early days, some guys would come along and be bothering women on the dance floor, I'd go out and say, “Stop it. This is not what we're here for. You can either leave or stop.” I'm glad I did that because then that established the tone of the night, the idea of a safe space, before a safe space was really talked about. It should be just common decency. **How does it feel to be loved?** It was a line from a song by [The Velvet Underground](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The%5FVelvet%5FUnderground?ref=kentcurrent.news), called [Beginning to See the Light](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRAFf2oePMM&ref=kentcurrent.news). I was sitting in the back of a car driving from Glasgow to Edinburgh or vice versa and the friends of my wife, who is from Scotland, were driving us and they were playing a compilation, and that song came on and at that point when [Lou Reed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou%5FReed?ref=kentcurrent.news) sang How Does It Feel To Be Loved, the whole idea just popped into my head completely fully formed. I was just like, I should do a club night, it should be called How Does It Feel To Be Loved? and I’ll play a mix of indiepop and soul music. I just did it, and I didn't question it from then on because I'd had that moment when the lightning bolt hit me, and Lou had told me what to do, I better get on with it. It's a ridiculous name for a club. It's too long and people say, “What's the club?” But that's what it's called because that's what I was told to do. > Good DJs are about sparking communal joy **What does it mean to be a good DJ? Isn't it just loading up a Spotify playlist and pressing play?** No, because you have to react to the room. You have to understand what people want andwhy they're there in the first place to listen to a certain type of music. You could pre-program a Spotify playlist on those terms, but then it's not an exact science. A song which is incredibly popular one week will suddenly not go so well the next week. There is no reason for that, other than human beings aren't robots, and a collective of human beings don't act in a predictable way. Sometimes a song will just completely go crazy, and other times a song will just be like, “Whatever.” Good DJs are about sparking communal joy, I would say. You're bringing people together, and you're helping them to be all on the same side. Absolutely the best club nights that I've been involved with are when I've lost control of the night because they're in charge, and the people that come together, their joys and textures, people are coming to me with amazing ideas that I could never have thought of myself. I can only play what I've got. I don't load Spotify or anything. People who love music deeply also have really good taste. Then it becomes this amazing collaboration. We always have [photographs](https://www.howdoesitfeel.co.uk/photos.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) of the night, but there's never any photos of me. I always hate these club nights where it's all photos of the DJ. It's not about me. I'm the least important person in the room. If there's a stage, I'm never on it. I make sure I put the DJ decks on the side. The people should be on the stage. The people go and dance on the stage, and they're the stars of the show. It's about being a catalyst, I suppose. > The best nights are when everyone's all together, all the different ages, and no one cares **How have the audiences changed for your club nights over time?** Oh, they've got older. I'm old now. I was 33 when I started it, and it's 25 years later now. To some extent, the audience has grown up with me, and then to another extent, a lot of our younger audience who were in their twenties or teens when we started, then they go off and settle down. They couple up at the clubs, they have families, they have kids and settle down. They reappear every so often, which is lovely. I suppose, as a younger person, you might wonder whether you would go into a club and see someone who's in their 50s as the DJ. Having said that, last month there were loads of younger people in their 20s, and they love it. They love it because of what we were talking about before. There were these two young women who were in their early 20s who had been coming along to the club, they are big Cure fans, and they said, “We've been to loads of other clubs in London, and we haven't found this lovely community atmosphere anywhere else. We feel safe here.” I like it to be inclusive to everybody, all welcome. The best nights are when everyone's all together, all the different ages, and no one cares. > I was compared to Lewis Carroll, Monty Python and Douglas Adams _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### The road that fell off the map URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-road-that-fell-off-the-map/ Last updated: 2026-07-03T10:31:20.000Z **More than three years after Galley Hill Road in Swanscombe collapsed, Kent County Council has submitted a bid for government funding to restore the severed link between Dartford and Gravesend. We look at how the missing road has reshaped daily life in north Kent, why the repair still depends on national funding, and why KCC’s decision to submit a second Structures Fund bid has raised fresh political questions.* ### The road that fell off the map For three years, a road in north Kent has simply not been there. Not closed for a few days while someone digs a trench. Not temporarily narrowed while contractors fiddle around with cones. Gone. A piece of the A226 Galley Hill Road in Swanscombe, once one of the main connecting routes between Dartford and Gravesend, vanished from daily life after the chalk cliff beneath it gave way in April 2023. The road did not just close. It fell off the map. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/06/KC_Hole-op2.jpg) Since then, anyone moving between the two towns has had to learn a new geography. Traffic that once passed along the top of the cliff has been pushed through Swanscombe, Greenhithe and Ebbsfleet. Lorries have been sent along roads that were never built to take them. Bus routes have been repeatedly reorganised, with normal Fastrack services withdrawn from Swanscombe and Ingress Park until the road can reopen. Residents have grown accustomed to diversions, pinch points, and the low-level fury of journeys that were once straightforward. A missing road is an odd thing. At first, it is a crisis. Then it becomes an inconvenience. Eventually, if nobody fixes it, it becomes a fact of life. Now, more than three years after the collapse, there is finally a route that could lead to Galley Hill being reopened. Kent County Council has [submitted a bid](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/kcc-submits-bid-to-governments-structures-fund-for-a226-galley-hill-road-and-a299?ref=kentcurrent.news) to the Government’s Structures Fund, asking for between £40.6m and £46.3m to reinstate the road and restore the severed link between Gravesend and Dartford. It is the closest the area has come to a serious answer since the cliff fell away. But even that answer comes with complications. KCC has not submitted a bid for Galley Hill alone. It has also asked for around £20m for work on the A299 between Whitstable and Ramsgate, taking the total submission to roughly £63m. To the council, these are two high-priority road schemes in need of government backing. To critics in north Kent, it raises a more uncomfortable question. If Galley Hill is the priority, why is Kent asking ministers to choose between two? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/06/image-1.png) Galley Hill Road. Photo: James O'Malley. The story of Galley Hill begins with a piece of cliff. On 10 April 2023, the chalk face below the A226 collapsed, taking with it the stability of the road above. At the time, industry publication New Civil Engineer [reported](https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/thames-water-burst-pipe-causes-kent-road-collapse-13-04-2023/?ref=kentcurrent.news) that a burst Thames Water main had triggered the landslip, though the water company said geotechnical investigations would determine the cause. Three years on, questions over legal liability remain unresolved. The closure severed one of the most useful east-west links in this part of Kent. On paper, this might look like a local highway problem. In practice, it disrupted the everyday movements of a part of north Kent that does not behave neatly according to council boundaries. Swanscombe and Ebbsfleet sit within Dartford borough, but they are closer in miles to Gravesend town centre than Dartford town centre. Residents travel that way for shops, work, school, family, and all the small reasons people cross invisible administrative lines without thinking about them. Galley Hill was the natural route for them to do this without subjecting themselves to the eight lane and often congested A2. Cllr Jonathon Hawkes, Labour leader of the opposition on Dartford Borough Council and a councillor for Ebbsfleet, says that is part of what outsiders often miss. “Sometimes people who aren’t close to it don’t realise,” he says. “It was the main connecting route essentially between Dartford and Gravesend.” The traffic did not disappear when the road closed. It went somewhere else. Hawkes points to freight and ordinary car journeys now being pushed through “the quite small and narrow streets of Swanscombe” and across routes near Ebbsfleet that feed onto the A2\. The result, he says, is not merely longer journeys, but a reshaping of local roads around a failure they were never meant to absorb. “Those might seem a little bit like mild inconveniences,” he says, “but the effect, particularly in Swanscombe, of lorries that are going along roads that very plainly are not built for that level of traffic, the kind of build-up of parked cars and dangerous parking. It’s not just that the road has closed. It is the knock-on effect on the road network.” That is the thing about a broken road. The damage spreads. The obvious failure is at the cliff edge, but the consequences appear in residential streets, bus timetables, junctions, school runs, delivery routes and morning commutes. Three years on, Galley Hill is no longer only a place where something happened. It is an absence around which daily life has had to reorganise. KCC’s own announcement acknowledges some of that impact. Since the collapse, the council says communities and businesses in Swanscombe, Greenhithe and Ebbsfleet have seen increased traffic and a reduction in bus routes. Its bid to the Structures Fund is intended to “reinstate a major connection between Gravesend and Dartford” and restore what has been cut off. The disruption has rippled through the area’s transport network. Fastrack B no longer serves Swanscombe or Ingress Park, Fastrack AZ has also been diverted away from the area, and school bus routes have been altered. Officially, traffic is directed on a lengthy diversion via the A2, Southfleet Road, Ebbsfleet Gateway and Thames Way. In practice, many drivers simply cut through Swanscombe’s residential streets instead. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-26-at-08.53.47.png) The official diversion route for Galley Hill Road. The scale of the ask shows the scale of the problem. This is not a case of resurfacing a carriageway and painting the lines back on. KCC is seeking between £40.6m and £46.3m for Galley Hill alone. The road cannot simply be patched. The cliff has to be dealt with. The route has to be made safe. The council has been saying since the collapse that national funding would be essential to deliver a permanent solution. This is where the story becomes less about engineering and more about the strange machinery of government. Galley Hill is a KCC road. Highways are KCC’s responsibility. But Dartford Borough Council represents many of the residents most directly affected. The government controls the kind of funding that might make a repair possible. Thames Water has faced questions about whether leaks may have contributed to the collapse, though liability is difficult to establish until work gets underway. Everyone is involved. Nobody, at least for a long time, appeared able to solve it. Hawkes is blunt about where he thinks responsibility lies for the delay. He blames the previous Conservative government and Conservative administration at KCC for what he describes as inertia after the collapse. KCC, he says, quickly worked out that it did not have the money to fix the road, but there was no joined-up response from the then Conservative government. “Zero pounds committed to it for the time that they were in power and control,” he says. He also argues that Dartford Borough Council, while technically correct that highways were not its statutory responsibility, failed to show political leadership. “They said, we’re not roads, we’re not highways, we’re not getting involved in this. Although that was correct from a statutory responsibilities point of view, it wasn’t correct from a political leadership point of view.” This is one of those problems local government seems almost designed to make more confusing. Residents see a closed road and want it reopened. They do not necessarily care which tier of government owns the relevant budget line, which legal department is investigating liability, or which ministerial funding stream might one day become available. Nor should they have to care very much. The system is supposed to make those distinctions work. Instead, for three years, the practical answer has been a road closed sign. ## ****Like what you’re reading?** Get independent reporting on the stories shaping Kent, delivered free to your inbox. Get the Kent Current for free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. The legal question still hangs over the collapse. Thames Water has been repeatedly mentioned in connection with the issue because of water leaks along that stretch of road, but Hawkes is careful not to overstate what has been proven. “We don’t truly know,” he says. “We know that there’s been widespread water leaks along that stretch of road. We know that the cliff collapsed. It didn’t collapse on its own. So there is kind of some circumstantial things pointing there. But I am not aware that that legal case has been established yet.” His view is that any organisation found liable should ultimately be held to account and asked to contribute to the cost of repairs. But he argues that the road cannot wait for the legal process to play out before work begins. “If that’s what you’re waiting for, the road will be closed for a decade before you even make a start,” he says. This is the bind. To know exactly what happened and who may be liable may require the kind of investigation that happens properly once work begins. But work cannot begin without money. And the money has to come from somewhere before anyone can know whether some of it might later be recovered. That somewhere is now the Government’s Structures Fund. The £1bn fund opened this year for major local road structures. For Galley Hill campaigners, it was the first moment since 2023 when the prospect of reopening the road moved from vague aspiration to possible funding route. The road had gone from a local problem without a budget to a scheme that could plausibly meet the criteria of a national fund. Hawkes says Dartford MP [Jim Dickson](https://www.kentcurrent.news/dartford-suffers-from-having-the-crossing-there/) spent months lobbying ministers to open the Structures Fund and brought then roads minister Lilian Greenwood to see the site shortly after taking office. When the fund finally opened, Hawkes expected urgency from KCC’s Reform administration. Instead, he was unimpressed by the initial response from Peter Osborne, KCC’s Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, who said the council would “move quickly to submit a strong bid.” For Hawkes, that phrasing was not enough. “What I wanted to hear from Reform that day, or anyone charged with doing this, is, yes, right, we’re ready, we’ve got a bid ready to go, the fund’s open, we’ll be moving straight ahead with this. That’s not what we got.” KCC did submit the bid. On 29 April, the council announced that it had asked the government for funding for Galley Hill and the A299\. Osborne said the money would help fix “long-standing problems, prevent future closures and give local communities the confidence that these routes are safe and reliable for the long term.” “We have made a strong case for the funding,” he said, “and I hope the government sees just how important this is for communities in Kent.” ****The Kent Current is now on WhatsApp.** We’ve launched a [WhatsApp channel for the **Kent Current*](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news). We won’t flood it with posts, but we will use it to share new stories and occasional major updates from across the county. If you’d like our journalism somewhere a little closer to your lock screen, you can follow along there. [Follow us on WhatsApp ](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news) The council’s submission puts Galley Hill first. It describes the A226 scheme as a project to reinstate the major connection severed by the cliff collapse. The A299 scheme is of a different nature. It would fund work on the Thanet Way between Whitstable and Ramsgate, including the refurbishment of two tunnels, repairs to four overbridges affected by ground movement, and reconstruction of sections of carriageway. KCC says the investment would help remove the current 50mph speed restriction and reduce the risk of future closures caused by ageing tunnel safety equipment and deteriorating structures. Nobody is suggesting that the A299 does not need work. Kent has more than one crumbling road, which is not exactly a shock revelation to anyone who has travelled around the county recently. But in politics, as in transport, routes matter. Hawkes’ objection is not that the Thanet Way is irrelevant. It is that Galley Hill, a road that has completely disappeared from use, should have been the single, united priority. “One of the ways you could do that is to make sure this is the only bid that Kent is submitting and that KCC is full square behind it and the whole of Kent is full square behind it,” he says. “I thought that was a bit of an open goal for Reform to take.” Instead, he says, there are two bids. He describes that as “an own goal” and argues it can only dilute the strength of the Galley Hill case. “You’re telling me on one hand that Galley Hill is the priority,” he says. “Well, there’s a very easy way to show that something is a priority, and that’s for every single Reform councillor to get behind it and to show a united front.” His concern is that the existence of the A299 bid introduces an unnecessary risk. If Galley Hill is the priority, he argues, KCC should not have given ministers a second Kent scheme to consider from the same fund. In the worst case scenario, the government could fund the A299 and not Galley Hill. Hawkes does not think that is the likely outcome, but he says it would raise serious questions about how KCC approached the process. “I’m still optimistic that it will get the funding that it needs,” he says. “It ticks all the boxes. If this bid isn’t designed for what the Structures Fund is intended for, I’m not sure what is.” The politics here are sharper because Galley Hill is one of those rare issues on which everyone broadly agrees. Nobody is campaigning to leave the road shut forever. Nobody is arguing that Swanscombe should simply learn to enjoy the additional lorries. The disagreement is not over the destination, but the route. That should make it easier. Somehow, it has not. Hawkes says he only discovered KCC intended to submit a second Structures Fund bid when the council announced it publicly. He describes engagement from County Hall as “very little,” arguing the issue should have been approached collaboratively rather than as a party political dispute. “Galley Hill is a really good example of something that shouldn’t be political,” he says. “It needn’t be political. There is nobody that is taking the position that we should just leave it and not do anything about it. We have a shared high-level object that we can all agree on.” That phrase is unlikely to appear on a campaign leaflet. But it captures the oddity of the situation. The road is missing. Everyone wants it back. The fund exists. The bid has been submitted. Yet the political atmosphere around it remains brittle. ****Keeping track of Kent properly takes time, travel and a fair amount of patience.** The **Kent Current* exists only because some readers choose to support it. An [annual subscription costs £1.15 a week](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) and helps keep it going. [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) There is also a bigger north Kent story sitting beneath all this. Galley Hill is not in the middle of Ebbsfleet Garden City, but it sits close enough to make the comparison unavoidable. Here is one of the country’s major growth areas, a place that has spent years being discussed in the language of new homes, new communities, and long-term development. Beside it is a road that has been closed for more than three years because the cliff fell away, and nobody has yet found the money to put it back. For Hawkes, the lesson is not only about one road. It is about the way infrastructure is planned, funded and delivered in the south east. “There has not been the kind of public conversation that perhaps there needs to be, particularly in the south east and Kent, around what is necessary for this country,” he says. “We are going to need to build more, even more than we have. The infrastructure needs to go with it, and we need to find ways as a country to speed that up.” He links this to the coming reorganisation of local government in Kent. Hawkes supports the 4D option, which would, with some boundary tweaks, create a North Kent council around Dartford, Gravesham, Medway and Swale. His argument is that a council drawn around the Thames Gateway and North Kent economic area would be better focused on growth and infrastructure than the current county structure. This is not a digression as much as it might first appear. Galley Hill is a boundary problem as well as a road problem. It affects movements between Dartford and Gravesend. It sits near Ebbsfleet. Its closure spills into Swanscombe and Greenhithe. The borough boundary does not reflect how people actually use the area. “Local government boundaries are not real people’s boundaries,” Hawkes says. That may be the most useful sentence in the whole debate. The collapse of Galley Hill exposed how much of north Kent’s daily life depends on connections that are obvious to residents but awkwardly distributed across institutions. When the road was open, nobody had to think too hard about that. Once it disappeared, the cracks started showing. For residents, the most frustrating part has been the pace. There has been work happening in the background. Options drawn up, while questions of funding, access, ownership of the cliff, the businesses below it, legal liability, and engineering solutions remain. None of that is simple or imaginary. But from the outside, it can look very much like nothing. “If you went down to it now, you would probably not see many people or anything happening,” Hawkes says. “That’s not to say there’s nothing happening, but they’re not on site working.” Even if ministers approve the funding, nobody is promising a quick reopening. No official reopening date has been published, and the project would still have to progress through detailed business cases, engineering design and construction before traffic could return. The *Kent Current* asked Kent County Council additional questions about the project, but did not receive a response. Thames Water acknowledged our enquiries but did not provide a substantive response by publication. For now, Galley Hill remains as it has been since the collapse. Fenced off, inaccessible, and oddly suspended between past and future. On one side is the road as people remember it, a useful connection between Gravesend and Dartford that did its job so well most people barely thought about it. On the other is the road as it might one day be again, rebuilt at great expense, reopened after years of disruption, and treated briefly as a triumph before slipping back into ordinary use. That is what successful infrastructure does. It disappears into the background. Galley Hill has done the opposite. By vanishing, it has made itself impossible to ignore. It has exposed the fragility of local roads, the limits of council budgets, the mess of overlapping responsibilities, and the way north Kent keeps being asked to grow around infrastructure that is already under strain. The barriers are still there. The cliff still waits. For the first time since April 2023, though, there is at least a credible path towards removing them. Whether that path leads anywhere now rests with ministers. The Structures Fund bid is not the end of the story. It is barely the start of the practical part. Final business case details are due to be submitted later this year. The government then has to decide what it is prepared to fund. If Galley Hill is successful, KCC will still have to move from bid to construction, through all the engineering and legal complexity that comes with rebuilding a road on a collapsed chalk cliff. But for the first time in three years, there is at least a process that could lead somewhere. After three years of diversions and delays, it is a fairly major shift. Residents who have watched the road remain closed since April 2023 finally have something more substantial than reassurance to show for it. Whether residents have confidence in the process is another matter. ## ****Enjoyed this? There’s more where it came from.** Join readers across Kent receiving our independent reporting on the stories shaping the county, straight to their inbox. Get the next edition Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Footnotes Thanks to [James O'Malley](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-was-radicalised-by-trying-to-buy-a-house/) for letting me steal one of his drone shots of the collapse at Galley Hill Road. He wrote an [excellent piece](https://takes.jamesomalley.co.uk/p/the-landslide?ref=kentcurrent.news) on the situation on his Substack. [This road is broken – and nobody can fix itThe spiders aren’t the only thing stopping Ebbsfleet’s development![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F5ffa16f2-e8fa-4b42-a439-2aeacd90b6ec-2Fapple-touch-icon-180x180-78ef08a0-8d1b-488f-ac37-a59620702e4b.png)Odds and Ends of HistoryJames O’Malley![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/https-3A-2F-2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com-2Fpublic-2Fimages-2F59fc622d-8409-40d8-9536-355a1d3b3cab_4000x2250-e17954b8-871f-477a-8a64-464173c64407.heic)](https://takes.jamesomalley.co.uk/p/the-landslide?ref=kentcurrent.news) ✉️ Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via ****hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance… Follow us elsewhere: [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews), [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news), [BlueSky](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news), and now [WhatsApp](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news) for new story alerts. ### Kent faces 37°C heat weeks after the taps ran dry URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/kent-faces-37degc-heat-weeks-after-the-taps-ran-dry/ Last updated: 2026-06-29T14:07:52.000Z **Kent could reach 37°C this week, putting pressure on water supplies, transport networks and public services only weeks after the county’s latest water failures. Plus major housing schemes in Halling, Bobbing and Aylesford, a new Margate Town Council, Primark’s move into Ashford, and the rest of the week across Kent.* ### Kent faces 37°C heat weeks after the taps ran dry Less than a month after parts of Kent were left without water during a warm spell, the county is preparing for temperatures that could reach 37°C. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/06/AdobeStock_214534366.jpeg) Broadstairs. The UK Health Security Agency has issued a [red heat-health alert](https://ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk/weather-health-alerts/heat/south-east?ref=kentcurrent.news) covering the South East, warning of impacts across the wider population rather than only the most vulnerable. Councils are urging caution, train operators are preparing for disruption, and schools have been told to record the effects of the heat through Kent’s severe weather monitoring system. But, this being Kent, the sharpest question hangs over the water supply. In May, residents in parts of Kent found themselves queueing for bottled water after outages hit during hot weather. South East Water faced intense criticism, politicians demanded answers, and Kent County Council responded by establishing a Water Resilience Partnership to examine the county’s longer-term water security. [How many times can Kent’s water system fail the same test?South East Water says it planned for the heat. Thousands of Kent households still lost supply.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-f2461af3-4f8c-4120-bfa6-71c40d3633de.png)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/AdobeStock_864995354-2-1-eb0627e4-912f-400c-9a96-f8f4b3b48d19.jpeg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/how-many-times-can-kents-water-system-fail-the-same-test/) Now the county is heading into a more severe heatwave. South East Water is already listing Kent as amber on its new water levels tool, indicating that water resources are running low. The company is asking customers to reduce hose use and be mindful of demand as temperatures rise. That may be sensible enough. It is also a fairly blunt reminder of how narrow the margin can be. For most people, the promise of a water company is that you can turn on a tap and get water. Kent’s recent experience has made that assumption feel rather less secure. This week will test whether May was an isolated failure or a warning shot. The problem for Kent is that hot weather does not arrive evenly. When the sun comes out, the county effectively gains a temporary population. Beaches fill up. Roads towards the coast become congested. Trains heading for the seaside become busier. Emergency services face increased demand. [The Met Office has specifically highlighted](https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/news-and-media/media-centre/weather-and-climate-news/2026/red-extreme-heat-warning-issued-with-june-temperature-records-forecast-to-break?ref=kentcurrent.news) the increased risk of water safety incidents as people head to beaches, rivers and lakes. Anyone who has tried driving towards Whitstable, Broadstairs or Margate on a hot Saturday will understand the principle. Southeastern [says](https://www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/travel-information/plan-your-journey/beat-the-heat?ref=kentcurrent.news) it is providing additional carriages on busy coastal routes and running extra services as people head towards destinations including Margate, Broadstairs, Folkestone, Herne Bay, Whitstable and Ramsgate. Its summer travel campaign carries the reassuring slogan 'Don’t sweat it.' Less reassuring is the explanation that rails in direct sunshine can be significantly hotter than the surrounding air and have been known to reach around 50°C. Hot rails expand. If monitoring systems indicate a risk of buckling, speed restrictions can be imposed. The railway can continue running, but journeys become slower, and timetables become less flexible. Extreme heat leaves the network functioning on worse terms. Care providers face increased risks for vulnerable residents. Outdoor workers in construction, agriculture and logistics will be expected to work through conditions that are becoming harder to dismiss as merely uncomfortable. Fire services will be watching the risk of grass and countryside fires as conditions become hotter and drier. Taken together, the coming week will place pressure on multiple systems simultaneously. Water supplies, transport networks, schools, hospitals and public services will all be affected by the same weather event. None of this means Kent is about to grind to a halt. But after May’s water outages, the county is entering this week with less room for complacency than usual. When South East Water customers were queueing for bottled water last month, the company said its network had come under exceptional demand during the hot weather. The coming days will provide a clearer indication of how resilient that network is when temperatures climb even higher. Whatever happens, nobody will be able to argue Kent wasn’t warned this time. ****The Kent Current is now on WhatsApp.** We’ve launched a [WhatsApp channel for Kent Current](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news). We won’t flood it with posts, but we will use it to share new stories and occasional major updates from across the county. If you’d like our journalism somewhere a little closer to your lock screen, you can follow along there. [Follow us on WhatsApp ](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news) ### Three big reads 1️⃣ [Searchlight magazine reports from Faversham](https://searchlightmagazine.com/2026/06/mob-rule-in-kent-as-harry-hildens-far-right-mob-disrupts-another-council-meeting/?ref=kentcurrent.news), where far-right activist Harry Hilden and his minions have disrupted a Faversham Town Council meeting. This follows repeated similar scenes at Swale Borough Council in recent months. 2️⃣ It's been a busy week for Hilden, who also spent the weekend addressing a Britain First rally in Birmingham, as reported by our friends at the [Birmingham Dispatch](https://www.birminghamdispatch.co.uk/britain-firsts-big-brum-day-out/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 3️⃣ [Byline Times reports](https://bylinetimes.com/2026/06/18/reform-council-bans-green-councillor-from-calling-out-neo-nazi-photograph/?ref=kentcurrent.news) on remarkable scenes at Kent County Council, where the new Reform chair banned a Green Party councillor for calling a neo-Nazi a neo-Nazi. ### Council matters **Meetings this week:** - **Gravesham:** [Cabinet](https://democracy.gravesham.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=149&MId=9631&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets tonight (Monday) to discuss the financial outturn and Gravesend town centre regeneration. - **Dover:** [Council](https://moderngov.dover.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=122&MId=5603&ref=kentcurrent.news) will hold an extraordinary meeting on Wednesday to debate the adoption of an affordable housing supplementary planning document. - **Swale:** [Council](https://democracy.swale.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=128&MId=4450&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Tuesday to debate car parking charges on the Isle of Sheppey, HMOs, and DBS checks on councillors. - **Folkestone & Hythe:** [Cabinet](https://folkestone-hythe.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=142&MId=5898&ref=kentcurrent.news) will discuss a damp and mould policy, private sector housing civil penalties, and more on Wednesday. - **Folkestone & Hythe:** [Council](https://folkestone-hythe.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=122&MId=5875&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets immediately after that to talk about solar schemes on Romney Marsh. - **Swale:** [Planning Committee](https://democracy.swale.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=130&MId=4561&ref=kentcurrent.news) will hold an extraordinary meeting to decide on 2,500 homes west of Bobbing on Wednesday. - **Tonbridge & Malling:** [Planning Committee](https://democracy.tmbc.gov.uk//ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=535&MId=6724&ref=kentcurrent.news) will meet on Wednesday to decide on 1,300 homes west of Aylesford. - **Kent:** [Cabinet](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=115&MId=9794&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Thursday to discuss the final overspend of the previous financial year. - **Dartford:** [Cabinet](https://dartford.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=105&MId=3412&ref=kentcurrent.news) gathers on Thursday to talk about empty homes, HMOs, the Local Plan, and lots more. - **Thanet:** [Cabinet](https://democracy.thanet.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=151&MId=7100&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets to discuss antisocial behaviour, support funding, and Microsoft 365 on Thursday. - **Tunbridge Wells:** [Cabinet](https://democracy.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=118&MId=6066&ref=kentcurrent.news) will discuss roughly half a million items on Thursday. **New planning applications:** - **Medway:** Scoping opinion for [2,000 homes](https://publicaccess1.medway.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=TGNWI9KN04R00&activeTab=summary&ref=localauthority.news) and new local centre south of Halling. ****Keeping track of Kent properly takes time, travel and a fair amount of patience.** The **Kent Current* exists only because some readers choose to support it. An [annual subscription costs £1.15 a week](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) and helps keep it going. [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) ### In brief 🗳️ The first elections for the new Margate Town Council [will be held next May](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2026/06/19/first-election-for-a-new-margate-town-council-to-be-held-next-may/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🏥 An abandoned hospital in Gravesend [could be compulsarily purchased](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/gravesend/news/sort-it-out-or-we-will-council-threaten-to-buy-eyesore-ho-341694/?ref=kentcurrent.news) so it can be converted into housing. 🚒 [Fire engulfed](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c33y50eg1yro?ref=kentcurrent.news) a large abandoned building at Chatham Docks over the weekend. 🚰 Homes near Sittingbourne [lost their water supply](https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2026-06-20/burst-water-mains-leave-homes-and-businesses-in-kent-and-sussex-with-no-water?ref=kentcurrent.news) following a burst water main. 👨‍💼 South East Water has announced that [John Halsall will take on the role of CEO](https://www.southeastwater.co.uk/about/updates/news/south-east-water-announces-john-halsall-as-ceo-designate/?ref=kentcurrent.news), succeeding the ever popular David Hinton. 🚓 Kent Police has [banned a TikTok star from visiting parts of Thanet](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/tiktoker-banned-from-district-after-beach-disorder-341736/?ref=kentcurrent.news) following antisocial behaviour last month. 🌲 Parts of ancient woodland in Maidstone have been [destroyed by vandals](https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2026-06-22/parts-of-ancient-woodland-destroyed-by-vandals?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🛍️ Primark is [taking over the former Debenhams](https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2026/06/primark-takes-over-former-debenhams-unit-in-ashford/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Ashford. ✍️ Folkestone & Hythe District Council [might need a new proofreader](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/folkestone/news/someone-should-have-checked-frustrating-error-leads-to-ty-341666/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 📱 Kings Hill might finally get [mobile phone signal](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/new-mobile-connectivity-boost-for-kings-hill?ref=kentcurrent.news). ### Property of the week This week’s property is a two-bedroom lower-ground-floor apartment in Cliftonville, which sounds fairly normal until you get to the private garden wrapping around it. For a flat this close to the sea, that is a fairly serious perk. The apartment sits in a secure block near the seafront, with an open-plan kitchen and living space, a turret-style corner because even flats need a bit of drama, and direct access outside from the main room. There is a main bedroom with a walk-in wardrobe, a second double bedroom and a modern shower room, plus electric central heating and double glazing. It is close to local shops, Northdown Road and fancier parts of Margate, and it is available for £250,000. [Check out this 2 bedroom flat for sale on Rightmove2 bedroom flat for sale in First Avenue, Cliftonville, Margate, Kent, CT9 for £250,000\. Marketed by Miles and Barr, Margate![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/favicon-38cfc904-9e5e-46a2-81e7-162ad598928d.ico)Rightmove.co.uk![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/6cb3b205dc834948e439fd34e73515da-7a12c8df-628a-4124-84f1-29eb9a2ab617.jpeg)](https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/89936547?ref=kentcurrent.news#/) ### Events this week 🌍 Thu 25 Jun - [**People's Emergency Briefing**](https://whereelse.live/events/people-s-emergency-briefing-433338?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Film screening and discussion on the climate crisis. Where Else?, Margate. Tickets £5. 🎛️ Fri 26 Jun - [**The Streets**](https://www.dreamland.co.uk/event/the-streets-2?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Mike Skinner brings The Streets performing A Grand Don't Come For Free in full for the first time. Dreamland, Margate. Tickets £63. 🍴 Sat 27 Jun - [**Ashford Food & Drink Festival**](https://www.loveashford.com/events/ashford-food-and-drink-festival/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Local food, Kent wines, music and family activities. Elwick Place, Ashford. Free. ✈️ 27 - 28 Jun - [**Headcorn International Airshow**](https://headcornairshow.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // New airshow with both modern and historical flight displays. Headcorn Aerodrome. Tickets from £30. ## ****Kent, properly reported** ****Independent journalism on the county’s biggest stories, without the clickbait or clutter** Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### **Footnotes** ✉️ Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via ****hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance… *Follow us elsewhere:* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [*Instagram*](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news)*,* [*BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and now* [*WhatsApp*](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for new story alerts.* ### “I was radicalised by trying to buy a house” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-was-radicalised-by-trying-to-buy-a-house/ Last updated: 2026-08-05T08:15:46.000Z [*James O'Malley*](https://takes.jamesomalley.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *is a journalist and writer who co-hosts* [*YIMBY Pod*](https://www.abundancepod.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, which advocates for growth and progress through new housing, infrastructure, and technology. Steven met with him (online, inevitably), where they discussed abundance, the Postcode Address File, and whether he would support a nuclear power station being built in his neighbourhood.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/06/IMG_0546-1.jpeg) **What is your official occupation?** I always describe myself as a journalist and writer, or a ‘Professional Opinion Haver.’ **What does that role entail?** I do two main things. I write a [newsletter on Substack](https://takes.jamesomalley.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) about politics and policy, with a steer towards technology and digital things. It's about whatever I want, basically. I always like to try and pick things apart, particularly from a policy perspective when I want to feel smart, or I just get angry about politics when I want to feel dumb. Also, I do a podcast called [YIMBY Pod](https://www.abundancepod.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news), which is all about why we should build more things. **Do you have any additional roles, paid or unpaid?** No, not at the moment. I occasionally freelance for other places. If anyone wants to pay me to write something for them, I am very happy to have the conversation. In fact, [I wrote a piece for *Kent Current* once](https://www.kentcurrent.news/its-time-for-kent-to-build/). That was very exciting. **And we'll continue to occasionally badger you to do another one.** One day I will do it. I've got more time now. I've just finished a major freelance project for someone else, so I have slightly more breathing room. [It’s time for Kent to build!Prices are out of reach, waiting lists are growing, and councils are still saying no.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-593cd434-3188-4b4d-9cab-3cd775898682.png)Kent CurrentJames O’Malley![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f65d0fce9-d74c-4b51-ad52-a609d51cc894_4032x2268-jpeg-3-f26b3399-9175-472d-a225-eb3ef4ae5463.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/its-time-for-kent-to-build/) **What is Substack? Why are you there and not on WordPress?** Substack, I think, have done a good job. They've combined the old blogging model with the ability to get paid for it. Because they integrate the entire payment pipeline, it just makes it easier. Fewer clicks from someone going, “I quite like this person,” or what they have to say, to clicking the subscribe button to get on their mailing list, so that you get everything in the future. The trouble with blogs in the old days with WordPress, is someone will read something, and then they go away forever. Whereas you get them on Substack, you get someone to sign up, and then you've got them for life. Then even better still, if they really like the stuff and they hit a paywall, then it's easy for them to pull out the credit card and pay for your stuff. **At the risk of sounding like your mother-in-law, do you get paid for that?** Yeah, amazingly it does pay its way. People do care about my opinion, remarkably enough, to pay. **The podcast was previously called The Abundance Agenda. Why have you given up on** [**abundance**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supply-side%5Fprogressivism?ref=kentcurrent.news)**?** I've not given up ideologically, I'm still very much abundance-pilled. I still believe the abundance lens is a useful one for understanding the things we need to fix in this country and this world. The reason we changed the name was simply pure cynical marketing in that [YIMBY](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YIMBY?ref=kentcurrent.news) means 'Yes in my back yard,' people who want to build things. It's a phrase that emerged for people who want to push back against the [NIMBYs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NIMBY?ref=kentcurrent.news). It emerged out of housing politics. It seems to be the words that people understand. Even normal people who aren't extremely online seem to know what YIMBY means. Whereas abundance hasn't quite got that cachet yet. The reason we chose abundance in the first place was because [Ezra Klein](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ezra%5FKlein?ref=kentcurrent.news) published a book called [Abundance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abundance%5F%28Klein%5Fand%5FThompson%5Fbook%29?ref=kentcurrent.news) last year, which we knew was coming out and would speak to this worldview. > Local residents shouldn't get an absolute veto over everything that happens in their immediate surroundings **Is there anything you wouldn't say yes to in your back yard?** Well, this is the thing. I think if I got a letter through the door saying we're going to build a nuclear power plant over your back garden, I would probably personally find that quite annoying or quite irritating. Part of me would think that was cool, but part of me would think that was definitely quite irritating to my personal circumstances. But my view is that individually I shouldn't get an absolute veto over that. Local residents shouldn't get an absolute veto over everything that happens in their immediate surroundings. Some things are more important, and that's why we have politics. That's why we elect politicians to make difficult decisions, because sometimes we need more housing or more infrastructure for the national good, for the sake of improving the country. We like to pretend that we can just get everyone around the table and have a conversation, and everyone will move along together. We have to bring people with us. I'm a big sceptic of [citizens' assemblies](https://www.parliament.uk/get-involved/committees/climate-assembly-uk/about-citizens-assemblies/?ref=kentcurrent.news) and things like that. The reason we have politics in the first place is because sometimes you do have to make decisions where there are winners and there are losers. It means that sometimes we do need to build a nuclear power plant or something that might be controversial. If we decide we need one of these because it's in the national interest, it needs to go somewhere, and we need to make a decision about where that's going to be. **What is something you've enjoyed learning about through doing the podcast?** Oh God, so much. I've got a way more detailed knowledge of the insanity of the planning system, because I got into this thing and became interested in these topics, partially because I was radicalised by trying to buy a house in the first place. Then you look at the reasons why that happens. It's the amount of the way the bureaucracy and a lot of the British state structured in a way to just to say no and oppose building things drives me insane and learning again about the real policy weeds of things like the [Treasury Green Book](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-green-book-appraisal-and-evaluation-in-central-government?ref=kentcurrent.news), which is the set of rules the treasury uses to decide whether something is value for money or not, and this is a 10 million page document buried somewhere deep in the Treasury you can [read it on gov.uk](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/698dbcd17da91680ad7f4308/The%5FGreen%5FBook%5F2026.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) if you really want to, and it sets out the complexity and the criteria, and there's so many little weedy little things like that. You actually realise how government actually works. The more you talk to people who actually work in government, the more you realise, you peel that one layer of complexity and discover 10 million other layers of complexity. This is why we can't seem to actually build anything. **What's a Kent example of something you learnt?** Ooh, I'll tell you what. Learning about the details of the Lower Thames Crossing and how that came to be in the planning process. I can't remember the number off top of my head, but the sheer size of the planning application for that and the complexity there. The absolutely mad thing, my friend, [Michael Dnes](https://limbostructure.substack.com/), who's a transport consultant, who used to work at the Department for Transport, he figured out that for all of the hundred million pounds or something to figure out the planning application, the government could have passed a law in the first place saying, “We approve the Lower Thames Crossing. It will be built.” That would have reduced the amount of paperwork required immeasurably because you would have had that legal footing to go, rather than be open to a million different appeals and layers of planning. ****Read the full conversation.** Register for free to continue reading this interview, and get access to more independent reporting from the **Kent Current*. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### KCC faces transparency questions after damning ICO ruling URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/kcc-faces-transparency-questions-after-damning-ico-ruling/ Last updated: 2026-06-26T12:40:45.000Z **A ruling from the Information Commissioner has forced Kent County Council back to search the archives over a series of cancelled committee meetings. On its own, it is an awkward finding. Alongside KCC’s continuing refusal to fully explain the sale of Antony Gormley’s Two Stones, it points to a wider issue of transparency, record-keeping and how residents are supposed to understand what happens when significant decisions are made with no public record.* ### KCC faces transparency questions after damning ICO ruling Kent County Council has been ordered by the Information Commissioner to carry out fresh searches for records relating to a string of cancelled committee meetings, after the regulator found the council had failed to demonstrate that the information did not exist. The ruling is awkward enough on its own. It concerns the cancellation or postponement of several formal KCC meetings in the weeks after the May 2025 county council elections, including scrutiny, audit, planning and cabinet committee sessions. But the decision notice becomes more damaging because of what it says about KCC’s handling of the request. The council told the requester at internal review that searches had been carried out. It later told the Information Commissioner that no searches had been undertaken at all. The Commissioner’s response was blunt that those positions “cannot both be correct.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/06/KC_BKCC-building.jpg) That sentence is the heart of the ruling. It is also the reason this is more than a niche Freedom of Information dispute. KCC’s defence was essentially that no relevant information was held. The regulator’s response was that the council had not done the work needed to make that claim. The original request was submitted by local campaigner Jon Patience in June last year. He asked for information about the cancellation or postponement of nine meetings following the county elections. KCC responded in July 2025 with narrative and contextual information. Patience requested an internal review, arguing that further recorded information must exist, including communications and internal discussions about the cancellations. In August, the council replied that no information was held. That position has now been rejected by the Information Commissioner, who found that KCC had not demonstrated, on the balance of probabilities, that it did not hold information falling within the scope of the request. The ruling does not say that KCC definitely holds additional information. Nor does it conclude that anything was deliberately withheld. It is narrower than that, but still highly damaging. The Commissioner found that KCC had not carried out adequate and proportionate searches before asserting that no information was held. According to the decision notice seen by the *Kent Current*, KCC told the Commissioner that no searches had been undertaken because the relevant staff relied on their professional knowledge, recollection, and internal discussions within the Democratic Services team. The council said the decisions had been made informally and at pace after a change in administration, and that all information had been communicated verbally. That explanation did not satisfy the regulator. KCC also accepted that meeting cancellations are generally handled through electronic systems, including calendar notifications, and that such situations may involve emails or other electronic correspondence. In this case, the council said calendar cancellations had been issued, but maintained that no substantive information existed beyond confirmation that the meetings were cancelled. The Commissioner found that this was not enough. Calendar cancellations are themselves records. Emails and calendar systems were obvious places to search, yet KCC had not searched them. The most damaging section of the ruling concerns the contradiction between what KCC told Mr Patience and what it later told the ICO. In its internal review, KCC indicated that relevant services had conducted reasonable and proportionate searches of records, including emails and internal communications. In its representations to the Commissioner, it said no searches had been carried out. “These positions cannot both be correct,” the decision notice states. The Commissioner said the inconsistency undermined the reliability of KCC’s account and weakened its assertion that it held no information. The Commissioner also noted the nature of the request. It concerned the cancellation of formal committee meetings, which are routine governance functions of the council. He considered it “inherently unlikely” that such cancellations would generate no recorded information whatsoever, particularly where administrative systems are used to organise and notify attendees of meetings. ****The Kent Current is now on WhatsApp.** We’ve launched a [WhatsApp channel for **Kent Current*](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news). We won’t flood it with posts, but we will use it to share new stories and occasional major updates from across the county. If you’d like our journalism somewhere a little closer to your lock screen, you can follow along there. [Follow us on WhatsApp ](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news) KCC has now been ordered to carry out adequate and proportionate searches for recorded information, including emails, calendar records and other electronic communications relating to the cancelled meetings. It must then confirm whether it holds any information and either disclose it or issue a refusal notice explaining why any exemption applies. The council has 30 calendar days from the date of the decision notice to comply. On one level, this is a story about FOI procedure. On another, it is about something more basic. Public bodies do not get to say 'there is nothing to see here' if nobody has actually looked. The ruling comes at a difficult moment for KCC because questions about records, paper trails, and the visibility of decision-making have already been circulating at County Hall. Similar concerns have been raised about the sale of Antony Gormley’s Two Stones from outside the Kent History and Library Centre in Maidstone. The sculpture had been part of Maidstone’s public realm for years, sitting outside one of the county’s main public buildings. Gormley studied at Maidstone College of Art, giving the work an obvious local resonance as well as artistic value. Earlier this year, the sculpture disappeared. KCC later confirmed that it had sold Two Stones back to the artist. It said the decision had been taken carefully as part of its work to manage financial pressures, and that returning the work to Gormley ensured its ongoing care and preserved the potential for future public exhibition. That might have been a defensible position if the council had then shown its working. It did not. [Major Maidstone public artwork sold off behind closed doorsKCC sells off a Maidstone landmark as its first political assistant exits early, and the Swanscombe Hole enters a funding lottery![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-730b7d97-6eaa-4b0c-8a27-cd55afe93f26.png)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/KC_Maid-Stones-1-d6441385-79a7-43e5-a57d-29d729324866.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/major-maidstone-public-artwork-sold-off-behind-closed-doors/) When the *Kent Current* asked basic questions about the sale, KCC declined to say how much it received, who signed off on the sale, what valuation was obtained, or what formal scrutiny the decision underwent. The silence was particularly striking because KCC’s own 2024/25 Statement of Accounts listed the 'Antony Gormley Boulders Sculpture' as a council-owned asset valued at £859,000\. Asset valuations and sale prices are not the same thing, but when a council sells a public artwork that it has recently valued at that level, the public interest in knowing what happened is obvious. KCC said, in response to our Freedom of Information request, there had been no formal decision to sell the sculpture, no officer authorisation, no decision record and no internal briefing note or report outlining the rationale for the sale. It confirmed that the sale was completed on 29 March, but continued to withhold the sale price, valuation information and correspondence relating to the transaction. That is an extraordinary position for the disposal of a significant public asset. It is not necessary to believe that every council decision should produce a mountain of paperwork to think that selling a major artwork by one of Britain’s best-known sculptors ought to leave behind something more than a void. The *Kent Current* challenged KCC’s refusal through the council’s internal review process. The review response arrived last week after 5pm on the final day the council could legally respond. KCC upheld its original position, maintaining that the sale price and valuation information should remain withheld on commercial grounds. The council acknowledged that there was a public interest in disclosure. It accepted that revealing the information would contribute to openness, accountability and public understanding of how public assets are managed and disposed of, but it concluded that this was outweighed by the need to protect the commercial interests of both KCC and the purchaser. The review said disclosing the agreed sale price would reveal confidential pricing information in a specialist market, potentially prejudice KCC’s ability to negotiate effectively in future transactions, and affect the purchaser’s commercial and reputational interests. It also said the purchaser had expressly indicated that they did not consent to publication of the sale price. KCC’s position on the governance issue was even more revealing. The review said that Freedom of Information legislation only applies to information held by public authorities. It does not require the creation of new information and does not provide a mechanism to challenge the adequacy of internal processes where no recorded information exists. That may be legally correct. It is also the problem. The question is not whether FOI legislation can magic a decision record into existence. The question is why the sale of a major public artwork apparently did not generate one. That is where the Two Stones case and this week’s ICO ruling begin to speak to each other. They are not the same case. The ICO has not ruled on the sculpture sale, and it would be wrong to suggest that it has. The *Kent Current* has now escalated the Two Stones complaint to the Information Commissioner, and that process remains ongoing. But both cases circle the same basic issue. When significant decisions are made at KCC, what records are kept? How are they recalled? How confidently can the council tell the public that there is nothing more to see? In the case of cancelled meetings, KCC said no relevant information was held. The ICO has now found that the council had not carried out the obvious searches needed to sustain that position. In the Two Stones case, KCC says there was no formal decision record, no officer authorisation and no briefing note setting out the rationale for the sale. The council is not merely withholding some information. It is saying key parts of the paper trail do not exist. For a county council, that is a remarkable place to end up. ****Keeping track of Kent properly takes time, travel and a fair amount of patience.** The Kent Current exists only because some readers choose to support it. An [annual subscription costs £1.15 a week](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) and helps keep it going. [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) KCC is one of the largest local authorities in the country. It spends vast sums of public money, owns and disposes of public assets, and makes decisions that shape services across Kent. Its processes do not need to be thrilling. They do need to be visible enough for residents to understand how decisions are made and who is accountable for them. The alternative is government by vanishing paper trail. A meeting is cancelled, but the records are apparently not there. A public artwork is sold, but the formal decision apparently does not exist. A request is answered, but the searches later turn out not to have happened. None of that inspires confidence. Opposition leaders at County Hall have seized on the ICO ruling as evidence of wider governance problems under the current Reform administration. Conservative group leader [Harry Rayner](https://www.kentcurrent.news/nobody-needs-14-councils/) described the decision notice as “a damning reflection” on the administration and said it showed “material inconsistencies” in KCC’s responses. He argued there was “clear evidence of a lack of good record keeping” and said the council’s governance reflected “a significant reduction in standards, a predisposition to secrecy and a failure to provide openness in decision making.” Rayner also linked the ruling to his own experience of the administration, citing what he described as a continued failure to give reasons for the cancellation of Cabinet Committee meetings. His criticism is more political, but the underlying point is difficult for KCC to dismiss while the ICO’s decision notice sits on the table. The regulator has identified an inconsistency in the council’s account and ordered it to go back and do the searches it should have done before. Green group leader [Mark Hood](https://www.kentcurrent.news/we-havent-had-a-king-of-kent-for-over-1-000-years/) said KCC’s performance on FOI requests was becoming “a real concern.” He said he had a separate complaint with the ICO regarding an FOI request submitted in March about the decision to permit debate on a motion regarding a supposed illegal immigration emergency during the pre-election period. Hood said he had still received no substantive response. “It is clear from the decision of the ICO and from my experience that KCC is incapable of responding adequately to enquiries regarding the governance of the council,” Hood said. He added that the Green group “no longer has confidence in the governance functions of the council and its independence of the Reform UK administration.” Labour group leader [Alister Brady](https://www.kentcurrent.news/you-should-be-able-to-disagree-well/) said the ruling should worry residents. “We’re talking about cancelling major council meetings with apparently no records, no audit trail and no proper checks,” he said. “The regulator has found the council failed to comply with the law. That should concern every resident.” Brady described the case as another example of what he called “Kent Chaos Council” and said it reflected a lack of accountability at the top of the authority. The opposition parties were always likely to turn the ruling into a political attack. Reform now runs KCC, and the cancelled meetings followed the election that brought the party to power. But the ruling itself is not framed as a party-political document. It is a finding against Kent County Council as a public authority. Systems, habits and cultures of disclosure can outlast any one political group. The ICO ruling is embarrassing for the current administration, but it also raises a deeper institutional question about how KCC records, searches for and discloses information when scrutiny becomes uncomfortable. The *Kent Current* approached KCC for comment on the ICO ruling, the inconsistency identified by the Commissioner, and whether it had begun the ordered searches. It did not respond before publication. That silence may not be surprising. KCC has not exactly rushed to answer awkward questions, but on a story about transparency, no response is still a response of sorts. The council now has 30 days to comply with the ICO decision notice in the Patience case. It may carry out the searches and find nothing beyond the bare calendar cancellations it has already acknowledged. It may find something more substantive. Either outcome would at least be based on having looked. The broader issue does not disappear with one set of searches. Opposition leaders are openly questioning the council’s governance arrangements. KCC’s own responses have left it defending a position that ought to make anyone uneasy, where significant decisions can apparently be made while leaving remarkably little documentary trace. The dullest parts of local government are often the most important. Agendas, minutes, reports, decision records, internal briefings, calendar entries, and email chains are not glamorous, but they are how the public can see the machinery at work. They show who knew what, who approved what, what risks were considered, and whether decisions were properly scrutinised. Without them, accountability starts to become a matter of trust. KCC is asking for quite a lot of that at the moment. In one case, it said searches had been carried out, then told the regulator they had not. In another, it says a major public artwork was sold without a formal decision record, officer authorisation or briefing note. The council may yet have explanations for all of this. It may even have better answers than the ones it has provided so far. But when a public body repeatedly asks residents to accept that there is no paper trail, the obvious question is not unreasonable. Who benefits from everything being so hard to find? ## ****Kent, properly reported** ****Independent journalism on the county’s biggest stories, without the clickbait or clutter** Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Footnotes ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us elsewhere:* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [*Instagram*](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news)*,* [*BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and now* [*WhatsApp*](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for new story alerts.* ### Kent fire service plans biggest shake-up in more than a decade URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/kent-fire-service-plans-biggest-shake-up-in-more-than-a-decade/ Last updated: 2026-06-22T13:52:39.000Z **Kent Fire and Rescue Service is preparing its biggest reshaping of fire cover in more than a decade, with five on-call stations facing closure and changes proposed across the county. Plus the World Custard Pie Championships, Margate town council plans, storm overflows in Thanet, A249 delays, Eurotunnel legal threats and the rest of the week across Kent.* ### Kent fire service plans biggest shake-up in more than a decade Kent Fire and Rescue Service is preparing for its [biggest reshaping of fire cover](https://www.kent.fire-uk.org/news/kent-fire-and-rescue-service-announces-proposals-upcoming-public-consultation?ref=kentcurrent.news) in more than a decade. Five on-call fire stations could close, with four attached on-call sections at wholetime stations could be removed. Overnight cover at two larger stations could be reduced, and resources shifted to provide extra daytime appliances elsewhere. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/06/AdobeStock_582743108_Editorial_Use_Only--1--1.jpeg) KFRS says this is not simply about cutting costs. It argues that the risks facing Kent have changed, and that resources need to move with them. Firefighters are not convinced. The proposals would close on-call stations at Grain, Cliffe, Wye, Chilham and Westerham. Attached on-call sections would also be removed from wholetime stations in Herne Bay, Deal, Tunbridge Wells and Faversham, though the full-time cover at those stations would remain. At Dartford and Northfleet, two appliances would remain available during the day, but overnight cover would reduce to one appliance. KFRS says this would allow additional daytime appliances to be based at Strood, Ashford and Folkestone, where demand is higher. Taken together, it amounts to a significant redrawing of the county’s fire cover. The plans first emerged after details were accidentally shared with staff before being reported by the BBC. KFRS subsequently confirmed the stations involved and announced its intention to consult, subject to approval by the Kent and Medway Fire and Rescue Authority. Ann Millington, the chief executive of KFRS, has argued that the current network reflects a different era of firefighting. “The nature of the risk has changed so much in the last 20 years,” she told BBC Radio Kent. “What we’re facing now is not what was set up in the original on-call system.” The service says some stations now attend very few incidents. Millington told the BBC that some receive fewer than seven “shouts” a year, making it harder for firefighters to maintain the operational experience needed to keep themselves and the public safe. That is the core of KFRS’s argument. A quiet fire station may feel reassuring to a community, but the service says low activity can create its own problem if crews are not attending enough incidents to regularly use and develop their skills. The wider picture is more complicated than a simple story of falling demand. Government figures show KFRS attended 18,326 incidents in 2025, up 7.6% on the previous year. Total fires increased by 22.7%, while outdoor primary fires rose by 67.4%. KFRS is not arguing that firefighters have less work to do. It argues that the work has changed and that the current network no longer matches where and when that work is happening. That is where the dispute begins. The Fire Brigades Union says the proposals risk increasing travel distances and weakening local resilience. Tim Green, the union’s South East chair, told the BBC that longer journeys “directly reduce the chance of survival in certain types of fire and makes it harder for us to contain incidents quickly.” Kent FBU representatives also met last week to discuss a wider package of proposed changes, including station closures, removal of attached on-call appliances, appliance deployment changes, 12-hour shifts and changes to day-crewed stations. For KFRS, the proposal is about moving resources toward demand. For opponents, it risks thinning out cover in places where distance already matters. Those arguments will play differently across the county. On the Hoo Peninsula, Grain and Cliffe are both marked for closure, leaving Hoo as the only remaining fire station on the peninsula. In west Kent, Westerham residents are likely to ask similar questions about distance and rural cover. In east Kent, Wye and Chilham face the same basic argument about whether low demand justifies losing local stations. The attached on-call removals raise a slightly different issue. Herne Bay, Deal, Tunbridge Wells and Faversham would keep their wholetime stations, but lose the additional on-call sections that currently provide extra capacity. KFRS describes these as over-provision. Critics are likely to ask what happens when demand spikes or multiple incidents happen at once. The consultation documents have not yet been published, so the detailed evidence behind the proposals remains unseen. That matters more for the county-wide story than any single quote. If KFRS wants residents to accept that fewer local stations can still mean effective cover, it will need to show the call-out data, attendance modelling and risk analysis behind the plan. Until then, the argument is clear enough. KFRS says Kent’s fire service needs to be redesigned around modern risk. Firefighters warn that closing stations and reducing local appliances could lead to longer waits during emergencies. Residents will be asked to decide which case they find more convincing when the 12 week consultation opens on 25 June. ****The Kent Current is now on WhatsApp.** We’ve launched a [WhatsApp channel for Kent Current](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news). We won’t flood it with posts, but we will use it to share new stories and occasional major updates from across the county. If you’d like our journalism somewhere a little closer to your lock screen, you can follow along there. [Follow us on WhatsApp ](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news) ### The big read Okay, so it's not really a read so much as a series of photos, but the Guardian sent along a photographer to the World Custard Pie Championships, which took place in Coxheath over the weekend. The competition has been held every year since 1967 to raise funds for Coxheath Village Hall, and it's as ridiculous and glorious as you'd expect. [World Custard Pie Championships 2026 – in picturesWorld Custard Pie Championships in Maidstone, Kent![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-512-f1b62b64-b4c9-4fb6-9552-3a86dc1084b2.png)The GuardianGuardian staff reporter![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/3472-3bfd2e02-5d2b-45b7-814d-e6b5dc140c47.jpg)](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/gallery/2026/jun/13/world-custard-pie-championships-2026-in-pictures?ref=kentcurrent.news) ### Council matters **Meetings this week:** - **Gravesham:** [Council](https://democracy.gravesham.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=144&MId=9617&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Tuesday to discuss nuisance vehicles, town twinning, planning, and more. - **Sevenoaks:** [Cabinet](https://cds.sevenoaks.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=120&MId=3776&J=1&ref=kentcurrent.news) gathers to discuss public space protection orders, finances, leisure centres, solar farms, and much more. - **Maidstone:** [Cabinet](https://meetings.maidstone.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=748&MId=5769&ref=kentcurrent.news) will discuss finances, temporary accommodation, and traveller sites on Wednesday. - **Thanet:** [Planning Committee](https://democracy.thanet.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=115&MId=7068&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Wednesday to decide on an application for 150 homes on the former Royal School for Deaf Children in Margate. - **Dartford:** [Development Control Board](https://dartford.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=107&MId=3435&ref=kentcurrent.news) will meet on Thursday to decide on a mixed-use town centre application for 69 homes, commercial floorspace, artist studio space, and more. - **Sevenoaks:** [Development Management Committee](https://cds.sevenoaks.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=122&MId=3741&J=1&ref=kentcurrent.news) will decide on an outline application for 135 homes south of Edenbridge. - **Thanet:** [Council](https://democracy.thanet.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=141&MId=7414&ref=kentcurrent.news) will hold an extraordinary meeting on Thursday to discuss establishing a town council for Margate. **New planning applications:** - **Ashford:** Outline application for [175 homes](https://ashfordboroughcouncil.my.site.com/pr/s/planning-application/a0hTw000004oh5tIAA/pa20260995?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Kingsnorth. ****Keeping track of Kent properly takes time, travel and a fair amount of patience.** The **Kent Current* exists only because some readers choose to support it. An [annual subscription costs £1.15 a week](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) and helps keep us going. [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) ### In brief 📍 Some enterprising councillors in Swale have decided to come up with new names for the new Kent councils we'll be switching to from 2028\. Rather than boring names like North Kent, West Kent, and East Kent, [suggested names](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sittingbourne/news/the-most-expensive-distraction-debate-on-new-council-name-341338/?ref=kentcurrent.news) included Greater Cantium, Wanstum and Downs, Saxon Shore, and more. 👷 The junction upgrade between Iwade and Kemsley on the A249 is '[nearly complete](https://highways-news.com/kent-major-junction-upgrade-nearly-complete-after-two-year-delay/?ref=kentcurrent.news),' a mere two years behind schedule. 🚧 Meanwhile, parts of the Sheppey Crossing will [remain closed for days](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sheerness/news/crossing-to-remain-partly-shut-for-fourth-day-due-to-emergen-341489/?ref=kentcurrent.news) due to emergency repairs to a bridge joint. 👃 Residents near Canterbury are increasingly annoyed by a '[stinking mountain](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/it-makes-me-feel-sick-fury-over-stinking-mountain-of-wa-341268/?ref=kentcurrent.news)' of waste. 🚗 Canterbury City Council has seen a [£500,000 drop](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/parking-income-falls-by-half-a-million-pounds-in-kent-distri-341437/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in parking fee revenue. 🚓 A Kent Police officer [has been discharged](https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/former-kent-police-officer-up-11008075?ref=kentcurrent.news) following threats to damage a member of the public's car in a parking row. 🪧 A far-right protest in Maidstone over the weekend led to a racist on racist altercation as Britain First leader Paul Golding and a White Vanguard supporter [got into it with each other](https://searchlightmagazine.com/2026/06/belfast-pogrom-and-southampton-riot-galvanise-anti-fascist-movement-as-thousands-rally-across-britain/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 📄 Rochester and Strood MP Lauren Edwards is [reintroducing the assisted dying bill](https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/jun/14/assisted-dying-bill-return-commons-lauren-edwards?ref=kentcurrent.news) back into the Commons. 🧑‍⚕️ Plans for the [merger of Kent Community Health and Medway Community Healthcare](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c24y72yzg9no?ref=kentcurrent.news) have been set out. 🏊 Swimming was [restricted at 12 Thanet beaches](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0eywygvxpjo?ref=kentcurrent.news) for two days after South Water discharged storm wastewater. 📋 Hythe will [host a public exhibition](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce95n7ndn8no?ref=kentcurrent.news) of plans for the 8,500 home Otterpool Park development later this month. 🏭 Kent County Council is inviting proposals to [take over the running of eight KCC windmills](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/enabling-community-empowerment-kcc-invites-proposals-to-take-over-the-running-of-kcc-windmills?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🚄 Eurotunnel is [threatening legal action](https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/channel-tunnel-owner-threatens-legal-action-against-uk-over-tax-hike-2026-06-12/?ref=kentcurrent.news) after its business rates tripled. 🪖 A history of [Ashford's tank](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwy08l4y0pxo?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🌊 The world's first [shoreline community allotment](https://cenemagazine.co.uk/news/world-first-shoreline-community-allotment-project-on-the-isle-of-sheppey-kent?ref=kentcurrent.news) project has received funding on the Isle of Sheppey. 🐝 Folkestone has [fallen to the bees](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/folkestone/news/swarm-of-thousands-of-bees-descends-on-coastal-residential-r-341475/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🦋 The population of a rare butterfly in Kent has [increased by 900%](https://insideecology.com/2026/06/10/rare-butterfly-numbers-up-9000-in-kent-thanks-to-farmers-and-volunteers/?ref=kentcurrent.news) since 2005, thanks to the work of farmers and volunteers. ### Property of the week This week’s property is a substantial period house in Sandwich that comes with one very useful distinction. It is not Grade II listed, which in this town almost feels rebellious. The house is spread over three floors, with four bedrooms, two reception rooms, a large kitchen and dining space, a conservatory and three bathrooms, including an en suite to the main bedroom. It is also being sold with no onward chain. The real headline, though, is outside. For a central Sandwich home, this has a silly amount of parking, with a double garage, car port and space for three more vehicles at the rear, plus a sunny enclosed garden. In a town where parking can become a lifestyle issue, that may do more selling than the period charm. [Check out this 4 bedroom end of terrace house for sale on Rightmove4 bedroom end of terrace house for sale in Moat Sole, Sandwich, CT13 for £600,000\. Marketed by Regal Estates, Sandwich![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/favicon-99e2c701-1b63-4033-8303-75de0f03150d.ico)Rightmove.co.uk![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/31654dcfab3bc21a2b81547cf2c9f237-14b18a69-9414-4b15-9bff-43601465ec6f.jpeg)](https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/89675409?ref=kentcurrent.news#/) ### Events this week 🗳️ 16 - 20 Jun - [**I'm Sorry, Prime Minister**](https://marlowetheatre.com/shows/im-sorry-prime-minister/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Final chapter from the co-creator of Yes, Minister, sees Jim Hacker and Humphrey Appleby endure one final crisis. Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury. Tickets from £19. 🎸 Fri 19 Jun - [**Garbage + Skunk Anansie**](https://www.dreamland.co.uk/event/garbage-skunk-anansie/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Two alt-rock heavyweights share a bill by the sea. Dreamland, Margate. Tickets £64. 🤼 Sun 21 Jun - [**UKPW**](https://www.fatsoma.com/e/qcbr7xws/ukpw-live-wrestling-in-canterbury-rampage-2026-20-person-rumble-in-canterbury?ref=kentcurrent.news) //Action-packed wrestling entertainment featuring a 20-person rumble. Westgate Hall, Canterbury. Tickets £12. ## ****Kent, properly reported** ****Independent journalism on the county’s biggest stories, without the clickbait or clutter** Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### **Footnotes** ✉️ Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via ****hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance… *Follow us elsewhere:* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [*Instagram*](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news)*,* [*BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and now* [*WhatsApp*](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for new story alerts.* ### “It's a gloriously varied life” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/its-a-gloriously-varied-life/ Last updated: 2026-06-14T06:00:57.000Z [*Laura Lexx*](https://www.lauralexx.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *is a graduate of the University of Kent, where she studied stand-up comedy under* [*Oliver Double*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/embrace-your-inner-oddball/)*, with whom she now does the* [*Comedy Bureau*](https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-comedy-bureau/id1836934156?ref=kentcurrent.news) *podcast. Steven spoke to Laura about her recent tour of Australia, her upcoming show, Yo-Yo, and her imaginary marriage to Jürgen Klopp.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/06/LauraLexx319.jpg) Laura Lexx. Photo: Karla Gowlett. **What is your official occupation?** Comedian. **Do you count podcaster under the role of comedian?** Yeah, I think so because I'm an author. I've written two books, but it's all just me. My only job is being professionally me. All the different roles fall under that. Otherwise, you start at my MC work and post under X, Y, and Z. Comedian will do. **You've got a new tour coming up this year. What can you tell us about Yo-Yo?** [Yo-Yo](https://www.lauralexx.co.uk/shows/yo-yo?ref=kentcurrent.news) is about turning 40, hitting a decade of being married and a bit of a re-evaluation of myself and life, given the way the world currently is. Trying to be relevant and 40 in a world of social media, and trying to be married and engaged in a world with a four-year-old, and all of those feelings when you hit that bit where you go, “I'm not 22 anymore.” How do I still feel about myself and everything around me? It's one of those shows where you stop and just take stock. **You've just come back from Australia. Was that a warm-up for Yo-Yo?** That was actually the tail end of the last tour I did, [Slinky](https://www.lauralexx.co.uk/shows/slinky?ref=kentcurrent.news), which ran in England in autumn 2024\. That was the last leg of that tour. I took it to Australia to Adelaide, Melbourne, and Brisbane, and then finished it up in London. **Is the Australian audience different?** I think so. I think Australian audiences tend to be a bit more tender-hearted. They don't go in so hard for edgier jokes or the darker jokes, whereas British audiences have a bit of a darker sense of humour. > You are praised for being repetitive, and I think that that is creatively problematic **You mentioned social media earlier. What is it like to find out you've gone viral online?** A relief because that's what you're trying to do every bloody day. It's useful. I think that's the thing with social media. Completely honestly, it stopped being fun and started being the only way to reach your audience. It feels like it's become a game where you're being told what to do more than you're being praised for creativity. Going viral is the key now to tour sales. You can directly link views on Instagram to how tour sales sell that week, and it does make it a little bit like you are just the marketing wing. You're not genuinely being creative and comedic, you're being the marketing team. That's how I feel anyway, but I'm despondent about social media because I think social media blasts any nuance. The videos that do the best are always the ones with the most extreme baity title or the things that do one thing clearly and then once that works you are supposed to then do the same thing 50 times in a row to consolidate your audience and it feels harder and harder to put out an array of different abilities and go “I do comedy on lots of things, in lots of different ways.” You are praised for being repetitive, and I think that that is creatively problematic. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Kent’s town centres are searching for a new purpose URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/kents-town-centres-are-searching-for-a-new-purpose/ Last updated: 2026-06-18T20:45:25.000Z **Kent’s town centres are being forced to find a new purpose as traditional retail continues to weaken, empty units persist, and councils look to housing, culture, leisure and public services to fill the gap. This edition looks at how places from Thanet and Ashford to Canterbury, Folkestone and Maidstone are responding. Plus potential bus reductions around Bluewater, South East Water’s expanded compensation fund for businesses, and new warnings over climate-related subsidence risk in Kent.* ### Kent’s town centres are searching for a new purpose In Thanet, the council is preparing to step in where the market has failed. Shops left empty for long enough may soon have [new tenants found for them](https://www.thanet.gov.uk/info-pages/high-street-rental-auctions/?ref=kentcurrent.news). In Ashford, the answer is more brutal. Park Mall, once part of the town’s retail future, is [being pulled down](https://www.ashford.gov.uk/news/latest-news/park-mall-demolition-update/?ref=kentcurrent.news). These are very different responses to very different problems. One is about filling vacant units. The other is about deciding what should replace an entire shopping centre. Together, they point to the same awkward question. What is a town centre actually for now? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/06/KC_high-street.jpg) For much of the last century, the answer was simple enough. If you needed something, you went into town to buy it. The high street was where you opened a bank account, bought a birthday card, picked up a new shirt, visited the post office, browsed the bookshop and stopped for a coffee. Shopping was not the only reason people went there, but it was usually the main one. Today, that assumption is being rewritten across Kent. Different towns are trying different approaches, but the underlying challenge is the same. The old model began to break long before covid. Online shopping steadily ate away at sales. Out of town retail parks offered free parking and larger stores, and national chains consolidated. Banks closed branches as more customers moved online. Department stores, once the anchors of town centres, became much harder to sustain. By April 2026, online sales accounted for [28.1% of all retail sales](https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn02818/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Great Britain. The figure moves from month to month, but the wider point is harder to ignore. More than a quarter of retail spending now happens away from the shopfronts that many town centres were built around. Covid accelerated the shift. Hybrid working reduced the daily flow of office workers through some centres. Households under pressure had less money to spend. Large chains that had once drawn people into town disappeared altogether. Town centres did not collapse overnight. Instead, they hollowed out gradually. That is why the change can feel so disorientating. One closure is unfortunate. Two can perhaps be explained away. Over time, the accumulated effect changes the character of a place. A bank becomes a restaurant. A shop becomes a gym. A former department store becomes a development site. An upper floor becomes flats. A unit that once sold clothes becomes a barbers, a vape shop, or a phone repair business. None of those changes is automatically bad. Some are useful, and some are even successful. Some are better than another empty shopfront. Taken together, they show that the old high street economy has been replaced by a more fragmented one. The language used by councils now gives the game away. Few rely only on promises to attract more shops. Instead, strategies focus on housing, leisure, culture, workspace, health services, public spaces, hospitality, and events. Retail still matters, but it no longer carries the whole thing. Canterbury offers the clearest Kent example of a place that still has a strong centre because it has other reasons for people to visit. Its cathedral, universities, theatres, restaurants and visitor economy give the city layers of demand that many towns lack. The city’s latest [centre strategy](https://www.canterbury.gov.uk/strategies-and-policies/canterbury-city-centre-strategy-2026-2043?ref=kentcurrent.news) aims to encourage visitors to stay longer, students to put down roots, and businesses to grow. It is a plan for a city centre that works as a visitor destination, student city, hospitality hub and business centre at the same time. Folkestone offers another version of survival. Its transformation has been driven less by retail than by culture, food, tourism and public space. The Harbour Arm has become a destination in its own right. The Creative Quarter gives the town a visible identity. The offer is not simply 'come here to shop.' It is 'come here to spend time.' ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/06/AdobeStock_712665647_Editorial_Use_Only.jpeg) Folkestone's Creative Quarter Margate’s version is messier but still instructive. The Turner Contemporary has brought millions of visitors to the town since opening and has become central to the story people tell about Margate’s regeneration. Cafés, vintage shops, galleries and the seafront have changed the town’s image. Yet Margate also shows the limits of regeneration that is heavily dependent on visitors. A place can become fashionable without every street becoming prosperous. The towns doing best are not necessarily the ones with the most shops. They are often the ones that have found other reasons for people to spend time there. That is harder in places without a cathedral, a seafront, a harbour, a strong tourism brand or a wealthy local catchment. Ashford is a town trying to force a new answer into being. Park Mall once represented exactly the sort of enclosed shopping-centre future many towns aspired to. Today, the site is being demolished, and the council is considering a longer-term residential-led mixed-use redevelopment. Before that happens, the space is expected to be converted into a surface-level car park. That detail neatly captures the awkwardness of the transition. The old retail model has failed, but the new town centre has not yet arrived. Maidstone faces a similar question on a larger civic scale. It remains Kent’s county town, but that status does not by itself guarantee a thriving centre. Its long-term thinking now spans jobs, culture, leisure, housing, green space, and public realm improvements. The breadth is telling. Dover’s position is starker. Its latest [monitoring reports](https://www.dover.gov.uk/Planning/Planning-Policy/Monitoring-and-Land-Supply/Monitoring-and-Land-Supply.aspx?ref=kentcurrent.news) say there is no forecast need for new comparison retail floorspace, the kind used for clothes, furniture and other non-food shopping. There is, however, capacity for more food and drink outlets. The town is not expecting a wave of new traditional shops to solve the problem. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/06/AdobeStock_217796186.jpeg) Dover town centre. Thanet is testing another response that intervenes to directly tackle empty units. The council is looking at using High Street Rental Auctions in Margate, Cliftonville and Ramsgate, allowing long-empty commercial properties to be brought back into use. It is a small but telling shift. The market has not filled every gap on its own, so councils are being given tools to move things along. This is where the debate becomes more complicated. A vacant unit is bad for a town centre. It breaks up the street, reduces footfall, weakens neighbouring businesses and gives the impression of decline. Councils understandably want those units occupied. But occupied by what? ****The Kent Current is now on WhatsApp.** We’ve launched a [WhatsApp channel for Kent Current](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news). We won’t flood it with posts, but we will use it to share new stories and occasional major updates from across the county. If you’d like our journalism somewhere a little closer to your lock screen, you can follow along there. [Follow us on WhatsApp ](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news) Few changes provoke more local discussion than the growth of vape shops, barbers, phone accessory stores, mini-marts and similar businesses. They are not all the same, and should not be lazily lumped together. Many are legitimate businesses run by people trying to make a living in difficult conditions. Yet the concerns are now serious enough to have become part of the national debate. The government has announced a new [High Street Organised Crime Unit](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-high-street-unit-set-up-in-nationwide-blitz-on-dodgy-shops?ref=kentcurrent.news) aimed at tackling criminal activity linked to some premises, including vape shops, barbers, mini-marts and sweet shops. Kent Trading Standards [said earlier this year](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/millions-of-illegal-vapes-seized-in-kent?ref=kentcurrent.news) that it had stopped three million illegal vapes reaching residents over the previous five years, illustrating how concerns about some town centre businesses have moved beyond aesthetics and into questions of enforcement. That does not mean every vape shop is dodgy. It does not mean every barber is a front. But it does expose a problem that many town centres now face. When the priority is simply to fill empty space, almost any tenant can look like progress. That does not necessarily build a town centre that people actually want to visit. A town centre made up of occupied units can still feel weak if the mix is poor, the offer is narrow, or the street no longer gives people a reason to linger. Vacancy is one problem, but low quality occupancy is another. At the same time, some of the businesses replacing traditional retail make perfect sense. Haircuts cannot be ordered online. Nor can a gym session, a meal out, a dental appointment, a beauty treatment, a coffee with friends or a live performance. The more shopping moves online, the more town centres are pushed towards things that require physical presence. The high street is becoming less of a marketplace and more of a service hub. That shift is not automatically a failure. A town centre with good cafés, restaurants, health services, cultural venues, green spaces, independent shops and homes can be more useful than one dominated by fading national chains. The difficulty is getting there. Housing is increasingly part of the answer, with former offices, upper floors and underused commercial sites being converted into homes. Major town centre regeneration projects often include residential development alongside commercial space. In some places, the future customer base may increasingly live in the town centre rather than travel into it. That changes the rhythm of a place. A shopping centre built for Saturday footfall is different from a town centre where people live, work, eat, exercise, study and use public services throughout the week. It needs different transport, different public spaces, different lighting, different policing and different assumptions about who the centre is for. It also creates new tensions. More homes can bring life into a town centre, but they can also reduce commercial space. More hospitality can make a place more attractive, but it can also create noise and licensing conflicts. More visitors can support businesses, but they can also push up rents and leave residents feeling as though the town is being reshaped for someone else. There is no single Kent town centre story. Canterbury is not Folkestone, and Margate is not Sevenoaks. Each place has its own economy, history, transport links and civic identity. But they are all being pulled away from the same old assumption that the centre of town exists primarily as a place to shop. The department stores are not coming back. Neither are many of the banks or retail chains that once anchored town centres across Kent. That does not mean the future is empty shopfronts and managed decline. It means towns are looking elsewhere for the activity that retail once provided. For now, many of Kent’s town centres feel caught between two versions of themselves. The old one is familiar enough to remember. The new one is visible in fragments. A gallery appears where a shop used to be, flats are built above a former department store, while boarded up units wait for a decision about what comes next. The future of the town centre will not arrive all at once. Across Kent, it is already appearing piece by piece. The challenge is that nobody has quite settled on what the finished picture should look like. ***Keeping track of Kent properly takes time, travel and a fair amount of patience.** *The Kent Current exists only because some readers choose to support it. An* [**annual subscription costs £1.15 a week*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) *and helps keep it going.* [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) ### Also... 🚌 Our friends at [the Greenwich Wire reports](https://greenwichwire.co.uk/2026/06/10/tfl-cut-bluewater-darent-valley-kent-fastrack-busway-96/?ref=kentcurrent.news) that a Kent County Council decision to increase charges for Transport for London buses using part of the Fastrack network could lead to fewer London buses serving Bluewater and Darent Valley Hospital. TfL says Kent has asked for a “significant increase” in fees to use a short stretch of bus-only road between the hospital and the shopping centre, prompting a review of services including the 96 from Woolwich. No cuts have been confirmed, but Dartford councillors have been told TfL is considering reducing services rather than withdrawing them entirely. KCC says discussions are ongoing and services remain available. 🚰 South East Water has [doubled its compensation fund](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cewq288lklyo?ref=kentcurrent.news) for businesses hit by the winter outages, after Tunbridge Wells MP Mike Martin said the original £600,000 pot did not come close to covering local losses. Businesses will now have until 19 June to apply to the £1.2m fund, with successful claims due to be paid by the end of August. Martin called the increase “a significant victory,” though South East Water remains under investigation by Ofwat over repeated supply failures and faces a proposed £22m fine for earlier disruption. 🏚️ Kent is among the areas most exposed to climate-related subsidence, as hotter, drier summers increase the risk of clay soils shrinking beneath homes. [Analysis by the British Geological Survey](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jun/11/millions-homes-london-essex-and-kent-sinking-climate-crisis-subsidence?ref=kentcurrent.news) forecasts that around 500,000 properties could be affected by 2070 under a low-emissions scenario, rising to more than 1.8m under a medium-emissions path closer to current global trends. In London, more than 26% of homes could be affected by 2070\. The warning comes after £153m of UK subsidence-related insurance claims in the first half of 2025, following the warmest spring on record and the driest in more than 50 years. ## ****Kent, properly reported** ****Independent journalism on the county’s biggest stories, without the clickbait or clutter** Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Footnotes ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us elsewhere:* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [*Instagram*](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news)*,* [*BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and now* [*WhatsApp*](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for new story alerts.* ### The taps are back on, but trust has not returned URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-taps-are-back-on-but-trust-has-not-returned/ Last updated: 2026-06-15T19:18:12.000Z **A new report on South East Water’s winter outages shows fewer than one in ten affected customers were satisfied with the company’s response, while around half now keep bottled water at home in case supplies fail again. Plus the week ahead, fresh planning proposals, Broadstairs disorder, Folkestone jet skis, Amazon robots in Dartford, and the rest of the week across Kent.* ### The taps are back on, but trust has not returned For months, South East Water’s problems have been measured in outages, boil water notices and bottled water stations. A new report suggests the lasting damage may be harder to fix. [Research commissioned by the Consumer Council for Water and Ofwat](https://www.ccw.org.uk/publication/south-east-water-incidents-research/?ref=kentcurrent.news) into two major South East Water incidents over the winter found that fewer than one in ten affected customers were satisfied with how the company handled them. Around half of those affected now keep bottled water at home in case it happens again. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/06/AdobeStock_397204579-1.jpeg) That is the blunt conclusion from a report into the incidents in late 2025 and early 2026, which affected tens of thousands of households and businesses across Kent and Sussex. Tunbridge Wells was by far the worst hit area, with around 24,000 properties affected by the November and December incident following a failure at Pembury Water Treatment Works. Customers then faced a formal boil water notice, which remained in place for nine days. In January, the disruption spread more widely. The report says the second incident potentially affected 69,000 properties, including parts of Tunbridge Wells, Canterbury, Blean, and Staplehurst. Unlike the first incident, there was no formal boil water notice, but many customers still experienced no water, low pressure, intermittent supply and concerns about quality. The report does not say customers were shocked that a water company suffered a major operational failure. It's more uncomfortable finding is that many could have coped better with the disruption if they had been given clearer, faster and more realistic information about what was happening. Communication was described as the clearest and most consistent point of failure. Most customers did not first discover there was a problem through South East Water. They found out when their supply stopped, pressure dropped, or neighbours began discussing it in WhatsApp groups and on Facebook. Around seven in ten customers first became aware of the incidents in that way. Official communication often came later, after people were already trying to work out what had happened. That left many with the impression that South East Water was reacting to events rather than guiding customers through them. Updates were described as vague, repetitive, delayed and too optimistic. Less than one in ten customers were satisfied with the reliability of information about when services would be restored. That led households to make practical decisions around incomplete information. People were trying to work out whether children could go to school, whether they could cook, wash, flush toilets, work from home, care for relatives, or stay in the house at all. Repeated promises that supply would return 'later today' or 'tomorrow' were particularly damaging because they prevented people from planning properly. The practical disruption was severe. Customers described difficulties with cooking, washing, laundry, personal hygiene and toilet use. Three quarters of respondents affected by the November and December incident said it had a high impact on their daily routine. Six in ten said it affected their physical comfort or wellbeing, while 59% said it caused significant stress or anxiety. The January incident scored slightly lower, but still showed high levels of disruption across all three areas. For some households, this went well beyond inconvenience. The report includes accounts from parents whose children struggled to attend school, people with health conditions who could not maintain hygiene routines, and residents who travelled elsewhere simply to shower or use reliable toilet facilities. In one account, a customer said they booked a hotel room just to shower. Another described using collected rainwater to flush toilets. The uncertainty extended to drinking water itself. In the November and December incidents, 26% of affected customers said it was unclear what they needed to do to access safe drinking water. In January, when there was no formal boil water notice but widespread disruption and concern about quality, that rose to 41%. Bottled water stations became one of the most visible parts of the response. The report notes that staff working at those sites were often praised, with customers describing them as organised, helpful and polite. The wider system was less well regarded. Customers reported long queues, severe traffic congestion, difficulty carrying water without access to a car, and confusion when station locations changed or supplies ran out. More than 40% of customers who used bottled water stations said the amount they received was not sufficient for their household’s needs. Many had to buy additional bottled water, return to stations, ask others to collect water for them, or find other ways to manage. The findings are particularly uncomfortable regarding support for vulnerable customers. South East Water, like other utilities, operates a Priority Services Register for customers who may need extra help during emergencies. The report found that support for those customers was inconsistent. Some households received useful deliveries, but others had to chase support, received too little water, or received nothing at all. Around half of Priority Services Register customers said they did not receive the support they expected. In some cases, deliveries were left in inaccessible places, creating additional problems for people with mobility issues or health conditions. Others were unclear about what support they were entitled to. Very few customers said South East Water proactively checked whether they had additional needs or required extra help while supplies were disrupted. One of the more notable parts of the report is that many customers were not demanding perfection. They accepted that outages can happen. What they expected was honesty, visible control and clear evidence that someone was taking responsibility. The damage to trust appears to have come less from the fact that the incidents happened, and more from the perception that the company was not fully open about what had gone wrong or realistic about when things would be fixed. That damage is now changing how people behave. Around half of affected customers say they now store bottled water at home in case of future incidents. A quarter of those affected by the November and December incident said they felt less comfortable using tap water for washing or brushing teeth. Others reported buying bottled water more often, drinking less tap water, or using tap water less for cooking. This is where the report moves beyond a review of two bad incidents. It shows a basic household assumption beginning to weaken. Tap water is supposed to be the thing that does not require thought. After last winter, some South East Water customers now think about it every day. The timing is awkward for the company. Ofwat is already investigating South East Water’s customer care during the winter outages. Earlier this year, the regulator proposed a penalty of more than £22m over previous supply failures between 2020 and 2023\. Since the incidents covered in this report, parts of Kent have seen further disruption, including more recent problems during periods of hot weather. South East Water has apologised for the winter outages and says it is making changes to how it manages supply interruptions, including updates to emergency procedures, improvements to treatment works, pipeline upgrades, increased spare stock levels and better customer communication. That is now the test. The report’s central message is not simply that customers were angry or inconvenienced. It is that many felt left to work things out for themselves at the moment they most needed clear information. For a water company, that is a serious failure. For customers who now keep bottled water in the house just in case, it is not yet one that has been repaired. ****The Kent Current is now on WhatsApp.** We’ve launched a [WhatsApp channel for Kent Current](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news). We won’t flood it with posts, but we will use it to share new stories and occasional major updates from across the county. If you’d like our journalism somewhere a little closer to your lock screen, you can follow along there. [Follow us on WhatsApp ](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news) ### Council matters **Meetings this week:** - **Dover:** [Cabinet](https://moderngov.dover.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=121&MId=5531&ref=kentcurrent.news) will meet tonight (Monday) to talk about affordable housing, including the purchase of sites in Sandwich and Aycliffe. - **Swale:** [Council](https://democracy.swale.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=128&MId=4554&ref=kentcurrent.news) holds an extraordinary meeting tonight (Monday) to discuss local government reorganisation. - **Canterbury:** [Cabinet](https://democracy.canterbury.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=755&MId=14099&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Tuesday to discuss social housing standards, homelessness, planning enforcement, and more. - **Kent:** [Scrutiny Committee](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=752&MId=10130&ref=kentcurrent.news) will examine the price increase of the Kent Travel Saver on Thursday after the Greens, Lib Dems, and Restore called the decision in. - **Medway:** [Regeneration, Culture and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee](https://democracy.medway.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=437&MId=6630&ref=localauthority.news) will discuss bus services, Southern Water, developer obligations, and more on Thursday. - **Ashford:** [Cabinet](https://ashford.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=136&MId=5090&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Thursday to discuss a lot of policies and strategies. - **Maidstone:** [Licensing Committee](https://meetings.maidstone.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=572&MId=5811&ref=kentcurrent.news) will decide how hard to go after cake shed operators on Thursday. **New planning applications:** - **Maidstone:** Scoping opinion for [5,000 new homes](https://pa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=TG3T5JTY1BC00&activeTab=summary&ref=kentcurrent.news) at Lenham Heath. ### In brief 🏘️ Folkestone & Hythe District Council has seen its temporary accommodation bill [more than double](https://folkestonedispatch.substack.com/p/bill-for-temporary-housing-for-those) in the past year. 🏢 Office buildings in Kings Hill are set to be [turned into housing](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent-business/county-news/plans-to-turn-office-blocks-into-housing-341241/?ref=kentcurrent.news) due to their unviability for commercial use. 🏚 Broadstairs is set to gain [Kent's largest HMO](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/we-re-really-worried-neighbours-lose-fight-against-kent-s-341185/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🏗️ Nigel Farage is planning a [£700,000 upgrade](https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/nigel-farage-kent-house-makeover-gift-crypto-billionaire-reform-uk-b1285150.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) to his Greatstone house. ➡️ A Reform county councillor has called IVF a '[lifestyle choice](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx21e2jrr58o?ref=kentcurrent.news),' and that people with low incomes shouldn't have children if they can't afford them. 🚔 Kent Police have [vowed to tackle](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx212ky52z8o?ref=kentcurrent.news) summer troublemakers 'head on.' 🚉 Meanwhile, East Thanet MP Polly Billington thinks trouble in Broadstairs could be reduced by [introducing ticket barriers](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2026/06/03/east-thanet-mp-calls-for-installation-of-ticket-barriers-at-broadstairs-railway-station-to-deter-yobs/?ref=kentcurrent.news) at the station. 🌊 Ruffians [keep riding jet skis](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/folkestone/news/reckless-jet-skis-cause-havoc-and-put-swimmers-at-risk-des-341106/?ref=kentcurrent.news) around Folkestone Harbour. 💃 Margate Winter Gardens is set to [reopen in March 2027](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2026/06/05/first-show-and-opening-date-for-phase-one-of-margate-winter-gardens-announced/?ref=kentcurrent.news), with the first performance being.. sigh.. an Abba tribute band. 😎 Sevenoaks District Council might have to [spend £400,000 fighting an appeal](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn0plqxyvnjo?ref=kentcurrent.news) after it rejected a solar farm. 🤖 Amazon have introduced our [new AI robot overlords](https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/amazon-unveils-new-ai-warehouse-robot-12-billion-europe-push-2026-06-04/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Dartford. 💣 At least once a month, it's good to be reminded of the 1,400 tonnes of explosives [sitting off the Kent coast](https://www.countryfile.com/go-outdoors/historic-places/what-is-the-ss-richard-montgomery?ref=kentcurrent.news). ***Keeping track of Kent properly takes time, travel and a fair amount of patience.** *Kent Current only exists because some readers choose to support that work. An* [**annual subscription costs £1.15 a week*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) *and helps keep it going.* [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) ### Property of the week This week’s property is a former sweet shop in Oare, now a Grade II listed one-bedroom cottage that has been restored hard enough to feel genuinely finished, not just freshly painted. It is laid out over three floors, with an open-plan lounge and dining space, a kitchen with a butler sink, and a cellar accessed via a hatch in the lounge for storage or anyone who misses the idea of a hiding place. Upstairs, the bedroom comes with French doors onto a private balcony, and the bathroom has a freestanding bath, because even former sweet shops are not allowed to be modest anymore. Outside, there is a separate courtyard garden with a summer house for sheltered sitting, and it is available for offers in excess of £250,000. [Check out this 1 bedroom terraced house for sale on Rightmove1 bedroom terraced house for sale in Mount Pleasant, Oare, Faversham, ME13 for £250,000\. Marketed by SAXON SHORE LIMITED, Kent![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/favicon-a3039069-4673-4ca8-8e2b-557109caf5dd.ico)Rightmove.co.uk![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/0df1e0e8158dc1d18a921bc4e91c78cb-346cb7a0-9af0-4517-9c1f-3775dfc396e7.jpeg)](https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/89420967?ref=kentcurrent.news#/) ### Events this week 🌸 12 - 14 Jun -[**Glorious Gardens Weekend**](https://www.penshurstplace.com/whats-on/events-and-activities/2026-06/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Penshurst Place celebrates its gardens with a weekend of floral displays and garden-focused activities. Penshurst Place, near Tonbridge. Tickets £15. 🌈 Sat 13 Jun - [**Big Gay Out**](https://maidstonepride.co.uk/2026/big-gay-out/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Maidstone Pride’s family-friendly afternoon of performances, stalls and community celebration. Brenchley Gardens, Maidstone. Free. 🎸 Sat 13 Jun - [**IntraFest**](https://www.facebook.com/theoldhighst/posts/intra-community-trust-proudly-presents-intrafestfrom-music-halls-to-medway-sound/1558603046271719/) // Festival with music, street food, theatre, creative activities, and lots more. Various locations, Chatham. Free. 🥐 13 - 14 Jun - [**Le Weekend**](https://sandwichevents.org.uk/scea-events/le-weekend/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Sandwich goes French and medieval for a weekend of re-enactments, markets and continental charm. Sandwich. Free. ## ****Kent, properly reported** ****Independent journalism on the county’s biggest stories, without the clickbait or clutter** Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### **Footnotes** ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us elsewhere:* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [*Instagram*](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news)*,* [*BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and now* [*WhatsApp*](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for new story alerts.* ### “I described Kent as a thousand silos of awesome” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-described-kent-as-a-thousand-silos-of-awesome/ Last updated: 2026-06-07T07:30:49.000Z *Following a recommendation from a reader, Steven met with George Matuska via Zoom to discuss learning disabilities, being a Florence Nightingale Foundation scholar and the government's new National Autism Strategy.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/06/Photo-GM-1.png) George Matsuka (centre). **What is your official occupation?** I am a learning disabilities nurse. **Do you have any additional roles, paid or unpaid?** No, all of my roles relate to being a learning disability nurse. I have two substantive posts and then two honorary roles. My substantive role is working in the [mental health trust](https://www.kentmedwaymentalhealth.nhs.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news). I'm their lead for Learning Disability and Autism. I also work two days a week for the [Integrated Care Board](https://www.kentandmedway.icb.nhs.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news). They call themselves NHS Kent and Medway. They're the people that pay for our NHS services, and I'm their all-age clinical lead for Learning Disability, Autism and ADHD. Then I have two honorary roles, one with Canterbury Christ Church University. I do guest lecturing for undergrad nurses and post-grad trainees who are doing various courses around learning disability, autism and leadership. I've also got a visiting lecturer role with Kingston University. I have a particular interest in workforce. I've been doing some workforce discussions, but I also do some teaching and guest lecturing for them as well. **What is a learning disability?** A learning disability is a developmental condition. This is a condition that presents either before you're born, during the birthing process, or during the development of the brain. The definition has evolved over the years. In the past, they used to define it as a group of individuals with an IQ of 69 and below. Within that was three groups. People with a mild learning disability, that perhaps needed little to no support to live a good life in the community and maybe live independently. People with a moderate learning disability who perhaps need a little bit of support to live a good life, that might be around their finances or around organising their life or things like that. People with a severe learning disability that perhaps need full-time support, maybe live in care homes or supported living settings. Then we have a group, and these are all clinical definitions, called profound learning disability. That would be someone that has a lot of physical needs as well. Perhaps requires 24 hour support, someone to help them with their eating, their drinking and all elements of their life. A real continuum. In essence, it covers lots of different conditions. Your readers will be familiar with perhaps Down syndrome as a term, because that's perhaps better well known. Some people with [Down syndrome](https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/downs-syndrome/?ref=kentcurrent.news) will also have a learning disability, but not all people with a learning disability will have Down syndrome. But it's an example of a condition that could have a learning disability. **Why do people with learning disabilities need their own nurses?** We as a profession came into being about 100 years ago. It was identified at the time, and clearly, things have evolved. There were a group of people that needed that additional support. Originally, it was psychiatry that would have been supporting. But as things evolve, you see the nursing profession take on more and more of that medical role. We had a group of people that had a specific set of needs that weren't well met by our children's nurses, our mental health nurses and our adult nurses. Predominantly at that time they would be living in institutions and long stay facilities. That's what we did as a society. The nursing profession was born from that need. It has evolved over the years. We had Margaret Thatcher running with the agenda of moving people to living in the community and shutting down long-stay institutions, and my profession evolved with that. We moved into more of a community nursing field. Over the last 15 years, there's been a real push. We still had a lot of people who were in mental health hospitals who arguably weren't mentally ill, but had found themselves there maybe because they were distressed or they presented with challenges that had been misinterpreted. It’s 2% of the population, but with a high set of needs that needed that specialist workforce to wrap around them to help them live the good life that they deserve and want. **If it's a learning disability, how does that present pre-birth?** It could be that someone has a genetic condition. For example, Down syndrome has a number of forms. The most common one is Trisomy 21, which is an additional chromosome that leads to you having Down syndrome. That is something that occurs as either you've inherited, therefore it's before you're born, It could be as a result of a mutation of the genes during the sperm and the egg multiplying and growing into a zygote and then a foetus. Sometimes it can be a little bit of one chromosome breaking off and attaching to another one. That's just one example, but there are thousands of genetic conditions that you could potentially inherit or happen as a mutation before you're born, while you're developing as a foetus. But equally, there are lots of things in our environment that a mum might come across during that developmental stage that equally might change the way the DNA is developing and then lead to someone presenting with a learning disability. It's not just genetic conditions, but we know there are a lot of genetic conditions that have a learning disability associated with them. > There are a group of children that I am concerned about that maybe we're not diagnosing **Why are more people diagnosed with learning difficulties?** **Is there an epidemic of overdiagnosis?** No, it's actually the opposite. The data would say there are as many people born today with a learning disability as there was 10 years ago. But what we do know is that many people are thriving into adulthood, which arguably wasn't happening as much. We also know that we were the first country in the world to undertake looking into why people were dying prematurely within our systems on the back of an ombudsman report from a Bristol hospital trust. What we've discovered is people die prematurely because we're not effective at supporting them. We have as many people today as we would have done, but they were dying prematurely. There is a conversation that's starting to happen around identifying our children, because, of course, a child is a child. Unless they have a significant disability, and we can identify them at a young age, it might be that schools are saying, 'That child might grow out of it.' There are a group of children that I am concerned about that maybe we're not diagnosing, that perhaps if we did, we could get them better support as a child and they might not have as many challenges in adulthood. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### How Kent got stuck with Britain’s border problem URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/how-kent-got-stuck-with-britains-border-problem/ Last updated: 2026-06-11T20:06:22.000Z **Operation Brock was designed as a contingency measure to manage disruption at Dover and Eurotunnel, but its repeated return has made it a regular part of life on the M20\. This edition looks at how Kent became the place where Britain stores its border problems, why alternatives have proved so difficult, and why almost everyone agrees Brock is not a long-term answer while continuing to rely on it anyway.* ### How Kent got stuck with Britain’s border problem The M20 was not built to be a waiting room for the border. For most of the year, it looks like any other major motorway. Commuters head between Kent towns, freight moves between Britain and Europe, families drive to the coast, and the ordinary traffic of a county between London and the Channel carries on. Then, as the holiday period approaches, industrial action occurs in France, or the ports begin issuing warnings of pressure, barriers go up, speed limits fall, and signs direct Europe-bound lorries into place. Suddenly, one of Kent’s main roads starts doing a very different job. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/06/KC_traffic.jpg) By now, the ritual is familiar enough to have lost some of its shock. [Operation Brock](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation%5FBrock?ref=kentcurrent.news) arrives before Easter, half-term, summer getaways and Christmas. It is discussed by MPs, defended by traffic planners, criticised by haulage groups and endured by residents who may not be going anywhere near France. Brock was introduced as contingency planning, but it has become part of Kent’s seasonal infrastructure. Almost everyone now agrees it is not the long-term answer. Kent is still waiting for someone to produce one. Before Brock, there was [Operation Stack](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation%5FStack?ref=kentcurrent.news). When disruption hit the Port of Dover or the Channel Tunnel, sections of the M20 were closed and used to park lorries. It was crude, but clear. The freight had to go somewhere, so it went on the motorway. That arrangement reached its breaking point in 2015\. Industrial action, disruption around Calais and problems with cross-Channel services left parts of Kent snarled up for weeks. The M20 became a lorry park, while other traffic was pushed onto local roads. Businesses lost time and money. Residents found routine journeys becoming unpredictable. Kent once again became the place where a national border problem was stored. Operation Brock was meant to be the smarter answer. Rather than shutting the motorway completely, Brock uses a contraflow system between junction 8 near Maidstone and junction 9 near Ashford. Europe-bound HGVs can be held on the coastbound carriageway while other traffic uses the opposite side of the motorway in both directions. The route stays open, but in a narrower, slower and more fragile form. When the system is active, lorries heading for Dover or Eurotunnel are legally required to join Brock at junction 8\. Those who try to dodge the queue can be turned back and fined. Enforcement can also take place elsewhere, including at Brenley Corner near Faversham, where lorries using the A2 towards Dover can be redirected back towards the M20. Brock controls the border before traffic reaches it. Thousands of lorries are held in one place rather than allowed to arrive independently at Dover and Folkestone when the system ahead of them cannot cope. The pressure is metered before it spills into Ashford, Folkestone, Dover, the A20 villages, the A2, the M2 and the smaller roads never designed for this kind of load. That is why the argument becomes so frustrating. Residents see a contraflow, a 50mph limit and disruption on a day when no obvious crisis has materialised. The authorities see a risk that has not yet become visible. ****The Kent Current is now on WhatsApp.** We’ve launched a [WhatsApp channel for Kent Current](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news). We won’t flood it with posts, but we will use it to share new stories and occasional major updates from across the county. If you’d like our journalism somewhere a little closer to your lock screen, you can follow along there. [Follow us on WhatsApp ](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news) The [Kent and Medway Resilience Forum](https://www.kentprepared.org.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) says decisions to deploy Brock are based on intelligence, traffic modelling, passenger bookings and freight bookings. Brock is not only used when Kent is already in trouble. It is also used when officials think Kent might be about to be. That is the official defence, but it is also the source of much of the anger. A Freedom of Information request [reported by the BBC](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cev7evmz7dmo?ref=kentcurrent.news) found that Brock costs around £226,000 to deploy, followed by nearly £35,000 for every 24 hours it remains in place. In 2025, more than £3m was spent implementing it. The same reporting found that Brock was deployed across a 69 day period, but only actually used to hold freight for 136 hours. To critics, that looks absurd. Millions spent, weeks of reduced motorway capacity, and only a few days of actual lorry parking. To those responsible for Kent’s roads, it looks like contingency planning. The point of Brock is not only what happens when the queue fills. It is what might happen if there is nowhere for the queue to go. Brock causes disruption in order to prevent worse disruption. After years of using it, the question is whether Kent should still accept that bargain as normal. Brock's strongest defence is Ashford. At a recent Ashford Joint Transportation Board meeting, Kent’s highways and transport strategic resilience manager, Toby Howe, defended the system by saying it protected the town from gridlock. In particular, he pointed to junction 10A and access to the William Harvey Hospital. For people delayed on the M20, Brock can look like the problem. For those planning the wider network, it is intended to prevent the problem from reaching places where the consequences would be more serious. The Roundhill Tunnel near Folkestone is another recurring pressure point. If queues from Dover build back towards the tunnel, it can be closed because stationary traffic is not allowed inside. Once that happens, disruption can quickly spread, affecting traffic heading for Eurotunnel as well as Dover. Brock is partly designed to stop that chain reaction from beginning. The honest version is that Brock clearly does something. It keeps freight in a managed queue. It keeps parts of the motorway open, and it reduces the chance of uncontrolled congestion spreading across east Kent. The harder question is whether this is the best a country can manage for one of its most important trade routes. Logistics UK does not think so. The business group has [described Brock](https://logistics.org.uk/media/press-releases/2026/march/permanent-solution-to-operation-brock-is-long-over?ref=kentcurrent.news) as an “inefficient and expensive workaround” and says a permanent solution is long overdue. More than half of goods traded between Great Britain and mainland Europe pass through the English Channel, with up to 16,000 freight vehicles using Dover and Eurotunnel each day. A crossing of that importance is still relying on a motorway holding pen. The driver welfare issue is just as stark. Official guidance acknowledges that providing toilets or food on a live carriageway is difficult and often unsafe. Drivers are told to prepare with food, water and medication before joining the queue. That may be understandable from a traffic safety point of view, but it is a bleak way to treat people doing essential work. Kent businesses have been making the same point for years, though usually from the other side of the queue. A [2022 survey](https://www.kmep.org.uk/app/uploads/2024/08/KMEP-Survey-of-Business-Views-Operation-Brock-2022.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) by the Kent and Medway Economic Partnership found that 86% of respondents said Brock had a negative or severely negative impact on their business when operating over capacity, while 76% said the same even in its default mode. Business travel, staff morale, income, deliveries, visitor numbers and recruitment were all affected. The most revealing finding was not simply that businesses disliked the worst days. Many said they were affected even when Brock was working as intended. A reduced speed contraflow still meant longer journeys, less reliable travel, delayed staff, missed deliveries and customers deciding not to bother. In the same survey, one in six respondents said they expected to move away from Kent because of Brock, with another one in six unsure whether they would stay. This introduces an economic warning to what sounds like a road problem. Brock also changes the map of disruption. The most obvious effect is on the M20, but the knock-on effects are scattered across the county. Villages along the A20\. Ashford. Folkestone. Dover. Brenley Corner. The A2 towards Canterbury. The M2 near Faversham. When enforcement is stepped up at Brenley Corner to stop lorries heading to Dover via the A2, traffic can back up there too. When drivers try to avoid the motorway, smaller roads take the strain. Brock may be a freight system, but its consequences are not limited to freight. That will become more important as the [EU’s Entry/Exit System](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kent-keeps-waiting-for-europes-new-border-regime/) adds another layer of border processing. The new digital checks are intended to replace manual passport stamping, but they also risk increasing processing times for passengers. For Kent, that raises a separate problem. Brock was built around lorries, while the next wave of disruption may also come from tourist traffic. A Liberal Democrat [motion at Kent County Council](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/documents/s137272/3.%20Liberal%20Democrat%20Group%20MTLD%20-%20Tourist%20Travel%20in%20Kent.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) last month warned of significant summer delays caused by tourist traffic subject to EES on top of freight delays managed through Brock. It called for government to produce a credible plan to manage freight without Brock, provide more funding and operational powers for KCC, and consider using the [Inland Border Facility at Sevington](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/attending-an-inland-border-facility/sevington-inland-border-facility?ref=kentcurrent.news) or another suitable facility for queuing. What stood out was not only the motion but the breadth of agreement around the issue. Reform councillor Nick Wibberley, who represents Ashford South, said he backed it and wanted greater support, funding and planning. Conservative MP Helen Whately has linked Brock to wider concerns about Kent’s overstretched infrastructure and the loss of planned improvements at Brenley Corner. Labour MP Tony Vaughan has argued for more freight to be moved onto rail to reduce pressure on the M20. These are politicians who disagree on plenty. On Brock, the common ground is obvious. It may be necessary, but Kent should not still be relying on it as the main answer. The alternatives all come with problems of their own. A lorry park is the most obvious solution, and also one of the hardest. Kent has been here before. After the 2015 Stack crisis, the government promised up to £250m for a major lorry park near Stanford, between Ashford and Folkestone, capable of holding thousands of HGVs. The scheme was eventually scrapped after legal challenge and local opposition. Since then, the idea has kept returning in different forms, but without producing the permanent alternative Kent was promised. A new off-road holding area would need to be in the right place, with the right access, and on the right side of the motorway. Officials have said any site would ideally need to sit between Ashford and Folkestone and on the coastbound side of the M20\. That limits the options. Sevington is often raised because it already exists. The Inland Border Facility near Ashford is large, visible and closely associated with post-Brexit border arrangements. But officials have repeatedly argued that it is on the wrong side of the motorway and not suitable for the role people want it to play. [Mini Brock](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyzg0jx9k7o?ref=kentcurrent.news) is more realistic, but less transformative. The idea being considered by government would move the start of the contraflow closer to junction 9, reducing the impact on places such as Harrietsham, Lenham and Charing. The trade-off is reduced capacity, from around 2,000 lorries to about 1,700. Other ideas are more ambitious. One would use technology to hold freight elsewhere in the country until there is space at the ports, rather than allowing lorries to keep flowing into Kent. Officials have described this as being at beta stage, with a trial expected through a haulier. In theory, that could be cleaner than repeatedly using the M20\. In practice, it would require reliable data, enforcement, compliance and coordination across the freight network. Rail freight has its supporters, too. Moving more cargo off the roads would reduce emissions and motorway pressure, but it would require infrastructure, capacity, and commercial arrangements that do not appear to be close to replacing the present system. Everyone can describe a better world. Nobody can point to one arriving soon. Perhaps the most telling evidence comes from National Highways itself. In response to a Freedom of Information request, the agency said it did not hold documentation on the effectiveness or impact of Operation Brock. National Highways said it was responsible for implementing the traffic management on the M20, but the decision on when to activate it and for how long was made by the Kent and Medway Resilience Forum. It added that KMRF bases its decisions on data from port authorities and analysis from the Department for Transport, and that the exact data is not shared with National Highways. The organisation that physically operates Brock says it does not conduct assessments of Brock's effectiveness. The body that decides when to use it is a multi-agency resilience forum. The funding comes from the Department for Transport. The data comes from ports and government analysis. The consequences are felt by residents, businesses, hauliers, councils, emergency services and anyone trying to move through east Kent at the wrong time. There are many hands on the system, but no obvious owner for ending it. ***Keeping track of Kent properly takes time, travel and a fair amount of patience.** *Kent Current only exists because some readers choose to support that work. An* [**annual subscription costs £1.15 a week*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) *and helps keep it going.* [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) Brock is no longer a short-term emergency measure in any meaningful public sense. It may still be temporary each time it is installed, but its repeated return has made it part of how Kent functions. It is now expected in advance of predictable travel peaks. It is planned for, warned about, budgeted for, argued over, removed, and reinstalled. That is how temporary measures become permanent. Not with one decision, but through repetition. The risk is that Kent becomes used to a level of disruption that would be considered extraordinary elsewhere. A major motorway narrowed and slowed for weeks at a time. Freight drivers expected to wait without proper facilities. Villages absorbing diverted traffic. Businesses adjusting hours, rerouting deliveries and warning customers not to trust journey times. Councillors passing motions asking government to recognise that the county is carrying a national burden. Brock may be better than Stack. That is not the same as being good enough. There is a reason the system survives. Dover and Eurotunnel are too important to fail. The English Channel is too important to the economy. If disruption hits the border, the consequences have to be managed somewhere. For now, that place is still Kent. The county has been told, in different ways and by different people, that alternatives are being explored. Some of these ideas may help, some may never happen. None has yet replaced the thing that everyone says should not be the long-term answer. So this summer, once again, Kent will prepare. Barriers will go up, and drivers will be told to check before they travel. The M20 will remain a motorway. And, when required, it will become Britain’s waiting room for the border once again. ## ****Kent, properly reported** ****Independent journalism on the county’s biggest stories, without the clickbait or clutter** Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Footnotes ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us elsewhere:* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [*Instagram*](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news)*,* [*BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and now* [*WhatsApp*](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for new story alerts.* ### Kent’s housing market is splitting in two URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/kents-housing-market-is-splitting-in-two/ Last updated: 2026-06-08T15:58:16.000Z **Kent’s latest housing figures show a market splitting in two, with house prices falling in much of the county while private rents continue to rise everywhere. Plus more water disruption, Darent Valley Hospital’s ongoing tap water problems, an AI data centre proposal in Canterbury, planning updates, local rows, and a boat-based property of the week...* ### Kent’s housing market is splitting in two The Kent housing market is cooling, unless you rent. That is the uncomfortable picture in the latest housing figures [released by the Office for National Statistics](https://www.ons.gov.uk/releases/privaterentandhousepricesukmay2026?ref=kentcurrent.news). Across much of the county, house prices have stalled or begun to fall. In seven of Kent’s 13 council areas, the average house price is now lower than it was a year ago. For renters, there is no such pause. Private rents are up everywhere. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/06/AdobeStock_712665401_Editorial_Use_Only-1.jpeg) Rents in Folkestone are outpacing prices. Thanet has seen the sharpest fall in house prices in Kent, with the average price down 4.4% over the past year to £260,951\. Dartford is down 3.3%, Gravesham is down 1.9%, Tonbridge and Malling is down 1.7%, and Dover is down 1.3%. Even Sevenoaks, still comfortably Kent’s most expensive district, is slightly down on the year. Its average house price remains £533,529, which is less a housing market than a warning label. But the rental market is moving in the opposite direction. In Folkestone and Hythe, average private rents have risen by 8.7% in a year, the fastest increase in Kent. The average monthly rent there is now £1,145\. That is still below Sevenoaks, where the average rent is £1,785, and Dartford, where it is £1,559, but it is a sharp rise in a district often treated as one of Kent’s more affordable coastal options. Gravesham rents are up 6.7%, reaching £1,324 a month. Thanet is up 5.9%, despite having the lowest average house price in Kent. Dover is up 5.8%, Canterbury is up 5.3%, and Tunbridge Wells is up 5.2%. Kent’s cheaper places to buy are not necessarily becoming cheaper places to live. In Thanet, buyers are paying less than they were a year ago, but renters are paying more. In Gravesham, house prices have fallen while rents have climbed sharply. In Dover, the average house price has dipped, but the average rent is still nearly £1,000 a month. A weaker sales market does not automatically help renters. Higher interest rates have made mortgages harder to access, deposits remain brutal, and more people are left renting for longer. At the same time, some landlords are leaving the market, reducing the number of homes available to rent. Demand stays high, supply stays tight, and the pressure lands on monthly rents. Folkestone and Hythe now stands out most clearly. Its house prices are up 2% over the year, but rents are rising more than four times as fast. Folkestone has spent years being sold as Kent’s creative coastal comeback story. For renters, that story now comes with a higher monthly bill. The old Kent housing map has not disappeared. Sevenoaks remains in another universe, with an average house price more than double that of Thanet. Tunbridge Wells sits at £449,883, while Tonbridge and Malling is just over £402,000. But the lower end of the map is changing too. Thanet, Dover, Swale and Medway remain cheaper places to buy by Kent standards. That does not mean they are cheap places to live. Medway’s average rent is now £1,237\. Thanet’s is now £1,108, while Swale comes in at £1,091. The county is not seeing a simple housing crash, nor a simple boom. It is seeing a split market. For some homeowners, prices have softened. For would-be buyers, that may create a little more room than during the pandemic frenzy, though higher mortgage costs still eat away at much of the benefit. The practical effect is grimly simple. The places that once served as Kent’s release valve are becoming less useful as escape routes. Moving further down the line, further along the coast, or further from London no longer guarantees the kind of savings it once did. That leaves renters with fewer good choices. Stay put and absorb the increase. Move and risk encountering the same problem elsewhere. Try to buy and run into mortgage rates, deposits, and prices that remain high even after a modest cooling. Kent’s housing market is not collapsing. Instead, it is narrowing. Sales might be cooling, but exits from renting are still being blocked. ****The Kent Current is now on WhatsApp.** We’ve launched a [WhatsApp channel for Kent Current](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news). We won’t flood it with posts, but we will use it to share new stories and occasional major updates from across the county. If you’d like our journalism somewhere a little closer to your lock screen, you can follow along there. [Follow us on WhatsApp ](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news) ### Water woes - More than [3,000 homes in Kent are still facing no or intermittent water supply](https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2026-06-01/thousands-in-kent-still-facing-water-supply-issues?ref=kentcurrent.news), a week on from the heatwave that triggered the issues. - Southern Water has been moving [tanker loads of water from Istead Rise to Thanet](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/water-tankers-took-supplies-from-village-to-shortage-hit-are-340957/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to keep supplies running. - One Cranbrook care home has been without water for five days and has resorted to [washing residents with wet wipes](https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2026-05-31/care-home-cleans-residents-with-wet-wipes-after-five-days-without-water?ref=kentcurrent.news). - South East Water will be devastated to learn they have [lost the faith of Ashford MP Sojan Joseph](https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2026-05-30/mp-says-hes-lost-all-faith-in-water-company?ref=kentcurrent.news). - You know things are getting serious when things [reach the Guardian's letters page](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jun/01/kent-residents-struggle-without-water-in-a-heatwave?ref=kentcurrent.news). - Reassuringly, South East Water have said they '[can't guarantee](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx218lpnzx3o?ref=kentcurrent.news)' this won't happen again. ### Council matters **Meetings this week:** - **Medway:** [Cabinet](https://democracy.medway.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=115&MId=6547&ref=localauthority.news) will meet on Tuesday to discuss adult education, the refurbishment of Gun Wharf, resources for local government reorganisation, Medway's new care home, and more. - **Thanet:** [Cabinet](https://democracy.thanet.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=151&MId=7099&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Tuesday to discuss the Local Plan, housing strategy, and more. - **Tonbridge & Malling:** [Cabinet](https://democracy.tmbc.gov.uk//ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=146&MId=6315&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Tuesday to discuss Section 106 funding, affordable housing, and more. - **Kent:** [Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=112&MId=9723&ref=kentcurrent.news) will discuss structural changes to the NHS in Kent, fertility treatments, the recent meningitis outbreak, and more on Wednesday. - **Thanet:** [Boundary and Electoral Arrangements Working Party](https://democracy.thanet.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=433&MId=7413&ref=kentcurrent.news) will discuss proposals for a Margate Town Council on Thursday. **New planning applications:** - **Ashford:** [30 new homes](https://ashfordboroughcouncil.my.site.com/pr/s/planning-application/a0hTw000004eAG5IAM/pa20260759?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Smarden. - **Dartford:** Bluewater has applied to keep running its [winter wonderland](https://publicaccess.dartford.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=TELRHDBQJB200&ref=kentcurrent.news) until 2029. ***Keeping track of Kent properly takes time, travel and a fair amount of patience.** *Kent Current only exists because some readers choose to support that work. An* [**annual subscription costs £1.15 a week*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) *and helps keep it going.* [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) ### In brief 📱 TikTok influencers from Medway are [being blamed](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/tiktokers-deny-fuelling-kent-beach-chaos-as-residents-urge-t-340837/?ref=localauthority.news) for recent public disorder in Broadstairs. 👷 Charlie Elphicke, the former Conservative MP for Dover who was convicted of sexual assault, has been [declared bankrupt and is now working as a builder](https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/charlie-elphicke-bankrupt-builder-pp3f3wkjh?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🚓 Reform county councillor Thomas Mallon has [described an assault](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqjpn489erko?ref=kentcurrent.news) while campaigning that left him with nerve damage. 🟢 A councillor in Ashford has [defected from Labour to the Greens](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/labour-councillor-becomes-latest-member-to-defect-to-greens-340764/?ref=kentcurrent.news). ⚪ Meanwhile, Dartford's only Green councillor [has left the party](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dartford/news/council-loses-only-green-member-to-become-independent-340787/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to sit as an independent. 🧁 People running unlicensed businesses in Maidstone are outraged to discover they [may need to obtain a licence](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/it-feels-so-unfair-council-crackdown-on-cake-sheds-over-l-340914/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🚛 Police stopped a 'suspicious HGV' in Hythe and [found more than £1m of cocaine](https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2026-05-28/police-seize-over-1-million-of-cocaine-after-stopping-hgv?ref=kentcurrent.news) in it. 🚧 Work has finally started to [repair the Road of Remembrance](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/work-begins-on-folkestones-road-of-remembrance?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Folkestone, which has been closed since 2024 following a landslip. 🏥 Parts of Darent Valley Hospital [still don't have drinking water](https://www.dgt.nhs.uk/news-and-events/latest-news/water-supply-update-darent-valley-hospital?ref=kentcurrent.news), a month after issues began. 👩‍💻 A tribunal has ruled that Gravesham Borough Council [discriminated against an agoraphobic employee](https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/1959312/agoraphobic-employee-discriminated-against-work-home-request-denied-tribunal-rules?ref=kentcurrent.news) by not letting them work from home. 🏭 An AI data centre [could be built in Canterbury](https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/plans-new-ai-data-centre-10988152?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🦇 Plans for an amphitheatre at Canterbury Castle have been [scuppered by bats](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/nesting-bats-scupper-hopes-for-amphitheatre-plan-at-restored-340926/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🛍️ Asda Living in Maidstone is [set to become a George](https://365retail.co.uk/asda-confirms-maidstone-george-stand-alone-store/?ref=kentcurrent.news), which is sure to be a very different experience. 🇯🇵 It's unclear how this is a Local Democracy Reporting Service story, but the Japanese ambassador recently had a [great time in Folkestone](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/folkestone/news/pure-joy-viral-japanese-ambassador-enjoying-heatwave-at-c-340824/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🦀 Time Out has named the Crab Museum in Margate as the [best museum in the country](https://www.timeout.com/uk/culture/best-museums-in-the-uk-2026?ref=kentcurrent.news). The Micro Museum in Ramsgate also comes in at number four. 🐦‍⬛ The Dartford Warbler has made a [stunning comeback](https://kent-current.ghost.io/ghost/?ref=kentcurrent.news#/editor/post/6a1d40558f7e710001518022), 60 years after nearly becoming extinct. ### Property of the week This week’s property is not a house at all, but a 60ft Eurocruiser with a mooring lease on Strand Street in Sandwich, offered at offers in excess of £130,000, which is one way to solve the small matter of the local housing market. Inside, you get the liveaboard basics, including two double berths plus a pull-out double, two bathrooms, central heating and hot water, and a full kitchen setup, along with a rear deck for sitting outside and watching the river go past. The listing is also very keen to tell you it can cross the Channel, which is either an exciting bonus or a feature you will spend the rest of your life carefully not using. [Check out this 2 bedroom property for sale on Rightmove2 bedroom property for sale in Strand Street, Sandwich, Kent, CT13 for £130,000\. Marketed by Miles and Barr, Deal![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Rightmove.co.uk![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/231ae3fe3be9c7def365872bd5993e9c-d565e37b71bfa1be4e6f0f5c5dff651f822854bed37579d332ad06a97753a716.jpeg)](https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/169491338?ref=kentcurrent.news#/) ### Events this week 🎤 Wed 3 Jun - [**Mark Thomas: 40 in Stand Up Years**](https://thealex.org.uk/event/mark-thomas-40-in-stand-up-years-edinburgh-warm-up-2/2026-06-03/1/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Political comedian marks four decades of being a thorn in the side of the establishment. The Alex, Faversham. Tickets £15\. *Also at* [*Gulbenkian Theatre*](https://thegulbenkian.co.uk/events/mark-thomas-40-in-stand-up-years/?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, Canterbury on 4 Nov and* [*The Astor*](https://theastor.co.uk/events/mark-thomas-40-in-stand-up-years?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, Deal on 6 Nov.* 🎤 Thu 4 Jun - [**Mark Watson: Before It Overtakes Us**](https://www.parkwoodtheatres.co.uk/hazlitt-theatre/whats-on/mark-watson?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Award-winning comedian ponders the future of humanity. Hazlitt Theatre, Maidstone. Tickets £25. 📜 5 - 6 Jun - [**Rainham Poetry Festival**](https://www.rainhampoetry.org/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Two day festival of poetry, with special guest Lemn Sissay. St Margaret's Church, Rainham. Free. 🎤 Sun 7 Jun - [**Richard Ayoade: Afterthoughts**](https://marlowetheatre.com/shows/richard-ayoade-afterthoughts/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Deadpan comedian shares stories from his new book. Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury. Tickets from £33. ## ****Kent, properly reported** ****Independent journalism on the county’s biggest stories, without the clickbait or clutter** Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### **Footnotes** ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us elsewhere:* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [*Instagram*](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news)*,* [*BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and now* [*WhatsApp*](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for new story alerts.* ### “Life is meaningless and short, but it's life” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/life-is-meaningless-and-short-but-its-life/ Last updated: 2026-05-31T06:00:18.000Z *Rob Earl is a Chartered Environmentalist and a co-founder of the* [*Medway Poets*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The%5FMedway%5FPoets?ref=kentcurrent.news)*. Poet. He'll be giving a poetry reading at this year's* [*Rainham Poetry Festival*](https://www.rainhampoetry.org/?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, promoting a new anthology he's involved with. Steven met him to talk about his upcoming reading, the quality of soil across Kent, and the time he helped the police with a raid...* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/05/1000001769-1.jpg) Rob Earl. **What is your official occupation?** I am retired, but I'm a Chartered Environmentalist. I was one of the first tranche to come through about 20 years ago. I still keep a hand in that, but I am officially retired. Nobody pays me for anything. **What did that role entail?** This could get frightfully boring. It was environmental management, looking after environmental legislation for a large water utility. **Do you have any other roles?** I'm a trustee of a local charity that has about £250,000 to give away each year to churches, archaeology, Maidstone arts, and things like that. I write local history papers, about archaeology and what have you. Wherever the mood takes me. I had a piece published by the [Society for the Environment](https://socenv.org.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) last year on soils. **It is the** [**Rainham Poetry Festival**](https://www.rainhampoetry.org/?ref=kentcurrent.news) **on the 5th and 6th of June. What is your involvement?** It's [Bill *\[Lewis\]*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill%5FLewis?ref=kentcurrent.news) who's got me involved. He looks after my interests, because I like my anonymity, really. It seems to be an international thing. We have this book '[Beyond the Acorn Door](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beyond-Acorn-Door-International-Anthology/dp/1789636272?ref=kentcurrent.news).' Have you seen it? It is quite impressive. Bill's very careful about poetry. He has a lot of quality control over it. What he's produced there, with Anne *\[Bill's wife\]*, is an amazing document. Forty-odd poets, and it is international. He's pulled in quite a lot of favours for this. I believe there are quite a lot of other people who have been dragged in. I'm very impressed and privileged as well to be part of it. I haven't read in Medway for some years, probably two or three years that I've read at all. I'm waiting to see what happens. We don't normally do that sort of thing in a church though. > I haven't been shy about giving offence in the past **Do you feel there might be a challenge with your poetry in a church?** I just have to tone it down, actually. I think what I read at the library a couple of years ago wouldn't be suitable. I haven't been shy about giving offence in the past, but I've also occupied positions within the church that would perhaps compromise my interests were I to be too strong. **How did you first meet Bill?** We grew up in the same village, in fact. We met probably at the age of five. My mother worked on the local farms, and his mum and dad were involved in the local farms. He went to the same school. He was a year or so older than me. But we shared a very active imagination. We were almost like soul brothers. **This led to the formation of what became known as the** [**Medway Poets**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The%5FMedway%5FPoets?ref=kentcurrent.news)**?** We had been writing and doing all sorts of things. Even in primary school, we used to knock out comics. It wasn’t very good artistically. I can't draw, but I learned to write, and you get praise from certain teachers. I went away to university but dropped out and came back really to champion a little group called OutCrowd, which was meant to reflect the outside nature that we had because I think people looked down on us and saw us, and myself, as rats rather than people. We had fairly lowly backgrounds, and I’m sure sometimes people wanted to call the police on us. Anyway, that's another story. I came back from university and started this little poetry magazine that grew into performance, rather than this intellectual stuff. Bill illustrated that, Bill had poems in it. Then we had these meetings in Maidstone, a pub right next door to a hostel for alcoholics. Wonderful place. All sorts of people met there, and the landlord was very sweet. He let us have a room on a Sunday evening for 50p, and we could do what we liked, provided we didn't touch the organ. There's another story about that. Anyway, that went on for a little while and after some embarrassing and difficult readings, when people just mumbled into their chests, really. We decided that we'd take it forward as a performance group. By that time, I think [Billy *\[Childish\]*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy%5FChildish?ref=kentcurrent.news) had joined us, because Bill had met him at art college, [Charles *\[Thomson\]*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles%5FThomson%5F%28artist%29?ref=kentcurrent.news) had, he was living in Maidstone, and then [Sexton *\[Ming\]*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/people-creating-inspires-me-to-create/) joined us, and the five of us got going really as a performing group after that. I was always going to be someone who had a foot in too many camps, and I didn't really see myself as being a professional poet or anything of that nature. But I still wrote. They took it off in their own direction, and I always joined in when I could. **Was there a particular moment when you decided to stop performing with them?** It kind of petered out, I suppose. But there are pressures around families, pressures around jobs. Probably until the early years of this century. Then it took off again with Urban Fox, David Wise's work in the Medway Towns, which was exciting. It really was, and some of the gigs were just great. About 2005, I stopped completely, and that was it. Since then, I've been back a couple of times, but it's not been the frequency that I had in the early years of this century. **How would you describe your poetry?** Well, not very good really, is it? It's schizophrenic poetry, because on the one hand, there's stuff that I write for the stage, for the performance, which has to be a little bit hard-hitting, because people will not see the nuance of a more structured poem. I've written stuff which is a bit too intellectual, because you probably think I've got my head up my backside. But with the performance stuff, I just loved satire. I've been thinking about this, satire written on razor blades. You don't realise how it's cut you until you walk away and realise you're bleeding. I was basically taking the rise out of a lot of attitudes of people and it's difficult to satire. There are things you can't satirise anymore because they're beyond satire. Society has changed to the extent that humour has actually changed. It's quite hard, because people take you so seriously and think that you are what you say. You're acting something out. I would say that perhaps some of that stuff is of its time. **Then we have the non-poetry side. How did you make the leap into soil?** An email from somebody looking for a volunteer. I didn't realise what I was getting myself into. Leap into the soil. Good one. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### How many times can Kent’s water system fail the same test? URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/how-many-times-can-kents-water-system-fail-the-same-test/ Last updated: 2026-06-05T20:34:58.000Z **Kent has faced another week of water disruption, with thousands of properties hit by no water, low pressure or intermittent supplies during the hottest May weather on record. We look at why South East Water says the system struggled despite preparing for high demand, how the failures affected schools, businesses and health services, and the political row now opening over whether Kent’s water infrastructure is fit for purpose.* ### How many times can Kent’s water system fail the same test? Kent’s latest water crisis was not supposed to happen like this. The heat was forecast, South East Water says it planned for very high demand, treatment works increased output, extra water was put into the network, and customers were urged to use less. And still, by Friday, 17,665 properties across Kent were experiencing no water, low pressure, or intermittent supplies. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/05/AdobeStock_864995354-1.jpeg) Whitstable has been one of the heaviest hit towns. The disruption has run through the county all week, from Whitstable and Herne Bay to Headcorn, Coxheath, Charing, Cranbrook and beyond. Bottled water stations have opened, businesses have closed, and schools and health services have had to plan around unreliable supply. At County Hall, the latest failure has opened a political row over whether Kent’s water system is being properly scrutinised at all. South East Water has blamed exceptionally high demand during the hottest May weather on record. In its latest update, the company said it had increased output at water treatment works and put extra water into the network, but was still experiencing low storage across its supply area. For customers still in supply, the instruction was blunt. “Act now,” South East Water said, asking people to stop using jet washes, hosepipes, sprinklers and paddling pools, and to limit water use to drinking, washing and cooking. That is where the company’s explanation runs into trouble. South East Water is not saying Kent has run out of raw water. Its head of water resources, Nick Price, said raw water resources were in a healthy position as the company moved from spring into summer, though April was particularly dry, with Kent catchments receiving only 8% of the month’s expected rainfall. “This weekend saw the first heatwave of the year and the hottest May day on record,” he said. “As expected, demand for water has surged.” The issue, then, appears to be whether the network can treat, store and move enough water when demand rises sharply. On South East Water’s own account, the hot weather was expected, the surge in demand was expected, and the company had prepared for it. Despite this, the system still struggled. On Thursday, South East Water said it pumped 619 million litres of water to customers across its region, higher than average for this time of year. On some days during the period of high demand, it said it had treated and pumped around 100 million litres more than the daily average for May. Steve Benton, South East Water’s incident manager, said the company was starting to see supplies return to some customers across Kent, but that some were still experiencing issues because of “incredibly high demand during this heatwave.” “We are doing everything we can to get treated water into our storage reservoirs, including using our tankers to support the network and ensuring all available treatment works are running at full capacity. However, some customers will continue to have intermittent water supply until these levels have been restored. This means water may be on and off throughout the day.” By Friday, the picture was less a single outage than a rolling breakdown. In Whitstable, around 3,500 customers had started to see supplies return, but South East Water warned that water could remain intermittent throughout the day and across the weekend while storage tanks recovered. Other customers in the area were expected to see supplies start returning later on Friday, also with intermittent supply likely to continue. In Coxheath and Loose, around 1,100 customers were expected to experience intermittent supply throughout Friday. Fewer than 200 customers in Cranbrook were experiencing intermittent supply. In Charing, Challock and Molash, supply to around 800 properties returned overnight, but South East Water warned it was likely to become intermittent again later in the day. There were also issues in Kemsing, St Mary Platt, Platt’s Heath, Headcorn, Ulcombe, Hastingleigh, Brabourne and surrounding areas. In St Mary Platt, a power outage at one South East Water site meant the company was unable to pump water. In Platt’s Heath and Headcorn, it said it was still looking into the cause. Herne Bay had its own small illustration of the communication problem. The town was listed on South East Water’s live interruptions map, but clicking the alert returned a message saying, “Sorry, we can’t find any information on that interruption.” ****The Kent Current is now on WhatsApp.** We’ve launched a [WhatsApp channel for Kent Current](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news). We won’t flood it with posts, but we will use it to share new stories and occasional major updates from across the county. If you’d like our journalism somewhere a little closer to your lock screen, you can follow along there. [Follow us on WhatsApp ](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news) The impact has moved well beyond domestic inconvenience. The heatwave landed during half term, when coastal towns such as Whitstable and Herne Bay should have been busy with visitors. Instead, businesses were left trying to determine whether they could open without reliable access to running water. Food businesses, hairdressers, gyms and hospitality venues have all been affected. In Wye, the Wooden Spoon preserving company stopped production because its operations rely on water for steam, cleaning, and pasteurisation. The Whitstable School warned parents it may need to close to most pupils on Monday if South East Water cannot guarantee full mains water supply, with only pupils sitting examinations attending in person. If that happens, the school said it would arrange portable toilets for exam pupils and provide bottled drinking water, while other students would be expected to use online learning. South East Water said it had delivered bottled water to vulnerable customers on its Priority Services Register, as well as to critical care settings including care homes, GP surgeries, pharmacies and dentists. It also said it was supporting Queen Victoria Memorial Hospital in Herne Bay and the urgent care unit with a tanker, as well as supporting those with livestock. This is the point at which a water outage stops being just a water outage. It becomes a test of whether the county can keep basic services functioning when the weather turns difficult. Kent County Council has now moved to place itself in the middle of that argument. On Thursday, KCC leader [Linden Kemkaran](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-think-theres-a-lot-gone-wrong-with/) [announced plans for a Kent Water Resilience Partnership](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/kcc-leader-outlines-plans-for-greater-scrutiny-of-water-resilience-for-kent?ref=kentcurrent.news), bringing together water companies, local authorities, regulators and other organisations involved in water management. The group would look at water supply, infrastructure, quality, storage, long-term planning and performance. Kemkaran said she would chair it herself. “People across Kent are fed up with being left without water or having their supply disrupted, sometimes for days at a time, and not getting clear answers about what’s gone wrong or when it will be fixed,” she said. “That’s simply not good enough.” She said KCC had no direct powers over water companies or regulators, but did have a responsibility to “stand up for Kent.” “At the moment, responsibility is too fragmented, and there is no single place where the whole system is being looked at,” she said. “This partnership intends to change that. It will shine a light on the issues affecting Kent and make sure there is clear, open scrutiny of how those responsible are responding.” That is a notable intervention from KCC’s Reform administration. It is also not quite the start of the political argument. A week earlier, the Green group had attempted to bring a wider [water resilience motion](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/documents/s137270/1.%20Green%20Group%20MTLD%20-%20Water%20Resilience.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) to full council. It was ruled out of order and deferred until at least July. The Green motion called for a broader KCC action plan on water infrastructure and resilience. It covered water supply, wastewater management, pollution incidents, public health risks, citizen science testing, future planning and the role of water infrastructure in the Kent and Medway Spatial Development Strategy. It argued that Kent had seen a growing number of incidents exposing the vulnerability of the county’s water infrastructure, with outages, contamination events and wastewater spills disrupting daily life and raising concerns about public health. The motion also recognised KCC does not run the water industry, but argued the council could still take 'sensible and pragmatic measures' to protect residents from vulnerable local water infrastructure. After the motion was deferred, the Greens accused Reform of prioritising prayers and the national anthem over water resilience. At the same full council meeting, councillors voted to introduce the Lord’s Prayer and singing the national anthem at council meetings. As the latest outages worsened, three Green councillors used the rarely-used Councillor Call for Action process to ask KCC to declare a Kent Water Supply Emergency. Rob Yates, Stuart Heaver and [Stuart Jeffery](https://www.kentcurrent.news/were-focused-on-the-practical-aspects/) also called for South East Water and Southern Water to be invited to the 10 June Flood and Water Management Committee, for KCC’s Scrutiny Committee to investigate whether Kent’s water supply is fit for purpose, and for a plan to be created if it is not. Heaver, who represents Whitstable West, said, “It is unbelievable that once again my residents are without water. This madness just gets worse, and KCC have their head firmly buried in the arid sand. We need to find out if our water supply is fit for purpose and resolve this.” Yates, who represents Cliftonville, added, “We are not even in summer, and we have 20 water tankers pumping water into our system. What are we going to do in mid-summer? Kent County Council leadership are too busy focusing on things that don’t matter. This is a real emergency, and we need to find a solution.” Jeffery, who is also the leader of Maidstone Borough Council, said, “We are sick of the failures by these water companies. Once again, we have residents relying on bottle water drops. We need action now.” The argument is not just about who gets credit for demanding scrutiny. Kemkaran’s partnership would bring the relevant organisations together in one place and hold them publicly accountable for planning and performance. The Green approach goes further, asking whether the county’s supply is fit for purpose and calling for an emergency to be declared. Both approaches start from the same uncomfortable fact that KCC does not control South East Water. It cannot order more storage to be built, force infrastructure schemes through faster, or guarantee that every village will stay in supply during the next hot spell. What it can do is make it harder for responsibility to disappear into the gaps between companies, regulators, ministers, planners and local authorities. ***Keeping track of Kent properly takes time, travel and a fair amount of patience.** *Kent Current only exists because some readers choose to support that work. An* [**annual subscription costs £1.15 a week*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) *and helps keep it going.* [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) The argument is also moving beyond County Hall. Roger Gale, MP for Herne Bay and Sandwich, said he was aware of ongoing issues across his constituency, including low pressure and loss of supply. “Quite simply, this is not good enough,” he said. “This is the classic result of building far too many houses on farmland without the supporting infrastructure, which I have been warning about for a number of years. Reliable access to water is a basic necessity, and I will be writing directly to the Chief Executives of both Southern Water and South East Water and Ministers to demand answers and urgent action.” Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield said she had met South East Water alongside Gale to discuss the disruption. “Thousands of people across our area have gone days without water. In this heat, it’s utterly unbearable,” she said. “Our community deserves basic reliability. I’ll keep pushing until we get it.” Duffield said local businesses had lost potentially thousands of pounds and argued the issue could not be separated from planned housing growth around Canterbury and Whitstable. “South East Water have been very clear: they cannot service these developments and have already lodged their objections,” she said. “Canterbury City Council have a duty to question why the numbers and location of housing is so deeply unpopular with utility companies as well as residents.” She added that ministers needed to be told the area could not continue building simply to meet “unrealistic targets set by those in Westminster who do not know our area at all.” These arguments are familiar in Kent. More homes, stretched infrastructure, limited local control, national targets, private utilities, and residents stuck somewhere in the middle. The difference is that this week has made the question less abstract. It is not just about whether future development will be properly supported. It is about whether the existing system can reliably support the county as it is now. South East Water was already in trouble before this week. Earlier this month, chief executive David Hinton announced he would step down. That followed the departure of chair Chris Train after MPs issued a scathing report into repeated supply failures and said they had no confidence in the company’s leadership. Ofwat has also proposed fining South East Water £22m over historic supply failures affecting customers across Kent and Sussex. For residents who have spent the week queuing at bottled water stations, those governance issues may feel remote. The immediate question is more basic. When will the water come back, and will it stay on? South East Water says supplies are returning in some places. It also warns they may remain intermittent through the weekend. So Kent is not yet at the lessons learned stage. The crisis is still live. The county has had another week of heat, tankers, bottled water and familiar explanations. The weather was exceptional, and the demand was high. The unresolved question is why that keeps being enough to knock parts of Kent’s water system over. ## ****Kent, properly reported** ****Independent journalism on the county’s biggest stories, without the clickbait or clutter** Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Footnotes *Unfortunately, we don't have one of Francesca's very snazzy graphics for this edition due to her suffering a workplace injury. Fingers crossed she'll be back in action for next week.* ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us elsewhere:* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [*Instagram*](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news)*,* [*BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and now* [*WhatsApp*](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for new story alerts.* ### Kent’s water failures return with the heat URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/kents-water-failures-return-with-the-heat/ Last updated: 2026-06-01T19:10:02.000Z **Hundreds of homes across Kent were left without water or low pressure over the bank holiday heatwave, with South East Water blaming high demand, a pumping station failure and wider network pressures. Plus ARK Cliftonville’s restoration of Margate’s former synagogue, fresh calls to move EU border checks inland, KCC changes, Miller Heights residents facing a long wait to return home, and the rest of the week across Kent.* ### Kent’s water failures return with the heat Hundreds of homes across Kent were left without water or experiencing low pressure during the bank holiday heatwave, with South East Water blaming high demand, technical failures, and pressure problems across parts of its network. The worst disruption was in Charing, Challock and Molash, where problems began around 8.30am on Saturday. South East Water initially said supplies had returned the following morning, but the fix did not hold. By Sunday, around 800 homes had been affected. By Monday, about 250 properties were still dealing with low pressure or no water. A bottled water station was opened at Challock Village Hall, with residents in the three villages entering a third day of disruption during the hottest May bank holiday weekend on record. South East Water [said](https://www.southeastwater.co.uk/service-updates/across-supply-region-spring-heatwave-2026-25-05-2026/?ref=kentcurrent.news) exceptionally high temperatures had created very high demand for tap water supplies. It said it had planned for the hot weather by increasing output at its water treatment works and putting extra water into the network. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/05/AdobeStock_503204282.jpeg) Water treatment works. But the company also acknowledged a technical failure at a pumping station near Charing, which meant it struggled to push water to properties on higher ground. Katie Lam, MP for Weald of Kent, [told constituents](https://www.facebook.com/katieforkent/posts/pfbid0SR8MPnE1MDzZ5iUzSSG1vHN2kFV7jWz8q4XMCHkHyfixoV6uXHjqYGFcTsJYmqiml) that some residents may have seen supplies restored only to lose them again. She said South East Water had linked the issue to the Charing pumping station and problems supplying homes on higher ground. The disruption was not limited to the three villages. South East Water also reported issues in Ashford, Sevenoaks, Hastingleigh, Coxheath, and other parts of its supply region. In Kemsing, Sevenoaks MP Laura Trott [said](https://www.facebook.com/lauratrott7oaks/posts/pfbid0NRAZkYooLKtPqq5CvSxXRzMKK7NrML55Ya3ib2fCXxG429Xy5AQfB4PmUDmGsmxyl) parts of the village and the surrounding area had no or low supply, calling the situation “completely unacceptable” given the heat. She later said South East Water had told her the issue had been caused by very high demand over the weekend, with tankers working around the clock to put more water into the network. In Canterbury, Rosie Duffield [said](https://www.facebook.com/RosieDuffieldCanterbury/posts/pfbid0UbNhMJLaPEmYd6UgKCRFktYs78sNmBe1zaaTrrg89x7hZeJhUVGqDoSxrSvdHPUgl) many constituents had been without running water since the weekend. She linked the disruption to “the horrendous situation” the area faced last summer and said the latest failure was “completely unacceptable.” South East Water told her water levels in drinking water storage tanks had improved overnight, allowing boosters to restart and restore supply to more homes. South East Water said its fleet of tankers had been working 24 hours a day to put additional water into the network in areas where demand had been extremely high and to support stored water reservoirs. It said customers on higher ground or at the far end of the network were more likely to suffer low pressure or interruptions, particularly at peak times. The company also said leaks and bursts were “normal” for a network more than 9,000km long and under high pressure at all times, adding that teams had been working to fix them. By Tuesday, South East Water said supplies had returned in several areas, including Ashford, Sevenoaks, Hastingleigh and Coxheath, though it warned customers that increased demand could still cause intermittent supplies in some places. Customers were asked to use water only for essentials such as drinking, washing and cooking, and to avoid hosepipes, sprinklers, jet washes and other non-essential uses while temperatures remained high. South East Water apologised to affected customers, saying it knew interruptions and low pressure were frustrating, especially in very hot weather. It said vulnerable customers on its Priority Services Register had received bottled water deliveries in some areas where supplies were interrupted or where problems were expected. The disruption comes only weeks after MPs accused South East Water’s senior leadership of incompetence over repeated outages affecting tens of thousands of customers. The company is also facing a [proposed £22m penalty](https://www.kentcurrent.news/regular-proposes-22m-fine-for-south-east-water/) from Ofwat over serious supply interruptions between 2020 and 2023, affecting customers across Kent and Sussex. Its chief executive, David Hinton, has [announced](https://www.kentcurrent.news/south-east-water-boss-resigns-after-kents-winter-water-failures/) he will step down, while its chair, Chris Train, has also resigned. [Regulator proposes £22m fine for South East WaterSupply failures, a looming Cliftonville by-election, and another far-right controversy in Swale![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/KC_Water2-1-5587a1e28e581aaa898e6d89684beb072fecd823bfb450794feafb1148cfeebc.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/regular-proposes-22m-fine-for-south-east-water/) Recent supply failures have already left South East Water under heavy scrutiny. Last December, up to 16,000 homes were left without water for almost a week. In January, around 30,000 properties faced issues. The weekend also showed that supply problems were not limited to South East Water. Southern Water [dealt with disruption](https://www.watermagazine.co.uk/2026/05/26/southern-water-responds-to-thanet-supply-disruption/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in parts of Thanet, linked to operational problems at its Selling and Eastling water supply works. It said lower reservoir levels had reduced available capacity, with some customers experiencing reduced pressure or intermittent supply. The company provided tanker support, circulated water throughout the system, reopened bottled water stations, and continued deliveries to customers on its Priority Services Register. For South East Water, however, the pressure is sharper. The company said it had planned for the heat. By the end of the weekend, parts of Kent still needed tankers, bottled water stations and emergency updates from MPs. ****The Kent Current is now on WhatsApp.** We’ve launched a [WhatsApp channel for Kent Current](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news). We won’t flood it with posts, but we will use it to share new stories and occasional major updates from across the county. If you’d like our journalism somewhere a little closer to your lock screen, you can follow along there. [Follow us on WhatsApp ](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb7vdYP0VycKDXxi4e3z?ref=kentcurrent.news) ### The big read This week’s big read comes from the Heritage Lottery Fund, which looks at how ARK Cliftonville is bringing Margate’s former synagogue back into use as an arts and culture space. The building, opened in 1928, once sat at the heart of Cliftonville’s Jewish holiday community before closing in 2018\. Now, with support from a £249,000 heritage grant, ARK is restoring original features, holding Jewish cultural events, and using the building’s history of migration, diaspora and community life to shape what happens inside it now. It is a thoughtful piece on how old buildings can be given new uses without sanding off the history that made them worth saving in the first place. [A Margate building’s journey from synagogue to art centreJan Ryan, Director of ARK Cliftonville, shares how the cultural space, based in a former place of worship, is getting the balance right between preserving and celebrating the building’s Jewish cultural heritage and adapting it for new uses.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/favicon_0-145981dcb26c00096634abc8615865385c6e8361f369dd0458d2705231e90238.ico)The National Lottery Heritage Fund26/05/2026![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/ark_nathan_jones_0-04771ddad8116938a9ecc2115468af7322cf437ccd45cf0895f122489641660d.jpg)](https://www.heritagefund.org.uk/stories/margate-buildings-journey-synagogue-art-centre?ref=kentcurrent.news) ### Council matters **Meetings this week:** - **Folkestone & Hythe:** [Overview and Scrutiny Committee](https://folkestone-hythe.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=437&MId=5883&ref=kentcurrent.news) will meet tonight (Tuesday) to debate the practicality of 20 minutes free parking in town centres. - **Gravesham:** [Cabinet](https://democracy.gravesham.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=149&MId=9630&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets tonight (Tuesday) to discuss nuisance vehicles and the regularisation of HMOs. - **Tunbridge Wells:** [Planning Committee](https://democracy.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=377&MId=5898&ref=kentcurrent.news) will decide on a 120 home development in Horsmonden on Wednesday. **New planning applications:** - **Maidstone:** [53 new homes](https://pa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=TED92XTYJHR00&activeTab=summary&ref=kentcurrent.news) as part of Hermitage Park development. ***Keeping track of Kent properly takes time, travel and a fair amount of patience.** *Kent Current only exists because some readers choose to support that work. An* [**annual subscription costs £1.15 a week*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) *and helps keep it going.* [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) ### In brief 🪪 Calls have been made to move EU ferry border checks inland after [Dover was gridlocked](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyp0dw0nz0o?ref=kentcurrent.news) over the bank holiday weekend. 🚧 The Sheppey Crossing closed northbound over the bank holiday weekend due to a [damaged bridge joint](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sheerness/news/bridge-closed-for-second-day-with-no-reopening-date-in-sigh-340696/?ref=kentcurrent.news). One lane has now reopened with a weight limit and a 50mph speed limit. 🪧 Recent demonstrations by the far right in Dover have attracted only [single-figure attendance](https://searchlightmagazine.com/2026/05/dover-and-out-kent-far-rights-demo-disasters/?ref=kentcurrent.news). ➡️ Kent County Council Cabinet member for adult social care and public health, Cllr Diane Morton, has [resigned from the role](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/kent-county-council-cabinet-changes?ref=kentcurrent.news) for 'personal reasons.' Cllr Georgia Foster will take over the brief, while Cllr Richard Palmer will replace Foster on communities and regulatory services. 🔶 The Liberal Democrats have already [started choosing parliamentary candidates](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sevenoaks/news/liberal-democrats-early-push-to-target-conservative-mps-340496/?ref=kentcurrent.news) for the next General Election. 🚓 Kent Police are [raiding convenience stores](https://www.talkingretail.com/news/industry-news/kent-police-include-convenience-stores-in-raids-to-disrupt-organised-crime-22-05-2026/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in an effort to tackle organised crime. 🚗 Kent County Council are [consulting on new traffic cameras](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/views-wanted-on-plans-to-enforce-moving-traffic-offences-in-maidstone-and-sittingbourne?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Maidstone and Sittingbourne. 🚛 Bin collections in Thanet are apparently [still rubbish](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2026/05/22/thanet-residents-say-bin-collection-woe-continues-with-complaints-of-decomposing-waste-having-to-be-stored-inside-homes/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🧒 A medieval hospital in Canterbury is set to [reopen as a youth centre](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn0pyvpw9kqo?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🏨 Residents forced to leave a tower block in Maidstone have been told it will be [16 weeks before they are allowed back](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/tower-block-residents-can-t-return-for-16-weeks-costing-them-340683/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🎭 Plans have been submitted to convert the 19th century Royal Function Rooms in Rochester [into housing](https://www.localauthority.news/the-long-goodbye-of-the-royal-function-rooms/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 👮 Broadstairs once again saw [antisocial behaviour over the weekend](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2026/05/26/businesses-forced-to-shut-early-as-broadstairs-suffers-bank-holiday-chaos-once-again/?ref=kentcurrent.news) after becoming the young people's drinking destination of choice. 🎢 Great scoop from Isle of Thanet News on [what is going on with Dreamland's Scenic Railway](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2026/05/20/dreamland-says-scenic-railway-retirement-due-to-shortcomings-in-timber-rebuild-with-structure-now-rotting/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🚂 The Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway has [installed solar panels](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cedpwjppd76o?ref=kentcurrent.news) across its buildings to cut energy costs. 🤖 Canterbury robots have been [visiting the pub](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c93xw2p2qlko?ref=kentcurrent.news) to learn about socialisation. 🍺 Thoughts and prayers with the people of [Tonbridge](https://tonbridgebean.co.uk/2026/05/26/tonbridge-wetherspoons-closes-today-for-six-weeks/?ref=kentcurrent.news) and [Folkestone](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/folkestone/news/busy-wetherspoon-pub-shut-for-seven-week-550k-refurb-340747/?ref=kentcurrent.news), with Wetherspoons in both towns closing for weeks long renovation projects. 🖼️ The Guardian [enjoyed Hulda Guzmán's Turner Contemporary exhibition](https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2026/may/21/hulda-guzman-review-turner-contemporary-margate?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🎬 Javier Bardem has been [filming in Whitstable Harbour](https://cenemagazine.co.uk/news/javier-bardem-in-whitstable-kent-for-new-film-hello-paris?ref=kentcurrent.news), which has been transformed into New York. ### Property of the week This week’s property is a Grade II listed house in the middle of Wye that does the classic trick of looking like a neat period cottage from the street, then revealing a very modern extension at the back. The original bits are still doing their job, with exposed brick, beams, sash windows and working fireplaces, but the centre of gravity is the open-plan kitchen and dining space, pulled out into the garden with a glazed rear wall so you get the view without having to go outside in February. There’s also a second reception room at the front for anyone who wants a door they can shut, three bedrooms upstairs, and a family bathroom that’s been enlarged by absorbing what used to be an en suite. And then there’s the loft, with the kind of ceiling height that makes people start saying “potential” and pricing up staircases. [Check out this 3 bedroom terraced house for sale on Rightmove3 bedroom terraced house for sale in Church Street, Wye, Ashford, Kent, TN25 for £595,000\. Marketed by Hobbs Parker Estate Agents, Ashford![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/favicon-4e45869ab320d0476463f4784fe5b8b2bbf6ca6ea162b6b946cb0b52db23bc98.ico)Rightmove.co.uk![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/613aae968814e9f757cdaabed5570ce1-8cbf281421f76b7f046901bd4af8eadf81d7068af0b5e1e5077b2abe536253e1.jpeg)](https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/88884960?ref=kentcurrent.news#/) ### Events this week 🎤 Thu 28 May - [**MC Hammersmith: Hippity Hoppity Get Off My Property**](https://www.creativefolkestone.org.uk/whats-on/mc-hammersmith/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // World’s leading freestyle rapper to emerge from the ghetto of middle-class West London. Quarterhouse, Folkestone. Tickets £17.50\. *Also at* [*Marlowe Theatre*](https://marlowetheatre.com/shows/mc-hammersmith-hippity-hoppity-get-off-my-property/?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, Canterbury on 29 May.* 🎷 Fri 29 May - [**Curtis Stigers**](https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/curtis-stigers-tickets-1977797033167?ref=localauthority.news) // Legendary jazz singer returns to Medway. St Margaret's Church, Rainham. Tickets from £49. ## ****Kent, properly reported** ****Independent journalism on the county’s biggest stories, without the clickbait or clutter** Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### **Footnotes** ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### “I have to be told to turn off the phone” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-have-to-be-told-to-turn-off-the-phone/ Last updated: 2026-05-24T06:00:40.000Z *Etie Vamplew is an online content creator, actor, and singer. Steven met her online, appropriately via Zoom, to talk about the differences between K-Pop, J-Pop, and C-Pop, staying positive online, and how he, too, can become big in Korea.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/05/image0.jpeg) Etie Vamplew. **You have an unusual name. What was the background of both your first name and your surname?** My first name, comedically, is my parents watching the film French Kiss. My name came up in the credits. I always think it's funny, because my brother's name is Morton and he was born in 1997, and they named him Morton, because it was the year the Mars Rover first landed on Mars. I was like, “You named me after the credits in a film, and he got named after that!” But anyway… Vamplew comes from a French town just outside Calais. There's only, I believe, 450 Vamplews in the world. **Are you known by any other names?** No. It's been good, though, because whenever I go on social media, I never have to worry about my name being taken. **What is your official occupation?** Currently, I would say content creator is the main thing, but I'm also starting to dabble in professional singing and acting as well. I'm moving into it because I have released a few songs in the past, but my aim is over the next year to properly work with producers and to release things properly. My current job, as it stands, is content creator, because that's what I do on my day to day. **What is a content creator?** It's someone on social media whose entire job is creating entertainment through social media. A lot of people nowadays will go on social media as opposed to watching TV, for example, or they'll have social media on and TV on, scrolling on their phones. It's very much in tandem with any entertainment forum, but you make your own content and essentially, what you really love and then your audience join in and say what they would like to see, and then you can mix between what you do and what your audience would like to see. **How do you make money at that?** I sometimes don't fully know how. I get views and likes and comments, and that translates to me getting money. You can do ‘a live’ for example, and people will gift on the live, and then you'll get money from the gifts. It's a medley of both, or could be either. **What platforms are you creating content on?** Mainly TikTok and YouTube. I do Instagram as well, but I don't focus on my Instagram as much. I post when I want to on there, but I still have a lot of the same audience over there. I probably should go on Instagram more. **Do you have any additional roles, paid or unpaid?** Not currently, but behind the scenes, there's a lot going on. I'm so close to really stepping into the next stage of doing music and panel shows and talk shows, along with some acting roles, along with doing social media. It's really on the bridge now between the two. This week, I've been in talks with one of the World Service podcasts to maybe go on. If I do get the green light on that, I think that'll be an interesting story as well. **You are a singer and an actress. Does one take priority over the other?** Currently singing. I think what I want to do is create a name for myself and then start to do acting after. I do like acting as well. **Do you play any musical instruments?** I can play guitar and piano, but I was trained in singing. I got grade eight distinction in singing, but I can play piano and guitar to get myself through it. I'm not going to be able to do a weird guitar riff, but I can strum along if I need to. **What does grade eight singing mean?** Essentially, it's our training system in the UK. It took me eight years to get up to the top levels. Making sure your technique's good and you have confidence, because you have to go in and do a proper exam, which I'm not going to lie, is terrifying most of the time. There was one time I walked in, and my examiner was being examined by an examiner, and I was barely even being noticed. **What is the top grade?** Grade eight. **Oh, well, congratulations.** **How many languages can you speak?** I can fluently speak English. Spanish and Korean, I'm not fluent in them, but I'm conversational. If someone were to ask me a question in either one of those languages, I could respond well. I also can fluently understand French and German, because I'm half Austrian. I grew up in Austria. I grew up exposed to German, so I understood it from a young age. French, I just had an innate sense of what they're saying. I learned French in primary school, but weirdly enough, I was like, I understand this. I learned Italian a tiny bit. I learned Chinese in secondary school as well. I can actually read a bit of Chinese as well. I can speak a tiny bit of Japanese, Indonesian, Filipino, Malaysian. I can say one word in Thai. **Was this from school education or being online?** I learned German from going to Austria. French was in primary school. Spanish and Mandarin, I got taught in secondary school. I learned Italian outside of secondary school in year seven to nine. I started learning Korean in year 12\. It's come in really handy because Koreans really like me. From social media, actually, Japanese, Indonesian, Malaysian. That was from people online interacting with my account. You pick up a few words in each language and be able to communicate with people more. **Can you also sing in other languages?** Yes, I do. Online, I've sung in English, Korean and Japanese. I usually sing in English and Korean when I'm singing online, because obviously K-pop is huge and I have a large Eastern audience. I like the music too. It all goes hand in hand. I think I may have sung in Spanish once. **With Korean, is singing in another language different to speaking it?** In my mind, it is separate. I've been learning Korean for five years, and it's only this year where I've been actually listening to music, and I can understand what they're saying, even though you would think that I could have probably done that a few years ago. I think I'm someone who mainly listened to the sounds, the notes of the song. Listening to the lyrics, I've only really been doing that this year. I would say it's easier in some ways, because when you can read the alphabet, you don't have to worry about the pronunciation. > The best thing you can do is look at where you're popular and create content tailored towards them **You've mentioned having an Asian following and being big in Korea. How did that start?** It's interesting because TikTok pushed me in Asia two years ago. My account just took off, and it took off in Asia. Luckily, I grew up exposed to Asian culture because my mum grew up in Asia. When it happened, I just jumped in immediately, because this is what I always say to people. When it comes to social media, trying to build a social media following, the best thing you can do is look at where you're popular and create content tailored towards them. I then essentially switched my content, instead of doing what I used to do on TikTok, which was like these theory videos. We don't do them anymore. I was then able to switch into content that I personally loved doing more and being able to connect the world through social media, because then people were talking about their cultures. **You hadn't done anything particular to get pushed in the algorithm?** I was doing a live, and suddenly my viewers went from 40 viewers to 302\. Then my followers skyrocketed from 2,500 to 10,000 in two weeks. It was a really quick turnaround. That was it. As long as you carry on doing this, the algorithm now likes you and will put you in this place. It's that kind of thing. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### What has gone wrong at East Kent Hospitals? URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/what-has-gone-wrong-at-east-kent-hospitals/ Last updated: 2026-05-29T20:17:22.000Z **East Kent Hospitals is facing leadership turmoil, national intervention, and mounting pressure across its services after months of critical incidents, financial strain, and questions about transparency. We also look at KCC’s decision to introduce prayers and the national anthem while cutting opposition speaking time, and a sharp new video on the long-running Swanscombe Hole.* ### What has gone wrong at East Kent Hospitals? There is rarely a quiet week at East Kent Hospitals. In January, the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital in Margate was in a critical incident. In February, the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford declared one too. In March, the trust was named as one of five in England being placed into a new NHS Intensive Recovery programme for some of the worst-performing hospital organisations in the country. The same month, it admitted there had been an earlier opportunity to alert health protection officials during the Kent meningitis outbreak, in which two students died. Then came the boardroom crisis. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/05/KC_Hospital.jpg) The chief executive had been absent for months. The trust said she was on 'unplanned leave.' Reporting later revealed she had, in fact, been formally suspended. A grievance followed, and the chair stepped down. Two non-executive directors left or gave notice. NHS England downgraded the trust’s capability rating over “significant concerns.” This week, the trust confirmed that Tracey Fletcher, its chief executive since 2022, is [leaving altogether](https://www.ekhuft.nhs.uk/news/chief-executive-at-east-kent-hospitals/?ref=kentcurrent.news). East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust runs the Kent and Canterbury Hospital, the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital in Margate, and smaller hospitals in Dover and Folkestone. It serves around 700,000 people across a wide and awkward geography. It is now a trust under pressure on almost every front. The official announcement of Fletcher’s departure was short and careful. Fletcher said it had been “a privilege” to work in her local trust. Dr Olu Olasode, the trust’s interim chair, said East Kent Hospitals had made “significant progress” under her leadership, pointing to maternity services being upgraded from 'inadequate' to 'good' by the Care Quality Commission and investment in buildings, facilities and equipment. Dr Des Holden, the trust’s chief medical officer, will continue as acting chief executive until a permanent appointment is made. All of that is true as far as it goes. But it does not go very far. The statement made no mention of the months of turmoil that preceded Fletcher’s departure, including her suspension, the grievance she raised over how it was handled, the chair who has since gone too, or NHS England’s decision to downgrade the trust’s provider capability rating to red. Fletcher had been absent from her role since November. When [KentOnline asked](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/hospitals-trust-under-interim-leadership-as-boss-takes-unplanned-leave-333869/?ref=kentcurrent.news) the trust in December why she was not at work, it was told she was taking a period of ''unplanned leave' and that her privacy should be respected. It [later emerged](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/kent-hospital-boss-was-suspended-while-trust-claimed-she-was-339129/?ref=kentcurrent.news) that she had been formally suspended. According to HSJ, Fletcher’s suspension followed a mid-year performance review with the then chair, Annette Doherty, during which she was allegedly told to accept a settlement package or face suspension. Three days later, she was suspended. Fletcher later raised a formal grievance over the process. A draft report into that complaint, [seen by HSJ](https://www.hsj.co.uk/leadership/chair-exceeded-authority-when-suspending-trust-chief-investigation-finds/7041479.article?ref=kentcurrent.news), reportedly found Doherty had “exceeded her authority” and “badly handled” the situation. Separately, an independent review into concerns about Fletcher’s conduct reportedly found no evidence of misconduct. Fletcher’s suspension was lifted, but she did not return to active duty. In April, Doherty stepped down as chair. Dr Olasode became interim chair with immediate effect. The leadership turmoil might be less alarming if the rest of the organisation was steady. It is not. In March, East Kent Hospitals was placed into the new NHS Intensive Recovery programme. The programme is aimed at trusts facing long waits for care, persistent financial problems and frequent leadership churn. East Kent ranked 124th out of 134 in NHS league tables, according to the BBC. Health Secretary (at the time) Wes Streeting said the trusts involved were not failing due to a lack of effort or hard work by staff, but because of structural constraints and financial imbalances. Polly Billington, the Labour MP for East Thanet, [said](https://pollybillington.org.uk/2026/03/25/polly-welcomes-health-secretary-putting-east-kent-hospitals-trust-on-the-nhs-intensive-recovery-programme/?ref=kentcurrent.news) the decision reflected “the scale of the challenge” and that patients needed to see real improvements in waiting times, safety and standards of care. “For too long, services in East Kent have fallen short compared to other parts of the country,” she said. That is the optimistic interpretation. The less comfortable version is that East Kent Hospitals has reached the point where it can no longer plausibly be left to turn itself around. Patients have already seen what that pressure looks like. In January, the trust said QEQM in Margate was in an internal critical incident, with “exceptionally high demand,” very long waits for non-life-threatening cases, and planned procedures and appointments under review. Five days later, the critical incident was stood down, but the hospital remained at “critical incident standby.” In February, the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford declared its own internal critical incident. Beds across the trust’s hospitals were full. Emergency department attendance was extremely high. There was very limited capacity to admit additional patients needing urgent hospital care. The incident was stood down three days later, but the hospital was still described as “extremely busy.” Critical incidents are not unique to East Kent. The NHS is under pressure everywhere. But two major hospitals in the same trust reaching that point within weeks suggests a system running with very little slack. Then came the meningitis outbreak. In March, an outbreak linked largely to Club Chemistry in Canterbury and University of Kent students led to 20 confirmed cases, where two students died. All patients in the outbreak required hospital admission. Nine were admitted to intensive care. During that outbreak, East Kent Hospitals [acknowledged](https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/mar/25/nhs-took-two-days-raise-alarm-kent-meningitis-outbreak?ref=kentcurrent.news) there had been an earlier opportunity to notify the UK Health Security Agency. The agency said an earlier report could have meant its investigation began sooner, and antibiotics could have been provided earlier to close contacts. Outbreaks are complicated, and not every delay is evidence of systemic failure. But for patients watching from outside, the episodes stack up. This week, the [BBC reported](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0l2xprgn4po?ref=kentcurrent.news) that the trust was inviting staff to resign under a Mutually Agreed Resignation Scheme. The trust said it needed to make “difficult decisions to significantly reduce costs,” while stressing that roles essential to safe staffing or critical service delivery would not be removed. Staffing costs account for £750m a year, around 65% of the trust’s annual spend. David Shortt, the former vice-chair of the trust’s council of governors and founder of Concern for Health in East Kent, told the BBC the trust needed to “weed out the deadwood.” He said he believed the trust wanted to remove people who did not appear to have proper jobs, not clinical staff. That is a harsh phrase. It is also a revealing one. Every large public organisation accumulates layers. Some are necessary, some may not be. But cutting costs in a hospital trust is not like trimming a household budget. Savings can look easy on a spreadsheet and become dangerous on a ward. The trust is already in a difficult financial position. The BBC reported that bosses had previously said they were on track to deliver major savings but still expected a £88.5m deficit for the 2024/25 financial year. The deeper problems are familiar by now. East Kent Hospitals still carries the legacy of its [maternity scandal](https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/oct/19/east-kent-nhs-trust-might-have-avoided-45-baby-deaths-with-better-care-inquiry-says?ref=kentcurrent.news), though services at the William Harvey and QEQM were rated good by the Care Quality Commission in 2025\. It runs five hospitals across a large area. Its buildings are ageing. It serves coastal communities with high levels of need. It faces recruitment challenges, care home closures, bed-blocking, and patients who are medically fit to leave hospital but have nowhere suitable to go. None of those problems begin at the hospital door, but all of them end up there. There is a temptation in stories like this to hunt for the person who broke the thing. That is too simple here. East Kent Hospitals has at times had poor leadership. It has had serious failures. It has made decisions that deserve scrutiny. Describing a formal suspension as 'unplanned leave' while the chief executive of a major NHS trust was absent from work raises obvious questions about transparency. But it would be foolish to pretend that a new chief executive alone can solve this. Whoever takes over East Kent Hospitals will inherit a trust in national recovery, under financial pressure, with an ageing estate, a complicated hospital map, a battered public reputation, and staff who have already been asked to work through critical incidents, outbreak response, winter pressure and years of scrutiny. They will also inherit a population that cannot shop around for an alternative hospital trust. For much of east Kent, this is the NHS. These are the hospitals where people go when they are ill, frightened, in labour, in pain, or waiting for test results they do not want. East Kent Hospitals now needs a permanent chief executive, a permanent chair, a credible financial plan, a serious answer to its estate problems, and proof that national intervention will produce more than another layer of meetings. Above all, it needs patients in east Kent to believe that when the trust says things are improving, the words mean something. ### County Hall starts with prayer and ends with less scrutiny Kent County Council says its annual meeting marked the start of a new civic year and progress on Reform’s strategic priorities. The meeting itself was more complicated than that. Councillors spent much of Thursday arguing over the Lord’s Prayer, the national anthem, reduced speaking time for opposition leaders, the accuracy of the previous meeting’s minutes, blocked points of order, and whether a motion on Kent’s water infrastructure should be allowed to continue. By the end of the meeting, KCC had a new chair, a new vice-chair, a formal commitment to begin future full council meetings with the Lord’s Prayer, a new requirement to end them with God Save the King, and less time for opposition leaders to respond to the leader of the council. The meeting began with the election of Reform councillor Jeremy Eustace as chair of the council for the coming year. Restore broke with convention by nominating Conservative councillor Sarah Hudson as an alternative, but her nomination was defeated by 45 votes to 21\. Eustace was then elected by 43 votes to 22, with four abstentions. Reform councillor Dodger Sian was elected vice-chair without opposition. [KCC later said](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/kcc-appoints-new-chairman-and-presents-progress-on-strategic-priorities-at-kent-county-councils-annual-meeting?ref=kentcurrent.news) he was the first person of British Asian heritage to hold the role. Eustace used his first speech in the chair to promise fairness, dignity and proper debate. He said every member had a mandate from the people of Kent and deserved to be heard. It did not take long for that to be tested. The meeting almost immediately returned to the unfinished business of March’s full council, when [opposition councillors walked out](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kcc-meeting-implodes-as-opposition-walks-out/) over a Reform motion on illegal migration, which they argued should not have been debated during the pre-election period. This time, the minutes became the first battleground. Labour’s [Alister Brady](https://www.kentcurrent.news/you-should-be-able-to-disagree-well/) and Conservative [Harry Rayner](https://www.kentcurrent.news/nobody-needs-14-councils/) asked for the record to reflect why opposition councillors had left the chamber. Rayner also asked for the minutes to note that he had been cut off incorrectly at the previous meeting. The new chair said the changes had to be put to a vote. Accuracy, at Kent County Council, now requires a vote. Councillors voted 45 to 25 to include Brady’s change and 47 to 24 to include Rayner’s. Other councillors then pointed out errors in how their votes had been recorded, including members listed as voting both for and against the same amendment. Then came the leader’s report, which [Linden Kemkaran](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-think-theres-a-lot-gone-wrong-with/) used to set out Reform’s version of its first year in charge. She said the people of Kent had voted for change, accountability and a council that put residents first. She said her administration had reduced long-term debt from £732m to £590m, saving taxpayers more than £1.2m a year in interest payments. She talked up KCC’s savings work, commercial strategy, balanced budget, pothole repairs, SEND support, adult social care grip, scrapping of the climate emergency declaration, plans for small nuclear reactors, opposition to large solar farms on agricultural land, a flytipping conference, and work to restore international rail services at Ashford and Ebbsfleet. She said voters across the country had looked at Reform in Kent and “liked what they saw.” She also said they “liked the suck it up approach” that had become associated with Reform in Kent. Opposition councillors pushed back on reserves, school transport, breakfast clubs, political assistants, food and fuel prices, governance, active travel and the teachers protesting outside County Hall. Kemkaran’s reply was not gentle. She mocked the opposition walkout, attacked each opposition group in turn, and said Reform councillors had “got the popcorn ready” in case councillors walked out again. Brady tried to raise a point of order. Green leader [Mark Hood](https://www.kentcurrent.news/we-havent-had-a-king-of-kent-for-over-1-000-years/) tried to raise another. The chair said he was not taking points of order during the leader’s speech and replies. Alongside not accepting fairly usual points of order, Eustace reminded councillors to read the constitution’s rules on conduct and said he wanted to encourage civility “on both sides.” The sharpest row came later, when councillors debated constitutional changes. From July, full council meetings will begin with the Lord’s Prayer and end with the national anthem. A Liberal Democrat amendment to replace the prayer with 30 seconds of quiet reflection was defeated. Kemkaran opposed it, saying she wanted the Lord’s Prayer to “take up that space of quiet reflection.” She described it as a “shared spiritual template” and said Britain was a Christian country. A Restore amendment to hold the prayer and anthem outside the formal meeting was also defeated. The debate split in unusual ways. Reform councillors strongly supported the changes. Conservative Bill Barrett, an atheist, said he had not been elected to say prayers in the chamber. Green councillor Rob Yates called the proposal “a ridiculous farce” and said he was “not paid £16,885 from taxpayers to sing songs or pray.” Restore councillor Oliver Bradshaw, a practising Anglican, said the Lord’s Prayer was deeply important to him but warned Reform not to turn his religion into “political theatre.” That may have been the quiet centre of the debate. The issue was not only whether councillors should pray. It was what the prayer was being made to do. The council voted 48 to 15 to introduce the Lord’s Prayer, with six abstentions. It voted 46 to 16 to introduce the national anthem, with seven abstentions. Councillors also voted to cut the total time given to opposition group leaders to respond to the leader’s report. Liberal Democrat leader [Antony Hook](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-really-dont-like-party-tribalism/)’s response will fall from six minutes to five. Other opposition leaders will also lose a minute each. Kemkaran’s ten minute leader’s report and six-minute right of reply remain unchanged. Reform argued that this restored overall opposition speaking time to its level before more political groups were formed. Opposition councillors described it as a cut to scrutiny. The vote passed by 44 to 25. KCC’s official press release later described the package only as “changes to the Council’s constitution, ensuring the organisation remains fit for the future.” That is one way to describe prayers, anthems and reduced opposition speaking time. The final procedural row came when Green councillor Stuart Heaver began proposing a motion on Kent’s water infrastructure. He warned that the county was “sleepwalking into a water catastrophe,” citing water outages, sewage discharges, pressure from housebuilding and climate change. Before the motion could be debated, Eustace deferred it to July, saying he needed written advice from the monitoring officer on whether it was procedurally valid. KCC’s annual meeting began with a new chair promising dignity and proper debate. It ended with councillors having voted for prayer, anthem singing and shorter opposition responses, while a motion on Kent’s water infrastructure was pushed back to July. For a council facing pressure on SEND, adult social care, highways, local government reorganisation and water resilience, it was a revealing choice of what had to be dealt with immediately, and what could wait. ***Keeping track of Kent properly takes time, travel and a fair amount of patience.** *Kent Current only exists because some readers choose to support that work. An* [**annual subscription costs £1.15 a week*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) *and helps keep it going.* [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) ### A very good video about a very broken road Finally, a recommendation. [Martin Robbins](https://www.youtube.com/@MFRobbins?ref=kentcurrent.news) has made a video about the Swanscombe Hole, which is exactly the kind of Kent weirdness that deserves 15 minutes of slow, cynical attention. Robbins is something like a baroque Tom Scott, if Tom Scott had decided that the real joy of British infrastructure lay not in explaining it neatly, but in standing in a field and quietly picking apart every absurd thing that led to it. His videos are almost anti-YouTube: slow, analytical, funny in a dryly bruised way, and entirely uninterested in pretending Britain is a well-functioning country. His recent output has covered potholes, bat tunnels, and odd HS2 decisions that make you stare into the middle distance for a while. This time, his subject is the Swanscombe Hole, more boringly known as Galley Hill Road, which collapsed three years ago and no one seems to do anything about.. The video also features [James O’Malley](https://takes.jamesomalley.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news), Robbins’ [YIMBY Pod](https://www.abundancepod.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news) co-host, who Current readers may recognise from his [previous writing for us](https://www.kentcurrent.news/its-time-for-kent-to-build/). It is an excellent match of subject and presenter: a strange hole in Kent, explained by a man with the exact level of exasperation required. ## ****Kent, properly reported** ****Independent journalism on the county’s biggest stories, without the clickbait or clutter** Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Footnotes ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### A flood forced residents out, but the warning signs go back years URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/a-flood-forced-residents-out-but-the-warning-signs-go-back-years/ Last updated: 2026-05-26T16:10:53.000Z **A basement flood at Miller Heights in Maidstone has forced residents out of 122 flats and raised wider questions about fire safety, ownership and accountability in converted residential blocks. Plus Reform’s first year at Kent County Council, this week’s council business, housing and infrastructure updates, water company failures, Operation Brock, and the latest from across the county.* ### A flood forced residents out. The warning signs go back years There is water in the basement of Miller Heights. There are residents in temporary accommodation, essential belongings still trapped upstairs, and a prohibition notice on the door. But the real story of this Maidstone tower block does not begin with last week’s flood. It begins years earlier, with an office conversion, fire safety warnings, water ingress, and a question that now hangs over 122 flats: Who is actually responsible when a building fails? For now, the answer is not much comfort to the people who live there. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/05/ec78a0477d2c606f127c4b17232b926f.jpeg) Miller Heights in Maidstone. Residents of Miller Heights, on Lower Stone Street, still do not know when they will be allowed home. The block cannot currently be occupied after flooding damaged electrical systems and created safety risks. A prohibition notice remains in place, meaning residents cannot live or sleep in the building. Maidstone Borough Council says there is no confirmed timeline for residents to return. People living in the block have been told they have until tomorrow to collect essential belongings. Access is being allowed daily between 10am and 11am, and again between 4pm and 5pm. Residents have also been warned that any food left in fridges or freezers after that point should be treated as unsafe. Anyone with pets still inside has been told they must collect them before the deadline. The official explanation is simple enough. A flood in the basement affected the building’s electrical systems. A major incident was declared last Monday, before being stood down two days later. The council says that only refers to the initial emergency response. A longer-term recovery operation is now underway. A welfare centre was set up at Mote Park Leisure Centre for displaced residents, but it closed due to low demand. The [BBC reported](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3w2n1dpd2wo?ref=kentcurrent.news) that 10 people stayed overnight, with a further five seeking support the following day. [The council says](https://news.maidstone.gov.uk/home/news/26/may/miller-heights?ref=kentcurrent.news) help remains available to anyone affected, including those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Cllr [Stuart Jeffery](https://www.kentcurrent.news/were-focused-on-the-practical-aspects/), the leader of Maidstone Borough Council, said, “We understand how distressing this situation has been for residents, and while the Major Incident has now been stood down, our focus remains on ensuring everyone is safe and supported.” “The prohibition order is a necessary step while we complete all safety checks. Residents will not be able to return until we are confident the building is safe.” Kent Fire and Rescue Service said its building safety inspectors identified “a number of fire safety concerns” after the incident. Daniel Noonan, the service’s head of building safety, said that “following an incident at Miller Heights in Lower Stone Street, Maidstone, our building safety inspectors identified a number of fire safety concerns.” “As a result, a prohibition notice was issued on Tuesday (12 May 2026), which prevents anyone from living or sleeping at the premises, or entering the premises for anything other than remedial works.” “The safety of the public is paramount, and we will continue to work with those responsible for the building to ensure any issues are resolved.” The council has also told residents to disregard a text message from UK Power Networks, which suggested the issues at Miller Heights had been resolved. They have not. Work is still ongoing. So far, so familiar. An emergency, a council response, fire service warnings, and residents displaced. Then comes the more awkward part. Miller Heights is not owned by Maidstone Borough Council. It is a private residential block, operated by Centrick, with 122 flats. Centrick has acknowledged that this was not the first time water had been an issue. In a statement [reported by KentOnline](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/collect-your-things-no-date-for-when-residents-may-return-340259/?ref=kentcurrent.news), Centrick said Miller Heights had experienced “recurring water ingress issues in the basement area”, which had “historically been managed as and when they have arisen.” Centrick said the situation escalated after a fresh incident, which initial investigations suggested was caused by a burst water pipe in the basement. It said the flooding affected parts of the building’s electrical infrastructure and required immediate emergency action. Cllr Jeffery has said the situation had been allowed to escalate, and that Centrick must “get its act together.” The flood was the immediate cause of last week’s evacuation. It was not the first warning sign at Miller Heights. Fire safety concerns at the block were [already public by 2021](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/our-only-investment-is-tied-up-with-a-flat-thats-unsellabl-247468/?ref=kentcurrent.news), when flat owners were unable to sell or remortgage their homes after the building received a B2 rating on its EWS1 form. That rating, issued in August 2020, meant an adequate standard of safety had not been achieved. A report prepared for the then freeholder warned that cavity barriers were missing throughout parts of the building, creating a risk that fire could spread through concealed gaps. Cavity barriers are designed to close gaps in walls, roofs and ceilings, helping to stop fire and smoke spreading through a building. They are not decorative extras. They are there because fire is very good at finding hidden routes through badly protected buildings. Leaseholders were left stuck with flats that were difficult to sell unless they accepted heavy losses or found cash buyers willing to proceed without a clean EWS1 form. Helen Grant, then MP for Maidstone and the Weald, contacted the block’s managing agents for answers about delays to fire safety works, saying residents had been dealing with problems at Miller Heights since the flats were first occupied. By then, Miller Heights was already a very modern kind of housing problem. It began life in the 1970s as Miller House, an office block. Its conversion into flats began around 2014, with most of the homes created under permitted development rights. In plain English, that meant full planning applications did not have to be submitted for much of the conversion. That system was supposed to help quickly turn redundant offices into homes. Sometimes it did. It also created a generation of flats in which the usual planning scrutiny was narrowed, local councils had less control, and residents later discovered that speed and housing supply do not always make for good buildings. At Miller Heights, the conversion itself had already raised questions. No publicly available documents for the conversion or associated applications set out fire safety provisions, according to [KentOnline’s 2021 reporting](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/our-only-investment-is-tied-up-with-a-flat-thats-unsellabl-247468/?ref=kentcurrent.news). It also reported seeing a fire strategy report for the redevelopment, which stated that cavity barriers would be included in large cavities where there is a potential for unseen fire spread. Maidstone Borough Council said at the time that because the owners had used a private approved building inspector, the council’s own building control team would not have been involved in previous inspections of the building. All of which leaves Miller Heights in the middle of several overlapping failures that have become grimly familiar across England. An older commercial building converted into flats, fire safety concerns, a managing agent under pressure, residents struggling to get answers, and now an emergency evacuation after basement flooding hit essential systems. Then there is the ownership trail. Land Registry documents list the freehold owner of Miller House, 43-51 Lower Stone Street, as [Tuscola (199) Limited](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/OE005542?ref=kentcurrent.news), a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands. The register shows Tuscola bought the freehold in April 2021 for £850,000. UK filings for Tuscola identify Michael Gubbay as a registrable beneficial owner of the company. *Kent Current* has identified at least 149 companies linked to Gubbay, the majority of which are involved in property management. Most have since been dissolved following compulsory strike-off action. Across those filings, Gubbay’s declared nationality and country of residence vary, with records listing combinations of British and Israeli nationality, and residence in England, Cyprus and Israel. The filings do not show wrongdoing. They do show how quickly a local housing story can disappear into a web of companies, addresses, jurisdictions and historic appointments. To residents, Miller Heights is home. To documents, it is a freehold owned by a British Virgin Islands company, operated through a management structure, sitting inside a wider property network linked to a businessman whose name appears across dozens of companies. Gubbay has previously faced fire safety enforcement action. In 2023, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority [brought a successful prosecution](https://www.westyorksfire.gov.uk/news/company-director-found-guilty-fire-safety-offence?ref=kentcurrent.news) against him as director of Tuscola (109) Limited after he failed to provide requested information about fire safety management arrangements at Austin Hall in Leeds. Gubbay pleaded guilty at Leeds Magistrates’ Court to failing to respond to an Article 27 request for information under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005\. He was fined £666, with a £266 surcharge and ordered to pay £1,878 in costs. Chris Kemp, senior fire protection manager at West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “This case highlights how important it is for people with fire safety responsibilities to take them seriously.” The BBC has also [previously reported](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpq1xzd4xreo?ref=kentcurrent.news) on another residential block case involving a Gubbay-linked property interest. Last year, it reported that a firm run by Gubbay had acquired the head lease of two tower blocks in Kirkby, Merseyside, in 2011\. Residents at those blocks were later forced out over fire safety problems, and leaseholders faced large repair bills. The head lease had since passed to another offshore-owned structure. Kirkby is not Maidstone. The circumstances are different. But the world is the same one, with unsafe blocks, complicated ownership structures, managing agents, service charges, fire safety works, and residents trying to work out who is actually responsible. That is the world Miller Heights now sits in. The council says no resident will be left without help. Centrick says safety and communication have been prioritised. Kent Fire and Rescue Service says the building cannot be occupied until the risks are resolved. Those statements are important, but they do not answer the deeper question. Miller Heights is now a building that people are not allowed to live in. It is owned through an offshore company, operated through a management structure that residents do not control, and has years of warning signs behind it. The people who live there have been given limited windows to retrieve their belongings, but no date for returning home. The flood may have filled the basement. The questions now reach much higher. ### The big read This week’s big read comes from the i, [which visited Margate](https://inews.co.uk/news/inside-reform-seaside-town-potholes-everywhere-tax-up-4412956?ref=kentcurrent.news) to look at Kent one year after Reform took control of the county council. The paper found residents split over the party’s first year in charge, with potholes, council tax, councillor allowances, 20mph zones, prayers at County Hall, and pressure on local services all feeding into how people feel about the new administration. It is a useful snapshot of Reform moving from insurgent campaign to governing party in Kent, and of how residents are beginning to judge it not just on what it says it will change, but on the roads, bills and council decisions in front of them. [Inside the Reform-run seaside town with ‘potholes everywhere’ as tax goes upIn Kent, where Reform UK won control of the county council last year, locals say the government is wasting time and money![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/192x192-83f7a54e6d2a676eed1e789e1f32f9a29378f508a0c39844a7bcceb0d2f7b5a6.png)The i PaperAlannah Francis![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/SEI_297153072-1200x630-pl-dispatch-fc4de28c4679f98579e63fc2938359d2272cc4311bf9fb0532f85a5837a399d8.jpg)](https://inews.co.uk/news/inside-reform-seaside-town-potholes-everywhere-tax-up-4412956?ref=kentcurrent.news) ### Council matters **Meetings this week:** - **Tonbridge & Malling:** [Housing and Planning Scrutiny Select Committee](https://democracy.tmbc.gov.uk//ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=465&MId=6052&ref=kentcurrent.news) will consider a report on blocking development rights for HMOs in the borough. - **Kent:** [Annual Meeting of the County Council](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=113&MId=9803&ref=kentcurrent.news) is on Thursday, where councillors will debate the strategic statement, water resilience, farmers, and tourist travel in the county. - **Dartford:** [Cabinet](https://dartford.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=105&MId=3411&ref=kentcurrent.news) will meet on Thursday to discuss a number of housing issues, walking and cycling provision, and Gravesham's Local Plan. - **Maidstone:** [Planning Committee](https://meetings.maidstone.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=112&MId=5851&ref=kentcurrent.news) will decide on a 435 home development in Allington on Thursday. **New planning applications:** - **Maidstone:** Plans for [115 new homes](https://pa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=TEJYQNTYHSZ00&activeTab=summary&ref=kentcurrent.news) in Marden. - **Maidstone:** Creation of three '[pocket parks](https://pa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=TEMF4ATYGEP00&ref=kentcurrent.news)' in the town centre. - **Medway:** Conversion of Royal Function Rooms in Rochester into [eight homes](https://publicaccess1.medway.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=TEYTSEKNI9K00&activeTab=summary&ref=localauthority.news). ***Keeping track of Kent properly takes time, travel and a fair amount of patience.** *Kent Current only exists because some readers choose to support that work. An* [**annual subscription costs £1.15 a week*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) *and helps keep it going.* [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) ### In brief ➡️ Michael Hadwen, the man Reform at Kent County Council created the role of political assistant for, has been [selected to run](https://www.ipswich.co.uk/reform-picks-hadwen-to-lead-suffolk-in-choice-that-signals-ideology-over-experience/?ref=kentcurrent.news) Suffolk County Council for the party. 🪧 The far right is [planning to protest in Maidstone](https://searchlightmagazine.com/2026/05/kents-far-right-chuckle-brothers-plan-another-maidstone-outing/?ref=kentcurrent.news) for the umpteenth time this year. 🟢 Linden Kemkaran, the Reform leader of Kent County Council, [had an awkward time](https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/politics/look-at-some-facts-reform-leader-of-kent-council-embarrassed-by-green-partys-rachel-millward-406046/?ref=kentcurrent.news) on BBC's Politics South East show. 🥀 Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield says she would be '[keen to rejoin](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/rosie-duffield-says-she-could-rejoin-labour-under-new-leader-340320/?ref=kentcurrent.news)' Labour under a new leader. 🏥 Darent Valley Hospital's water supply issues appear to be [partially resolved](https://www.dgt.nhs.uk/news-and-events/latest-news/water-supply-update-darent-valley-hospital?ref=kentcurrent.news), with handwashing and showering facilities restored, though they are very clear to point out that you definitely shouldn't drink water on the site. 🚰 South East Water has been criticised for its failures in providing an alternative supply to those who needed it during last year's failures. 🌊 Meanwhile, South East Water have [failed to fix](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/that-s-where-our-water-bills-are-going-straight-down-the-340375/?ref=kentcurrent.news) a leaking manhole six months after it was reported. 🪦 On the other hand, Southern Water wrote to one of their customers to [tell her that she was dead](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/folkestone/news/grandmother-s-shock-southern-water-told-me-i-was-dead-340380/?ref=kentcurrent.news). ♻️ A new waste collection schedule in Thanet meant some homes [went without rubbish collection](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y7gj57x61o?ref=kentcurrent.news) for five weeks. 🌾 Kent County Council will [give up control](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/bid-to-keep-kent-windmills-in-county-council-control-fails-340304/?ref=kentcurrent.news) of eight historic windmills around the county. 🚄 Southeastern has [launched a new timetable](https://www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/travel-information/plan-your-journey/timetables?ref=kentcurrent.news) that appears to add a few more services. 🚗 The 70mph speed limit on the Sheppey Crossing [has been restored](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sheerness/news/crossing-confusion-over-speed-limit-after-thousands-fined-340303/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🚧 Operation Brock will be [put back in place](https://www.kentprepared.org.uk/post/operation-brock-announced-ahead-of-busy-may-travel-period?ref=kentcurrent.news) on the M20 ahead of the bank holiday weekend. 🏘️ The University of Kent is [pressing on](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwy2nd26yngo?ref=kentcurrent.news) with a plan for 2,000 new homes north of its Canterbury campus. 🏗️ Infrastructure for 10,000 homes at Otterpool Park near Hythe [has been approved](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/hythe/news/major-milestone-as-essential-infrastructure-approved-for-1-340288/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🗄️ Plans [have been submitted](https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/gallery/first-plans-submitted-new-kent-10966000?ref=kentcurrent.news) for a new cinema, restaurant, and retail building in Tunbridge Wells. 🚢 The Port of Dover has [welcomed four cruise ships](https://www.portofdover.com/press-releases/dover-welcomes-four-cruise-ships-in-one-day-for-the-first-time/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in one day for the first time. 🪖 Ashford Borough Council has committed £300,000 to [repair a tank](https://www.ashford.gov.uk/news/latest-news/protecting-three-of-ashford-s-best-loved-heritage-landmarks/?ref=kentcurrent.news), allowing it to remain in the town. 🪻 A rare Kent plant has [made a comeback](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g0w899j5yo?ref=kentcurrent.news) from being on the brink of extinction a decade ago. ⚽ Whitstable Town FC are [not impressed](https://www.whitstabletownfc.club/news/club-statement-2979182.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) that their manager have moved to Margate days after signing a new two year contract. 🎛️ Look Mum No Computer, from Ramsgate, who represented the UK at Eurovision over the weekend, has [remained upbeat](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2026/05/17/ramsgates-sam-battle-aka-look-mum-no-computer-upbeat-despite-last-place-at-eurovision/?ref=kentcurrent.news) despite coming last in the contest with one point. ### Property of the week This week’s property is basically Whitstable doing what it does best, but on a larger budget. It’s a modernist, glass-heavy house on a private sea-facing road, with uninterrupted views across Whitstable Bay and access to Seasalter Beach, and the whole layout is built around light and the outlook, from the first-floor sitting room framed in floor-to-ceiling windows to the top-floor principal suite with its own sea-facing terrace and dressing area. Downstairs, it goes firmly into serious-house territory, with a bespoke kitchen and big sliding doors to the garden, a cinema room, study, utility and a ground-floor double bedroom with an en suite, then a south-facing garden set up for low-effort entertaining with a granite terrace under a pergola that comes with a louvred roof, blinds and heating. It is the kind of place where you can sit inside, watch the weather roll in over the bay, and still tell yourself you live an outdoorsy coastal life. [Check out this 5 bedroom detached house for sale on Rightmove5 bedroom detached house for sale in Preston Parade, Seasalter, Whitstable, CT5 for £1,850,000\. Marketed by Christopher Hodgson, Whitstable![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/favicon-13.ico)Rightmove.co.uk![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/231300db99c279c727c7bf65e28265b9.jpeg)](https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/88556844?ref=kentcurrent.news#/) ### Events this week 🪖 19 - 23 May - [**Operation Mincemeat**](https://marlowetheatre.com/shows/operation-mincemeat/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Acclaimed musical and unbelievable true story about a stolen corpse. Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury. Tickets from £36. 🎤 Sat 23 May - [**Ania Magliano: Peach Fuzz**](https://marlowetheatre.com/shows/ania-magliano-peach-fuzz/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Recent star of Taskmaster delivers new show of jokes, confessions and unhinged observations. Marlowe Studio, Canterbury. Tickets £22.50. 🍲 23 - 25 May - [**Chatham Maritime Food and Drink Festival**](https://www.cmtrust.co.uk/play/food-and-drink-festival/?ref=localauthority.news) // Annual event with stalls and dragon boat racing. Chatham Dockside. Free. 🎸 Sun 24 May - [**Willy Mason**](https://www.twforum.co.uk/events/2026-05-24-unfest-willy-mason-the-forum?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Oxygen singer-songwriter goes back on the road. Forum, Tunbridge Wells. Tickets £28. ## ****Kent, properly reported** ****Independent journalism on the county’s biggest stories, without the clickbait or clutter** Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### **Footnotes** ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### “It's about filling people with ideas and hope” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/its-about-filling-people-with-ideas-and-hope/ Last updated: 2026-07-31T09:25:37.000Z *When we look for people to interview here at Kent Current Towers, we ask what their connection to Kent is. Sometimes they were born here, they lived here, or they worked here. Sometimes the connection is strong, sometimes it is tenuous. Sometimes they receive an honorary doctorate from the University of Kent.* [*Mark Thomas*](https://markthomasinfo.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *has been performing comedy for 40 years, and Steven has happily been in the front row at many of those shows. Somehow, he managed to contain his squee when he met Mark via Zoom, and they talked about warming up in Faversham, performing opera for his father, and redefining Farage.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/05/IMG_0076.JPG) Mark Thomas. Photo: Tony Pletts. **Are you known by any other names?** Yeah, but I don't think we can print them. **What is your official occupation?** Performer and writer. I'd love it if you could get it on the passport, because they don't give you a chance to put your occupation on passports now. But I really wish they would, and I'd really like to put in 'Bohemian.' **Do you have any additional roles, paid or unpaid?** I’m involved in all sorts. I'm a patron for [IMET2000](https://imet2000.org/?ref=kentcurrent.news), which is a medical charity. There's two separate parts, one which trains people, Palestinian doctors, nurses, psychiatrists, clinicians, that we get the best possible training for the medical staff there. That's called IMF2000\. There's another part of that which trains people in places like Uganda, where there is health poverty and inequality. I'm involved in them. They're great fun. A host of other organisations, which are pledged to the destruction of capitalism. I've a blood oath which I can't share too much about. **You're also a pastor?** Yeah, I became a pastor. I could do births, deaths and marriages, which is quite interesting. I've actually married someone. I like the role and the pastoral care that comes with a celebrant. I really like that. I like the fact that it celebrates other people while still remaining at the centre stage, which fulfils all the bits that I need. I think if ever I wanted to do another job, that would be it. **How did you end up with an honorary doctorate?** Over the years, I've worked on all sorts of campaigns. That just strikes you as wrong, and you just end up by accident and chance, working in campaigns that happen to you, and you get drawn into it. And [Olly Double](https://www.kentcurrent.news/embrace-your-inner-oddball/), who I've known for years, is one of the greatest resources in comedy ever. He's also a friend who I love very dearly, and I should say that. I would describe him in these words, even if he wasn't a friend, because what he's done is approach comedy and the study of comedy as a proper art form and an intellectual and academic endeavour which hitherto hadn't been done properly, and so he was really, I mean his knowledge of popular culture and comedy is endless and he runs the [Stand-Up Comedy Archive](https://www.kent.ac.uk/library/special-collections/british-stand-up-comedy-archive?ref=kentcurrent.news), which is housed at the University of Kent, and I donate to. Loads of my stuff is in there. My notebooks, props, all sorts of stuff, and I'm delighted. I'm very proud of that. Because of all the work that I've done throughout the years, I was given an honorary doctorate at Kent uni. **Do you ever use Dr Mark Thomas?** I haven't, but now you mention it, I feel I shall today. > You either commit yourself to trying to make the world a bit better or just allow it to happen **Let's get the important bit out of the way. You're about to go on tour. What is the new show?** The show is called [40 In Stand-Up Years](https://markthomasinfo.co.uk/tour-dates/?ref=kentcurrent.news), and it is about me. Navigating, getting older with the ever-changing world, which seems to be in perpetual decline. I think one of the big things that has changed in my life is that I was born in ‘63\. I was born with a generation that grew up thinking that things would gradually get better. That's what happens, things just gradually get better for all of us. That has gone. That notion has been destroyed. This idea that things will gradually get better doesn't explain history, and it doesn't explain where we are now. [Rosa Luxemburg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa%5FLuxemburg?ref=kentcurrent.news) made that lovely quote saying, “We face socialism or barbarism.” We have a choice, and it is a choice. For me, you either commit yourself to trying to make the world a bit better or just allow it to happen. Sorry, I didn’t mean to get that moral straight from the off. **As a writer and performer, you've done a wide variety of shows and books over the years. Is there a process to it? Do you think 'I'm going to campaign on X or protest about Y and I'll get a show out of it?' Or is it, 'I need a show for next year, this is winding me up, let's do something?'** There are many processes over the years. Some of them have literally been, 'I have to tell this story.' Some of them have been an accident. I was asked on [Inheritance Tracks](https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/saturdaylive/2006/09/mark%5Fthomas.html?ref=kentcurrent.news). You talk about music you inherited from your family and passed on to your family. I said that the music that I inherited and passed on is the same piece. It's [Figaro's Aria from the Barber of Seville](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Largo%5Fal%5Ffactotum?ref=kentcurrent.news). It was because my dad, who was a builder, used to play that on the scaffolding. Used to take tapes up. When you're 16, and you're working with your dad on the scaffolding and you're wearing an Anarchy and Freedom t-shirt, and your dad is playing Figaro's Barber of Seville and singing along with it, that's quite a deal. I used to be embarrassed by it. Now I'm proud of it. My dad developed this illness called progressive supranuclear palsy and started to decline. It's a muscular degenerative illness, but there's a dementia element to it. What was fascinating was it was terrifying seeing him disappear before us. I found myself starting to play that music, starting to listen to opera, wanting to learn more about it, wanting to listen to more and understand, reaching out to him, really. I used to sing it to my children in the bath while I was washing their toes. I'd get their feet up, and I'd wash between their toes with all the soap going, (s*ings*) *Bravo Figaro, Bravo Figaro, Bravo Figaro, Bravo Figaro, Bravo Figaro, Bravo Figaro, bravissimo*, doing all that. Anyway, I told that story on Radio 4, and somebody in the Royal Opera House heard it and got in contact and said, “Would you come in for a meeting?” I went in for a meeting with [Mike Figgis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike%5FFiggis?ref=kentcurrent.news), the film director who was curating a festival. I looked him up before and thought, “Oh fuck, he's proper.” He said, “Are you interested in doing anything for the festival?” I said, “Yeah, but what I'll need is opera singers.” We took the opera singers down to my dad's bungalow in Bournemouth, and we staged an opera in the living room. It was hilarious, it was amazing. My mum's dog insisted on sniffing all the fucking singers, and trying to get on the table to eat the buffet. We had to do a buffet for these singers. They're big people. They've got big appetites, so my mum is grabbing the dog. Robert from next door, he's been invited in, and his hearing aids are feeding back. My dad's sitting there, can't open his eyes. They do the opera, and then at the end of it, my dad was just absolutely back in the room. And we did an interview with him. It's an interesting thing of how you create something and what it means to you and how you tell the story and what you have to tell because, we put it on at the Royal Opera House and my agent at the time came to see it and just went, “Wow, you really needed to tell that story. You needed to tell the story of your dad and what's happening.” I was trying to work out how it works, that whole process. I told the story because it naturally comes out. I then get asked to create a story. I specifically ask for the singers and take a sound recordist with me so they can record the opera and hopefully an interview with my dad. We were optimistic that something would happen. Then we go away and create the story. There's a whole mixture. How do you create it? Chance, necessity and planning. Those are the three ingredients. I think the thing about it is all of the shows have those elements. It's just they all have different levels of it. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Less scrutiny, but more prayers and singing URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/less-scrutiny-but-more-prayers-and-singing/ Last updated: 2026-05-22T11:31:47.000Z **Kent County Council could introduce prayers and the national anthem at full council meetings while reducing the time opposition leaders have to respond to the administration. We also look at fresh questions over KCC’s sale of Antony Gormley’s Two Stones and how the Starmer crisis is dividing Kent’s Labour MPs.* ### Less scrutiny, but more prayers and singing at County Hall Kent County Council has many problems. Roads that do not work properly, B buildings needing hundreds of millions of pounds in maintenance, a special educational needs system under pressure, and rising demand in adult social care. Meanwhile, local government reorganisation is looming over everything. Inevitably, priorities have to be made somewhere. So, of course, Kent's Reform administration has turned its attention to the urgent business of getting councillors to say the Lord’s Prayer and sing the national anthem. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/05/KC_Prayer.jpg) At a meeting of Kent County Council’s [Selection and Member Services Committee last week](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=143&MId=9662&ref=kentcurrent.news), councillors backed plans that could see full council meetings begin with the Lord’s Prayer and end with God Save the King. The proposals will now go to full council later this month, where all councillors will decide whether this is what Kent County Council needs to spend its time on. The proposals formed part of a wider report on constitutional changes. Some of that report was ordinary council machinery. Budget meetings, committee membership, attendance records, scrutiny call-ins, public participation, and the rules around how meetings are run. Procedural plumbing, mostly, until something starts leaking. Then came the bit about prayers. The report noted that councils are legally allowed to include prayers or other religious observances in meetings. It also made clear that this is optional. Nobody can be forced to take part, and councillors, officers and members of the public all have a right not to have their religious or philosophical beliefs exposed by the way they behave in the chamber. The Monitoring Officer warned that if prayers were introduced, they would need to be optional and handled carefully. One possible option was for those who wanted to pray to do so outside the formal meeting. Another was for prayers to take place off-camera, so that nobody watching the webcast could identify who was joining in, who was sitting silently, or who had decided to leave the room. The same applied to the national anthem. The report stated that views on the monarchy and the singing of the anthem may be legitimately held, that nobody could be compelled to participate, and that non-participation should not be recorded. If councillors wanted to sing the national anthem after every full council meeting, the report said it should happen after the formal meeting had closed, off camera, with time for those who did not want to take part to leave. That was the advice. Reform councillors then pushed for both to be broadcast. The committee had already backed a proposal to cut the time available for opposition group leaders to respond to the leader’s report by one minute each. The stated reason was to save time in long council meetings. The saving would amount to a few minutes across an all-day meeting. Having found a way to reduce the time given to opposition scrutiny, the committee then found time for prayers and patriotic singing. Less time for elected opposition leaders to respond to the leader of the council. More time for public performance of faith and loyalty to the crown. Andrew Kennedy, the Conservative councillor for Malling Rural East, opposed the proposal for prayers. He told the committee that his husband is an ordained vicar, but that he himself is agnostic. “I was elected as an agnostic, not as a representative of any faith community,” he said. “I wasn’t elected as a religious representative, and the decisions I make are not guided by God or any other religious leader. They are guided by my principles as an elected politician and the people I represent.” After the meeting, Kennedy put it more bluntly: “I was not sent here to practice my religion or my patriotism.” Councillors are not sent to County Hall to demonstrate how Christian, patriotic, monarchist, secular, devout, republican, loyal, prayerful or tuneful they are. They are sent there to run services, scrutinise decisions, approve budgets, and ask why the council is not doing a better job of the things it is supposed to do. Green group leader [Mark Hood](https://www.kentcurrent.news/we-havent-had-a-king-of-kent-for-over-1-000-years/) made a similar point. Citing the 2021 census, he noted that fewer than half of Kent residents identify as Christian, while a large proportion say they have no religion. “I firmly believe that religion is a personal matter and that we should operate in this council in a wholly secular manner, to respect the followers of all religions and none,” he said. He also asked the obvious practical question. If the council is going to start with the Lord’s Prayer, which version will it use? The traditional version? The modern Anglican version? The version familiar to Catholics? One prayer can start looking less like a harmless tradition and more like a surprisingly efficient way of making even Christians argue with one another. [Antony Hook](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-really-dont-like-party-tribalism/), Liberal Democrat group leader, argued that Kent County Council is not a religious body. “We’re a statutory body, we’re a non-religious body, we’re a part of the state, and we’re exercising functions that are not religious functions,” he said. “Our functions are to provide a really good social care service, to fix the roads, to provide SEND provision. Those are not religious functions.” He added that it was inappropriate for the council, as a workplace, to adopt a religious practice that implied “one faith will have some special status over the staff and members of different religions or of no religion at all.” The counterargument from Reform and its allies was not especially subtle. Richard Palmer, who chairs the county council, argued that “we are a Christian nation.” Maxine Fothergill, of Restore Britain, said she did “not see a problem” with the proposal and that members who disagreed would be welcome to sit out that part and come in once the clergy had finished. That is precisely the issue. The whole point of council meetings is that elected members, officers, the press and the public can be present for the democratic business of the authority without having to signal their private beliefs. Telling people they can always leave the room is not quite the inclusive gesture its supporters appear to think it is. Cllr Chris Hespe later defended the move on X, writing that it was “simply bringing back what we used to have at Kent County Council” and “reminding us all that this is a Christian country, and we should all unite behind the nation’s anthem and flags.” There it is. This is not just about the smooth running of Kent County Council. It is about symbols. Prayers, anthems, flags, monarchy, Christianity. Unity, as defined by the people deciding what everyone else is being asked to unite behind. The national anthem proposal followed the same pattern. Hood said full council was not “the Last Night of the Proms” and told those who wanted to sing songs to do so elsewhere. “If this is going to eat into the time allocated to the democratic processes being undertaken in this room, then it’s absolutely unacceptable,” he said. Kennedy described the idea as “jingoistic national anthem singing,” while Liberal Democrat councillor Tim Prater cut straight to the point, declaring that “loyalty to this country does not involve singing a song.” Reform councillor Garry Sturley saw it differently, describing the national anthem as “just standard patriotic tradition.” Palmer added that there was “nothing wrong with being loyal to the crown” and “nothing wrong with being loyal to this country.” Nobody has seriously argued that there is. The question is whether Kent County Council meetings need to become a venue for councillors to publicly perform that loyalty at the end of every meeting. Rob Yates, the Green councillor for Cliftonville who dispatched Reform in a by-election last month, summed up the opposition case. “This chamber is not a place of worship. We are elected to serve all our residents in Kent regardless of their belief. We are not elected in order to pray to God in this chamber or to sing to the King, although many of us are happy to do that.” He added that the council should keep its focus on serving residents rather than “serving the political aspirations of either Nigel Farage or Rupert Lowe.” The row has now moved beyond County Hall. The National Secular Society has [written to councillors](https://www.secularism.org.uk/news/2026/05/nss-urges-kent-council-to-drop-prayer-plans?ref=kentcurrent.news) urging them to reject the prayers proposal, warning that it would “throw fuel on the fire of community tensions” and cause “unnecessary division.” Its head of campaigns, Megan Manson, said councillors “are not elected to represent gods, but the diverse people of Kent.” There is a more generous interpretation of all this. Some councils have historically included prayers. Parliament still does. Civic life is full of old rituals, some more useful than others. There are councillors who will sincerely see the Lord’s Prayer and the national anthem as expressions of continuity, service and respect. But Kent County Council is not short of things to do. It is not a parish council with nothing on the agenda but the minutes, a planning application and a complaint about dog mess. It is responsible for services used by more than 1.6 million people. It is facing enormous financial pressure. It has serious questions to answer over the condition of its roads and estate. It is heading into local government reorganisation, a process that could reshape councils across the county. Against that backdrop, choosing to spend political capital on prayers, anthems, and flags is not a harmless tradition. It is a statement of priorities. The same committee was asked to consider other changes that could have opened up or strengthened local democracy. A review of scrutiny call-in arrangements. Options for public participation. A proposal that opposition leaders be given a summary of the leader’s report in advance so they could respond properly. These are the kinds of changes that might make County Hall more accountable, more useful, and less opaque to the people it serves. The committee rejected the idea of the leader sharing her report summary in advance. It backed reducing opposition response times. It backed sending the prayer and anthem proposals to full council. Kent County Council may soon have less time for opposition leaders to scrutinise the administration, but more time for councillors to pray, sing, and stand behind the right symbols. The proposals now go to full council on 21 May. By then, councillors may have to decide not only what kind of meetings they want to hold, but what kind of council they want Kent County Council to be. ### How did KCC sell a major artwork with no formal decision? When [we last wrote about the sale of Antony Gormley’s Two Stones](https://www.kentcurrent.news/major-maidstone-public-artwork-sold-off-behind-closed-doors/) from outside Maidstone library, Kent County Council had confirmed it had sold the sculpture back to the artist, but was refusing to explain the basics of the deal. [Major Maidstone public artwork sold off behind closed doorsKCC sells off a Maidstone landmark as its first political assistant exits early, and the Swanscombe Hole enters a funding lottery![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-57.png)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/KC_Maid-Stones-1.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/major-maidstone-public-artwork-sold-off-behind-closed-doors/) Now we know a little more. It makes the whole thing look worse. In response to a Freedom of Information request from the *Kent Current*, KCC says there was no formal decision to sell Two Stones. It says authorisation for the sale was not given by an officer. It says no formal decision record exists. And it says there was no internal briefing note or report outlining the rationale for the sale. The council does confirm that the sale was completed on 29 March. [Gormley FOI responseKent County Council's FOI response to the Kent Current.Gormley FOI response.pdf248 KBdownload-circle](https://www.kentcurrent.news/content/files/2026/05/Gormley-FOI-response.pdf "Download") That is an extraordinary set of answers for the sale of a significant public asset. This was not an old desk being cleared out of County Hall. Two Stones was a major public artwork by one of Britain’s best-known sculptors, and it sat outside the Kent History and Library Centre in Maidstone for years. When KCC first confirmed the sale to us in April, it said “the decision to sell Antony Gormley’s Two Stones back to the artist was taken carefully” as part of its response to financial pressures. But if the decision was taken carefully, where is the record of that care? If no formal decision was taken, no officer authorised it, and no internal report set out the rationale, what exactly was the process? KCC is still refusing to say what price it achieved. Its FOI response says the sale price is covered by a confidential sale agreement, while valuations for the work are being withheld as commercially sensitive. It also says correspondence relating to the sale cannot be disclosed for the same reasons. So the position now appears to be that a major public artwork was sold in a private deal, but there was no formal decision, no officer authorisation, no formal record and no internal report setting out the rationale; and the public is not allowed to know what the council got for it. The *Kent Current* has submitted an internal review challenging KCC’s refusal to disclose the sale price and valuation information, arguing there is a strong public interest in revealing what return the council achieved from the disposal of a significant public asset. Councils do sometimes sell assets. Councils under financial pressure make ugly choices. But if KCC’s answer is to quietly turn public art into cash, the least it should have to do is show its working. ***Keeping track of Kent properly takes time, travel and a fair amount of patience.** *Kent Current only exists because some readers choose to support that work. An* [**annual subscription costs £1.15 a week*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) *and helps keep it going.* [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) ### Starmer crisis splits Kent’s Labour MPs For Kent’s Labour MPs, the Starmer project is not an abstract Westminster drama. It is the reason many of them are in Parliament at all. In 2024, Labour won across parts of Kent that had either been Conservative for years or were never obvious red territory. Less than two years later, the Prime Minister who helped carry much of that map is fighting to keep hold of his own party. Kent’s Labour MPs have not all landed in the same place. The clearest local break came from Naushabah Khan, the MP for Gillingham and Rainham, [who resigned](https://www.localauthority.news/medway-mp-turns-on-starmer/?ref=kentcurrent.news) as a Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Cabinet Office and called for new leadership. “The message from last week’s elections was clear: the Prime Minister has lost the confidence of the public,” Khan said. “We need a clear change of direction now and no game playing.” [Kevin McKenna](https://www.kentcurrent.news/my-job-is-to-try-and-bring-everyone-together/), the MP for Sittingbourne and Sheppey, has also called for Starmer to go. In a statement, he said he had hoped not to speak publicly while the Prime Minister considered his position, but that Jess Phillips’ resignation letter had changed that. McKenna pointed in particular to online child protection legislation, saying that he was “not just disappointed by this, I am truly angry.” His conclusion was blunt. “I believe it is now time for a new Prime Minister to lead our party and to deliver on the commitments we made to this country.” Tony Vaughan, the MP for Folkestone and Hythe, joined them. His argument is less about immediate outrage and more about electoral survival. “Labour needs a second term to renew this country after years of Tory failure,” he said. “On the current trajectory, we won’t get there because we will lose, and Farage will win. That should be nobody’s legacy.” Vaughan said voters remained frustrated by the pace of change and angry about mistakes, including winter fuel, benefit cuts, and the Mandelson row. He said Labour was being “hamstrung” by a leader who had become “the personification of earlier — serious — mistakes.” Others are sticking with Starmer. Mike Tapp, the MP for Dover and Deal, warned against another leadership change. “The country needs stability, not another revolving door of leaders,” he said. “Keir Starmer was elected to deliver change, and that work must continue.” Lauren Sullivan, the MP for Gravesham, also backed Starmer. She acknowledged there was “appetite and impatience” in the country for change to happen more quickly, but said Starmer had recognised that pace needed to quicken and “has my support to do so and remain as Prime Minister.” [Tristan Osborne](https://www.kentcurrent.news/a-lot-of-the-stuff-i-do-is-below/), the MP for Chatham and Aylesford, made a similar argument. Starmer, he said, had been elected on a mandate for change in 2024, including winning “the largest number of Parliamentary seats in Kent in my lifetime.” Osborne said Labour’s focus should remain on improving the lives of constituents rather than turning inwards. “I do not believe now is the time to become introspective,” he said. That leaves the remaining Kent Labour MPs in a more awkward position, either quieter, less publicly visible, or not yet as firmly defined as their colleagues. In a normal week, that might not mean very much. In a leadership crisis, silence becomes its own small political weather system. The split is now visible. Kent’s Labour intake arrived at Westminster as proof that Starmer could win in places Labour had long struggled to reach. Now, some of those same MPs are deciding he is the thing standing in the way. ## ****Kent, properly reported** ****Independent journalism on the county’s biggest stories, without the clickbait or clutter** Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Footnotes ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### South East Water boss resigns after Kent’s winter water failures URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/south-east-water-boss-resigns-after-kents-winter-water-failures/ Last updated: 2026-05-18T16:33:34.000Z **We lead today with the resignation of South East Water chief executive David Hinton after months of supply failures across Kent and Sussex. We also cover the wider fallout from the county’s water crises, a BBC deep dive into life on Sheppey, council meetings across Kent, planning applications, and the latest mix of politics, infrastructure, culture and local absurdity from around the county.* ### South East Water boss resigns after Kent’s winter of water failure David Hinton, the chief executive of South East Water, has resigned after months of supply failures left tens of thousands of customers across Kent and Sussex without reliable water. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/05/david-hinton-asset-and-regulation-director-1-1118-1.jpg) David Hinton is David Hint-gone. The company [announced](https://www.southeastwater.co.uk/about/updates/news/South-East-Water-announces-resignation-of-Chief-Executive-Officer/?ref=kentcurrent.news) on Friday that Hinton would step down as chief executive, though not immediately. He will remain in post over the summer while South East Water searches for a replacement, an oddly gentle exit for the man many customers now associate with dry taps and bottled water stations. South East Water said Hinton had decided to go because “his position has become an increasing distraction from South East Water’s most important priority, which is to deliver a resilient water supply for its customers.” It was an unusually candid line from a company that has spent much of the last few months being criticised for saying too little, too late. Over the past few months, Hinton had become one of the most recognisable names in Kent, which is not a position anyone at a water company should particularly want. In December, [thousands of homes and businesses in and around Tunbridge Wells](https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-week-the-water-stopped/) were left without water or with low pressure after problems at Pembury Water Treatment Works. Even once supplies returned, residents were told to boil their tap water before drinking it. [The week the water stoppedA week of dry taps, false deadlines and emergency queues reveals a broken system and a town running out of patience![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/size/w1200/2025/12/KC_Water.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-week-the-water-stopped/) Weeks later, further outages hit areas including Maidstone, Canterbury and East Grinstead, with thousands more properties affected. Schools were forced to close, businesses lost trade, care homes had to rely on bottled water, and vulnerable residents were left dependent on a company whose emergency response increasingly looked unfit for the scale of the problem. For South East Water, the failures have now reached the top of the organisation. Hinton’s resignation comes just a week after Chris Train resigned as the company’s chair following a damning report from MPs on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee. The committee had called South East Water “devoid of proper leadership” and “riddled with cultural problems”, and said it had no confidence in the company’s leadership. Hinton had appeared before MPs twice, with the committee raising concerns about the company’s explanations, lack of accountability, and ability to learn from repeated failures. [South East Water said outage was unforeseeable the day before it happened againWater failures, delayed megaprojects and a contested library sale put accountability and long-term planning back in the spotlight across Kent![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/size/w1200/2026/01/KC_Water-again-1.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/south-east-water-said-outage-was-unforeseeable-the-day-before-it-happened-again/) The pressure on Hinton had been building for months. Helen Whately, MP for Faversham and Mid Kent, said on Friday that there was, “at last some accountability at South East Water.” She said she had called for Hinton to go after “a completely inadequate emergency response” during the outages, adding that “vulnerable people were left without water, schools were forced to close, and livestock were ignored.” Whately said this was not the first time South East Water had failed communities in Kent, pointing to previous problems in East Kent. She said Hinton had assured her he would fix the issues then, but “this time it was worse.” Helen Grant, MP for Maidstone and Malling, also welcomed the resignation, saying it was “long overdue” after pressure from MPs across Kent and Sussex. She said that “the priority now is for South East Water’s Board to appoint leadership with the vision and capability to deliver immediate operational improvements and a credible long-term investment plan.” Katie Lam, the MP for Sevenoaks, said residents’ survey responses had been used directly as evidence in the parliamentary committee report that preceded Hinton’s resignation. Amid the Westminster heat around South East Water, much of the pressure has come from people documenting what happened to them when their taps stopped working. The company now says its board remains focused on “accelerating targeted engineering works and making operational changes to improve the resilience of the supply network, increase water capacity and quality in high priority areas”. Lisa Clement, South East Water’s interim independent non-executive chair, said: “The Board acknowledges and thanks Dave for his many years of loyal dedication and service to South East Water.” That is the boardroom version. The customer version is less tidy. Across Kent, the outages were not an abstract failure of corporate governance. They meant homes without water, shops and hospitality businesses losing Christmas trade, schools making calls on whether they could open, and councils trying to coordinate support when communication from the company fell short. The fallout is not over either. Ofwat and the Drinking Water Inspectorate are also investigating parts of the company’s performance, while the regulator has been consulting on a £22m fine for separate supply failures between 2020 and 2023. Whoever replaces Hinton inherits more than a hostile inbox. South East Water is facing angry customers, impatient MPs, wary councils, regulatory scrutiny, and serious questions about whether its infrastructure can cope with both existing demand and the government’s housebuilding targets across parts of Kent. South East Water can now change the nameplate at the top. Kent still needs the harder part, which is a water company that can reliably provide water. ### The big read This week’s big read comes from the BBC, which uses an empty car park in Queenborough to tell a wider story about life on Sheppey, with council debt, new charges, struggling high streets, poor bus links, personal debt, and public services being stretched thin. It is a national story told through a very Kent example, and a useful reminder that local authority finances become a lot less abstract when they turn into parking meters, closed shops and buses that barely run. [What an empty car park says about one of the UK’s poorest areasThe BBC has been speaking to people living in one of England’s poorest communities.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/touch-icon-512.685da29e9e.png)BBC NewsMichael Buchanan and Adam Eley![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/ae0d1610-447d-11f1-88ff-575186ed76aa.jpg)](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy816xdp226o?ref=kentcurrent.news) ### Council matters **Meetings this week:** - **Dover:** [Cabinet](https://moderngov.dover.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=121&MId=5162&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets tonight (Monday) to discuss replacing their parking machines with new ones that don't take cash. - **Kent:** [Children, Young People and Education Cabinet Committee](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=894&MId=9759&ref=kentcurrent.news) will discuss the creation of a new primary school in Paddock Wood on Tuesday. - **Medway:** [Regeneration, Culture and Environment Overview and Scutiny Committee](https://democracy.medway.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=437&MId=6705&ref=kentcurrent.news) will come together on Tuesday to debate the £46m purchase of nearly 800 properties from L&Q after the Conservatives called the decision in. - **Sevenoaks:** [Cabinet](https://cds.sevenoaks.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=120&MId=3739&J=1&ref=kentcurrent.news) will discuss procurement for the redevelopment plans east of Sevenoaks High Street on Tuesday, behind closed doors. - **Gravesham:** [Planning Committee](https://democracy.gravesham.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=106&MId=9596&ref=kentcurrent.news) will decide on 150 new homes west of Meopham and changes to the plans for the new Cascades leisure centre on Wednesday. - **Ashford:** [Cabinet](https://ashford.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=136&MId=4923&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Thursday to discuss planning enforcement on bank holidays and the restoration of heritage assets. **New planning applications:** - **Dover:** Conversion of an industrial unit in Sandwich into a [music school](https://publicaccess.dover.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=TE9AUAFZIYM00&ref=kentcurrent.news). ***Keeping track of Kent properly takes time, travel and a fair amount of patience.** *Kent Current only exists because some readers choose to support that work. An* [**annual subscription costs £1.15 a week*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) *and helps keep it going.* [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) ### In brief 🙏 Unsurprisingly, plans by the Reform administration at Kent County Council to introduce prayers and a singalong of the national anthem at council meetings have [gone down about as well as you'd expect](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crepqgy48djo?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🚧 Kent has made [two bids](https://www.highwaysmagazine.co.uk/news/local-road-network/kent-makes-bids-structures-fund?ref=kentcurrent.news) for the government's new Structures Fund for road repairs. They have asked for £40m to repair the Swanscombe Hole and £65m to repair Thanet Way. 🏗️ It's been a NIMBY bonanza over at KentOnline this week, with the outlet talking to residents in Canterbury [who are outraged](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/it-would-be-a-travesty-residents-decry-bid-to-turn-carpar-340051/?ref=kentcurrent.news) that flats will be built on an abandoned car park site. Meanwhile, they've found locals in Greatstone [upset about 'Lego-like' homes](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/romney-marsh/news/if-i-wanted-to-live-next-to-houses-like-this-i-wouldve-mo-340090/?ref=kentcurrent.news) being built. Finally, the website has been chatting to locals in Sutton at Home [who are annoyed](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dartford/news/this-village-should-be-for-family-homes-not-ugly-flats-wi-340066/?ref=kentcurrent.news) that a small block of flats will be built in their village. 🚛 Residents living near the Sevington Inland Border Facility are getting angry about [bottles of urine and rubbish](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/something-needs-to-be-done-bottles-of-urine-and-rubbish-o-339966/?ref=kentcurrent.news) being left near the site. 💩 Southern Water has revealed a £42m [sewage plan](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c936k6pw5r6o?ref=kentcurrent.news). To be clear, the plan is to reduce sewage spills and pollution incidents, even if events of the past few years might suggest otherwise. 🏥 Unison has said that staff at Darent Valley Hospital are [struggling to maintain](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjdp3jzlgngo?ref=kentcurrent.news) safe hygiene standards after it was left without water for over a week. 🚒 Parts of Bluewater were [evacuated last week](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dartford/news/shoppers-evacuated-from-bluewater-as-emergency-services-resp-340111/?ref=kentcurrent.news) following an electrical fire in the EE store. 🏬 A Paddock Wood department store is [set to close](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0k2x5d88kgo?ref=kentcurrent.news) after 135 years. 🛍️ Meanwhile, The Forum in Sittingbourne is bucking the retail trend, with the shopping centre [reaching full capacity](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sittingbourne/news/the-kent-shopping-centre-that-is-bucking-the-trend-339963/?ref=kentcurrent.news) one year after new owners took it on. 👩‍🎨 Tracey Emin has [offered some thoughts](https://www.greatbritishlife.co.uk/magazines/kent/26013687.dame-tracey-emin-hometown-margate-kent/?ref=kentcurrent.news) on Reform losing in Margate. 🌊 Kent Wildlife Trust has demanded that [more be done](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy82p45w5d4o?ref=kentcurrent.news) to protect chalk streams. 🐬 The 'dolphin' (Maidstone Council leader Stuart Jeffery tells us it's a porpoise) trapped in a lock in Allington has [managed to escape](https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/stranded-dolphin-manages-escape-river-10950518?ref=kentcurrent.news). ⛳ [Mini golf is being introduced](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/mini-golf-to-launch-at-designer-outlet-as-part-of-new-dimen-340076/?ref=kentcurrent.news) at Ashford Designer Outlet. 🥳 Davina McCall is [very enthusiastic](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g9735p3zdo?ref=kentcurrent.news) about Tunbridge Wells. 👠 In words we never expected to be typing, a car bodyshop in Lydd [helped make](https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2026/may/08/whitaker-malem-london-design-kim-kardashian-met-gala-breastplate?ref=kentcurrent.news) Kim Kardashian's Met Gala breastplate. ### Property of the week This week’s property is The Den in Eynsford, a three-bedroom house in a quiet close that looks fairly ordinary from the street, but reveals an A-frame interior that does something completely different. The layout is inverted, with all three bedrooms on the ground floor around a long entrance hall, including a main bedroom with an en suite, plus a family bathroom and a utility room. Upstairs is the real point of the place, with a 30-foot open-plan kitchen, dining, and living space that sits under the full height of the roof, with rooflights and a full-height glazed end wall looking straight out to the garden, plus wide doors onto a deck. It is also quietly loaded with modern kit, including underfloor heating, a heat pump, and automated heating, lighting and blinds, and it comes with parking for two cars and an EV charging point. If you have been scrolling past the same square footage in slightly different shades of beige, this is the antidote. [Check out this 3 bedroom detached house for sale on Rightmove3 bedroom detached house for sale in Walnut Close, Eynsford, Dartford, DA4 0ES, DA4 for £850,000\. Marketed by Maison, Covering Kent / Surrey![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Rightmove.co.uk![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/cdf357f34109e9dff575079b2c80b4e4.jpeg)](https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/88251876?ref=kentcurrent.news#/) ### Events this week 🎛️ Wed 13 May - [**The Adam Buxton Band**](https://www.dreamland.co.uk/event/the-adam-buxton-band/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Beloved podcaster and jingle auteur tours his first album. Dreamland, Margate. Tickets £30. 🕺 Thu 14 May - [**Bobak Champion: I'm Muslamic Don't Panik**](https://thegulbenkian.co.uk/events/bobak-champion-im-muslamic-dont-panik/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // British and Iranian identities collide with hip-hop, storytelling, dance, and comedy. Gulbebkian Theatre, Canterbury. Tickets £16.25. 🎛️ Sat 16 May - [**Kentronica**](https://thegulbenkian.co.uk/festivals/kentronica-a-celebration-of-electronic-music/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Mini-festival dedicated to experimental electronic music. Gulbenkian Arts Centre, Canterbury. Tickets from £10. 🚗 16 - 17 May - [**Faversham Festival of Transport**](https://www.facebook.com/events/1499068861361536/) // Vehicles of all shapes and sizes throughout the town centre. Faversham town centre. Free. ## ****Kent, properly reported** ****Independent journalism on the county’s biggest stories, without the clickbait or clutter** Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### **Footnotes** ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### “Dartford suffers from having the crossing there” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/dartford-suffers-from-having-the-crossing-there/ Last updated: 2026-07-03T09:48:34.000Z *Steven met Dartford MP Jim Dickson in his constituency office, a converted former police station, to discuss the Dartford Crossing, Swanscombe Hole, the jumping spider and Morgan McSweeny.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/05/Portrait--6-.jpeg) Jim Dickson MP. **What is your official occupation?** Member of Parliament for Dartford. **Why, of all the constituencies, is Dartford yours?** I've been involved in Labour politics for a long time. Along the way, I've been strongly involved in local government in southeast London. I stood in Old Bexley and Sidcup in 2001, attempting to be [Ted Heath](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward%5FHeath?ref=kentcurrent.news)'s successor in what was an interesting election because obviously it was one term of a Labour government and the Tories trying to peg us back or even chuck us out. Obviously, Labour did well, and there was a moment where I thought I might become the MP for Old Bexley and Sidcup. While I was down there, it was my first experience with Dartford because I came over and helped Dr [Howard Stoate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard%5FStoate?ref=kentcurrent.news), who's still fondly remembered in these parts and was the last Labour MP for Dartford and a GP. Actually, he came out and helped me in my election. That was my first experience of Dartford. I've kept in touch with Dartford ever since. I've done bits of work here in the communications business. I worked with an organisational Kent-Thameside regeneration partnership, which is all about getting Ingress Park built and some of the other housing east of Dartford, in Gravesend and other places. I've come back and campaigned here on and off ever since. I have known the Dartford Labour Party members for some time. When it became clear in late ‘23, early ‘24 that there's a potential vacancy for the candidate, I was very keen to put myself forward because it's a town and a community I like and since being elected, I've developed a really strong affection for, and absolutely love being here. I now live here, and that's been a very positive thing for me too. Dartford is an incredibly dynamic place. > Dartford is somewhere that has jobs and opportunities **Every MP will insist that their constituency is the best, if not in the UK, at least in Kent. What is the pitch for Dartford? Why is it a great constituency?** I think the reason why it's so special is because it has a really strong cultural history and sense of cultural identity. Going back to Anne of Cleves lived here, and Richard Trevithick, the father of the steam engine, did quite a lot of his early research here. All the way through to more recent cultural stuff. You've got the Orchard Theatre, the largest regional. Birthplace of the Rolling Stones with Mick and Keith. Incidentally, just as a little side element to this, it's just fantastic the way Mick, who's probably one of the ten most famous people in the world, still comes back to Dartford and keeps in touch with his roots here because he has a real affection for the place. That tells you something. Peter Blake, amazing pop art icon of the 60s, still keeps closely in touch with Dartford. A rich cultural tradition we've got here, but it's changing very quickly as well. One of the other things I like is it harnesses that deep sense of cultural identity in place with an openness to change. Over the last 15 years, lots of new homes have been built, and people have moved from places like southeast London, east London or Essex or other parts of Kent and come to Dartford. It's changed its complexion, and we've got a much more diverse community, everything from having an emerging Indian heritage population, lots more West African heritage residents moving from southeast London, residents from other parts of Kent making it really quite an interesting place that I think is good. An example of how a vibrant multicultural Britain can actually be a successful multicultural Britain. Dartford is somewhere that has jobs and opportunities. It's somewhere that has some new housing. If we can make all that work together, that's a hopeful thing. Having said all that, there are lots of things that need fixing, and those are the things I'm focused on, as well as trying to make sure that everyone does get along together and that we bring those new traditions that the incoming population bring with them and harness them well with the traditions of a historic market town. **Looking at the future, there are a number of towns and villages that over time used to be in** **Kent and now part of Greater London. Would you welcome any reorganisation that moved towards Dartford becoming part of London?** Not at all. I think Dartford is distinctively Kent. The northern bits of Dartford have a stronger Thames estuary identity as well, and I think those things aren't the same as a London identity. I think anyone who suggests that Dartford is any way likely to be submerged into some notion of greater London is completely wrong. I would never suggest such a thing. I think it has a lot of the advantages of being close to London, people can commute into London to work and take advantage of the job opportunities there, but it's also got opportunities facing east and being able to take advantage of infrastructure investment. We're getting, along the estuary and new homes, the Lower Thames Crossing, which we may come on to talk about. Lots of the infrastructure that needs to be developed as a result of the fact that we do have new housing alongside being a traditional place. It's also the second fastest growing local authority in the UK. Tower Hamlets is growing more quickly, but we don't count that as a town. So, it’s the fastest growing town in the UK. The big issue is the infrastructure that people need. The schools, the hospitals, the road space hasn’t really kept pace. Part of my job is to make a strong argument to government that we get to make a community that works. > The Lower Thames Crossing can't come soon enough **From an infrastructure point of view, how much of your time is spent dealing with complaints about the tunnel or the bridge?** I have five key priorities for Dartford, which I won't bore you with by going through, but the biggest one of all is to get Dartford moving, because we have the fantastic Dartford Crossing, which is an extremely mixed blessing. I use the word fantastic in an ironic sense, because Dartford suffers from having the Crossing there and having so much traffic both passing near Dartford, but also backing up into Dartford when something goes wrong with the Crossing. Something goes wrong with the Crossing a lot, because it's massively over capacity. It was built for 50,000 vehicles a day, and it's now taking 100,000 vehicles a day. When anything goes wrong, all of the Dartford circulatory system, the Dartford road system, just completely seizes up. The Lower Thames Crossing can't come soon enough. One thing I'm really pleased about with my first 20 months as the MP is that I've been able to, I think, raise and get noticed the voices of Dartford residents around the need for the Lower Thames Crossing. Absolute credit to the government, it's responded well. I was elected in July 2024, and by March 2025, the Development Consent Order was being approved by the Department for Transport, and Rachel Reeves was making a point of it. We now need a private sector package to add to that. That will happen. Spades are already in the ground, and we're expecting the boring machine to actually build the tunnel. That's the point at which people will say, yes, the Lower Thames Crossing is definitely happening when they see the boring machine actually creating the tunnel. That's going to probably start 2028 with lots of the road being built around the river prior to that. I'm really pleased about that. International rail links for Kent has been a big campaign, and that's part of getting Dartford moving and making sure Ebbsfleet is properly an international station again. I think we've made good progress on that with Virgin winning the capacity at Temple Mills to run services down the St Pancras high-speed line. Another win which will definitely happen. We need to make sure it happens as quickly as possible. **What is happening about the Swanscombe Hole?** A third strand to my activities around getting Dartford moving has been to try and make sure we get the money to rebuild Galley Hill Road. Swanscombe has hugely suffered from having a main artery running alongside it, taking everybody from Greenhithe and Dartford to Gravesend. That's been obviously sitting there broken since April 2023\. I've been working incredibly hard to get government interested in this and... **Is government interested?** Government is interested. What's brilliant is I managed to get our wonderful previous roads minister, Lillian Greenwood, down in September 2024\. One of her earliest engagements as Roads Minister. She came down, saw Galley Hill Road, the state it was in, saw the effect it was having on Swanscombe residents with obviously large vehicles thundering through small streets and other cars diverted into Swanscombe. She said something needs to be done about this. At the point at which I invited her down, central government had washed its hands of the problem. Kent didn't have any money and was never likely to get any. Thames Water, who could have been partly responsible and that probably will play out as part of a litigation process going forward, haven't got any money, famously. Essentially, it needed to be a central government problem to fix. But central government didn't have any money for a distressed transport asset that should have been the responsibility of its local authority. She went back, and to her absolute credit, she went back to the treasury and said, we need money for distressed transport assets around the country, but with Galley Hill Road as a massive example. In the comprehensive spending review that followed, Rachel Reeves allocated a billion pounds for a Transport Structures Fund, as it's called. Colleagues in the Department for Transport now are busy working out how it's going to be allocated, but I'm pretty confident that we're going to have an announcement that this fund is now open, here's how local authorities can bid, and here's how previously distressed assets with no obvious solution in sight can now be fixed using central government money. I'm working closely with Kent. We put politics completely aside on these things. This is all about Swanscombe residents and our local infrastructure. I'm saying I've got the government to produce this money. It's now up to Kent to get the best business case into government so that we can get the 50 or 60 million pounds. That is a staggering amount of money to get a short stretch of road fixed. But such is the nature of the place the road is located. I'm saying Kent now has to step up and make sure that we get an allocation that can get Galley Hill Road up and running. Meanwhile, I need to be continuing to explain this to local residents. What I can say to people is we've had we've made real progress, and I'm confident that by the time I face the election electorate again in 2029, we will see the road open again or be pretty close to having the road open again. **You mentioned Ebbsfleet. You also have the excitement of the** [**jumping spiders**](https://www.kentcurrent.news/a-town-separated-by-spiders/) **in the constituency.** All of that played out before I arrived. Actually, I've been involved in Ebbsfleet for longer than that because I remember when I was working for Kent Thameside Regeneration Partnership, being taken up to the Observatory and seeing the empty space that was the former quarry land that government was planning to put new homes on. It's fantastic to actually see the progress that's been made. There is an issue of development versus biodiversity. I'm absolutely a strong advocate that biodiversity is incredibly important. I wouldn't want to see any of the Swanscombe Peninsula built on. It's an amazing place for bird species and biodiversity generally. But you then have to take a judgment about how far away you need to be in order to safely develop without affecting the biodiversity. Obviously, the jumping spiders conversation happened some time back. I think, to be honest, there's a little bit of slightly fake controversy because Ebbsfleet have always had both the money and the land to get on with building 15,000 homes, which is what they will have done by the middle of the next decade. The issue about the spider species really only affects a thousand or so at most. Development can happily crack on whilst that issue is debated. I think it's perfectly possible to develop and make sure you build the houses you need, whilst making sure biodiversity is fully supported. **Have you ever been a member of any other political parties?** No, I haven't. **At what age did you join the Labour Party?** I joined the Labour Party when I arrived at university in 1983, aged 19\. It's interesting because I grew up in the late 70s and early 80s. It was a divisive time. Obviously, we had the problems of the 70s with hyperinflation and the Labour government's inability to work as well in partnership with the unions as it should have done, resulting in Margaret Thatcher winning in 79\. Pretty soon into the Thatcher administration, it became clear to me that her agenda was fairly divisive and that communities were going to suffer as a result. Age 16, I started thinking there must be a way of dealing with the problems of social fracture that had emerged in the 70s, without employing the steamroller that was Thatcherism to try and boost an economy without any regard to what effect that had on people on the ground, communities and people who require opportunities but aren't necessarily provided with them by the Thatcher government. I think that pushed me towards a Labour agenda that was learning from the mistakes of the past and trying to make sure that we could create a growing economy with the equality that I think a society needs to have in order for it to be a unified entity. As I got to university, I joined the Labour Party, and about two years later, I was the chair of my Labour students’ organisation, and since then I've been involved politically, but I always thought it was important to have skills and a career to run alongside that. I was never going to be someone who was purely a politician, looking for a job in Parliament, then as a special advisor, and then hoping to be selected as a candidate somewhere. It was always important to me that I actually go into a useful job and try and develop a career that practically helped people alongside being politically involved. I did a Social Science degree, and the first job I took after university was as a volunteer in a homeless charity in London, which focused on trying to take people off the streets and give them somewhere settled to live and your job was to support people, provide friendship, provide extra skills and expertise, help them with benefit claims, help them with relationships with the local authority or with the medical side of things. Try and make sure they could start to sustain a life off the streets with the networks that a lot of people who have been on the streets don't already have. I still think of it as a great model. **When did your name first appear on a ballot?** 1998, when I ran to be the Labour candidate in Herne Hill in southeast London and was lucky enough to be elected. Interesting time in Lambeth because it had just been through a pretty appalling period under what I'm very happy to identify as poor, hard left, Trotskyite leadership in the council, which saw the council as a place to campaign and try to score points off central government, rather than provide good services. The task was to come on the council and try and pick up and mend local services and get them supporting local people again, rather than people playing political games with them. I very much saw my trajectory over the next decade as working with others to try and make Lambeth as somewhere that actually worked for people again, rather than worked against people. **And in that time, did you interact with** [**Morgan McSweeney**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan%5FMcSweeney?ref=kentcurrent.news)**? Because it was part of his origin story.** Morgan came along later. I became leader of the Labour group in ‘94 under a hung council. I was co-leading the council whilst trying to get the Labour group back in a way that would make us electable again, and thinking about how you build services again. We won in '98\. Before Morgan and other people had turned up, although interesting enough, I'm the person who got [Steve Reed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve%5FReed%5F%28politician%29?ref=kentcurrent.news) into the Labour Party originally because he was involved in tenant association and voluntary sector politics, and I encouraged him to stand for the council because I thought he was a dynamic community organiser and figure. Steve stood in ‘98, got elected as well. Steve succeeded me as leader of the council at a later point. I stood down from the leadership position in 2000 and decided that I'd had ten years of really hard politics as it were, taking leadership position in a local authority, and I needed to spend a bit of time being a normal human being. I passed my driving, got an MBA and had kids. Developed a great relationship with my partner Nicola, who I'm still with, I'm very pleased to say. Another five years and then I returned to the cabinet under Steve Reed's leadership in 2006 and that was the election at which Morgan McSweeney had been the organiser and helped to get us elected in 2006\. I think I'm right in saying we were the only local authority that was a Labour gain from, in this case, the Lib Dems and Tories anywhere in the country, because 2006 weren't great elections for Labour, because we've been in power for nine years by then. Morgan played a strong part in that. He was a good local organiser, and obviously Steve was an extremely good and capable council leader. It was a privilege to work with both of them. **In the time you have been a member, who has been the best leader of the Labour Party?** I think from ‘83 onwards you've got to think about the elections. I think Neil Kinnock played an amazing role in making us electable again and getting people who didn't want to accept hard truths about what you needed to do to get into government to accept those hard truths, i.e. needing to have budgets which added up, and you needed to have programmes for genuinely supporting people which worked. Clearly, he lost in ‘92\. We learnt lessons from that. Tony Blair won a fantastic victory in '97 and some of the things that were achieved under the Blair government, from ending rough sleeping, which we'd done by 2010 pretty much, transforming the NHS, introducing the minimum wage, reducing inequality, sorting out some of the country's housing problems as well. All of those things were things I think Tony Blair deserves great credit for, but also Gordon Brown, who was obviously making sure that we could afford it and that we were taxing in a way that allowed us to invest in public services, but didn't stifle economic growth. I think they both deserve a huge amount of credit. Tony and Gordon, I think was an amazing partnership. Tony deserves a lot of credit for being a popular leader who was a brilliant political communicator. Gordon deserves a lot of credit for being somebody who thought through the relationship between a growing economy and better public services, and greater equality. They're my lodestars as a politician, the two of them. But I wouldn’t naively argue that if we just went back to doing those things, things would be perfect, because actually things have moved on a huge amount since then, and we need to be setting ourselves new objectives, as obviously this government's done. > There's a big dishonesty about the agenda that Reform is pursuing in Kent **From your experience in the Dartford area, what is the more extreme party? Is it Reform or is it the Greens?** I'd say they're both trying to do a similar thing, which is to offer people simple solutions which aren't properly thought through and which won't work in practice, but sound attractive. On the one hand, you have the Greens offering a wealth tax, which they claim would give us an enormous amount of extra funding to rebuild public services or address inequality. Wherever a wealth tax has been tried anywhere in the world, they've seldom yielded even a fraction of what people thought they would. I think we're being sold a pup there by the Greens. For Reform, we're being sold an extremely divisive and unpleasant message that the reason for the country's ills is the fact that we've had people emigrate to the country over the last 20 years and that if we got rid of those people, it would somehow make the country a better place. I think there is a role for controlling immigration, and I think the government is working on that, but the idea that if you get rid of people who are already part of our community, it makes it a better place is completely wrong. I think the ideology of Reform in Kent has already been shown to be based on a degree of dishonesty. They said they would cut council tax and reduce waste on winning Kent County Council, and they've not done either. They pretended there were areas that were going to yield large amounts of savings that would enable them either to invest in services or reduce council tax, and they haven't been able to do that. There's a big dishonesty about the agenda that Reform is pursuing in Kent. However, I think there are some representatives of Reform in Kent, on a personal level, they're often committed and care about their community. I wouldn't want to personally criticise them. I just think they're following the wrong ideology or following the wrong policy agenda. But I think they personally do believe in creating a better Dartford. I think they're going about it completely the wrong way. I think my one Green colleague on Dartford Borough Council is a nice person, who I think is doing her best, but I think her party is selling snake oil solutions for local people, and I think that's wrong. **Where were you born?** I was born in Plymouth. Son of a naval officer. The armed services play an important part in my background. Both my grandfathers were in the army. One died in the Second World War, the other was one of the unique people who fought in both the First and the Second World War. I spent my childhood looking around warships, visiting naval bases and understanding the military history of both my father and mother's side of the family. My mum was in the navy as well, before I was born. She was a social worker when I was young, but because my dad was in the navy, we tended to move around. It was difficult for her to maintain a career. She was a marriage guidance counsellor. Trying to support people through difficult times is what motivates her. **Did you enjoy school?** Yes, I did. One, because I enjoyed the subjects I was interested in. English, History, Geography. Struggled a bit more with STEM stuff, but managed to get my qualifications in the end. I loved sport as well. If you ask me one of my defining motivations in life, it's sport and recreation and the amazing power and direction that it can give to people who are interested in it. **What did you specialise in at sixth form?** A-levels, I did English, History and Politics, but lots of playing sport, football, rugby, cricket, tennis alongside all that, which I always look back on and feel were equally important forces in my life. **Where did you go to university?** Social and Political Science at Jesus College, Cambridge. **What role does faith play in your life?** I was brought up in the Church of England. I got confirmed. I would say I'm probably a secular Christian. I lost faith in the cosmology of Christianity some time back and so when I first came into Parliament and was asked whether I wanted to swear or affirm, swearing being swearing an oath to the monarch being the Christian way, and affirming being the secular way, I affirmed because I felt it would be a little hypocritical to swear when I don't actually necessarily believe in all the cosmology of the Bible and Christianity. But I feel a strong affinity with Christians, because I think the values of loving your neighbour as much as yourself, and trying to create a society in which everyone has an opportunity, and everyone feels part of, and there is love. I think Christianity is part of what motivates me in that way. **Have you ever been arrested?** The only time I've been arrested, when I was about 18, I went over the top of the barbed wire in Molesworth Air Base in Cambridgeshire as a protest against nuclear weapons and was carried out and not charged. I've never done anything which would get me arrested again. **Amongst your Labour colleagues, what's an unpopular opinion that you have?** I'm a strong believer in proportional voting. I've always supported a change in the electoral system. It's probably not as popular now as in the past, given that we won 412 seats based on 35% of the vote. Clearly proportionally, we would be a minority party. We might have been able to do a deal with another party to form a government. We would have been the largest party, but certainly not with a majority. But I actually think that changing the electoral system is essential. It's become more essential as we've potentially got five, or even six, political parties all on somewhere between 15 and 24% of the vote. There could be very odd, and I think extremely unwelcome, results for the next election under first past the post. I would love to see us contest the next election under proportional voting, but we won't be. **Where do you like to go for dinner in Dartford?** Probably the restaurant I go to most is [Efes](https://efesdartford.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news), a Turkish restaurant at the top end of the High Street. They do brilliant lunches, evening dinner as well, lovely restaurant. Always recommend if people come into Dartford to go to Efes. But there are lots of nice places to eat in Dartford. **What advice would you have for someone thinking about combatting homelessness today?** I think it's obviously about the availability of housing, but it's also about getting close to the individual who's homeless and working out what the issues were that led to that person being homeless. You will usually find there is childhood trauma, there is relationship breakups, there's addiction, there's failures in their working life that have led them to a place where they find they're unable to help themselves. I think understand the issues that that person is facing and try to address those at the same time as providing a roof over their head because both of those are equally important. --- ### Footnotes *This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.* *Join us next week when we speak to the comedian Mark Thomas ahead of his comedy gigs in Faversham, about his new show 40 in Stand-Up Years, being arrested multiple times and finding out your best friend is spying on you.* *We previously spoke with MPs* [*Kevin McKenna*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/my-job-is-to-try-and-bring-everyone-together/)*,* [*Tris Osborne*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/a-lot-of-the-stuff-i-do-is-below/)*, and, on our sister title,* [*Naushabah Khan*](https://www.localauthority.news/we-believe-we-can-turn-the-country/?ref=kentcurrent.news)*.* [“My job is to try and bring everyone together”What we asked Kevin MᶜKenna, MP for Sittingbourne and Sheppey![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Kent CurrentSteven Keevil![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/size/w1200/2025/12/image-1-1.png)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/my-job-is-to-try-and-bring-everyone-together/) [“A lot of the stuff I do is below the radar”We talk to Tristan Osborne, the recently elected MP for Chatham and Aylesford![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Kent CurrentSteven Keevil![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f52f016f5-cab5-4159-ba8f-3902dfd732da_3000x1571-jpeg-2.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/a-lot-of-the-stuff-i-do-is-below/) *If you are or were a member of parliament or represent someone who is, and want to organise an interview, email* [*Steven*](mailto:steven@kentcurrent.news)*.* ### Tunbridge Wells doubles down on the Lib Dems URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/tunbridge-wells-doubles-down-on-the-lib-dems/ Last updated: 2026-05-15T17:16:29.000Z **Tunbridge Wells has strengthened its Liberal Democrat council after a set of local election results that saw the party gain three seats while Reform failed to win anywhere in the borough. This edition looks at what the result says about Tunbridge Wells, the wider national picture, and the rest of a busy week in Kent politics...* ### Tunbridge Wells doubles down on the Lib Dems Tunbridge Wells has strengthened its Liberal Democrat council while shutting Reform out entirely, in one of the country’s quieter but more revealing election results. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/05/KC_TW.jpg) The Liberal Democrats gained three seats on Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, taking them to 25 councillors and tightening their control of a borough that was once among the safest Conservative territories in Kent. Reform stood in every ward up for election. It won none of them. That was not entirely unexpected. Tunbridge Wells had already resisted the Reform surge during last year’s county elections, when the party swept much of Kent but failed to break through in the borough. Even so, this was a striking result on a day when Reform had candidates on every ballot paper and had visibly pushed for gains in places like Sherwood. The result landed on a day when Reform was making major gains elsewhere in England, taking control of councils including Essex, Havering and Sunderland, while Labour and the Conservatives both suffered heavy losses. The wider picture was not only a Reform surge, though. The Greens also made gains in parts of the country, while the Lib Dems advanced in some of their own target areas. Tunbridge Wells aligned with some of that national picture and rejected another part of it. ****New composition of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council** Liberal Democrats: 25 (+3) Conservatives: 7 (-1) Labour: 3 (-2) Tunbridge Wells Alliance: 3 (-) Independents for Tunbridge Wells: 1 (-) Turnout: 45.3% Labour’s vote was squeezed hard. The Conservatives remain far from their old dominance. The Greens failed to break through. But unlike much of the country, Reform’s presence on the ballot paper did not translate into power. The count at Tunbridge Wells Assembly Hall was the only election count in Kent yesterday, with one third of the borough council up for election alongside two by-elections. There were 15 seats in play, although the Lib Dems only needed to win five of them to retain control. That point passed quickly enough. By the end of the day, the story was not whether they would keep the council, but how far ahead of everyone else they had moved. Their gains came in Rusthall and Speldhurst, where Ian Standing took the seat from Labour, and in Sherwood, where the party won both available seats from the Conservatives and Labour. Rusthall and Speldhurst was the first change of the day and one of the clearest examples of Labour’s difficulties. The party went from holding the seat to finishing fifth. Sherwood was the more symbolic result. Reform had put visible effort into the ward, where two seats were up for grabs, and Kent County Council leader [Linden Kemkaran](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-think-theres-a-lot-gone-wrong-with/) posted from the area in the closing stages of polling day, urging voters to back the party’s candidates. It did not work. Lib Dem candidates Courtney Souper and Andrew Wallace topped the poll with 847 and 787 votes, while Reform’s Chris Hoare and Oliver Kinkade finished nearly 300 votes behind. The Conservatives and Labour were also left trailing. Martin Brice, Lib Dem county councillor for Tunbridge Wells South and borough councillor for Culverden, said Reform’s failure to win any seats showed the party had misread the borough. “Today’s result is a complete wipeout for Reform,” he said. “They haven’t won anything at all. And they’ve put a lot of time and effort in.” “Linden Kemkaran, the leader of Kent County Council, turned up in Sherwood about an hour before dark on election day. That’s not how you win elections. They’re inept at winning elections, and they’re inept at running Kent County Council.” Asked why a late intervention was not enough, Brice said elections were not won in the final hours of polling day. “Almost half of votes cast in local elections are postal votes, and they are cast well before election day,” he said. “You don’t really win an election during the campaign. What you do during a campaign is you get your voters to turn out and actually vote for you. You win an election in the year before, showing that you are competent, sensible and doing what people want you to do.” Reform’s vote was not absent. The party came second in Paddock Wood, where Begnat Robichaud took 882 votes to the Lib Dems’ 1,195\. It also placed a distanct second in Park, St James’ and St John’s. But the pattern was consistent. Reform was present, sometimes substantial, and nowhere close enough to take power. In the more rural parts of the borough, the Conservatives held on. Alexander Ellison retained Cranbrook, Sissinghurst and Frittenden with 1,227 votes, comfortably ahead of Reform’s Matthew Beattie on 674\. In Rural Tunbridge Wells, Conservative David Knight held the seat with 1,474 votes, ahead of Lib Dem Susan Hindle Barone on 1,131 and Reform’s Dennis Deane on 987. The Tunbridge Wells Alliance also held Hawkhurst, Sandhurst and Benenden, with Ellen Neville taking 943 votes. Reform finished third there, behind both the Alliance and the Conservatives. The result leaves the Conservatives as the second-largest group on the council, but only just. They now have seven councillors, down from eight, and remain a long way behind the Lib Dems. Labour’s position is weaker still, mirroring the party’s wider difficulties across the country. The party began the election with five seats in Tunbridge Wells and ended it with three, after losing in Rusthall and Speldhurst and Sherwood. In several contests, its vote was squeezed heavily. In several wards, it scored less than 100 votes. Mike Martin, the Lib Dem MP for Tunbridge Wells, told the *Kent Current* that voters had rewarded the party’s councillors for their record since taking control of the borough council in 2024. “I actually think we’ve got a really good councillor team,” he said. “They got elected in 2024, they took control of the borough, they made lots of promises about sorting out the town centre, fighting for residents, fighting for infrastructure in places like Paddock Wood, and they’ve delivered on that.” “I’m really delighted for them. They’ve worked very hard, and I think they’ve been rewarded at the ballot box.” Asked why Reform had failed to win a seat in Tunbridge Wells despite the party’s wider strength across Kent, Martin said the borough had made a clear choice. “Tunbridge Wells has decisively rejected Reform,” he said. “The choice they had on the ballot paper, really, it was a fight between Lib Dems or Reform, competent council delivering for residents or chaos.” “Of course, we have Reform in Kent, running Kent County Council. They’re an absolute disaster. Residents in Tunbridge Wells looked at that choice and thought, it’s obvious, we’re going to vote for the Lib Dems.” The election also followed an early-voting experiment in the borough, with voters able to cast ballots at central voting hubs in three main towns the weekend before polling day. Turnout rose to 45.3%, significantly above the 37% recorded in 2024, but it is not yet clear how much of that increase was driven by the pilot. There were smaller stories in the count hall too. The Greens, who made progress in parts of the country, again failed to make a breakthrough in Tunbridge Wells. Their strongest showing came in Sherwood, where Eben Lenton took 445 votes, but the party was still well short of taking a seat. The English Democrats’ only candidate in the borough, Aaron Brand, took 62 votes in Southborough and Bidborough. The figure was greeted with audible laughter when the result was read out at the count. Brand later turned his fire on Reform, writing on X that the party in Tunbridge Wells was “a complete clown show” and claiming he had advised them last year on which seats to target. “It really is no wonder they didn’t win anything in the election yesterday,” he wrote. It was not, in the end, an especially dramatic election. Tunbridge Wells was Lib Dem-controlled before voters went to the polls. It remains Lib Dem-controlled now. But the result did clarify the borough’s direction. The Lib Dems have moved from control to dominance. The Conservatives are still alive in parts of the rural belt, but diminished. Labour had a miserable day. The Greens remain on the outside. Reform had candidates everywhere, momentum elsewhere, and a county council leader trying to push the party over the line in Sherwood. They were still left with nothing. ****Tunbridge Wells local election results in full** ****Cranbrook, Sissinghurst and Frittenden** ****🌳 Alexander Ellison (Con) - 1227 ELECTED** ➡️ Matthew Beattie (Ref) - 674 🔶 Vivian Widgery (LDem) - 384 🟢 Paul Froome (Grn) - 370 ****Conservative HOLD** ****Culverden** ****🔶 David Osborne (LDem) - 1402 ELECTED** 🌳 Alex Dunn (Con) - 685 ➡️ Tina Seymour (Ref) - 406 🟢 Mark McBennett (Grn) - 230 🌹 Aleksander Klimsanki (Lab) - 85 ⚪ Ahsan Ahmed (Ind) - 27 ****Liberal Democrat HOLD** ****Hawkhurst, Sandhurst and Benenden** ****🟣 Ellen Neville (All) - 943 ELECTED** 🌳 Rosanna Taylor-Smith (Con) - 894 ➡️ John Spence (Ref) - 767 🔶 Michael Applebe (LDem) - 373 ****Tunbridge Wells Alliance HOLD** ****Paddock Wood** ****🔶 Christopher Digby (LDem) - 1195 ELECTED** ➡️ Begnat Robichaud (Ref) - 882 🌳 Lynne Scott (Con) - 749 🟢 Trevor Bisdee (Grn) - 207 ****Liberal Democrat HOLD** ****Pantiles** ****🔶 Pamela Wilkinson (LDem) - 1246 ELECTED** 🌳 Daniel Dzenkowkski (Con) - 931 ➡️ Kristof Niewolkski (Ref) - 531 🟢 Joe Mattei (Grn) - 232 🌹 Dominic Nutland Frankel (Lab) - 100 ****Liberal Democrat HOLD** ****Park** ****🔶 Richard Brown (LDem) - 1515 ELECTED** ➡️ Michael Jerrom (Ref) - 523 🌳 David Scott (Con) - 497 🟣 Nick Pope (All) - 268 🟢 Alasdair Fraser (Grn) - 250 🌹 Stephen Burgess (Lab) - 91 ****Liberal Democrat HOLD** ****Pembury and Capel** ****⚪ David Hayward (IndTW) - 934 ELECTED** 🔶 Nick Slessor-Pavely (LDem) - 916 ➡️ Val Dachille (Ref) - 659 🌳 Andrew Hobart (Con) - 466 🟢 Sue Lovell (Grn) - 167 ****Independents for Tunbridge Wells HOLD** ****Rural Tunbridge Wells** ****🌳 David Knight (Con) - 1474 ELECTED** 🔶 Susan Hindle Barone (LDem) - 1131 ➡️ Dennis Deane (Ref) - 987 🟢 Helen Yeo (Grn) - 274 🌹 Anne Musker (Lab) - 73 ****Conservative HOLD** ****Rusthall and Speldhurst** ****🔶 Ian Standing (LDem) - 1192 ELECTED** 🌳 David Sumner (Con) - 717 ➡️ Rob Grindley (Ref) - 655 🟣 Kit Hawes-Webb (All) - 352 🌹 Greg Holder (Lab) - 317 🟢 Stephanie Gandon (Grn) - 264 ****Liberal Democrat GAIN from Labour** ****Sherwood** ****🔶 Courtney Souper (LDem) - 847 ELECTED** ****🔶 Andrew Wallace (LDem) - 787 ELECTED** ➡️ Chris Hoare (Ref) - 592 ➡️ Oliver Kinkade (Ref) - 549 🌳 Christian Atwood (Con) - 453 🟢 Eben Lenton (Grn) - 445 🌳 Ellis Wiggins (Con) - 384 🌹 Tina Kesterton (Lab) - 176 ****Liberal Democrat GAIN x2 from Conservative and Labour** ****Southborough and Bidborough** ****🔶 Kimberley Johnson (LDem) - 1614 ELECTED** ****🔶 Ash Shukla (LDem) - 1531 ELECTED** ➡️ Stephen Humphreys (Ref) - 719 ➡️ Robert Mayall (Ref) - 675 🌳 Richard Long (Con) - 652 🌳 Jack Bradley (Con) - 615 🟢 Maria Gavin (Grn) - 435 🟢 Iqbal Sidhu (Grn) - 282 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Aaron Brand (EDem) - 62 ****Liberal Democrat HOLD x2** ****St James'** ****🔶 Gavin Barrass (LDem) - 1478 ELECTED** ➡️ Philip Dwyer (Ref) - 365 🟢 Lucy Miller (Grn) - 316 🌳 George Barr (Con) - 271 🌹 Nick Maltby (Lab) - 130 ****Liberal Democrat HOLD** ****St John's** 🔶 Ukonu Obasi (LDem) - 1047 ➡️ Chris Pendleton (Ref) - 293 🟢 Lewis Jenkins (Grn) - 254 🌳 Alexander Lewis-Grey (Con) - 220 🌹 Lorna Blackmore (Lab) - 71 ****Liberal Democrat HOLD** ***Keeping track of Kent properly takes time, travel and a fair amount of patience.** *Kent Current only exists because some readers choose to support that work. An* [**annual subscription costs £1.15 a week*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) *and helps keep it going.* [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) ### The rest of the week's politics... - Alan Cecil, the Reform Kent county councillor who decided [he'd like to run for a seat in London](https://www.kentcurrent.news/alan-cecil-already-has-a-council-seat-hed-like-another/) as well, has been unsuccessful in his mission. Cecil came [sixth out of the ten candidates](https://greenwichwire.co.uk/2026/05/08/greenwich-local-council-election-live-results-blog-2026/?ref=kentcurrent.news) standing in Woolwich Common for Greenwich Borough Council, meaning he'll have to make do with only be a councillor in Kent for now. - Former Rochester and Strood MP Mark Reckless has failed in his efforts to return to the Welsh Senedd as a Reform candidate. Reckless was second on the list vote within the Caerdydd Penarth constituency, but despite his campaigning efforts in an [untaxed van](https://nation.cymru/news/reform-candidate-used-untaxed-van-to-campaign-in-cardiff/?ref=kentcurrent.news), he missed out in the [final count](https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/politics/caerdydd-penarth-election-results-full-33863253?ref=kentcurrent.news). - Canterbury City Council's Labour-Lib Dem coalition has [collapsed in dramatic fashion](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/coalition-collapses-over-leader-s-whatsapp-message-on-planni-339909/?ref=kentcurrent.news). The Lib Dems walked away from the arrangement after Cllr Alan Baldock, the Labour leader of the council, asked his coalition allies not to vote against important planning applications via WhatsApp. - The Reform administration at Kent County Council voted to cut the time opposition councillors are allowed to scrutinise decisions during full council meetings, while also introducing prayers and a singalong of the national anthem at those meetings. ## ****Kent, properly reported** ****Independent journalism on the county’s biggest stories, without the clickbait or clutter** Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Footnotes ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### Water restrictions enter second week at Darent Valley Hospital URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/water-restrictions-enter-second-week-at-darent-valley-hospital/ Last updated: 2026-05-11T12:41:38.000Z **Water restrictions are ongoing at Darent Valley Hospital, where part of the site has remained unable to use tap water normally for more than a week after a supply issue that could have compromised water quality. We also cover this week’s Tunbridge Wells elections, Kent’s continuing water company problems, council meetings, planning applications, and the latest mix of politics, public services and local stories from across the county.* ### Water restrictions enter second week at Darent Valley Hospital A major Kent hospital is restricting tap water use in part of its site more than a week after a supply issue that could have compromised water quality. Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford says the problem has been affecting the west block since last Tuesday. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/05/diIv0nbmTaaC5it9vAl4-1.jpg) Darent Valley Hospital. The hospital says the affected water supply was immediately isolated after the issue was identified, and repairs have now been completed, but the water cannot be returned to normal use until flushing and laboratory testing have been carried out and the supply has been confirmed as safe. Results from that testing are not expected until the end of this week at the earliest, meaning restrictions in parts of the hospital are set to continue into a second week. This is, to put it mildly, not where you want a water safety problem to be dragging into a second week. The trust has apologised to patients, visitors and staff for the disruption, saying it recognises the “inconvenience” being caused while work continues to resolve the issue safely. Until the restrictions are lifted, some areas of the hospital will remain unable to use tap water as normal. The hospital says those areas are clearly signposted. Patients, visitors, and staff in affected areas have been told not to drink tap water, to use bottled water and designated handwashing facilities, and to follow staff guidance on which facilities are safe to use. Toilets remain operational across the hospital. The trust says alternative arrangements are in place to provide safe drinking water and independent handwashing facilities where needed. But the restrictions have prompted concern from patients and visitors, with several people describing the impact in public Facebook posts and local community groups. One former patient, who said she had recently spent 12 days on Linden Ward, described the situation as “heartbreaking,” saying patients and staff were struggling with the disruption. Others have described taps being out of use, people relying on wipes or hand sanitiser, and families trying to manage basic washing without normal access to water. One person who said they had attended the hospital for a transfusion on Saturday wrote that they could not find a toilet with a working sink tap and had to use hand sanitiser instead. They questioned why the disruption had continued for several days and asked how the hospital’s business continuity arrangements were being managed. Another person, who said they had been at the hospital with their daughter from Tuesday night until Thursday, said they had been told the issue was related to a leak and described trying to wash bottles with bottled water. The trust says the rest of the hospital is unaffected, including surgical services, intensive care, radiology, most outpatient areas, the main entrance, and catering and cleaning services. The hospital remains open. In an update a key question open, the hospital said: “When an issue occurred with the hospital’s water supply that could compromise water quality, the west block water supply was immediately isolated, and repairs were undertaken.” “While the repair work has now been completed, the water supply cannot return to normal use until all required safety assurance processes have been completed and the supply has been confirmed as safe.” The affected system is now undergoing pipework flushing and detailed laboratory testing to make sure the water is safe for drinking and washing. The hospital says it is working with specialist partners responsible for the hospital’s infrastructure to complete the process as quickly as possible, but that safety assurance work “takes time and must be fully concluded before restrictions can be lifted.” The trust has not publicly confirmed the precise cause of the issue. ITV Meridian [reported](https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2026-05-04/hospital-without-drinking-water-for-sixth-day-in-a-row?ref=kentcurrent.news) on Monday that an internal fault was believed to be to blame for the problem affecting the west block. The hospital’s own statement does not say there has been confirmed contamination, only that the original issue could have compromised water quality. The trust’s careful wording leaves a key question open, while the length of the disruption is now becoming difficult to ignore. By the time test results are expected at the end of this week, parts of Darent Valley Hospital will have been under tap water restrictions for at least 11 days. The trust says the situation is being managed under its incident response arrangements, with ongoing review to ensure patient care can continue safely. “We understand the frustration and inconvenience this is causing. Please be assured that we are treating this with the utmost seriousness and will return the affected areas to normal use once all required assurance checks have been completed and the water supply is confirmed as safe.” Until those tests come back, part of Darent Valley Hospital remains stuck in an uncomfortable limbo of being open, operational, but still unable to use its taps as normal. ### The big read [The i has visited Margate](https://inews.co.uk/news/how-labour-losing-sea-wall-coastal-towns-4377324?ref=kentcurrent.news) in the wake of the Green Party's victory over Reform, and perhaps more importantly, Labour in Cliftonville last month. They find voters who no longer trust Labour, don't really want Reform, and just seem to be looking for change. [This coastal town shows how Labour is losing its grip to the Greens and ReformIn Margate, Kent, Labour has been sent an early warning of the difficulties it faces in its ‘Sea Wall’ of coastal towns and cities in next week’s local elections![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/192x192.png)The i PaperVicky Spratt![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/SEI_295161737.jpg)](https://inews.co.uk/news/how-labour-losing-sea-wall-coastal-towns-4377324?ref=kentcurrent.news) ### Council matters **Elections:** **Tunbridge Wells:** Voters in [13 wards](https://whocanivotefor.co.uk/elections/local.tunbridge-wells.2026-05-07/tunbridge-wells-local-election/?ref=kentcurrent.news) will elect new councillors this week, as one third of the borough is up for election at the Liberal Democrat controlled council. **Meetings this week:** - **Kent:** [Growth, Environment & Transport Cabinet Committee](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=831&MId=9746&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets today (Tuesday) to discuss the Tilbury-Gravesend ferry, the council's position on solar generation, raising the cost of the Kent Travel Saver, and the Swanscombe Hole. - **Medway:** [Cabinet](https://democracy.medway.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=115&MId=6452&ref=localauthority.news) meets tonight (Tuesday) to discuss the Article 4 Direction against HMOs, and procurement for the Innovation Park Medway project and residential care for older people. - **Gravesham:** [Planning Committee](https://democracy.gravesham.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=106&MId=9595&ref=kentcurrent.news) will decide on 100 new homes in Meopham, 40 new homes in Higham, and 29 new homes in Gravesend tonight (Tuesday). - **Sevenoaks:** [Scrutiny Committee](https://cds.sevenoaks.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=297&MId=3738&J=1&ref=kentcurrent.news) will hold an extraordinary meeting tonight (Tuesday) to discuss the transfer of community assets from the council. - **Kent:** [Selection and Member Services Committee](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=143&MId=9662&ref=kentcurrent.news) will meet on Friday to discuss election spending returns and changes to KCC's constitution. **New planning applications:** - **Canterbury:** Conversion of a former oast house next to Canterbury Castle into a [community centre](https://pa.canterbury.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=TDYCJLEALXD00&ref=kentcurrent.news). - **Gravesham:** Change of use of an ambulance station in Northfleet into a [nursery](https://plan.gravesham.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=TBSSX9HPGNR00&ref=kentcurrent.news). - **Swale:** [Expansion of Cave Hotel and Golf Resort](https://pa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=TCR6R4TYMEG00&ref=kentcurrent.news), including 36 new rooms, spa, holiday lodges, padel courts, and 24 self-build homes. - **Swale:** Conversion of the George Inn in Teynham into [9 homes](https://pa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=TDXVU9TYFMJ00&ref=kentcurrent.news). ### In brief 🧑‍⚖️ Southern Water has [pleaded guilty](https://environmentjournal.online/waste-recycling/southern-water-pleads-guilty-to-polluting-kent-coastline/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to polluting the north Kent coastline between 2019 and 2021. 💩 Sewage has been discovered [spilling](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/probe-launched-after-illegal-connection-sees-sewage-leak-i-339855/?ref=kentcurrent.news) into the River Len in Maidstone. 🚰 South East Water has been [fined £76,000](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/tonbridge/news/water-firm-loses-appeal-against-76k-fine-for-illegally-extr-339599/?ref=kentcurrent.news) for illegally extracting millions of litres of water from private land near Tonbridge. 👨‍💼 MPs have declared that they have [no confidence in South East Water's leadership](https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/52/environment-food-and-rural-affairs-committee/news/213397/mps-have-no-confidence-in-south-east-waters-leadership-to-turn-failing-company-around/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to turn the company around. 💉 Hundreds of vials of clinical waste are among thousands of tonnes of waste [illegally dumped](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5yekykrx25o?ref=kentcurrent.news) over cliffs on the Isle of Sheppey. 🗳️ Councillors in Maidstone have agreed to set up a [new town council](https://news.maidstone.gov.uk/home/news/26/april/towncouncil?ref=kentcurrent.news). 📦 Independent KCC councillor for Birchington Rural, Amelia Randall, has been [forced to move to Folkestone](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2026/05/05/county-councillor-for-birchington-says-case-work-will-continue-despite-move-to-folkestone-due-to-section-21-eviction/?ref=kentcurrent.news) after receiving an eviction notice. 🚧 Kent County Council have taken out a [new £50m per year highways contract](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/new-50m-a-year-highways-contract-with-ringway-starts-in-kent?ref=kentcurrent.news) running for 21 years despite the fact that the authority won't exist in two years. 🚁 Fuel costs for the Kent Surrey Sussex Air Ambulance have [increased by £25,000 per month](https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2026-05-02/air-ambulance-charity-says-fuel-costs-have-risen-by-63?ref=kentcurrent.news) since the start of the conflict in the Middle East. 🗣️ Searchlight have been examining how some of the worst racists in Kent are [lining up behind Restore](https://searchlightmagazine.com/2026/04/kents-racist-dregs-line-up-behind-restore-britain/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🐍 Therapy reptiles are being [trialled on mental health wards](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/therapy-reptiles-being-trialled-on-kent-hospital-wards-to-im-339862/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Maidstone for anyone who has ever wanted to feel better by being introduced to a snake. 🧖 Walmer Town Council [aren't happy about a new sauna](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/deal/news/it-s-utterly-baffling-council-opposes-sauna-plans-amid-ov-339775/?ref=kentcurrent.news), despite overwhelming public support. 🌳 If you've ever wanted to own a country park, Betteshanger near Deal is [up for sale](https://invest.jll.com/uk/en/listings/land/betteshanger-country-park?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🐬 Rescuers are keeping an eye on a [dolphin trapped](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm2plq0yy16o?ref=kentcurrent.news) in a river lock in Allington. 🏠 Dover District Council are very upset that someone in Deal [painted their house blue](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/deal/news/why-am-i-being-picked-on-council-tells-resident-to-repain-339687/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🏏 Kent Cricket have discussed its [new social media policy](https://www.kentcricket.co.uk/news/simon-cook-discusses-the-clubs-interim-social-media-welfare-policy/?ref=kentcurrent.news) of turning off comments on posts to protect mental health. 📜 The history of [Whitstable's Squeeze Gut Alley](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0q2zek4kleo?ref=kentcurrent.news). 😬 Greggs has [not been particularly well received](https://bsky.app/profile/emmahaslett.bsky.social/post/3mkk5us6tw225?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Whitstable. 🍲 The Guardian [reviews Willy's](https://www.theguardian.com/food/2026/may/03/willys-margate-kent-restaurant-review-grace-dent?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Margate. 🎉 A massive congratulations to the excellent Folkestone Dispatch, which is [celebrating its first year of publication](https://folkestonedispatch.substack.com/p/celebrating-one-year-of-the-dispatch). ***Kent is large, messy and often faintly absurd.** *The Kent Current is backed by readers, which means we can report on it properly. An* [**annual subscription costs £1.15 a week*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) *and helps make that possible.* [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) ### Property of the week This week’s property is a Grade II listed semi-detached oast just outside Tenterden, with the sort of far-reaching countryside views that do most of the selling for you. It is the main part of the original oast, converted in 1986, with four bedrooms over three floors, a large sitting room with a brick fireplace and wood burner, a spacious dining room, and a kitchen with a stable door out to the garden. Outside is where it really leans in, with a quarter of an acre of established gardens, a vegetable plot and greenhouse, shed and log store, plus a detached double garage and off-road parking, all set back behind a gated shared driveway. It is also close enough to the high street that you can tell yourself you will walk in regularly, rather than doing the usual slow lap looking for somewhere to park. [Check out this 4 bedroom semi-detached house for sale on Rightmove4 bedroom semi-detached house for sale in Rolvenden Road, Tenterden, Kent, TN30 for £625,000\. Marketed by Hobbs Parker Estate Agents, Tenterden![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Rightmove.co.uk![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/bc9da4ae31ea12754c072726cb84d011.jpeg)](https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/88019145?ref=kentcurrent.news#/) ### Events this week 🎸 Tue 5 May - [**The Pictish Trail**](https://www.ramsgatemusichall.com/tc-events/pictish-trail/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Electro-acoustic psych-pop from Scotland. Ramsgate Music Hall. Tickets £22.50. 🎤 Tue 5 May - [**Andy Zaltzman: The Zaltgeist**](https://www.parkwoodtheatres.co.uk/hazlitt-theatre/whats-on/andy-zaltzman---the-zaltgeist?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Host of The Bugle podcast assesses the state of the world. Hazlitt Theatre, Maidstone. Tickets £22.50. 📖 Wed 6 May - [**Robin Ince: Normally Weird & Let the Quiet Ones Rise**](https://roundthebendscomedyclub.co.uk/whatson.php?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Comedian, author and broadcaster tours his latest books. Hampton Bay Park, Herne Bay. Tickets £11. 🎸 Fri 8 May - [**John Bramwell**](https://www.twforum.co.uk/events/2026-05-08-john-bramwell-i-am-kloot-the-forum?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Former singer-songwriter of I Am Kloot. Forum, Tunbridge Wells. Tickets £25. 🎸 Sat 9 May - [**Deerhoof** ](https://www.ramsgatemusichall.com/tc-events/deerhoof/?ref=kentcurrent.news)// Legendary US/Japanese rock band. Ramsgate Music Hall. Tickets £27.50. 🎸 Sun 10 May - [**Gwenno**](https://www.ramsgatemusichall.com/tc-events/gwenno/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Multi-lingual ex-Pipette tours new album. Ramsgate Music Hall. Tickets £22.50\. *Also at* [*Forum*](https://www.twforum.co.uk/events/2026-05-12-gwenno-the-forum?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, Tunbridge Wells on 12 May.* ## ****Kent, properly reported** ****Independent journalism on the county’s biggest stories, without the clickbait or clutter** Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### **Footnotes** ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### “What have we done? It's bonkers” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/what-have-we-done-its-bonkers/ Last updated: 2026-05-06T13:25:54.000Z *Gavin Esler is the host of* [*This Is Not A Drill*](https://www.podmasters.co.uk/tinad?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, a podcast about national security, and has recently served two terms as Chancellor of the University of Kent. He currently lives on the Kent coast, and Steven met him via Zoom to talk about working with Mark Kermode, the conflict in Iran and his advice for somebody thinking about becoming a political journalist.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/05/Esler-credit-Jeff-Overs-1.jpg) Gavin Esler. Photo: Jeff Overs. **What is your official occupation?** No idea. I haven't got any official occupation. I'm a writer and broadcaster, and I write novels and non-fiction books. I present a podcast and make documentaries. **Is there one that, from a time or income perspective, is the biggest percentage?** Not really, no. Keep it very varied. **How did you become a podcaster?** I was asked to do it. That was it. Essentially, lots of people in different spheres of podcasting activity have asked me to do things, and I've done it. Currently, I'm working with [Podmasters](https://www.podmasters.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news), but I did a couple of six-part series for another company, called [The Big Steal](https://freshair.audio/podcast/the-big-steal/?ref=kentcurrent.news), which is about Putin, and how Putin is essentially the world's biggest criminal. And we won a Lovie Award, which is a very prestigious podcasting award for those series. What it was about was how Putin has simply cornered so much money from so many people, and he's probably the world's richest man rather than Elon Musk, and what he did with the money. We got some sponsorship for that. Although I have to say, once Putin decided to invade Ukraine, we didn't get sponsorship anymore because everybody knew how bad he was. It was only before he did that that we got people to actually be interested in knowing how bad Putin is. Now everybody knows. **What is This Is Not A Drill?** [This Is Not A Drill](https://www.podmasters.co.uk/tinad?ref=kentcurrent.news) started about two years ago as a podcast about national security issues. Everything from NATO to the prospect that China will ever invade Taiwan, or the United States military interests in NATO and so on. But of course, simply since the Ukraine war, but more recently since what's been happening in the Middle East, it's just gone crazy because people are very interested. Well, they're interested in the prospect that Iran could develop a nuclear weapon, that Saudi Arabia would have ambitions to do the same thing if it came to that and that the Americans have embarked on a somewhat risky mission to try to stop the Iranians from doing what they think they're up to. It's really, really taken off because national security issues, particularly in the Trump era, are on everybody's mind. Even if you think you can hide under the bed covers, you can't. **What would be your explanation for why there is currently a conflict with Iran, and whether the UK should be involved in it?** Well, we're involved in it whether we like it or not. Everybody's involved in it because it affects the entire world. There's a conflict with Iran because Iran is a very complicated country, and I'm not sure everybody in the Trump administration just understands how complicated it is. It's a very diverse country. It was explained to me by someone near the top of the Iranian regime a few years ago, who said “You've got to realise that what we have done since 1979 and the Iranian revolution when we got rid of the Shah, we got rid of effectively our monarch, we substituted for that, it's sometimes called a Mosaic System of lots of different centres of power.” I said, “What do you mean?” They said, “We've got the army, we've got the Revolutionary Guards, we've got the Basij, we've got the police, we've got the Air Force, we've got the Supreme Leader, we've got the President, we've got the parliament.” And he went on and on and on about all these different bits. I said, “Why did you do that?” He said, “Because we realised, having overthrown the Shah, if ever there was one leader above all, even though they call him the Supreme Leader, actually it's a very devolved system, and you can't just simply knock off the head of state or head of government to neutralise us.” I said, “Where did you get that from?” And he said, “Well, we learned it because many of us were students in the United States and they have a very devolved system.” It's kind of ironic that we're currently in a war, that some sections of the United States government thinks that if you knock off the Supreme Leader, you've solved your Iran problem. Well, clearly you haven't. > At the moment, the real world is so interesting that I'm not sure if fiction can keep up with it **You mentioned you've written fiction and nonfiction. Do you have a preference?** No, that's why I write both. It's quite interesting. Fiction is actually quite gendered. Books of fiction, modern fiction, are bought by women, and men tend to write thrillers and genre fiction. It's not true of everybody, of course. There are men who read all kinds of things, and there are women who are more interested in nonfiction. But that is the way the book industry works. At the moment, the real world is so interesting that I'm not sure if fiction can keep up with it. **Your last non-fiction book was about the state of Britain?** The most recent non-fiction book I've written is called [Britain is Better Than This](https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/britain-is-better-than-this-9781804547731/?ref=kentcurrent.news), and it's based simply on an observation that there are more Nobel Prize winners associated with Cambridge University than any country in the world except the United States. So, we're not stupid. Why do we keep doing stupid things? And by stupid things, I mean, we’re so desperate to have some kind of functioning government that does something that might cheer us all up that we thrash around, and we don't really know what we're doing. Just to give you one example, in 2014, the people of Scotland voted not to be independent. One of the main reasons, because I was there at the time, one of the main reasons they voted not to be independent was they were told that if you break up the United Kingdom, you will not be in the European Union, which was a perfectly reasonable thing to say, because people were worried that parts of Spain might secede and if they seceded, they should not be a part of the European Union. But then two years later, in 2016, the people of Scotland were taken out of the European Union against their will by votes that they didn't cast because they voted to stay in the European Union. Now, this just seems to me to be a completely idiotic system. In Kent, for example, we have 40% of people in Kent don't vote who could vote, but don't vote. I understand why. I don't think they're apathetic. The ones I know are angry. They're not apathetic at all. But all of those 40%, once you take that away, and a third essentially voted for Labour and Labour won by a landslide, but actually that only amounts to one in five of those who could have voted, so we just don't vote. What kind of system have we got? I'm not making an argument for any one party, but if you're a Green voter, you're not going to get in, but you might in the future. If you were a Reform voter or whatever the previous incarnation was, you weren't going to get in because we don't have a proportional representation system, but we do in Wales and Scotland. And we do in Northern Ireland. What is it about England that doesn't quite get it? There is no other country in Europe, except Belarus, that has the same system as we've got. Strikes me as completely daft. I don't aspire to be Belarus. I'm not saying any system is perfect, but at least if you feel, if I go to the polls, there's a chance the person I like is possibly going to get represented in parliament, then you go to the polls. If you think there's no point in voting because they, whoever they are that you don't like, always win, you don't vote. It's just a really daft system. We are so hidebound by it that we get these very strange governments. Again, I'm not talking about politics, but the simple arithmetic is we have got a massive Labour majority based on a third of the vote. That's a third of those who did vote, but it's still one in five of those who could have voted. So, four out of five people who could have voted didn't vote for the current government. Again, it's not an argument about the current government. It's an argument about our stupid politics. > Why do we have a system dating back to the time of putting small boys up chimneys to clean them? **We have that again at a regional level, where we've now got Reform running Kent County Council, but on 30% of the vote.** Yeah, 30% of those who did vote, but most of us didn't vote in that. I think even the turnout rate, I think, for the local government elections was about 40%. If they got a third of that, do the maths. That's 13 to 14% of the potential voters gave us a council who's spending our money. Now, again, it's not anti-Reform or pro-Reform, but it's stupid. I wrote a book about why we do stupid things when we're quite sensible as people. One of the reasons is that we, I love many of our British traditions, but just because we've always done something doesn't mean to say we should always do it. We used to put small boys up chimneys to clean them. We don't do that anymore. Why do we have a system dating back to the time of putting small boys up chimneys to clean them? It's stupid. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Alan Cecil already has a council seat. He’d like another. URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/alan-cecil-already-has-a-council-seat-hed-like-another/ Last updated: 2026-05-08T22:38:42.000Z **A Reform county councillor elected to represent Wilmington last year is now standing for a second council seat in Greenwich, raising questions about how he would balance two roles in different authorities. We also look at the rising cost of KCC’s Oracle Cloud programme and the uncertain future of the Gravesend to Tilbury ferry.* ### Alan Cecil already has a council seat. He’d like another. A Reform councillor elected to represent part of Kent last year is now standing for a second council seat in London. Alan Cecil was elected to Kent County Council last May during the great Reform tsunami, as the councillor for Wilmington, the village south of Dartford. He is now also standing for Greenwich Council in Woolwich Common, where local elections take place next week. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/04/KC_Double.jpg) Cllr Alan Cecil, KCC councillor Wilmington (left) and Alan Cecil, Greenwich candidate for Woolwich Common (right). If elected, Cecil could find himself representing Wilmington at County Hall while also sitting on Greenwich Council, representing a ward around nine miles away on the other side of the London border. Which is certainly one way to keep busy. Cecil’s home address on Greenwich Council’s statement of persons nominated is listed as being in the borough of Dartford. He is also listed by Reform as the chair of its Greenwich branch. That means Cecil is not merely a Kent councillor who has ended up on a Greenwich ballot paper. He is already running Reform’s Greenwich operation while serving as a county councillor in Kent. His political footprint is split in an unusual way. On one side, he is Cllr Alan Cecil of Wilmington, posting about local Kent issues on his [Facebook page](https://www.facebook.com/ReformWilmington) and his work at County Hall. On the other, he is chair of Reform Greenwich, standing for a council seat in Woolwich Common and promoting party material from an address in London SE2. That address is also the office of Blue Flame Gas Services Ltd, of which Cecil is a director. The company itself is registered in West Malling. Candidates for local council elections do not necessarily have to live in the authority area where they are standing. They can also qualify if they work there, own or rent property there, or are registered to vote there. Greenwich Council confirmed to the *Kent Current* that all candidates are required to state the qualification or qualifications they meet in order to stand for election in the borough. However, the council said the Returning Officer does not publish which qualification a candidate has used, and that no objection was made to Cecil’s nomination. So this is not a story about whether Cecil has been validly nominated. Greenwich Council has accepted his nomination, so he is clearly legally allowed to stand. The question is simpler and more awkward. Should a councillor elected to represent part of Kent less than a year ago now be seeking a second council seat in London? Cecil was elected to KCC in May last year, when he won the Wilmington division. His role at County Hall is not just ceremonial. He sits on the Governance and Audit Committee and the Pension Fund Committee, where he is vice-chair. Kent County Council is not exactly short of work at the moment. The authority is facing severe financial pressure, ongoing demand for social care, the future of special educational needs provision, local government reorganisation, and significant project overspends *(see below)*. Wilmington voters elected Cecil to represent them through all of that. Now, less than a year later, voters in Woolwich Common are being asked to elect him to Greenwich Council too. The Local Democracy Reporting Service in Greenwich first [reported concerns](https://greenwichwire.co.uk/2026/04/28/reform-uk-candidate-kent-greenwich-woolwich-arsenal/?ref=kentcurrent.news) over Cecil’s candidacy this week. It reported that Siama Qadar, Reform’s candidate in Eltham Page & Progress, said that although Cecil lived in Dartford, he was born and raised in Woolwich and “knows the area well.” [Reform UK candidate criticised for already being a councillor in Kent - The Greenwich WireA Reform UK candidate in next week’s Greenwich Council elections has been criticised for standing in Woolwich when he is already a councillor in Kent.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/greenwich_wire_logo1123.png)The Greenwich WireCameron Blackshaw, Local Democracy Reporter![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/alan_cecil_wilmington_1600.jpg)](https://greenwichwire.co.uk/2026/04/28/reform-uk-candidate-kent-greenwich-woolwich-arsenal/?ref=kentcurrent.news) Greenwich Council’s Labour leader, Anthony Okereke, who is standing for re-election in Woolwich Common, questioned whether Cecil could handle the workload of two councils. “If you want to serve a ward, you must be there,” he told the LDRS. “You must be on the ground.” He added, “You can’t be a councillor if you’re serving two different areas. It just doesn’t work that way.” The line is obviously politically useful for Labour. There is an election happening. But it is also the obvious question here. Cecil may have strong personal, political, or business links to Greenwich. He may argue that his existing role at Kent would not prevent him from serving another authority. But that is a case he has not made to Kent voters. Local councillors are supposed to be rooted, practical, and available. County councillors cover large areas and complicated services. Borough councillors face their own ward workloads. Trying to do both in two different authorities would be a choice. Cecil’s own public-facing councillor page remains focused on Wilmington. Posts on his 'Cllr Alan Cecil' Facebook page discuss his work representing the area at Kent County Council. As of publication, the page did not appear to mention his candidacy in Woolwich Common or his role as chair of Reform Greenwich. The *Kent Current* asked Cecil on what basis he had qualified to stand in Woolwich Common, whether that qualification was connected to Blue Flame Gas Services Ltd having an office in the Greenwich borough, and whether he would continue serving as Kent county councillor for Wilmington if elected to Greenwich. We also asked how he would balance representing residents in Wilmington with representing residents in Woolwich Common, and whether he believed Wilmington residents were aware when electing him last year that he might seek election to another council less than a year later. He did not respond to our questions. We also approached Reform’s national press office for comment. No response was forthcoming. For now, a councillor elected to represent Wilmington at Kent County Council is trying to win a second council seat in London. For Kent voters, the question is not whether Cecil is legally able to stand in another area. The question is whether Wilmington knew it was electing a councillor with unfinished business elsewhere. ***Kent is large, messy and often faintly absurd.** *The Kent Current is backed by readers, which means we can report on it properly. An* [**annual subscription costs £1.15 a week*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) *and helps make that possible.* [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) ### How KCC’s new finance system became a £30m problem Kent County Council’s attempt to replace the computer systems it uses to pay bills, run purchasing and manage its back-office operations has already cost £29.2m, with the project’s approved funding rising from an initial £13m to £29.8m and the council now saying the current forecast stands at £30.4m. Oracle Cloud is KCC’s replacement system for finance and purchasing, with HR systems part of a second phase. The first phase has already gone live, including the purchase order system, and councillors were told earlier this year that the switch had caused delays and reporting problems in accounts payable, pushing one invoice-processing measure into the red. This is not some obscure IT sideline. It sits at the heart of how the council pays suppliers and runs key internal systems. It is also proving a lot more expensive than first approved. Responding to a Freedom of Information request from the *Kent Current*, Kent County Council told us that the original approved budget in February 2022 was £13m, covering the Extended Discovery phase, with no total project cost included at that stage. By November 2024, that had risen to £25.4m. A year later, in November 2025, the funding envelope was pushed up again to £29.8m. Spending to date is now £29.2m. The council would not provide the current forecast final outturn under FOI, saying it was intended for future publication and was under review with its “strategic partners,” and that disclosure would be prejudicial to ongoing commercial discussions. But when approached separately for comment, the council did then put a number on it. A spokesperson told the *Kent Current* that the “current financial forecast” for the Oracle Cloud upgrade is £30.4m, adding that “significant work is underway to avoid having to use the £4.9 million set out in the risk register” and that KCC is reviewing the remaining programme with its implementation partner to make sure the timeline and budget are “accurate and robust.” That £4.9m figure comes from KCC’s own [2026-27 budget risk register](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/mgConvert2PDF.aspx?ID=134620&ref=kentcurrent.news). Under the heading “Oracle Cloud Programme - Cost and Timescale Overruns,” the document says the programme is facing “cost pressures and potential timescale overruns.” It says current forecasts indicate an overspend of £4.9m, warns that figure could rise if the timetable slips further, and says around £2.5m of it is expected in 2026-27\. The same entry also says that current overspends are being met from reserves and that underspends within IT base budgets are being carried forward. It then adds that “additional costs not reported to the Oracle Cloud Programme Board” are expected to be funded from the IT reserve and have therefore not been included in the medium-term financial plan for 2026-27. Asked about those costs through FOI, KCC did not provide a figure. Instead, it said the value “quoted above” is being funded by the ICT Reserve and flexible capital receipts. By January, councillors were already raising concerns about how much this was costing and whether they were seeing the full picture. At KCC’s Governance and Audit Committee on 28 January, Conservative Group leader [Harry Rayner](https://www.kentcurrent.news/nobody-needs-14-councils/) said he was concerned about the “potential increased costs” of Oracle Cloud and whether any likely budget overrun had really been drawn to the committee’s attention. He also raised concerns about the link between delay and rising cost. The substantive discussion then moved into an exempt session. The same meeting heard that the internal audit plan had been revised to include four new Oracle Cloud programme audits, with Oracle-related assurance work again dealt with in the exempt part of the report. Earlier that month, councillors on the Policy and Resources Committee had already been discussing the fallout from the rollout. Officers said a move to Oracle Cloud in August had caused delays and reporting issues in invoice processing. They also acknowledged that lessons would need to be learned from phase one. This is not a full-blown council IT meltdown. But there is now a pretty clear trail showing the programme has become far more expensive than originally approved. This all leaves some awkward questions for County Hall. If the current forecast is £30.4m, why was that figure refused under FOI? If additional Oracle costs were not reported to the Programme Board, who did know about them, and when? And if almost the entire approved funding envelope has already been spent, how settled is the final bill really? For a council under heavy financial pressure, spending more than £30m on a back-office system is not some technical sideshow. It is a major public spending story, and one KCC has so far explained only in fragments. ### Ferry everyone wants back still has no one willing to pay for it The Gravesend to Tilbury ferry is not dead. It is just not especially alive either. Two years after the cross-river service stopped running, the current position is familiar enough. Lots of people would like it to come back, nobody has yet worked out how to pay for it, and the most likely answer involves several public bodies standing in a circle waiting to see who blinks first. The ferry ceased operating in March 2024 after Thurrock Council withdrew its funding. Until then, the service had been supported jointly by Thurrock and Kent County Council, with KCC holding and managing the contract. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/04/Tilbury_Ferry-1.jpg) The former Gravesend-Tilbury ferry. When Thurrock pulled out, KCC kept the service running on its own for a short period to avoid an abrupt stop, but the ferry ceased once that temporary arrangement expired. KCC’s [latest report](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/documents/s136932/Tilbury%20-Gravesend%20Ferry%20-%20Final%20Report.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news), going to its Growth, Environment and Transport Cabinet Committee next week, is fairly blunt about where it stands now. The ferry is a non-statutory service, there is no KCC budget set aside for it, and the county council does not believe it can be expected to fund or manage it alone. The numbers explain some of that reluctance. In its final full year, the ferry carried around 113,000 passengers. Costs were forecast at about £440,000, with fares bringing in around £230,000, leaving a subsidy requirement of roughly £210,000. That was before the service stopped, before inflation continued doing what inflation does, and before any new operator had to look at vessels, staffing, maintenance, fuel, and the joyful modern ritual of trying to make transport add up on a spreadsheet. A separate Thurrock Council [report](https://democracy.thurrock.gov.uk/documents/s52193/Tilbury%20Ferry%20Update%20Report.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) gives a more detailed, and arguably more awkward, picture. A feasibility study found that fares on the old service would have needed to rise by 90% to make it financially sustainable. It also suggested a revived ferry would likely need subsidy for several years, with a future service potentially requiring support of £500,000 to £600,000 a year for up to a decade. That is the bit that makes the whole thing difficult. Everyone can agree that a ferry linking Gravesend and Tilbury is useful. It gives people a direct crossing between Kent and Essex without sending them to Dartford. It connects communities, jobs, education, shopping, and onward transport links. It is also one of those services that feels like it should exist because, for centuries, it did. But useful is not the same as commercially viable. The old Thames Estuary Growth Board had been leading attempts to find a route back, bringing together Kent, Thurrock, Gravesham, the Port of London Authority, Port of Tilbury, operators, and National Highways. That board has now been disbanded, which is rarely the point in a process where one expects things to get more streamlined. The work has now passed to the Port of London Authority, which is looking at whether a future service could be made to work. Early ideas include running seven days a week, operating every 15 minutes at peak times, and using a higher-capacity vessel than the old ferry. That sounds like a better ferry. It also sounds like a more expensive ferry. Thurrock’s report does identify some possible funding routes. The council has received more than £40m as part Local Transport Consolidated Funding Settlement covering the next few years, and says some of that money could potentially be used to support ferry services from 2027/28 onwards. There may also be chances to bid for Lower Thames Crossing-related community or active travel funds. But none of that is a plan yet. Ministers have already rejected calls to use toll revenues from the Lower Thames Crossing or the Dartford Crossing to fund the ferry, saying that money is needed to offset the cost of building the new tunnel. The government has also told local authorities that ferry services are generally private sector enterprises, which is a neat way of saying good luck with that. So the current position is th the ferry could still return, but almost certainly not as a simple commercial operation. It would likely need a long-term subsidy, shared between multiple organisations, with someone willing to take political responsibility for spending public money on it. KCC’s stance is that it will stay involved in discussions, but not carry the service alone. Thurrock appears more open to exploring funding routes, but has not committed to paying for anything. The Port of London Authority is now trying to model what a service might look like and what it might cost. For passengers who used to rely on the ferry, that all adds up to a deeply bureaucratic version of maybe. ## ****Kent, properly reported** ****Independent journalism on the county’s biggest stories, without the clickbait or clutter** Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Footnotes ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### Whitstable’s sewers have entered their AI era URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/whitstables-sewers-have-entered-their-ai-era/ Last updated: 2026-05-05T12:54:41.000Z **This week’s Kent Current leads with Southern Water’s AI-controlled sewer system in Whitstable, where smart gates are being used to reduce storm overflows while major upgrades continue at Swalecliffe. There's also council meetings across Kent, Medway’s £46m housing plan, fire station concerns, and the latest mix of infrastructure, planning, culture and local stories from across the county.* ### Whitstable’s sewers have entered their AI era Southern Water [says](https://www.southernwater.co.uk/latest-news/southern-water-turns-to-ai-sewers-and-nature-to-cut-storm-overflows-in-whitstable/?ref=kentcurrent.news) AI-controlled gates are already helping reduce storm overflows around Whitstable, but the wider fix still rests on years of work at Swalecliffe and stopping rainwater from overwhelming the network. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/04/AdobeStock_525659963.jpeg) Water at Tankerton, Whitstable. The company says a 'smart sewer' system is now operating beneath the seaside town, using real-time artificial intelligence to manage flows through the network during heavy rainfall. The system is focused on Tankerton Circus and Diamond Road in Whitstable, with wider treatment works upgrades taking place at nearby Swalecliffe, between Whitstable and Herne Bay. Southern Water says the technology is already running around the clock and is expected to cut storm overflows at Tankerton Circus and Diamond Road by more than 30%. It is the latest phase of the company’s attempt to reduce storm overflow use in a town where the sea is not just scenery. Whitstable’s beaches, bathing water, oyster trade and coastal economy are central to its identity. The technology itself is not quite as sci-fi as the phrase 'AI sewer' suggests. Southern Water is using a product called CENTAUR Gates, which can control stormwater flows through the sewer network in real time. In plain English, the system uses sections of the existing pipe network as extra storage during heavy rain. When stormwater levels rise, the gates can hold and manage flows rather than immediately sending excess water through storm overflows. Southern Water says the aim is to prevent treatment sites from being suddenly overwhelmed by surface water, reducing the need to release stormwater into the environment to stop homes and businesses from flooding. The work has focused on new manholes, pipework, and upgraded monitoring systems using radar technology, as well as the smart gates themselves. Southern Water is now presenting the system as already delivering results. The company says last year's work delivered an average 'spills-saved' rate of 32% across three combined storm overflows, which it describes as a “clear and measurable reduction in predicted spills.” That wording is doing some work. Southern Water is not simply saying recorded spills have fallen by a third. It is talking about predicted spills saved, based on modelling of what would otherwise have happened. That does not make the intervention worthless. It does mean residents might reasonably wait to see what shows up in the actual overflow data before treating the system as a proven fix. The smart sewer work is only one part of the Whitstable programme. Southern Water says it is investing more than £90m at Swalecliffe Wastewater Treatment Works to modernise the site and increase capacity. Swalecliffe sits at the centre of the local wastewater system serving this stretch of coast. What happens there has direct consequences for the beaches at Tankerton and Whitstable. Work already completed includes the replacement of the storm outfall pipe, with the next phase focused on replacing inlet screens at the works. Southern Water's [project page](https://www.southernwater.co.uk/our-region/improvements-in-your-area/kent/improving-bathing-water-quality-near-swalecliffe/?ref=kentcurrent.news) for Swalecliffe lists an estimated investment of £73.5m, with work starting in February 2024 and completion not expected until 2030-31\. The company’s latest release puts the figure at more than £90m. Either way, this is not a quick fix. Southern Water has also previously said it carried out a £750,000 optimisation of Swalecliffe Wastewater Treatment Works in 2023, after the site’s storm tanks were not being used to full capacity. According to the company, the work allowed 450 litres of stormwater per second to be redirected during heavy rainfall and stored in an extra 1,800 cubic metres of capacity. Southern Water says that optimisation reduced storm overflows by 36%. The same earlier update said the site had been using its long sea outfall around 100 times a year before the optimisation. Southern Water has since replaced the sea outfall pipe at Swalecliffe with a longer one, meaning that any storm overflow releases are discharged farther out to sea and farther from local beaches and bathing waters. That is an improvement in where releases happen, but it is not the same as stopping releases altogether. The company says there was one storm overflow release from the new outfall between July 2024, when it was installed, and the end of September 2025. Across Whitstable, Southern Water says teams are also surveying pumping stations and sewers, sealing parts of the network and delivering nature-based schemes designed to slow the amount of rainwater entering the system. If less rainwater enters the sewer network all at once, there is less pressure on the system during heavy rainfall, and less need to use storm overflows. Southern Water says more than £300m will be invested across Kent over the next five years to reduce storm overflows, as part of its wider £1.5bn [Clean Rivers and Seas Plan](https://www.southernwater.co.uk/about-us/our-plans/clean-rivers-and-seas-plan/?ref=kentcurrent.news). Jerome Corcoran, Pathfinder Project Manager for Southern Water, said: “Whitstable is a priority for us, and this programme shows the scale of action we’re taking. We’re combining major investment with some of the most advanced technology available to deliver lasting improvements.” “By using artificial intelligence to actively manage our sewers, upgrading our treatment works and working with nature to slow the flow of rainwater, we’re tackling storm overflows from every angle. It’s a long-term approach, but it’s already delivering results, and it will continue to make a real difference for local bathing waters over the years ahead.” Southern Water’s difficulty is that almost anything it says about sewage now arrives with years of public mistrust attached. The wider numbers remain grim. [Top of the Poops](https://top-of-the-poops.org/?ref=kentcurrent.news), an excellent name for a deeply depressing data site, [says Southern Water](https://top-of-the-poops.org/company/southern-water?ref=kentcurrent.news) has recorded more than 1.4m hours of sewage overflows in available data since 2020, but notes that some data may be missing or inaccurate. Its live-data summary estimates over 169,000 hours of Southern Water overflow activity in 2025 and 164,000 hours so far in 2026\. The site cautions that live data is of poor quality and that its estimates may differ from official figures. Despite that, it still seems ominous that the figure is already approaching the total for last year. In its 2025 analysis, the site lists the River Medway among the rivers most polluted by Southern Water, with over 2,500 hours and 567 incidents. Southern Water is making its Whitstable claims against the backdrop of a wider collapse in trust in the water industry, where sewage discharges, ageing infrastructure, debt, dividends and regulation have all become part of the same public row. In Whitstable, that row is not theoretical. [SOS Whitstable](https://www.soswhitstable.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news), a campaign group formed by sea swimmers in 2021, has become one of the most visible local voices on sewage pollution. The group emerged after a public meeting with Southern Water that campaigners felt failed to address concerns about the impact of discharges on swimmers, wildlife and Whitstable’s oyster and fishing economy. Over the weekend, the group held its latest protest, marching from Tankerton lifeguard hut along the coast to Swalecliffe Treatment Works. SOS Whitstable said the protest was aimed at a water industry it believes continues to harm the environment, public health and the town’s coastal economy. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/04/image-6-1.png) SOS Whitstable's protest on Saturday. Speakers included campaigner [Feargal Sharkey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feargal%5FSharkey?ref=kentcurrent.news) and campaigners featured in the documentary [Dirty Business](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirty%5FBusiness%5F%28TV%5Fseries%29?ref=kentcurrent.news). That is the backdrop against which Southern Water is now talking about AI sewers, smart gates and nature-based solutions. The technology may well be useful. Better real-time management of the sewer network is obviously preferable to a system that simply buckles every time heavy rain hits the coast. Making better use of existing pipes and storage is also likely to be cheaper and less carbon-intensive than building new storm tanks everywhere. But the harder truth is that Whitstable is getting an AI sewer because the existing system still struggles during heavy rain. The company wants residents to see a system being modernised. Many in Whitstable will see a water company trying to recover public trust one overflow at a time. Southern Water can call it smart, pioneering or AI-powered if it wants. People in Whitstable are more likely to judge it by a simpler measure of what ends up in the sea. ### Council matters **Meetings this week:** - **Canterbury:** [Planning Committee](https://democracy.canterbury.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=553&MId=13895&ref=kentcurrent.news) will decide on 300 homes, a local centre, and a new secondary school in Herne Bay on Tuesday. - **Kent:** [Standards Committee](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=141&MId=9807&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Wednesday to discuss the number of complaints made against councillors in the past year. - **Maidstone:** [Council](https://meetings.maidstone.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=151&MId=5751&ref=kentcurrent.news) will debate setting up a Maidstone Town Council, councillor allowances, and litter on Wednesday. - **Canterbury:** [Council](https://democracy.canterbury.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=138&MId=13850&ref=kentcurrent.news) will meet on Thursday to debate changes to the constitution, a community governance review, and more. - **Sevenoaks:** [Council](https://cds.sevenoaks.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=121&MId=3591&J=1&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Thursday to discuss waste strategy, workforce retention, and ownership of the Stag Theatre. - **Thanet:** [Cabinet](https://democracy.thanet.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=151&MId=7002&ref=kentcurrent.news) will discuss Dreamland's scenic railway, Pride in Place funding, property disposals, and more on Thursday. **New planning applications:** - **Maidstone:** Screening opinion for [300 new homes](https://pa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=TDSPRNTY1BA00&ref=kentcurrent.news) east of Staplehurst. - **Tunbridge Wells:** [36 new homes](https://twbcpa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=TDKUY0TYMPM00&ref=kentcurrent.news) in Cranbrook. ### In brief 🚒 Some on-call fire stations in Kent are likely to [face closure](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpvx9z1433ko?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🧑‍💻 GPs in Kent [keep losing](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg4yyjr84yo?ref=kentcurrent.news) internet access. 🐛 Toxic caterpillars have [been spotted](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/whitstable/news/public-urged-to-steer-well-clear-of-toxic-caterpillars-339296/?ref=kentcurrent.news) near Whitstable. 🚇 Work has begun on a [new tunnel](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/major-transport-investment-milestone-marked-at-ebbsfleets-bean-road?ref=kentcurrent.news) to connect Ebbsfleet and Bluewater. 🛒 Costco has revealed [full plans](https://www.costcowholesale-maidstone.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) for its planned store in Aylesford, including two new road junctions to facilitate access. 🚫 Development of a new Lidl store in Ramsgate has been [delayed](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/plans-for-new-lidl-store-delayed-amid-concern-over-lizards-339496/?ref=kentcurrent.news) because lizards were spotted on the site in 2020. 🏘️ Medway Council has agreed to move forward with a plan to [spend £46m](https://www.localauthority.news/the-46m-housing-plan-behind-medways-closed-door/?ref=kentcurrent.news) purchasing nearly 800 social properties. 🏛️ Folkestone Town Council has [reached an agreement](https://www.folkestone-tc.gov.uk/ftc-and-kcc-reach-agreement-for-2-grace-hill-folkestone/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to purchase the former Folkestone Library building from Kent County Council. 🏨 £20m could be spent [restoring](https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/nayland-rock-hotel-margate-redevelopment-project-b2962539.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) a historic hotel in Margate. 🏢 A vacant office building in Folkestone town centre will be [converted](https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/case-studies/aldermore-funds-475m-folkestone-office-to-residential-conversion.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) into 26 flats. 🛥️ A historic swing bridge in Gravesend [has reopened](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/gravesend/news/it-connects-past-present-and-future-historic-bridge-reop-339358/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🪪 Volunteers recruited by Kent County Council to improve communication with the traveller community [have resigned](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/we-were-recruited-to-make-travellers-lives-better-but-no-339481/?ref=kentcurrent.news), saying no one listened to them and a council staff member used derogatory slurs. 🏳️‍🌈 Dover Pride will [no longer hold](https://www.doverpride.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news) an annual event and will instead focus on year-round support for LGBT+ people. 🚽 The Folkestone Dispatch has been [talking to](https://folkestonedispatch.substack.com/p/history-buff-has-no-animosity-over) the man behind the 'insulting' plans to convert a disused toilet block into a war memorial. 🎭 Marlon Brando [really liked Faversham](https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/marlon-brandos-late-stage-love-affair-with-kent/?ref=kentcurrent.news), apparently. 👳 Thousands of people attended a [parade](https://www.itv.com/watch/news/thousands-turned-up-to-a-procession-through-gravesend-town-centre-for-vaisakhi/mrl3kbz?ref=kentcurrent.news) to mark the Sikh festival of Vaisakhi in Gravesend. 🏍️ The official Margate Meltdown, where thousands of bikers descend on the town in May, has been [cancelled](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2026/04/21/ace-cafe-cancels-its-annual-margate-event-but-unofficial-meltdown-will-go-ahead-anyway/?ref=kentcurrent.news), but the bikers are expected to come anyway. 🏭 Remembering the [Norman motorcycle factory](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce350dp2vkqo?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Ashford. 🪖 Meanwhile, residents of the town are fighting to [keep its tank](https://metro.co.uk/2026/04/22/battle-save-world-war-one-tank-parked-town-centre-since-1919-28074705/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🏪 [An interview](https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/the-grocer-33/maidstones-best-supermarket-how-tesco-grove-green-thrives-at-its-busiest/718089.article?ref=kentcurrent.news) with the manager of Grove Green Tesco in Maidstone. 🏡 A [nice house](https://www.housebeautiful.com/uk/renovate/homes-makeovers/a71104318/arts-and-crafts-coastal-home-folkestone/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Folkestone. 🧖 Broadstairs could be getting a [sauna](https://cenemagazine.co.uk/news/sea-scrub-sauna-plans-for-broadstairs-site?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🇯🇵 It's fair to say that the opening of Tokyo Toys in Sittingbourne was a [success](https://www.instagram.com/reels/DXjhXSjDWhI/?ref=kentcurrent.news). ***Kent is large, messy and often faintly absurd.** *The Kent Current is backed by readers, which means we can report on it properly. An* [**annual subscription costs £1.15 a week*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) *and helps make that possible.* [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) ### Property of the week This week’s property is a big, slightly ridiculous Victorian villa in Westgate-on-Sea, one road back from West Bay, with six bedrooms in the main house plus a self-contained one-bedroom annexe on the lower ground floor for anyone who likes their guests kept at a respectful distance. The ground floor does the period-but-updated brief well, with a grand entrance hall leading to a large kitchen and dining space with an island and bi-fold doors opening onto a terrace, plus a separate lounge with cornicing and an original fireplace. Upstairs, the rear rooms get partial sea views, and the main bedroom goes full boutique-hotel with a balcony running the width of the house and a freestanding copper bath by the fireplace, because subtlety is clearly not the point here. Outside, there is a long driveway, a landscaped rear garden, and an insulated log cabin with power that could be an office, a studio, or simply somewhere to hide. It is on for £750,000. [Check out this 6 bedroom semi-detached house for sale on Rightmove6 bedroom semi-detached house for sale in Westgate Bay Avenue, Westgate-on-Sea, CT8 for £750,000\. Marketed by Kent Estate Agencies, Herne Bay![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Rightmove.co.uk![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/c1908a3205d9ba2ee466faa19af220b0.jpeg)](https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/174904253?ref=kentcurrent.news#/) ### Events this week 📖 Thu 30 Apr - [**Dave Rowntree**](https://www.creativefolkestone.org.uk/whats-on/an-audience-with-blurandrsquos-dave-rowntree/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // An evening with the Blur drummer, who will talk about his new book and perform a DJ set. Quarterhouse, Folkestone. Tickets £18. 📖 Thu 30 Apr - [**Robin Ince: Normally Weird & Let the Quiet Ones Rise**](https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/normally-weird-and-weirdly-normal-with-robin-ince-tickets-1987251966126?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Comedian, author and broadcaster tours his latest books. Fort Road Hotel, Margate. Free. // *Also at* [*Herne Bay Comedy Club*](https://robinince.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *on 6 May.* 🐈 1 - 4 May - [**Festival of Cats**](https://www.festivalofcats.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Cat related art and activities across Margate. Various locations. Free. 📚 From 1 May - [**Tunbridge Wells Literary Festival**](https://www.twlf.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // 30 speakers over ten days of events, including Brian Bilston, Iain Dale, Peter Bradshaw, and Rory Bremner. Various locations. Various prices. ## ****Kent, properly reported** ****Independent journalism on the county’s biggest stories, without the clickbait or clutter** Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### **Footnotes** ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### "You should be able to disagree well" URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/you-should-be-able-to-disagree-well/ Last updated: 2026-08-26T10:01:04.000Z *Cllr Alister Brady is co-leader of the Labour Group at Kent County Council. Steven met him in his Canterbury division, where they discussed representing Kent's only city, whether he misses former KCC leader Roger Gough, and if he still works with Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield...* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/04/image-4-1.png) Cllr Alister Brady. **What is your official occupation?** I am a Kent county councillor and a Canterbury city councillor. **Does that pay enough, or do you need to do anything else?** I'm also on the [Kent and Medway Fire and Rescue Authority](https://www.kent.fire-uk.org/fire-authority?ref=kentcurrent.news), which is part of KCC. Kent county councillors must sit on that, and that gives a small wage. There is an argument that, in local authorities, councillors aren't paid enough to do the role. You can do the role as much as you can or as little as you can, but nobody's going to say we want more money, because you'll be voted out and be a laughing stock. You just make do and get on with it. I have a partner who works at the university, who's very understanding, but when I became a councillor five years ago, I wanted to do it properly and throw myself into it properly. My hat goes off to people who have a full-time job and do it. It would be wrong to say that I don't think that's possible because there's some good councillors in districts and at county level who are able to have a professional career and be a councillor. But there's only so many hours in a day. I wanted to be able to give that my all. **Which division are you the councillor for?** Canterbury City North. I would say the best division in Canterbury. It's the best division because it's home. I moved there in 1988 as a 12-year-old boy. My mum still lives at the house we moved to in the division. My sister, with niece and nephew, still lives there. Not in the same house, but in the division. My mother-in-law lives in the division. I've moved to the outskirts, but hopefully I'm moving this year, fingers crossed, back into the middle. We go from Westgate Tower all the way up to the university. **Which area or ward are you the borough councillor for?** I'm Chartham & Stone Street, which is where I live now, and that's on the outskirts of my division. It's split slightly and that's why when we have local government reorganisation, LGR, it's good to have one council that is on everything, because at the moment I focus on housing, parking, waste collection and environment, the local economy within Chartham & Stone Street, and then I focus on adult social care, children's services, education, highways, disposal, et cetera. in my division. **Could you give us an example of a resident coming to you with an issue? What issue would you deal with as a borough councillor, and which issue would you deal with as a county councillor?** Mostly, you get planning issues for borough. That's probably the fundamental. I'm fortunate within my division and within my borough. Within my borough, I have seven parish councils, and you're able to interact with the parish councils to then find out what needs to be done there. I'm fortunate enough I don't have any parishes in my division. There's some incredible residents' associations and I work with them on projects. The individual casework comes through mostly potholes, road issues, flooding, and this is all division, and then trying to save a pub in Harbledown. **Does Canterbury have a Local Plan?** We've gone to [Regulation 19](https://haveyoursay.canterbury.gov.uk/draft-canterbury-district-local-plan-regulation-19-consultation?ref=kentcurrent.news) for the draft 2042-43 Local Plan. At the moment, we’re stuck with the 2017 Local Plan. Any planning issue comes in, you've got to go to that, but we're at the last consultation stage on that Local Plan within the City Council and there's so many good things in there compared to what was in the 2017 one. **Why do you need a new one if it was less than 10 years old?** Because it's like the Forth Bridge. Once this gets ratified, you start working on another one to better it. Things change, the landscape changes, governments change, political affiliations and who runs the council changes. It's an ongoing process. **A big thing that's occurring at the moment is local government reorganisation (LGR). Do you have different views on LGR if you have a borough councillor hat on and if you have a county councillor hat on? Or do you view it as the same thing?** The good thing with my party and district, the Canterbury Labour Group and the Kent Labour Group is we're a team, and LGR for Canterbury means the same for LGR in Kent. LGR makes complete sense. When you look at the disconnect and silo working between public health, adult social care and housing, planning. One of the biggest determinants of health is if you've got a home. To not have those two things together doesn't make sense. Bringing that together makes complete sense. At the moment we've got 14 councils in Kent. I prefer [4D](https://kentcouncilleaders.org.uk/lgr-consultation/?ref=kentcurrent.news) purely because that keeps local identity, and that's incredibly important. People care where they live, and they care about their communities, and that's why 4D is big enough to be able to deliver the services efficiently in the right way and small enough to keep that local identity. **You're also the leader of the Labour Group on Kent County Council?** I would like to say co-leader. There are only two of us. People would laugh at me saying co-leader. Connie Nolan, who is Canterbury City South, we are an incredible team, and there's no point in me saying I'm the leader and you're my deputy, but within KCC, they don't understand that they don't have that within the constitution. We're co-leaders, but I'm the spokesperson. I'm the one that gets up and gives the speeches, and then I put a crosshair on me, and I'm the one that gets argued at and challenged. **The group is smaller than it was before the KCC election. Having had time to process what happened, in your opinion, why did Labour not do well?** It was fallout from the general election. We had an incredible result. I believe, six months leading up to that, because we were so much the favourites, the Conservative government didn't do the best things for the country, putting policies, managed the books in the best way, because they knew that whoever comes in, it would be a headache for whoever came in. When we did come in, and the difference between KCC officers who work for every councillor is we can see the books, we can see the evidence. Civil servants work for the government. They don't have to disclose everything to every MP and opposition parties. When we came in and looked at how bad the situation was, we couldn't get everything done straight away. When they vote on hope and change, people want really quick fixes. When you've been dealt a really bad hand by the previous government, it takes a while to change that. That was the impact. Nobody wanted a Liz Truss budget. Everybody's mortgages doubled. We saw what happened to the markets. It was about not spooking the markets. Unfortunately, we are hostage to them. We weren't able to implement all the things. The opposition, the previous government, and other parties could say, "You lied to everybody" as loud as they could. National press picked that up, and everybody was annoyed. > We're seeing green shoots **Why did Reform do so well?** At the ballot box, they decided not to go for the major parties. Conservatives broke the country, and they had been in KCC for 24 years, and we couldn't deliver anything from day one, so they went for an alternative. But what we saw within the leaflets and what we see now with Reform is they put a lot of misinformation in the leaflets, and people went, “We'll give you a try,” but after a year of chaos, people are turning away from them. **What do you think that says for a post-LGR possibility for Kent? Will we be looking at four Reform councils rather than one?** No, we're seeing green shoots.We're seeing good things come across. We're seeing a stabilised economy, apart from the tangerine tyrant and what he's doing to the economy, which is outside of our control. We're stabilising that, and we’re bringing great things through, like increasing minimum wage, trying to keep energy bills down, breakfast clubs, more funding. Let's talk about more funding for local authorities.14 years of underfunding for local authorities, and the very first year we were able, the Labour government were able to give KCC an extra £22m. This year, KCC got an extra £50m, and the day before the budget meeting, it was announced that it was a revenue recovery fund of over £6m. Good things are coming. I think by the shadow elections in May 2027, people will see Reform’s mistakes. I can go through the entire year of what they've done badly, and they'll see how Labour councils have worked really hard, and Labour councils at district level have done the right things and said what they would do during those elections and they'll be convinced by that, instead of nonsense in a leaflet. Just headline grabbing because Reform throw out a headline, but then you look at the detail, and then you look at the action. There's no substance at DOLGE. Look at the cut council tax and all of that nonsense. People will look at what that person has done for the community. Do you trust the person to do a better job than that other person? That will happen in the shadow elections. It's who's done a good job, district level and county level. Can they do that again? Have they got the best ideas? > You can't moan at the people who are trying to fix your mistakes **Having worked within the council, do you agree with statements that come out of the national party that people who support Reform have reasonable concerns and the people who support the Green Party are extremists?** I think people who supported Reform are people who are fed up with politics, and they wanted a change. I'm hoping once good things start to happen nationally and people start to see more money in their pockets and the support that there is there, that they'll turn away from people who say everything's broken. Which is quite funny because most of the people in Reform are ex-Conservatives. If you look at the national party, they're Conservative MPs who broke the country and then Reform supporters and councillors are going, “Look at the country, it's broken.” But you did that. You can't moan at the people who are trying to fix your mistakes. Hopefully, people are going to start to see through that. With the Greens, it's very easy to come up with policy after policy without truly developing how that can improve people's lives and how that can be funded. The point is, can these things be delivered? Are you going to improve people's lives? Some of the things that the Green Party are saying don't really have much detail or substance, and that's a concern. At the moment, we see the national press are anti-Labour. Just imagine what it's going to be like when the detail of those policies are put out in public. If you look locally, we see a lot of nonsense in the Green Party local leaflets. We need to be incredibly honest on leaflets and what we tell people. **What does it tell us about Canterbury that, of the whole of Kent, not only did it return Labour councillors, but it returned the only Labour councillors?** A number of issues. We have a Canterbury City Council doing very good things. We have councillors doing really good things. We were able to get our messages across, where others, such as Reform, put nonsense on their leaflets, and we were able to explain why that was nonsense. I think within our divisions where we have residents' associations, and you embed yourself in communities, then people see that. I did have colleagues who were hard working. It was really disappointing and surprising that they didn't get back in. It was close. We were second in many of those races. But when you have Nigel Farage spending lots of money sending misinformation directly to people's doorsteps, it's quite hard to cut through all of that nonsense. **When you look at how much councillors Reform has compared to the proportion of the vote they received, would you support proportional representation post-LGR?** I can understand the arguments for and against. I understand Reform is against creating a Foundation Strategic Authority, which would be the path to a Mayoral Strategic Authority. It would be interesting to see, as a test, whether that is the right way for a voting structure to move forward for that. I understand the arguments for and against it that I hear from other political parties, but when you see the voting rules, and you run your campaign towards those rules, I could put my hand up now and go I'm all for proportional representation. I'm a Labour and Co-operative Party councillor, and I can explain what that means in a moment. We've got 13% of the vote. If we had PR, we would be the official opposition. We would have more councillors than the Lib Dems. But I'm not changing my tune because it would favour us. It's what would be best for residents in Kent. So maybe there's a way to have a consultation. Consultation is very expensive, and money is very tight. But it's a good question. I don't think I can answer that now. My ears are open to listen to people's views. **In your time as a member, who's been the best leader of the Labour Party?** Keir Starmer is slowly changing society for the better. If you have 14 years of austerity, which basically means you're cutting services that help people. To be able to change that and move that in the right direction, then that's obviously a bonus. I got into politics looking at the ‘for the many not the few’ manifesto under Jeremy Corbyn, because that manifesto found every single thing that was wrong with society and tried to find a way to improve it. However, when you put everything that's wrong and that everybody agrees with, and say we are going to make the UK better, people don't believe it because it's unrealistic to say we can do all of this all at once. **In the news a lot over the last couple of years are the difficulties that the University of Kent have been going through. How existential would it be for Canterbury if the University of Kent actually failed?** It would be a big deal, and University of Kent won't fail. The government won't let that happen. It's developed a partnership with Greenwich, and Greenwich won't let that happen. It's one of the largest employers in the district, and the student population do a lot for the local economy, for the culture and society within the district. It won't be allowed to fail. Unfortunately, what we saw in 2016 made them tie one hand behind their backs, because they portrayed themselves as the university of Europe, because we're so close to Europe and when you stop getting European students, and obviously with covid, that's going to be hard, and that's why they needed to merge. It's very important. It won't be allowed to happen. **Do you support government proposals regarding restricting international students from coming to university in the UK?** No. I don't think our government is doing that. It suggests there is a list of countries, and I think we, as a government, are saying to those countries, if you don't help us with migration and the immigration debate, then we won't help you with your students. I think that is quite a conundrum, because we need to work with students, and students should be able to study where they want to study throughout the world, because it develops and enhances our culture. But I think countries should also be able to work with our government in a fruitful, respectful way. **Since the General Election, there's been a party change for Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield. Do you have a working relationship with the MP now?** I speak to Rosie. It's no secret that I was a caseworker within Rosie's office when I was also a Kent county councillor. I did that to help people in the district. When Rosie became independent, as I was leader of the Kent Labour Group, I wouldn't be able to do that. But yes, we communicate. Rosie is a person that you can have a conversation with and work together on things with. **Did you support her reasons for going independent? Where did you stand on that?** It was a surprise to me. We had a conversation about it and... *(pause)* People are able and allowed to do and make choices how they see fit and how they choose. I would have liked our MP to stay as a Labour MP, but you're allowed to make those decisions. **Where were you born?** Dover. **What brought your family to Canterbury?** We slowly moved north. We went from Dover to Whitfield to Shepherdswell, and then my sister went to school in Canterbury. We moved to Sturry whilst we were looking for a house and then bought a house in Canterbury. **What jobs did your parents do when you were growing up?** My mum was a nurse and then a midwife for I don't know how many years, but she worked incredibly hard until she retired. My dad worked abroad within development. **Did you enjoy school?** I enjoyed learning in schools, and I enjoyed sport in schools. Sometimes in schools, when you enjoy learning, you get labelled a certain way, and then sometimes when you're quite good at sport, then school children in years above, resent that you're taking places away from their mates. I liked school, but there's a little bit of bullying in school. When I was 13, my lung collapsed. It was called a spontaneous pneumothorax. It collapsed about four times over the space of three years. Each time you go to hospital. I had a big operation to strip the lining of my lung, so it stayed open. **How is your lung now?** Oh, I go to the gym regularly. After that was fixed, I played squash at a local level. It was just a thing that happened. I've got scars, and it's all okay now. **Where did you go for university?** I went to Manchester, and when I left, I wanted to travel and see the world and to do that as a teenager or early twenties is very expensive. I came up with the bright idea of 'Why don’t I do that and get paid as an air steward?' I was only going to do that for one season, and you get a month and a half advance. You look at that and go, 'I'm going to Kenya for a week,' and so before I knew it, you get promoted, and I'd been there for 21 years. **Is there anywhere that you wish you'd gone to visit but you never got to?** I've probably been everywhere multiple times in 21 years. Because it was a charter airline, it's all the holiday destinations. It's quite hard to think. South Africa, maybe. I used to be an avid scuba diver. I had 83 dives under my belt since I was lucky enough to go to the Maldives in 2003 and get my PADI *\[Professional Association of Diving Instructors\]* certificate, and then in Thailand to get my advanced diving. Then I stopped for nine years. Incidentally, I did a refresher dive in one of the local pools, and it was fantastic. **Amongst Labour Party members, what's an unpopular opinion that you have?** These are hardball questions. Public Service Protection Orders. I would love to be in a society where we wouldn't need them. Orders to say don't have a bonfire on the beach because it will make the sand hot or the stones really hot, and if you move the bonfire away or whatever, and a child picks up that stone, they could hurt themselves. Bits like that. I think that, unfortunately, we live in a society where they're necessary. Other councillors don't think that they are, but that's allowed. The point is you should be able to disagree well. We can do that as councillors. We disagree well, we have differences of opinion. When you're at County Hall, unfortunately, that doesn't happen. With the Conservatives, we were able to disagree well. Fundamentally, I didn't believe in how they were running the council, and I could tell them that, and they would go, 'Okay, I'll take that on board,' and just ignore my views, but we could disagree well. With Reform, it's very hard to do that because you just get shouted down. > I believe the leader of the council would have an argument in an empty room **Do you find yourself missing Roger Gough *\[former Conservative leader of KCC\]*? Or would that be a step too far?** Step too far. I find myself missing the fact that I couldn't have been the decision maker because we had, within our alternative budgets, some fantastic things that would make people's lives better, and we put them forward, and many of the Reform backbenchers and some cabinet members agreed with what we wanted to put forward but they were shot down by their leadership, because the leadership is a dictatorship. I think there's a lot of backbenchers who disagree, and they're just ignored. We saw the famous ‘suck it up’ video, and I think that's what it's like. Disagreeing well is you're there because you're meant to put your residents’ views across, and I believe the leader of the council would have an argument in an empty room. **Who has been the best prime minister of your lifetime?** I'd have to say Tony Blair. There were mistakes, and I don't think we should have gone into Iraq at the time, but I think he injected hope into the nation. **Where do you like to go for dinner in Canterbury?** Ooh, lots of places. I cut my teeth at [Café des Amis](https://cafedez.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news). You've got [Café du Soleil](https://cafedusoleil.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news), you've got [the Ivy](https://ivycollection.com/restaurants-near-me/the-ivy-south-east/the-ivy-canterbury-brasserie/?ref=kentcurrent.news), you've got [El Pochettino](https://www.ilposticino.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news). We are so lucky in Canterbury. Come and visit and help out the local economy. **What improvements have there been in Canterbury in the last 25 years?** Green spaces are getting protected. If you look at the high street, we are bucking the trend. We've got an incredible high street where people love to come. If you look at Whitefriars, there's a hundred per cent capacity. I think the way that residents’ associations and friends groups have been set up within areas that aren't parished, where residents can go to and help, they're like a community in themselves. I think that's a brilliant thing. --- ### Footnotes *This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.* *Join us next week when we speak to* journalist *Gavin Esler about being vice-chancellor of the University of Kent, becoming a podcaster, and standing for election with Change UK.* *We previously spoke with KCC group Leaders,* [*Linden Kemkaran*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-think-theres-a-lot-gone-wrong-with/)*,* [*Antony Hook*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-really-dont-like-party-tribalism/)*,* [*Harry Rayner*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/nobody-needs-14-councils/)*,* [*Paul Thomas*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/were-still-standing-by-what-we-were-elected-to-do/) *and* [*Mark Hood*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/we-havent-had-a-king-of-kent-for-over-1-000-years/)*.* *If you are/were involved with international travel or represent someone who is, and want to organise an interview, email* [*Steven*](mailto:steven@kentcurrent.news)*.* ### Kent’s cup finals week goes from showcase to shambles URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/kents-cup-finals-week-goes-from-showcase-to-shambles/ Last updated: 2026-05-01T08:16:07.000Z **Kent’s county cup finals week has been overshadowed by disorder, public statements and investigations after incidents across two separate finals. We also look at the sharp rise in complaints against KCC councillors and fresh questions over Reform councillors sharing council-branded political graphics.* ### Kent’s county cup finals week turns into an avoidable embarrassment Kent’s county cup finals week should have been about the football. Whitstable Town completed a league and cup double on Sunday. Maidstone United won the Kent Senior Cup on Wednesday night. There was silverware, big crowds and the sort of end-of-season occasion county finals are supposed to provide. Instead, both finals have ended up overshadowed by what happened around them. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/04/KC_Football.jpg) Whitstable’s 2-0 win over Punjab United in the Kent Senior Trophy final at Maidstone United’s Gallagher Stadium ought to have been the straightforward one. Nearly 1,500 people were there to watch it, and Whitstable finished off a memorable season with another trophy. But the match has since been dragged into a serious public dispute over disorder in and around the stands. Gravesend's Punjab United [issued a statement](https://www.pufc.uk/post/club-statement-kent-senior-trophy-final?ref=kentcurrent.news) following the match saying its supporters, “the majority of whom were families and young people,” were subjected to repeated verbal abuse after “a large number of opposing supporters entered and occupied the same stand” during the game. The club said that it included “chanting of a racist nature.” Punjab also said that after the final whistle, drinks were thrown towards its section, provocation continued, and physical confrontations broke out near families and children. It said players and coaching staff felt they had to intervene because of what it described as a limited security presence in the area. Those are serious allegations to be making after a county cup final. They are not the usual complaints after a heated game or a bad defeat. They go to supporter safety, stewarding and whether people who had turned up to watch a final, including children, were properly protected when things started to unravel. Whitstable has not dismissed the issue, but it is very clearly contesting Punjab’s account. In its [own statement](https://www.whitstabletownfc.club/news/club-statement-2975665.html?ref=kentcurrent.news), the club said it deliberately held off on making any immediate public comment until it had reviewed footage and information related to the incident. It said it had “not identified evidence that enables it to reach a finding of racist intent” and would wait for the findings of the relevant authorities before drawing any final conclusions on that point. Whitstable said racism has no place at the club or in football, but also said it did “not accept” Punjab’s statement as “a full and accurate reflection of the events that unfolded.” Its position is that there was an altercation involving “a very small number of individuals connected to both clubs’ supporters,” which was then intensified by the involvement of additional individuals from the pitch. The two clubs are not just putting slightly different spins on the same thing. They are describing the same final in sharply different terms. Kent FA has at least acknowledged the seriousness of the claims. The county body said it was “disappointed” by the incidents after the final whistle and was treating the matter seriously. It said it was working with the host club, the event security team, both finalist clubs and Kent Police to understand the circumstances and would review its processes for future events. That would have been enough to leave Kent football with one ugly cup final on its hands. Then the other final finished badly too. Maidstone beat Tonbridge Angels 2-0 at Priestfield on Wednesday night to win the Kent Senior Cup for the 20th time. The story instead became about a match that ended with a confrontation involving players and staff from both sides after the final whistle. Kent FA said it was “deeply disappointed” by the incidents following the conclusion of the final and was investigating the disorder, including damage to Kent FA property. It said it was working with both clubs and Kent Police and that appropriate action would be taken. Videos of the brawl are circulating on social media, so this is not one of those vague incidents that exist only in carefully worded statements afterwards. Something clearly kicked off. Beyond that, the picture is less tidy. There has been outside reporting on what triggered the clash and how it escalated. [The Back Page](https://thestonesbackpage.co.uk/home/?ref=kentcurrent.news), an independent Maidstone United fanzine, painted the final stages as increasingly ill-tempered and described a “massed scrum” that delayed the trophy presentation. The two finals are not the same story. The Whitstable-Punjab fallout is plainly the heavier one. It involves allegations of racist chanting, questions over segregation and stewarding, and claims that families and children were caught up in the disorder. Those claims are disputed, and it will be for the relevant authorities to establish exactly what happened. But the fact that a club is making allegations like that after a county final is serious enough on its own. The Maidstone-Tonbridge final looks, on the face of it, more like a bad-tempered game boiling over at the end and dragging players and staff into it. That is bad enough, especially with Kent FA talking about property damage as well as disorder, but it is not the same kind of issue. Even so, taken together, it is still a grim look. County finals are supposed to be a part of the local game that can be presented without too much qualification. Big occasion, good turnout, bit of silverware, everyone goes home. Instead, this week has produced investigations, public statements and the sort of questions nobody wants hanging over two showpiece fixtures. That is especially true of the Senior Trophy final. Once a club publicly says its supporters were subjected to racist chanting and that families and children were caught up in the aftermath, the conversation moves well beyond whether a few idiots got out of hand. Whitstable disputes that picture, but Kent FA’s own line about reviewing processes suggests there are broader questions here than simply whether some people behaved appallingly. On the Senior Cup side, the overall picture may be less serious, but it is still embarrassing. A county final ending with a brawl, property damage and a delayed trophy presentation is not much of an advert for anyone involved, however much Maidstone will still quite rightly take the trophy. The frustrating part is that both finals had perfectly decent football stories of their own. Whitstable completing a league and cup double is a real achievement. Maidstone lifting the Kent Senior Cup for the 20th time is a huge achievement. Both should have been enough. Instead, both have been shoved aside by what happened afterwards. Proving that none of this was somehow inevitable, Kent’s women’s finals seem to have managed perfectly well. Maidstone won the Kent Women’s Plate last week. Dartford won the Kent Women’s Cup on Thursday. Both appear to have gone off without anyone ending up in a public row afterwards. A reminder, if one were needed, that Kent’s finals week did not have to end like this. ### Complaints against KCC councillors have gone from a trickle to a flood Something has clearly gone wrong at County Hall. Complaints against Kent county councillors, once a fairly marginal part of council life, are now piling up in batches. New papers for next week’s [Standards Committee](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=141&MId=9807&ref=kentcurrent.news) show 85 complaints were received in 11 months, with member-on-member complaints forming an increasingly large share of the total. That is a dramatic break from recent years. KCC’s own reports show eight member complaints in 2020/21, nine in 2021/22, two in 2022/23, and one complaint responded to in 2023/24\. Even an increase in 2024/25 only resulted in 13 complaints. The council says 81 of the 85 complaints in the past year have already been closed or resolved informally, with four still under review. It does not formally code complaints by subject, but says the main recurring flashpoints are social media comments, behaviour and remarks during formal meetings, and the use of council resources. The breakdown gets worse. Across the full period, 40% of complaints came from councillors complaining about other councillors. In the first three months of 2026, that rose to 72%. In March alone, 14 of the 16 complaints came from members. KCC does not publish the figures by party, so the papers do not formally tell the public who is behind the surge. Even so, the timing is doing plenty of work, and opposition group leaders are in little doubt that standards at County Hall have deteriorated sharply. Cllr [Mark Hood](https://www.kentcurrent.news/we-havent-had-a-king-of-kent-for-over-1-000-years/), the leader of the Green group, said he had “completely lost faith in the council’s response to complaints about councillor conduct” and argued that “member behaviour has deteriorated” under the current administration. Labour leader Alister Brady was similarly blunt, calling the increase “wholly unacceptable” and saying standards at KCC had “taken a nosedive since the Reform administration became the decision makers.” Both men argued that the tone from the top had worsened matters. Hood said “the divisive tone has been set by the leader” and warned that “if members cannot behave, we will see our democracy dragged into the gutter.” Brady said previous councillors “knew how to disagree well,” but that the current leadership had set a worse example and that “the facts speak for themselves.” Cllr [Harry Rayner](https://www.kentcurrent.news/nobody-needs-14-councils/), the Conservative leader, put a slightly different emphasis on the same broader problem. He said the rise reflected not just a more toxic atmosphere at County Hall, but also the inexperience of a large intake of new councillors. He argued there had been a rise in “tit for tat” complaints over slights that might once have been dealt with informally, and said older back channels between groups had been shut down. In his view, “intolerance breeds intolerance.” KCC told the *Kent Current* that they had nothing further to add beyond what was in the report. The papers also suggest KCC knows this is no longer a small problem. They note that a new Independent Person started in March, with plans to recruit a second as well. The role is meant to provide advice and, in the council’s words, “most importantly objectivity” while complaints are being handled. The papers do not indicate how many complaints were upheld, and a single alleged breach can generate multiple complaints from multiple people. But even allowing for that, this is not a normal level of internal friction. Complaints that used to sit in single figures are now arriving by the dozen, and councillors are increasingly using the formal system against each other. County Hall has plainly become a nastier place to do politics. ***Kent is large, messy and often faintly absurd.** *The Kent Current is backed by readers, which means we can report on it properly. An* [**annual subscription costs £1.15 a week*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) *and helps make that possible.* [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) ### More adventures in AI slop A social media graphic being shared by Reform councillors in Kent is raising fresh questions about the party’s use of council-adjacent branding in political messaging. The image claims Kent County Council has 'reduced debt by £114m' and is now saving '£3,362 in daily interest' while doing so 'without any cuts to vital services.' It is being shared by Reform councillors rather than through official KCC channels, but it uses an AI-generated crest and a design style plainly intended to echo the council's visual identity. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/04/672681576_122183297756877119_21927374990978725_n-1.jpg) Image being circulated by Reform councillors and activists. No one is likely to look at it and conclude it is a genuine piece of council communication. It has the unmistakable look of cheap AI slop. But that is not really the point. The issue is that Reform councillors are once again using imagery clearly intended to evoke Kent County Council to push a party political message. Asked about the graphic, Kent County Council told the *Kent Current*: “The information in the infographic is correct but it is not a KCC-produced communication.” We then asked KCC whether it had given permission for its branding, or something clearly intended to resemble it, to be used in the image, whether it considered that appropriate, and what guidance applies to members using council-style branding in political material. No further response was received. That leaves the council in an awkward position. It was willing to authenticate the numbers, but not to say much about councillors borrowing the look of the institution itself in order to present them. The image also carries no imprint identifying who produced or promoted it. The broader issue here is not whether this particular image is persuasive, or whether anyone would really confuse it for the work of a competent council communications team. It is that political figures are again helping themselves to the symbols and styling of the authority when it suits them. In Kent, there is also a recent history. During last year’s county council election campaign, Reform had to withdraw leaflets after complaints over their use of the KCC logo. Less than a year on, Reform councillors are again circulating material that leans on the council’s identity while pushing a party message. If Reform wants to claim credit for debt reduction, it is perfectly entitled to do so. That is politics. But it should do so openly as a political party, under its own name and branding, rather than wrapping the message in fake-official AI sludge and leaving basic questions unanswered. Instead, what remains is a party political message that wanted the council’s authority without the inconvenience of saying plainly who it came from. ## ****Kent, properly reported** ****Independent journalism on the county’s biggest stories, without the clickbait or clutter** Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Footnotes ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### KCC rediscovers Turner Contemporary's value when someone else is paying URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/kcc-rediscovers-turner-contemporary/ Last updated: 2026-04-27T13:13:16.000Z **Today's Current leads with Kent County Council’s sudden enthusiasm for Turner Contemporary after Arts Council England awarded the Margate gallery £865,000 for essential works, despite one cabinet member having floated the idea of pulling its funding just weeks earlier. We also cover council meetings across the county, planning decisions, fresh scrutiny of South East Water, and the rest of the politics, development and local stories shaping Kent this week.* ### KCC rediscovers Turner Contemporary's value when someone else is paying Kent County Council [has welcomed](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/turner-contemporary-receives-865,000-arts-council-funding-for-essential-building-works?ref=kentcurrent.news) an £865,000 Arts Council England award for Turner Contemporary, hailing the Margate gallery as a “vital” part of Kent and an “important public asset” that deserves protecting for the future. Which is a funny way to talk about an institution when one of your own cabinet members was publicly floating the idea of pulling its funding barely two months ago. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/04/AdobeStock_51519834-1.jpeg) Turner Contemporary in Margate. The new grant, announced this week, will fund essential building works at Turner Contemporary, including upgrades to the mechanical and electrical systems, accessibility improvements, enhancements to the gallery environment, and solar panels. The funding comes through Arts Council England’s Creative Foundations Fund as part of the government’s wider Arts Everywhere Fund, and is specifically intended to help safeguard the building and keep it operational in the years ahead. All of that is plainly good news. Turner Contemporary is one of Kent’s biggest cultural institutions, a major draw for Margate, and one of the few public venues in the county that can plausibly claim both national profile and serious local impact. If public money from elsewhere is available to improve the building without dumping future costs onto local budgets, that is hard to argue with. KCC certainly is not arguing with it now. In a press release issued this week, Cabinet Member for Communities and Regulatory Services Georgia Foster said Turner Contemporary “plays a vital role in Kent” through its exhibitions, education work and contribution to the regeneration of coastal communities. She said the award was about “protecting an important public asset” and ensuring people can continue to access high-quality arts and cultural experiences long into the future. That is an entirely sensible thing to say about Turner Contemporary. It is also not obviously compatible with how one of Foster’s cabinet colleagues was talking about the gallery in February. Back then, cabinet member David Wimble responded to criticism from East Thanet MP Polly Billington not by defending KCC’s numbers, clarifying the council’s position, or doing any of the dull but necessary work of local government argument. Instead, he suggested the council could “[pull funding](https://www.kentcurrent.news/turner-contemporary-funding-becomes-the-next-reform-fight/)” for Turner Contemporary. [Turner Contemporary funding becomes the next Reform fightPlus a Sevenoaks by-election, more water disruption and fallout from the Canterbury Odeon fire![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/AdobeStock_361161895--1--1.jpeg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/turner-contemporary-funding-becomes-the-next-reform-fight/) The row at the time was about Reform’s claims around council savings. Billington had challenged KCC’s boast that it had delivered £39.5m of savings, saying the number was based on “fantasy economics” and writing to Chief Executive Amanda Beer to argue there was “nothing to support the assertion” that Reform had actually saved that sum. It was the sort of dispute local politics produces all the time. Inflated claims, hostile letters, bruised egos, and everyone insisting the numbers are on their side. Wimble’s contribution was to imply that Turner Contemporary’s funding might be on the table because the MP for East Thanet had annoyed him. When pressed on whether this was serious, a joke, or simply the online equivalent of throwing a chair across the room, he did not exactly calm things down. Instead, he leaned into the idea that KCC puts “hundreds of thousands” of pounds into the Turner and perhaps Billington “should be a little more grateful.” At no point did there seem to be much appetite to draw a neat line under the episode and clarify that this is not how public funding decisions are meant to work. There is a real difference between openly reviewing spending priorities and casually using a cultural institution’s budget as a prop in a political spat. If KCC wants to cut funding for Turner Contemporary, it can formally propose the cuts, present its case, and defend them through the proper channels. That would be a legitimate political argument, even if plenty of people would disagree with it. What it should not be is an improvised threat in the replies to a social media thread. That is why this week’s press release lands with a thud. The council now wants to present itself as the sober custodian of one of Kent’s key cultural assets. It is leaning into Turner Contemporary’s role in creativity, wellbeing, regeneration, accessibility and long-term resilience. It is happy to celebrate outside investment landing in Margate. This is arguably positive, but it is difficult to ignore the contrast. In February, the Turner Contemporary was apparently the sort of thing a senior cabinet member could wave around when he was in a mood. In April, it is a vital civic asset central to Kent’s cultural life. Both cannot really be true in the same way at the same time. The defence, presumably, would be that Wimble was freelancing online and the current official line is the one that counts. There is something in that. Governments and councils are full of people saying rash things in public and more careful things in formal statements. That is hardly unique to Reform, or to County Hall. Even so, the episode says something about instinct. When the mood was combative, Turner’s funding was treated as expendable enough to invoke for effect. Now that there is a ribbon to cut, or at least a press release to issue, the gallery is once again a treasured part of Kent’s public life. The grant itself is still good news. The gallery will be better off for receiving it, Margate will be better off for the building remaining in decent shape, and there is no obvious downside to Arts Council money covering works that would otherwise become someone else’s problem later. But KCC’s enthusiasm now inevitably raises a question about where the council really stands on culture. Is Turner Contemporary genuinely valued because it contributes to the county’s civic, cultural and economic life? Or is it valued when there is good news to bask in, and treated as fair game when someone at County Hall wants to score a petty political point? This week, at least, KCC would like everyone to believe it has always known Turner Contemporary’s worth. The awkward bit is that some people can still remember February. ### Three big reads 1️⃣ The Big Issue has [interviewed Mark Stevenson](https://www.bigissue.com/vendors/mark-stevenson-ms-foodhall-canterbury-kent/?ref=kentcurrent.news), a former homeless street trader who now sells the magazine outside of M&S in Canterbury. 2️⃣ The new Archbishop of Canterbury surprisingly chose the Church Times for her [first big interview](https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2026/10-april/features/features/interview-with-the-archbishop-of-canterbury-i-want-to-offer-a-calm-non-anxious-leadership?ref=kentcurrent.news) rather than the *Current*. In it, she says she wants to offer 'calm, non-anxious leadership.' Odd idea, but it might work. 3️⃣ The Port of Dover has become the [UK's first net-zero port](https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/dover-becomes-uks-first-net-zero-port-25-years-ahead-of-maritime-target-15-04-2026/?ref=kentcurrent.news), 25 years ahead of government targets. ### Council matters **Meetings this week:** - **Canterbury:** [Cabinet](https://democracy.canterbury.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=755&MId=13845&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets tonight (Monday) to discuss a coastal public space protection order, a new cultural strategy, and net zero. - **Sevenoaks:** [Cabinet](https://cds.sevenoaks.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=120&MId=3565&J=1&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Tuesday to discuss ownership of the Stag Theatre, community asset transfers, and the development of the town centre east of the High Street. - **Tonbridge & Malling:** [Council](https://democracy.tmbc.gov.uk//ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=126&MId=6441&ref=kentcurrent.news) will meet on Tuesday to discuss planning matters, street trading, waste contracts, and changes to the constitution. - **Tunbridge Wells:** [Full Council](https://democracy.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=134&MId=6050&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Wednesday to debate the state of the Pantiles, changes to the planning system, and more. - **Kent:** [Kent and Medway Police and Crime Panel](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk:9071/ieListDocuments.aspx?MId=9667&x=1&&ref=localauthority.news) will discuss the recent inspection of Kent Police on Thursday. - **Medway:** [Council](https://democracy.medway.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=122&MId=6378&ref=localauthority.news) will meet on Thursday to debate buying hundreds of social homes, changes to the petition system, and motions on social care costs and political violence. - **Dartford:** [Cabinet](https://dartford.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=105&MId=3501&ref=kentcurrent.news) will get together on Thursday to discuss HMOs, flood management, and where new homes should go. - **Dover:** [Planning Committee](https://moderngov.dover.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=136&MId=5178&ref=kentcurrent.news) will decide whether or not to approve 800 homes south of Aylesham. - **Maidstone:** [Planning Committee](https://meetings.maidstone.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=112&MId=5635&ref=kentcurrent.news) will decide on 435 homes in Allington, a large commercial development in Hollingbourne, and lots more on Thursday. **New planning applications:** - **Dover:** Screening opinion for [new distribution warehouse](https://publicaccess.dover.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=TDJ25YFZ02100&ref=kentcurrent.news) at White Cliffs Business Park. - **Maidstone:** Conversion of office building on Albion Place into [16 flats](https://pa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=TCSZL1TYI2U00&ref=kentcurrent.news). - **Medway:** Outline application for [45 homes](https://publicaccess1.medway.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=TD699DKNHMX00&activeTab=summary&ref=localauthority.news) west of Formby Road in Halling. - **Swale:** Proposed demolition of church to be replaced by [six houses](https://pa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=TD5YEDTYK7I00&ref=kentcurrent.news) in Minster. - **Tunbridge Wells:** Development of [new health and fitness club](https://twbcpa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=TD4NKWTYMJ000&ref=kentcurrent.news) with tennis court, swimming pools, padel courts, gym, and more. ***Kent is large, messy and often faintly absurd.** *The Kent Current is backed by readers, which means we can report on it properly. An* [**annual subscription costs £1.15 a week*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) *and helps make that possible.* [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) ### In brief 💷 Kent saw an [11% increase](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cr511djj3lyo?ref=kentcurrent.news) in overseas visitors in 2024, injecting £374m into the local economy. 🫥 County disappearing champion and Chief Executive of South East Water, David Hinton, will graciously [forgo his bonus](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/apr/14/south-east-water-chief-executive-to-forgo-his-bonus-over-unacceptable-outages?ref=kentcurrent.news) this year following failures by the company. He will instead struggle on just his £400,000 salary. 🚰 The Drinking Water Inspectorate has concluded that South East Water's handling of supply disruption in Tunbridge Wells last year showed "[systematic and repeated failings](https://www.watermagazine.co.uk/2026/04/15/dwi-finds-systemic-failings-in-south-east-water-following-tunbridge-wells-incident/?ref=kentcurrent.news)." 🔥 Arson is suspected after a [large fire burned](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2026/04/20/fire-rips-through-reedbeds-at-pegwell-bay-nature-site/?ref=kentcurrent.news) through a nature reserve at Pegwell Bay. 🚓 Arrests were made in Dover over the weekend after [eggs were thrown](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dover/news/anti-immigration-protesters-gather-outside-costa-339210/?ref=kentcurrent.news) at a lorry as part of an anti-immigration protest attended by 20 people. 🛒 Costco are [consulting](https://www.costcowholesale-maidstone.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) on opening its first Kent store, just off Junction 5 of the M20 at Aylesford. 🚂 The Spa Valley Railway has [reopened](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn4vp3e31k3o?ref=kentcurrent.news) following the installation of a new bridge. 🏗️ The demolition of Park Mall in Ashford [has begun](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/demolition-of-shopping-centre-begins-as-diggers-tear-down-si-339161/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 📚 Folkestone Library will open at its [new location](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/opening-date-for-new-library-and-adult-education-centre-in-folkestone-confirmed?ref=kentcurrent.news) on Sandgate Road on 26 May. 👷 The first tranche of funding for the [reopening of Margate Winter Gardens](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2026/04/16/significant-milestone-for-margate-winter-gardens-as-contract-formalised-and-first-tranche-of-funding-released/?ref=kentcurrent.news) has been released. 🗳️ The Green Party are [using their recent by-election win](https://greenparty.org.uk/2026/04/14/hope-beat-hate-how-greens-took-on-reform-in-kent-and-won/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Cliftonville as a reason they can win anywhere. We'll see how true that is next month. 🍺 Pub customers in the centre of Canterbury are unable to sit outside due to a [council error](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly9gz13k47o?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🚽 Folkestone & Hythe District Council have thrown out plans to convert a set of toilets into a war memorial, calling them "[insulting](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/folkestone/news/insulting-war-memorial-plans-for-toilet-block-refused-by-c-339150/?ref=kentcurrent.news)." 💩 Residents in Chestfield are being plagued by the [smell of sewage](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/whitstable/news/it-makes-you-sick-villagers-plagued-by-horrendous-sewag-339040/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🐴 Animal rights campaigners are planning to [protest](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/animal-rights-protest-planned-over-exploitative-horse-draw-339200/?ref=kentcurrent.news) the introduction of horse-drawn carriage tours in Canterbury. 🏳️‍🌈 Recent interviewee [Jordan Chan](https://www.kentcurrent.news/things-do-get-better/) has been [talking about the Invicta Icons](https://sportsmedialgbt.com/invicta-icons-cricket-club-lgbtq-gay-trans-kent-inclusive-sports-jordan-chan?ref=kentcurrent.news), the UK's newest LGBT+ inclusive cricket club. 🏆 Whitstable Town [have won](https://www.instagram.com/p/DXU1eH4jfbd/?ref=kentcurrent.news) the Kent Senior Trophy. ⚽ Ramsgate Football Club have [sacked their manager](https://fanbanter.co.uk/non-league-club-receives-huge-backlash-for-one-the-most-bizarre-sacking-statements-ever/?ref=kentcurrent.news) after he saved them from relegation and, checks notes, didn't spend enough money. 🕐 Deal's Timeball Tower is [seeking new volunteers](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/deal/news/this-kent-landmark-played-a-key-role-in-nations-history-338979/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to keep the historic structure running. 🧑‍⚖️ Maidstone Crown Court are holding an [open day](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/go-behind-the-scenes-at-court-without-committing-a-crime-339121/?ref=kentcurrent.news). ### Property of the week This week’s property is a Grade II listed townhouse in a private development on The Strand in Walmer, close enough to the beach that the listing can say 'coastal' without having to do any heavy lifting. The main selling point is on the first floor, where the big living and dining room has sea views, and the kitchen can either be part of the action or shut off behind bi-fold doors, depending on whether you want open-plan life or a bit of separation. It’s a three-storey layout with a loft room above, fully boarded, with heating and electrics, three double bedrooms, two en-suites, plus a family bathroom and a downstairs cloakroom. The property also sits within a managed development with communal gardens and visitor parking. Guide price £635,000. [Check out this 3 bedroom terraced house for sale on Rightmove3 bedroom terraced house for sale in Admiralty Mews, Walmer, Deal, Kent, CT14 for £635,000\. Marketed by Bright and Bright, Deal![](https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/link-icon.svg)Rightmove.co.uk![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/35500ed729261622e3745fa5fc346df3.jpeg)](https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/174580397?ref=kentcurrent.news#/) ### Events this week 🎸 Sat 25 Apr - [**The Frank & Walters**](https://www.ramsgatemusichall.com/tc-events/the-frank-and-walters/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Legendary Irish indie band. Ramsgate Music Hall. Tickets £22.50. 🔫 Sun 26 Apr - [**David Olusoga: A Gun Through Time**](https://marlowetheatre.com/shows/david-olusoga-a-gun-through-time/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // TV historian tells the story of four firearms that changed the world. Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury. Tickets from £32. ## ****Kent, properly reported** ****Independent journalism on the county’s biggest stories, without the clickbait or clutter** Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### **Footnotes** ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### “Embrace your inner oddball” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/embrace-your-inner-oddball/ Last updated: 2026-04-19T06:00:52.000Z *Reading about the* [*British Stand-Up Comedy Archive*](https://www.kent.ac.uk/library/special-collections/british-stand-up-comedy-archive?ref=kentcurrent.news) *in Robin Ince's memoir, Steven was curious to find out more. Thankfully,* [*Oliver Double*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver%5FDouble?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, Reader in Comic and Popular Performance, was happy to host Steven in his office at the University of Kent, where they discussed how the archive started, why Kent isn't known for original comedy and whether stand-up is a form of theatre.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/04/NEBR6677-1.jpg) Oliver Double. Photo: Nathan Eaton-Baudains. **What is your official occupation?** I am Reader in Comic and Popular Performance at the University of Kent. Which is a weird job title, I am aware of that. **Do you have any additional roles, paid or unpaid?** Well, I stopped being on the circuit for comedy in 1999, but I've never really stopped. I'm the compere for [Funny Rabbit](https://www.facebook.com/FunnyRabbitCC/), a monthly night at the [Gulbenkian](https://thegulbenkian.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news). I do a few gigs a year. In addition, I co-host a podcast with [Laura Lexx](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura%5FLexx?ref=kentcurrent.news) called [The Comedy Bureau](https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-comedy-bureau/id1836934156?ref=kentcurrent.news). Laura is a comedian who started doing stand-up when she was studying here. I taught her when she was studying here. **How did that podcast start?** Laura WhatsApp’ed me and said, “I've got this idea for a podcast. It's me and you get really nerdy about comedy.” It took me a second. “The answer is yes.” The second series just finished. We've got a whole other series already recorded. **What is your relationship to the** [**British Stand-Up Comedy Archive**](https://www.kent.ac.uk/library/special-collections/british-stand-up-comedy-archive?ref=kentcurrent.news)**?** I essentially founded the archive because in 2013, my friend Warren Lakin contacted me. He was [Linda Smith](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda%5FSmith%5F%28comedian%29?ref=kentcurrent.news)'s partner, saying “I'm moving house, I've got all this stuff from Linda. Would you like it at the university, because she grew up in Kent.” I said, “That sounds great. I need to check with my colleagues.” A former colleague who was at the time in charge of our Special Collections and Archives department was very interested in the [British Cartoon Archive](https://www.kent.ac.uk/library/special-collections/british-cartoon-archive?ref=kentcurrent.news), which we've had here since the 1970s. He feared that, maybe because newspapers are, in the traditional way, phasing out, perhaps the cartoonist might be a dying breed, which I think was an unfounded fear, but he said “Maybe we should try and use this as the beginning of an archive,” and I said “That sounds like a great idea, but I really need to check with some people I know because sometimes comedians can be very protective.” I asked two comedians that I know, [Mark Thomas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark%5FThomas?ref=kentcurrent.news) and [Josie Long](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josie%5FLong?ref=kentcurrent.news) and said to them you “We've started an archive. Would you be prepared to donate?” and they both said yes. In fact, Mark came back to us very quickly with a ton of stuff. Warren had been on radio, because Linda was obviously a big figure on Radio 4 and there'd been an anniversary, and she was back in the news after dying. He announced that we were starting this archive, and it was before we'd had official approval or anything. But now the news was out there in the world. That was 2013. > You can't put stand-up itself into an archive because it's a live performance form **Linda is someone I would have loved to have interviewed. For the readers who might not have been aware of her, how would you describe her and her comedy?** Linda Smith was a working-class comedian from Kent who was very political and very sharp, a really good stand-up comic. She did bits of telly, she was on Room 101 with Paul Merton, for example. Some QIs and Mock the Weeks early on. Where she really found her audience was Radio 4\. She was a regular on the News Quiz, and she was an absolute stalwart of that. She was brilliant on it. And she also did things like I'm Sorry, I Haven't a Clue. Her own show, called A Brief History of Time Wasting, for radio. She was brilliant, a really nice person, and I think when she died, perhaps the full extent of people's affection for her was really expressed. Warren, who sadly died himself earlier this year, was really good at curating Linda's legacy. He put out two books, one of her work, transcripts of her performance. Then the other was a memoir about her. He also curated a series of Loving Linda benefit gigs for [Target Ovarian Cancer](https://targetovariancancer.org.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news). ## Kent, reported properly Clear, independent reporting on our county without the ads or clickbait Subscribe for free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. **What does the archive do? Is it something that the public can view?** It collects material connected with stand-up comedy. In terms of whether the public can access it, you absolutely can. If you want to see any of the material, there's an [online catalogue](https://archive.kent.ac.uk/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=BSUCA&ref=kentcurrent.news), and you can arrange to come in and see the material. You give an indication of what you want, and they'll fetch it up from the stacks where it's stored, and they'll take it to the reading room, and you can spend as long as you like with that. Here's the weird thing about stand-up. You can't put stand-up itself into an archive because it's a live performance form, and even if you did a gig in the archive, when the gig finished, it's not in the archive anymore. What you could put in there is a bunch of stuff that relates to that, so it's really varied. A leatherised tangerine is one of the first things that was donated to the archive by Josie Long. Josie Long threw this orange into the audience of the 2008 Trying is Good show, Melbourne. Josie did a show about museums and archiving. People send her items, and that was one of the things that was sent. She used to do a thing where she used to reward punters for trying hard. She would give them an orange. You might say, what's that got to do with stand-up? I think it's got a lot to do with stand-up because I think it's a really interesting symptom of Josie's approach to comedy, which is very earnest, enthusiastic and DIY. A lot of stand-ups could be much more abrasive than that, but that's not her style. She's quite nerdy. I think it is encapsulated by that orange. It was given out to somebody as a reward for trying hard, which indicates something about her performance style. A show about museums and archiving that tells you a lot about her performance style. It tells you a lot about her fans and the dedication of her fans, the fact they kept the orange and then sent it to her. Although you'd think it would have gone mouldy or rotted, it hasn't. It's just desiccated. Hopefully it'll last forever. The items we have, we've defined stand-up quite broadly. We've got stuff that was donated to us by [Attila the Stockbroker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attila%5Fthe%5FStockbroker?ref=kentcurrent.news), the ranting poet, who definitely doesn't see himself as stand-up. He's quite anti stand-up in a way, but ranting poetry was one of the roots of modern stand-up. Also, he studied here. Why wouldn't we want to honour him in that way? We've got things to do with sitcoms, radio, and TV that grows out of stand-up. Scripts that were donated by [Alexei Sayle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexei%5FSayle?ref=kentcurrent.news), for example. We've got business records, we've got fan collections, we've got obviously a lot of publicity materials, we've got a lot of recordings, video and audio, both things that have been broadcast or made commercially available and things that haven't. Privately made recordings. We've also got one of [Harry Hill](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry%5FHill?ref=kentcurrent.news)'s suits, props, weird items. It's a really, really varied collection. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/04/PXL_20260401_094537381-1-1.jpg) Posters in the British Stand-Up Comedy Archive and one of Harry Hill's suits. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Major Maidstone public artwork sold off behind closed doors URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/major-maidstone-public-artwork-sold-off-behind-closed-doors/ Last updated: 2026-05-14T10:29:54.000Z **Kent County Council has confirmed it sold Antony Gormley’s Two Stones from outside Maidstone library, raising fresh questions about how one of the town’s best-known public artworks was disposed of. We also look at the abrupt end of County Hall’s first political assistant, and the latest stage in the long-running effort to get the Swanscombe Hole repaired...* ### Maidstone’s Antony Gormley is gone, and the council won’t show its working Kent County Council has sold Antony Gormley’s [Two Stones](https://www.antonygormley.com/works/sculpture/permanent/two-stones?ref=kentcurrent.news) from outside Maidstone library back to the artist, saying the private sale was part of efforts to deal with its financial pressures. It has not said how much it received for the work, who signed off on the sale, or what formal scrutiny the decision went through. That is not a minor omission. Selling a major public artwork is one thing. Doing it through a private sale, then declining to explain the price, valuation or approval route, is another. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/04/KC_Maid-Stones.jpg) Two Stones was not tucked away in storage or forgotten in some County Hall corner, like some of the artwork [previously sold off](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/art-collection-goes-under-the-hammer?ref=kentcurrent.news) by KCC. It sat outside the Kent History and Library Centre in Maidstone, one of the county’s main public buildings, and it was by one of Britain’s best-known sculptors. Gormley studied at Maidstone College of Art, which gave the work an obvious local resonance as well as artistic value. For years, it was treated as part of Maidstone’s public realm. Maidstone Borough Council’s own public art material described it as having been commissioned by KCC in 1979 and relocated to Maidstone from Ashford in 2013 after repairs. Gormley’s own website listed it as a permanent installation at the Kent History and Library Centre. Then it disappeared. Rumours began to spread that KCC had sold it off. At first, that was just a rumour, though a fairly pointed one. Then Cllr [Stuart Jeffery](https://www.kentcurrent.news/were-focused-on-the-practical-aspects/), the Green leader of Maidstone Borough Council and also a KCC councillor, said publicly on Facebook that KCC had sold the work and that he had received confirmation from a KCC director. KCC has now confirmed that was true. A council spokesperson told the *Kent Current*: “KCC recognises the cultural significance of Two Stones and Antony Gormley’s connection to Maidstone, therefore the decision to sell Antony Gormley’s Two Stones back to the artist was taken carefully as part of KCC’s ongoing work to manage the significant financial pressures facing Kent. Kent is in a similar position to most other local authorities in having to make difficult financial decisions.” “The private sale enables the council to raise income without increasing costs for residents or reducing frontline services. Returning the works directly to the artist also ensures their ongoing care and preserves the potential for future public exhibition.” “Responsible leadership requires difficult decisions to ensure the council remains financially sustainable while continuing to support culture in ways that are affordable and appropriate. The sculptures were dispatched at the end of March to be reunited with Antony Gormley.” There is plenty in there for KCC to point to. The council has an explanation and says the decision was taken carefully. It says the sale was driven by financial pressure, and that selling the work back to Gormley ensured its future care and at least kept the possibility of future public exhibition open. But it is also asking the public to take a great deal on trust. This was a private sale of a significant public artwork. KCC has not said what price it achieved. It has not said whether the sculpture was independently valued before the sale. It has not said who authorised the disposal or whether there is a formal decision record setting out how and why the decision was made. Those are basic questions, not awkward ones. KCC’s own [2024/25 Statement of Accounts](https://www.kent.gov.uk/%5F%5Fdata/assets/pdf%5Ffile/0004/221764/Statement-of-accounts-2024-to-2025.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news), published only a few months ago, still listed the 'Antony Gormley Boulders Sculpture' as a council-owned asset with a value of £859,000\. That does not mean the council sold it for that figure. Asset valuations and sale prices are not the same thing. But it does make the silence harder to shrug off. If a council chooses to sell an artwork it recently valued at £859,000 in a private deal, it is not unreasonable to expect some public explanation of what it got and how the decision was reached. The *Kent Current* asked KCC follow-up questions seeking the sale value, the date the decision was taken, who authorised it, whether there is a formal officer or councillor decision record, and whether the work was independently valued before the sale. It did not respond. Councils do, from time to time, sell assets. Nobody needs to pretend local government finances are in rude health. KCC is right that councils are under real pressure and that difficult decisions are being made across the country. But if the answer is to dispose of public cultural assets, the least the public can expect is clarity about the terms and process. Instead, KCC has confirmed the sale while declining to answer the most obvious questions about it. That has, perhaps unsurprisingly, gone down badly in Maidstone. Cllr Stuart Jeffery, leader of Maidstone Borough Council, said: “Reform are happy to fund their spin doctors from public money, and they seem to have no qualms about selling important public art to balance their books. That says volumes about their values.” “Just imagine if the Angel of the North got flogged off? The Two Stones may have a lower profile but they are important art and are really special to Maidstone with Gormley’s history here. Reform have no insight into governing or leading communities. This sale is shameful.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/04/image001.jpg) Cllrs Stuart Jeffery and Stephen Thompson point at the missing artwork. Or practising for their new Sparks cover band. Maybe both. Stephen Thompson, the Green cabinet member at Maidstone Borough Council whose brief includes arts, culture, heritage and tourism, said: “I’m furious. While Maidstone Borough Council is working hard to promote culture and art, the actions at KCC are the complete opposite of what we are doing.” “Not content with flogging off the county’s art collection, they have now robbed us of a major piece of public art at the library. Gormley’s Two Stones contrasts the real and the artificial. The fact that KCC have surreptitiously sold this off in a further feeble attempt to ‘balance the books’ really demonstrates the huge difference between our two councils.” The party politics here are obvious enough. Reform runs KCC, while the Greens run Maidstone Borough Council. Nobody was going to resist the temptation to turn this into a row about values and priorities. Still, the politics are not the most interesting part. The more revealing point is what this says about how KCC now appears to view public assets that are awkwardly non-essential. Two Stones was part of Maidstone’s civic landscape until it suddenly was not. The council decided it could be turned into cash and offered a justification only after questions started flying. Even then, it offered only the broadest possible account. It says the sale was taken carefully. Fine, but show the care. Show the valuation, the approval route and the price achieved. Show the public what sort of stewardship this was supposed to be. Until then, what remains is a fairly bleak picture. One of Maidstone’s best-known public artworks has been removed and sold in a private deal because KCC wanted the money. The council has confirmed that much. On the details that would let the public judge whether it handled the sale properly, it has so far chosen not to say. ### County Hall’s first political assistant barely lasts four months Kent County Council had never had political assistants before. Reform changed that in December, pushing through the creation of the taxpayer-funded roles despite a fairly obvious row over cost, timing and priorities. Four months later, its first appointee is already gone. Michael Hadwen, the first political assistant appointed to support Reform at County Hall, has stepped down after only a short stint in the role. The immediate reason is straightforward enough. He is standing as a Reform candidate in a Suffolk County Council local election, and the rules do not allow taxpayer-funded political assistants to hold elected office. On one level, that is just a procedural point. On the other hand, it makes the whole thing look even more absurd. Reform fought to create a brand new political role at County Hall, appeared to have its preferred candidate in mind before councillors had even voted on it, and has now lost its first appointee within months because he wants to run for office elsewhere. The role was controversial from the outset. In December, a report to full council said political assistants could be paid up to £49,282 a year, excluding national insurance and pension contributions, and that only Reform and the Liberal Democrats qualified for one because they had at least 10% of council members. That same debate took place against a backdrop of supposed financial restraint elsewhere, with opposition councillors pointing out the contradiction between cutting in other areas while creating new political jobs at County Hall for the first time in its history. Critics returned repeatedly to the same basic point. Committees were being cut to save money. Earlier in the year, crisis grants for vulnerable residents had been reduced in the name of savings. Yet here was the administration deciding that what County Hall really needed was political support staff. The proposal passed anyway. But the strangest moment came during the debate itself, when Reform councillor Jamie Henderson referred to “our new appointment” and said he had already met “the gentleman” who would take up the role. That was an extraordinary thing to say at a meeting where councillors were still deciding whether to create the post at all. The role did not yet formally exist. No explanation was offered in the chamber. That detail looked bad at the time. It looks no better now. Hadwen’s LinkedIn profile says he held the role from December 2025 to April 2026\. On its own, that does not prove he started before the post was formally approved on 18 December. LinkedIn only gives month-level dates rather than exact ones. But given that the vote happened only a week before Christmas, it does rather reinforce the impression that the recruitment process was moving very quickly indeed, if not already well advanced before councillors were asked to sign it off. Then, almost as soon as the role was created, it began to unravel. [According to KentOnline](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/reform-uk-political-assistant-at-county-hall-steps-down-339022/?ref=kentcurrent.news), Reform’s explanation is that Hadwen took the KCC job after the government cancelled local elections in Suffolk, but then decided to stand once a legal challenge restored them. Whatever the internal logic, the end result is that County Hall’s first political assistant has lasted barely four months before having to step aside in order to pursue elected office elsewhere. That may explain the mechanics of his departure. It does not make the wider episode look any more sensible. After all the noise in December, after all the criticism over cost and priorities, and after the impression that Reform already knew exactly who it wanted, Kent taxpayers appear to have got only a few months of County Hall’s first ever political assistant before he headed off to seek election in another county. That is awkward enough in itself. It looks sillier still because the Liberal Democrats, who also qualified for a political assistant under the rules, have said they are not planning to appoint one. That leaves Reform as the group that insisted on creating the role, filled it, and has now watched its first appointee disappear almost immediately. Hadwen was also not an entirely obscure appointment. Last year, anti-extremism group Hope Not Hate [published a piece](https://hopenothate.org.uk/2025/06/26/enoch-was-right-reform-uks-director-of-campaigns-keenly-defended-enoch-powell/?ref=kentcurrent.news) about him, then working for Reform nationally, alleging historic social media activity, including support for Enoch Powell and favourable remarks about Milo Yiannopoulos. That reporting was already in the public domain before his brief appearance as County Hall’s first political assistant. None of this is the biggest scandal ever to hit County Hall. But it is revealing. Reform introduced a role KCC had never had before, did so while facing criticism over cuts and financial pressure elsewhere, created the impression during the debate that the appointment was already lined up, and has now seen its first political assistant leave within months. For a role sold as a serious addition to the machinery of County Hall politics, it has so far looked decidedly flimsy. ***Kent is large, messy and often faintly absurd.** *The Kent Current is backed by readers, which means we can report on it properly. An* [**annual subscription costs £1.15 a week*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) *and helps make that possible.* [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) ### Swanscombe Hole enters £1bn funding race, but no guarantee it gets fixed Kent County Council says it is now preparing to bid for government funding to repair the collapsed A226, Galley Hill Road in Swanscombe. That is the clearest route yet to reopening the road. It is also a reminder of how absurd the whole situation has become. Because even now, more than three years after the road collapsed, there is still no guaranteed plan to fix it. Instead, Kent has to enter a national bidding competition and hope its case is strong enough to beat rival schemes elsewhere. A section of Galley Hill Road collapsed in April 2023 when part of the chalk spine it sits on gave way, taking the road with it. Since then, the route has remained closed, with traffic rerouted through residential streets and local businesses left to deal with the fallout. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/04/image-1.png) The collapsed Galley Hill Road. Photo: [James O'Malley](https://takes.jamesomalley.co.uk/p/the-landslide?ref=kentcurrent.news). The government has now opened applications to a £1bn Structures Fund intended to support major repairs to bridges, flyovers and other highway infrastructure. Councils are being asked to submit bids by early August, with funding decisions expected in the autumn. KCC has welcomed the launch of the fund and says it has been preparing for this point for some time. The council says it has continued design and technical work while waiting for applications to open, and will now review the scheme’s eligibility and the scope for putting forward what it calls a “strong and well-prepared” bid. Peter Osborne, KCC’s cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “We know just how important Galley Hill Road is to local residents and businesses in Swanscombe, Ebbsfleet and Northfleet and how long people have been waiting for real progress.” “Since 2024 we’ve been clear that government funding would be essential, and while we waited for the Government to open the Structures Fund, we’ve made sure we are ready by progressing designs and technical work.” “Now that the fund is open, we will move quickly to explore the possibility of submitting a strong bid so Galley Hill Road can be treated as a priority scheme.” The language is a little more careful than [some of the public comments](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg0094gdjjo?ref=kentcurrent.news) made elsewhere this week, but the basic position has not changed. KCC has been saying for some time that national funding is essential, and nothing in its latest statement suggests it has found another realistic way to pay for a scheme expected to cost around £50m. That figure helps explain why this has dragged on for so long. A project on that scale is far beyond anything the council could easily absorb from its normal highways budget, which leaves central government support as the only plausible route to a permanent fix. Dartford MP Jim Dickson has welcomed the fund's opening and is urging KCC to submit what he calls the “strongest possible bid.” He said residents had been “waiting for more than three years for money to be on the table” and that it was now up to the county council to make sure the opportunity was not wasted. A timeline is now clearer than at any point since the collapse. Draft bids can be submitted for feedback in June, with final applications due in August. Ministers are then expected to decide which schemes get funding by the end of November. If Galley Hill Road is successful, the expectation is that the work would be completed by March 2030. Even that would mean the road remained out of action for almost seven years. The immediate question is no longer whether Galley Hill needs fixing. Everyone accepts that it does. The absurdity is that something this obviously important still has to fight its way through a competitive funding process, with councils effectively invited to make the best case for why their infrastructure failure matters more than someone else’s. That is the position Swanscombe now finds itself in. A road collapse that has blighted daily life for years, disrupted buses, businesses and school runs, and sits in the middle of a major growth area is not simply being fixed. It is being bid for. There has finally been progress of a sort. After years of surveys, delays and uncertainty over how any of this would be paid for, there is now at least a live route to funding. But it is still only a route. It is not yet a solution. If KCC puts together a successful bid, the process of actually fixing the Swanscombe Hole can properly begin. If it does not, there is still very little sign of what happens next. That, more than anything, tells you how precarious the situation still is. ## ****Kent, properly reported** ****Independent journalism on the county’s biggest stories, without the clickbait or clutter** Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Footnotes ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### Kent Police shows progress, but weak spots remain URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/kent-police-shows-progress-but-weak-spots-remain/ Last updated: 2026-04-20T08:19:14.000Z **This week’s Kent Current leads with a new inspection of Kent Police, which praises progress in call handling and victim outcomes but raises serious concerns about how the force records and scrutinises the use of force. We've also local government reorganisation, water and infrastructure issues, major planning applications, and the mix of politics, public services and local oddities shaping Kent this week...* ### Kent Police wins praise for progress, but watchdog finds force oversight still falls short Kent Police has got better at some of the most visible parts of the job, including answering calls and improving outcomes for victims. But a [new inspection](https://hmicfrs.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/publications/peel-assessment-2025-27-kent/?ref=kentcurrent.news) says it still has some uncomfortable weaknesses in one of the most sensitive parts of policing, namely how it records, explains and independently scrutinises the use of force. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/04/AdobeStock_1228302822_Editorial_Use_Only-1.jpeg) His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services said Kent Police had strengthened how it responds to the public and investigates crime since the last inspection, and rated the force outstanding in its support and development of its workforce. Even so, inspectors also said the force needs to do more to properly account for force used by officers and to better protect vulnerable people. The most striking finding in the report is on the use of force. Inspectors said Kent Police recorded 19,444 use-of-force incidents in the year to March 2025, but estimated it should have recorded 29,565\. On that basis, the force likely under-recorded use-of-force incidents by over 10,000. They also found that in 14 of 20 use-of-force cases they reviewed, the paperwork lacked sufficient detail or rationale to justify why force was used, the level of force used, or the specific tactic chosen. That is worth being precise about. The report does not accuse Kent Police of unlawfully using force in those cases. What it does say is that the force is still not reliably documenting one of the clearest tests of police accountability. HM Inspector Roy Wilsher said he was pleased with several aspects of Kent Police’s performance, but identified continuing concerns about how it records and reviews police powers and protects people at risk of harm. The report also says independent scrutiny of police powers remains too thin. Kent Police has a public volunteer panel which reviews body-worn video and provides feedback, but inspectors found that in the 12 months leading up to the inspection, it had met only three times rather than the planned four. Over that period, it reviewed just 11 stop-and-search cases and four use-of-force cases. Inspectors said that was not enough to provide meaningful independent scrutiny. There were continued concerns about disproportionality, too. The report says people from a black ethnic minority background were 2.9 times more likely than white people to be subject to the use of force by Kent Police in the year to March 2025\. Black people were also 2.6 times more likely than white people to be stopped and searched. Inspectors said the force analyses this, but still needs to better understand and explain the disparity and take action to reduce it. This was not a bad report across the board. Kent Police was praised for improvements in call handling, with 93.6% of 999 calls answered within 10 seconds in the year to November 2025, above the national standard of 90%. Inspectors also said the force had improved its non-emergency performance and increased positive outcomes for victims of crime. But even there, the story is not entirely tidy. The report says Kent Police still regularly misses attendance time targets for calls, while investigators still need to improve supervision when closing cases and make sure the correct outcome codes are recorded. The watchdog also identified weaknesses in safeguarding. It said Kent Police needed to take more consistent action with partner agencies to reduce risks to vulnerable people. In the cases reviewed by inspectors, schools had been notified about children exposed to domestic abuse in only 10 of 15 relevant cases. Information was shared with appropriate agencies in only 18 of 28 relevant cases. There were also concerns about inconsistent handling of missing person investigations across different divisions. Kent Police and Crime Commissioner [Matthew Scott](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-might-well-be-interested-in-putting/) welcomed the report and sought to present it as evidence of progress. He said, “I welcome the findings of this report that evidences the progress Kent Police has made over the past couple of years. It is continuously improving the service that it delivers to residents and businesses, and that is reflected in the commentary and gradings.” Scott pointed to neighbourhood policing, contact centre performance and improved outcomes for victims, adding that “there are still some areas for improvement,” which he said Kent Police had already started to address. That is fair up to a point. This is not a report that says Kent Police is failing everywhere. But it is also not quite the reassuring progress report Scott would like. Some of the weakest findings go to the heart of how the public judges a police force. When officers use force, is the justification properly recorded? Is there enough scrutiny from outside the force to test whether powers are being used fairly? When vulnerable people come into contact with police, are the right agencies being told and the right safeguards put in place? Kent Police can point to genuine improvement in some important areas. What this report makes clear is that there are still some fairly basic things that it is not getting right often enough. ### Council matters **Meetings this week:** - **Dover:** [Cabinet](https://moderngov.dover.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=121&MId=5161&ref=kentcurrent.news) gathers tonight (Monday) to discuss affordable housing, air quality, and the management of Deal beach. - **Folkestone & Hythe:** [Planning and Licensing Committee](https://folkestone-hythe.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=439&MId=5591&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Tuesday to decide on plans to convert a toilet block into a war memorial. - **Gravesham:** [Council](https://democracy.gravesham.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=144&MId=9405&ref=kentcurrent.news) will debate the corporate risk register and changes to the constitution on Tuesday. - **Maidstone:** [Cabinet](https://meetings.maidstone.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=748&MId=5611&ref=kentcurrent.news) will meet on Wednesday to seemingly debate every issue in the borough. - **Ashford:** [Cabinet](https://ashford.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=136&MId=4922&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Thursday to discuss the biggest report of the year: the Customer Service, IT and Digital Strategy. **New planning applications:** - **Dartford:** Erection of a [neighbourhood centre](https://publicaccess.dartford.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=TBMQPSBQHUJ00&ref=kentcurrent.news) in Stone, with retail units, restaurants, offices, and a health centre. - **Sevenoaks:** Outline application for up to [300 new homes](https://pa.sevenoaks.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=TBSQF0BKM9C00&ref=kentcurrent.news) in Ash. - **Tonbridge & Malling:** Expansion of existing [car parking](https://publicaccess.tmbc.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=TCURE3QHG2900&ref=kentcurrent.news) on the edge of Aylesford. ***Kent is large, messy and often faintly absurd.** *The Kent Current is backed by readers, which means we can report on it properly. An* [**annual subscription costs £1.15 a week*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) *and helps make that possible.* [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) ### In brief 📍 Kent County Council is calling on the government to [fast-track local government reorganisation](https://www.themj.co.uk/calls-grow-fast-track-reorganisation-kent?ref=kentcurrent.news), rather than follow the original timeline, which would mean waiting until the summer. 🟢 Green Party leader Zack Polanski [returned to Margate](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2026/04/11/green-party-leader-returns-to-margate-for-by-election-celebration/?ref=kentcurrent.news) on Friday night following the victory of Green candidate Rob Yates in the Cliftonville by-election. 💉 The NHS is set to [begin offering](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqxlyepd09no?ref=kentcurrent.news) second doses of the meningitis vaccine following the recent outbreak in Canterbury. 🚰 South East Water has announced a [support package](https://www.watermagazine.co.uk/2026/04/09/south-east-water-announces-support-package-for-tunbridge-wells-businesses-after-december-supply-disruption/?ref=kentcurrent.news) for Tunbridge Wells businesses following supply disruptions in December. 🏗️ Work on developing the 10,000 home Otterpool Park development near Folkestone has been '[painfully slow](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/hythe/news/painfully-slow-whats-holding-up-kents-8-500-home-garden-338782/?ref=kentcurrent.news),' but there may finally be some movement in the project. 🚓 A dispersal order was [put in place](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2026/04/09/dispersal-order-enacted-for-broadstairs-following-large-number-of-youths-arriving-in-town/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Broadstairs last week after large numbers of young people arrived in the town and began engaging in antisocial behaviour. 🚄 Eurotunnel has been [fined £2.25m](https://www.orr.gov.uk/search-news/eurotunnel-fined-ps225m-health-and-safety-failings-which-resulted-serious-injuries?ref=kentcurrent.news) for a 2018 health and safety failure that led to serious injuries to an engineer. 💣 Masts are set [to be removed](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce84zk7m5rko?ref=kentcurrent.news) from the SS Montgomery, the explosives-laden shipwreck that sits off the Kent coast, in the latest efforts to stop it from going boom. 🚧 Resurfacing works on the Thanet Way [will take place](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/planned-resurfacing-works-to-improve-a299-thanet-way-this-summer?ref=kentcurrent.news) across June and July, allowing the very bumpy road to eventually return to its 70mph speed limit. 🏫 St Lawrence College, a private school in Ramsgate that has operated since 1879, has [entered into administration](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c98mnyv3y6qo?ref=kentcurrent.news) and faces closure. 💷 Kent County Council and Medway Council [have launched](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/kent-county-council-and-medway-council-launch-new-grow-in-kent-service?ref=kentcurrent.news) a new Grow in Kent service to support the visitor economy and inward investment in the county. 🚜 In an impressive example of making a global story local, Rayo has been pondering what the attempted ceasefire in Iran [means for Kent farmers](https://www.hellorayo.co.uk/greatest-hits/kent/news/iran-ceasefire-benefits-still-uncertain-for-kent-farmers-ashford?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🏡 On a similar note, the Guardian [talks to a Canterbury estate agent](https://www.theguardian.com/money/2026/apr/12/trapped-despair-sellers-as-iran-war-knocks-uk-housing-market?ref=kentcurrent.news) about how the war has knocked confidence in the property market. 🐇 Wild rabbits have [disappeared from large parts of rural Kent](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly79xx5wd0o?ref=kentcurrent.news), with a deadly virus suspected as the cause. 🎛️ A Folkestone music festival has been [given the go-ahead](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/folkestone/news/it-s-not-a-party-music-festival-gets-green-light-despite-338720/?ref=kentcurrent.news) despite some nearby residents being very unhappy about the noise. 🎸 Louder Than War have [reviewed Courtney Barnett's performance](https://louderthanwar.com/courtney-barnett-where-else-margate-kent-live-review/?ref=kentcurrent.news) at Where Else? in Margate. 🗣️ The Times have an [extensive interview](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/art/article/tracey-emin-cancer-mortality-my-friend-2twd6xmss?ref=kentcurrent.news) with Margate artist Tracey Emin. ☕ If Kent is short of one thing, it's coffee shops, so it's a relief that Black Sheep Coffee [plans to open](https://qsrmedia.co.uk/franchising/news/black-sheep-coffee-expands-kent-footprint-14-site-plan?ref=kentcurrent.news) not 13, not 15, but 14 new outlets in Kent. ### Property of the week This week’s property is The Butchery, a Grade II listed mid-terrace right in the heart of Sandwich’s conservation area, which means you get the full medieval-town charm package and, crucially, a private parking space, which in central Sandwich is basically a superpower. The house is being sold chain free and has been used as a holiday home, but it looks set up for normal life too, with a front snug built around an exposed brick fireplace and solid fuel burner, a big dining room, then a rear living room with beams and patio doors straight out to a walled, sunny garden that is designed for low fuss and decent outdoor eating. Upstairs, there are four proper double bedrooms, including an en suite to the main bedroom, plus both a bathroom and a separate shower room, so it is not going to collapse into morning chaos the first time you have guests. Guide price £625,000\. [Check out this 4 bedroom terraced house for sale on Rightmove4 bedroom terraced house for sale in The Butchery, Sandwich, CT13 for £625,000\. Marketed by Finn’s, Sandwich![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/favicon-11.ico)Rightmove.co.uk![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/2ccb88cb30eb2c7fe9d0493fd4d46e43.jpeg)](https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/174311495?ref=kentcurrent.news#/) ### Events this week 🔫 Tue 14 Apr - [**David Olusoga: A Gun Through Time**](https://www.assemblyhalltheatre.co.uk/whats-on/david-olusoga-a-gun-through-time.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) // TV historian tells the story of four firearms that changed the world. Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury. Tickets from £32\. // *Also at* [*Marlowe Theatre*](https://marlowetheatre.com/shows/david-olusoga-a-gun-through-time/?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, Canterbury on 26 Apr.* 🎤 Sun 19 Apr - [**Andy Zaltzman: The Zaltgeist**](https://www.creativefolkestone.org.uk/whats-on/andy-zaltman/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Host of The Bugle podcast assesses the state of the world. Quartherhouse, Folkestone. Tickets £20\. *Also at* [*Hazlitt Theatre*](https://www.parkwoodtheatres.co.uk/hazlitt-theatre/whats-on/andy-zaltzman---the-zaltgeist?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, Maidstone on 5 May.* ## ****Kent, properly reported** ****Independent journalism on the county’s biggest stories, without the clickbait or clutter** Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### **Footnotes** 📣 ****Correction to 10 Apr edition:** As part of our coverage of the Cliftonville by-election, our Friday edition stated that former Conservative MP Peter Bone was running Charlie Leys' campaign for the Conservatives in Cliftonville. This was incorrect, and he was supporting the campaign as a volunteer. We're happy to correct the record. ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### “If you're going to do something, you've got to do it properly” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/if-youre-going-to-do-something-youve-got-to-do-it-properly/ Last updated: 2026-04-12T11:00:36.000Z *Sheila Potipher is a magistrate and former Chair of MidKent College. Steven met her at MidKent's Maidstone campus, where they spoke about what magistrates do, supporting young people into college and the passing of MidKent principal Sue McLeod.*.. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/04/IMG_0260-1.JPG) Sheila Potipher and colleagues receiving the Queen's Award at Buckingham Palace. **What was your official occupation before you retired?** I was in the insurance industry. I had my own firm of brokers, and I specialised in construction. **How did you come to specialise in that particular industry?** It starts by default because I joined an international company who had a branch in Maidstone. I moved down and headed up their construction department that was just being started, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Loved dealing with builders, contractors, and such. Even though I've been retired since 2008, I still see some of my old clients as friends. **Do you currently have any additional roles?** I'm a trustee of Valley Invicta Academies Trust. I'm chair of governance of Victory Girls Grammar School. I am a magistrate. **We've met today at MidKent College. What's your connection to MidKent College?** I was a governor. **For a while?** Yeah, a long while. I think I started about 2000, and normally speaking, you do four-year terms, and the maximum you ought to do is two terms, maybe three. I actually did more because of the circumstances of *\[former MidKent College principal and then Chief Executive\]* Stephen Grix's illness. Sue McLeod *\[former MidKent College principal\]* unfortunately died. You needed stability to remain there. I remained for longer than what would have been ideal, but hopefully it wasn't to the detriment of the college. **How did you become a governor at the college?** I've always done youth work, and the father of one of the girls that was in my group was chair of governors of the college. He said about becoming a governor at the college. I thought, 'Why not? You can mix your business ability and the fact that you are involved with young people.' Then I suppose the rest is history. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/04/Maidstone_Campus--1--2.webp) MidKent College's Maidstone campus **You eventually became chair of the governors yourself?** I became chair of the governors after a while, predominantly after I retired from work, because if you're going to do something, you've got to do it properly. **Whether it be a further education college or a grammar school, what are good attributes to bring to being a chair of governors?** To be honest, you're a coordinator. You have got to ensure that all of your governors around the table, all your trustees are given the opportunity to participate in the discussion, because when you get a group of people, you will have some that will be there and giving their opinion immediately and overtaking, you'll have others that are slightly more reticent. It's watching the table, and making sure that without putting anybody on the spot, you get everybody's view. **During your time as chair of governors of the college, there were highs and lows. You mentioned Sue McLeod. For someone who might not have been aware, how would you describe her?** She was MidKent College. She'd been here a long time. She'd built up and at the time, was deputy, principal, et cetera. When Stephen was wanting to retire, it was a good fit. She was well recommended. She was recognised for her commitment to the college. Really great. It was an incredibly sudden illness that took her so the college was in complete and utter disbelief. It was a time when we had to try to hold things together. Steve also having not been well either, and bringing Simon *\[Cook, current MidKent College principal\]* in. It was quite a juggling match, but everybody was on board. Everybody pulled together brilliantly. **There was a community memorial for Sue at Rochester Cathedral. Which was not a usual thing.** It was the only place big enough. **Why do you think so many people turned out for Sue?** The younger you are, the more people you know, et cetera. She was incredibly well respected, particularly in the Medway area. She touched so many lives, and if you take a college where people that have been through the college and remember, we're not only with young people. We've got the access students, but you’ve also got more mature students, and everybody wanted to be there. **Then, to talk about highs, you were here when the college received the** [**Queen's Award**](https://feweek.co.uk/thankyou-maam-college-leaders-awarded-by-the-queen/?ref=kentcurrent.news)**?** In fact, I have got some photographs of myself with the Queen. I can't remember where they are now. We were the only college that was nominated at that time for the Queen's Award for Excellence in Education, and we got to go up to Buckingham Palace and receive the award. It was a real high. A lot of it was also in connection with the work which was being done by the college at the Royal School of Military Engineering as well, which was a unique tie-up. It benefited the sappers, but it also benefited the college students. > I must confess I thought they were pulling my leg on the slow worms **Were you part of the governors when the decision was made to move from the City Way and Horsted sites to Gillingham?** It was called Medway Vision. That was the subcommittee, and we had so many things to manage. We'd found slow worms on the site, which stopped us from being able to work. We then found the tunnels underneath Horsted, and what were we going to do about these tunnels? You couldn't open them up because they were full of asbestos, because I said, “Maybe we'd have a multi-story car park.” But every time you had a meeting, something different seemed to come along. I must confess I thought they were pulling my leg on the slow worms, but no. I believe we found it was something like 200 slow worms, and I think it cost us £1.8m to redirect them to somewhere else. **The Horsted site was quite a large piece of real estate. Why couldn't that be redeveloped and built on, rather than going to a completely new site and building there?** The links for getting students to Horsted were quite difficult where it was situated. We also had the opportunity to have the site down there, which did fit well with the Royal School of Military Engineering and everything. We had adequate parking because nothing upsets local residents like student parking. It just fitted. It meant we could also develop the three fingers. We've got the auditorium for the stage, which is professional standard. Everything we could do was to the highest standard. We felt it better that we did it as a new build. Horsted was tired, and we had Rochester, but they weren't close enough to link up. We wanted to get everybody on one site, and that was one of the other reasons that we did what we did. **What does a magistrate do?** The easiest way is to say that we are a judge. The magistracy goes back hundreds of years. We sit as three magistrates together. We have no jury, whereas obviously in the Crown Court, you have a judge and you have a jury. Everything starts in the magistrates’ court. Every single offence will come into the magistrates’ court, and it will then be decided whether it should be heard in the magistrates’ court or whether it should go to the Crown Court. The defendant has the right to say where he or she wishes the case to be heard, or the magistrates whether or not they feel they have sufficient powers. Sometimes, what we might say is this is not a complicated case, so we can deal with it, but we reserve the right to pass it to the Crown Court for sentence if the person is found guilty, and we feel our powers are insufficient. We are people from the community. We do not have a legal background. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Greens stun Reform in Cliftonville by-election shock URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/greens-stun-reform-in-cliftonville/ Last updated: 2026-04-16T18:48:05.000Z **The Greens have won the Cliftonville by-election, taking a seat Reform should have been able to hold and handing Linden Kemkaran’s party its first real electoral setback since taking control of Kent County Council. This edition looks at how Rob Yates came from fourth place last year to win for the party, why Labour’s tactical squeeze pitch collapsed, and what the result says about Reform’s position in Kent...* ### Greens stun Reform in Cliftonville by-election shock Rob Yates has won the Cliftonville by-election for the Greens, taking a seat that Reform should have been able to hold and handing [Linden Kemkaran](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-think-theres-a-lot-gone-wrong-with/)’s party its first real electoral setback since taking control of Kent County Council. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/04/KC_Cliftonville-1.jpg) ****Cliftonville by-election result:** 🟢 Rob Yates (Green) - 2068 - Elected ➡️ Marc Rattigan (Reform) - 1767 🌳 Charlie Leys (Conservative) - 811 🌹 Joanne Bright (Labour) - 557 ⚪ Lucy Gray (Independent) - 68 🔶 Mo Shafaei (LDem) - 63 For the Greens, it is a striking breakthrough. For Reform, it is a bad result whichever way you dress it up. For Labour, after spending much of the campaign loudly insisting only it could beat Reform here, it is a fairly brutal humiliation. Cliftonville was never just another county council by-election. The contest was triggered after Daniel Taylor, who won the seat for Reform in the party’s 2025 Kent landslide, was jailed for 12 months for controlling or coercive behaviour towards his wife. He had already lost the whip and sat as an independent, but only his sentence and immediate disqualification finally vacated the seat. Cliftonville went back to the polls in circumstances that were already ugly before the campaigning even began. From there, things only got stranger. What should have been a fairly straightforward Labour versus Reform fight became a messier and more interesting contest, with the Greens steadily building momentum, the Conservatives refusing to go quietly, and a wider campaign atmosphere that often felt closer to a parliamentary by-election than a routine county council poll. National figures were hauled in from all sides. Tactical voting pleas got louder and more desperate. Candidates and parties alike seemed to treat normal political biographies as optional. By the end, though, the result was clearer than the campaign was. The Greens won. Reform lost a seat it had every reason to think it could defend. Labour’s pitch to voters collapsed. The first live electoral test of Reform in power at County Hall produced the sort of answer Kemkaran’s party could have done without. The scale of the Green move is the first thing that stands out. In the county elections last year, the party was a distant fourth in Cliftonville on 576 votes and 12%. This time, it took 2,068 votes and 39%, jumping from the margins of the race to first place in the span of 11 months. That is not a small local improvement or a tidy squeeze on another party’s vote, but a major shift. Reform, by contrast, dropped from 1,922 votes and 40% in 2025 to 1,767 and 33% now. In ordinary circumstances, losing seven points in a by-election would already be uncomfortable for a party leading national polls. In these circumstances, after all the effort Reform put into Cliftonville, it looks worse. Labour’s performance is worse still. Joanne Bright had begun the campaign from second place in the 2025 result, and Labour spent weeks insisting it was the only plausible anti-Reform vehicle, with East Thanet MP Polly Billington heavily pushing that line. Emily Thornberry came down to support Bright and make the case that anything other than a Labour vote risked helping Reform. Tactical voting website StopReformUK was invoked with great enthusiasm. None of it worked. Labour’s vote fell from 1,055 and 22% last year to 557 and 10% now. It did not just fail to win. It finished behind Reform, the Greens and the Conservatives. Labour did not run a campaign that left itself much room for anything other than success. The whole pitch was that voters had to line up behind Labour if they wanted to stop Reform. Cliftonville’s voters looked at that argument and, in effect, picked someone else. The Conservatives, meanwhile, will see little comfort in finishing third. Charlie Leys ran a serious local campaign and ended up with 811 votes, down from the party’s 942 and 20% in 2025\. That is not a collapse on Labour’s scale, but neither is it much of a comeback. The Conservatives remain present in the seat, but not plausibly resurgent. Leys himself offered one of the clearest post-result readings of what happened. Thanking the 811 residents who had backed him on social media, he said: “This result is a referendum on Reform’s leadership at KCC and local government more broadly, the voters chose the candidate they thought who was best placed to beat Reform.” It is both a concession and a fairly direct summary of how the race ultimately functioned. Voters who wanted to land a blow on Reform coalesced around the Greens, not Labour or the Conservatives. For Rob Yates, a recent winner of the Best Moustache award at the Mr Margate Beard and Moustache Competition, the result completes a remarkable reversal. He had fought Cliftonville for the Greens as a former Labour councillor, part of a contest full of candidates whose party labels had changed faster than their local biographies. Before the result, he told the *Kent Current* the campaign had “felt more like a General Election” and said Green momentum had been building fast in the closing days. After the result, he was still taking it in. “From fourth place last year to first this year,” he said. “Wow, yeah, what can I say? This is big.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/04/image.png) Newly elected councillor Rob Yates (right). He also offered the most politically expansive reading of the result. “I believe that the population aren’t stupid and they see what’s happening at KCC. They don’t like that,” he said, arguing voters had backed a candidate with a local record rather than one trading on division. His campaign line was that Cliftonville deserved better. On the numbers, that plainly landed. The Greens were quick to claim the wider significance. KCC Green group leader [Mark Hood](https://www.kentcurrent.news/we-havent-had-a-king-of-kent-for-over-1-000-years/) called it “seismic for Kent” and said Cliftonville had delivered its verdict on Reform’s “appalling record” running the county council. Zack Polanski, the party’s national leader, went for a slightly simpler formulation: “Greens making a habit of taking on Reform - and winning!” It is easy to dismiss that sort of thing as victory day overstatement. In Cliftonville, though, the broad point is fair enough. The Greens, not Labour, were the party that turned anti-Reform sentiment into an actual win. It was not hard to see, as the count went on, where the race had really settled. There was a notable Green and Reform presence around the room, with some Labour figures, some Conservatives, the independent candidate, and one token Liberal Democrat who was not even the candidate. For all the weeks of talk about a four-way fight, by the time the ballots were being sorted and people were trying to read the tables, it increasingly felt like the real contest had narrowed to Green versus Reform. The mood shifted with it. Labour figures looked deflated and sounded defensive as the shape of the result became clearer. Reform, meanwhile, appeared to move quickly into damage-limitation mode. As the count slipped away from them, KCC Reform whip Maxwell Harrison told party representatives not to speak to the press. Kemkaran later left the count surrounded by journalists asking whether the result represented a failure of her leadership. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/04/IMG_1310.jpeg) KCC leader Linden Kemkaran leaves the election count flanked by journalists. That was not just theatre. It reflected the obvious political problem for Reform. Cliftonville was supposed to be the first real chance to show that the party’s grip on Kent remained solid enough despite months of rows, defections and awkward headlines at County Hall. Instead, it has produced the opposite impression. A seat won comfortably less than a year ago has gone, and gone not to Labour but to the Greens. Kemkaran, for her part, attempted to post through it. While declining to speak to journalists at the count, she took to X afterwards to insist the setback changed little. “The moral of this story is, if you vote Conservative, you get Green,” she wrote. In another post, she added: “Disappointed? Yes. Disrupted? No. Our majority at KCC hasn’t changed, so it’s onwards and upwards for Reform!!” That is true in the narrow arithmetic sense. Reform still controls KCC. It is also the sort of thing parties say when they are keen to sound unbothered by something that has plainly bothered them. Cliftonville does not change who runs County Hall. It does change the mood around that project. Reform has now had its first electoral test since taking power, and it did not pass it. Kemkaran also praised Rattigan as a “fantastic candidate” who “could not have done any more or worked any harder”, and said Reform had run a “clean and positive campaign throughout.” That was a generous description of a campaign in which Reform was not only defending a seat vacated by a jailed councillor, but also saw Jamie Henderson, its cabinet member for environment, coastal regeneration and public health, declare there were “far too many junkies already in Thanet” following the visit of Green Party leader Zack Polanski. In a seat in one of Kent’s more deprived areas, and with Henderson holding the public health brief, it was an impressively sloppy intervention. The Greens seized on it. [Stuart Jeffery](https://www.kentcurrent.news/were-focused-on-the-practical-aspects/), the Green group’s public health spokesperson at KCC, said Henderson was “not fit to hold public office” and argued addiction should be treated as a health issue rather than met with chastisement. Henderson and the KCC Reform group were both approached by *Kent Current* for comment*,* but did not respond. The Conservatives were trying to present Leys as the grown-up in the race. That pitch was slightly undercut by the fact that their campaign was being supported at the count by former MP Peter Bone, who was ejected from Parliament after an independent process upheld allegations of bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct against a staff member. In a contest triggered by the jailing of the outgoing councillor, it was a striking choice of backroom help. Labour, meanwhile, spent much of the race behaving as though it had a God-given claim to the anti-Reform vote, only to end up watching the Greens walk off with it. That mixture of noise, visiting grandees and self-importance is part of what made Cliftonville such a revealing little contest. Robert Jenrick came to support Reform. Emily Thornberry came for Labour. Caroline Lucas and then Zack Polanski appeared for the Greens. Craig Mackinlay was out for the Conservatives. All of them treated Cliftonville like something more than a routine local by-election because it plainly was. It was a test seat, an early barometer, a chance to show whether Reform’s takeover of KCC still had some electoral force behind it. The answer from Cliftonville is not that Reform is suddenly finished in Kent. The party remains the largest force at County Hall and still polled substantially here. The aura of inevitability is weaker than it was. The seat was defendable. The opposition was divided. The right was not split by a Restore candidate after all. The party that beat it matters. Had Labour won, it would have claimed its tactical squeeze line had been vindicated. Had the Conservatives won, the story would have been about a right-of-centre recovery. Instead, the Greens took a seat where they had been fourth less than a year ago, and did so while presenting themselves as the principal anti-Reform option in a part of Kent not usually treated as natural Green territory. That is a more disruptive result than a straightforward Labour gain would have been. For Cliftonville residents, the immediate point is simpler. After months in which the division was represented by a councillor whose criminal case and eventual imprisonment made him the story, they now have a new councillor and a cleaner slate. Whether Yates delivers what he promises is a question for another day. For now, the by-election has done what it was there to do. It has forced a reset. For everyone else watching Kent politics, it has done something more. It has shown that Reform can be beaten, that Labour is not automatically the beneficiary when anti-Reform voters go looking for somewhere to land, and that the Greens are no longer just an interesting side note in the county’s electoral story. Cliftonville was meant to be the first real electoral test of Reform in power. Reform lost it. ****Cliftonville is the kind of result that gets flattened into a headline very quickly. What matters is everything underneath it.** The **Kent Current* is backed by readers, which means we can stay on these stories properly, not just drop in when they get noisy. You can currently get [****25% off an annual subscription**](https://www.kentcurrent.news/happy-birthday), which works out to around 87p per week. [Get 25% off ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/happy-birthday) ## ****Kent, properly reported** ****Independent journalism on the county’s biggest stories, without the clickbait or clutter** Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Footnotes 📣 ***Correction 10 Apr:** *An earlier version of this story claimed that former Conservative MP Peter Bone was running Charlie Leys' campaign for the Conservatives in Cliftonville. This was incorrect and he was supporting the campaign as a volunteer. We're happy to correct the record.* ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### Happy birthday to us URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/happy-birthday-to-us/ Last updated: 2026-04-09T09:18:32.000Z A year ago last week, we sent the first edition of the *Kent Current*. Usually, this would be our main Thursday newsletter. But with the Cliftonville by-election count taking place tomorrow, we've moved our regular edition to then to include the result. As such, this seemed like a good moment to do something slightly different. At launch, I said we wanted to take county-level reporting seriously, make sense of County Hall, and stick with the stories that are easy to ignore because they are slow-moving, technical, uncomfortable, or simply not seen as worth much attention. A year on, I think that promise has held up. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/04/KC_Birthday-1.jpg) The *Kent Current* is still small. It is still, at heart, two people trying to cover a very large and often unruly county. But one of the most encouraging things about this first year has been discovering that there really is an appetite for serious county-wide reporting in Kent. Thousands of you now subscribe to receive this by email, and thousands more read our work on the web. For something that only launched a year ago, that feels significant. More importantly, it suggests something we suspected from the start. There are plenty of readers in Kent who do want journalism that goes a bit deeper, joins the dots, and treats what happens here as worth understanding properly. That has been the guiding idea behind the *Kent Current* from the start. **The year County Hall changed** A large part of our first year was shaped by Reform’s takeover of Kent County Council and everything that followed. That story was never just about an election result. The interesting part came afterwards. How power was exercised, how the culture of County Hall began to shift, how scrutiny held up under pressure, and what happened when a council long used to operating one way suddenly found itself in a very different political moment. We spent a lot of time there, in the chamber, in the documents, and in the follow-up questions needed to work out what was really going on. That work produced some of the most important reporting we’ve done in our first year. We were the only outlet to [report](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kent-reform-councillors-pictured/) on five Reform councillors posing for photographs alongside a man draped in a neo-Nazi flag. We were there when a KCC meeting [imploded](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kcc-meeting-implodes-as-opposition-walks-out/), and opposition councillors walked out of the chamber. We stuck with the broader story of how Reform was reshaping County Hall long after the novelty of the election result had worn off. [Kent Reform councillors pictured smiling alongside neo-Nazi activistPlus KCC blurs neutrality line again, Lower Thames Crossing tries new regulatory system, news in brief, and more![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-50.png)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fdc9e54a2-dda7-4735-ad4d-10a7c18e8a41_2500x1406-jpeg-2-2.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kent-reform-councillors-pictured/) It also underlined something we have found repeatedly over the past year: Being there matters. More than once, at by-election counts and other local political moments, we have been the only press in the room. That is not me trying to make us sound heroic. It is simply a sign of how much of Kent now goes underreported unless someone makes the effort to show up. That broader body of work also led to me being commissioned by *The New World* to [write](https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/ed-jennings-reforms-shambolic-kent-experiment/?ref=kentcurrent.news) about what was happening in Kent. I mention that not as a trophy, but because it reinforced something important. What was happening at County Hall was not just local colour or internal council drama. It spoke to a wider political story, and the *Kent Current* was well placed to explain it because we had been there following it closely from the start. That, really, is a big part of the case for this publication. Kent is often treated as somewhere people glance at when it produces a dramatic headline, then ignore again. But what happens here often tells you quite a lot, and it is worth covering seriously. **The stories that made the case** Some of the reporting I’m proudest of from our first year came from exactly that instinct. The neo-Nazi photo story was one example. It was obviously in the public interest. It raised clear questions about judgment, vetting, and political culture. Yet no one else touched it. We did. The County Hall walkout was another. Being in the room made a difference. It meant we could report what actually happened, capture the atmosphere, and publish the video rather than relying on the tidied-up version that tends to emerge afterwards. Elsewhere, we spent a lot of time on stories that required persistence over speed. Our reporting on the water [failures](https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-week-the-water-stopped/) in Tunbridge Wells was not just about one outage. It became a wider [story](https://www.kentcurrent.news/south-east-water-said-outage-was-unforeseeable-the-day-before-it-happened-again/) about resilience, accountability, and the gap between official reassurance and what residents were actually experiencing. We stayed with it because the story plainly was not over just because the first burst of attention had passed. [The week the water stoppedA week of dry taps, false deadlines and emergency queues reveals a broken system and a town running out of patience![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-49.png)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/KC_Water-2.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-week-the-water-stopped/) The same applied in Swale, where a council meeting was suspended after [intimidation](https://www.kentcurrent.news/when-intimidation-replaces-debate/) from the public gallery. That was not just an odd or chaotic evening. It was about what happens when local democracy starts to feel less like debate and more like threat and performance. And then there were the slower structural stories. Our [deep dive](https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-long-wait-for-paris/) into the long wait for international rail services to return to Kent was one of those. It would have been easy to do the quick version and move on. Instead, we wanted to explain why it had dragged on, what the obstacles actually were, and why it still mattered. Those stories were very different, but they all came from the same place. Kent needs journalism that is prepared to go beyond the surface. **Not just politics** That said, I have never wanted the *Kent Current* to become a publication that only talks in the language of council papers and governance structures. One of the pleasures of this first year has been showing more of Kent than that. The county is full of interesting people doing interesting things, and some of our interviews have been among my favourite things we’ve published. [“I don’t think I’m much of a performer”We speak to Ralph Steadman, legendary illustrator.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-53.png)Kent CurrentSteven Keevil![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2ff87d000a-ba42-48f1-8f4e-b0b265e4d965_1456x762-webp-3.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-dont-think-im-much-of-a-performer/) Over the past year, we’ve spoken to people like artist [Ralph Steadman](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-dont-think-im-much-of-a-performer/), comedian [Harriet Kemsley](https://www.kentcurrent.news/you-never-feel-like-youve-cracked/), KCC leader [Linden Kemkaran](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-think-theres-a-lot-gone-wrong-with/), writer and podcaster [Dorian Lynskey](https://www.kentcurrent.news/if-you-dont-have-hope-then-youre/), Police and Crime Commissioner [Matthew Scott](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-might-well-be-interested-in-putting/), and musician [Lupen Crook](https://www.kentcurrent.news/ive-got-enough-reasons-to-break-down/). That range matters. Public life in Kent extends beyond elected office, and some of the most revealing conversations come from artists, writers, performers, and people whose connection to the county offers a different angle on the place. [“You never feel like you’ve cracked it”What we asked Harriet Kemsley, comedian and podcaster![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-52.png)Kent CurrentSteven Keevil![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2faabad056-d0d2-4d1f-a6e3-c3363f96a119_4425x3319-jpeg-2-1.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/you-never-feel-like-youve-cracked/) That broader mix has always mattered to me. Kent is shaped by politics, obviously, but also by culture, personality, ambition, oddness, creativity, and the people trying to make a life here. I want the *Kent Current* to keep reflecting that. **What readers don’t always see** The *Kent Current* is still, fundamentally, a very small operation. A lot of what goes into it is not especially glamorous. It is reading the lengthy papers, sitting through meetings that may or may not produce anything useful, and chasing public bodies for answers to fairly basic questions. It is travelling across the county because being there still tells you things that remote reporting does not, having a sense that a story has not quite been answered yet, and sticking with it until it is. The obvious limitation in all of this is resources. We cannot cover everything, and pretending otherwise would be ridiculous. There are parts of Kent we would like to spend more time in. There are investigations we would like to push further. There are more stories from around the county we would like to tell. With more resources, we could simply do more. That is the frustrating part, but it is also the opportunity. **The awkward but necessary bit** The encouraging news from year one is that the *Kent Current* has found an audience. The harder truth is that audience and sustainability are not quite the same thing. This kind of journalism only works if enough readers choose to support it. We do not fill the site with junk ads, autoplay videos, and all the other digital clutter that makes so much local news such a miserable experience. Our core reporting remains free. But the deeper reporting, the interviews, the long reads, the live coverage, the hours spent sticking with difficult stories, all of that depends on reader backing. So this birthday post is partly a chance to look back, but it is also the moment for a fairly straightforward ask. If you value what we do and want to help us do more of it in year two, supporting the *Kent Current* is the best way to do that. ****Back the Kent Current and get 25% off for a year** If you’ve been reading the **Kent Current* for free and have been meaning to support our work, this is a good moment to do it. To mark our first birthday, free subscribers can currently get [****25% off an annual subscription**](https://www.kentcurrent.news/happy-birthday-to-us). [Get 25% off an annual subscription ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/happy-birthday-to-us) And if you already do support our work financially, thank you. Quite a lot of what I’ve described above only happened because enough of you decided this was worth backing. **Where we want to go next** The core idea of the *Kent Current* is not changing. We still want to make sense of County Hall and the surrounding structures. We still want to cover the stories that unfold over months rather than hours. We still want to show up in person where it matters. We still want to tell a wider range of Kent stories, from politics and public services to culture and the people who make this county what it is. What I’d like to do next is more of it, and better. More investigations, more time spent outside the obvious centres of power, more stories from a wider spread of Kent. More of the kind of journalism that only really works if you are prepared to spend time on it. Whether we can do that depends largely on the resources available. That is not a particularly glamorous conclusion, but it is the honest one. Still, one year in, I feel more convinced of the case for the *Kent Current* than I did when we launched it. Not because the need for it has somehow lessened, but because the past year has shown that readers across Kent do want this county to be covered properly. They want journalism that is clear, serious, fair, and prepared to stick with the story after everyone else has moved on. That feels like a decent place to reach a first birthday. Thank you for reading, sharing, replying, sending tips, forwarding editions to friends, and backing our work over this first year. It genuinely means a lot. Here’s to year two. Ed. PS. Whether you pay or not, one of the best ways to help is still to tell someone about us. Forward an edition to a friend, colleague, family member, or even your enemies. ### Kent keeps waiting for Europe’s new border regime URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/kent-keeps-waiting-for-europes-new-border-regime/ Last updated: 2026-04-13T12:07:27.000Z **This week’s Kent Current leads with the delayed rollout of Europe’s new Entry/Exit System, which is officially due to begin but still not fully operating for most cross-Channel passengers using Dover and Folkestone. We also look ahead to Thursday’s Cliftonville by-election, cover major council decisions including Medway’s latest housing purchase plans, and round up the stories shaping Kent this week.* ### Kent keeps waiting for Europe’s new border regime Kent has spent years being warned that Europe’s new biometric border system could mean delays, queues and chaos at Dover and Folkestone. The EU still says the Entry/Exit System should be fully in place from Friday 10 April. But for most cross-Channel passengers using Kent’s main gateways, the old passport stamp will still be doing the job. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/04/AdobeStock_536541270_Editorial_Use_Only-1.jpeg) The Port of Dover. That is the position after another delay in the long rollout of the Entry/Exit System, or EES, which is meant to replace manual passport stamping for non-EU travellers with a digital record based on passport details, fingerprints and a facial image. According to [the Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/04/biometric-checks-stalled-again-for-cross-channel-travellers?ref=kentcurrent.news), passengers using Le Shuttle, cross-Channel ferries and Eurostar will not face the new biometric checks in the coming weeks, despite the looming deadline. Sources at the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel told the paper that France has still not provided the technology needed to collect and process biometric data for those passengers. So while the system is officially meant to be in place, the practical reality in Kent is that, for most tourist traffic heading to France, stamping continues. The French border for ferry, Le Shuttle and Eurostar passengers heading to France sits on this side of the Channel. If checks take longer, the effects do not stay neatly contained at passport control. They turn up in Dover traffic, on east Kent roads and in the long-running fear that one more bit of border friction can once again cause wider disruption across the county. That has been the argument around EES all along. It is why the Port of Dover has altered layouts and built new facilities, why Getlink has spent millions on kiosks at Folkestone and Coquelles, and why Kent has been repeatedly told to brace for disruption from a border regime that still cannot quite get going. The irony is obvious enough. Kent has spent years preparing for a border future that remains stubbornly theoretical. The kiosks are there, but the system itself is still only half here. There has been some rollout. Lorry drivers, coach passengers and ferry foot passengers have already been going through EES formalities. Eurotunnel says there will be a further step from Friday, with French border police beginning to create EES files, but that this will not involve biometric data collection for Le Shuttle customers. Eurostar says enrolments are currently being completed manually by French border officers at St Pancras. For travellers, that leaves a messy message. Official advice still says EES is being fully implemented from Friday, and people should allow more time. But Eurostar and Eurotunnel are also saying passengers should continue to arrive at the time on their tickets, because there will be no immediate change for them. Kent has spent years being told this was the border change that could snarl up Dover and send the knock-on effects spreading across east Kent. The kiosks are in, the roads have been reworked, and the deadline is now here. For most passengers, though, the border still looks much as it did before, and the long-promised new regime remains something Kent is still waiting to actually meet. ### Three big reads 1️⃣ The Mirror's subscription to the *Kent Curren*t must have lapsed, because they breathlessly [reported last week](https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/nigel-farages-flagship-council-now-36962840?ref=kentcurrent.news) in an 'exclusive' that Reform's administration at County Hall was chaotic, aggressive, and that cost-saving measures had backfired. 2️⃣ Travellers moved into a Kent village over the Easter weekend in what the [Daily Mail have described](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15709857/Travellers-sneak-millionaires-stockbroker-belt-village-cover-darkness-paving-field-military-style-operation.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) as a 'military operation.' The report claims that once the council was closed for the weekend, hampering enforcement, they paved over a field in Sundridge, with families already moving in before one mobile home got wedged in a lane. 3️⃣ Devi Sridhar, [writing in the Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/30/kent-meningitis-britain-post-covid-britain-young-people?ref=kentcurrent.news), managed to find a reassuring message in last month's meningitis outbreak in Canterbury. She writes that despite backlash against vaccines and public health interventions, the government's advice was calm and clear, and people followed the guidance, with young people leading the way. ### Council matters **By-elections:** - **Kent:** [Cliftonville by-election](https://whocanivotefor.co.uk/elections/local.kent.cliftonville.by.2026-04-09/cliftonville/?ref=kentcurrent.news) is on Thursday. The candidates are Joanne Bright (Labour), Lucy Gray (Independent), Charlie Leys (Conservative), Marc Rattigan (Reform), Mo Shafaei (Liberal Democrat), and Rob Yates (Green). **Meetings this week:** - **Medway:** [Cabinet](https://democracy.medway.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=115&MId=6451&ref=localauthority.news) meets tonight (Tuesday) to discuss borrowing £45m to buy nearly 600 homes, updates to the petition scheme, refurbishing Gun Wharf, and lots more. - **Tonbridge & Malling:** [Cabinet](https://democracy.tmbc.gov.uk//ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=146&MId=6044&ref=kentcurrent.news) will tonight (Tuesday) discuss retendering waste services, planning enforcement, the Local Plan, and lots more. - **Medway:** [Planning Committee](https://democracy.medway.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=360&MId=6373&ref=localauthority.news) will decide their position on 690 homes in Hoo on Wednesday, despite the decision already being taken out of their hands. - **Gravesham:** [Planning Committee](https://democracy.gravesham.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=106&MId=9415&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Wednesday to decide on 40 new homes proposed for Buckland Farm in Higham. **New planning applications:** - **Kent:** Application for a [waste-to-hydrogen facility](https://www.kentplanningapplications.co.uk/Planning/Display/KCC/TH/0050/2026?ref=kentcurrent.news) between Margate and Manston. ### In brief 🚰 In a recurring theme, nearly 6,000 homes around Pembury, Lamberhurst, and surrounding villages [lost water supply](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czx9yzz01veo?ref=kentcurrent.news) from South East Water for up to three days over Easter. 🚧 Three years on, there seems to be [no sign of progress](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj60re58wd0o?ref=kentcurrent.news) on resolving the Swanscombe Hole, caused by a landslip on the A226. 🏚️ Developer Hodson has [gone into administration](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/developer-behind-huge-kent-housing-project-goes-into-adminis-338495/?ref=kentcurrent.news), leaving the future of 6,000 new homes at Ashford's Chilmington Green development at risk. 🏘️ Medway Council are [considering borrowing](https://www.localauthority.news/medway-eyes-46m-housing-buy-from-mystery-provider/?ref=kentcurrent.news) £46m to purchase nearly 800 properties from a social housing provider. ➡️ Former Ebbsfleet Development Corporation boss Simon Dudley [has been sacked](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0mj8v4lk2ko?ref=kentcurrent.news) from his role as Reform's housing spokesperson after saying "everyone dies in the end" in response to the Grenfell disaster. 🎥 Sky News have produced a [short documentary](https://news.sky.com/video/the-kent-conman-inside-the-villages-he-targeted-13527243?ref=kentcurrent.news) on 'The Kent Conman,' a fraudster who has allegedly committed dozens of offences from Kent villages to Tenerife. To make himself even more obvious, he went by the name Ethan Hunt, Tom Cruise's character from the Mission: Impossible films. 🚓 Faversham far-right activist Harry Hilden had a [warrant issued](https://searchlightmagazine.com/2026/04/arrest-warrant-issued-as-kent-far-right-agitator-goes-missing/?ref=kentcurrent.news) for his arrest after not turning up to a court date, choosing to spend the morning posting antisemitic conspiracy theories instead. The police quickly found him, and he, in his own words, spent a "couple of days in a cell and in court over some absolute bullshit." ***Kent is large, messy and often faintly absurd.** *The Kent Current is backed by readers, which means we can report on it properly. An* [**annual subscription costs £1.15 a week*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) *and helps make that possible.* [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) 🛢️ Kent is '[drowning in mountains of waste](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg4n19v1l3o?ref=kentcurrent.news)' from fly-tipping. 🪂 A skydiver has been confirmed dead [following an incident](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/skydiver-confirmed-to-have-died-in-aerodrome-incident-338703/?ref=kentcurrent.news) at Headcorn Aerodrome. 🏖️ Scammers have been listing beach huts [they don't own](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy4184xvxl4o?ref=kentcurrent.news) for sale on eBay. 🚒 Seven fire crews attended a [suspected arson](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2026/04/06/seven-fire-crews-attend-suspected-arson-at-arlington-in-margate/?ref=kentcurrent.news) at Arlington House in Margate. 🅿️ Parking machines in Queenborough [have been vandalised](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sheerness/news/parking-metre-vandalised-day-after-parking-measures-introduc-338639/?ref=kentcurrent.news) a day after Swale Borough Council started charging for car parking. 🚍 Kent's Fastrack bus network [recently turned 20](https://www.route-one.net/news/kent-reaches-20-year-milestone-for-fastrack-bus-rapid-transit/?ref=kentcurrent.news), and will shortly have to move back in with its parents after graduating. 🚌 Stagecoach has launched an [open-top bus route](https://www.stagecoachbus.com/promos-and-offers/south-east/thanet-open-top?ref=kentcurrent.news) of Kent's seaside destinations, allowing you to jump on and off along the coast between Birchington, Margate, Broadstairs, and Ramsgate for £8. 🚄 Southeastern claims that [more trains](https://newsroom.southeasternrailway.co.uk/news/more-trains-more-space-and-more-connections-are-coming-for-southeastern-customers-in-two-major-timetable-improvements-this-year?ref=kentcurrent.news), more space, and more connections will be available on the network with this year's timetable changes. 🧑‍🏫 The University of Kent has [rolled out ChatGPT to all staff and students](https://www.edtechinnovationhub.com/news/university-of-kent-rolls-out-chatgpt-edu-access-to-all-staff-and-students?ref=kentcurrent.news) in a move that can't possibly go wrong. 💎 Some people in Canterbury are [very upset](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/historic-kent-landmark-branded-gaudy-but-experts-back-1-338524/?ref=kentcurrent.news) that Canterbury Christ Church Gate has been restored to its original look. 🛒 Lidl will [open in Queenborough](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sheerness/news/supermarket-to-build-new-store-after-winning-round-of-store-338596/?ref=kentcurrent.news) on the Isle of Sheppey, despite Tesco and Aldi's best efforts to block it. 🌳 Residents of Langley Park in Maidstone are [being asked to pay](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/they-want-us-to-pay-33k-for-new-trees-but-they-ve-alread-338602/?ref=kentcurrent.news) £33,000 for new trees after the developer failed to keep the first two plantings alive. 🏗️ Margate Football Club have [proposed building](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2026/04/04/margate-football-club-proposal-for-co-living-block-and-new-south-end-terrace/?ref=kentcurrent.news) a new stand and a 59 bedroom 'co-living' facility that definitely isn't a HMO. 🏆 Folkestone Invicta [have won](https://folkestoneinvictafc.co.uk/2026/04/report-invicta-crowned-isthmian-premier-division-champions/?ref=kentcurrent.news) the Isthmian Premier Division and will now be promoted to National League South. Hopefully, Rhys of the [Folkestone Dispatch](https://folkestonedispatch.substack.com/) will have calmed down enough to get tomorrow's edition published. 🏆 Whitstable Town [have won](https://www.whitstabletownfc.club/news/whitstable-are-the-champions-2971162.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) the Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division and will be promoted to the Isthmian League South East. 🦽 Accessibility upgrades [have been installed](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/new-accessibility-improvements-open-up-trosley-country-park-to-more-visitors?ref=kentcurrent.news) at Trosley Country Park to make the site more accessible for those of all abilities. 🦬 A herd of bison introduced to Blean Woods has had a '[great impact](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpwjqlq5yg1o?ref=kentcurrent.news)' on nature at the site. 🐮 Highland cows at Hothfield Heathlands near Ashford have [had to be moved](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjw8vz1jze0o?ref=kentcurrent.news) after they went a little too viral on TikTok. 🥔 Kent Crisps have [launched a new flavour](https://www.potatopro.com/news/2026/kent-crisps-launches-beef-brisket-stout-flavour-local-collaboration?ref=kentcurrent.news) in collaboration with Shepherd Neame and Chatham Historic Dockyard. 🐭 The original Mother Clanger puppet, stolen in the 70s, has been returned and is [now on display](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly0zxez19vo?ref=kentcurrent.news) at the Beany in Canterbury. ### Property of the week This week’s property is Buckler’s Hard, a 1972 architect-designed one-off just off Kingswood Road that was built for the former Mayor of Tunbridge Wells, which is a strong start for any listing. It’s unapologetically of its era, all vaulted timber ceilings, light, and a slightly Scandinavian feel, but it also looks genuinely liveable, with the main accommodation arranged mostly for single-storey living and three bedrooms plus a garden room that can double as a bedroom or workspace, alongside two bathrooms and an updated kitchen with a utility room. The other headline is underneath it, a vast undercroft with a carport, double garage and three storerooms, with the agent already hinting it could be incorporated into the main house, subject to consents, if you fancy turning 'storage' into 'expensive extra space.' It sits on about 0.4 acres at the end of a private drive, with mature wraparound gardens, has no onward chain, and is on the market for £1,365,000. [Check out this 4 bedroom detached house for sale on Rightmove4 bedroom detached house for sale in Kingswood Road, Tunbridge Wells, TN2 for £1,365,000\. Marketed by Maddisons Residential Ltd, Tunbridge Wells![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/favicon-9.ico)Rightmove.co.uk![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/0849cace2786efa49154cdfb7eb210ef.jpeg)](https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/174087104?ref=kentcurrent.news#/) ### Events this week 🎸 Thu 9 Apr - [**Lande Hekt**](https://www.ramsgatemusichall.com/tc-events/lande-hekt/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // One of the UK's best indiepop songwriters. Ramsgate Music Hall. Tickets £14.50. 🎤 Sat 11 Apr - [**Stevie Martin: Clout**](https://marlowetheatre.com/shows/stevie-martin-clout-2/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // New show from comedian promises 45 million jokes. Marlowe Studio, Canterbury. Tickets £22. ## ****Kent, properly reported** ****Independent journalism on the county’s biggest stories, without the clickbait or clutter** Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### **Footnotes** ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### “You’ve just got to commit to it” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/youve-just-got-to-commit-to-it/ Last updated: 2026-04-04T06:25:25.000Z [*Andy Zaltzman*](https://www.andyzaltzman.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *is a comedian and podcaster, currently on tour with The Zaltgeist, stopping at the Quarterhouse in Folkestone on 19 April and the Hazlitt Theatre in Maidstone on 5 May. Steven met him in his studio/shed via Zoom, where they spoke about important topics like where he keeps his Taskmaster trophy and casual topics like the state of the world today...* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/04/ANDY-ZALTZMAN-20240318---Andy-Zaltzman2787-HI-RES---COPYRIGHT-MATT-STRONGE_H-1.jpg) Andy Zaltzman **What is your official occupation?** Comedian and cricket statistician. I guess that's two occupations. **Is there one that takes precedence?** Well, comedy takes up more of my year. **Is that a failing of the cricket system that there isn't more cricket to fill the time?** Well, there is cricket all the time, I just work on the test matches and one-day internationals. There is cricket pretty much every day of the year somewhere around the world. **Do you still play yourself?** I play a little bit. I used to play for Penshurst in my late teens and twenties, and then real life got in the way. Cricket and playing cricket was rather interfered with by having to work at weekends doing stand-up, but a few years ago I started playing, coming down from London to play at Penshurst again. I play seven or eight games a year down there. Beautiful ground, and I still play a bit, to keep that link to my previous life going. **What additional roles,** **paid or unpaid, do you have?** Not much apart from, I guess, parent. **You have** [**The Bugle**](https://www.thebuglepodcast.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news)**.** Yeah, podcaster, radio host, but that's all within comedian. The Bugle's been going 18 and a half years now. That's been a big chunk of my working career. > I was hoping all the problems in the world would have been sorted out by now, but that regrettably hasn’t happened **What can you tell us about your current tour?** The tour, The Zaltgeist, is in its second chunk. I did a run late '24 and early '25\. I was hoping all the problems in the world would have been sorted out by now, but that regrettably hasn’t happened. I am doing more of the shows. It's a general look at the state of the planet. But I am also harnessing the power of AI, through a robot, which, without wishing to give too much of the show away, is not the most high-tech or authentic AI robot, to solve the world's problems, as demanded by the audience. At each gig, I take requests before the interval for the things people want fixed by AI, and then work away during the interval and come up with some answers in the second half. **In brief, how would you summarise the state of the world today?** Could do better, I think it's fair to say. I think everyone would agree on that. Whatever their political persuasion, definitely could do better. Sport is my refuge, and I'm lucky to have that within my working life. Increasingly, sport is becoming more politicised. It always has been to an extent, but it seems that politicians are trying to leverage sport to their own benefits. It's harder to use as a pure escape from politics when politicians keep cropping up and interfering with it. That's something I'll talk about a bit in the show, but generally the planet is not functioning to 100% of its potential, I think. ***Our full interviews are only available to our paid supporters.** *Our only income is from readers who choose to back our work, so if you want access to the most interesting stories from across the county, please consider joining them. An* [**annual subscription costs £1.15 a week*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) *and helps make our work possible.* [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) **Your comedy is political in nature, with The Bugle and** [**The Now Show**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The%5FNow%5FShow?ref=kentcurrent.news)**. Was there anything about growing up in Tunbridge Wells that prepared you for a political comedy life?** Not really. I wasn't really particularly into politics until I got to university. The news was always on in our house. We'd have the Today program on in the car on the way to school and over breakfast. I guess I was soaking it in gradually. Political comedy, I think my interest in that probably develops a bit later, while I was at university and then my early years on the comedy circuit. I don't think growing up in Tunbridge Wells particularly shaped that side of things. I did do work experience at the Kent Messenger. It would have been about 1991, and I remember going into the, I think the magistrates' court and wrote up some sort of driving offence case or something. I do remember in terms of the politics side of things, Michael Heseltine came to Maidstone and did some little press briefing. It was shortly after he'd been instrumental in Thatcher being deposed, and I remember thinking I'll try and ask a question. So, I said, “Do you think you being back in cabinet will help heal the rift in the Conservative Party?” And he said, “I've never been aware of any rift in the Conservative Party”. Which is quite impressive, I think, just to style it out. **The essential question I have to ask: Where do you keep your** [**Taskmaster**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taskmaster%5F%28TV%5Fseries%29?ref=kentcurrent.news) **trophy?** Ah, well, I can show you that. I'm in my office shed in the garden. It's in the corner, facing the wall. It's a nice thing to have, but I don't want Greg Davies staring at me 24/7. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Musical chairs at County Hall URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/musical-chairs-at-county-hall/ Last updated: 2026-04-10T18:00:56.000Z **Kent County Council’s latest cabinet reshuffle is being presented by Reform as a sign of renewal, but the changes raise as many questions as they answer, with a clear demotion, an expanded brief for one councillor, and no obvious public explanation for the disappearance of another from the senior team. We also look at the final week of the Cliftonville by-election campaign and the last minute addition to Kent’s pile of Town of Culture bids.* ### Musical chairs at County Hall Kent County Council’s latest Cabinet reshuffle has been presented, naturally enough, as a sign of renewal. Leader [Linden Kemkaran](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-think-theres-a-lot-gone-wrong-with/) said the changes would bring in “new energy” while strengthening the “experienced team already delivering for Kent,” leaving Reform in the “strongest possible position” to build on its first year in office. That is the official version. The less flattering one is that, not even a year into Reform’s administration at County Hall, the top team is already being moved around again in fairly conspicuous fashion. There are promotions. There is a clear demotion. There are sideways moves. There is an expanded brief for the councillor now responsible for steering Kent through local government reorganisation. And hanging over all of it is one rather obvious question the council’s own announcement did not really answer: What exactly happened to Paul King? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/04/KC_Musical-Chairs.jpg) KCC announced the formal changes on Monday: - Paul Webb moves from Communities and Regulatory Services to become Cabinet Member for Integrated Children’s Services, replacing Chris Palmer. - Palmer, in turn, moves into a new role as Deputy Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care. - Georgia Foster steps up from deputy in adult social care to become Cabinet Member for Communities and Regulatory Services, with Chris Burwash coming in as her deputy. - Jamie Henderson also moves up, going from deputy to Cabinet Member for Environment, Coastal Regeneration and Public Health in what KCC describes as a newly updated and expanded role. - Ben Fryer becomes Deputy Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Special Projects. - Chris Hespe keeps his Cabinet role but sees his local government efficiency brief widened to include local government reorganisation, supported by Paul Chamberlain as deputy. Taken one by one, none of that is necessarily remarkable. Councils reshuffle, leaders move people around, and deputies get promoted. Portfolios are regularly rewritten to align with political priorities. If KCC had simply brought in Foster and Henderson, tweaked a couple of job titles and carried on, this would probably have been filed away as routine internal management. But this does not quite read like that. For one thing, Palmer’s move from Cabinet Member for Children’s Services to deputy in adult social care is hard to describe as anything other than a demotion. KCC’s announcement does not use that word, obviously, but it is difficult to see it any other way. Webb’s move into children’s services is more of a sideways transfer, though even that suggests the leadership wanted a different person in charge of one of the council’s most sensitive briefs. Foster and Henderson are the clear winners, both stepping up into full Cabinet roles. Chamberlain, meanwhile, appears to have been moved sideways into a different deputy role. The most consequential change, though, may not be one of the promotions at all. Chris Hespe’s brief has now been expanded from local government efficiency to include local government reorganisation, putting him at the centre of one of the biggest questions facing Kent politics. Reform can present that as a sign of confidence. It also looks a little like a quiet reframing of DOLGE itself. When Reform arrived at County Hall, DOLGE was pitched as a flagship idea, with proof that waste was everywhere, savings were there for the taking, and the new administration would bring a harder-edged competence to sorting it all out. As a standalone political brand, it was meant to signal clarity and seriousness. Bundling it together with local government reorganisation risks making it look more like just another part of the machinery. Hespe himself is not exactly a low-noise appointment. He is a [very online councillor](https://www.kentcurrent.news/reforms-new-dolge-boss-is-extremely-online/) with a public profile that has often been more conspicuous than reassuring, prone to the kind of posting and reposting that turns a competence brief into a communications problem. Giving him even more responsibility suggests Kemkaran sees him as a trusted lieutenant. It also underlines the slightly odd position Reform has landed in. A project originally sold as a bold, standalone mission now looks somewhat watered down, and is being carried forward by one of the administration’s more obviously political and controversial figures. [Reform’s new DOLGE boss is extremely onlineReform’s flagship efficiency project at Kent County Council is back in the spotlight this week, following a cabinet appointment that raises fresh questions about credibility, competence and communication at County Hall. We look at why the replacement of the council’s efficiency lead matters, what it tells us about![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-46.png)Kent CurrentKent Current![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/AdobeStock_1228302120_Editorial_Use_Only-1.jpeg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/reforms-new-dolge-boss-is-extremely-online/) If this reshuffle was meant to project stability ahead of reorganisation, it has chosen an odd way of showing it. Then there is King. KCC’s reshuffle [press release](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/cabinet-reshuffle-at-county-hall-announced?ref=kentcurrent.news) never actually mentions him. That is striking in itself. Until recently, King had been the council as Cabinet Member for Environment, Coastal Regeneration and Special Projects. The current Cabinet line-up no longer includes him among Cabinet members or deputy Cabinet members at all. Instead, Henderson now holds the environment and coastal regeneration brief, while David Wimble is listed separately as Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Special Projects. In other words, King has disappeared from the Cabinet table entirely. That may all have an entirely straightforward explanation. Perhaps he chose to step back. Perhaps this has been coming for some time. Perhaps there is some perfectly mundane internal logic to it all. But if so, neither KCC nor King has chosen to spell that out. Asked by the *Kent Current* about his departure from Cabinet, King did not offer an explanation, instead replying that media requests should go through the press office, which did not respond to our questions. That is his prerogative. But it leaves a fairly obvious vacuum, and in politics, vacuums do not stay empty for long. Opposition councillors have already begun filling it. Liberal Democrat councillor Tim Prater wrote on [social media](https://www.facebook.com/timprater/posts/pfbid0thtXeeCYGoicB3FBDWp9kvYK5VyUCBgyX5Bcpr9jcHkETrrM1i2Dd7nnUVykZVSBl) that it “looks like KCC Cabinet Member Paul King got the bullet from Reform’s Kent Cabinet today,” adding that, as far as he could tell, King’s apparent competence “might be enough these days.” It is a pointed line, and a characteristically partisan one. Prater explicitly said he did not know what had happened, so it should be treated as political commentary rather than evidence. But it neatly captures the basic problem Reform now has. If you remove a Cabinet member without publicly explaining why, other people will cheerfully supply their own theories. The Greens have been only slightly more diplomatic. In a press release issued after the reshuffle, Kent Green group leader [Mark Hood](https://www.kentcurrent.news/we-havent-had-a-king-of-kent-for-over-1-000-years/) said that with local government reorganisation looming, the council had hoped to see stability as inexperienced Cabinet members settled into their roles rather than what he called “more of the chaos we have come to expect.” That is opposition rhetoric, of course, and Reform will have no difficulty dismissing it as exactly that. But the attack lines only land because the underlying picture is a little awkward. Less than a year into office, Kemkaran’s administration is still moving key people around. One Cabinet member has plainly been pushed down the ladder. Another has vanished from the senior team without any public account of why. Others are being asked to get to grips with reshaped or expanded briefs just as Kent moves into the most consequential period it has faced in local government for decades. None of that means the administration is falling apart. That would be too much. Councils do not collapse because a leader refreshes the Cabinet after a year. The more plausible reading is slightly subtler than that. Reform does not yet look like an administration fully at ease with itself. It still looks like one rearranging, correcting and recalibrating as it goes. That may prove politically harmless if the new team quickly settles and starts projecting confidence. Reform can point to Foster and Henderson as a new generation moving up. It can say Hespe’s broadened brief shows it is taking reorganisation seriously. It can insist that the reshuffle is simply the normal business of building the right leadership team for the next phase. A reshuffle is supposed to project command. This one, for now at least, raises almost as many questions as it answers. ### Cliftonville race enters final week It's the final week of the Cliftonville by-election campaign, where residents will elect a new county councillor to replace Daniel Taylor, who lost his seat once he was jailed for a year. With just one week left and the postal vote operation already well underway, here is the latest from the campaign: - Cliftonville voters will get a chance to put questions directly to candidates next week at what appears to be the only hustings organised for the by-election. The event, arranged by Cliftonville resident Nico Macdonald, takes place at ARK Cliftonville on Tuesday, two days before polling day. Labour’s Joanne Bright and the Greens’ Rob Yates are confirmed to attend, while the other candidates have been invited. Conservative candidate Charlie Leys and Lib Dem candidate Dr Mo Shafaei are not available in person, with organisers saying both have been asked to submit short introductory videos. Residents can attend for free or [submit questions in advance](https://luma.com/4rarnisu?ref=kentcurrent.news). - Labour is shouting [very loudly](https://pollybillington.org.uk/2026/04/02/independent-tactical-voting-website-stopreformuk-vote-backs-labour-to-beat-reform-uk-in-the-cliftonville-byelection/?ref=kentcurrent.news) that the tactical voting website StopReformUK is [suggesting](https://stopreformuk.vote/local/kent/cliftonville?ref=kentcurrent.news) voters choose Joanne Bright in the by-election. Unsurprisingly, other parties don't quite see it the same way. - Thanet Green Party [announced](https://www.facebook.com/GreenpartyTHANET/posts/pfbid03275oAfmZVjuMJ8fawVbq3iJc3V4t31fnwxDBdCUY7oZ16ks7c5NdJR2NU8i1WfPNl) that its membership has increased fourfold since this time last year, from 250 to over 1,000\. Whether that translates to election votes is another matter. - Of course, those figures are dwarfed by the [surge in fans](https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574173700053&sk=followers) of Reform candidate Marc Rattigan's Facebook page, which has gone from 23 last month to nearly 4,000 now. He'll be delighted to have the support of such prominent and definitely very real local figures like DesertCharmquick261, LittleCrewdigital350, and FrostyAgencylive847. ***Kent is large, messy and often faintly absurd.** *The Kent Current is backed by readers, which means we can report on it properly. An* [**annual subscription costs £1.15 a week*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) *and helps make that possible.* [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) ### Kent finds room for one more culture bid As [we noted at the start of the week](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kents-town-of-culture-pile-on-is-well-underway/), Kent had already made a decent fist of turning the government’s new UK Town of Culture contest into a county-wide free-for-all. But by the time the 31 March deadline arrived, the field had swollen again. Kent now appears to have at least 12 towns publicly attached to bids, with Chatham, Folkestone, Deal, Dartford, Faversham, Margate, Gravesend, Northfleet, Sevenoaks, Tenterden, Sheerness and Sittingbourne all in the mix. That feels like a very Kent way of doing things. The county has instead treated the invitation to bid like an invite sent to every child in the class. Some towns have gone in alone. Others have decided even that was unnecessarily restrained. The late addition this time is a twin-town bid from Sheerness and Sittingbourne, trailed by [Kevin McKenna](https://www.kentcurrent.news/my-job-is-to-try-and-bring-everyone-together/) MP in a [KentOnline comment piece](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sittingbourne/news/town-of-culture-bid-will-highlight-how-special-our-area-rea-338468/?ref=kentcurrent.news) and then, with admirable subtlety, on social media. > You’ll need to update your Kent-wide roundup @kentcurrent.news, cos we’ve been keeping the best bid under wraps till now 😉 > > — [Kevin McKenna MP (@kevinmckenna.co.uk)](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:hz4w6ch2xvyrro66a4n4vark?ref%5Fsrc=embed&ref=kentcurrent.news) [2026-03-31T17:02:48.218Z](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:hz4w6ch2xvyrro66a4n4vark/post/3mienrxenhc25?ref%5Fsrc=embed&ref=kentcurrent.news) McKenna’s pitch is that the bid is a grassroots effort shaped by residents, community groups, artists, local organisations and Swale Borough Council, built around a unique link of island and mainland, industry and heritage, and turning local cultural life into something bigger. The list of selling points is suitably ambitious, taking in three theatres, three brass bands, community museums, major local events, a proposed Thames sailing barge regatta and the possible return of the Queenborough Medieval Fair. The island-mainland framing is a good line, even if it may come as mild news to Chatham, where St Mary’s Island has been sitting there connected by a bridge this whole time. Still, it adds a pleasing extra twist to Kent’s overall showing. The county now has not one but two paired entries in the mix, with Gravesend and Northfleet already being put forward together by Gravesham before Sheerness and Sittingbourne joined them on deadline day. Kent, apparently, looked at a competition called Town of Culture and decided singular nouns were more of a guideline than a rule. That is what makes the whole thing so enjoyable. Taken individually, many of the bids sound perfectly serious. Sevenoaks is pitching practical cultural improvements alongside the badge value. Margate was drafted in by Thanet after the wider Isle of Thanet missed out on the UK City of Culture 2029 longlist. Dartford has gone in armed with the Orchard Theatre, the Sir Peter Blake Gallery and the useful fact that Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are part of the local story. Folkestone, unsurprisingly, has a broad cultural case ready to go. Taken together, though, the effect is different. The joke is no longer that one or two Kent towns fancy their chances. It is that when the government invited places to explain why they mattered, an unusually large chunk of Kent responded, more or less at once, with a confident case for itself. By the close of entries, the county had not merely joined the contest. It had rather aggressively populated it. There may yet be a serious winner somewhere in that pack. There may even be several serious contenders. But before ministers have even announced a shortlist, Kent has already made its mark on the inaugural Town of Culture race by answering the question of who should enter with the broadest answer available. As many places as possible. ## ****Kent, properly reported** ****Independent journalism on the county’s biggest stories, without the clickbait or clutter** Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Footnotes ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### Election battle looms in a corner of Kent and the stakes are high URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/election-battle-looms-in-a-corner-of-kent-and-the-stakes-are-high/ Last updated: 2026-04-02T08:36:30.000Z *As council by-elections go, the battle being fought in a small coastal corner of Kent might, on the surface, tell us little more about the shifting political contours than we already know. The outcome, however, could be a pointer towards the support the main parties have beyond Cliftonville and potentially answer the question of who could be edging ahead and who might be losing ground.* **Paul Francis* reports on the possible winners and losers in Thanet...* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/04/AdobeStock_591247587--1--1.jpeg) Cliftonville will see a county council by-election next week. The by-election at the county council has been triggered by the conviction of the Reform party candidate who won the division last May in a landslide. Daniel Taylor was jailed for 12 months for coercive behaviour against his wife - part of his background that somehow didn’t get picked up when he went through the selection process. He was duly forced out of the party, necessitating a by-election which takes place on 9 April. Despite its success in the local county council elections, where it rolled over the Tory machine, it is not exactly a propitious time for Reform to be contesting a seat. ***Some of our features (like this one) are exclusive to our paid supporters.** *Our only income is from readers who choose to back our work, so if you want access to the most interesting stories from across the county, please consider joining them. An* [**annual subscription costs £1.15 a week*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) *and helps make our work possible.* [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) But the tidal wave of support for the Farage-led Reform party was further evidence that a new political force was on the block. It produced some shock results with Kent County Council falling to Reform, which made no bones about its belief that Farage’s party was prepared to make the Garden of England its territory. Local election campaigns - particularly by-elections - are traditionally often low-key affairs, and apathy is as significant a factor as the enthusiasm with which the campaign is fought. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Kent’s Town of Culture pile-on is well underway URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/kents-town-of-culture-pile-on-is-well-underway/ Last updated: 2026-04-07T08:44:09.000Z **Today’s Kent Current leads with the growing Kent pile-on for the government’s new UK Town of Culture competition, with at least eight towns now publicly in the running ahead of the deadline. We also cover the latest Sevenoaks by-election result, council meetings across the county, major planning applications, and the mix of local politics, infrastructure, culture and community stories shaping Kent this week...* ### Kent’s Town of Culture pile-on is well underway At least eight (or nine, depending on how you count) Kent towns have now publicly declared bids to become the UK’s first [Town of Culture](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/first-ever-uk-town-of-culture-competition-to-restore-pride-in-communities?ref=kentcurrent.news). Given the deadline is tomorrow, there remains a narrow but real chance that this already crowded Kent contribution to a new government competition could become even more crowded. The places publicly in are Chatham, Folkestone, Deal, Dartford, Margate, Gravesend and Northfleet, Sevenoaks and Tenterden. On one level, that is faintly ridiculous. On the other hand, it is exactly the sort of thing the government has encouraged. When ministers launched the UK Town of Culture 2028 competition in January, they made clear it was open to towns of all shapes and sizes, with finalists from large, medium, and small towns selected before an overall winner is chosen. There is proper money attached to it too. £3m for the winner, £250,000 for the other two finalists, and £60,000 for the shortlisted places to develop full bids. The result is less a single Kent standard-bearer than a county-wide cultural scrum. Chatham is in, with Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust leading the bid and making the case that a town with centuries of maritime, military and engineering history is not exactly short of material. Folkestone is in too, with the district council inviting groups and residents to help shape a bid around the town’s wider cultural life. Deal has taken the more methodical route, with the town council acting as the accountable body and proposing a formal cultural partnership to carry things forward. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/03/AdobeStock_53352967-1.jpeg) Deal. Dartford, meanwhile, has sensibly decided there is no point in entering a culture contest quietly. Its pitch leans on local heritage, the Orchard Theatre, the Sir Peter Blake Gallery, community events, and the useful fact that Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are part of the town’s story too. Elsewhere, the bids say quite a lot about how different parts of Kent like to frame themselves when a national title comes into view. Sevenoaks is pitching not just for recognition but for what the title might help unlock locally, including better signage to venues, changes at The Stag, more workspace for artists and a stronger events programme. Tenterden has also put itself forward, which means even the more postcard-friendly end of the county has decided it would quite like a piece of the action. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/03/AdobeStock_867381307-1.jpeg) Sevenoaks. Then there are the latest additions. Margate is being put forward by Thanet District Council after the Isle of Thanet missed out on the longlist for UK City of Culture 2029\. The council’s case is that Margate already has the assets, infrastructure and organisations needed to deliver a strong programme in 2028\. There is something impressively brisk about that pivot. One culture title does not work out, so attention turns to the next available one. And in Gravesham, even the idea of limiting the thing to one town appears to have been judged a little too restrained. The borough is putting forward Gravesend and Northfleet together, with messaging built around shared identity, shared communities and a shared story. In a county already well represented in this contest, Gravesham has found a way to make that representation even more expansive. All of which leaves Kent with a slightly absurd but undeniably substantial presence in a competition that was only launched in January. The government says the Town of Culture is meant to celebrate the contributions towns make to national life and to help build a lasting cultural legacy. In Kent, at least, it has already produced a remarkably long list of places ready to explain why the title ought to be theirs. And with the deadline still not passed, there remains time for one or two more. At this point, another entry would feel less like a shock than a fitting final flourish. ### Conservatives hold in Sevenoaks by-election as Reform pushes into second The Conservatives won the Halstead, Knockholt and Badgers Mount by-election last week, keeping the Sevenoaks District Council seat left vacant by the death of long-serving councillor Gary Williamson. Tony Marshall won with 561 votes, ahead of Reform’s George Pender on 378 and Lib Dem Stephen Maines on 266, with Green candidate Robert Royston on 65\. Turnout was 45%, which is again strikingly high for a local by-election and means Sevenoaks has now produced two fairly lively contests in the space of three weeks, both ending with Conservative wins. ****Halstead, Knockholt and Badgers Mount by-election result:** 🌳 Tony Marshall (Conservative) - 561 ➡️ George Pender (Reform) - 378 🔶 Stephen Maines (Liberal Democrat) - 266 🟢 Robert Royston (Green) - 65 At one level, this was a straightforward hold. Halstead, Knockholt and Badgers Mount is old-school Conservative territory. Williamson had represented the ward since 1999, and the Tories won it comfortably at the last full district election in 2023\. But the more interesting part of this result is the shape of the opposition vote. Last time, this was essentially a Conservative versus Lib Dem contest. This time, Reform took a clear second place, pushing the Lib Dems into third. That does not mean the Conservatives were in any immediate danger here. Marshall still won by 183 votes, which is a solid enough margin in a ward like this. But it does suggest that in parts of Sevenoaks, the pressure on the Conservatives is now coming from a different direction. In Hextable [earlier this month](https://www.kentcurrent.news/everyone-thinks-they-can-win-cliftonville/), Reform also put up a strong showing. Here, in a rural ward where the Lib Dems had previously been the obvious alternative, they were again the ones who emerged as the main challengers. Marshall, who said he has lived in Halstead for more than 30 years and previously lived in Knockholt, argued the campaign had been shaped by distinctly local concerns rather than just national political noise. He said “the saving of Green Belt is paramount,” while also pointing to “unlawful developments” and road racing around Badgers Mount as issues that had worried residents during the campaign. He also paid tribute to Williamson after the result, calling him “an absolute champion for the Conservatives for over 25 years” and saying he wanted “to try and emulate what he did in that long service.” Williamson had been a fixture in local politics for decades and was one of those councillors whose name seemed to come attached to the ward by default. Asked why the Conservatives were continuing to win these contests in Sevenoaks despite the party’s broader difficulties, Marshall offered the standard but still broadly sensible local answer. “People want to see councillors working hard and doing things for the residents,” he said. “We need to listen. We need to know what they want. And then we need to carry out what will solve the problems.” There was also a small but telling detail in the count room. Conservatives, Reform and the Greens were there for the result. The Lib Dems were not. Nor, for that matter, was anyone else in the press, leaving the *Kent Current* once again enjoying a level of exclusivity that sounds grander than it really is when it mostly means standing around waiting for declarations. What does it mean for Sevenoaks District Council overall? Not much in immediate mathematical terms beyond one fewer vacancy and one more Conservative councillor. But politically, it is another useful result for the Tories in a district where they are still the largest group without full control, and another sign that Reform are becoming the more serious nuisance for them in some of these contests than the Lib Dems. ### Council matters **Meetings this week:** - **Maidstone:** [Democracy and Governance General Purposes Committee](https://meetings.maidstone.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=654&MId=5654&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets tonight (Monday) to debate the creation of a town council for Maidstone. - **Kent:** [Scrutiny Committee](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=752&MId=9691&ref=kentcurrent.news) will meet on Wednesday to discuss the cost of SEND and flytipping. - **Folkestone & Hythe:** [Council](https://folkestone-hythe.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=122&MId=5616&ref=kentcurrent.news) will discuss a Conservative motion on water testing on Romney Marsh and the East Stour on Wednesday. - **Swale:** [Council](https://services.swale.gov.uk/meetings/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=128&MId=4336&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Wednesday to discuss the Local Plan strategy and sites for allocation, new parish arrangements, councillor allowance, and more. - **Sevenoaks:** [Development Management Committee](https://cds.sevenoaks.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=122&MId=3531&J=1&ref=kentcurrent.news) will decide on the building of 27 new homes in Kemsing on Thursday. - **Swale:** [Planning Committee](https://services.swale.gov.uk/meetings/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=130&MId=4309&ref=kentcurrent.news) will debate 370 new homes, alongside a care home and commercial floorspace in Faversham. **New planning applications:** - **Gravesham:** Retrospective change of use to convert the former Premier Inn in Gravesend into a [30 bedroom HMO](https://plan.gravesham.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=TBFUAPHPGE300&ref=kentcurrent.news). - **Sevenoaks:** Outline planning permission for [135 new homes](https://pa.sevenoaks.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=T5VRQXBKK7200&ref=kentcurrent.news) east of Edenbridge. - **Tonbridge & Malling:** Plans for a [new leisure centre](https://publicaccess.tmbc.gov.uk/online-applications/weeklyListResults.do?action=firstPage&ref=kentcurrent.news) in Tonbridge to replace the Angel Centre. - **Tunbridge Wells:** Screening opinion for the demolition of Torrington Car Park and replacement by [17 and 1o storey built to rent residential blocks](https://twbcpa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=TCEUT6TY16F00&ref=kentcurrent.news). ### In brief 💣 The SS Montogomery, a sunken World War 2 ship full of explosives in the Thames Estuary, [could be a target](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/03/25/thames-doomsday-shipwreck-vulnerable-to-drone-attack/?ref=kentcurrent.news) for Russian or Iranian drones that would cause a tsunami along the Kent coast, the Telegraph cheerily reports. 🫆 Implementation of new EU border checks at the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel have once again [been delayed](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c33l77k88vyo?ref=kentcurrent.news) due to technical reasons. 🚰 Tunbridge Wells MP Mike Martin has [urged the water](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/tunbridge-wells/news/mp-urges-to-scrap-water-company-s-paltry-fine-and-demands-338172/?ref=kentcurrent.news) regulator to drop South East Water's £22m fine and instead force the company to put the money into upgrading infrastructure. 🧑‍⚖️ Owners of a historic property in Sandwich are [suing the Environment Agency](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/kent-kings-lodging-henry-viii-b2944335.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) for £4.5m over damp issues they claim were caused by flood defence works. 🏥 East Kent Hospitals University NHS Trust is to receive [additional support](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg064ldpl3o?ref=kentcurrent.news) after being declared one of the 'worst in the country.' 🚘 Ashford's County Square shopping centre has [lost its car park](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/it-s-barking-mad-600-space-shopping-centre-car-park-to-cl-338304/?ref=kentcurrent.news) after the operator, NCP, went into administration. ⛴️ Two years after it ceased operating, a [further review](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp38y4w9nw1o?ref=kentcurrent.news) will be held on the reinstatement of the Gravesend to Tilbury ferry. 🚆 Major engineering works are [underway at Folkestone Warren](https://railuk.com/rail-news/major-engineering-work-at-folkestone-warren-to-protect-against-landslips/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to protect the railway line from landslips. 🧑‍💻 The government is set to create [80 new Youth Hubs](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/major-boost-for-young-people-with-80-new-youth-hubs-as-scottish-premier-league-partners-with-dwp?ref=kentcurrent.news) across the country, including Folkestone and Hythe, Thanet, Gravesham, Swale, and Medway in Kent. 👴 Age UK Kent Rivers, a charity that provides services for older people across north Kent, has said it is [likely to enter insolvency](https://www.localauthority.news/age-uk-kent-rivers-heads-for-insolvency/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🚕 Kent County Council's counter-fraud team has [discovered](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/fraud-team-finds-85k-of-irregular-invoicing-in-send-child-338211/?ref=kentcurrent.news) £85,000 of 'irregular' SEND home-to-school taxi invoices. 👮 Two Kent Police officers [called in sick](https://metro.co.uk/2026/03/27/two-police-officers-called-sick-fake-flu-go-a-cruise-ship-course-27700798/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to go on a cruise ship course. 🐺 The Wildwood Trust is considering not keeping wolves in the future after [euthanising its entire pack](https://bbc.com/news/articles/cy81p1xge79o?ref=kentcurrent.news) after dynamics between the animals broke down. 🎱 Tunbridge Wells Civic Society are [trying to save](https://southborough-news.com/2026/03/19/heritage-group-tries-to-save-historic-snooker-hall/?ref=kentcurrent.news) a 150-year-old hall, which is currently used as a thriving snooker club, from demolition. 🗄️ Swale Borough Council has [delayed a decision](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c62ke7d4nmzo?ref=kentcurrent.news) on a 2,500 home development near Bobbing. 📄 A legal challenge has been launched against a 1,600 home development in Birchington for the [most ludicrous of reasons](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2026/03/26/judicial-review-challenge-launched-against-thanet-council-over-planning-permission-for-1600-property-development-on-birchington-farmland/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🏗️ A woman who moved into one of the south east's largest new-build development projects has [complained](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dartford/news/i-was-sold-a-blissful-green-escape-but-living-here-has-be-338327/?ref=kentcurrent.news) that it's like living on a construction site. 🍹 Club Chemistry, the venue at the centre of the Canterbury meningitis outbreak, is [set to reopen](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1w4dp8g9vgo?ref=kentcurrent.news) this week. 🚌 Meanwhile, Canterbury will temporarily [reduce the price](https://news.canterbury.gov.uk/news/park-and-ride-for-a-pound-to-boost-businesses-over-easter-holidays/?ref=kentcurrent.news) of its park and ride to £1 from this Thursday in an effort to bring people back into the city following the outbreak. 🛒 Sainsbury's in Tonbridge has reopened as a [larger flagship store](https://corporate.sainsburys.co.uk/news/press-releases/sainsburys-transforms-its-tonbridge-supermarket-into-new-flagship-store/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🚒 The Hengist restaurant in Aylesford has been forced to close [following a fire](https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2026-03-30/owners-left-deeply-heartbroken-after-fire-damaged-restaurant?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🍲 Grace Dent, [writing in the Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/food/2026/mar/29/the-wellington-margate-grace-dent-restaurant-review?ref=kentcurrent.news), is very enthusiastic about the Wellington in Margate. 🚲 Canterbury has a [bike-sharing scheme](https://www.beryl.cc/index.php/scheme/canterbury?ref=kentcurrent.news) like London's, with 100 bikes introduced to the city centre. 🫟 Folkestone's historic viaduct could become a [home for graffiti](https://folkestonedispatch.substack.com/p/historic-viaduct-could-become-home) and street art. ### Property of the week This week’s property is tucked inside Canterbury’s city walls, and it comes with the sort of feature that immediately changes how you read the rest of the listing. It has parking, with a garage behind the house, which, in the centre of Canterbury, is so unusual it almost deserves to be the headline on its own. The house is a four-bedroom freehold terrace that has been refurbished to make the most of the light and height, with a big open-plan kitchen, living and dining space built around an island, plus a conservatory that opens onto a small courtyard garden. Upstairs, the rear rooms and the bathroom look out towards some of the city’s most recognisable landmarks, including the Cathedral and the Marlowe. There’s also a top-floor bedroom with an ensuite, tucked away up its own staircase. It’s on for £690,000. [Abbots Place, Canterbury, Kent, CT14 bedroom property House for sale in Abbots Place, Canterbury, Kent, CT1 - £690,000![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/favicon.png)Winkworth![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/CAN260011_20.jpg)](https://www.winkworth.co.uk/properties/sales/abbots-place-canterbury-kent-ct1/CAN260011?ref=kentcurrent.news) ### Events this week 🎤 Wed 1 Apr - [**Aisling Bea: Older Than Jesus**](https://www.assemblyhalltheatre.co.uk/whats-on/aisling-bea-older-than-jesus.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Award-winning comedian shares stories and answers your big life questions. Assembly Hall Theatre, Tunbridge Wells. Tickets from £29.25. 🎸 Thu 2 Apr - [**Courtney Barnett**](https://whereelse.live/events/courtney-barnett-857693?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Australian singer-songwriter plays a weirdly tiny show. Where Else?, Margate. Tickets £15. 🍔 3 - 5 Apr - [**Broadstairs Food Festival**](https://broadstairsfoodfestival.org.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Food stalls, live entertainment, and activities. Victoria Gardens, Broadstairs. Free. ## ****Kent, properly reported** ****Independent journalism on the county’s biggest stories, without the clickbait or clutter** Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### **Footnotes** ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### “We haven't had a King of Kent for over 1,000 years” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/we-havent-had-a-king-of-kent-for-over-1-000-years/ Last updated: 2026-03-28T07:00:49.000Z *Cllr Mark Hood is the leader of the Green Group at Kent County Council. Steven met him in the group office at County Hall, where they discussed how he came to be Green group leader, the likelihood of defections to the Green group, his issues with local government reorganisation, and his Extinction Rebellion arrest...* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/03/1000140657-1.jpg) Cllr Mark Hood. **What is your official occupation?** I'm meant to be a gardener. I was a printer for 25 years. That whole industry was imploding, everything was going digital. I decided I love gardening, so to go for a career change. That allowed me to get more involved in community stuff, and then I started attending Green Party meetings as well. I'm lucky now if I get to do a day's gardening. If I get a second day in, that's great because you end up building a relationship with your customers and they become your friends, and it's good for your mental health as well. **Do you have any additional roles, paid or unpaid?** Well, I'm a county councillor and a borough councillor at Tonbridge and Malling. **Which division are you the councillor for?** I'm councillor for Tonbridge division, alongside Paul Stepto, and I'm borough councillor for Judd ward in southwest Tonbridge. **Why are you the councillor for that division?** I'm an incomer, as Tonbridge people may describe people who are from outside the town, because I only arrived when I was four years old. My mum is from west Kent, Brenchley and Matfield, and my dad is from Deal, so I've got an affinity to the whole of Kent. I feel a deep sense of responsibility as a councillor to the whole of Kent. I've lived in Tonbridge almost all my life, and I'm really passionate about that. Being a councillor, your community should be the most important thing. Your party affiliation comes second, and that's the way I think things should be. **Which party are you a member of?** I'm a Green Party councillor since about 2015. **Have you ever been a member of any other parties?** I've never been a member of another party. **Was there a particular moment that led you to actively join?** We had a residents' association for Barden residents which I helped set up and we found that we were having some problems with our local council. They wanted to sell a youth centre, and they wanted to sell the plot of land called River Lawn next to it for development and we had seen the way that some of our residents had been treated at planning committee meetings and in the end I thought, we needed to have a voice for our community in the council. I decided to stand for election and then I started going along to Green Party meetings. It made sense to stand for the Green Party. **You decided to stand before you joined the party?** No, it really started all happening at the same time. I started at the residents' association at about the same time as I joined the Green Party. I found I had more time on my hands, because I'd changed jobs. Then I had a couple of people saying you should stand as an independent, because you're never going to get in, in Tonbridge, as a Green candidate. I agreed with all the policies. I'd been voting Green for a long while and I agreed with the manifesto and the more I got to know the people in the local party, I realised that the Green Party, in my experience, was based in the community. We didn't take instruction from anywhere else. It was a bottom-up party. We had lot of freedom to develop our own policies, which subsequently, some Conservative councillors, I've come across, have found it difficult to comprehend that you can have a different position to your national party on some issues. **Can you give an example?** It was a really minor thing, but he basically read out our policy word for word, and I said “Well, that's the thing. We make our own policy locally. That's just the way it is.” I can't even remember what the issue was about. There are politicians who represent the party and they wheel off things and you get people who are almost a voice box, you hear it parroted, and this particular councillor was, and is, like that. Everything's by the manifesto or the policy guidebook. Sometimes situations locally are different, and you have to do what's right. You have to be an advocate for your community, and if what's best for the community isn't what's in your policy, you need to decide for yourself. You have to use your own interpretation of the situation and come to a pragmatic conclusion. That's what it's about being a county councillor, making pragmatic decisions within the envelope of funding that we have, and I think that's what we've found so difficult in the last year is that we know what the envelope is, and we know what the limitations have been, but when you've got the opportunity to make that envelope of funding bigger, and I'm alluding to charging the maximum amount of council tax, then your duty bound, I would have thought, to do that in order to protect the most vulnerable of Kent's residents from the pain that is going to be coming their way because of a very risky budget. **When did your name first appear on a ballot?** I must have been a Green member in 2015\. I appeared on the ballot, as a paper candidate. I think almost immediately after I joined, they asked for paper candidates for Burham and Wouldham, and I got 300 votes and I found out on a walking holiday up in Snowdonia. I didn't know the community at all. **You're now the leader of the Green Group on KCC. How did that come to be?** When we were re-elected, Rich Lehmann was our leader and then he had some time out and he's left the national party. He's still a member of our group, but he's left the national party, because he had a conflict with his local branch of the Green Party that he's been unable to resolve. Politically, he's still in the same place and he's a very valued member of our group, but he stood down. I was already the deputy leader from the previous term, and we agreed that I would fill that space. I became the leader and I'd been filling in for him while he'd been away. **The council now has a new third largest group. Where did that push the Green Party in terms of ranking on the council?** It's the proportionality of how many seats you get on the committees that’s the important thing. They'll get more seats on those cabinet committees. I can understand why they've formed a group of seven. What I do struggle to understand, having got to know some of them, is that why not just form a group of seven? You could have all those benefits without joining Rupert Lowe's Restore Britain. When I speak to those people, I'm not sure that I think that Restore is their natural home. I'm surprised that the party that is as right-wing as they are has managed to attract the seven councillors that they have from KCC. **With Reform there's been a number of fluctuations in the size of their group with expulsions and defections. Is there any likelihood of any defections to the Greens in the next couple of years?** The doors are always open. You don't get anywhere in politics if you don't communicate and collaborate with people. We are a small party. Wherever we are in local government, we work with other parties to try and get the best outcomes for our residents. I am finding it difficult to see where those defections would be coming from, to be honest. But never say never. **Will your party leader be coming down to support the Cliftonville by-election?** We hope so. We're very much hoping that Cliftonville is going to be Kent’s Gorton and Denton. I lived in Gorton for a year actually and seeing Gorton turning Green has been quite something. > That toxic masculinity that seems to be pervading some sectors of society, it makes me sick to my stomach **You’re feeling confident you can do the same to Cliftonville?** I can't see why not. The Labour vote there is in free fall. People have seen what they get with Reform. Obviously, they've been without representation for a long time. We're really disappointed as a party. One of our first motions here was to try and get some clarity about where the new administration sat in terms of violence against women and girls. We brought a motion and they turned it into a political rally. They used it as an excuse to blame any violence against women or girls on the trans community and on asylum seekers, which was a real eye-opener. I'd never seen that in the chamber. To see that happening in a council that used to fly the white ribbon flag, I always wear my ribbon. We're very proud supporters of the [White Ribbon](https://www.whiteribbon.org.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) campaign. He *\[former Cliftonville councillor Daniel Taylor\]* still hadn't been expelled and I think that says everything about Reform UK. The fact that their leader endorses some of the most… Andrew Tate… he's happy to stand next to him and have his picture taken and shake his hand and tell young people he's a role model. I've got a 22-year-old son and an 18-year-old daughter and it's just terrifying that that kind of messaging is out there in social media. That toxic masculinity that seems to be pervading some sectors of society, it makes me sick to my stomach. ***Want the full interview? You'll need to become one of our supporters.** *Our only income is from readers who choose to back our work, so if you want access to the most interesting stories from across the county, please consider joining them. An* [**annual subscription costs £1.15 a week*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) *and helps make our work possible.* [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) **Following the success at the Gorton and Denton by-election, the Prime Minister referred to the Green Party as extremist. How do you respond?** Well, I'd say that we're not the party that's supporting a genocide. We're not the party that's supporting an illegal war which is happening as I speak. I can't think of many policies that we have that are extreme. **Because I've read it, and therefore it must be true, are you not supporting turning children's playgrounds into crack dens?** What we're doing is we're asking for a changing policy to treat drug use as a public health issue because the war on drugs has been a colossal failure. It's completely failed communities and individuals. The outcomes have been terrible. By continuing with the current policy, we're in a situation where we're supporting organised crime. We've got a situation where nobody knows what they're taking. They've got no idea what's in those drugs. They aren't getting the medical care and the psychological care that they should be getting. We can all put our fingers in our ears and moralise about, 'You're going to be making all these drugs available to people,' but that's disingenuous. We're talking about is having controls and having regulation. That is the way ahead, because it's going to mean fewer people dying every year of addiction. The impact it has on families is appalling. It's directly linked to crime and high levels of poverty amongst the communities that use them. For me, it's a no-brainer. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Whitehall shifts Kent's reorganisation debate URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/whitehall-shifts-kents-reorganisation-debate/ Last updated: 2026-04-02T16:53:45.000Z **Whitehall may not have made a formal decision on Kent’s local government reorganisation this week, but the choices ministers made elsewhere have shifted what seems likelier here. This edition looks at what the government’s latest moves on boundaries, council size and local identity mean for Kent’s competing reorganisation plans, alongside the latest on the Canterbury meningitis outbreak and a former Reform councillors launches yet another new political vehicle.* ### Whitehall shifts Kent's reorganisation debate Nothing was announced for Kent on Wednesday. But if anyone in Kent's County Hall, Medway's Gun Wharf, or the districts across the country was still clinging to the idea that ministers want neat boundaries, big councils and minimal fuss, they may have had a jolt anyway. Because while Whitehall was making its choices elsewhere, it was also showing its hand, and what it showed has fairly obvious implications for Kent. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/03/image-14.png) The government [set out its preferred structures](https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/mar/25/fifteen-new-councils-to-be-created-in-south-and-east-of-england?ref=kentcurrent.news) for Essex, Hampshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, while declining to make a final call in Sussex. Taken together, the letters sent from housing secretary Steve Reed do more than settle arguments elsewhere. They show what ministers now seem to value in practice rather than what councils here have spent months saying ministers probably value in theory. Once you project that onto Kent, a few things start to look rather different. The first is boundaries. For months, one of the stock objections to Medway’s [4D](https://kentcouncilleaders.org.uk/lgr-consultation/?ref=kentcurrent.news) proposal was that it broke up existing district areas. Critics talked about that as though it were almost self-evidently unacceptable, a sort of administrative heresy that ministers would surely reject on sight. Wednesday suggested otherwise. In Hampshire, Suffolk and Norfolk, Reed explicitly says he is modifying the submitted proposals in order to make requested boundary changes. In Hampshire, he says expanding the areas around Portsmouth and Southampton was “sensible.” In Norfolk, he backs a Greater Norwich model with boundary changes because it better reflects Norwich’s role as the county’s economic centre. In Suffolk, he says boundary changes are justified because three smaller unitaries better reflect the county’s distinct areas and local identities. This does not mean 4D suddenly becomes the obvious winner in Kent. It still has to clear the usual tests on cost, service design and political practicality. But the old line that ministers would never tolerate split districts now looks a lot flimsier. Whitehall is not treating current boundaries as sacred. It is treating them as lines that can be moved if ministers think the resulting councils make more sense. The second is size. Kent’s debate has often lurched back to the same half-mythical number, 500,000, as though it were carved into stone tablets somewhere in Whitehall. For a while, that did appear to be true, but Wednesday’s proclamations take a large chunk out of that argument. In Essex, Hampshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, the same point recurs. The 500,000 population figure, Reed says, “has always been a guiding principle, not a fixed threshold.” In Norfolk and Suffolk, all three new councils are below that level, and he says he is content with that because they produce a “more coherent and effective outcome.” In Essex, he says the same while backing five councils. This is not a minor tweak. It is ministers saying, in plain terms, that they are prepared to go smaller where they think the geography works. In Sussex, they are even willing to keep a Brighton-based unitary in play at around 308,000 people if it means giving the city more room to grow. Reed says he has “significant concerns” about keeping Brighton and Hove on its current footprint because it limits future economic growth and housebuilding, and the modification he is considering would expand Brighton into nearby Lewes wards while leaving it as a unitary of around 308,000\. Medway’s population is around 290,000\. That does not mean Medway can simply be lifted out and treated like Brighton. Kent is not Sussex, and the wider map here is different. But it does become much harder to argue, with a straight face, that an authority within that broad population range is inherently too small to be taken seriously by government. The third thing Wednesday underlined is that ministers like distinct places being treated as distinct places. This comes through again and again in the letters. Essex is backed because it is anchored around five urban centres. Hampshire’s chosen model is praised for grouping urban and rural areas in a way that better reflects local identities while supporting the growth of Portsmouth and Southampton. Norfolk’s three-unitary model is preferred because it better reflects the county’s urban, rural and coastal communities. Suffolk’s because it better reflects the county’s different local identities and supports Ipswich as the key urban area. This is not Whitehall talking like an institution desperate to cram as many places as possible into giant all-purpose councils. If anything, it feels like the opposite. The tone of the letters sent to councils is that towns, cities, rural areas, and coastal communities often have different economic roles, service pressures, and identities, and that council structures should reflect this. Projected onto Kent, that is awkward news for KCC’s one-unitary [1A](https://kentcouncilleaders.org.uk/lgr-consultation/?ref=kentcurrent.news) plan. Even before Wednesday, 1A looked more like a spoke in the works than a realistic end state. Partly because the Reform administration behind it explicitly said as much. Now it looks even harder to take seriously. No area decided this week was pushed into one giant catch-all authority. In Norfolk, Reed explicitly says the single-unitary proposal met the criteria, but he still chose three councils because they better reflected communities and local identities. In Sussex, he declined to back any proposal at all rather than wave through a structure he was not happy with. That does not amount to a formal ministerial death certificate for 1A. But politically, it leaves it looking ever more isolated. If ministers are willing to favour smaller councils, boundary changes, and stronger urban identities elsewhere, the case for a single vast Kent-and-Medway authority covering the entire county starts to look less like bold thinking and more like a refusal to read the room. The obvious beneficiary of all this is not necessarily 4D alone, but the wider idea that Kent’s final structure may need to look more adventurous than some county voices would prefer. 4D comes back into play here because it was the option most willing to redraw lines rather than worship the existing map. Wednesday makes that instinct look more aligned with ministerial thinking than it did a week ago. But Sussex is a warning against getting too tidy about any of this. Reed says he cannot yet decide which proposal, if any, to implement for the region. He says he is considering modifications of his own, including moving Chichester out of a coastal unitary and into an inland one, alongside expanding Brighton and Hove. In other words, the government is not limiting itself to choosing from the menu that local councils handed in. It is perfectly prepared to scribble on the menu and send something different back out. Kent should probably pay attention to that. The local argument here has often been framed as a contest among five named models, as though ministers will eventually point to one and declare it the winner. Sussex suggests the actual process may be a good deal messier than that. Whitehall could still decide that one Kent proposal has the right overall shape, another has the better answer on a particular boundary, and a third has clocked something useful about a specific area. The eventual map may not belong neatly to any one local camp. There is another strand in the letters as well, and it is one Kent’s councils will recognise. Ministers are not approaching this as a pure exercise in drawing clever maps. They repeatedly talk about financial resilience, transition costs, and service delivery. In Sussex, Reed says he has concerns about the five-unitary pan-Sussex model due to implementation costs and the disaggregation risks it poses for vulnerable service users. In Essex, he confirms £200m of in-principle support for Thurrock’s debt because the council still has unsupported debt “that cannot be managed locally.” Kent and Medway are not Thurrock. There is no equivalent black hole here waiting for ministers to write a rescue cheque. But finances have been a live concern throughout Kent’s process, and Wednesday’s letters show those concerns are very much part of the government’s thinking. Whitehall is proving more flexible than advertised on size and boundaries, but it is not proving reckless. So Kent’s position now looks a little different. The case for one giant authority looks weaker. The case against boundary changes looks weaker. The idea that ministers might simply pick one local proposal off the shelf looks weaker, too. Kent can keep staging this as a fight between five competing maps. This week suggested Whitehall may see it rather differently. ***Kent is large, messy and often faintly absurd.** *The Kent Current is backed by readers, which means we can report on it properly. An* [**annual subscription costs £1.15 a week*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) *and helps make that possible.* [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) ### Meningitis outbreak latest - The immediate picture is at least a little less alarming than it was at the height of the outbreak. Officials say there have now been no new linked cases for four consecutive days, the total has been revised down after further testing ruled some earlier suspected cases out, and UK Health Security Agency is ending its daily updates in favour of less frequent reporting. That does not mean the outbreak is over, but it does suggest the pace of new cases has slowed significantly. - The vaccination programme is still [being widened](https://www.standard.co.uk/news/health/kent-wes-streeting-canterbury-university-of-kent-medway-b1276191.html?ref=kentcurrent.news). Year 11 pupils at affected schools are now being added to a rollout that already covers university students and staff, sixth formers, nightclub attendees caught up in the exposure window, and other identified contacts. - Most cases were linked to Club Chemistry in Canterbury between 5 and 7 March, the median age of those infected is 19, and the overwhelming majority are students or other young people in education. Officials believe the scale and speed of the outbreak were likely driven by a combination of intense social contact, lower immunity in the affected age group, and the characteristics of the strain itself, rather than by any single factor. - Scientists say the bacteria behind the outbreak [appear genetically distinct](https://theconversation.com/kent-meningitis-outbreak-the-latest-on-the-bacterial-strain-at-its-centre-278925?ref=kentcurrent.news) from closely related meningococcal strains, with several potentially significant differences that are still being studied. The reassuring part is that it still appears to respond to standard antibiotics and existing vaccines. The unanswered part is whether those genetic differences help explain why this outbreak was unusually large and moved so quickly. - It has also been revealed that the first known hospital case was not reported to UKHSA for two days, even though suspected meningitis is supposed to be notified immediately under the rules for urgent notifiable diseases. East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust has [admitted](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8dnxln3y5o?ref=kentcurrent.news) it missed an opportunity to alert health officials sooner, while ministers and outside experts have said the delay was not good enough. ### A Better Way Of defecting Cllr Amelia Randall’s political journey continues at a pace that suggests ideology is very much a secondary concern. The Birchington and Rural county councillor was elected for Reform in May last year, quit for UKIP in September after deciding Nick Tenconi was a “masculine figure saying it as it is,” and has now left UKIP as well to found her own party, Better Way Of. Randall says she had been planning it for years and presents the new outfit as “neither left nor right.” But after all that churn, the politics on offer look both familiar and not especially coherent. Over the past week alone, Randall has used her X account to argue for assisted dying while also calling for abortion to be effectively restricted after six weeks. She has said Britain needs politics that are less extreme, while posting a stream of hardline material on migration, culture war issues and national identity. She says the party is not about ideology, but much of what she has actually posted is exactly that: Opposition to climate policy, support for more drilling, hostility to immigration, Christian social conservatism, and broad complaints about internationalism. The claim that this amounts to some fresh alternative to left and right is hard to take entirely seriously when it mostly reads like the same old politics with a new logo. That is really the oddity here. Randall has now travelled through Reform, UKIP and into a party of her own, but the destination still appears to be roughly the same place. Better Way Of is presented as a break from tribal party politics, yet its early output is heavy on boilerplate grievances and nationalist talking points that already dominate this corner of the political right. For all the branding about doing what is right for the country and rising above division, there is little evidence yet of a distinctive new philosophy taking shape. The name does not help. Better Way Of sounds less like a political party than a sentence uploaded before the last word was added. The gaudy [Canva website](https://betterwayof.my.canva.site/?ref=kentcurrent.news) talks about values, priorities and 'core anchors,' but the overall impression is not of a serious new force arriving in Kent politics. It is more like the latest amateur splinter from a political scene that seems permanently stuck in a cycle of fallout, reinvention, and people deciding that the problem with existing parties is that they are not personally in charge of one. That does not make it entirely trivial. Randall remains a county councillor, and her decision to join last week’s opposition walkout showed she is at least capable of breaking unexpectedly from the camp she once belonged to. But nobody sensible is about to mistake Better Way Of for a meaningful realignment at County Hall. Still, Randall has solved one classic party management problem. There can be no internal factions, no ideological splits and no leadership challenge when the whole operation appears to be one councillor and a policy platform assembled from whatever annoyed her on X that day. ## ****Kent, properly reported** ****Independent journalism on the county’s biggest stories, without the clickbait or clutter** Subscribe for free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Footnotes ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### Where should Manston's planes go? URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/where-should-manstons-planes-go/ Last updated: 2026-03-30T13:36:14.000Z **Today’s Kent Current leads with the latest Manston Airport consultation, which is formally about flight paths but in practice revives the wider argument about what reopening the airport would mean for communities in places like Ramsgate and Herne Bay. We've also got the latest on Canterbury’s meningitis outbreak, major planning decisions, and the local politics, infrastructure and community stories shaping Kent this week.* ### Manston consultation asks where planes would go and who would live under them The latest [consultation](https://consultations.airspacechange.co.uk/manston-airport/manston-airport-consultation/?ref=kentcurrent.news) on the reopening of Manston Airport is, on the face of it, about flight paths. But once you get into the details, the bigger row is not really about a choice between two dramatically different options. It is about what bringing the airport back would actually mean for people on the ground in places like Ramsgate and Herne Bay. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/03/image-12-1.png) Proposals for Manston Airport. [RiverOak Strategic Partners](https://rsp.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) has opened a public consultation on the airspace changes needed for Manston’s planned return. It runs until 22 June and forms part of the Civil Aviation Authority process that must be completed before the airport can reopen. RiverOak says the airport is aiming to open in early 2029\. The company says there are two design combinations under consideration, but most of the setup is already fixed. There is one westbound departure route, one eastbound departure route, one westbound approach, and one proposed protected airspace zone around the airport. The only real choice is between two slightly different versions of the approach for planes landing from the west on Runway 10\. Both options would bring aircraft in over Herne Bay before they line up with the runway. The difference is that one approach starts a bit farther out and higher, while the other starts a bit closer in and lower. RiverOak says the practical effect is very similar either way because both options end up on the same descent path once the aircraft are lined up for landing, and in both cases, the key part of the approach lies over Herne Bay. RiverOak has also made pretty clear which of the two it prefers. Its appraisal says Option A, the lower and shorter of the two approaches, is the preferred choice because it would have slightly lower fuel burn and carbon emissions and would keep inbound aircraft farther from Southend Airport’s controlled airspace. It says the operational difference between the options is otherwise minimal. That means the bigger issue for most local residents is not really the fine print of Option A versus Option B. It is the wider picture of where planes would go and who would live under them. RiverOak says Manston would operate with aircraft taking off and landing westbound about 70% of the time and eastbound about 30%, based on historical weather data. In simple terms, that means most arriving aircraft would be expected to come in over Ramsgate, while most departures would head toward Herne Bay. And that is where the old arguments come roaring back. The [Don’t Save Manston Airport](https://www.facebook.com/groups/1513910555578401) campaign has drafted a response objecting to both options and calling for a fundamental redesign instead. Its submission says the plans would mean regular low-flying cargo aircraft over densely populated parts of Ramsgate and argues that neither design should go ahead as proposed. The campaign says aircraft would routinely overfly Ramsgate at very low altitude on departures and arrivals, and recalls the years before the airport closed when freighters overhead rattled windows, disturbed sleep and woke children. It argues that the consultation may look technical, but for residents underneath the routes, the impact would be immediate and obvious. It also goes after the project on a broader front, arguing that the traffic forecasts behind the airspace plans still rest on assumptions that were challenged during the earlier consent process and that there is still no public evidence of a viable business plan, cargo contracts or transparent funding model behind the scale of operation now being discussed. This wider doubt is important because this consultation is not just about lines on a map. It is where a very long-running argument stops being abstract and becomes real again. For supporters of the airport, this is another necessary step towards reopening. For opponents, it is proof that the basic questions never went away. Not just whether Manston should come back, but whether the impacts on east Kent communities are justified by a project whose economic case is still being contested. ### Meningitis outbreak latest - The numbers have moved down rather than up. Officials now say the outbreak stands at 20 confirmed cases and nine probable cases, after some earlier cases were downgraded following further testing. - That has prompted the first [slightly more hopeful language](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgwrxdldmzo?ref=kentcurrent.news) around the outbreak, but only slightly. The UK Health Security Agency says more cases may yet be downgraded as lab work continues, while stressing it remains vigilant for any new linked cases. - Health Secretary Wes Streeting has praised the “[herculean efforts](https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2026-03-23/health-secretary-praises-herculean-efforts-in-kent-meningitis-outbreak?ref=kentcurrent.news)” of NHS staff, public health teams and education staff involved in the response, as the vaccination and antibiotics operation has continued at scale, with more than 9,000 vaccines and 12,500 antibiotic courses administered by Saturday evening. - The effect on Canterbury itself has been obvious. [Reporting from the city](https://www.thetimes.com/uk/healthcare/article/how-meningitis-spread-kent-university-outbreak-rglqtb3rr?ref=kentcurrent.news) describes masks, empty restaurants, and a noticeably subdued atmosphere, with the outbreak not just becoming a public health story but also briefly reshaping everyday life in the city centre. ### Council matters **By-elections:** - **Sevenoaks:** [Halstead, Knockholt and Badgers Mount ward by-election](https://whocanivotefor.co.uk/elections/local.sevenoaks.halstead-knockholt-and-badgers-mount.by.2026-03-26/halstead-knockholt-and-badgers-mount/?ref=kentcurrent.news) is on Thursday. The candidates are Stephen Maines (Liberal Democrat), Tony Marshall (Conservative), George Pender (Reform) and Robert Royston (Green). **Meetings this week:** - **Folkestone & Hythe:** [Cabinet](https://folkestone-hythe.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=142&MId=5630&ref=kentcurrent.news) will discuss a £2.4m grant to reopen Folkestone Sports Centre on Wednesday. - **Kent:** [Cabinet](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=115&MId=9792&ref=kentcurrent.news) will meet on Thursday to discuss late changes to the budget and the medium-term financial plan. - **Dartford:** [Cabinet](https://dartford.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=105&MId=3409&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Thursday to talk about a new HMO policy. - **Dover:** [Planning Committee](https://moderngov.dover.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=136&MId=5177&ref=kentcurrent.news) will decide on 64 new homes in Kingsdown and a new holiday park in Northbourne on Thursday. - **Swale**: [Planning Committee](https://services.swale.gov.uk/meetings/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=130&MId=4438&ref=kentcurrent.news) will hold an extraordinary meeting on Thursday to decide on 2,500 new homes west of Bobbing. - **Thanet:** [Council](https://democracy.thanet.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=141&MId=7067&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Thursday to discuss the council's tendering process and update several council procedures. - **Tunbridge Wells:** [Cabinet](https://democracy.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=118&MId=5906&ref=kentcurrent.news) will discuss a business plan for Royal Victoria Place, household waste contracts, public space protection orders, and lots more on Thursday. **New planning applications:** - **Canterbury:** Proposals for a [new Aldi store](https://pa.canterbury.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=TBZR84EALD300&activeTab=summary&ref=kentcurrent.news) opposite Sainsbury's in Herne Bay. - **Dartford:** Redevelopment of land on the waterfront to create [three new warehouses](https://publicaccess.dartford.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=TBP205BQHW200&ref=kentcurrent.news). - **Swale:** Plans for [37 new homes](https://pa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=TB2FIBTYHSF00&activeTab=summary&ref=kentcurrent.news) in Oare. - **Tunbridge Wells:** Erection of [184 new homes](https://twbcpa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=TBDWAQTY0US00&ref=kentcurrent.news) on the current rugby club site, and relocation of sports facilities. ***Kent is large, messy and often faintly absurd.** *The Kent Current is backed by readers, which means we can report on it properly. An* [**annual subscription costs £1.15 a week*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) *and helps make that possible.* [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) ### In brief 🚔 A Kent Police officer [has died](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx230myz673o?ref=kentcurrent.news) after being involved in a crash while responding to an emergency call. His colleague remains in critical condition, while a member of the public is being treated for serious injuries. 👮‍♂️ A police complaint [has been lodged](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2026/03/23/police-complaint-lodged-with-accusation-of-antisemitic-art-show-at-margate-gallery/?ref=kentcurrent.news) about a Margate art exhibition as being antisemitic because it criticises the actions of Israel. 😱 An [utterly terrifying story](https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/man-hiding-loft-kent-phrogging-5HjdWgs%5F2/?ref=kentcurrent.news) from Gravesend. Mysteriously, Kent County Council has not made a video of last week's chaotic meeting available, which ended with all opposition councillors walking out of the chamber. Videos are usually on the website within a few hours of the meeting taking place, but four days later, [none has appeared](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=113&MId=9802&ref=kentcurrent.news) for this one. Presumably just an unfortunate technical error. [KCC meeting implodes as opposition walks outA migration motion ends in chaos as Swale hardens security and Canterbury’s meningitis outbreak grows![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-42.png)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/KC_KCC-2-1.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kcc-meeting-implodes-as-opposition-walks-out/) 👩‍💻 East Thanet MP Polly Billington has [demanded an apology](https://pollybillington.org.uk/2026/03/20/polly-demands-apology-after-thanet-reform-uk-councillor-suggests-victim-may-be-to-blame-in-cllr-dan-taylor-abuse-case/?ref=kentcurrent.news) from Ramsgate Reform councillor Terry Mole after he suggested on social media that the victim of jailed councillor Daniel Taylor could be to blame. 🎥 Johnny Depp, who the High Court found had repeatedly assaulted his ex-wife, [filmed scenes](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/johnny-depp-spotted-filming-in-town-centre-restaurant-and-ba-338052/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Maidstone last week. 🛹 Skaters are apparently [being injured](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/we-re-skating-on-gravel-people-won-t-come-back-if-there-s-338022/?ref=kentcurrent.news) by the 'cheesegrater' like surface of Ashford Skatepark. 🎭 Ashford Borough Council has [unveiled plans](https://www.ashford.gov.uk/news/latest-news/curtain-raised-on-plans-to-bring-ashford-s-former-odeonmecca-back-to-life-as-a-flexible-cultural-and-community-venue/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to bring the former Odeon and bingo hall in the town back into use as a community and cultural venue. 🚫 Thanet has [not made the longlist](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-city-of-culture-2029-longlist-revealed?ref=kentcurrent.news) for UK City of Culture, with the government instead choosing places that are, primarily, cities. 🚛 An illegal waste site in Ramsgate has been [shut down](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/illegal-waste-site-in-ramsgate-shut-by-environment-agency?ref=kentcurrent.news) by the Environment Agency. 🗑️ Sevenoaks is one of 70 councils in the UK that [didn't issue](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/mar/20/uk-councils-littering-fines-data-clean-up-britain-campaign?ref=kentcurrent.news) a single littering fine last year. 🍔 The former Beefeater in Gravesend is set to become, perhaps appropriately, [a McDonald's](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/gravesend/news/mcdonald-s-confirms-takeover-of-former-beefeater-337777/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🏛️ Municipal Dreams has been [examining Tunbridge Wells Town Hall](https://municipaldreams.substack.com/p/tunbridge-wells-town-hall-dignity). ### Property of the week If you want Victorian coastal dominance, this is it. A Grade II listed detached marine residence on Radnor Cliff, built around 1850, with eight bedrooms and seven bathrooms, and a set of key features that reads like an estate agent seeing how far they can push it. The big brag is a mature terraced garden with direct beach access without even crossing a road, plus three garages, a boathouse, and panoramic sea views from all floors. It’s currently arranged as two large apartments after being split into flats in the early 1970s, but the listing says it can be returned to a single home, and it also comes with a separate garden studio that has been run as a holiday let. It also has full CCTV and alarm systems, because at £2.5m, you are apparently allowed to be a little paranoid. [Check out this 8 bedroom detached house for sale on Rightmove8 bedroom detached house for sale in Radnor Cliff, Folkestone, Kent, CT20 for £2,500,000\. Marketed by Rogans Estate Agents, Hythe![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/favicon-8.ico)Rightmove.co.uk![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/a92ccb8dbfe652f6d95620d31b9aeee8.jpeg)](https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/161925881?ref=kentcurrent.news#/) ### Events this week 🎤 Fri 27 Mar - [**Andy Zaltzman: The Zaltgeist**](https://trinitytheatre.net/events/andy-zaltzman-the-zaltgeist-2/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Host of The Bugle podcast assesses the state of the world. Trinity Theatre, Tunbridge Wells. Tickets £22\. *Also at* [*Quarterhouse*](https://www.creativefolkestone.org.uk/whats-on/andy-zaltman/?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, Folkestone on 19 Apr and* [*Hazlitt Theatre*](https://www.parkwoodtheatres.co.uk/hazlitt-theatre/whats-on/andy-zaltzman---the-zaltgeist?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, Maidstone on 5 May.* 📷 28 Mar - 31 Aug - [**Ocean Photographer of the Year**](https://thedockyard.co.uk/events/ocean-photographer-of-the-year-exhibition/?ref=localauthority.news) // Exhibition of 116 award-winning photographs. Chatham Historic Dockyard. Tickets £29 (includes dockyard entry). ## ****Kent, properly reported** ****Independent journalism on the county’s biggest stories, without the clickbait or clutter** Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### **Footnotes** ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### “Things do get better” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/things-do-get-better/ Last updated: 2026-03-22T07:00:51.000Z *Jordan Chan is a Director of Swale Pride and a Mr Gay Great Britain finalist. Steven met Jordan at Taze in Chatham, where he had delightful baklava and possibly the worst cup of tea. Whilst there, they spoke about Jordan's experiences of violent bullying growing up in Sheppey, his time as an underwear model, why he is supporting the launch of Trans Pride Kent, and why he was concerned about taking part in this interview...* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/03/image-10-1.png) Jordan Chan. **What is your official occupation?** I'm an operations manager for an insurance company. **Do you have any additional roles, paid or unpaid?** I'm a director of [Swale Pride](https://www.swalepride.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news). I am the founder of [Queer Kent Life](https://www.instagram.com/queerkentlife/?ref=kentcurrent.news). I'm now a director of [Trans Pride Kent](https://www.instagram.com/transpridekent/?ref=kentcurrent.news). And I'm the LGBT ambassador for [Kent Cricket](https://www.kentcricket.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news). **What is Trans Pride Kent?** Trans Pride Kent is a grassroots pride that Shea and Sarah *\[Coffey of* [*Rainbows Over Medway*](https://rainbowsovermedway.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news)*\]* founded to provide networking services, vital healthcare, legal services and support to the trans community of Kent. It covers the whole county, which I believe is the only trans pride that covers an entire county rather than a city. With Reform taking over Kent County Council, and the constant attacks on the LGBT community and more so on the trans community, it's a vital safe space for people to get together, support one another and show their support and solidarity for allies and the wider LGBT community. **What will be happening at Trans Pride Kent?** At Trans Pride Kent, we have guest speakers, we have acts, we have stalls that again are around healthcare, legal advice and support and services to the trans community and wider LGBTQ plus. **When and where will this be happening?** This is on the 28th of March, Saturday, at Westgate Hall in Canterbury. **Why are you so heavily involved when you yourself are not trans?** I met Shea and Hilary *\[Cooke of* [*Medway Pride*](https://medwaypride.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news)*\]* when I was doing [Gay Great Britain](https://www.instagram.com/mrgaygreatbritain/?ref=kentcurrent.news). To be honest, I was quite ignorant of what the trans community were subject to. I spoke about this in Gay Great Britain when I was being interviewed. It's weird for me to say that as a gay man, I almost have a certain level of privilege. When I go out, I can blend and almost not get as much hate, because I'm not trans, and I didn't realise quite how that was going on until I spent more time with Shea and Hilary, and I heard their stories and saw the interviews that they had done. I was quite ignorant. I educated myself and wanted to help, and the more I got involved in Swale Pride and the more time I spent with the trans community through the Gay Great Britain competition, when I worked with other prides and wider communities. Part of my Gay Great Britain campaign was heavily around the trans community, speaking out in all the interviews. One of the runways that I'd done was trans-related. I had a custom-made sequin suit in the trans flag colours, just to support really. I want to stand up for people that are underrepresented or under fire. Everyone should just be able to live authentically themselves, and they shouldn't have to deal with the hate that they get just for being... It doesn't make sense to me, and that's why I just wanted to be a supporter and basically do as much as I can. ## ****Kent, properly reported** ****Independent journalism on the county’s biggest stories, without the clickbait or clutter** Subscribe for free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. > There was nobody that I could look up to, nobody visible locally that I could see myself in **Why is there a need for Swale Pride?** Growing up as a kid, I was severely bullied for being mixed race. I had my windows bricked, I had my parents’ car paint stripped and bricked, my house was egged. I have been glassed four times. I've got scars all over my body from where I was beaten, kicked, glassed and punched. It was horrific. I was taken out of school for six months because the school couldn't guarantee me and my brother's safety. We were home schooled, and I wasn't even out as gay then. I think people had a field day with me just being mixed race. We had spray paint saying that we needed to be strung up and killed. It was horrific. My childhood was not great. And this wasn't just kids, these were parents as well. These were people that had full-time jobs, shouting racial abuse to me and my brother. These were our neighbours. It was horrendous. I didn't come out as gay until I was 18\. Then I got a whole new level of hate from people for being gay. I thought there needs to be something here in Swale. I didn't join Swale Pride until 2022\. It took me a long time. But as I've got older and more confident in myself, I just wanted to help. When I was growing up, there was nobody that I could look up to, nobody visible locally that I could see myself in, and I think that visibility is so important. Representation is so important. An offer was extended for me to join the committee, I took it. I started supporting Swale Pride, doing events and their parade. Then, after about a year or two, they asked me if I wanted to become director. I accepted and have been ever since. I just wanted to show kids that there are people out there like them. Things do get better. They might be going through a horrendous time at the moment, but when they do leave school, when they find themselves, when they become adults and can live their lives how they want, it does get better. That's what I want to try and represent as a leader of Swale Pride. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### KCC meeting implodes as opposition walks out URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/kcc-meeting-implodes-as-opposition-walks-out/ Last updated: 2026-03-26T18:18:48.000Z **Kent County Council descended into chaos today as opposition parties walked out of the chamber over Reform’s migration motion, leaving the administration to pass it alone after a meeting marked by rows over process, politics and what councillors were even allowed to say. We also look at Swale’s tightening security response after repeated far-right disruption, and the latest on the growing meningitis outbreak around Canterbury.* ### KCC meeting implodes as opposition walks out and Reform votes alone Kent County Council descended into chaos today (Thursday) after opposition parties walked out of the chamber, accusing Reform of turning full council into a political stunt and making meaningful debate impossible, before the administration went on to pass its 'illegal migration emergency' motion with nobody else left in the room. By the end of the afternoon, the whole thing had become faintly ridiculous. This was a full council meeting where political criticism was repeatedly ruled out of order during a highly political agenda, where councillors argued over what they were even allowed to say, and where Reform ended up voting through its headline motion on migration with only its own members present. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/03/KC_KCC-2.jpg) The warning signs came early. At the start of the meeting, Conservative councillor Sarah Hudson raised a point of order, saying she had seen Reform group WhatsApp messages discussing her medical issues, including what she described as mocking comments. Chair Richard Palmer said the chamber was not the place to deal with it, prompting visible disquiet. In screenshots seen by the *Kent Current*, messages in what appears to be a Reform group chat discuss Hudson’s diabetes and whether the chair should be made aware of it. One of the messages appears to come from Diane Morton, KCC’s cabinet member for Adult Social Care and Public Health, followed by a separate 'lol' response. Hudson later said the issue arose because Palmer had allowed the meeting to continue until 2pm without breaking for lunch, forcing her to explain her medical condition. That was before the main row had even properly started. Hanging over the whole day was Reform’s motion declaring an 'illegal migration emergency' in Kent. There had already been a dispute about whether it should be debated at all during the pre-election period ahead of the Cliftonville by-election. The monitoring officer’s position, as relayed in the chamber, was that the motion could proceed so long as the by-election itself was not referenced. Opposition groups made clear they thought that was nowhere near good enough. That clash between a live by-election period and an openly political agenda ended up swallowing much of the meeting. Throughout the morning, opposition councillors were repeatedly cut off for remarks deemed too political, while Reform figures appeared to get rather more room. The chamber was left trying to operate under a strange new rulebook in which politics was apparently to be avoided at all costs during meetings on political issues. The pattern was hard to miss during responses to leader [Linden Kemkaran](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-think-theres-a-lot-gone-wrong-with/)’s report. Kemkaran began by saying she “hopes we can get through this meeting without a member of the Lib Dems defecating into a bag and waving it around,” before moving abruptly on to the meningitis outbreak in Canterbury and the situation in the Gulf. Later in the same session, councillors trying to criticise Reform’s record or describe the budget as the administration’s were stopped by Palmer, who repeatedly cited the pre-election period. Restore group leader [Paul Thomas](https://www.kentcurrent.news/were-still-standing-by-what-we-were-elected-to-do/) was warned off during his response. Conservative group leader [Harry Rayner](https://www.kentcurrent.news/nobody-needs-14-councils/) was cut off for talking about Reform’s “lack of experience” and later again for saying the party had taken “an unacceptable risk with their budget.” Green and Lib Dem councillors complained that Kemkaran had been allowed to criticise opponents while anyone criticising the administration was being shut down. At one point, Green group leader Mark Hood described the position as “completely ludicrous.” Later, after being banged down by Palmer for referring to the “administration’s reckless budget”, he called the whole thing “a farce.” He was not alone. The monitoring officer repeatedly urged caution, at one stage saying councillors needed to be “very cautious” and that criticism of other parties was to be avoided “at all costs.” But the way that caution was being applied looked increasingly subjective. Opposition parties were left trying to work out how a meeting with agenda items on allowances, pay policy, devolution, strategy and a migration motion explicitly attacking the Labour government was supposed to function if nobody was allowed to make political arguments about any of it. There was a ten minute break after the row over the leader’s report, but that did not settle anything. If anything, it gave opposition groups time to compare notes and conclude that the meeting had become impossible to conduct on any sensible basis. The rest of the pre-lunch business carried on, but with the same odd atmosphere hanging over it. Reform secured a 3.8% increase in councillor allowances despite having made a great play last year of cutting them by 5% when it took office. Councillors were told the increase would still leave allowances below the 2024/25 level, though confusion remained over whether extra money would, in fact, swell the councillor grants pot as Kemkaran suggested. Officers also confirmed that, while the Member Remuneration Panel had recommended 3.6%, the administration had opted for 3.8% anyway. Council also backed the administration’s position against submitting an expression of interest for a Foundation Strategic Authority, despite criticism from opposition members that KCC had effectively already communicated that stance to the government before full council had the chance to debate it. Technical items on committee proportionality and the annual pay policy statement were pushed through more quickly. But by then, the real question was no longer what sat on the agenda. It was what would happen when the meeting returned to [Reform’s migration motion](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/documents/s136152/1.%20Reform%20UK%20Group%20-%20Illegal%20Migration%20Emergency.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) after lunch. That question was answered almost immediately. As the meeting resumed, Lib Dem opposition leader [Antony Hook](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-really-dont-like-party-tribalism/) moved to object, arguing that the motion was discriminatory and inappropriate during an election period. Palmer tried to stop him. At that point, Lib Dems, Greens, Conservatives, Restore and UKIP councillors got up and walked out together. ***Watch: Opposition councillors walk out of the chamber.*** 0:00 /0:20 1× For a few minutes, Labour remained in the chamber with Reform. Then Labour group leader Alister Brady delivered his own intervention, saying his group believed the motion broke pre-election rules, that independent legal advice had been withheld despite repeated requests to see it, and that Labour had lost trust and confidence in the process. He said the matter would be reported to the Electoral Commission. Labour then left too. That left Reform alone in the chamber. The meeting moved on to the motion itself, with Palmer still reiterating that councillors could not stray into party political campaigning despite the fact that only Reform members remained present. Reform councillors David Wimble and Jeremy Eustace moved the motion. There was no debate because there was no opposition left to take part in it, and even Reform councillors didn't seem very interested in speaking on the issue. The 45 Reform councillors remaining in the chamber resulted in a vote of 45 in favour, none against and no abstentions. So Kent County Council ended the day having formally passed a declaration of an 'illegal migration emergency' in Kent after a meeting in which criticism of Reform had repeatedly been shut down, the text of any supposed amended version of the motion had not been shared in the chamber before the vote, and every other political group had either walked out in protest or, in Labour’s case, left after formally denouncing the process. The motion itself was as political as its critics suggested. It described Kent as the “frontier” for small boat arrivals, claimed residents were bearing the consequences in terms of cost, culture, community cohesion and crime, and called on the leader to demand that the Labour government stop the arrivals “immediately” and fully fund the costs facing KCC and its partners. That gets to the heart of what went wrong. This was not some dry bit of council business that accidentally brushed against election sensitivity. It was an overtly political motion on a national issue, debated during a by-election period under restrictions that opposition councillors said made meaningful opposition impossible. Afterwards, opposition groups were not exactly subtle about what they thought had happened. Hook said councillors had “refused to give legitimacy to a political stunt from the Reform Party,” arguing that Channel crossings were not a KCC responsibility and that the outcome had been pre-ordained. The Kent Lib Dems said Reform had chosen to focus on a national culture-war issue rather than worsening local services such as adult care, SEND support and highways. The Greens said they had “no choice but to walk out” rather than legitimise what they called a “toxic and illegal” debate. Labour said Reform’s leadership had chosen political manoeuvring over public safety at a time when Canterbury was dealing with a meningitis outbreak. Conservative Sarah Hudson described the episode as Reform “gagging” democracy, while fellow Conservative Andrew Kennedy said the opposition had agreed over lunch that the rules set by the chair made it impossible to do its job. UKIP councillor Amelia Randall said she joined the walkout because councillors had been told to be careful not to influence the Cliftonville by-election, only for Reform to bring forward a motion on one of its core campaign issues anyway. Reform’s own public tone was rather different. Kemkaran posted a group photo afterwards and wrote: “Standing up and speaking up for the people of Kent. Always.” Reform's local social media channels were blunter still, with Reform Canterbury hailing the result on Facebook as proof that “Illegal Migration is a National Emergency and Kent County Council have just recognised the fact.” That is one way of presenting it. Another is that Kent County Council took an already politically charged meeting, ran it under a set of rules nobody in the room seemed able to apply consistently, and ended up with a vote on migration taken in a half empty chamber after everyone else had given up on the process. For a meeting meant to show the council at work, it mostly showed a chamber that had stopped functioning properly. ## ****Kent, properly reported** ****Independent journalism on the county’s biggest stories, without the clickbait or clutter** Subscribe for free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### After two ugly meetings, Swale tightens security Swale Borough Council is setting out how security at its Swale House headquarters has been tightened after two consecutive meetings were disrupted by far-right activists, forcing the authority to move well beyond the usual quiet world of local government concerns about passes, locks and who is meant to be where. A report going before the council’s [Economy and Property Committee next week](https://services.swale.gov.uk/meetings/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=358&MId=4314&ref=kentcurrent.news) shows how the response to the chaos of recent months is becoming more formal and more permanent. New measures for public meetings now include body-worn cameras for staff and security, extra CCTV covering the public gallery, improved radios, designated safe spaces inside the building, a reception overflow area with ticketing to stop the gallery exceeding seated capacity, age restrictions for unaccompanied young people, and a Kent Police-backed risk rating system to determine what extra security is needed for particular meetings. That is a long way from where this started. Officers were originally asked for a report after councillors raised concerns last autumn that safety and security issues at Swale House could affect lettings. But the paper was then delayed so it could take account of the [December full council meeting](https://www.kentcurrent.news/when-intimidation-replaces-debate/), when a coordinated group of far-right activists subjected councillors to abuse and intimidation during a debate on whether Swale should support a national sanctuary scheme. [When intimidation replaces debateWhat Swale’s meeting tells us about local democracy. Plus the latest from KCC, Tunbridge Wells still faces water uncertainty, news in brief, and more![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-37.png)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/KC_Swale-3.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/when-intimidation-replaces-debate/) That meeting was suspended, the building was damaged, toilets were vandalised and flooded, and councillors described some of the worst scenes they had experienced in office. Swale House closed afterwards while the damage was assessed. The council had already tightened arrangements by January, when [another Swale meeting descended into disorder](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kent-faces-15-police-council-tax-rise/) during a Reform motion on immigration. That time, attendance was ticketed, gallery numbers were capped, and police and security were heavily present. Even so, activists again shouted at councillors from the gallery before the meeting was adjourned and the public was removed. What this latest report makes clear is that those January-style precautions are not being treated as a one-off. They are becoming part of the way Swale now expects to run contentious public meetings. The report also shows that the security review extends beyond the council chamber. It references anti-social behaviour and rough sleeping in the undercroft during summer 2025, with updated risk assessments, work with Kent Police, and further options under consideration, ranging from enforcement action to possible physical measures to protect the area. Some tougher steps are still only being explored. Moving all meetings online has been rejected, but a screen between the public gallery and chamber and mandatory ID checks remain under review. The broader point is hard to miss. Open meetings and public galleries are supposed to be a basic part of local democracy. But at Swale, they are now increasingly being planned for as a security risk. ### Meningitis outbreak latest - The outbreak has continued to grow. As of today (Thursday), officials say there are now 27 cases in total, comprising 15 confirmed and 12 probable. Two young people have died. - The public health response has widened with it. The UK Health Security Agency [said](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/expansion-of-meningitis-b-vaccination-offer-to-kent-students?ref=kentcurrent.news) on Thursday that the MenB vaccine will now be offered to everyone who has already been offered preventative antibiotics as part of the outbreak response, not just the initial student group. That means the net now extends beyond the University of Kent campus to include close contacts of confirmed or suspected cases, as well as Year 12 and 13 students in Kent schools and colleges where confirmed or probable cases have been identified. - Canterbury Christ Church Students’ Union [says](https://www.facebook.com/christchurchsu/posts/pfbid0dJS5f9ZQLEHL4rb7Ap6u2jaq4QAyH8GCFRKFzbcVZa2Ag55u72iXhMFqoPxf2DFLl) it did not cancel its events and core activities “out of choice,” but because it was instructed to follow CCCU guidance. At the same time, it accused the university of a “double standard”, with student-focused activity cancelled while Canterbury Festival’s Step into Spring event still being allowed to go ahead this weekend. - Canterbury Festival [says](https://www.facebook.com/CanterburyFest/posts/pfbid02hdcee4Yt9WfggkTE3bHnKLWMi3hnCG3HSDYQVq5ewFiAVFEWidWwTvVhCoB4va2bl) the event will proceed under UKHSA guidance, with audiences capped at 50% in Augustine Hall, the café closed, earlier auditorium opening to reduce queuing, enhanced cleaning, and masks left as a matter of personal preference. - The University of Kent [says](https://www.kent.ac.uk/news/statements/37751/university-response-to-the-meningitis-outbreak-in-canterbury?ref=kentcurrent.news) more than 6,500 precautionary antibiotic courses have now been handed out on campus, and 600 vaccines were administered there on Wednesday alone. - Hopes that the situation may already have been brought under control are being tempered. Kent’s director of public health, Dr Anjan Ghosh, [said](https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/uk-health-official-says-too-soon-declare-kent-meningitis-outbreak-contained-2026-03-19/?utm%5Fsource=chatgpt.com) on Thursday that it is still too early to say the outbreak has been contained, as secondary transmission still needs to be ruled out. - It also did not take long for the misinformation to arrive. Within four days of the outbreak becoming public, anti-vaccine and conspiracy theory content had started proliferating across local Facebook groups, adding another layer of noise to an already anxious situation. - The official [message](https://ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2026/03/18/meningitis-b-outbreak-what-you-need-to-know/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to the wider public remains that the overall risk is low, but this is still a serious disease. Anyone contacted and told to take preventative antibiotics should do so promptly, and anyone with symptoms should seek urgent medical help. ### Footnotes ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### Two deaths as Canterbury confronts meningitis outbreak URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/two-deaths-as-canterbury-confronts-meningitis-outbreak/ Last updated: 2026-03-16T13:34:05.000Z **We lead today with the meningitis outbreak in Canterbury, where two young people have died, and others remain seriously ill in hospital as public health teams work to trace contacts and contain the spread. We also cover the latest from the Cliftonville by-election, council meetings across Kent, planning and housing pressures, water infrastructure concerns, and the usual mix of politics, local disputes and community stories shaping the county.* ### Two deaths as Canterbury confronts meningitis outbreak Canterbury is dealing with a meningitis outbreak that has killed two young people, left others in hospital and forced a sudden public health response across the city. The UK Health Security Agency [says](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cases-of-invasive-meningococcal-disease-confirmed-in-kent?ref=kentcurrent.news) it was made aware of 13 cases of invasive meningococcal disease in the Canterbury area between 13 and 15 March. Two people are known to have died: a University of Kent student and a Year 13 pupil at Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School in Faversham. 11 others have been reported to be seriously ill in hospital. By this morning, the outbreak had already reshaped life on and around the University of Kent campus. Students were queuing for precautionary antibiotics, in-person assessments have been pulled for the week, events are being cancelled, and social media is filling up with posts from students talking about packing up and going home. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/03/AdobeStock_841076714_Editorial_Use_Only.jpeg) University of Kent, Canterbury The first clear public signal came in a letter sent on 15 March by the South East Health Protection Team to University of Kent students and staff. It said a number of students had been admitted to hospital with meningitis or sepsis likely caused by meningococcal bacteria, and that known contacts had already been told how to access antibiotics. Anyone who believed they had been in contact with a case but had not been contacted by UKHSA was told to attend the university's Senate building on Monday. The university’s own statements made clear this was not being treated as a routine precaution. Acting vice-chancellor Georgina Randsley de Moura [said](https://blogs.kent.ac.uk/student-news/2026/03/15/meningitis-outbreak-an-important-message-from-our-vice-chancellor/?ref=kentcurrent.news) there was an outbreak in the Canterbury area and that the university was affected, confirmed that one student had died, said others from the university community were in hospital, and announced that there would be no in-person assessments this week, but that the campus would remain. That has been the balance of the response so far. The campus remains open, but much of normal university life has been knocked sideways. Officials have stressed that close contacts have been traced and antibiotics provided, while the scale of the messaging suggests how seriously the situation is being taken. NHS Kent and Medway [says](https://www.kentandmedway.icb.nhs.uk/news/meningitis-outbreak-in-canterbury-4187?ref=kentcurrent.news) UKHSA worked with the university to send advice to all 16,000 students. The BBC has reported that more than 30,000 students, staff and families were being contacted with information about the outbreak. There is still plenty unknown. Health officials are trying to work out exactly what links the cases and what sits behind the cluster, while rumours about where the infection may have spread have moved quickly enough for Helen Whately, the MP for Faversham and Mid Kent, to [say](https://www.facebook.com/HelenWhatelyMP/posts/pfbid02qRXPWXSnYeCfXDMCz6wsMBFDR7D8su1vxAPDBUEJfFxPiqsgkcoavHDHC5wy6Cayl) she was urgently seeking more information and guidance from the NHS. Some of that speculation has centred on Canterbury's nightlife. The BBC has reported that the outbreak is thought to be linked to a social event attended by some of those who fell ill. Much of the speculation revolved around Club Chemistry, and by this morning, KentOnline [reported](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/health-chiefs-consider-treating-thousands-of-nightclub-goers-337780/?ref=kentcurrent.news) that UKHSA were considering offering antibiotics to anyone who attended the venue between 5 and 7 March. That is obviously a serious development, but it still falls short of officials saying the outbreak began at a particular venue. For now, the more solid conclusion is that public health teams are trying to piece together a cluster of linked exposures in a city where students live, study and socialise in close proximity. The second death took the story beyond the university. Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School in Faversham confirmed that a Year 13 pupil died on Saturday, making it no longer possible to see the outbreak solely as a university issue. The NHS response has also become much more visible. East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust [said](https://www.ekhuft.nhs.uk/news/meningitis-outbreak-in-canterbury/?ref=kentcurrent.news) it recognised the tragic circumstances of the outbreak and was working with UKHSA and NHS Kent and Medway to ensure hospital staff and GPs were alert for possible cases. NHS Kent and Medway has [urged](https://www.kentandmedway.icb.nhs.uk/news/meningitis-outbreak-in-canterbury-4187?ref=kentcurrent.news) anyone with symptoms of meningitis or septicaemia to seek urgent help through A&E or by calling 999, while directing worried people to NHS 111. Among students, though, reassurance has landed in an atmosphere of obvious anxiety. Kent Students’ Union [said](https://ksu.co.uk/news/article/meningitis-outbreak-statement?ref=kentcurrent.news) a number of students were receiving treatment in hospital and cancelled several upcoming events, despite saying public health guidance had not advised venues to close. Alongside the cancelled events and queues for antibiotics, TikTok filled with videos from students saying they were leaving Canterbury and going home. That gives a fairly clear picture of the mood. The university is still operating, but not in anything like a normal way. The wider city is feeling it too. Trans Pride Kent [said](https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story%5Ffbid=pfbid0RBtALSnpmbnEXu5uKBswwwX7AzEkBJEUB7LRJzfbqDfkzt1jA9vQbt55b2rtuZYil&id=61576940140894) it was monitoring the situation and would decide whether it needed to move its event later this month. Canterbury parkrun [cancelled](https://www.facebook.com/canterburyparkrun/posts/pfbid02gkPpN52BPDC3mhJqrkKjRS5aY5r3xYnFY3u12JajCUn8W7XJmYib7GbZq8jMYjTJl) its 21 March event, saying it would be inappropriate to celebrate its anniversary given what had happened. Canterbury is now in the uncomfortable position of carrying on while something serious and unsettled is still unfolding around it. The campus remains open, and antibiotics are being handed out, but two young people are dead, others are in hospital, events are being cancelled, and families are waiting for answers. For now, Canterbury is left waiting for fuller answers while public health teams carry on with the immediate job of tracing contacts, getting antibiotics to those who need them and making sure people know what symptoms to watch for. After a weekend that has already brought real grief and a fair amount of fear, the city now has to try to regain its footing while the full picture is still being pieced together. ### Cliftonville by-election latest - The deadline for nominations passed last week, with six candidates making it onto the ballot paper for the 9 April election: Joanne Bright (Labour), Lucy Gray (Independent), Charlie Leys (Conservative), Marc Rattigan (Reform), Mo Shafaei (Liberal Democrat), and Rob Yates (Green). - We've covered most of these candidates as they announced in previous weeks, but the new name here is Lucy Gray, who is a lawyer who runs The Green Kitchen on Northdown Road in the ward. She is running on a platform focused on affordable housing, education, and the local economy. - Despite pledging to do so, Restore failed to get a candidate on the ballot paper, either as a party representative or as a backed independent. - Former Tory leadership hopeful whose ambition proved far more transferable than his principles, Robert Jenrick, [visited Cliftonville](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2026/03/12/reform-uk-shadow-chancellor-robert-jenrick-throws-weight-behind-by-election-campaign-candidate-marc-rattigan/?ref=kentcurrent.news) this week to support the Reform campaign. - If social media likes were any indication of campaign success, Reform member since last month, and candidate Marc Rattigan would be running away with it. One day last week, his [Facebook page](https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574173700053) leapt from 23 likes to 1.1k, while his followers leapt from 2.3k to 3.7k, and then suddenly stopped. Which definitely sounds like the natural growth trajectory of a grassroots local campaign. We're certain new followers like LuckyBoutiquemax32, RiverGuildmax723, and PleasantOasisverified775 will be heading down to Cliftonville to support the campaign in the coming days. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-16-at-12.17.08.png) Some of Cllr Marc Rattigan's new Facebook followers. ### Council matters **Meetings this week:** - **Canterbury:** [Cabinet](https://democracy.canterbury.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=755&MId=13844&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets tonight (Monday) to discuss waste management strategies, River Stour environmental credits, and expansion options for Wincheap Park & Ride. - **Gravesham:** [Cabinet](https://democracy.gravesham.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=149&MId=9428&ref=kentcurrent.news) gathers tonight (Monday) to update the corporate risk register and, er, look at the council's achievements. - **Canterbury:** [Council](https://democracy.canterbury.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=138&MId=14026&ref=kentcurrent.news) will meet on Wednesday for an extraordinary meeting to progress the Local Plan process. - **Maidstone:** [Cabinet](https://meetings.maidstone.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=748&MId=5610&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Wednesday to talk about bulky waste, empty homes, and efforts to block Invicta House being turned into a HMO. - **Kent:** [County Council](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=113&MId=9802&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Thursday to discuss councillor allowances, council finances, as well as motions on an illegal migration 'emergency' and water infrastructure. - **Maidstone:** [Planning Committee](https://meetings.maidstone.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=748&MId=5610&ref=kentcurrent.news) will decide on 100 homes in Lenham on Thursday, as well as 35 homes south of the town, 20 homes in Ulcombe, and lots more. - **Sevenoaks:** [Cabinet](https://cds.sevenoaks.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=120&MId=3564&J=1&ref=kentcurrent.news) will gather on Thursday to talk community grant schemes, waste, and more. - **Thanet:** [Cabinet](https://democracy.thanet.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=151&MId=7001&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Thursday to discuss regeneration, temporary accommodation, support for a foundation strategic authority for Kent, and lots more. **New planning applications:** - **Sevenoaks:** Creation of a [new road](https://pa.sevenoaks.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=TBP0W4BKM7O00&activeTab=summary&ref=kentcurrent.news) to be used as an agricultural access track. ***The Kent Current only exists because some readers choose to pay for it.** *If you value independent reporting on Kent that doesn’t rely on clickbait or theatre, please consider becoming a supporter. An annual subscription costs £1.15 a week and helps keep this work sustainable.* [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) ### In brief 🚰 Both South East Water and Southern Water will be [allowed to increase prices](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/final-decision-on-disputed-price-controls-for-5-water-companies?ref=kentcurrent.news) at a rate higher than the independent regulator initially proposed. 🚱 South East Water has also said it will '[struggle](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c78jp5xlemzo?ref=kentcurrent.news)' to supply 23,000 new homes around Canterbury and 19,000 new homes in Tonbridge & Malling. 🏘️ Plans for 725 new homes in Meopham have [not gone down well](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/gravesend/news/its-beyond-comprehension-backlash-as-plans-for-725-homes-337516/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 💷 Local Democracy Reporter Dan Esson has been [looking into](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/tonbridge/news/the-inside-story-of-mp-s-200k-in-outside-work-and-overseas-337647/?ref=kentcurrent.news) Tonbridge MP Tom Tugendhat's £200,000 in outside financial interests. 🤌 A Tonbridge teacher has [argued](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/03/12/touch-pupil-inappropriately-denied-italian/?ref=kentcurrent.news) that he didn't inappropriately touch a student, noting that he's just Italian. 👮‍♂️ A Kent Police officer made [racist comments](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/former-kent-police-officer-said-he-would-abort-baby-if-you-337525/?ref=kentcurrent.news) two weeks after joining the force. 👮 Kent Police officers will have their allowances [cut by £250](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/kent-police-defends-decision-to-cut-officers-allowance-by-337734/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🏗️ Gravesham firms are being helped to [win work](https://highways-news.com/gravesham-firms-get-help-to-win-work-on-the-lower-thames-crossing/?ref=kentcurrent.news) on the Lower Thomas Crossing project. 🖼️ Kent County Council has been [criticised](https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/03/09/uk-council-criticised-sale-collection-including-works-photographer-tony-ray-jones?ref=kentcurrent.news) over the sale of a unique collection of photographs. 🛹 Builders have been appointed to build a £1.1m [skatepark](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2026/03/13/world-class-builders-appointed-for-flagship-1-1m-margate-skatepark/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Margate. 🧖 The UK's largest beach spa and sauna has [opened](https://folkestonedispatch.substack.com/p/opening-of-countrys-biggest-beach) in Folkestone. 🍝 Shoreditch Italian restaurant Senza Fordo is [set to open](https://www.restaurantonline.co.uk/Article/2026/03/11/senza-fondo-to-open-first-regional-site-in-tunbridge-wells-with-new-all-day-concept/?ref=kentcurrent.news) an eatery in Tunbridge Wells. 🍲 The Daily Mail is [very excited](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/lifestyle/food-drink/article-15639379/West-African-cuisine-having-huge-moment-TOM-PARKER-BOWLES-reveals-try-dishes-condiment-spices-everyday-veg-three-course-Michelin-approved-feast-29.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) about Sevenoaks' Afro-fusion restaurant Shwen Shwen. 🐶 A Kent dog has given birth to a record breaking litter of [17 puppies](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy0dv7exveyo?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🐮 Kent Wildlife Trust have had to warn visitors to [keep their distance](https://www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk/news/kent-wildlife-trust-urges-visitors-keep-their-distance-highland-cattle-hothfield-heathlands?ref=kentcurrent.news) from highland cows at Hothfield Heathlands after the big floofs went viral on TikTok. ⛳ The British Minigolf Championships take place in Margate [this weekend](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2026/03/13/british-minigolf-championships-heading-to-strokes-in-margate/?ref=kentcurrent.news). ### Property of the week This week’s property is a freshly renovated two-bedroom mid-terrace on Waterloo Place in Ramsgate, pitched very much at the “just bring a toothbrush” end of the market. It’s chain-free, has a log burner in the front lounge for maximum cosy points, a separate dining room, and a neat kitchen at the back with wooden worktops plus a separate utility area. The agent is also offering it fully furnished by separate negotiation, which is either convenient or slightly ominous depending on your attitude to other people’s sofas. It’s two streets back from the seafront, within easy reach of the harbour and town centre, and it’s on for offers over £250,000. [Check out this 2 bedroom terraced house for sale on Rightmove2 bedroom terraced house for sale in Waterloo Place, Ramsgate, Kent, CT11 for £250,000\. Marketed by Miles and Barr, Ramsgate![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/favicon-7.ico)Rightmove.co.uk![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/a106440d5ad077679a6d707f7dae0b5d.jpeg)](https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/173210282?ref=kentcurrent.news#/) ### Events this week 🎭 17 - 21 Mar - [**To Kill a Mockingbird**](https://marlowetheatre.com/shows/to-kill-a-mockingbird-2/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Aaron Sorkin's award-winning stage adaptation of the seminal novel. Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury. Tickets from £32. ## Get the Kent Current in your inbox Clear, independent reporting on Kent’s biggest stories without the intrusive ads or clickbait. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### **Footnotes** ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### "We’re still standing by what we were elected to do" URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/were-still-standing-by-what-we-were-elected-to-do/ Last updated: 2026-03-25T16:57:37.000Z *Steven met Cllr Paul Thomas in the new Restore Britain Group office at Kent County Council. Having only recently joined the party and been elected group leader, they had a lot to talk about, including why Paul joined and left the Conservatives, why he is no longer a member of Reform, and why he landed on Restore. He also asked him about his path into politics, whether he supports far-right individuals joining Restore, and if he has curtains up in his front room...* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/03/image-9-1-1.png) Cllr Paul Thomas **What is it you like about Rupert Lowe?** It's refreshing that you've got somebody that speaks their mind, takes a common sense approach, and empowers us at the grassroots level. He came to visit us in County Hall. His main purpose was to thank us for joining the party, which was a no brainer, to be honest. It's all about serving your division, but collectively do the best you can for the county. A lot of the obvious ways to fix things are staring you in the face. But politicians, per se, and it seems to be the case across the board, seem to ignore that, and they start to have their own agendas. A lot of people started accusing us of being things that we're not. I said to them, “Hold on a minute. I've been elected. I'm Paul Thomas, county councillor for Maidstone South. I live in my division, and we try and pick candidates from the communities because you then live in it.” Whereas you see a lot of other parties keep throwing people in from out of area. They don't understand it. **You're now the leader of the Restore Britain group. How would you describe Restore Britain?** To be absolutely honest, a lot of the things we used to say in Reform, like family, community, country, I always added the strapline 'with consideration.' Because if you assume things, you can get things wrong. Another issue that we always like to look at is the unintended consequences. Before we take action or suggest something, what are the unintended consequences within our area? We try and sound that out. One of the biggest issues and Reform bang the table, Rupert was an integral part, it now transpires, his idea for mass deportation was the real reason he was pushed out of the party. Yes, it's a hard policy. Yes, we're going to have those that criticise us about it, but we can't afford to pay for all of these illegal immigrants coming through. The approach Restore are taking is to rather make these big sweeping promises, this is what we're to do. It's the same thing I was elected on. I didn't say I wasn't going to put council tax up. What I said is you vote for me, and I will go in there, and I will look at the inefficient practices or the contracts that we're doing, or what we strategically need to do. It won't happen overnight, but that will then generate savings and efficiencies, which means you can deliver more for less or if you then manage to work within surpluses, we've got choices. Those choices can be reducing the tax for people, which then means there's more money in their pockets they can spend. That will boost the local economy. But more importantly, the refreshing big difference is we're not going to be whipped locally. We've been empowered to go out, understand what needs to be done, and make those proposals, put the motions forward, chase, cajole, to ensure that we deliver what the people of Kent want. **Restore has positioned itself as right of Reform. I know you said you don’t like labels, but Restore has support from groups that have been referred to as far-right or fascist. Does that concern you?** One of the things that's always occurred to me is I can't stop people voting for me. **No, but you can stop people who've got a conviction for a hate crime, for example, from joining the party.** Yeah. Now, that's where we will be looking out to make sure that people that have done that don't join the party. Because where I was saying labels are always dangerous, is it hard right saying we need mass deportations? We've explained why it's a sensible approach. ***Want to read the full interview? You’ll need to be a Kent Current supporter.** *Paid subscribers receive the full versions of all of our interviews. You can support the Kent Current from* ***£1.15 a week on an annual plan** *.* [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) **There are people who have said, Rishi Sunak, for example, isn't really British or who would say that Linden Kemkaren isn't really British and therefore shouldn't be able to be a councillor and Leader of Kent County Council.** Funny enough, I asked him *\[Rupert Lowe\]* that question, and he said, “Go and read the mass deportation policy. Say where it says people like Linden Kemkaren and Rishi Sunak…” **But people who are supporting the party are saying that. Do you welcome that support?** There's a line. When it crosses that line, the answer's no. **Just to be clear, where is that line?** That line is when people are actively in this country, earning a living, paying their taxes, being part of the community, don't want to change the laws of this country. Yes, there's laws I want to change, because they're unfunctional, they don't work anymore. But the fundamental ones, if you go back and look at this country, we're predominantly a Christian country. I know a lot of people aren't practising Christians anymore. But if you look at the principles, which were basically family, community, country with consideration. We're considerate. We embrace other people coming out of the years that helped rebuild the country, doing the various bits when we needed them. But those people in the main have become part of the community. When you get this divisiveness, and this is what frustrates me when they say, “You're an extreme party that's designed purely for one thing,” what you've got to remember is you talk to people on your journeys, I'm talking to ordinary people that are middle of the road people, the salt of the earth saying “Enough's enough. We need you lot because we need people that are prepared to be brave.” All the other parties, well, there were those on the left saying, “No, we're not going to do it.” What I assume, if you don't want to do that, it's a bit like putting CCTV up. It's the criminals that don't want that. I don't have a problem walking down the high street, walking around this building with the CCTV cameras on me. **But do you have curtains in your front room?** Yeah. **Why do you need curtains in your front room?** Because there's times when you want privacy, without people looking at you. **That's a variation between that and CCTV, isn't it?** No, it's not. Because you're not in a public space, you're in a private space. People are getting concerned on security. People are starting to feel unsafe. What are the root causes of this? How do you make people feel safe? You deal with the root causes and the issues. Why are we not enforcing our borders? My grandfather was in the Navy through two world wars. He would be appalled with now, with people that come over here and take priority over people that fought hard for this country and died. Some of the people that voted for me, we got the Gurkhas. I was chatting to some of the ex-officers. They had two tours of Afghanistan. They went out to reclaim the Falkland Islands. Yet they're still waiting for their dual passports. People have put their lives on the line fighting for the British in this country, and they don't get in. **But isn't part of Restore policy that Afghans that served with the British Army in Afghanistan shouldn't be given settled status here and they should be sent somewhere else?** That I need to get back to you on. Because like everything, what I said to them is, my concentration is purely at this moment in time, what I've been elected to do, which is to look after the divisions in Kent and the county of Kent. I'm happy to talk on national things, but what I would prefer to do is reread it, so I understand exactly what it is, because that is a national policy and I totally agree with it. There are certain areas, and this is where we are being encouraged, and this is a refreshing bit, if there's unintended consequences of our policies, somebody that's a member of the party can comment on it if they believe there's an unintended consequence. Because there's certain times when if somebody has gone out of their way to help us, then they deserve the support. A lot of people, when you talk to some of them, want to be back in their own countries. They don't necessarily want to be here. It's how you repatriate those people if that's how they want to do it. But at the end of the day, what you've got to look at is, we've only got a finite amount of money. You've got to look at the divisiveness over the slave trade. This country's apologised often, but just google the West African slave trade. The money that the British put in and the lives that were lost stopping the slave trade. That was British life doing it, but yet they're trying to change history to say that didn't exist. Plus, who was effectively encouraging people to take those slaves or sell? Tribal leaders selling because they want to get rid of the problems. I'm not going to compare that with… It's like in Reform. They want to get rid of the people that the leadership don’t want questioning in the party. Is that healthy? My answer is, and I've encouraged my group, challenge us. If you've elected me as leader, it's your job to keep my feet on the ground. It's like when I'm walking around to the electorate, don't walk away and say, “That's Paul from the party.” Come up to me and say, “When are you going to sort this out?” We'll have that dialogue. > I’ll be judged when I go back to the electorate. **You were elected as a Reform councillor. Shouldn't you go to a by-election now that you're a Restore councillor to get your residents' support for your party change?** No, simply because the person is elected on the ballot box. I haven't changed or moved away from the pledges I'd personally made on my leaflets and what I said to people on the doorstep. When I've spoken to everybody within our group, we all come from that principle. We're still standing by what we were elected to do. With Restore, they said, “We are not asking you to do anything other than what you believe is right for the people that have elected you.” I'll be judged when I go back to the electorate. If I was to say, I'm now going from what I call predominantly right-wing politics and going extreme left-wing, I would say “No, that's a big change. I need to ask the people that voted for me, are they still happy for me to represent them?” Rupert's confirmation to us was something we already knew. “Work with the other political groups, because it's local issues. If you all agree, locally, this is what it is. That's how you vote.” Obviously, as a small group, Reform has the numbers that they can vote against all of that, all of the time. But the point I'll put to them that, “You're just being foolhardy just because you won't acknowledge someone else has come up with a good idea.” I want my politicians or the ruling parties to accept there is another way, and this is a sensible solution. We'll embrace it. My personal feeling is if you embrace other people's ideas and what I call enlightened leadership, the electorate will go, “Well, actually they're prepared to listen to other parties, and they're doing their best. I want them to continue because they're doing a damn good job.” What Reform are doing is they're voting down virtually everything suggested by the other parties. It's that fresh approach where if Reform led us to believe that's how they were going to operate, in practice, that isn't what's happening. **Moving forward for Kent is local government reorganisation. Does Restore or you have any policy on that?** I think the timing's wrong. I agree with the principles. The two-tier system isn't working. Personally, I would have tried to go for a bit like the Kent version, which doesn't really comply. It doesn't follow the full rules, but it's cheaper to deliver than the others. The whole of Kent, including Medway, is the overriding unitary authority. It's significantly big. It breaks all the rules, the government are unlikely to say yes to it. If you look at the big-ticket issues, there's special educational needs, the highways, adult social care, the debt between each of the local authorities. You say to those local authorities, “You've got to work yourself out of your debts.” Because why, when you merge one with that's got a massive debt, another one that hasn't, you merge the two together, where does the debt go? Who's now responsible for that debt? Is that fair? Plus, you're then breaking up the overall control over the adult social care. In the smaller areas, is that going to work? What happens on the borders? You've got a duty to cooperate, but that's failed. The bit that frustrates me to a point is you've got all of the cabinets, but there's sometimes when you look at it, and I notice we're starting to look at it, is when you've got cross-cabinet efficiencies. Effectively, you've got two cabinets responsible for home-school transport, but they're not working closely together enough to find true efficiency savings. It's things like that where it takes that enlightened leadership or that different approach. **Was Reform the first political party you were a member of?** No, I was encouraged, it went back to Kent and Medway’s Economic Business Partnership, where you've got a number of councillors sitting there. They said, 'Paul, with your skillset, we think you'd make a good councillor at either borough or county.' I started with the idea of the Lib Dems. They said, 'Well, would you like to come?” I said, “No, sorry, my politics aren't quite like that.” The Tories was a natural one because my attitude in life is I believe you need to create wealth to pay for things. That's more of a capitalist approach. By nature, you're going to be right of centre. It was a natural fit. I joined the Tories. I then met our local MP on a more regular basis and realised, 'You aren't the answer to this.' I'd campaigned hard in my area. It was when Boris was starting to make his mistakes. If you knocked on the door, you got a mixed reaction. They either loved him or hated him. You found a reduction in the Tory vote. Where I stood, because I was making it all about the local issues, I made it clear to people, yes, I'm Tory brand, but I'm fighting on the local issues. You can get cross over the things, but have our local councillors delivered? I actually went up 10% when others were dropping down. **Which election was this?** This was Maidstone Borough Council in 2022. **That was your first time standing for election in 2022? Did you win?** No, I didn't. **You went up compared to other Conservatives, but you didn't win?** Yeah. That encouraged me to do it, but then I thought I don't agree with the way the Tories are going. I sat down with the local MP, and I discussed my findings by listening to people on the door.People criticise me, saying I talk a lot, but actually I do listen a lot. They said, “Well, that's irrelevant.” I go, “Why is it irrelevant? It's communities.” I said, “It is because the government sets the regulations and the statutory requirements. They're saying that this isn't working for them. Are you going to take it up?” **“**I'm dealing with these other things.” I thought, 'You're a waste of time then.' I then found the squabbling that I didn't like within the party. Yes, we can have differences of opinion. Your politics may be different to mine. I'll accept you might not ever vote for me. It doesn't stop us having those discussions to understand if you get elected and I don't, at least hopefully then you'll listen to some of the other aspects which people might not talk to you about, which is then betterment for our communities. That's what I was trying to drive through. People said, “Paul, you're an idealist.” **Was there a particular moment that led you to leave the Conservatives?** It was at the time when my membership was up for renewal. I was monitoring this element called Reform. They were there as a common sense party. I liked a lot of the fresh approach they were taking. It offered exactly what I believed the country needed. The unfortunate thing with it is, and it wasn't my choice, and this is what I said in the chamber, Reform have openly said, “We're here because the Tories have failed to deliver what the people want. We're filling that void.” Restore Britain now…. **Before we get to that, did you join Reform straight away?** Yes, I joined Reform straight away, because they were actually identifying the root causes of what was going wrong in the country and why communities were breaking down. You know you are getting that right because of the way the other parties and the institutions start to criticise you. I didn't run for them in the following year’s elections, I ran as an independent. I was trying to do it for me. It's a bit like when you're in business and you analyse things, you want to understand how much is a vote for you, and how much is it important for a party. **And what did you find out?** That as an independent, unless you're rich and you've got a good local following that's prepared to put their political allegiance aside, you've got little or no chance of winning. I'd already been selected to run in the July General Election. **Selected by Reform in which constituency?** For Maidstone and Malling. > One thing I learnt about it, I was naive and I’ll admit it, I didn’t realise how nasty politics can be and how underhand they are in trying to destroy the opposition **How do you feel the General Election campaign went?** For my first run out, getting almost 10,000 votes and being just around about 5,000 short of beating the Tories. Labour were in second place, about 2,500 ahead of me. It was interesting. We're talking to them on the ground, and I know you always say in politics the opposition's never your friend, but we were just having general discussions. One thing I learnt about it, I was naive and I'll admit it, I didn't realise how nasty politics can be and how underhand they are in trying to destroy the opposition. Where you say, “Well, you need to tactically vote,” or “A vote for them means you're going to get X in.” What happened was I was closing in, and a lot of the votes I was going for the final push was getting the Tory voters to vote for me. The Lib Dems and the Greens, plus some of the others, were putting it out there was that a vote for Reform is going to get Labour. So, a lot of people went, “Hold on, we're not having them \[Labour\], we're going to vote Tory.” You saw in that last week that sudden surge back. Plus, you got “Reform are racist, they're this, that, and the other.” Those underhand tactics. What I've said to people is we need to constantly get people to realise who we are. When others waste their time saying we're things that we're not, we've demonstrated by delivery that we are different. > Within Reform, there's a poisonous element. **Last year, you stood for Reform for Kent County Council and got elected. This was well covered at the time, but just to make sure we get it in your own words, why are you no longer a member of the Reform Party?** This time around, I didn't choose to leave them. They chose to... You've obviously seen the leak of the video. I don’t want to go into too much depth because my attitude is “That's history.” However, I do now believe it needs to come out. Within Reform, there's a poisonous element. What they chose to do was get rid of experienced councillors because we questioned the leadership. All of that was done behind closed doors. The one thing I've tried to build up for myself, over the 60 years I've walked this planet, is to be a gentleman, honourable, that speaks the truth and has true integrity. You might not like what I've got to say, but I'd much rather stand by my principles. **Are you implying that the leak was someone who is still within Reform?** Oh, they are still within Reform. I'll give you one example, and your readers can make up their own mind. Why do you need three people in the whips’ department? It's all about coercive control. They then expelled us. They keep saying that we are dishonourable people. We are judged as an elected councillor against the KCC constitution and what they call the [Nolan Principles](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-7-principles-of-public-life/the-7-principles-of-public-life--2?ref=kentcurrent.news). We haven't broken any of those. Therefore, we can't be these dishonourable lying people. Ask them for the evidence of what we've done wrong. They can't because it will be libellous. When you see things like that, you start to think. Talk to some of the backbenchers, although they probably won't talk to you now because of the coercive control. People ask, why did you set yourself up as a group? And why did you get leadership if you want to come back to the (Reform) party? I'll only come back if they deal with the issues inside and we get an apology. When you're referred to as collateral damage, you look at the party and go, no, that's not how you behave. **With your experience of the party and of the leadership, when you look at how many members it has shed in a very short period of time, do you think that has stopped or that they will lose more members as the year goes on?** The leadership can't afford to shed any more. They're now having to do what they should have done before they'd even considered expelling anybody. It's call them and ask, “What is this difference of opinion?” I've got texts on my phone to the leader saying, “Can I come and talk to you? There's an issue.” We were never given time to have an appointment to go in there and say, “This is what I'm seeing from the backbenches. We need to do something about it, because otherwise you're going to get fractions, going to get the divisions.” I believe in an inclusive style of leadership. As a leader, you've got to take difficult decisions, but you need to explain to your party why you're taking those decisions, what we need to do for the greater good. **What is your official occupation?** Oh, I have got my own business, but to be honest, I mothballed it. **What was that?** That was Development Land Services Limited. I was lucky, because I was a slow learner to start off with. At 13, I’d got academically high enough to go to Maidstone Grammar School. I decided then that there weren’t the A-levels I wanted to do. I went to MidKent College to do what was then a Technical Education Certificate in Building. I qualified with enough merits and distinctions that I was working for what was then Wimpey Homes Holdings Limited at Aylesford. I then got pushed through to head office, who said, “We’d like to take them on to the management stream.” I went to Southbank Poly. I qualified after four years with my honours degree, now it’s the University of the South Bank, and it’s a construction management degree... **You said you mothballed the business? We are currently focusing on your occupation.** So basically, I then got into construction. I went down the housing route. The companies all changed through the various recessions. My last position within the national developers was a regional board director for Taylor Wimpey in the southeast. I then set myself up at Development Land Services, and I was effectively a consultant land director for them. That company demised during the recession again, but I kept the consultancy going. I was doing various work related to the construction industry, business development, just chasing where the money was with a diversity of clients. Then IR35 came out. **Which is?** That's effectively, they don't like consultants. They want you to be directly employed, and that's caused confusion, because what happened is I'd started building up a number of smaller clients that wanted the expertise that I could bring, but couldn't afford or didn't need a land director or business director helping them fill the gaps and analyse their business for them. You don't need that all the time. That created the end of that to a point, even though I had numerous clients. A lot of them were housing associations, especially the for-profit ones, because they wanted to build up to a certain size, and then we then knew that my days would be over because they'd then permanently recruit somebody, and I didn't want to go down that route. As a result, they go, 'Oh no, you've got to be directly employed.' Effectively, that reduced the client base. I didn't want to go back to being direct employed. We’ve got the growing family with grandkids now. You want some time with them. One day, I woke up thinking, 'Who's going to be looking after my autistic granddaughter in years to come? The system's failing. Something's not right.' At which point I thought, 'I'm going to do something about it.' I then stepped up. I'll run firstly for local politics, and then I'll apply with Reform because they were taking a completely different approach and decided, 'I'm going to run for parliament.' Unfortunately, I didn't win. It was a big eye-opener. **I've got some background questions for you. Where were you born?** I was born in Canterbury. Probably more information than you want, a caesarean section. Maidstone Hospital doesn't do it. We lived in Maidstone at the time. The hospital overlooked the cricket ground, and that's where I got my love of cricket. **What brought your parents to Maidstone?** Well, my father is Cornish, from Saltash. Mum went down there post-teacher-training. They were both in scouting. Then she got a teaching job back here as well, and because her parents were ageing and ailing, they came back to Kent. Dad was a residential welfare officer. **What role has faith played in your life?** I am confirmed. I'm not a practising Christian anymore. I do believe there is something bigger, but I can't put a finger on it. But the way I look at it and describe it is, remember all the Bible stories we had when we were children, there are lessons to be learned in there. If you follow the general principles, the community will actually get on better. But I do struggle, to be honest, when the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Church of England, where they get too involved with politics. You're now going outside of your scope of your modus operandi. Leave that to us, but guide us. **Who has been the best Prime Minister of your lifetime?** I would probably say Margaret Thatcher, but there's areas I wish I could have been in her ear. But she had the strength of conviction and delivered what she said she was going to do. Whether you liked it or you didn't, she actually did move things forward. I know that’s a divisive answer. I can live with that. **Where do you like to go for dinner in Maidstone?** The one that I quite like is [Frederic's](https://www.fredericbistro.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news). It's not one of these up yourself sort of places. It's relaxed, you get the old-fashioned quality of service. It's service with a smile. **You talked about Restore’s mass deportation policy. What advice would you have for residents in Kent or in your division in Maidstone, who, because of where they were born or their faith, do not feel welcome to live here?** Pick up the phone, and I'll come and have a chat. Because the big issue out there at the moment is misinformation, and that is worrying and anything where they think there's potential change or there's a threat, a lot of the time the threat isn't what it is. --- ### Footnotes *This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.* *Join us next week when we speak to Jordan Chan, underwear model and director of Swale Pride.* *We previously spoke with other KCC group leaders:* [“I think there’s a lot gone wrong with politics, not just in Kent”What we asked Linden Kemkaran, the new Reform leader of Kent County Council![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-36.png)Kent CurrentSteven Keevil![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f50587ceb-ae28-4893-bf8b-98621b48dd45_3672x2754-jpeg-3-1.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-think-theres-a-lot-gone-wrong-with/) [“I really don’t like party tribalism”What we asked Antony Hook, Lib Dem leader of the opposition at Kent County Council![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-35.png)Kent CurrentSteven Keevil![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f56aaa122-e631-4ff4-a4d4-3321fde71c95_2611x1851-png-3-1.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-really-dont-like-party-tribalism/) [“Nobody needs 14 councils”What we asked Councillor Harry Rayner, leader of the Conservative Group on Kent County Council![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-34.png)Kent CurrentSteven Keevil![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/IMG_0869-2-1.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/nobody-needs-14-councils/) *If you are a regional MP, or a borough council leader, or represent someone who is, and want to organise an interview, email* [*Steven*](mailto:steven@kentcurrent.news)*.* ### Huge expansion of Faversham gets go-ahead URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/huge-expansion-of-faversham-gets-go-ahead/ Last updated: 2026-03-21T09:33:43.000Z **Swale Borough Council has backed a 2,500-home Duchy of Cornwall development south east of Faversham, paving the way for one of the town’s biggest expansions in decades despite major concerns over traffic, infrastructure and countryside loss. We've got the full details below, where we also look at the increasingly murky fate of Kent County Council’s office pot plants, Reform’s attempts to explain away a council tax rise, and yet another councillor switching parties at County Hall.* ### Swale waves through one of Faversham’s biggest developments in decades Swale Borough Council has approved one of the biggest developments Faversham will see in decades, waving through a 2,500-home expansion on [Duchy of Cornwall](https://duchyofcornwall.org/page/our-locations/?ref=kentcurrent.news) land south east of the town after the usual long, anxious planning argument about traffic, infrastructure, countryside and whether any of this is actually sustainable. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/03/image-8.png) Councillors voted 11-5 on Tuesday night to back the scheme, subject to conditions and a legal agreement. That matters, because this was a resolution to grant rather than the final rubber stamp there and then. But in practical terms, barring some late collapse in the legal paperwork, South East Faversham is now moving from long-running proposal to a major reshaping of the town. The first phase would include 261 homes, 35% of which are affordable, along with part of a local centre, green space, and walking and cycling links, with construction targeted for 2027 or 2028\. Beyond that sits the much bigger proposition of another 2,239 homes, a primary school, nursery provision, healthcare facilities, homes for older people, employment land, a hotel, a replacement cricket pitch, a new football training facility, a water recycling centre and a build-out likely to stretch for 15 to 20 years. So this is not a small extension. It is a new piece of Faversham, built gradually enough that half the arguments around it will probably still be going by the time large chunks of it are finished. That is the decision. The more interesting part is what exactly has been approved. Because this is not just another big estate row, even if plenty of the objections were the familiar kind. The Duchy of Cornwall is not a standard large-scale housebuilder, and its schemes tend to be very high quality. [Poundbury](https://poundbury.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) is the obvious example. People can argue forever about whether they actually want to live in something that looks like a Jane Austen theme park, but it is plainly a more serious attempt at building an actual place than the usual British practice of flinging up a lot of houses on the edge of a town and hoping a playground, a bus stop and a vaguely uplifting brochure somehow turn it into a community. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/03/ProposedMap.jpg) Map of the South East Faversham development. That does not mean opponents are necessarily wrong. But it does mean this scheme is worth judging against a higher standard than the usual field-plus-brochure exercise. The Duchy wants South East Faversham seen as a proper neighbourhood rather than just 2,500 houses with some nice landscaping around the edges. That is why the scheme comes wrapped in the language of mixed uses, green space, biodiversity, local facilities and sustainability. Officers told councillors the design had taken cues from Faversham, with a more traditional layout and a stronger sense of character than the average major application. Even in committee, where many members were clearly uneasy about what was before them, there was recognition that if this kind of development is going to happen at all, it is being brought forward by a developer with a better reputation than most. And, to be fair, there is some actual substance in the package. This is not just houses. The local centre is meant to include retail, commercial and community space. There is employment land in the eastern part of the site. The existing sports uses are not simply being erased from the drawings but replaced elsewhere within the scheme. The Duchy says 50% of the site will be green space and that the project will deliver 20% biodiversity net gain. This is plainly being sold as something more thought-through than the average edge-of-town housing sprawl. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/03/image-6.png) Plans for South East Faversham. The test, though, is not whether the words sound nicer. It is whether the roads, public space, facilities and connections actually produce something that feels like part of Faversham rather than a large new settlement parked beside it. The core contradiction here is that Swale’s own officer report more or less accepts that this is the wrong place by normal policy standards. The site is in the countryside and outside the built-up area boundary. Officers said the scheme conflicts with the local settlement strategy, would introduce large-scale built form onto undeveloped countryside and would fail to protect or enhance its intrinsic value. It also means the loss of around 127 hectares of best and most versatile agricultural land, which is a polite planning way of saying some very good farmland is being turned into houses, roads and supporting infrastructure and will never be farmland again. Ordinarily, that would be a very awkward starting point. The reason it was not fatal is that Swale’s housing position is weak enough that saying no has become much harder than saying yes. Officers said the council’s five-year housing land supply stands at 3.97 years, below the required level. That triggers the familiar bit of planning logic where policies meant to restrain this sort of thing suddenly matter rather less because the council cannot show it is delivering enough housing overall. That is the real story here. Not just that a big development got approved, but that the council’s broader planning weakness left members trying to decide not whether this was ideal, but whether refusing it was realistically defensible. The objections, unsurprisingly, were substantial. More than 460 letters of objection were lodged against the scheme, compared with just 12 in support. Opponents warned of the obvious things like more traffic, more pressure on roads and services, more countryside lost, and more strain on a town already absorbing growth. Several argued that this is not genuinely sustainable at all, but a large, car-dependent extension cut off from much of Faversham by the A2 and the railway. That concern clearly landed in the room. Members kept returning to the same issues of how realistic the active travel claims are, whether bus provision will actually materialise in a useful way, what happens around the M2 Brenley Corner, how much extra pressure this puts on local roads, and whether people living here will, in practice, just drive everywhere. The whole sustainability case rests heavily on the idea that a meaningful number of residents will walk, cycle or use public transport for everyday journeys. Plenty of councillors sounded unconvinced. The pro case, or at least the case that carried the night, was less enthusiastic than resigned. Even councillors who supported the scheme did not sound like people delighted by the prospect of 2,500 new homes here. What they sounded like was people looking at Swale’s weak housing supply, the amount of affordable housing in the first phase, the lack of obvious painless alternatives, and the quality of the scheme compared with a lot of what passes for strategic development elsewhere, and concluding that refusing it would be harder to justify than approving it. That reluctance is important. This was not members being swept away by a glorious vision for the future of south east Faversham. It was a majority looking at an uncomfortable proposal, acknowledging much of what was wrong with it, and deciding the planning balance still pushed them towards yes. That does not make for romantic politics, but it is usually how these decisions actually get made. One of the more revealing parts of the debate was how much time members spent not arguing about architecture or even the principle of growth, but about the Section 106 agreement and the conditions. In other words, what exactly is Faversham getting in return, when does it get it, and how much of it will stay local rather than disappearing into wider county-level pots? Councillors pushed for tighter wording on issues such as education, healthcare, waste, and other contributions, and there was repeated concern about whether the legal agreement was sufficiently specific. That matters because it goes to the heart of why local people are so sceptical about major schemes like this. It is not just that they dislike the houses, even though they often absolutely do. It is that they have heard the language of mitigation, infrastructure and local benefit before, and they know how often those promises end up looking a lot blurrier once the diggers arrive. It also matters because this is where the Duchy's reputation becomes relevant in a serious way rather than as a decorative royal footnote. If the Duchy wants the benefit of being seen as a better kind of developer, which in many ways it is, then the test is not whether it can produce nicer-looking visuals or more persuasive language about stewardship. The test is whether South East Faversham ends up being a genuinely coherent extension of the town, with proper facilities, decent connections, meaningful affordable housing and enough quality that people do not simply experience it as another giant development imposed on the edge of somewhere they already live. That is a harder test than “Is it better than Persimmon?”, but it is the right one. There is a temptation with a scheme like this to fall into one of two easy positions. Either it is a disaster because it is large and on countryside land, or it is a model development because the Duchy is involved and the drawings look nice. Neither is quite good enough. South East Faversham is a huge and contentious expansion of the town on land that policy would normally be much less happy about losing. Opponents are right to see it as a major change with long-term consequences for traffic, infrastructure, countryside and the feel of the eastern side of Faversham. But it is also true that, as major housing schemes go, this is being advanced by a developer with a much stronger track record on quality and place-making than most, and with a proposal that at least tries to function as more than a dormitory estate. So the argument now changes. The fight over whether this should happen at all has, in practical terms, largely been settled. The more important question from here is whether what gets built south east of Faversham actually lives up to the standard Duchy developments are supposed to set, or whether this turns out to be a more elegantly packaged version of the same old planning story. ### Are the pot plants going, or just the people who water them? Kent County Council is cutting the contract that keeps the pot plants in its offices alive. How many plants are going, how many are staying, and who is now responsible for keeping what remains upright is a bit less clear. In the draft budget, KCC proposed a £40,000 saving by cutting the maintenance contract for plants. The paper noted the existing contract covers pruning, watering, pest control and replacing plants when required, adds that those activities cannot be transferred to staff due to previous issues with maintenance, and then makes the saving sound brutally straightforward: “Removing plants entirely will deliver a saving of £40,000 while ensuring that resources are focused on core services.” At the full council budget meeting on 12 February, deputy leader Brian Collins, the portfolio holder behind the budget, was having none of it. After a reference to removing pot plants, he interrupted to insist that was wrong. “We’re not removing the pot plants,” he said to opposition members. “We are removing the maintenance, so my friend over there needs to get his facts right. All about the detail.” KCC also disclosed, via a response to a Freedom of Information request by the *Kent Current*, what that maintenance contract actually covers. The existing service is provided via Churchill Group and costs £39,768 per year. It covers 510 plants, with monthly visits, and includes watering, feeding, pruning, top dressing, pest control, cleaning, and free replacement of dead plants. KCC said the contract ends on 31 March. So, we know that the maintenance is going. But KCC’s official line on the plants themselves now lands somewhere between removing them entirely and not removing them at all. A council spokesperson told us that, “Plants will be reduced to a manageable level and our existing facilities management staff based in our offices will be responsible for watering and some limited pest control of the plants. Plants no longer located in offices will be redistributed to various other KCC operational buildings, such as short break centres and children’s homes, where caretakers or multi-skilled staff are already on site.” In other words, the plants are not being abolished so much as trimmed back and moved around, with the risk of repeating the maintenance issues the budget paper itself flags. We asked Cllr Collins directly to clarify his comments and the council’s current plan, but he did not respond. ### Up is apparently down on council tax Nigel Farage had an awkward moment this week when [ITV Meridian challenged him](https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2026-03-10/nigel-farage-denies-reform-promised-council-tax-cuts-despite-leaflet-pledge?ref=kentcurrent.news) over Reform’s decision to put council tax up at Kent County Council. The problem is straightforward enough. Before last year’s local elections, Reform circulated Kent campaign literature promising to 'reduce waste and cut your taxes.' Since taking control at County Hall, it has voted through a 3.99% council tax rise. Asked about that, Farage insisted Reform had never said it would cut tax. Pressed on the leaflet, he then suggested that 'cutting taxes' could mean not putting them up as much. Which is certainly one way of looking at it. There has been some further flailing online from Reform supporters claiming the leaflet did not specifically mention council tax. But this was a Kent County Council election leaflet. County councils do not control income tax or VAT. In that context, 'cut your taxes' can only really mean council tax. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/03/image-7-1-1.png) KCC's very illegal and very 'graphic design is my passion' leaflet. As an added bonus, the leaflet at the centre of all this was itself later withdrawn after Reform printed the KCC logo on it, which election literature is very much not supposed to do. If Reform wanted to say it got into office and found the finances worse than expected, that would be a normal political excuse. Instead, it has gone for the much stranger line that voters simply misunderstood plain English. ### Councillor completes a political loop There is something almost impressively circular about Cllr Bill Barrett’s latest political move. Barrett has now joined the Conservative Group at Kent County Council, having previously been a Conservative, then an independent, then Reform, then the driving force behind the short-lived Independent Reformers group, and now a Conservative again. At this point, his political journey is starting to look less like a journey and more like a lap. He was elected to County Hall for Reform in 2025, before being expelled from the party during the increasingly chaotic period following the leaked video row. After that, Barrett formed the Independent Reformers group, which itself did not last long, as two of its three members peeled away to join Restore. So this is not just one councillor changing labels. It is another reminder that a sizeable chunk of Kent’s post-2025 political realignment has been built on very flimsy foundations, with councillors shifting between parties, setting up new groupings, then watching those groupings fall apart almost immediately. Barrett's return to the Conservatives does not change the balance of power at County Hall in any meaningful way. What it does do is underline, again, how little ideological solidity there has been in and around Reform’s Kent project. Too much of it has looked less like a coherent political movement than a temporary shelter for disaffected ex-Tories and other local free agents. And in Barrett’s case, at least, the temporary shelter appears to have been exactly that. ## Get our free newsletter Clear, independent reporting on Kent’s biggest stories without the ads or clickbait. Subscribe for free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Footnotes ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### Everyone thinks they can win Cliftonville URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/everyone-thinks-they-can-win-cliftonville/ Last updated: 2026-03-09T16:20:08.000Z **Today’s Kent Current leads with the Cliftonville by-election, which has quickly turned from a straightforward county council contest into a crowded four-way fight and the first real electoral test of Reform’s grip on Kent since taking power last year. We also cover the Hextable by-election result, major planning decisions from Medway to Tunbridge Wells, and the latest mix of local politics, regeneration, culture and community stories from across the county...* ### Everyone thinks they can win Cliftonville What should have been a straightforward county council by-election has instead become a crowded, faintly absurd fight in which every serious party thinks it has a shot. On one level, this is simple enough. Voters in Cliftonville go back to the polls on 9 April after former Reform councillor Daniel Taylor was jailed for coercive behaviour towards his wife. On another, it has rapidly become one of those contests where a small crowd of political names has trekked down to the seafront, several parties are trying to squeeze each other out of relevance, and at least some of the candidates appear to treat party labels as more of a temporary lifestyle choice than a deep ideological commitment. In other words, we have ourselves a proper by-election. There is also a wider reason this one matters. Cliftonville is the first real electoral test of Reform’s grip on Kent County Council since the party took power last May. That alone would have made it interesting. The fact that it is defending the seat in circumstances like these has made it considerably more awkward. Labour has decided subtlety is for other people. Its line is now being delivered with all the softness of a brick through a window: Only Labour can beat Reform here. East Thanet MP Polly Billington has said exactly that, while Dame Emily Thornberry came down to launch Joanne Bright’s campaign and warn that votes for anyone else risk vindicating Reform’s cuts, tax rises and chaotic administration at County Hall. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/03/image-2.png) Joanne Bright launching her election campaign. The underlying Labour argument is clear enough. It finished second here last time. It has a sitting Thanet councillor in Bright. It thinks Cliftonville can be turned into an early referendum on Reform’s opening months in charge, with an added local emphasis on violence against women and girls, community safety and service cuts. This is not a soft local campaign. It is a fairly blunt tactical squeeze operation dressed up in rosettes. The Greens, naturally, would like everyone to stop saying that. They are treating Cliftonville as a race they can genuinely break through in, with Caroline Lucas turning up to back Rob Yates. There is a clear Gorton and Denton influence hanging over all this. Not because Cliftonville is the same sort of seat, but because that result has encouraged Greens everywhere to believe unusual things are possible in by-elections and that they do not necessarily have to make way politely for Labour whenever Reform is on the ballot. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/03/image-3.png) Rob Yates launching his election campaign. That said, Cliftonville is not exactly a model of stable party identity. Yates is a sitting Thanet councillor who only joined the Greens last year after being elected as Labour. Reform, meanwhile, has responded to its first county by-election test by selecting Marc Rattigan, a Thanet councillor who joined the party on 24 February and was unveiled as its candidate on 7 March. Eleven days. There are supermarket yoghurts that have had a longer settling-in period. Reform is understandably keen to talk instead about Rattigan being local, known in the area, a business owner and magistrate. [Linden Kemkaran](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-think-theres-a-lot-gone-wrong-with/) has been out backing him. The party’s pitch is that he is a recognisable figure who can defend a seat that Reform won comfortably less than a year ago. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/03/image-4-1.png) Marc Rattigan launching his election campaign. Others may gently observe that if the party that runs Kent County Council had a deep and settled local bench, it might not have needed to recruit a former Conservative councillor and put him on the ballot almost immediately. Rattigan’s Facebook presence does not exactly scream unstoppable organic groundswell either. His [page](https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574173700053) currently shows 23 likes and 2,600 followers, which may well have a perfectly boring Facebook explanation, but is still the kind of metric pairing that makes one raise an eyebrow. The Conservatives, by contrast, are trying to make Charlie Leys the normal one. Their message is essentially, here is an actual local councillor. Roger Gale and Craig Mackinlay have both been out backing Leys, with the Tory case leaning heavily on the fact that he is local, experienced, and already has a record on Broadstairs Town Council and in Thanet. In a race full of party-switching, tactical megaphoning and general political theatre, that is not the worst lane to occupy. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/03/image-5-1.png) Charlie Leys launching his election campaign. And that, really, is what makes Cliftonville more interesting than the average one-seat local contest. Reform thinks it should hold because it won here last year and still has a strong vote in Thanet. Labour thinks it can turn second place into victory by squeezing the rest of the anti-Reform vote. The Greens think the anti-establishment mood and the current by-election weather might let them jump the queue. The Conservatives think the seat’s older, right-leaning profile gives them a route back if voters decide they would quite like someone less dramatic for a change. All of them have at least some reason to believe it. Which is usually a sign that something weird may happen. There is also the small matter of whatever is happening to the right of Reform, where things become less a coherent political strategy and more a series of increasingly frantic Facebook updates. Searchlight has [reported](https://searchlightmagazine.com/2026/03/far-right-chaos-merchant-may-cost-reform-in-margate/?ref=kentcurrent.news) on efforts by figures around Rupert Lowe’s Restore Britain project and other fringe-right activists to insert themselves into the race. With nominations not closing until Wednesday, that remains something hovering over the contest rather than a settled fact. But the broader point is obvious enough. Reform is defending this seat at a moment when the wider right in Kent is not exactly displaying iron internal discipline. That matters because a Restore-aligned or sympathetic candidacy, if one materialises, could split the vote in ways that make this far less comfortable for Kemkaran’s party than it ought to be. A seat that should have been a straightforward defence has instead become a four-way prestige scrap with possible bonus chaos. Local voter interviews [published](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2026/03/08/kcc-cliftonville-by-election-what-residents-are-saying-about-the-poll/?ref=kentcurrent.news) by the Isle of Thanet News also suggest there is no single clean issue driving everything. Immigration and national frustration remain potent for Reform. But so are the older standbys of potholes, buses, public services, struggling shops and the state of the place. That leaves Cliftonville looking less like a simple ideological showdown and more like a race in which several overlapping kinds of dissatisfaction are seeking a place to land. Which is probably why so many parties think this is winnable. Beneath the silliness, the endorsements, the tactical pleading and the speed-run defections, there is a serious question here. Reform won Kent in a landslide less than a year ago. Cliftonville is the first chance voters have had to pass judgment on that governing project in a live by-election. If Reform holds on 9 April, it can say the grip remains firm enough. If it loses, or even just scrapes home after all this effort, the story becomes rather less comfortable. If nothing else, Cliftonville has already achieved one thing. It has taken a county council by-election and turned it into a small travelling circus. Which, in Kent at the moment, increasingly appears to be the normal way of doing politics. ## Get the Kent Current in your inbox Clear, independent reporting on Kent’s biggest stories without the intrusive ads or clickbait. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Conservatives take Hextable as school site row drives by-election turnout The Conservatives have won the Hextable by-election, taking a seat on Sevenoaks District Council that had been held by independent councillor Darren Kitchener until his death. Lee Allen won with 600 votes, ahead of Reform's Daniel Kertsen on 406 and the Ashley Wassal for the Lib Dems on 367, in what turned into a proper three-way contest rather than the sort of sleepy local by-election most people only notice because a church hall is suddenly busy on a Thursday. Turnout was 47%, which is strikingly high by local elections standards. ****Hextable by-election result:** 🌳 Lee Allen (Conservative) - 600 ➡️ Daniel Kersten (Reform) - 406 🔶 Ashley Wassall (Liberal Democrat) - 367 ⚪ Jackie Griffiths (Independent) - 108 🟢 Oliver Young (Green) - 62 The obvious reason is the former Hextable School site. Kent County Council wants to dispose of the former 38-acre school site in Egerton Avenue, and that appears to have given local voters something more motivating than the usual abstract promises about delivery, priorities and listening. Every candidate except Reform campaigned in some form on saving the site. That matters because this was not an obvious Conservative seat. Hextable had been a strong patch for independents, and this by-election was triggered by the death of Darren Kitchener, who topped the poll when the ward last voted in 2023\. So yes, this is a Conservative gain from an independent-held seat. But it is also a reminder that when a genuinely local issue cuts through, voters do still show up. Allen was not at the election count because he was away on business, leaving Conservative campaign manager Michael Horwood to speak to the hordes of waiting press, which consisted solely of the *Kent Current*. Horwood said “all three parties had campaigned really hard” and argued the school site had been a major factor in dragging turnout upwards, noting that there were “a lot of local issues that have driven people out, particularly around the Hextable school site.” Sevenoaks MP Laura Trott, who has been loudly opposing the sale, was quick to frame the result the same way, saying she looked forward to working with Allen to “protect the Hextable school site, our Green Belt land and the future of the Howard venue.” What does it mean for Sevenoaks District Council overall? Somewhat less than it will mean to the people obsessively refreshing the ward results. The Conservatives were already the largest group without overall control, and that broader picture remains unchanged. But taking an independent-held seat in a high-turnout by-election is still a useful result for them, especially at a time when traditional parties are struggling nationally and in a contest where Reform and the Lib Dems were both close enough to make things awkward. ### Council matters **Meetings this week:** - **Tonbridge & Malling:** [Area 3 Planning Committee](https://democracy.tmbc.gov.uk//ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=149&MId=6036&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets tonight (Monday) to decide on a mammoth application of 1,300 homes, a school, and commercial floorspace that sits between Hermitage Lane in Maidstone and East Malling. - **Medway:** [Cabinet](https://democracy.medway.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=115&MId=6450&ref=localauthority.news) meets on Tuesday to discuss a new adult social care strategy, crisis and resilience funding, a local heritage list, developer contributions, and, most excitingly, bus information screens. - **Swale:** [Planning Committee](https://services.swale.gov.uk/meetings/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=130&MId=4437&ref=kentcurrent.news) will meet on Tuesday to decide on the initial application for a significant urban extension south of Faversham. - **Medway:** [Planning Committee](https://democracy.medway.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=360&MId=6362&ref=localauthority.news) looks set to approve 500 homes and a supermarket next to the Strand in Gillingham and 270 homes in High Halstow on Wednesday. - **Tunbridge Wells:** [Planning Committee](https://democracy.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=377&MId=5896&ref=kentcurrent.news) will decide on a host of developments on Wednesdays, including 186 homes in Pembury and 178 homes in Tunbridge Wells. - **Ashford:** [Cabinet](https://ashford.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=136&MId=4921&ref=kentcurrent.news) gathers on Thursday to discuss converting the former Odeon into a cultural space and an expanded walking and cycling plan. **New planning applications:** - **Kent:** Proposed [sand quarry](https://www.kentplanningapplications.co.uk/Planning/Display/KCC/TM/0116/2025?ref=kentcurrent.news) between Addington and Leybourne Chase. - **Medway:** Outline application for [450 homes](https://publicaccess1.medway.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=TBDFT8KNGHD00&activeTab=summary&ref=kentcurrent.news), commercial space, open spaces, and infrastructure in Chattenden. ### In brief 🚛 Refuse workers in Dartford could [refuse to work](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dartford/news/bin-workers-could-strike-over-poverty-pay-offer-337417/?ref=kentcurrent.news) after rejecting a pay offer. 🛫 A new consultation on airspace around Manston Airport is set to [get underway next week,](https://rsp.co.uk/news/manston-airspace-consultation-to-launch/?ref=kentcurrent.news) the latest stage is trying to reopen it as a freight hub. 🚴 A £4m bridge for cyclists [could be built](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/plans-to-spend-4m-on-bridge-for-cyclists-over-river-medway-337313/?ref=kentcurrent.news) over the River Medway near Maidstone station. 🗳️ Tonbridge will gain a [town council](https://southborough-news.com/2026/02/26/new-council-approved-for-tonbridge-town/?ref=kentcurrent.news), with the first elections taking place next year. 💃 Dartford has [entered the running](https://www.dartford.gov.uk/town-of-culture/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to become UK Town of Culture, following previous launches by Folkestone, Deal, and Chatham. 🏰 Scotney Castle will undergo a major National Trust [restoration project](https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/kent/scotney-castle/future-plans-at-scotney-castle?ref=kentcurrent.news) this year, which will see lost elements recreated, improve accessibility, add a new cafe, and increase car parking provision. 🚫 Ashford Borough Council is allegedly trying to [kick out](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/council-wants-to-kick-out-popular-sports-bar-to-open-bowling-337216/?ref=kentcurrent.news) one of the few successful businesses at the Elwick Place development in an effort to make it more family friendly. The council issued a [pissy response](https://www.ashford.gov.uk/news/latest-news/statement-on-elwick-place/?ref=kentcurrent.news) but didn't deny the claims. 🎛️ A new 750 capacity music venue has [opened](https://cenemagazine.co.uk/news/brand-new-750-capacity-venue-opens-in-margate?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Margate. 🍻 A new tenant is being [sought](https://www.rkrealestate.co.uk/whitstable-harbour-the-net-store?ref=kentcurrent.news) for the Net Store in Whitstable Harbour. 👷 Work has begun to [prepare](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/folkestone/news/work-to-begin-on-transformation-of-former-town-centre-debenh-337291/?ref=kentcurrent.news) the former Debenhams building in Folkestone, with a medical centre possibly moving in. 📵 Six Tunbridge Wells secondary schools have said they will [ban](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz7gg1r47xwo?ref=kentcurrent.news) new Year 7s from using mobile phones at school from September. 🦅 Hadlow College is now offering a [falconry qualification](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c07j0e1y7mvo?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🧙‍♀️ 'cene magazine has been digging into the [history of Kent's witches](https://cenemagazine.co.uk/features/esoteric-kent-the-discoverie-of-kent-witchcraft?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🥌 Tunbridge Wells Curling Club has seen a [surge in interest](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c98qqggnddno?ref=kentcurrent.news) following the Winter Olympics. 🤯 KentLive needed two reporters to tell readers how to say '[Meopham](https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/englands-longest-village-people-struggle-10852989?ref=kentcurrent.news).' 🇪🇺 Kent's Look Mum No Computer has unveiled his entry for this year's Eurovision Song Contest: ### Property of the week This week’s property is a Grade II listed four-storey townhouse on Dymchurch Road, and it’s on the market for the first time in more than two decades, which usually suggests someone has actually been getting on with living in it. The layout gives you options, with four reception spaces, including a sitting room, dining room, morning room, and a bright summer room that opens onto the garden, plus a lower ground floor currently used as a cinema room or study that could also double as the third bedroom. The kitchen and utility have clearly had some serious attention, and outside, you get parking to the front, an inner courtyard, and a south-facing garden with planning permission already in place for a substantial garden room. And if you like your nice location claims to come with evidence, the Royal Military Canal is right opposite. It’s on for £695,000. [Check out this 3 bedroom semi-detached house for sale on Rightmove3 bedroom semi-detached house for sale in Dymchurch Road, Hythe, CT21 for £695,000\. Marketed by Lawrence and Co, Hythe![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/favicon-6.ico)Rightmove.co.uk![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/5c4ea0ad45989c6f0108212b5fcafac5.jpeg)](https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/173000027?ref=kentcurrent.news#/) ### Events this week 🤼 Sat 14 Mar - [**UKPW**](https://www.fatsoma.com/e/izsqcmkd/ukpw-live-wrestling-in-maidstone?ref=kentcurrent.news) //Action-packed wrestling entertainment. Lockmeadow, Maidstone. Tickets £12.50\. *Also at* [*Chatham Historic Dockyard*](https://www.fatsoma.com/e/nqj8wcag/ukpw-live-pro-wrestling-in-chatham-historic-dockyard?ref=kentcurrent.news) *on 26 Sep.* ### **Footnotes** ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### “Being grey absolutely suits me perfectly” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/being-grey-absolutely-suits-me-perfectly/ Last updated: 2026-03-08T07:00:47.000Z *Steven met Albion Grey at the Jacksonwood Vintage Tea Rooms in Sheerness to discuss his role as Medway Postal District Coordinator for the* [*Pagan Federation*](https://www.paganfed.org/?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, his beliefs, and his life on Sheppey. During that conversation, Grey gave his birth name, which led us to further reporting on parts of his past not raised in the original interview, including a lottery win and a conviction that resulted in a prison sentence. We subsequently asked him follow-up questions, and the interview below combines both conversations.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/03/image-1-1.png) **First of all, could you just spell your name for me?** Yeah, my name is Tony Stubley. However my Pagan name is Albion Grey. **Is Albion a title?** No, I joined an organisation. I used to go to the Rochester Moot. The ladies had their own little group, and the men said we should have our own group. When you join the group, you have to have a Pagan name. It's something, 'the' and a colour. I was asked to join shortly after, two years after it started. Been here 13 years now. Straight away, it just came to mind, Albion the Grey. At the time, we predominantly wore black, but black had already been taken. I'd go for grey. As I have thought about it over the years, grey suits me more, because I'm a Libran, so I'm all about balance. Grey is neither black nor white, and it's in the middle. You can go to the white, or you can go to the black, and also, you're in the shadows. I'm very much an observer, and I like to watch things and look at things. I don't dive in and do things, and I talk to people. I like to sit back and observe and see what's happening. Being grey absolutely suits me perfectly. **But you haven't legally changed your name?** No. I did think about it, but I don't think my son would like it. **What is your official occupation?** I'm a retired police officer. I started getting my pension last year. **Do you have any other additional roles, paid or unpaid?** Yeah, I volunteer in the community. I volunteer for a local food bank. I help run the men's mental health social wellbeing drop-in group. I also present every other Monday night on [Sheppey FM](https://sheppeyfm.org.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news). I run the gaming group; I've just been appointed to Sheppey Quizmaster. I hosted my first quiz last week, which went well. Yeah, keeping busy in retirement. > At the end of the day, we’re all aiming towards the same goal. We’re just approaching it from different angles.” **What is the Pagan Federation? What does it do?** The [Pagan Federation](https://www.paganfed.org/?ref=kentcurrent.news) is now a registered charity. It protects Pagan rights. Its mission is to further the Pagan cause. It's to strip away the mystery and misconception around Paganism, to make it more accessible and more acceptable to people, and basically mainly to educate. Pagans don’t sacrifice goats like people think. There are several different paths to Paganism. Most of them are all nature-based. We go with the seasons. The best way to describe it is the majority of it is modern-day Wicca, which was brought into place by [Gerald Gardner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald%5FGardner?ref=kentcurrent.news) in the 50s and then picked up in the 60s by the green movement. There's a lot of green politics involved. A lot of ex-hippies became Pagans, and it's filtered down through the generations. What I talk about is Paganism in popular culture. If you look at a lot of 60s and 70s children's TV shows, there's rampant Paganism, and you don't realise. The reason for that is Paganism was still frowned upon by the church. The church was, “It was evil, the black magic,” though they couldn't understand black and white magic. A lot of other religions are more accepting now. I've got two or three friends who are actually Church of England ministers, and he's like, “You believe that, I believe that.” That's how it should be. It shouldn't be “My faith is the right one, you're following the wrong one.” It should be all working together. Because I think at the end of the day, we're all aiming towards the same goal. We're just approaching it from different angles. But it's too much, “Oh no, you can't do this because it's wrong.” That is a worry, the rise of the right-wing Christian and right-wing national Christianity at the moment. It's a lot of right-wing politics getting involved or trying to get involved in the Church of England. **How many Pagan groups are there in Kent?** Oh, I couldn't really say how many there are in Kent, but I'm the Pagan Federation Regional Coordinator for the Medway Postal District. And at the moment, in my district, we have Moot in Rochester, the Maidstone Pagans, and the Faversham Pagans. There's a group starting soon in Sittingbourne. Two or three moots died with covid. People didn't get involved or drifted off and never got re-established. **How would you describe a moot?** A moot is an old Anglo-Saxon word for meeting place. Moat Park in Maidstone was originally called Moot Park because it was a meeting place. A moot is what Pagans call a regular meeting that they have, and they vary. You have a social moot where people just turn up, sit around a table and chat, or you can have some which are more organised, where they'll have a guest speaker or do events. Last month I was a guest speaker, because I give talks on Pagans in popular culture. That was the first proper talk I've given. I've been threatening to write a book about it for years, and I will start that definitely. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Regulator proposes £22m fine for South East Water URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/regular-proposes-22m-fine-for-south-east-water/ Last updated: 2026-03-05T19:16:43.000Z **Ofwat has proposed a £22.46m fine and an enforcement order against South East Water over supply failures affecting more than 286,000 people between 2020 and 2023, accusing the company of poor maintenance, weak planning and a slow, disorganised response when incidents hit. Further down, we also look at a confirmed by-election in Cliftonville on 9 April, and the fallout, or lack thereof, after a Swale councillor reposted a graphic containing racist and antisemitic slurs days after defecting to Restore...* ### Ofwat proposes £22m fine and says South East Water response was slow and disorganised South East Water is facing a £22.46m penalty from Ofwat. Not, strictly speaking, for the chaos in Tunbridge Wells over this winter. That is being handled separately. This one is for the years before that. Ofwat says repeated supply failures across Kent and Sussex between 2020 and 2023 affected more than 286,000 people. The regulator is proposing both a fine and an enforcement order designed to force the company to fix what it describes as basic resilience problems. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/03/image.png) This is not final yet. It is a proposal. Ofwat is [consulting](https://www.ofwat.gov.uk/ofwat-proposes-22m-fine-for-south-east-water-for-repeated-supply-failures/?ref=kentcurrent.news) until 13 April, then it will decide what it actually imposes. But even at the proposal stage, the language is not gentle. Ofwat says South East Water failed to maintain key assets, failed to plan properly for high demand and extreme weather, failed to learn lessons from earlier incidents, and then failed again in its response when the system fell over. The regulator says the company relied too much on reactive maintenance and not enough on preventative work that keeps the network in decent shape before it is under stress. It says it did not keep sufficient headroom in the system, the margin between what can be supplied and what customers need in peak conditions. That headroom is the difference between a tough day and a week of bottled water, closed businesses, and cancelled appointments. Ofwat also says the company did not conduct sufficient root-cause analysis and did not learn lessons from previous incidents. That matters because if you do not treat failures as repeatable problems with repeatable causes, you just end up collecting new anecdotes. Then there is the customer experience. Ofwat spells it out bluntly, with no tap water, no showers, no flushing toilets, and the stress that comes with it. It says South East Water’s response was too often slow and disorganised, with shortages of bottled water and not enough tankers, alongside inadequate support for vulnerable customers. The enforcement order element matters because it sets out how South East Water is to fix the problems, rather than just highlighting where they went wrong. Ofwat wants the company to accept senior management responsibility for preventing repeats and to subject its processes to independent scrutiny. The idea is to force the company to show, in public, that it understands the root causes and is doing the unglamorous work like planning, modelling, maintenance, and rehearsed emergency response. Before we go any further, the timeline needs to be clear, because there are two Ofwat tracks running at once. This proposed £22.46m penalty and enforcement order is about failures between 2020 and 2023\. Ofwat has separately opened a new investigation into the recent run of outages since November 2025, including the sustained Tunbridge Wells problems in November and December and further disruption in January. That separate investigation is about whether the company met a newer customer-focused licence condition around service and support when things go wrong. That condition only came into force in February 2024, which is why it cannot be used for 2020 to 2023. If the Ofwat proposal was the week’s main course, there are two side dishes that say a lot about how South East Water handles things. The first was a small [BBC item](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cr45kprw01do?ref=kentcurrent.news) that landed at the worst possible time. A resident in Tonbridge said he was disgusted after seeing dozens of shrink-wrapped multipacks of bottled water thrown into a skip by the company. South East Water’s explanation was that the bottles had been collected back from water stations or returned by customers and could not be redistributed because the company could not guarantee storage conditions or prevent tampering, so they would be emptied and recycled. That explanation is not absurd. Food safety is real. But it is also the kind of image that tells you how thin public confidence is. When people have spent weeks relying on emergency water, bottles in a skip become a symbol, whether the company likes it or not. The second side dish is more serious. KentOnline, to their credit, did some proper journalism and discovered that South East Water tried to block Ofwat from publishing its enforcement proposal at all. According to [their report](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/south-east-water-accused-of-trying-to-gag-regulator-after-337343/?ref=kentcurrent.news), the company applied for judicial review on 24 February and sought an interim injunction to prevent publication of Ofwat’s proposed enforcement order and penalty notice. It argued publication would damage investor confidence, risk a credit rating downgrade, and trigger what was described as a financial 'doom spiral.' KentOnline reports the High Court of Justice refused the interim injunction on Monday, allowing Ofwat’s proposal to be published today, and quotes a judge who was plainly unimpressed with the attempt. South East Water’s own statement does not dispute the basics of that sequence. It says it sought judicial review and an injunction, the court did not grant the interim injunction, it respects the decision, and it will respond through the appropriate channels ahead of the final decision. If you are a customer, you do not need to be an expert in utility finance to raise an eyebrow that a company being criticised for not doing enough proactive maintenance also appears to have found time and money for lawyers. In comments reported by KentOnline, Tunbridge Wells MP Mike Martin called the legal fight “absolutely crazy” and argued the company spends too much effort fighting regulators rather than investing in the network. He is unlikely to be the last politician to make that point. You can see that shift in Faversham and Mid Kent MP Helen Whately's reaction. In a [post](https://www.facebook.com/HelenWhatelyMP/posts/pfbid0L9xWaBnjeJuwAVgbpTiZSJbXYNa8bmNEdft6ZAPY4RsshgMd3Sr93EgxV1GGY8zpl) today, she reiterates that the fine is for 2020 to 2023, not the most recent outages, and says it is right that the company is penalised. She also says, once again, that she has no confidence in the current Chief Executive David Hinton's ability to turn things around and argues that there must be accountability at the top. Ofwat, meanwhile, is trying to force the debate away from outrage and into compliance. Its interim Chief Executive, and Nominative Determinism of the Month champion Chris Walters, says South East Water’s failings caused major disruption, that the company fell short on supporting customers who lost supply, and that it must take more responsibility and fix the underlying resilience problems. That is the story in a sentence. The regulator is proposing a big fine and a set of remedial obligations because it believes the failures were structural, repeated, and avoidable. The company says it will respond through the appropriate channels. Two dates now matter. The first is 13 April, when Ofwat’s consultation closes. After that, Ofwat will decide whether to confirm the enforcement order and impose the penalty. The second is not a date, but an inevitability. Kent will have another high-demand period or another cold snap, during which the network will be tested again. When that happens, nobody will grade South East Water on how gracefully it navigated the appropriate legal channels. They will grade it on whether water comes out of the tap. ## Get our free newsletter Clear, independent reporting on Kent’s biggest stories without the ads or clickbait. Subscribe for free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Cliftonville heads back to the polls Cliftonville has a confirmed date for its by-election, with voters returning to the polls on 9 April to elect a new Kent County Council representative. This was triggered by the jailing of Daniel Taylor, and several parties are already out of the blocks early. [KCC councillor jailed, triggering by-electionCliftonville will head to the polls as Kent wrestles with budgets and infrastructure![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-31.png)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/Screenshot-2026-02-23-at-13.32.32-1.png)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kcc-councillor-jailed-triggering-by-election/) The early shape of this race is less about a single killer issue and more about the kind of by-election story each party is trying to tell. The Greens want it to feel like momentum. They have told us they are going hard on Cliftonville and are hoping leader Zack Polanski will come down to support the campaign. But their candidate, Rob Yates, is also a very obvious example of the Greens' rapid recruitment. He is a sitting Thanet councillor who only joined the party in September after being elected as Labour, and has never previously stood as a Green candidate. His [own pitch on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/CllrRobYates/posts/pfbid0f9LobKvx6ENznKBSZ66Dqpt4dee4PTRjvoPdeyjrmYNU3Qv2VFnfrQXQ6bnzyiLKl) is competence and delivery, offshore wind experience, and pledges to fight for free buses for young people and sorting out the financial mess ahead of local government reorganisation. All of this is slightly undermined, though, by the fact that the pinned post on [his X account](https://x.com/robyatestweets?ref=kentcurrent.news) is still him waving a Labour banner, which is not the cleanest visual for a campaign that is meant to be about a reset. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-05-at-15.19.08-1-1.png) That defection theme is already being weaponised. Thanet Labour councillor Jack Packman has [posted](https://www.facebook.com/JackPackman/posts/pfbid0zioKBEGeWaWN7HiwMji1nw2FEbKfSVmLVgupYc4R9nLiC4HXrP2pNXR9QL7K2t2ql) about candidates standing as recent defectors and suggested this should prompt questions about whether local politics is becoming a brand game rather than a service job. He is not an uninterested observer here, but the point will resonate with anyone who has watched people swap rosettes and then act surprised when voters act with suspicion. Elsewhere, you can see the other classic by-election moves being rolled out. The Conservatives have picked Charlie Leys, a Broadstairs town councillor, and the messaging is basically born here, raised here, lives here. As in, [his leaflets literally say that](https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=122176350740793753&set=pcb.122176352504793753). The Lib Dems, meanwhile, have gone back to Mo Shafaei, who stood here in 2025 and polled 147 votes of nearly 5,000 cast. His pitch is the usual list of priorities, like housing standards, services and healthcare, and cleaning up the area, plus the quiet implication that they would like to be taken a bit more seriously this time around. We still do not have confirmed candidates from Labour or Reform. Restore says they cannot yet confirm whether they will stand at all, which is not ideal for a party that wants to be seen as an insurgent force rather than an intermittent hobby. Hanging over all of this is the fact that this by-election exists because the last councillor became the story. The real question next month is whether voters decide they have had enough drama and pick someone duller who will just turn up and get on with it, or whether they roll the dice again and hope this time it does not blow up in their faces. ### The repost that tells you everything you need to know There are a lot of ways to embarrass yourself on social media. Most of them are harmless, quickly deleted, and limited to the people who already think you’re a bit of an idiot. This is not that. Cllr Kieran Mishchuk, the 19-year-old councillor for Milton Regis on Swale Borough Council, has come under fire after reposting a graphic on X that included the N-word twice, another racist slur aimed at Middle Eastern people, and antisemitic language applied to politicians. The post was presented as a kind of political grid of public figures from the US, UK and Japan, mixing policy slogans with outright racist and antisemitic language. The Local Democracy Reporting Service [report on KentOnline](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sittingbourne/news/kent-s-youngest-councillor-apologises-for-sharing-racist-pos-337202/?ref=kentcurrent.news) about the incident said Mishchuk apologised and distanced himself from the repost. But it is worth being clear about what the public can actually see. Mishchuk did not post an apology on his own channels, and the quotes included in the report are explanation and disavowal rather than a direct apology. His account, given to the LDRS, is that he reposted the graphic without properly reading it while scrolling and removed it once it was brought to his attention. The post was up for a day before it was deleted on Tuesday. The problem with that explanation is not subtle. The slurs were not buried somewhere obscure. They were right at the top of the image. This was not missing a footnote. It was missing the headline, leaving readers to choose between two options. Either he is not being straight about how this happened, or he genuinely did not register what he was broadcasting to thousands of people. Neither option is reassuring, because he has also said he noticed and agreed with the mass deportations line in the graphic. That is supposed to explain why he shared it. Instead, it underlines the point that he was prepared to amplify something extreme on the basis of a skim, and then claim not to have noticed the racism sitting directly above it. This comes at an awkward political moment because Mishchuk only defected from Reform to Restore Britain last week. That move is part of a wider churn on the right where people aren’t so much drifting between parties as bouncing through an ecosystem, with each step marketed as a grand awakening rather than a change of badge. In Mishchuk’s case, the new party is led by Rupert Lowe, and it has been keen to present itself as the sharper, harder alternative to Reform. [Kent becomes a test site for RestoreA new hard-right brand takes seats at County Hall![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-32.png)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/KC_Restore-1.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kent-becomes-a-test-site-for-restore/) So when a councillor who has just joined your brand-new project is caught reposting content containing slurs, you would expect at least some visible reaction. Political parties can act quickly when they want to, or decide that some things are disqualifying. Instead, there were no visible immediate consequences. The following day, Mishchuk was [pictured](https://www.facebook.com/CllrKieranMishchuk/posts/pfbid0XXNMP8X2yuVRYMBGn83AVtsT65UjyWF6nfoz915ynREQ3fcGjPRTFvmHWLU9ErMal) at County Hall in Maidstone, meeting Rupert Lowe, smiling for the camera like the previous 24 hours had been a minor technical glitch rather than an elected representative amplifying slurs. Any formal standards route through the council, if it happens, is likely to take weeks or months, and it is not known whether any complaint has been lodged. But this was not a standards decision. It was a political choice to carry on as normal. There is also a bigger context here that makes the accident line even thinner. We have been [reporting for months](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kents-far-right-moves-into-the-mainstream/) on how far-right influencers and activists in Kent have built a fast-moving ecosystem that blends online agitation with real-world mobilisation and intimidation. In Swale, that has meant repeated disruption to council meetings, abuse directed at councillors and staff, and a general effort to make local democracy harder to function in practice. [Kent’s far right moves into the mainstreamPlus a fake town for civil unrest near Gravesend, more from Reform, Folkestone MP speaks out, and more![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-33.png)Kent CurrentKent Current![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f688377c1-e1e7-4fba-b6dd-e78a4f65410b_790x554-jpeg-2.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kents-far-right-moves-into-the-mainstream/) Since this incident, Mishchuk has received public support from Harry Hilden and Jodie Scott, both of whom we have previously covered in the context of that mobilisation and disorder at Swale meetings. That matters because it places this episode less as a one-off lapse and more as something happening within a network where this kind of behaviour is not treated as disqualifying. Yes, the repost itself is disgusting, but the more revealing story is what happened afterwards. At some point, the question is no longer whether you believe the explanation but what level of judgment we are now prepared to accept from elected representatives, and what is supposed to happen when they fail even the most basic test of competence. ### Footnotes ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### Democracy, now open on weekends URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/democracy-now-open-on-weekends/ Last updated: 2026-03-21T09:37:35.000Z **Tunbridge Wells is set to trial weekend voting in May, allowing residents to cast their ballots on a Saturday or Sunday as part of a national pilot to boost participation. Today’s Kent Current looks at what the experiment means, alongside a by-election in Sevenoaks, more water disruption, planning battles, and the steady churn of local politics across the county...* ### Democracy, now open on weekends Tunbridge Wells is set to try something mildly radical for British democracy in May, with residents able to vote on a weekend, like it’s a normal service people might actually want to use. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/03/AdobeStock_504625143-1.jpeg) Tunbridge Wells Borough Council has successfully applied to join a government pilot aimed at making in-person voting less rigid. Locally, the proposal is early voting on weekends from 8am to 6pm, using three 'voting hubs' across the borough. The hubs will be located in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Paddock Wood and Cranbrook, and the idea is that any eligible voter in the borough could use any of them. We do not yet know which actual buildings they will be in. This is not online voting, and it is not some grand reinvention of elections. It is the same ballot papers and the same poll workers, just in bigger venues, and not only on the one Thursday you have pencilled in between work, school runs and whatever else life decides to throw at you. William Benson, Chief Executive and Returning Officer for Tunbridge Wells, has pitched it as a straightforward participation nudge. He said it is “important that every eligible elector uses their vote” and that three hubs “in key locations across the borough will make it even easier.” He also went for the reassurance line, saying voters can be assured the arrangements are “just as secure as the polling stations they’re used to,” with “the same helpful staff” there to guide people through it. This won't be the only unusual thing about this election. First, Tunbridge Wells still elects by thirds, so voters will be choosing one third of the council in May rather than the whole lot. Second, it will also be the final district council election in Kent before local government reorganisation takes effect, which gives the whole thing a faint end of an era feel even before you get into the weekend voting experiment. The council has told councillors the hub locations would be printed on poll cards, backed by an awareness campaign, and that it expects central government support on communications in the pilot areas. The sell is convenience. Tunbridge Wells turnout at the 2024 local elections was 37%, and the argument is that giving people more than one day to vote, including a weekend, might tempt a few more people to bother. Behind the scenes, the appeal is as practical as it is democratic. Tunbridge Wells still runs its usual 59 polling stations on polling day, so the hubs sit alongside that rather than replacing anything. But opening three central venues over the weekend gives the elections team a controlled way to add capacity and flexibility without redesigning the entire polling day operation. The application is also clear that this is not a simple switch, because once voters can use any hub, ballot paper logistics become more complicated quickly. All that’s missing now is knowing whether anyone cares or actually uses it. Tell people exactly where to go, make it idiot proof on the poll card, and you might get a few more of the 63% who didn’t bother last time to wander in while they’re out anyway. We'll find out in May... ## Get the Kent Current in your inbox Clear, independent reporting on Kent’s biggest stories without the intrusive ads or clickbait. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Council matters **By-elections:** - **Sevenoaks:** [**Hextable**](https://www.sevenoaks.gov.uk/info/20053/elections%5Fand%5Fvoting/883/hextable%5Fward%5F-%5Fsevenoaks%5Fdistrict%5Fcouncil%5Fby-election?ref=kentcurrent.news) ward will have a by-election on Thursday, with the following candidates standing: Lee Allen (Conservative), Jackie Griffiths (Independent), Daniel Kersten (Reform), Ashley Wassell (Lib Dem), and Oliver Young (Green). **Meetings this week:** - **Dover:** [**Cabinet**](https://moderngov.dover.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=121&MId=5160&ref=kentcurrent.news) leaves its budget decision to the last minute, meeting tonight (Monday) to advance its budget proposals. - **Kent:** [**Scrutiny Committee**](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=752&MId=9960&ref=kentcurrent.news) will debate the future of Folkestone Library on Tuesday after the Lib Dems, Greens, Conservatives, and Labour came together to call in KCC's decision to sell it off. - **Tonbridge & Malling:** [**Cabinet**](https://democracy.tmbc.gov.uk//ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=146&MId=6037&ref=kentcurrent.news) will meet behind closed doors on Tuesday to debate the purchase of a residential property. - **Canterbury:** [**Scrutiny Committee**](https://democracy.canterbury.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=799&MId=13903&ref=kentcurrent.news) will hear presentations from South East Water and Southern Water on Wednesday. - **Maidstone:** [**Planning and Healthier Stronger Communities Policy Advisory Committee**](https://meetings.maidstone.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=762&MId=5685&ref=kentcurrent.news) will debate issuing an Article 4 Direction to stop Invicta House from being sold by KCC and being used as a HMO. - **Canterbury:** [**Overview Committee**](https://democracy.canterbury.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=798&MId=14028&ref=kentcurrent.news) will hold a special meeting on Thursday to progress the Local Plan process. - **Dover:** [**Council**](https://moderngov.dover.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=122&MId=5098&ref=kentcurrent.news) will set their budget for the coming year on Wednesday, one week after every other council did. - **Swale:** [**Planning Committee**](https://services.swale.gov.uk/meetings/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=130&MId=4308&ref=kentcurrent.news) will decide on 23 new homes in Teynham and a new care home in Sittingbourne on Thursday. **New planning applications:** - **Ashford:** Redevelopment of Newtown Railway Works into over [800 homes](https://ashfordboroughcouncil.my.site.com/pr/s/planning-application/a0hTw000004EQ0LIAW/pa20260171?c%5F%5Fr=Arcus%5FBE%5FPublic%5FRegister&ref=kentcurrent.news) and commercial floorspace, following the collapse of plans to turn the site into film and television production studios. - **Dover:** Application for [48 new business units](https://publicaccess.dover.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=TALQUCFZGDX00&activeTab=summary&ref=kentcurrent.news) at White Cliffs Business Park in Whitfield. - **Gravesham:** Outline application for [50 homes](https://plan.gravesham.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=TB112MHPFYU00&ref=kentcurrent.news) in Higham. - **Medway:** An application has been submitted to convert an empty office building in Gillingham into a [19 bedroom HMO](https://publicaccess1.medway.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=TAZ05NKNN1Z00&activeTab=summary&ref=localauthority.news). To try and get around the stigma, the project is being promoted as a 'co-living' scheme and includes, er, a podcasting studio for the residents. - **Tonbridge & Malling:** Outline application for [350 homes](https://publicaccess.tmbc.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=ZZZZZDPUSP795&ref=kentcurrent.news) on the former Coblands Nursery in Tonbridge. ### In brief 🚰 In this week's South East Water debacle, 1,700 homes around Lamberhurst and Horsmonden [lost their water supply](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g057pj12go?ref=kentcurrent.news). ⚡ Ten families near Wrotham have had [no power network supply](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/kent-power-cut-electricity-b2927873.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) since June last year, and have been left dependent on a generator. 🛂 New border controls at the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel could be [delayed](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx24xyjplp4o?ref=kentcurrent.news) due to technical problems. 🚛 140,000 lorries could be [removed](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent-business/county-news/this-could-remove-140-000-hgvs-from-kent-s-roads-336929/?ref=kentcurrent.news) from Kent's roads thanks to a £15m investment in a rail cargo hub. 🏗️ Folkestone's £22m regeneration project has reached the [halfway point](https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/folkestone-kent-seaside-town-regeneration-b2928818.html?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🚌 Kent County Council has issued [12,000 fines](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/gravesend/news/new-cameras-catch-thousands-of-drivers-using-bus-only-route-337063/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to drivers entering a bus lane in the first year cameras were in operation. 🚏 Ashford Borough Council has once again [issued a fine](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/tenterden/news/i-was-flabbergasted-council-under-fire-again-for-ticketin-337075/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to a broken down bus parked in a Tenterden bus stop. Perhaps the bigger story here is exactly why do buses keep breaking down in Tenterden? 🏫 Residents are [very upset](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/whitstable/news/residents-seeking-to-block-new-sen-school-on-playing-fields-336894/?ref=kentcurrent.news) about a proposed SEN school being built in Whitstable. 🚫 Misinformation has been circulating in the worst corners of the internet about violent disorder in Folkestone that [never happened](https://www.reuters.com/fact-check/no-violent-anti-migrant-protests-english-town-say-police-reacting-online-claim-2026-02-26/?ref=kentcurrent.news), using pictures from unrest in Northern Ireland. 🗯️ Kent's [far-right musical chairs](https://searchlightmagazine.com/2026/03/ex-bnp-organiser-causes-far-right-chaos-in-kent/?ref=kentcurrent.news) is still going. 🗣️ Medway Council passed its latest budget last week in an [eventful meeting](https://www.localauthority.news/a-night-of-big-numbers-and-small-obsessions/?ref=kentcurrent.news). [A night of big numbers and small obsessionsMedway passes its budget after a night of amendments, plus Wayfield’s Ofsted, Station Road closures, planning, and lots more![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/e0427958-7c7a-4313-89a6-4e4dee805f2a_256x256--2--2.webp)Local AuthorityEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/Screenshot-2026-02-27-at-12.05.11-2-1.png)](https://www.localauthority.news/a-night-of-big-numbers-and-small-obsessions/?ref=kentcurrent.news) 🌳 Kent Wildlife Trust has completed a [£2m refurbishment](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwyx5lppk9qo?ref=kentcurrent.news) of the visitor centre at Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve. 🏎️ Margate firm Horby has [sold](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/feb/27/hornby-sells-slot-car-racing-brand-scalextric?ref=kentcurrent.news) the Scalextric brand for £20m. 📜 Canterbury Tales has [reopened](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c7vj8l5m0jqo?ref=kentcurrent.news), now with holograms. 🎨 [Chatham](https://thedockyard.co.uk/news/chatham-charts-its-course-to-3m-prize-for-uk-town-of-culture/?ref=kentcurrent.news) and [Deal](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/deal/news/kent-town-to-rival-folkestone-in-bid-for-uk-town-of-culture-336843/?ref=kentcurrent.news) have launched bids to become the first UK Town of Culture, joining the previously announced Folkestone. None has confirmed whether they will be using holograms. 🏖️ Actor Emma Corrin has given House & Country a [tour of Margate](https://www.houseandgarden.co.uk/article/margate-sunday-emma-corrin?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🎞️ Kent County Council is [selling off](https://britishphotohistory.ning.com/profiles/blogs/auction-kent-county-council-selling-off-photography-from-its-visu?ref=kentcurrent.news) 160 lots of photography from its art collection. ### Property of the week This week’s property is for anyone who has ever looked at a chapel and thought, yes, that would make a perfectly normal place to live. It’s a converted Wesleyan chapel in Ightham, turned into a four-bedroom home with roughly 2,000sqft to play with, and it very much keeps the point of the original architecture. The listing leans into double-height open-plan living, original stained glass, mezzanine gallery space, and a wood-burning stove to stop all that volume from feeling like you live in a very tasteful aircraft hangar. Bedrooms are mostly on the lower ground floor, there’s off-road parking plus a garage, and a landscaped garden wrapping around the building. It’s on at a guide price of £900,000 to £950,000, which feels about right for 'own a chapel' money. [Check out this 4 bedroom detached house for sale on Rightmove4 bedroom detached house for sale in Chapel Row, Ightham, Sevenoaks, TN15 for £900,000\. Marketed by Ibbett Mosely, West Malling![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/favicon-5.ico)Rightmove.co.uk![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/3abd231d712d4fd2edc99d979ea4da6d.jpeg)](https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/166726847?ref=kentcurrent.news#/) ### Events this week 🎭 3 - 7 Mar - [**Prima Facie**](https://marlowetheatre.com/shows/prima-facie/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Acclaimed one-woman play starring Jodie Comer. Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury. Tickets from £18. 🎸 Thu 5 Mar - [**Heavenly + Would-Be-Goods**](https://www.ramsgatemusichall.com/tc-events/heavenly-would-be-goods/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Recently reformed indiepop legends play Ramsgate. Ramsgate Music Hall. Tickets £21.50. 🎸 Thu 5 Mar - [**ARXX**](https://www.twforum.co.uk/events/2026-03-05-arxx-the-forum?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Acclaimed queer power-pop duo. Forum, Tunbridge Wells. Tickets £15. 💬 Sun 8 March - [**TEDxRoyal Tunbridge Wells**](https://www.assemblyhalltheatre.co.uk/whats-on/tedxroyal-tunbridge-wells-2026.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Ten local ideas on the subject of momentum. Assembly Hall Theatre, Tunbridge Wells. Tickets from £25. ### **Footnotes** ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### “The only way you do anything in life is by failing” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-only-way-you-do-anything-in-life-is-by-failing/ Last updated: 2026-03-12T10:27:38.000Z *Steven visited Broadstairs to meet with Ian Ballard, of the* [*Damaged Goods*](https://damagedgoods.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *record label. They talked about why Broadstairs, setting up a record label when you don't know how, and causing a 'riot' at a football match...* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/02/Ian-Beer-1.jpg) Ian Ballard. **What is your official occupation?** I run a record company. I'm the boss of [Damaged Goods Records](https://damagedgoods.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news). We have one other employee, Duncan, who, without him, nothing would work. Damaged Goods have other people working with us, doing press, a bit of promo work and various things, artwork sometimes. Mainly, it's just me seeing bands and going, 'quite like that, let's do a record.' Then sometimes bitterly regretting it and other times being over the moon about it. The chances of success are minimal. You can have a great time doing it, even if no one makes any money. With a record label, you need a few that do make some money to pay for the ones that don't. It's good that we have the odd successful ones, and we've been going 38 years now. **Sometimes you have releases that don't make any money, and the general impression of the music industry is it's full of scum and villainy. How have you managed to keep going financially?** By not being scummy or villainy. Being fairly straight and saying, if we do a seven-inch single, no one makes any money. We don't make any money on a seven-inch single, even if you sell 10,000\. If you do 500 singles, you're probably going to lose 200 quid. That doesn't take any account of your work or the effort you put in, or all the beers and everything else. Starting a record label wasn't to make money. It was just to do one record. My grandad gave me a stack of records that he didn't want because they were little ones, and he liked the bigger ones because he didn't have to turn them over so often. I basically had these singles, and like your average boy, you have to collect something or be obsessed by something. I was obsessed by records. The punk rock movement changed everything for me as well, even though I was a bit too young sort of for the first wave gigs and everything. It was more just to do a record, because I collected records. There was obviously no internet. But you phoned up people and asked people in record shops, and they go, 'You get it cut, and then they do something with it, make it the other way round and then you tell them how many you want and they make them, and then you make sleeves and then you…” I just did one. That was how Damage Goods started. No plan. 500 quid was what I had at that time. I made some money from a job I had, which in ‘88 was a reasonable amount. I think the singles cost me about 350 for 500\. Basically, I licensed it off a label called Decca, a big, major label. They had a band called [Slaughter & The Dogs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slaughter%5F%26%5Fthe%5FDogs?ref=kentcurrent.news), Manchester punk band. Not a very successful Manchester punk band, but they released three singles and an album. I got in touch with them, with the naivety of never having done it before, because if I'd have gone through official channels and everything else, I probably wouldn't have made it. By phoning up and talking to some bloke who was leaving the place soon, he said, “Yeah, I'm sure we could do that.” He said, “How are you selling them?” I used to go to a lot of record shops. I'd spend all my Saturdays in record shops around London, and I thought, “I'll just go in there, and they'll buy some and whatever.” I knew the music press, I sent a copy to all the music papers, and that was really how it started. It was just one single, and it sold out. I sold the 500 over a couple of months just myself. One of the distribution companies in the UK got in touch and asked who distributes the records to shops. “We can sell it to Scotland and abroad in Japan.” Okay. Then I realised what they give you back is a lot less. I had no chance of making any money on a single. But it was really good fun. I didn't care if the money came back or not, really. People kept saying, “Well you've done the single by Slaughter & The Dogs, why don't you reissue the album?” This was in '88 when punk rock was fairly dirty work. It was at that ten year period where almost everything is a bit shit. After 20 years, people start remembering. Now 50 years on, everyone's like, that was the best time of my life. Sex Pistols are playing Dreamland in Margate and things like that. All old people touring the country one last time. That's how it started, really. Once I did the album, and that sold better than the single, and you make a bit of money on albums, because at the time they cost about 50% more than the single, but instead of selling it for a pound at the time, I'd be getting three quid for them, the profit margin is there. That led me to have a little bit of money, and then I did another one, then another one. I could bore you all the way through. There are 700 releases. The money is not in singles. Singles are for fun. Singles are because I'm old and I like singles. > If you sell a thousand, you probably should more or less break even **In the modern era, how successful does an album need to be for it to be financially successful?** If you sell a thousand, you probably should more or less break even, unless you've paid an awful lot recording it. Some bands, you just say, I'll put the album out, it's their recording, I'll just license it from them. That's the record that we do a 50/50 split on. Very straightforward. It's the best way. It's the best way for the bands. If you make a grand, then 500 quid for the band, 500 quid for us. It works out quite well. If you make 10 grand, then obviously our percentage is good for us. It means we can invest in something else, go on holiday. But mainly, we end up doing more records. **How would you describe Damaged Goods?** Damaged Goods are whatever I like, which doesn't help. But it is basically a punk rock, garage, and indie record label. That's what I always say. We do punk rock, do garage, 60s, and we do indiepop as well, because I quite like a pop song. It is basically anything I like. **What brings you to Broadstairs? Why have we met here today?** I'm in Broadstairs because I just love coming down this bit of the country. I didn't go on holiday here when I was young, but I think it was around the end of the 90s, I may have come down for a gig or something in Ramsgate or Margate. I like the fact that there's these three little places next to each other. Ramsgate, Margate, Broadstairs is in the middle, and it's just a really lovely area. I really like the people. I like everything about the sea. I still technically live in East London. I've got a place down here. I quite like doing up old houses. I got an old house years ago, did it up, more than that, tiny little thing. We let it out sometimes down here. Things go wrong with it all the time because it's 400 years old. I came down today because the front door wouldn't open. I had to force my way in and then sand it and saw a bit off, and now it closes perfectly. **What led you to buy the place?** A friend of ours had already got one, was in a band as well. They were a band called [Heavenly](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavenly%5F%28British%5Fband%29?ref=kentcurrent.news), and they found the place, and we met them down there, and we were looking going, “It'd be really good to get a place, if we could find something knackered that needs doing up.” The place was a bit of a mess, the previous owners had put tin foil on the walls and papered over it and over these holes, and we had to take everything out and then do it again. It was more for the fun of it, really. It's a good release from the records. **When you first started, you were focusing on re-releases. What led to your first original release?** I guess it was inevitable. I went to loads of gigs. Eventually, bands would start saying, “We looked for someone to put a record out.” I was only doing reissues. As well as Slaughter & The Dogs, I worked with [Snivelling Shits](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The%5FSnivelling%5FShits?ref=kentcurrent.news). It was an album I put together with the original lead singer, who found tapes under his bed. We went to a legendary producer called [Dave Goodman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave%5FGoodman%5F%28music%5Fproducer%29?ref=kentcurrent.news). That was one of my proudest things on Damaged Goods. That wouldn't have existed unless I'd have met him in this record shop at that point, and he took us round his mum and dad's house, and we pulled all this stuff out, these cassettes of stuff that had never been released. It was quite a legendary band, but no one knew much about them, they had only ever released one 7”, in 1977 at that point.. One single they ever had out. I've forgotten the question. **What led you to releasing your first original?** Oh, right, yes. So it was a single with the drummer from a band called the [Revillos](https://revillos.snatzo.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news). A bloke called Rocky Rhythm. I saw his band, and he was going on about doing a record with Damaged Goods? I was like, go on then, people will know him, and that's bound to sell. I've still got some. It didn't sell. But it was a good single, and I really liked him. Red vinyl, 7 inch. It was a good start but we do still have some! **You've also released an album with the** [**Manic Street Preachers**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manic%5FStreet%5FPreachers?ref=kentcurrent.news)**?** No, I did their first proper single. I did their first EP. The fourth new release we did. **How did you meet them?** It was just going to a gig. 1989, July, I think it was, a pub called the Horse and Groom in Great Portland Street in London near the BBC. They were playing upstairs in this little pub, and they did this little seven-inch themselves called Suicide Alley, and I went along, and they were just amazing. There was no stage, they were jumping about, the energy was brilliant. Couldn't understand anything. The sound was pretty ropey. But it was a really good gig. It was their first ever gig in London. Hardly anyone there, but it was really good. > It's a pretty brutal, terrible business in a lot of ways. **When you look at where the band got to, are they the most high-profile band you've worked with?** Yeah, I'd say so. Recently, we did the first record by [Amyl and the Sniffers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amyl%5Fand%5Fthe%5FSniffers?ref=kentcurrent.news). That was in 2018\. That did really well. That's one of the ones that pays for some that don’t do so well.You see a band, agree to do something, press 500 singles, you're may well lose some money, but you want to do it. They're probably not going to get anywhere, never going to be on a major label, but you never know. It’s great to release a cool, interesting single, I'd much rather than not and yes, some people may say “What did do that one for?” I’d say, Why not, I liked it! _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Kent’s SEND reforms collide with the people expected to deliver them URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/kents-send-reforms-collide-with-the-people-expected-to-deliver-them/ Last updated: 2026-02-26T20:00:04.000Z **Specialist teachers in Kent’s Specialist Teaching and Learning Service have begun strike action over changes to their roles following the service's in-house transfer, raising questions about what support will look like in practice as Kent reshapes its SEND system. Further down, we also look at the latest right-wing councillor churn, with Restore appointing leadership at County Hall as defections spread to district councils...* ### Kent’s SEND reforms collide with the people expected to deliver them Specialist teachers who support mainstream schools with special educational needs provision have begun strike action in the county, accusing Kent County Council of pushing through major changes to their roles after bringing the service in-house. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/02/KC_NEU.jpg) Staff in the Specialist Teaching and Learning Service (STLS) walked out yesterday, with a further five strike days planned in March. This is not a pay dispute. Instead, it is a fight over what counts as support in Kent’s SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) system, and over whether a service that has always operated in the messy middle can survive being forced into a single countywide model. STLS is one of those services most people never notice until they need it. It sits behind the scenes in mainstream schools and early years settings, helping staff deal with pupils whose needs are not being met. Much of that work is with adults, not children. It is advice, training, and practical problem-solving with SENCOs (Special Educational Needs Coordinators) and teachers. But the council’s own reporting on the service also describes a more intensive tier of active support for individual children in some cases, usually involving planned visits with targets set and reviewed. It also acknowledges a point that now sits right in the middle of the dispute. Practice varied across Kent. In some areas, specialist teachers worked more directly with pupils. In others, they worked through observation and the SENCOs. The strike is being organised by the National Education Union, which says it represents more than 60 STLS staff in Kent. There was also a demonstration outside County Hall yesterday (Wednesday) morning to coincide with the walkout. The union argues the council has changed staff roles without proper consultation, and that those changes affect children with SEND across the county. Since STLS moved in-house at KCC in September, staff and the union say the work has been narrowed and reorganised in ways that change what they can deliver day to day. The NEU’s public line is that specialist teachers are no longer permitted to do face-to-face work with individual children, leaving expertise mothballed rather than deployed where schools are struggling most. A big part of the union’s public case is that the service is valued and should not be tampered with lightly. Kent NEU has been pushing figures from a 2024 consultation analysis, which found strong support for the service, including that 91% of educators agreed STLS has a positive impact on inclusive practice in their setting, and 75% of parents agreed STLS advice and guidance had a positive impact on how classroom teachers support their child’s SEND needs. Those figures come from analysis produced for the council’s consultation work, with responses collected by the council and analysed independently. The council rejects the core allegation that it has ridden roughshod over staff. In its [statement](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/kent-county-council-response-to-specialist-teaching-and-learning-service-stls-industrial-action-25-february?ref=kentcurrent.news) responding to the industrial action, Kent County Council said it “respects the lawful right of staff to take industrial action,” but added that “it is important that the public record accurately reflects the actions of all parties.” It described the claim that it failed to consult with staff around their working arrangements as “simply incorrect” and said a full staff consultation was carried out before the transfer in September 2025, alongside a public consultation on the future model of the service. It also set out its version of what STLS should be. Bringing staff together from 12 different organisations, it said, meant it had been necessary to align day-to-day practice with contractual standards in a local authority context. It gave one clear example of what it believes the service should focus on: “supporting schools through advice, training and capacity-building.” That line is a neat summary of the council’s position, but it is also why the row has escalated. On paper, STLS has always been about building capacity in mainstream settings. In reality, the council’s own reporting on the service in 2023/24 describes something wider. Alongside training and advice, it sets out an active support tier involving bespoke work around individual children, delivered through multiple visits with targets set and reviewed, and it acknowledges that different districts already operated differently in how directly specialist teachers worked with a child. This is fundamentally the crux of the dispute. The council is trying to make STLS more consistent and better defined. The union says that consistency is being achieved by narrowing the job, and that this is being done without proper consultation and at the expense of the kind of support that schools and families actually need. **If you’ve been meaning to support the Kent Current, this is a good moment. We’re running* [***20% off an annual subscription**](https://www.kentcurrent.news/KENT20) *until Saturday morning, bringing it down to* ***£48 for the year** *. It’s reader funding that keeps this work independent, and it buys the time to report properly across Kent, not just rewrite whatever lands in the inbox.* [Get 20% off ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/KENT20) ## Get our free newsletter Clear, independent reporting on Kent’s biggest stories without the ads or clickbait. Subscribe for free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. The wider SEND context is part of the council’s justification. Shortcomings identified by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission led to a government Improvement Notice in 2023, lifted in August 2024\. The council argues that Kent’s SEND system has undergone a 'root-and-branch overhaul' since then, and says it would be “neither responsible nor fair” to exempt STLS from changes needed locally and nationally. An options appraisal prepared as part of the process gives a clearer sense of what the council was trying to achieve. It argues that any future model needed to enable consistency of equity across the county. It described extending the previous arrangement as 'less preferable,' citing claims that it was not financially sustainable for the special schools involved. It makes the case for bringing STLS in-house partly on the basis that the council would then have “maximum control” over a service it treats as strategically important. That is the administrative logic. The political logic is messier because implementation spans a change in control. The redesign work, consultations, and decision-making were largely completed by the previous Conservative administration, but the responsibility for making it work now rests with the current Reform leadership, which inherits a programme already in the pipeline and is still judged on the consequences of its rollout. The Green group has declared its support for the strike, with Paul Stepto, its education spokesperson, saying a 2021 consultation showed considerable support for STLS within the education sector and calling it “baffling” that the authority appears to be acting in a way that damages both the service and the people who work within it. Labour has also attacked the council’s handling of negotiations, framing this as an early test of the new leadership’s approach to workforce relations. The council, for its part, says it is disappointed by the union’s decision to use social media to misrepresent the situation and that it has been engaged in good-faith discussions to resolve localised issues. It says it sent proposals to the union the day before the walkout to try to avoid strike action and claims it has not received a response. It says its priority is continuity of support for schools and settings, and that it will keep services running and minimise disruption where possible. Further walkouts are scheduled for 4 and 5 March and again between 10 and 12 March. For schools and families, the question is not just what happens on those days. It is what STLS looks like after this, once the new model is fully bedded in and the service has stopped being the thing different parts of Kent did in slightly different ways. If the council is right, a more standardised STLS will help more schools handle SEND needs earlier and more consistently. If staff are right, Kent is heading for a version of reform where the paperwork still says support is there, but the people who used to show up and do it are no longer allowed to. ### Kent’s right-wing musical chairs Kent’s right-wing councillor churn has reached the point where you can barely tell whether you are watching a realignment or just a very public falling out conducted through similarly named political parties. At Kent County Council, the new Restore Britain bloc has now formally chosen its leadership. In a press release issued after the group’s first meeting held on Tuesday, Restore says Paul Thomas was elected as leader of the new KCC group, with Maxine Fothergill announced as deputy leader. The statements themselves are predictable, but the subtext is not. Restore’s pitch, repeated again here by Rupert Lowe, is that this will be a new kind of operation. He claims Kent is “one of our strongest counties in terms of membership,” says Restore expects to compete across Kent at the next general election, and promises there will be “no national whip,” with councillors free to decide local issues. Thomas leans into that framing. He says his focus will be to “empower” the group members to champion local issues “unimpeded.” Fothergill describes Restore as “new beginnings” and says she is “delighted” to be deputy leader of a “strong group” on the council. One immediate reaction from Reform’s KCC administration was blunt. Peter Osborne, the cabinet member for highways, posted on X after the leadership announcement that he'd “give them a month before the squabbles begin,” complete with crying laughing emoji. Thomas has been blunt in his criticism of his former party. He claimed there is “a poison within Reform” that “ignores true Reformers and expels them,” and pitched Restore as offering “true reform,” arguing Reform took on a Conservative agenda but failed to deliver. Restore is presenting itself as a refuge for people who think Reform’s internal culture has turned sour, and as a vehicle for pushing further without the discipline of a party whip. It is also happening as Restore has had a bumpy first week nationally. A proposed tie-up with Advance has [already spilt](https://searchlightmagazine.com/2026/02/far-right-merger-collapses-as-ben-habib-slams-dictator-lowe/?ref=kentcurrent.news) into public hostility and arguments about how the project is run, while elsewhere in the country, at least one councillor who briefly joined Restore has already [publicly reversed course](https://searchlightmagazine.com/2026/02/councillor-quits-sinister-restore-britain-after-just-two-days/?ref=kentcurrent.news). Elsewhere, a high-profile US white supremacist claimed he had been able to [join the party](https://searchlightmagazine.com/2026/02/banned-us-neo-nazi-joins-restore-britain/?ref=kentcurrent.news), despite being banned from entering the UK. Restore’s KCC group did not appear from nowhere. It [landed last week](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kent-becomes-a-test-site-for-restore/) as a ready-made bloc of seven councillors, mostly pulled from the continuing fragmentation of Reform’s Kent group. That earlier story was never really about ideology alone. It was also about a group that had spent months suspending, expelling, reorganising and relabelling itself, producing a trail of mini-factions and independents. The leadership vote is the first step toward turning that into something that looks less like a prolonged internal argument and more like a functioning group with a plan. [Kent becomes a test site for RestoreA new hard-right brand takes seats at County Hall![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-29.png)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/KC_Restore.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kent-becomes-a-test-site-for-restore/) But the more interesting development this week is that the same musical chairs dynamic is now visible a tier down, too. In Swale, Kieran Mishchuk, who sits on Swale Borough Council, has [defected](https://www.facebook.com/reel/1380458250546893) from Reform to Restore. Mishchuk had only recently been featured in a BBC documentary promoting Reform and is now presenting Restore as his political home instead. Meanwhile, in Thanet, two district councillors have gone the other way, [joining Reform](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2026/02/24/two-thanet-district-councillors-announced-as-latest-members-of-reform-uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news). Marc Rattigan (Cliftonville East, previously Conservative) and John Dennis (Garlinge, previously independent, previously Thanet Independent Group, previously UKIP, previously Conservative) have been announced as new party members at Thanet District Council. The statements follow the well-worn template for these moments. Rattigan says the Conservatives have drifted away from his principles and that Reform is “our only hope” to restore national vitality. Dennis says joining Reform feels like “coming home” to a party that represents his values and promises changes and improvements locally. The local Conservative association, for its part, has responded by saying the “honourable thing” would be for Rattigan to resign and trigger a by-election, but of course, they all say that. So in the space of a couple of days you have one Kent district councillor moving from Reform to Restore, while two others in Thanet move into Reform. At County Hall you have Restore trying to look like an organised rival bloc, while Reform figures are openly betting on it collapsing into infighting. That is not a neat story of one movement replacing another. It is a constant reshuffle, with labels changing faster than the practical consequences. Back at County Hall, Restore now has a named leader and deputy leader, and a promise of “no whip” that will be tested the first time the group has to decide what it actually believes when it comes to the boring but unavoidable business of local government. At district level, the churn continues in both directions. If you are trying to track what all of this means for Kent politics, the only safe assumption at the moment is that there is plenty more to come. ### Footnotes ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### KCC councillor jailed, triggering by-election URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/kcc-councillor-jailed-triggering-by-election/ Last updated: 2026-02-23T13:38:54.000Z **A Kent County Council councillor has been jailed, triggering a by-election in Cliftonville and closing a long-running, uncomfortable chapter for the division. Today's Kent Current looks at what happens next, alongside a county-wide round of budget meetings, fresh water supply problems,* a**nd a mix of the politics, planning and local stories shaping Kent right now.*.. ### Cliftonville by-election triggered as KCC councillor jailed Kent county councillor for Cliftonville, Daniel Taylor, has been sentenced to 12 months in prison at Margate Magistrates’ Court for controlling or coercive behaviour towards his wife. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-23-at-13.32.32.png) Cllr Daniel Taylor at 12 February's budget meeting. This ends a long, awkward period in which a serious criminal case was running in parallel with the day job of being a county councillor. It also forces Cliftonville straight into a by-election, whether anyone locally feels like another campaign or not. Taylor won Cliftonville in May 2025 as part of Reform’s sweep across the council, but he did not remain a Reform councillor in any meaningful sense for long. The whip was withdrawn following his arrest, and he continued on the council as an independent. The criminal case has been hanging over the seat for most of that time. The sentence was for controlling or coercive behaviour towards his wife. The wider case background also included allegations that he threatened to kill her and sent an offensive, indecent, obscene or menacing message. The court heard evidence of a long pattern of controlling behaviour, including friends describing him putting his wife down, accusing her of cheating and isolating her from friends. If that sounds like a story that should have ended months ago, that is because politics and local government rarely end anything cleanly on their own. Parties can suspend people. Group leaders can withdraw whips. Colleagues can stop making eye contact. But none of that, on its own, removes someone from office. Until the legal line is crossed, the seat remains occupied. Which is why the detail from a week before sentencing is going to stick. Taylor attended the county council’s budget meeting on 12 February. He even spoke in that debate, including defending Reform, and it landed with the sort of silence usually reserved for a bad joke in a meeting you can’t leave. Then, a week later, he was sentenced. Within that same week, he was also taken into custody for breaching bail conditions, suggesting he had quite a rollercoaster week. After sentencing, the seat became vacant through his immediate disqualification from the role. There is a temptation, in a case like this, to treat the political bit as gossip and the court bit as the real story. In practice, Cliftonville has been living with both at once. For months, the division had a councillor suspended by the party he was elected for, who was barely present in the council's political life but still technically held the seat. That is not a neat situation for residents, and it is not a great look for the institution either. Now comes the by-election. There will be a new contest, a new set of leaflets, and the usual round of promises about potholes, school places and 'standing up for local people.' The difference this time is that nobody gets to pretend this is a normal election. It is a forced reset. For Reform, it is especially awkward. The party won Cliftonville in the 2025 wave, but the councillor did not spend most of the year as a functioning Reform representative. So the pitch cannot honestly be 'keep what you’ve got.' It is closer to give us another go, with someone else, and judge the party on what it does when it is not dealing with the fallout from its own candidate choices. For everyone else, the opening is obvious. This is a seat where voters can send a very blunt message about competence and judgment, without needing to buy into anyone’s wider ideological project. That is often what by-elections are really for. Not a grand political realignment, but the chance to give someone a kicking. For Cliftonville residents, the point is not the chessboard. It is that representation is supposed to be boring and dependable. Someone shows up, argues your corner, takes the casework, and does the unglamorous stuff without becoming the story. Over the past year, the seat has done the opposite. The by-election is a chance to put it back where it should have been all along, on the problems in the division, and not the problems of the person holding it. ## Get the Kent Current in your inbox Clear, independent reporting on Kent’s biggest stories without the intrusive ads or clickbait. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Three big reads 1️⃣ The Telegraph has been talking to residents in Tunbridge Wells behind a [£1.5m fundraising effort](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/02/21/village-green-society-planning-war-flats-tunbridge-wells/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to try and bring the town's Commons into public ownership. 2️⃣ The tycoon behind Kent's Big Motoring World [claims he has been wrongfully sacked](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/peter-waddell-big-motoring-world-bromley-b2921132.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) from his own company after he made a series of offensive comments toward Asian and female members of staff. 3️⃣ Chatham Town women's team got knocked out of the FA Cup by Birmingham City on Saturday, but the Guardian has been [profiling the semi-professional team](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/feb/20/womens-fa-cup-chatham-birmingham-lowest-ranked-team?CMP=Share%5FiOSApp%5FOther&ref=kentcurrent.news) following their incredible run. ### Council matters **Meetings this week, and there's definitely a trend:** - **Canterbury:** [**Council**](https://democracy.canterbury.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=138&MId=13849&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets tonight (Monday) to debate the new budget, as well as a motion on everyone's favourite utility company, South East Water. - **Dartford:** [**Council**](https://dartford.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=139&MId=3485&ref=kentcurrent.news) gets together tonight (Monday) for, and this will become very familiar here, a budget meeting. - **Gravesham:** [**Council**](https://democracy.gravesham.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=144&MId=9404&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Tuesday, and of course, it's for the budget. - **Sevenoaks:** [**Council**](https://cds.sevenoaks.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=121&MId=3590&J=1&ref=kentcurrent.news) gathers on Tuesday for, you guessed it, a budget meeting. - **Tonbridge & Malling:** [**Council**](https://democracy.tmbc.gov.uk//ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=126&MId=6030&ref=kentcurrent.news) will set the budget for the coming year on Tuesday, as well as the governance arrangements for a new Tonbridge Town Council. - **Medway:** [**Council**](https://democracy.medway.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=122&MId=6357&ref=localauthority.news) meets for its season finale on Wednesday, where the budget for the coming year will be approved. - **Folkestone & Hythe:** [**Council**](https://folkestone-hythe.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=122&MId=5615&ref=kentcurrent.news) comes together on Wednesday for, surprise surprise, a budget meeting. - **Maidstone:** [**Council**](https://meetings.maidstone.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=151&MId=5600&ref=kentcurrent.news) sets the budget on Wednesday. - **Tunbridge Wells:** [**Council**](https://democracy.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=134&MId=6003&ref=kentcurrent.news) agrees a budget on Wednesday, and debates intimidation toward councillors and the disruption of South East Water. - **Ashford:** [**Council**](https://ashford.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=137&MId=4927&ref=kentcurrent.news) gathers on Thursday to debate its own budget for the coming year. - **Thanet:** [**Council**](https://democracy.thanet.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=141&MId=7064&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Thursday, and you would never guess this, sets the budget for the coming year. - **Dover:** [**Planning Committee**](https://moderngov.dover.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=136&MId=5176&ref=kentcurrent.news) will meet on Thursday to decide the fate of 30 new homes in Walmer and 11 in Great Mongeham. **New planning applications:** - **Maidstone:** Environmental scoping opinion for [1,110 homes](https://pa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=TALOX4TY1BA00&ref=kentcurrent.news), commercial use, and education facilities north of Marden. - **Maidstone:** Plans for [25 homes](https://pa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=TA6OHTTYFIF00&ref=kentcurrent.news) and a children's nursery in Detling. - **Swale:** Environmental scoping opinion for [240 homes](https://pa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=TAR7RYTY1BC00&activeTab=summary&ref=kentcurrent.news) east of Faversham. ***The Kent Current only exists because some readers choose to pay for it.** *If you value independent reporting on Kent that doesn’t rely on clickbait or theatre, please consider becoming a supporter. An annual subscription costs £1.15 a week and helps keep this work sustainable.* [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) ### In brief 🚛 It cost [£3m to run Operation Brock](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cev7evmz7dmo?ref=kentcurrent.news), the traffic management system that holds lorries waiting to cross the channel on the M20, last year. ☢️ Unsafe levels of cancer-causing radon gas have been detected at 16 UK prisons, [including Sutton Park](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/radon-gas-prison-dartmoor-hmp-exeter-b2924224.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) near Maidstone. 🚰 Residents in Pembury [lost their water supply](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp85me3vnepo?ref=kentcurrent.news) this week, the latest in a long line of interruptions from South East Water. 🚕 A Smarden pub running an [illegal taxi service](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/02/22/pub-flying-horse-banned-offering-customers-taxi-ashford/?ICID=continue%5Fwithout%5Fsubscribing%5Freg%5Ffirst&ref=kentcurrent.news) is very upset at being told to stop by the council. 🚓 [Benches have been removed](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2026/02/20/benches-in-margate-removed-due-to-ongoing-antisocial-behaviour/?ref=kentcurrent.news) from the centre of Margate following antisocial behaviour. 🏢 Youth unemployment in Thanet has [reached 12%](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2026/02/17/thanet-youth-unemployment-hits-huge-12-remaining-highest-by-far-in-south-east/?ref=kentcurrent.news), nearly double the rate for Kent as a whole. 👮 Kent Police are now making [hour long documentaries](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2nLfAzPNXg&ref=kentcurrent.news) on how they solved crimes. 🚏 Ashford Borough Council has stood by its decision to issue a [parking fine to a broken down bus](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce8w0y78y80o?ref=kentcurrent.news) parked at a bus stop. 🚆 The rail line between Borough Green and Ashford via Maidstone East will [close for nine days](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce3gvq606d2o?ref=kentcurrent.news) in May. 🚉 Conversely, rail lines through Dartford have [reopened](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz0g9k4xjyxo?ref=kentcurrent.news) following a nine day closure. 🚫 A Folkestone restaurant that employed illegal workers has had its [alcohol licence revoked](https://folkestonedispatch.substack.com/p/restaurant-that-employed-illegal) following a Home Office raid. 🍩 Greggs has [withdrawn a planning application](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2026/02/21/bakery-chain-greggs-withdraws-applications-for-former-boots-site-in-cliftonville/?ref=kentcurrent.news) for a new outlet on Northdown Road in Margate after hundreds of people signed a petition against it. 🐎 PETA has urged Canterbury City Council to [block a bid for horse-drawn carriage tours](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/i-would-never-overwork-him-mum-hits-back-at-charity-s-bid-336788/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🎤 A Margate music promoter has [denied supporting hate](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce82gm58pl8o?ref=kentcurrent.news) after booking the tour of a singer who has very publicly endorsed the far-right. ✌️ Britain First fascist Paul Golding has [rushed to the defence](https://searchlightmagazine.com/2026/02/fascist-boss-tries-to-rescue-beleaguered-rockabilly-singer/?ref=kentcurrent.news) of a Faversham singer who lost bookings after attending and posing for photos at a far-right march. 🇪🇺 Look Mum No Computer, a YouTuber based in Kent, has been [chosen to represent the UK](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/feb/17/look-mum-no-computer-uk-entry-eurovision-2026?ref=kentcurrent.news) in this year's Eurovision Song Contest. 📖 Canterbury Christ Church University is to [lease a large section of its Canterbury library](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/uni-to-lease-large-parts-of-35m-library-to-private-firm-aft-336622/?ref=kentcurrent.news) following a slump in student use. 👨‍🎨 David Hockney is to create a ten metre long [window installation](https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/02/16/david-hockney-to-create-ten-metre-long-window-installation-for-turner-contemporary?ref=kentcurrent.news) for the Turner Contemporary in Margate. 🚂 A history of [Hornby in Kent](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg5ndn0ln27o?ref=kentcurrent.news). ### Property of the week This week’s property is a bit of a curveball in the best way: A Grade II listed coach house in Ramsgate, priced at £310,000, that’s leaning hard into charm and mostly getting away with it. It’s a compact two-bedroom place, but it comes with the kind of details you rarely see at this end of the market, including an original arched front door, panelled walls, exposed character throughout, and a four-piece bathroom with a freestanding bath. Outside, there’s a secluded rear courtyard, and the location sits right on the edge of King George VI Park, with both Broadstairs and central Ramsgate within easy reach. The listing also makes a big point of the history, including a link to [Moses Montefiore](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses%5FMontefiore?ref=kentcurrent.news), which is exactly the kind of detail that will either sell you instantly or have you opening a new tab to check what’s folklore and what’s fact. [Check out this 2 bedroom semi-detached house for sale on Rightmove2 bedroom semi-detached house for sale in Montefiore Avenue, Ramsgate, CT11 for £310,000\. Marketed by Cooke and Co, Broadstairs![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/favicon-4.ico)Rightmove.co.uk![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/b5e3b3878361b73862e44892c011b417.jpeg)](https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/172435652?ref=kentcurrent.news#/) ### Events this week 🎤 Thu 26 Feb - [**Sara Pascoe: I Am A Strange Gloop**](https://trafalgartickets.com/orchard-theatre-dartford/en-GB/event/comedy/sara-pascoe-i-am-a-strange-gloop-tickets?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Comedian performs show described as not making much sense and a bit weird. Orchard West, Dartford. Tickets £31\. *Also at* [*Marlowe Theatre*](https://marlowetheatre.com/shows/sara-pascoe-i-am-a-strange-gloop/?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, Canterbury on 12 Mar* 🎶 27 Feb - 1 Mar - [**You Are Here Festival**](https://thegulbenkian.co.uk/festivals/you-are-here-festival/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // New independent music festival from a team of East Kent promoters. Gulbenkian Arts Centre, Canterbury. Tickets from £10. 🐉 Sat 28 Feb - [**Chatham Chinese Festival**](https://www.nucleusarts.com/chathamchinesefestival?ref=localauthority.news) // Performances, market stalls, food, celebrating Medway's Chinese community. Chatham High Street. Free. ### **Footnotes** ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### "Without planning and development, you haven't got an economy" URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/without-planning-and-development-you-havent-got-an-economy/ Last updated: 2026-02-22T07:00:03.000Z *Steven visited the* [*Maxim PR*](https://www.maxim-pr.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *offices in Tunbridge Wells to meet Andrew Metcalf following his ascension to chair of* [*Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce*](https://www.kentinvictachamber.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, where they talked about how Kent has improved in the last 25 years, what Andrew thinks about local government reorganisation and his PR advice for a hypothetical independent regional news website...* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/02/KBA_140723-071-1.jpg) Andrew Metcalf. **What is your official occupation?** Managing Director of [Maxim PR](https://www.maxim-pr.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news). **Do you have additional roles, paid or unpaid?** I am also the chair of [Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce](https://www.kentinvictachamber.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news). I also sit on the board of the [Kent and Medway Economic Partnership](https://www.kmep.org.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news), which is the public-private sector partnership. I'm also on the Kent and Medway Business Advisory Board. **What does Maxim do?** We are a PR, public affairs and marketing agency. We've got more involved in what's going on in terms of politics, the economic development agenda, although we've always done that for the last 30 years since we formed in '95\. We advise businesses who are looking to grow, looking to invest, looking to build their reputation, develop relationships with local authorities, other businesses, et cetera. A lot of it is involved in the planning arena, which is always fun. **Are you part of the problem when it comes to the devastation of the Kent countryside?** We're never part of the problem. We're part of the solution in terms of hopefully bringing about sustainable development. Because yes, nobody wants to see development in the wrong place of the wrong type, whether it be housing, factories, whatever. But there has to be an understanding that without planning and development, you haven't got an economy, you haven't got places for people to live, work and play. You've got nothing. While there are certain parts of the community who would like to wrap it in aspic and never have it changed at all, and just keep talking about the genteel Garden of England, the reality is it's not going to be the case anymore. But it has to be proper development. That's what we're getting forward with. **What does the Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce do?** Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce is the county-wide chamber of commerce for Kent. It is affiliated to the British Chamber of Commerce, and therefore we can tap into those networks that are not only regional, but national and international. They've got chambers in various countries around the world. It's being part of a bigger organisation while at the same time delivering locally for companies in Kent and Medway. That's ultimately what it's about. It's about trying to support them through advice, events and generating business growth, networking, strengthening supply chains, keeping them up to date with what's going on legislation-wise, whether it be employment law and the new laws that are coming in, or whether it be just general business advice really, alongside [Thinking Business](https://www.kentinvictachamber.co.uk/resource-subjects/thinking-business/?ref=kentcurrent.news) magazine and their [website](https://www.kentinvictachamber.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/02/Chris-Hare-hands-over-to-Andrew-Metcalf-1.jpeg) Andrew Metcalf being made chair of Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce. **How did you come to be the chair?** I think everyone else took a step backwards. I've been involved in the chamber for about nine years, and about three years ago, I was asked to be vice chair. What happens is you do your time as vice and then after two years, the chair steps down, and you become the chair. It's about that continuity of understanding of how the chamber operates, the challenges it faces, and there are challenges just like every business at the moment. Having a good board behind you and also a chief exec and the management team. They do a lot of good work, and given we set up Maxim 30 years ago, and we've always been in the space of economic development, it seemed like a natural organisation to give some time to. I enjoy it. The work they do trying to influence the economic development agenda is really important. It'll be an ongoing role talking to political leaders, talking to economic development officers, where necessarily going up to the House of Commons, talking to them, talking about what's going on across the region, and then also connecting with other chambers of commerce, whether it be Sussex or Essex or everywhere else. It's that cross-Thames collaboration, cooperation, and I think we need more of that. That regional agenda disappeared, which is a shame. **How did you come to launch the** [**Kent Press & Broadcast Awards**](https://www.kpbawards.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news)**?** I think they came about because there was the Kent Press Awards, and they were sponsored by one Kent company and organised by one Kent PR agency. Then overnight they closed, they stopped. The sponsor pulled out, and they didn't have any way of getting that level of funding to make it happen. We watched this, we thought that's interesting, we still think, and this is obviously 13 years ago, when the landscape was totally different, that there was a need for an award scheme that recognised and rewarded the work of local press in the county and that being an agency that had always been involved in PR and already having good relations with lots and lots of the major companies in the county and at the same time with all the editors, news desks, individual publications, all that sort of stuff. We had the platform on which we thought we could build something. It's something we think is important in terms of celebrating the hard work that goes largely unnoticed at best, and at worst, it gets criticised for actually holding people to account for doing things that they probably shouldn't do. There's a need for it now more so than ever. We've been very lucky. We've got some really great sponsors. We've got some really good judges who give their time for free. Obviously, we pay them expenses, we buy them a lunch and whatever, but they feel that they want to help young journalists coming through publications that are independent to make the next step, and they realise that they also understand news and what makes a good story, and that's what we celebrate. This year will be no different, I'm sure. We've just literally sent out the press release, and we've just confirmed the speaker, which should be good. I'm looking forward to another day of interesting people, times and conversations in Canterbury. > Businesses have had some difficult times the last few years, and the first thing that gets cut is training, and the second thing is marketing **When you mention why it happened to the original press awards, is there a risk in the current economic climate of not getting enough sponsorship for the current KPBA?** I think there's always a risk and we've struggled. Last year we were full, the year before was a challenge. I think that comes with economics. Businesses have had some difficult times the last few years, and the first thing that gets cut is training, and the second thing is marketing. We have to put the case, but there are some businesses who are such advocates of what we do in terms of why the awards are important, whether it be [Port of Dover](https://www.portofdover.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news) or [Eurotunnel](https://www.leshuttle.com/uk-en?ref=kentcurrent.news), they're great. That's what we want, and it's reflected in the awards and the level of entries, and also it's reflected on the day with the actual enthusiasm of winning an award that actually matters. We went over to [KMTV](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kmtv/?ref=kentcurrent.news) the other week, and we met the team, and on their walls, they've got all the alumni who have gone on from there to ITV or BBC or whatever and the vast majority at one point have won a Kent Press Broadcast Award and that for us is why it's so important. It's great to see that and feel that just winning that award has probably made some sort of difference in their ability to get shortlisted and then put themselves forward. **Are you on the judging panel for the** [**Kent Press & Broadcast Awards**](https://www.kpbawards.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news)**?** No. The KPBAs, which is something that Maxim has organised, I think this will be its 12th year. That is a not-for-profit project. The judges themselves are all journalists or have been in the media, and therefore, unlike a lot of business awards, it maintains that the entries are properly judged and there's integrity in terms of the results. **So you just go for the lunch…** I turn up with Rachel *\[Knight, Director at Maxim PR\]*, and we have the judges' lunch where they battle it out around the table as to who should win what category, who should be shortlisted, who's the finalist, et cetera. That's interesting to watch in itself. We have no input into it. We literally monitor, write down the results and then keep them under wraps until the big day. > The county hasn't got a great history in terms of collaboration **Whether it be from Maxim’s involvement in local development or the chamber of commerce, what are your thoughts on local government reorganisation?** I think LGR is an incredibly difficult one. The aims behind it make total sense. The duplication of effort, budgets, cost savings of bringing people together, although quite frankly, in the past, the county hasn't got a great history in terms of collaboration. I do think the idea is sane. The problem is there's a risk that we lose our heritage and history and our connections because, for instance, look at Swale. The possibility of cutting Swale in half and having Faversham, which has probably got more in common with Canterbury and Sittingbourne having more in common with Medway, to me seems like a logical, rational thought. But I don't live in Swale, and that's really a decision that they should be making. There needs to be a proper case put as to why LGR is important. At the moment, businesses don't feel they have been engaged with on what LGR means. The reality is what we do want is something that we can be part of, to have a business voice that reflects the new landscape of local government. Whether it be three or four unitaries with some mayoral authority, or foundation authority, or whatever they want to call it next Tuesday, I don't know. At the moment, my worry is that it's now gone up to the Minister, the Minister will decide, and it'll be, 'There you go.' _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Kent becomes a test site for Restore URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/kent-becomes-a-test-site-for-restore/ Last updated: 2026-02-20T11:35:34.000Z **Seven Kent County Council councillors have formed a new Restore Britain group at County Hall, bringing a new national hard-right brand into Kent politics after months of turmoil inside Reform. The move raises questions about what Restore is seeking to build locally and whether it marks the start of another round of defections.*.. ### A new hard-right brand takes seats at County Hall as Restore forms at Kent County Council Seven Kent County Council councillors have defected to Rupert Lowe’s Restore Britain project, creating a new bloc of seven at County Hall. If that sounds like a straightforward hard right story, their first visible intervention in Kent makes it messier. At this week’s Kent and Medway Fire and Rescue Authority meeting, they helped to defeat Reform’s push to ban Pride flags from fire stations, backing an amendment to put the decision to staff consultation instead. So what exactly is this new group, what do they believe, and how did Kent’s ruling party end up spawning a rival bloc under a national brand that is pitching itself to Reform’s right? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/02/KC_Restore-1.jpg) Rupert Lowe's Restore has arrived in Kent and immediately fought Reform on pride flags. In numerical terms, the immediate shift is modest for the administration itself. Reform drops by one, from 48 councillors to 47, with Dean Burns the only sitting Reform councillor to make the move. But Restore arrives as a group of seven, larger than the Conservative, Green, and Labour groups, and immediately substantial enough not to be treated as a curiosity on the margins. The seven councillors are Maxine Fothergill, Oliver Bradshaw, Brian Black, Paul Thomas, Robert Ford, Isabella Kemp, and Burns. All seven were elected in May 2025 as part of Reform’s breakthrough at Kent County Council, when the party took control of the authority with a large majority. By the end of 2025, six of the seven had already been suspended or expelled in the internal rows that tore through Reform’s Kent group. Immediately before the move, their KCC group labels reflected the fragmentation that followed. Thomas, Black and Bradshaw were sitting as The Independent Group. Ford and Kemp were sitting as Independent Reformers. Fothergill was sitting as an independent, while Burns was still sitting as a Reform councillor. This is the key context for understanding what Restore is doing at County Hall. For most of these councillors, this is not a clean leap from one settled group to another. It is the latest stage of an internal collapse that has been playing out loudly since last summer and has already produced suspensions, expulsions, and splinter groups. Restore gives that fallout a new shared banner. There is also one notable absence. Bill Barrett, the third Independent Reformer, has not joined Restore. He told us he had no record of any contact from Restore Britain and added that “whilst I wish my colleagues well on KCC who have joined Restore Britain, it is not for me.” He signed off as group leader of the Independent Reformers. With Ford and Kemp now part of Restore, that label is now attached to a group that appears to consist of only him. [Kent Reform councillors pictured smiling alongside neo-Nazi activistPlus KCC blurs neutrality line again, Lower Thames Crossing tries new regulatory system, news in brief, and more![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-22.png)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fdc9e54a2-dda7-4735-ad4d-10a7c18e8a41_2500x1406-jpeg-2-1.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kent-reform-councillors-pictured/) The public flashpoints that led to this came in stages. In August 2025, five Reform KCC councillors, including Burns and Bradshaw, attended a 'stop the boats' protest in Maidstone and were [photographed](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kent-reform-councillors-pictured/) with a protestor draped in a neo-Nazi flag. The bigger rupture arrived in October, when a leaked internal Reform group meeting [became public](https://www.kentcurrent.news/a-week-of-reckoning/). Councillors complained about briefings, internal culture and how the group was being run, and the leadership response turned an internal row into a national story. [A week of reckoningPlus Kent firms caught underpaying staff, latest financial declarations for Kent MPs, news in brief, and more![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-23.png)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f2244a038-15d5-4289-87eb-97caf85b9cf0_2500x1406-jpeg-2.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/a-week-of-reckoning/) Within days, Reform suspended the whip from four councillors: Paul Thomas, Oliver Bradshaw, Maxine Fothergill and Bill Barrett. Expulsions followed in waves. Ford was expelled alongside Barrett in late October. By the end of October, Thomas, Bradshaw and Black were removed in another wave. In early November, Kemp was suspended, and she said she had been dismissed from a role at Reform HQ and was pursuing action. Around the same time, expelled councillors began to organise into named blocs at County Hall rather than sit as unattached independents. The dispute also spilt into governance. In November, Kent and Medway Fire and Rescue Authority was left [unable to function](https://www.kentcurrent.news/fire-authority-in-limbo-as-reform/) properly after losing five Reform members amid suspensions and removals, including Black, Kemp, Ford, Thomas and Bradshaw. Further expulsions were confirmed later in November, including Kemp and Fothergill. [Fire authority in limbo as Reform suspensions stall oversightPlus Faversham flag wars, Thanet’s last youth centre, latest financial interests of Kent MPs, a Canterbury by-election, and lots more![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-24.png)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2faa3fa18c-6a17-4f04-9dae-bc71c33b8f7c_7164x4778-jpeg-2.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/fire-authority-in-limbo-as-reform/) Ironically, this week’s meeting of the Kent and Medway Fire and Rescue Authority has now provided a new context for what Restore looks like in practice. Reform put forward a proposal to ban fire stations displaying pride flags, only to be struck down by opposition councillors and three Restore members who still sit on the authority, much to the surprise of Reform councillors. Afterwards, Dean Burns posted a lengthy account on Facebook describing what he said was one of Restore’s first actions on the fire authority. He said Restore did not vote with Reform on the ban and instead pushed an amendment to consult the workforce so firefighters could choose. He framed the amendment passing as democracy being restored, while adding, “Would I have a pride flag myself? No, but if it's what the colleagues want to show inclusion, then Restore won’t take away your rights. We are on your side.” There is an unavoidable irony here. Restore is being sold nationally as a vehicle for hard right politics, and Burns has pitched his own defection as an escape from party control and enforced voting. Yet one of the first high-profile things Restore councillors in Kent appear to have done is align with other parties to stop a ban on pride flags, and to back staff consultation as the deciding principle. Even if you strip out the branding and the slogans, it is a reminder that this new bloc is going to collide quickly with the messy reality of local governance, where the first test is often not immigration or national culture war theatre, but a vote on what a public service is allowed to put on a flagpole. ***Kent Current only exists because some readers choose to pay for it.** *If you value independent reporting on Kent that doesn’t rely on clickbait or theatre, please consider becoming a supporter. An annual subscription costs £1.15 a week and helps keep this work sustainable.* [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) ## Get the Kent Current in your inbox Clear, independent reporting on Kent’s biggest stories without the intrusive ads or clickbait Subscribe for free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. Burns also provided the most striking statement about why he left Reform. Posting on social media after his defection, he wrote: “Every speech I gave had to be vetted and re-scripted, every vote I gave was whipped and forced on me. To be given to respect *\[sic\]* to now vote and speak on behalf of my constituents means so much to me. Thank you Rupert.” He continued: “Call us what you want, but my new boss has a clear view. Pandering and posturing to win vote wont save our country. It will not protect our women and venerable *\[sic\]* girls behind a shield of false hope and promises.” Those are not mild complaints about party management. Burns explicitly alleges that speeches were controlled to the point of being rewritten and that his voting was forced. We asked Reform for comment on Burns' departure and the formation of a Restore group at KCC, but received no response. Other Restore councillors have been less specific. Bradshaw posted: “I am proud to be representing Restore Britain on KCC. Reform has failed in its promises to the Kent residents.” Paul Thomas said: “At last we can now get on with delivering for our local communities and County.” If the story ended there, it would still be a big County Hall reshuffle. But it matters more than that because Restore Britain is not just an empty local label. It is a national project with an explicit platform that goes beyond anything most mainstream parties would touch, and it is not yet a registered political party. Restore’s own published material includes a policy on mass deportations presented as an operational blueprint for removing 'every person living in Britain illegally.' It also includes a law and order platform that explicitly backs reinstating the death penalty. Alongside that sit other proposals framed around cultural conflict and national decline, including targeting religious dress and minority practices, and a welfare position that includes removing access to benefits for 'every single foreign national living in Britain.' That is why this is not a footnote to a local government story. A councillor aligning themselves with Restore is openly attaching themselves to an agenda built around mass removal, aggressive enforcement, and reopening political questions that have been settled in Britain for decades. The other reason Restore matters is the ecosystem around it. Rupert Lowe has been embraced by Tommy Robinson. He has been amplified by Elon Musk, who has publicly attacked Nigel Farage and Reform, urging Reform to change its leader while promoting Lowe as the alternative. Hope Not Hate has [published an explainer](https://hopenothate.org.uk/2026/02/17/rupert-lowe-and-restore-britain-what-you-need-to-know/?ref=kentcurrent.news) on Lowe and Restore Britain, setting out its view of what the project aims to build and the networks promoting it. There is also the question of money and scale. Lowe has claimed that Restore signed up 60,000 members in the week since launch, each paying £20\. If true, that would imply a substantial pot of membership income for a new political project. But there is no evidence for the membership figure beyond Restore’s own claims, and no independent way to verify it publicly. Restore’s seven councillors at KCC may also not be the end of the story. BBC journalist Michael Keohan [reported](https://x.com/michaelkeohan/status/2023842788497129942?ref=kentcurrent.news) this week that he was told by insiders that conversations were taking place with unhappy backbench Reform councillors, and that around six defections could change the formal opposition picture at County Hall. He also [reported](https://x.com/michaelkeohan/status/2023861968348815542?ref=kentcurrent.news) comments from a 'senior Reform source,' who told him that “Restore are welcome to our dregs. Let’s not forget that six of these councillors were expelled from Reform for dishonesty. If this is the Restore’s bar for councillors, then it must be very low indeed.” Lowe simply replied: “There will be more.” That might prove to be hype, and Reform still has 47 councillors at County Hall. We know there has been internal grumbling on Reform’s backbenches, but we do not know whether any others are willing to make the leap. But Restore is clearly trying to present itself as the next destination for anyone who thinks Reform is either too chaotic to function or not radical enough to satisfy its angriest supporters. Across the council, other parties have framed the move as another symptom of instability in the Reform administration. Labour group leader Alister Brady said, “The chaos continues at KCC. There are massive questions over Kemkaran and Collins leadership after the riskiest budget in KCC history.” Lib Dem leader of the opposition, [Antony Hook](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-really-dont-like-party-tribalism/), said: “It is hard to keep track of the ever-changing groups leaving Reform,” adding that his party would continue to argue for “council policies that benefit all the people who live in our wonderful county.” Kent Green group leader Mark Hood said voters who backed Reform “told me they were voting for Nigel, now they find they have voted for Rupert Lowe,” and described Restore as a “flag of convenience” that “flies above a vessel whose cargo is hate and its destination is division.” Conservative leader [Harry Rayner](https://www.kentcurrent.news/nobody-needs-14-councils/) described the expulsions as indicative of a “toxic atmosphere” under KCC leadership, and accused Reform’s leadership of being “asleep at the wheel.” He also said he understood Maxine Fothergill was most likely to lead the new grouping. Fothergill told us that the group leadership position will be voted on internally next Tuesday. At this stage, the practical machinery of the council matters less than it might normally. Committees will be adjusted. Groups will be relabelled. Seats will move. The bigger question is what it means to have an unregistered national project with an extreme platform establishing a foothold inside England’s biggest county council, and whether this is simply a consolidation of the councillors already ejected from Reform, or the beginning of a wider attempt to hollow out Reform’s Kent group from the inside. The next milestone is Tuesday’s internal vote on Restore’s KCC leadership. After that, the more important test is whether Restore’s seven councillors operate as a coherent faction, and whether they choose to anchor themselves locally in the national platform Lowe has published, including mass deportations and reinstating the death penalty, or treat Restore primarily as a local vehicle for grievances about how Reform ran its group. ### Footnotes ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### Turner Contemporary funding becomes the next Reform fight URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/turner-contemporary-funding-becomes-the-next-reform-fight/ Last updated: 2026-02-16T14:39:32.000Z **This week’s Monday briefing leads with a fresh Reform row at County Hall after a cabinet member hinted online that funding for Margate’s Turner Contemporary could be pulled in response to criticism from East Thanet MP Polly Billington. We break down what was said and why the episode matters beyond the immediate argument. Elsewhere in the briefing, there’s a by-election in Hextable, more water disruption in Kings Hill, fallout from the Canterbury Odeon fire, and the usual spread of local politics, planning and community stories from across the county...* ### KCC cabinet member floats pulling Turner funding in a dispute with Thanet’s MP Reform has found a new way to handle criticism, and it involves hinting that other people might lose their funding. After ITV [reported](https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2026-02-11/reform-run-council-accused-of-fantasy-economics-over-claimed-budget-savings?ref=kentcurrent.news) on East Thanet MP Polly Billington’s claim that Kent County Council’s £39.5m 'savings' boast was built on what she called “fantasy economics,” one of Reform’s own cabinet members decided the correct reply was not to publish the paperwork, clarify the language, or do any of the boring local government things a council is meant to do. Instead, David Wimble, KCC’s Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Special Projects, replied on X by suggesting the council could “pull funding” for Margate’s [Turner Contemporary](https://turnercontemporary.org/?ref=kentcurrent.news), adding: “Polly suck it up. We are achieving what you have not managed!” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-16-at-13.21.05.png) Tweet by David Wimble on X. This was not posted into the ether. Wimble’s comment was a direct reply to ITV Meridian political editor Kit Bradshaw’s thread about Billington’s FOI-driven challenge and the council’s defence of its own press release. The sequence is simple. An MP questions a headline number used in official council comms, and a cabinet member floats cutting a cultural institution in her patch. The £39.5m row itself is fairly straightforward. Reform claimed that KCC was 'on course' to deliver £100m savings, had 'reprofiled £39.5m of potential future spend' and reduced debt by £67m. Billington told ITV the claim was false because the £39.5m related to unfunded and unapproved projects with no money allocated in the first place, and she wrote to chief executive Amanda Beer saying there was “nothing to support the assertion” that Reform had saved £39.5m. This sort of argument is part of the usual cut and thrust of local politics. But if your instinct when challenged is to start gesturing at the Turner’s budget line, you are no longer having a dispute about wording. You are doing something else. When challenged on that too, Wimble did not exactly tidy it up. Recent *Kent Current* interviewee [Sunder Katwala](https://www.kentcurrent.news/intent-matters-and-reception-matters/) asked whether pulling Turner funding was a serious proposal, whether it was already the council’s intention, or whether it was simply about annoying Billington. Wimble replied: “Well the mp blames reform for everything,” followed by: “KCC own the building and put hundreds of thousands of tax payers money into it, perhaps she should be a little more grateful.” Another commenter invoked the Nolan Principles. Wimble’s response was, broadly, that after hearing opposition councillors at the budget meeting, you would ask why bother. No 'I was joking.' No 'that’s not how funding decisions work.' Just grievance politics, plus the suggestion that public money should buy gratitude. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/02/AdobeStock_361161895--1-.jpeg) The Turner Contemporary in Margate There are two practical issues underneath the posting. First, the money is real. KCC’s own published grants data lists an funding to the Turner Contemporary of £717,500 for 2023/24\. Whatever you think of the Turner, that is a serious public subsidy. It is also the sort of thing you normally debate through papers, committees and votes, rather than as a flourish under a social media thread about an MP annoying you. If Reform wants to review cultural funding, there is a route for that. Put it in the budget, and let people argue about it properly. Don’t improvise it in the replies. It is also easy to see why this is landing poorly. Last October, [we reported](https://www.kentcurrent.news/a-quiet-test-of-the-rules-at-county/) on Wimble calling a resident a “f@?kwit” beneath an official Kent County Council Facebook post, with the comment remaining visible and no apparent action taken. The point is not the swear word. The point is the pattern. A cabinet member posts like the rules are optional, and nothing much happens. [A quiet test of the rules at County HallPlus KCC hits financial reality, could a Kent MP be the next Tory leader, an lots more![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-21.png)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f184ad66e-2c93-42c6-81fb-cebe187b33e6_1032x1032-jpeg-2.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/a-quiet-test-of-the-rules-at-county/) There is a national echo here too. Earlier this week, Reform’s head of policy, Zia Yusuf, [threatened Bangor University’s public funding](https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2026-02-10/reform-uk-threatens-to-scrap-30m-of-bangor-university-funding-if-elected?ref=kentcurrent.news) after a student debating society declined to host a Q&A involving Reform-linked figures, despite the decision coming from the society rather than the university itself. Different institution, different row, same instinct. If you don’t give us what we want, we start talking about your funding. If KCC wants to cut or change Turner funding, it can propose that openly, justify it, and own it. If a cabinet member wants to pick fights online, he can do that too. But if the message is that public funding is conditional on political obedience, that is not a budget argument. That is a warning. ## Get the Kent Current in your inbox Clear, independent reporting on Kent’s biggest stories without the clickbait. Subscribe for free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Two big reads 1️⃣ The Guardian has [interviewed Margate artist Tracey Emin](https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2026/feb/14/tracey-emin-interview-tate-modern-regrets-smoking?ref=kentcurrent.news), who has some very strong views on Reform. 2️⃣ Searchlight Magazine [reports](https://searchlightmagazine.com/2026/02/soft-pink-branding-hard-right-politics/?ref=kentcurrent.news) on the far-right, anti-migrant Kent Women First Pink Ladies, who are organising events conflating immigration to risks to women's safety. ### Council matters **Meetings this week:** - **Thanet:** [**Cabinet**](https://democracy.thanet.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=151&MId=7260&ref=kentcurrent.news) holds an extraordinary meeting on Monday to discuss the coming budget and leasing part of the Port of Ramsgate for a fish processing and canning plant. - **Swale:** [**Council**](https://services.swale.gov.uk/meetings/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=128&MId=4334&ref=kentcurrent.news) gathers on Wednesday to debate local government reorganisation and the new budget. - **Tonbridge & Malling:** [**Area 2 Planning Committee**](https://democracy.tmbc.gov.uk//ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=148&MId=6027&ref=kentcurrent.news) will decide on an application for 66 new homes in Wateringbury. - **Dartford:** [**Cabinet**](https://dartford.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=105&MId=3408&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Thursday to discuss the budget for the coming year, and to use Community Infrastructure Levy money for new sports facilities in Swanscombe. **New planning applications:** - **Dartford:** Outline planning permission for [277 homes](https://publicaccess.dartford.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=TA1IDFBQ00L00&activeTab=summary&ref=kentcurrent.news) and commercial floorspace on land north of Maidstone Road in Swanley. - **Tonbridge & Malling:** Outline planning permission for [101 homes](https://publicaccess.tmbc.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=TA8ERTQHN4G00&activeTab=summary&ref=kentcurrent.news) north of Hadlow. - **Tunbridge Wells:** Environment screening opinion for [87 homes](https://twbcpa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=TA8S49TY0US00&activeTab=summary&ref=kentcurrent.news) north and south of the A21 at Pembury. ***The Kent Current only exists because some readers choose to pay for it.** *If you value independent reporting on Kent that doesn’t rely on clickbait or theatre, please consider becoming a supporter. An annual subscription costs £1.15 a week and helps keep this work sustainable.* [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) ### In brief 🗳️ Voters in Hextable will [vote in a by-election](https://whocanivotefor.co.uk/elections/local.sevenoaks.hextable.by.2026-03-05/hextable/?ref=kentcurrent.news) for Sevenoaks District Council on 5 March, with Conservative, Lib Dem, Green, Reform, and independent candidates on the ballot. 🟥 Faversham Town FC have [dismissed](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/faversham/news/football-club-drops-player-over-racist-abuse-on-tiktok-video-336448/?ref=kentcurrent.news) a youth player after he filmed himself racially abusing a woman on a TikTok livestream. ⚽ Tonbridge Angels FC claim they are being [threatened](https://tonbridgeangels.co.uk/angels-disrespected-by-local-authority/?ref=kentcurrent.news) by the council to give up some of their land for a new footpath or risk losing their lease when it next comes up for renewal. 👩 Wells Angels WI, a 125 member Women's Institute group in Tunbridge Wells, is [set to close](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/feb/14/womens-institute-groups-close-after-transgender-ban?ref=kentcurrent.news) after the national organisation chose to ban transgender members from the organisation. 🚒 [Fire](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckg8yedp42go?ref=kentcurrent.news) swept through the former Odeon in Canterbury over the weekend. 🥩 Nearly 34 tonnes of illegal meat was [discovered](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwy8e1gd8wko?ref=kentcurrent.news) at the Port of Dover in January, the highest ever monthly total. 🚱 The repeated water supply issues in Tunbridge Wells are set to cost South East Water [£30m](https://www.thetimes.com/uk/environment/article/south-east-water-tunbridge-wells-outage-cost-2k25hb93p?gaa%5Fat=eafs&gaa%5Fn=AWEtsqdwrlSNeZ6jbhm-Lb%5FKHQ96Wpq3msEKsYIauJrcpOg00DAprjnD1d-Jdz67tSE%3D&gaa%5Fts=6992ee3c&gaa%5Fsig=IfMzbAhAMIQAMqzmAj8o2zTqrfajW4Suxk75Fa0JyreGI6Y8nWlgUJC9ioXmv5EwowGmVoOqDj2QRNem9MH6sw%3D%3D&ref=kentcurrent.news), which they definitely won't pass back on to customers via their bills. 🚰 More water issues hit Kent this week, with residents in Kings Hill [losing supply](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/malling/news/it-s-totally-unacceptable-dozens-of-homes-without-water-336295/?ref=kentcurrent.news) for around 24 hours. 💷 Swanscombe and Greenhithe Town Council has increased its precept by 42%, [claiming](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dartford/news/council-hikes-tax-by-42-amid-real-risk-it-could-run-out-336392/?ref=kentcurrent.news) it could run out of money in months. 🏫 Kent County Council has [welcomed](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/government-write-off-of-send-deficits-welcomed-by-kent-county-council?ref=kentcurrent.news) the government's announcement that it will write off 90% of historic Special Educational Needs and Disabilities deficits built up by local councils. 🏗️ Margate Winter Gardens could be [restored](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy9ge71ww5jo?ref=kentcurrent.news) and reopened. 💸 £125,000 had to be handed back after [no agreement](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/faversham/news/council-returns-125k-as-decade-long-battle-for-bridge-hits-336320/?ref=kentcurrent.news) could be found to replace a bridge in Faversham. 🛗 Thanet District Council has earmarked £120,000 to restore Eastcliff lift in Ramsgate. 🧰 Residents of Arlington House in Margate have been told they could face [repair bills](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cyv970141pro?ref=kentcurrent.news) of up to £40,000 each. 🏖️ New beach huts in Herne Bay have been [slashed in price](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/herne-bay/news/council-slashes-price-of-new-beach-huts-branded-too-expensi-336421/?ref=kentcurrent.news) after struggling to sell. 🏊 Preliminary work has [begun](https://www.willmottdixon.co.uk/news/willmott-dixon-starts-preliminary-work-on-gravesends-new-cascades-leisure-centre?ref=kentcurrent.news) on Gravesend's new Cascades Leisure Centre. 🏅 One man from Tunbridge Wells is [responsible](https://kent-current.ghost.io/ghost/?ref=kentcurrent.news#/editor/post/6992d6e9324c2e0001ffb296) for two-thirds of Britain's Winter Olympic medals so far. ⛷️ The Winter Olympics have also led to a [surge in bookings](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cde47593e4eo?ref=kentcurrent.news) at Chatham Snowsports Centre. 🎬 Two recent films featured scenes shot in Kent. Wuthering Heights [filmed](https://kentfilmoffice.co.uk/filmed-in-kent/2026/02/wuthering-heights-2026/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Knole Park in Sevenoaks, while Hamlet [filmed](https://kentfilmoffice.co.uk/filmed-in-kent/2026/01/hamlet-2026/?ref=kentcurrent.news) on the A249 at Queenborough. ☎️ Traditional red phoneboxes around Canterbury city centre are [up for sale](https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/171550940?ref=kentcurrent.news#/), but you aren't allowed to move them. 👷 A lovely [transformation](https://www.dezeen.com/2026/02/15/felix-lewis-architects-the-works/amp/?ref=kentcurrent.news) of a Grade II-listed building in East Farleigh. 💩 Shoppers in Folkestone are [upset](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/folkestone/news/growing-concerns-as-dog-mess-found-inside-major-retail-store-336398/?ref=kentcurrent.news) about the level of dog poo in The Range. ### Property of the week This week’s Property of the Week is a two-bedroom Grade II-listed terraced cottage on Aylesford High Street, which is basically the Kent property market doing what it does best: taking somewhere genuinely pretty, adding a few centuries of history, and putting it right in the middle of the village so you can walk to the river in about a minute. Inside, it leans heavily into the period charm, with original details, a cosy living room, a compact kitchen with access to the outside, and two bedrooms upstairs, plus a slightly unusual lobby space that feels like it belongs in a house that’s been evolving for a long time. It’s close to the cafés, pubs and shops in the village, with Aylesford station and the M20 not far away for anyone trying to make 'idyllic' compatible with 'commute,' and it’s on for £425,000. [Check out this 2 bedroom terraced house for sale on Rightmove2 bedroom terraced house for sale in High Street, AYLESFORD, Kent, ME20 for £425,000\. Marketed by Bairstow Eves, Maidstone![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/favicon-3.ico)Rightmove.co.uk![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/b14cd62179d144dd8fb2ee63336e3607.jpeg)](https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/172214162?ref=kentcurrent.news#/?channel=RES%5FBUY) ### Events this week 🎤 17 - 18 Feb - [**Stewart Lee vs The Man-Wulf**](https://marlowetheatre.com/shows/stewart-lee-vs-the-man-wulf-2/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Lee shares the stage with the tough-talking werewolf of his subconscious. Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury. Tickets £31\. *Also at* [*Central Theatre*](https://www.medwayticketslive.co.uk/event/Stewart-Lee-vs-The-Man-Wulf?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, Chatham on 19-20 Sep* 📖 Fri 20 Feb - [**Garth Marenghi's The Bursted Earth book tour**](https://www.parkwoodtheatres.co.uk/hazlitt-theatre/whats-on/garth-marenghi?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Cult author performs from his upcoming horror collection. Hazlitt Theatre, Maidstone. Tickets £22.50. 📖 20 Feb - 1 Mar - [**Faversham Literary Festival**](https://www.favershamliteraryfestival.org/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // 80 events featuring some renowned literary figures. Various venues, Faversham. Various ticket prices. 🚂 Sun 22 Feb - [**Michael Portillo: A Life of Two Halves**](https://marlowetheatre.com/shows/michael-portillo-a-life-of-two-halves/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Former Secretary of State and current railway enthusiast talks about both parts of his life. Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury. Tickets from £32\. *Also at* [*Assembly Hall*](https://www.assemblyhalltheatre.co.uk/whats-on/michael-portillo-a-life-of-two-halves.html?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, Tunbridge Wells on 27 Feb* ### **Footnotes** ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### “I didn't really feel like a person anymore” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-didnt-really-feel-like-a-person-anymore/ Last updated: 2026-08-19T08:42:59.000Z [*Helen Zaltzman*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen%5FZaltzman?ref=kentcurrent.news) *has been podcasting for almost 20 years and now resides in Canada, a long way from her hometown of Tunbridge Wells. Steven spoke to talk about how she started podcasting, her work on* [*The Allusionist*](https://www.theallusionist.org/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *and* [*Answer Me This!*](https://answermethispodcast.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and lots more...* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/02/HZ-headshot-ruins-1.JPG) Helen Zaltzman **What is your official occupation?** Oh god. Podcaster, I suppose. **Do you have any additional roles, paid or unpaid?** I guess I'm a writer. I perform. I suppose those are my main roles. **When you say writer, is that books?** The podcast is largely a writing job. I have to write live shows. I do need to work on a book. I just don't have that much time. Often, it's writing material for performance, but it has to be written somehow. I used to write for papers, but it's a long time now. **Is the book connected to the podcast, or will it be something completely different?** Let's see what comes out. There's nothing to report, really. People have been asking for years, and I have demurred, but now my agent keeps emailing me, so I have to do something. > Language is a really complicated thing that we use all the time **What is the podcast?** I have two podcasts. One is [Answer Me This!](https://answermethispodcast.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news), a podcast where we answer questions from the audience, and that's been running since 2007\. The other is [The Allusionist](https://www.theallusionist.org/?ref=kentcurrent.news), which is an entertainment show about how language works. I do have to emphasise entertainment, because people just think that is going to be boring as shit. But the fact is language is a really complicated thing that we use all the time. I was never really taught anything about it, and I think that was unfortunate. The more you think about it, the more interesting it gets. **What led to you launching Answer Me This in 2007?** God, it's such a long time ago now that it feels like what I'm doing is repeating a story that I heard. My friend from university, [Olly Mann](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olly%5FMann?ref=kentcurrent.news), said, 'Do you want to do a podcast?' I had no reason to say no because I didn't know what they were. I had no related skills. Then we had to figure out how everything worked, because there wasn't help. I think it was good to have to learn from scratch, how to do things because I don't really like following other people's guidelines that much. It's funny to contemplate because it's so different now. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/02/AMT-logo-2025-1-1.png) Answer Me This! **What podcast would there have been back in 2007 to listen to get an idea?** Oh, I didn't listen to a podcast until I'd been making one for a year. Ricky Gervais had a big podcast. I never liked Ricky Gervais' work, so I didn't listen to it. Then there were cut down radio shows. There was [Adam and Joe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam%5Fand%5FJoe?ref=kentcurrent.news)'s then XFM show, and I loved Adam and Joe. I guess technically I'd heard that on podcast, but it was a radio show repackaged. There were podcasts by non-radio people that I wouldn't have known how to find then. I didn't have an iPod. iPhones didn't exist when we started the show. Discovery was so different. **Was Martin the sound man involved from the very beginning?** He was involved from the very beginning because Olly and I didn't know how to record sound, and luckily Martin, my now husband, then live-in boyfriend, was making music, and he had microphones. He had the ability to use them. Then, because we had made him help us and he was going to be in the room while we were recording, we thought we'd better put him on mic so that if he mutters during the show, it's at least audible rather than in the background and something that's annoying, but not legible or the audio equivalent of legible. Then he became a character. **The questions you've been asked on the show are really quite eclectic. How much work goes into preparing the answers, and how much is off the cuff?** Olly and I have to go through our inbox, and we do that together. We make a long list of which questions deserve to come out of the inbox and onto a Google Doc. Then we go through that. Some, we did something a bit similar recently, we'll hold it even though this is a good question. Some of them, maybe in the future, or it's a Christmas question, but it's April. Then we go through and we pick. Not sure how many it is now, between around seven to ten questions. You want a variety, you don't want everything to be factual, you don't want everything to be emotional. Then we arrange it. Quite lot goes into it, actually. We're trying to pace the show. This would lead on to this, and this would be a tonal contrast. Then we divide up by who's interested in taking the lead on something and doing the factual research into whatever, or who's got a story that matches what the question's about. None of the questions are a surprise, but what comes out of our brains can be a surprise, and we don't know what the other's going to say usually. There's substantial editing. That frees you up to experiment in the moment with the recording and also to say things that aren't necessarily interesting or aren't necessarily going to be funny or aren't necessarily going to work or you can make a factual correction having blundered. It's two or three days of editing per episode. > You can't really know what a podcast is until you are doing it **What was the impetus to launch The Allusionist?** The impetus was that a friend of mine named [Roman Mars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman%5FMars?ref=kentcurrent.news) was staying with me on a visit to London, and he had recently started a podcast collective called [Radiotopia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiotopia?ref=kentcurrent.news), and he'd been a big fan of Answer Me This! for a long time. I knew he liked my work, and he makes [99% Invisible](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/99%25%5FInvisible?ref=kentcurrent.news), which is about design and the minutiae of that. I want to make a show like that, but about language. At the time, he was looking for people to be on Radiotopia who could reliably deliver two episodes a month. He agreed just based on that idea and managed to get funding for it from Mailchimp for a couple of years, just to get it off the ground. That's what greenlit the show. I didn't know anything about what the show would be until I was making it, which I think is quite a good thing now. I think now people are much more likely to do extensive piloting, and that's never been my process. I think you can't really know what a podcast is until you are doing it. That's how it works for me. If I'm not learning while I'm doing it, I don't want to. I'm not interested. **Who is Veronica Mars, and why did you decide to do a** [**podcast**](https://vmipod.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news) **about her?** [Veronica Mars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veronica%5FMars?ref=kentcurrent.news) is a TV detective played by [Kristen Bell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristen%5FBell?ref=kentcurrent.news). At the start, she's a teen detective at high school investigating her best friend's murder and her mother's disappearance. A three-season TV show cancelled to much upset from fans from 2004 to 2007\. Then there was a big Kickstarter to revive it with a film in 2014\. There's two canonical books. Then there's a 2019 reboot series that made the fans really angry. So, maybe that is the end of Veronica Mars. The reason I started doing a podcast about her in 2019 is that I really wanted to make a podcast that was fun and had a shape that wasn't provided by me, and that I didn't have to figure out what happened, and it had an endpoint. Podcasts that recap TV shows were becoming popular, like [West Wing Weekly](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The%5FWest%5FWing%5FWeekly?ref=kentcurrent.news), which really made the genre good. [Rishi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hrishikesh%5FHirway?ref=kentcurrent.news), who makes West Wing Weekly, was a friend of mine, and I was talking to him about this, and he thought I should make a show about Veronica Mars, with his friend Jenny. He introduced me to [Jenny Owen Youngs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenny%5FOwen%5FYoungs?ref=kentcurrent.news), a musician who also does a [show recapping Buffy the Vampire Slayer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffering%5Fthe%5FVampire%5FSlayer?ref=kentcurrent.news). It's an interesting project to take the full canon of something and consider it in an overly detailed way. **Was there a reason for that show in particular?** I think because there's enough of it to get your teeth into, but it's not too long. You're not trapped doing this show for ten years. It's a very interesting show because some of it has dated super badly, and some of it wasn't that good to start with, but some of it is still incredible television. A lot of the actors are really excellent. People are still discovering it, and they're still enjoying it. It doesn't feel completely moribund or like a product totally from the past. I'm not sure what else, what other shows I would do that piqued my interest as much. **Why did you decide to end Answer Me This?** **Subscribers can read on as Helen talks about burnout, growing up in Kent, leaving Britain, moving to Canada, and what comes next after nearly 20 years of podcasting...* _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Kent’s budget vote was easy, but the numbers are not URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/kents-budget-vote-was-easy-but-the-numbers-are-not/ Last updated: 2026-02-13T18:53:46.000Z **Reform has passed its first budget at Kent County Council, with a 3.99% council tax rise and persistent questions over how long the council can rely on reserves to balance the books...* ### Kent gets its first Reform budget as the reserves question hangs over it “Today, we are all witnessing history,” declared Kent County Council's deputy leader Brian Collins as the chamber began debating Reform’s first budget. It was an ambitious opening line for a meeting that would last from 9:30am into the evening, generate 12 amendments, and eventually include the council chamber’s most urgent policy clarification: “We are not removing the pot plants.” The basics are simple. KCC has now set its 2026/27 budget, including a 3.99% council tax increase. The budget passed, 48 votes to 26, with one abstention. The [press release](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/kent-county-council-sets-202627-budget-and-council-tax-at-3.99-below-the-national-5-cap?ref=kentcurrent.news) afterwards presented this as a calm, sensible, low-tax act of competence. The chamber mostly treated it as a referendum on whether Reform can run the place without turning the medium-term finances into performance art. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/02/KC_Council-budget.jpg) Reform’s pitch was that the council has been left with a debt problem, out-of-control costs, and a general 'why is everything like this' legacy. Collins said the administration’s priorities include “reducing long-term debt while protecting essential services,” referring to paying down significant debt and reducing day-to-day costs. On adult social care, he claimed the overspend is starting to reduce. “The ship is turning slowly but firmly,” he said, a phrase that would later return like a boomerang. He offered numbers, too. Collins celebrated more than 38,500 potholes being fixed across Kent this year, apparently more than the previous year. He argued that a 3.99% council tax rise would add £47m to the budget while keeping the increase below the national 5% cap. This was meant to sound like Reform doing something different. Today was history, remember. We were all meant to feel it. Reform’s leader, Cllr [Linden Kemkaran](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-think-theres-a-lot-gone-wrong-with/), followed with the political framing. She said they had to raise council tax because of the “dire legacy” they were left. She described budget reports as being “impenetrable” to the average person and said the council had produced documents in an easy-to-understand format as a result. She also claimed the administration is planning for no future council tax increases, as council tax rises should be a last resort. It was an attractive promise delivered in a room full of people who have spent years watching “attractive promises” collide with demand, inflation, and reality. The opposition response began with the sort of polite throat-clearing local government reserves for its fiercest moments. Lib Dem councillor [Antony Hook](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-really-dont-like-party-tribalism/), leader of the opposition, thanked staff for their work in a “year of chaos” and then got straight to the point: Reform candidates promised to cut council tax and are now raising it, and choosing not to go to the maximum comes at a cost. He called it a “casino budget,” saying it exposes KCC to over £400m of financial risk that reserves don’t exist to cover. He listed cuts he said were contained in the budget and noted that the budget book itself describes infrastructure as being in a state of “managed decline.” It was the turn of the Conservatives next. Cllr [Harry Rayner](https://www.kentcurrent.news/nobody-needs-14-councils/) described it as a “gambler’s budget,” with the kind of rhetorical confidence you only develop if you’ve been in county halls long enough to understand that everyone will call it a “gambler’s budget” as soon as it isn’t your budget. “This budget is held together by string and tie,” he said, accusing the administration of “using reserves in industrial quantities,” and arguing Reform has not demonstrated the competence to deliver it. At this point, the meeting developed a side plot about whether anyone would withdraw anything. Kemkaran objected when Rayner claimed her party used “threats and bluster,” calling it defamatory and asking him to withdraw. He did not. Then we received the first clear sign that Reform’s tolerance for criticism would not be expressed in the soothing language of cross-party consensus. Collins returned to respond to the opposition and opened with: “What a load of waffle.” He called the Lib Dems “indecisive” with “no policies of any worth.” He said Rayner should hang his head in shame. He dismissed Green comments as “a load of bluster.” He said the Independent Group doesn’t understand the basics of accountancy. And then, in what will almost certainly become the most memorable line of the day for people who do not read budget papers for fun, he insisted that “we are not removing the pot plants.” The budget did say they were removing the pot plants. Collins was here to reassure Kent that indoor greenery would indeed survive. The amendments then started. The first was from the Greens, proposing funding to mitigate Kent Travel Saver price increases and maintain post-19 services, to be funded through a council tax increase and a series of reductions, including removing political assistant spending and allowances. Cllr Stepto, seconding it, briefly said, “I don’t know why we need cabinet members,” then corrected himself to say deputy cabinet members, drawing laughter. A Reform councillor responded by becoming visibly upset that the Greens were proposing to raise council tax. Another Reform councillor went further, referencing bus pressures and then drifting into a shout about “net stupid zero,” because every political argument eventually tries to escape into a culture war at the first opportunity. The Greens framed their proposal as small, targeted, and preventative. Reform framed it as irresponsible tax-raising. The vote was decisive with 5 for, 53 against, and 20 abstentions. It would become a familiar pattern. The second Green amendment sought £4.4m set aside for local government reorganisation, again funded by a council tax increase. Reform responded by emphasising reserves and uncertainty. One councillor described it as “taxing the people of Kent for something that might not happen.” It failed too along similar numbers. Labour then brought a monster amendment that proposed investing money to save money. Reform members responded with a mixture of “well intentioned” and “already being actioned.” It failed. Labour tried again with a second amendment on efficiency. Collins dismissed it as “an attempt to submit a budget, not an amendment.” It failed. At one point, Cllr Alister Brady accused Collins of making an untrue statement and asked him to withdraw it. “Alas,” he noted, “Cllr Collins has left the room.” The meeting then moved into the wider debate on the full budget, and the day’s other running theme began to take over: whether rules were going to be enforced consistently, or only as a sort of gentle suggestion. Reform's Cllr Spencer Dixon opened the debate by criticising other parties and calling Cllr Brady “ChatGPT-powered,” while also sneering that the Greens were “showing their true colours.” The Chair asked if this was on the budget. Dixon said it was. Brady cited the constitution, which states that speeches must not criticise other members. Chair Palmer said it was “close to the knuckle,” but was content to let it go. The metaphors returned. Lib Dem councillor Cllr Sole called the budget “reckless and shortsighted,” then came back to Collins’ earlier image, noting that he claimed the ship was turning firmly but slowly, before quipping that “the last person to say that was the captain of the Titanic.” It was the sort of line that makes councillors laugh and finance officers stare into the distance. ***Kent Current only exists because some readers choose to pay for it.** *If you value independent reporting on Kent that doesn’t rely on clickbait or theatre, please consider becoming a supporter. An annual subscription costs £1.15 a week and helps keep this work sustainable.* [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) ## Get the Kent Current in your inbox Clear, independent reporting on Kent’s biggest stories. No ads, no clickbait. Subscribe for free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. Reform councillors tried to wrestle the narrative back to competence and restraint, but the opposition kept dragging it back to risk and reserves. This reached its purest form when Reform councillor Cllr Wayne Chapman told the chamber, to laughter from opposition benches, that “A budget that relies on reserves to meet funding commitments is not financially responsible.” That is the kind of sentence that sounds completely normal unless you've read the budget documents that Reform were putting forward. The [Section 25 assurance statement](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/documents/s134607/Section%2025%20Assurance%20Statement.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) confirms the budget is balanced and lawful. But it also warns that choosing a council tax rise below the maximum permitted creates long-term financial risk because the income is forgone from the base, and that reserves are already tight. It goes further than the usual careful phrasing and warns that further unplanned drawdowns would pose a significant and existential risk to the council’s medium-to-long-term sustainability. That is not a headline. It is a warning label. The [budget report](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/documents/s134609/Reforming%20Kents%20Budget%20-%20County%20Council%20Report.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) itself is explicit about how KCC is balancing the books this year. It relies on £25m of one-off solutions, with £9m from flexible use of capital receipts and £16m from reserves no longer needed for their original purpose. This is not an allegation, it is the plan. The Section 25 statement then makes the obvious point that turns a balanced budget into a time bomb if you ignore it. One-off measures can be acceptable as a bridge, but they must be replaced with sustainable solutions in 2027/28\. In other words, you can get through this year, but you can’t keep doing it without consequences. This is the core tension Reform is now choosing to live inside. In the chamber, they framed 3.99% as a moral achievement. But leaving council tax headroom unused has a cumulative impact over time. If the strategic argument was about risk, the symbolic argument was about political assistants. Over and over, amendments sought to redirect funds earmarked for political assistants to services that sound more defensible on the doorstep. The Lib Dems explicitly framed one run of amendments as forcing Reform to vote down alternative uses for that line repeatedly. “We are going to make you do this three times,” Cllr Streatfeild said. The fight was not really about £140,000 in a £1.65bn budget. It was about what Reform has chosen to prioritise, while also discussing restraint, risk, and frontline protection. It was also about whether Reform would ever justify that choice in public without reaching for the 'already voted through' defence. This is where the chairing became part of the story. During a Conservative amendment on the political assistants line, Reform councillor Jeremy Eustace tried to move straight to the vote without debate, and the Chair Richard Palmer, a Reform councillor, was minded to agree. That meant no real debate was allowed on that amendment, after nine previous amendments had been fully debated, with the Chair called the discussions “very repetitive.” Lib Dem Cllr Streatfeild defended the right of the Conservatives to have their motion discussed. It was voted down anyway, but it appeared the administration did not want to keep defending this budget line. The mood was not exactly softened by what happened elsewhere in the debate. During a point of order later by Labour's Cllr Brady, one Reform councillor yelled “Boring!” and the Chair took no action. At another point, Cllr Eustace encouraged everyone to visit the Grand Canyon. “The photographs don’t do it justice,” he said. Which is certainly true, but it raised the question of whether the budget was performing so well that we could begin offering travel recommendations. In the middle of the afternoon, Cllr Bill Barrett of the Independent Reformers made what was arguably the most human argument of the day, complaining about funding cuts affecting organisations like Age UK and asking why you would remove crisis grants from a £1.65bn budget. “Not everything we do has to be statutory,” he said. “We have to have a moral angle to what we do.” It was a striking contrast to a debate that had often been reduced to 'tax bad' versus 'risk bad' shouted across the chamber. Streatfeild returned later with a different kind of moral framing. He accused Reform of delivering “a budget full of broken promises,” and said “Reform is smashing the family piggy bank.” Then he landed the line that will live on far longer than anything in Appendix D: “You can’t polish a turd, but you can cover it in glitter. Here it is, and it stinks.” At some points, you could feel the Chair’s patience thinning as much as the council’s reserves. He read out the list of those still waiting to speak and announced he would not accept any further speakers so “we can still get lunch at a reasonable time.” Priorities were clarified. By the time the meeting reached the directorate-by-directorate stage after lunch, the pattern was clear. Adult social care amendments were voted down. Children and young people amendments were voted down. An Independent Reformers amendment proposing an in-house homecare pilot funded from earmarked reserves was mocked by a Reform councillor as “our very own Mills & Boone,” before the chair asked her not to refer to councillors like that. The amendment, of course, still failed. Given the numbers in the room, it was always likely that the amendments proposed would fail. But it was striking how closed off Reform was to any efforts to tweak even tiny parts of the budget. No concessions, no blinking, then move on. The chamber was a messy, exhausting demonstration of what Reform’s first year in charge will feel like if nothing changes: a majority determined to hold the line, an opposition determined to brand every decision as reckless, and a finance officer quietly insisting that 'balanced and lawful' does not mean 'safe.' Reform will now claim it delivered a budget that protects frontline services while keeping council tax below the maximum. It will say that is what competence looks like. Some of its councillors openly promised that every household would receive a leaflet saying the opposition wanted higher council tax. That feels like the sort of 'easy to understand format' Kemkaran had in mind. The opposition will claim this is a budget that relies on one-offs and reserves while leaving long-term income on the table, and that the council is therefore taking on risk it cannot afford. Both sides will, in their own way, be right. But the real test is not what happened in a stifling chamber on a Thursday. It is what happens when the next financial pressure hits and the council has to decide whether its “low tax” brand matters more than the warning label already printed on its own paperwork. Or, to put it in the chamber’s language: the ship may be turning slowly but firmly, but at some point you do have to look up from the pot plants and check whether you’re still heading for open water. ### Footnotes ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### Reform's new DOLGE boss is extremely online URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/reforms-new-dolge-boss-is-extremely-online/ Last updated: 2026-02-09T15:08:44.000Z **Reform’s flagship efficiency project at Kent County Council is back in the spotlight this week, following a cabinet appointment that raises fresh questions about credibility, competence and communication at County Hall. We look at why the replacement of the council’s efficiency lead matters, what it tells us about the state of Reform’s budget narrative, and how parts of the local media have handled the story. Elsewhere in this edition, we cover the continuing fallout from Kent’s water failures, growing scrutiny over the closure of Dreamland’s Scenic Railway, local government reorganisation, planning battles across the county, and the mix of culture, protest and local oddities that make up another busy week in Kent...* ### A new appointment and a familiar credibility problem Reform has replaced Cllr Matthew Fraser-Moat as Kent County Council’s cabinet member for 'Local Government Efficiency,' with Cllr Christopher Hespe taking over. That would be a routine reshuffle if DOLGE were a routine portfolio. It isn’t. DOLGE is Reform’s flagship brand, launched to prove the waste is real, the savings are there, and the grown-ups have finally arrived to sort it out. Which is why it is perhaps odd that this reset feels less like a fresh start and more like Reform swapping one headache for another. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/02/AdobeStock_1228302120_Editorial_Use_Only.jpeg) **Catch up** Fraser-Moat resigned after comments to the Financial Times in which he said the council “had not actually made any cuts” since Reform took control. He later described it as a “lapse of judgement,” blamed the pressure of the role and running a family business, and said his words had been “twisted to fit into an anti-KCC narrative.” As [we set out last week](https://www.kentcurrent.news/reforms-first-kcc-budget-and-the-numbers-it-cant-escape/), the budget story underneath all this didn’t change. The papers show a council balancing by narrowing the margin for error with thinning reserves, big structural risks sitting in plain sight, and a savings programme officers themselves rate as likely to slip in places. Whatever Reform wants DOLGE to represent, the numbers describe a council managing scarcity, not one uncovering a hidden pool of easy wins. **What KCC says happened** [KCC’s press release](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/Kent-County-Council-appoints-Cabinet-Member-for-Local-Government-Efficiency?ref=kentcurrent.news) announcing Hespe is straight continuity messaging. Council leader [Linden Kemkaran](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-think-theres-a-lot-gone-wrong-with/) says he was “instrumental” in shaping and delivering the efficiency programme in this year’s budget, helping identify “substantial savings” to support a “balanced and responsible budget” while “protect\[ing\] essential frontline services.” She adds that “further efficiencies” are already identified in the medium-term plan. Kemkaran then went further on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story%5Ffbid=pfbid03DvjuWPAiihav7gjouVhrFXUPkTi4RoWomL5EofKfBY4if11zgEpWS5qT7Z2LDmxl&id=100077735710808). She complained about “confusing reports” and said the media is “obsessed,” claimed Reform has reduced borrowing by £67m and put the council on track for £100m in savings, and insisted these are “facts, not promises.” She argued the Financial Times comments were “twisted beyond recognition,” framing them as a casual conversation stripped of context, and described Fraser-Moat as “deeply honourable,” resigning because he realised his mistake in thinking an informal chat would remain informal. **Local media steps aside** KentOnline treated the appointment as a [tidy handover story](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/kcc-appoints-new-efficiency-chief-following-resignation-336171/?ref=kentcurrent.news). It repeated the council leader’s praise, lifted the bulk of the quote block, and framed the change largely as the natural next step after Fraser-Moat’s resignation. If you read only that version, the main takeaway is that Reform has a new efficiency chief and that everything is under control. The problem is what isn’t there. There’s no real attempt to add context on who Hespe is beyond his title and ward, and no interest in the kind of public behaviour that tends to matter when you’ve just put someone in charge of a flagship efficiency project. In this case, treating a council press release as a finished piece of journalism doesn’t just look lazy. It leaves readers less informed precisely when they need the most information. **Who Hespe is, in public** Hespe is [prolific on X](https://x.com/hespe%5Fchris?ref=kentcurrent.news). His bio describes him as an 'ordinary guy with wide interests,' a sport scientist who is legally trained, an ex-corporate director, and 'easily amused.' On his appointment, he posted that he’s looking forward to “driving efficiencies,” “embedding cost-consciousness,” and “seeking value for money” across “all the valued services.” The same active councillor account shows what he chooses to amplify alongside that. He has reposted 'UN Agenda 2030' content presented as a 'New World Order' plot: one-world government, forced digital ID, microchipping, '15-minute zones,' 'world depopulation,' and plenty more besides. He has reposted pro-Kremlin framing on Ukraine, including claims the US staged a coup in 2014 and the familiar biolabs line. He has shared AI-generated political content too, including a Trump–Starmer clip where a foreign leader attacks the UK's Prime Minister, framed as something 'people in the UK' want. He reposts culture-war content with the same enthusiasm. One repost mocks transgender people via a Normandy joke about 'transgender soldiers' in 'high heels and plastic wigs,' attached to an image of a 'Royal British Legion Pride Poppy.' He also boosts anti-climate change content framed around CO₂ benefits, including the claim that life on earth is being 'stunted' due to insufficient CO₂. None of this is hidden. It’s all posted publicly, under his name, while serving as a Reform councillor, from the account he still uses. **The deleted accounts and the live one** In October, [we reported](https://www.kentcurrent.news/not-magic/) on screenshots published by Hope Not Hate and circulated by ReformExposed that appeared to show Hespe reposting or writing offensive material in 2023, including anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant content and praise for Tommy Robinson. Hope Not Hate said he didn’t answer a request for comment. It’s worth separating that from what’s happening now, because the easy defence is 'old account, old story.' The Hope Not Hate/ReformExposed screenshots related to old accounts that were deleted. The examples above are from his current, active councillor account. So this isn’t just about historic posts resurfacing. It’s about what he’s choosing to boost now, as he steps into a cabinet post designed to signal seriousness. **Why it matters** DOLGE was never just an internal efficiency programme. Reform launched it as a political symbol, proof that the waste is obvious, that previous administrations were either incompetent or complicit, and that Reform would fix it by being tougher and smarter. Last week’s budget papers showed something less dramatic and more worrying: A council balancing by thinning resilience, leaning on savings officers rate as likely to slip, and leaving itself less room for anything to go wrong. When that mismatch was said out loud to a journalist from a national newspaper, the portfolio holder for efficiency resigned. The replacement is a councillor whose public footprint is a steady stream of conspiracies, culture-war bait and geopolitical hot takes. If your flagship project is built on competence and credibility, the credibility of the person running it isn’t a side issue. **What’s next** Kemkaran’s line is that the media mangled an informal conversation, Reform is delivering real savings, and Hespe will take DOLGE “to the next level.” That case might be easier to make if the administration didn’t keep picking fights with itself. The question for Kent is simple. With finances this tight, why choose a figure who turns a competence project into another rolling comms problem? The question for parts of the local press is simpler still. If the press release is the whole story, what exactly are you adding? ## Get the Kent Current in your inbox Clear, independent reporting on Kent’s biggest stories. No ads, no clickbait. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Three big reads 1️⃣ UnHerd has [been to visit Tunbridge Wells](https://unherd.com/2026/01/tunbridge-wells-is-still-disgusted/?ref=kentcurrent.news), and claims its 'paranoid politics' is 'fragmenting.' Cheery. 2️⃣ In happier news, [Thanet's last surviving youth centre has been saved](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/feb/05/charity-young-people-campaign-youth-centre-funding-deprived-coast-pie-factory-music-ramsgate?ref=kentcurrent.news) after a grant was made available to allow the current operators to purchase the building from Kent County Council, who wanted to auction it off. 3️⃣ The Guardian [isn't impressed by Kent County Council's looming budget](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/feb/07/reform-run-kent-council-accused-of-fabricating-40m-net-zero-savings?ref=kentcurrent.news), pointing out that claims of cuts by council leadership hinge on unfunded ideas briefly listed in budget documents. ### Council matters **Meetings this week:** - **Canterbury:** [**Cabinet**](https://democracy.canterbury.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=755&MId=13843&ref=kentcurrent.news) comes together tonight (Monday) to decide on council tax for the coming year and to increase car parking charges. - **Maidstone:** [**Overview & Scrutiny Committee**](https://meetings.maidstone.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=699&MId=5620&ref=kentcurrent.news) will look at the decision to improve the public realm in Earl Street as the Conservatives have called the decision in. - **Medway:** [**Cabinet**](https://democracy.medway.gov.uk/mgCalendarMonthView.aspx?GL=1&bcr=1&ref=localauthority.news) meets on Tuesday to approve the draft budget, a new River Medway strategy, a suicide and self-harm prevention strategy, and lots more. - **Tonbridge & Malling:** [**Cabinet**](https://democracy.tmbc.gov.uk//ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=146&MId=6028&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets to set the budget for the coming year on Tuesday. - **Folkestone & Hythe:** [**Cabinet**](https://folkestone-hythe.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=142&MId=5629&ref=kentcurrent.news) gets together on Wednesday to discuss a lot of financial items. - **Maidstone:** [**Cabinet**](https://meetings.maidstone.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=748&MId=5609&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Wednesday to talk finances and planning for the Heathlands and Lidsing developments. - **Thanet:** [**Overview & Scrutiny Panel**](https://democracy.thanet.gov.uk/documents/s94830/Arlington%20House%20-%20Extraordinary%20OSP%2011%20February%202026%20-%20Google%20Docs.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) will discuss the state of Arlington House in Margate on Wednesday. - **Kent:** [**County Council**](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=113&MId=9801&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Thursday to pass the budget for the coming year. Expect political theatrics, before Reform are ultimately able to push it through. - **Ashford:** [**Cabinet**](https://ashford.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=136&MId=4920&ref=kentcurrent.news) gathers on Thursday to discuss the revenue budget for the coming year. - **Canterbury:** [**Overview Committee**](https://democracy.canterbury.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=798&MId=13859&ref=kentcurrent.news) will consider various options for the expansion of the Wincheap Park & Ride facility on Thursday. - **Sevenoaks:** [**Cabinet**](https://cds.sevenoaks.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=120&MId=3563&J=1&ref=kentcurrent.news) will talk finances, public space protection orders, and procuring a partner to redevelop parts of the town centre on Thursday. **New planning applications:** - **Dartford:** [69 homes](https://publicaccess.dartford.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=T7Q3BCBQFWE00&ref=kentcurrent.news) and extensive commercial floor space is planned as part of a redevelopment in the centre of the town. - **Folkestone & Hythe:** Plans to convert a former toilet block into a [war memorial](https://folkestonehythedc.my.site.com/PR3/s/planning-application/a1nbH00000bSh85QAC/252308fh?c%5F%5Fr=Arcus%5FBE%5FPublic%5FRegister&ref=kentcurrent.news). - **Medway:** [100 homes](https://publicaccess1.medway.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=T9Z9VGKNGJ600&activeTab=summary&ref=localauthority.news) are proposed south of Higham Road and east of Buckland Road in Cliffe. ### In brief 🗣️ The government's [formal consultation on local government reorganisation](https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/local-government-reorganisation-in-kent-and-medway?ref=kentcurrent.news) is underway, allowing interested parties to submit views via the portal's complex form. [The final countdown to a new KentPlus what is happening at KCC this week, a Canterbury by-election, news in brief, and more![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-17.png)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fa296b92f-8674-4905-aec2-aa7d5688ec77_2500x1406-jpeg-2.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-final-countdown-to-a-new-kent/) 🗳️ Tonbridge is set to get a [town council](https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/leafy-kent-town-set-new-10796309?ref=kentcurrent.news), as districts across the county rush to create new bodies in the wake of local government reorganisation. 🥀 KentOnline managed to find [two Kent Labour MPs](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/two-kent-labour-mps-back-starmer-amid-leadership-challenge-s-336132/?ref=kentcurrent.news) who said they were still backing Keir Starmer, who, as we write this, is still in post, despite there being ten Labour MPs in the county. ➡️ Searchlight Magazine has alleged that Reform councillors in Swale are [backing far-right activists](https://searchlightmagazine.com/2026/02/reform-backs-extremists-causing-chaos-at-swale-council-meetings/?ref=kentcurrent.news) who keep disrupting council meetings. 🎓 Formal approval has been given for the University of Kent and University of Greenwich to [merge from August](https://www.theguardian.com/education/2026/feb/04/greenwich-kent-merger-uk-first-super-university?ref=kentcurrent.news), with both institutions retaining their identities. 🏢 Arlington House in Margate could be at risk of [crumbling](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/one-of-kent-s-most-iconic-buildings-at-risk-of-crumbling-336021/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🏥 William Harvey Hospital in Ashford declared a [critical incident](https://www.ekhuft.nhs.uk/news/critical-incident-declared-at-whh/?ref=kentcurrent.news) last week, with all beds full and the emergency department under heavy pressure. 🏡 Anti-housing campaigners in Hollingbourne, near Maidstone, are claiming that houses in their community aren't needed and won't meet local needs, [despite 600 people registering interest](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/villagers-brand-plans-for-luxury-homes-as-greedy-profit-gra-336130/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in the 16 properties. 🏘️ Proving trying to build anything anywhere will annoy someone, anti-housing campaigners in Ashford are [complaining about 28 affordable homes](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/objections-mount-over-new-council-estate-amid-parking-and-fl-336075/?ref=kentcurrent.news) on a brownfield site. 🚆 [No trains will run through Dartford](https://greenwichwire.co.uk/2026/02/04/rail-closure-dartford-half-term-southeasterm-february-2026/?ref=kentcurrent.news) between 14-22 February, which will likely cause no disruption to anyone. 🦾 Our new robot overlords have [performed surgery](https://www.ekhuft.nhs.uk/news/first-patients-have-surgery-using-new-multi-million-pound-robot-at-qeqm/?ref=kentcurrent.news) on patients for the first time at QEQM Hospital in Margate. 🔌 Kent County Council, fresh from scrapping the climate emergency and abandoning transitioning to an electric vehicle fleet, will [install on-street EV chargers](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/kents-electric-vehicle-infrastructure-programme-builds-on-national-investment-and-local-innovation?ref=kentcurrent.news), which "prepares Kent for the future." 🌊 South East Water have taken a break from not supplying water to parts of Kent to launch a [consultation](https://www.southeastwater.co.uk/about/our-plans/broad-oak-water/?ref=kentcurrent.news) on creating a new reservoir at Broad Oak, near Canterbury. 🚰 In further "hey, look at this instead" news from the embattled water company, South East Water [lifted the 'temporary' hosepipe ban](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj3vk1dp76xo?ref=kentcurrent.news) they implemented in July last year. 💷 A private investment group has [purchased](https://news.completelyretail.co.uk/investment-group-acquires-sevenoaks-retail-asset/?ref=kentcurrent.news) the Bligh's Meadow retail complex in Sevenoaks. 🔦 Members of a Maidstone social club are [patrolling the building](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/members-launch-24-hour-patrol-to-prevent-social-club-closure-336113/?ref=kentcurrent.news) 24/7 to stop the landlord from kicking them out and changing the locks. 🏳️‍⚧️ The [first Trans Pride Kent](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/very-firs/?ref=kentcurrent.news) is scheduled for next month in Canterbury. 🎢 Thanet District Council has [called in the decision](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2026/02/04/councillors-agree-to-dreamland-call-in-over-halt-to-scenic-railway-operation-but-are-warned-council-has-no-powers-to-enforce-anything/?ref=kentcurrent.news) by Dreamland to close the scenic railway, but admits it has no power to do anything. [Questions grow over Dreamland’s Scenic Railway closureA heritage row in Margate, plus planning news, a disputed car park, water woes, and more![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-16.png)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/AdobeStock_321835293-2.jpeg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/questions-grow-over-dreamlands-scenic-railway-closure/) 🎾 The relentless march of padel continues, with [two new venues](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sittingbourne/news/rival-plans-to-bring-fastest-growing-sport-in-europe-to-kent-335940/?ref=kentcurrent.news) proposed this week in Sittingbourne. 🏊 Heritage campaigners have [proposed converting](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/vision-revealed-to-turn-car-park-into-seafront-swimming-comp-336034/?ref=kentcurrent.news) a Ramsgate swimming pool that was turned into a car park back into a swimming pool. 🎭 70 community organisations have come together to put in a [bid for Thanet to be awarded City of Culture](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2026/02/05/bid-submitted-for-thanet-to-become-uk-city-of-culture-2029/?ref=kentcurrent.news), despite not being a city. 📘 A Canterbury author has been [shortlisted](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdx41kkgkyko?ref=kentcurrent.news) for a Waterstones children's book prize. 🎬 The Kent Film Office has [turned 20](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c15053kn5d7o?ref=kentcurrent.news). ⚔️ A [1,500 year old Anglo-Saxon sword](https://arkeonews.net/1500-year-old-anglo-saxon-sword-discovered-in-kent-england/?ref=kentcurrent.news) has been found near Canterbury. **We can only put these briefings together thanks to the readers who generously choose to support our work. If you value our journalism, please consider joining them. A paid subscription works out as £1.15 per week, and helps us build a better way of telling the stories that matter to our county.* [Support the Kent Current ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) ### Property of the week This Grade II-listed detached house on Tenterden High Street is believed to date back to the 14th century and may be the town’s oldest surviving home. Arranged over multiple levels and extended over time, the property offers three bedrooms and two bathrooms, with exposed beams, latch doors and large fireplaces throughout. There is a south-facing garden, off-street parking and no onward chain, and it is on the market at offers in excess of £700,000. [Check out this 3 bedroom detached house for sale on Rightmove3 bedroom detached house for sale in High Street, Tenterden, TN30 for £700,000\. Marketed by Savills, Cranbrook![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/favicon-2.ico)Rightmove.co.uk![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/a0ebdc3975cbfda91f6392d1c3dd935f.jpeg)](https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/171932279?ref=kentcurrent.news#/) ### Events this week 🐋 10 Feb - 7 Mar - [**Whales**](https://www.rochestercathedral.org/whales?ref=localauthority.news) // Three sperm whale sculptures suspended in the Nave. Rochester Cathedral. Free. 🎸 Thu 12 Feb - [**Buzzcocks**](https://www.twforum.co.uk/events/2026-02-12-buzzcocks-50th-anniversary-show-the-forum?ref=kentcurrent.news) // 50th anniversary show for punk band. Forum, Tunbridge Wells. Tickets £40. 🎤 Sun 15 Feb - [**Bridget Christie: Jacket Potato Pizza**](https://marlowetheatre.com/shows/bridget-christie-jacket-potato-pizza/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // New show from comedian and TV star. Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury. Tickets £29.50. ### **Footnotes** *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### “Nobody needs 14 councils” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/nobody-needs-14-councils/ Last updated: 2026-08-11T15:48:04.000Z *As part of our series of interviews with political group leaders on Kent County Council, Steven met Cllr Harry Rayner, leader of the Conservative Group. They discussed his route to becoming a county councillor and group leader, how Maidstone and Malling is different to Tonbridge and Malling, and that time he was arrested in North Korea...* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/02/IMG_0869-1-1.jpg) Cllr Harry Rayner (right), buying some plum bread. **What is your official occupation?** I am a county councillor for Malling West, and I'm the leader of the Conservative Group at Kent County Council. **Do you have any other additional roles, paid or unpaid?** Well, I'm a self-employed residential landlord and also work as a letting agent in the background. I'm on the [Kent Association of Local Councils](https://www.kentalc.gov.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) executive. I'm vice president of the Kent Association of Local Councils. That's the trade group, if you like, of all the parish and town councils in Kent. There are 321 of them, of which 318 are members of KALC. And I sit on the KALC executive as the KCC member, as KCC make a donation to KALC. Even under Reform, I’m still the nominated member for the county. I'm a director of Phoenix Parc. I mentioned to you that I was a residential landlord, and I have companies which own leaseholds on Phoenix Parc. In fact, I think the largest, or the second largest, private landlord on Phoenix Parc. I am on the parish council in Wrotham. I'm the finance director of Kent Downs Dairy. In fact, it's today that we're wrapping the operation up. The family decided to get out of dairy farming, and they are now going in a different direction, keeping the farm. I remain as a director of A L Betts Ltd, which is the parent company of Kent Downs Dairy. I'll be honest with you, I'm not the chap who goes and milks the cows. I know virtually nothing about farming. **Why are you the councillor for Malling West?** I'm the councillor for Malling West because, prior to that, I was the Tonbridge and Malling borough councillor for Wrotham. They asked me when I finished that, and was doing my parish council work. I actually became the chairman of the parish councils. There's 27 of them, and I became the chairman of the committee group. And as a result of that, they then said, Valerie Dagger, my predecessor, is retiring in 2016, would you like to take over? And I was then the Conservative nominee in the election. **It's fair to say in that** [**2017 election**](https://democracy.tmbc.gov.uk/mgElectionAreaResults.aspx?ID=139&ref=kentcurrent.news)**, you won by quite a margin.** Yeah, you would expect that given my long experience. I've been a borough councillor for Wrotham since 1985\. I had a tremendous following in the area, and they were kind enough to turn out and vote for me. **Even in the most recent election, when Reform did better than expected, you still held on by quite a margin. Why do you think that you were able to resist that Reform surge?** As my wife said, “It would be unusual for you to lose because you are so well known.” **How would you describe Malling?** Well, in fact, Malling West has nothing to do with the East or West Malling as such. It's the villages of Stansted, Wrotham, Borough Green, Ightham, St Mary's Platt, Plaxtol, Shipbourne, and Hildenborough. There's eight parishes. It's quite a well-to-do area, but with pockets of poverty. But having said that, it's a long, thin north-south division. When local government reform comes, it will present some issues, I think, for whatever the unitary council is in due course. **How is Maidstone and Malling different to Tonbridge and Malling?** Yeah, that's an interesting question. I'll be perfectly frank with you. I always felt that Tonbridge and Malling was never an homogenous operation. If you actually go back to how it was formed, in 1974, as a result of a commission formed by Harold Wilson's Labour government in the late 60s. The man who wrote the [report](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redcliffe-Maud%5FReport?ref=kentcurrent.news) was called [Redcliffe-Maud](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John%5FRedcliffe-Maud,%5FBaron%5FRedcliffe-Maud?ref=kentcurrent.news), and he is a distant relation of mine through my mother. He was an Oxford professor, wrote the paper, the Local Government Act 1972 brought in the 1974 Local Government Act under which the Kent districts and boroughs were formed as we know them now. Tonbridge and Malling were the bits that were left over once everybody else had actually decided what was going on. Sevenoaks district, Tunbridge Wells was to the south, and the bits that were left over were the old Tonbridge Urban District Council and the old Malling Rural District Council. When they stuck those two together, you ended up with Tonbridge and Malling, but it never was a homogenous body. **From a constituency point of view, where are you?** Tonbridge. There's two things you've got to bear in mind. If you're talking about the parliamentary constituency, it's Maidstone and Malling. If you're talking about the borough council, it's Tonbridge and Malling. The constituency is Tonbridge, whereas others who used to be in Tonbridge and Malling are now in Maidstone and Malling. **Do you have a working relationship with Tom Tugendhat?** I do. I have a splendid working relationship with him. He was kind enough to write a note for my election address, and that was no small part, I feel, part of the reason I was elected. **Which political parties have you been a member of?** I've only ever been a member of the Conservative Party, but if you follow my career back far enough to the 1960s when I was at school, I stood in the 1964 and 66 general elections at school, one of them as a Labour candidate because I couldn't get the nomination for Conservatives and subsequently I stood for the Conservatives in the 1966 election and I still have the school magazine with me standing for Labour. However, I was never a member of the Labour Party because I was only 16 at the time. **What was it about the Conservative Party that you joined?** Realistically, I joined in 1984\. I joined because I had an organiser in the village who heard through the village bell ringers at the time that I was doing extremely well in business as a result of the miners' strike. The company that I was the operations director of at the time had a fleet of small ships. We ran it out of Rochester. The operational base was here at the Acorn Shipyard, and I was fleet operational manager working from Bromley. What we had was an operation bringing in coal. We were already well known in the coal trade in the UK, importing coal from the big coal merchants. As a result of the miners’ strike and the operation of bringing in the amount of coal we did, we were doing extremely well out of the miners’ strike with Mrs Thatcher in charge. I was asked to join the Conservative Party. I've been a member ever since. Within about 12 months of that, so that would be in 1984, in 1985, the borough councillor at the time, George Childs, unfortunately contracted cancer, and in August of that year he died, and in the autumn of '85 I was asked by a couple of the guys at the parish council to stand for the parish council, so I stood to take George's place on the parish council, and then subsequently, a few months later, took it on as the borough councillor. **You've been a councillor in one form or another for 40 years. Do you foresee that you will stand again after local government reorganisation, or do you feel you've done your service?** I've put my application in already to the Conservatives. They asked a few months back who was interested in standing, and to the best of my knowledge, I was certainly the first to put in for an application within the Tonbridge constituency to stand for whatever the Minister decides is going to be the makeup of the Kent unitary authorities. **Since 1984, who has been the best leader of the Conservative Party?** Mrs Thatcher, by a country mile, no question. There's no comparison with anyone else. **What was it about her?** Tremendous moral courage, tremendous resilience, exhibited in the Falklands War, and stood up to the EU in a way that no one else ever has, in my honest opinion. If you said to me, what was the one thing that Mrs Thatcher really made an impact in your borough or division? I will tell you, it was the sale of council houses. The number of residents who were able to buy their council houses that I think owed a lot to Mrs Thatcher, and returned that with a degree of voting loyalty that we haven't seen since. **You've been a member of Kent County Council since 2017\. In that time, who has been the best leader of Kent County Council?** It's difficult to be hard and fast on that. I would say both Sir Paul Carter and Roger Gough have both had the skills to undertake it, but they were different skills. Paul was very assertive, very incisive and decisive in what he wanted and how he wanted to go about it. Roger was more collegiate in his approach and certainly, to be fair to Roger, he gave me a degree of promotion in terms of deputy cabinet member for finance, and he was kind enough also to bring me into the cabinet as the senior deputy cabinet member. I sat in for most of the last two years on full cabinet, and I have to say it's been very advantageous from my point of view to be able to become leader, having sat in cabinet as a deputy cabinet member. It has proved to be really advantageous, but one is in a position to productively oppose Reform in a way that would not have been available had Roger not decided that there was a suitable candidate for promotion. **Was there any truth to the story that you tried to replace Roger as leader?** Yeah, absolutely. I put myself forward as a candidate. Unfortunately, insufficient of my colleagues saw the qualities of my leadership at the time. It was apparent that I wasn't going to win against Roger, and I subsequently withdrew. And in fact, Peter Oakford, who was the Cabinet Member for Finance, who actually got cheesed off with me asking difficult questions in the Governance and Audit Committee actually went to Roger subsequently and said, 'I'd like you to invite him to be my deputy because I think he would be better inside the tent than out.' **What are your thoughts on local government reorganisation?** I've actually campaigned quietly over the years in terms of bringing about a degree of unitary authorities. It's quite clear that the current arrangements for 14 councils in Kent, 12 districts or boroughs, KCC and Medway, the unitary council, is far too many. Nobody needs 14 councils. I think it's high time it went. However, I would say that the speed with which the Labour government are pushing this through is not conducive to bringing about what is required, giving value for money. The difficulty is the speed with which it's being put through means that decisions are being taken very late in the day. We know what the Kent districts and councils have put forward. There are something like five options. They're ranging from one council, which is what Reform at KCC, putting forward to up to four or five others. The sheer costs of undertaking it in the way that it's being proposed at the moment, again, is... ill-conducive, it's expensive, in particular the costs and speed of disaggregation. By the May of 2027, which is only 14 months away, we're supposed to be going to election on unitary authorities. > Medway is an absolute basket case **Are you concerned about what will happen to the current debts of the council?** ****Read the full conversation.** Register for free to continue reading this interview, and get access to more independent reporting from the **Kent Current*. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Reform’s first KCC budget and the numbers it can’t escape URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/reforms-first-kcc-budget-and-the-numbers-it-cant-escape/ Last updated: 2026-02-06T11:40:51.000Z **Kent County Council will debate its first budget under Reform control next week. While the budget balances on paper, the documents behind it reveal a council operating with a narrowing margin for error, rising financial risks, and a heavy reliance on reserves and unrealised savings...* ### Kent’s first Reform budget balances the books. It also exposes how little room for error remains Kent County Council will next week debate the first budget produced under Reform UK control. On paper, it does what the law requires. It balances. But the documents behind that headline tell a more uncomfortable story. This is a budget that relies on savings that have yet to be delivered, reserves that have already been heavily used, and a set of assumptions that depend on pressures in adult social care and special educational needs behaving in ways they have consistently refused to do in recent years. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/02/KC_Budget.jpg) Read as a whole, [the papers](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/mgAi.aspx?ID=69784&ref=kentcurrent.news#mgDocuments) describe a council operating with a steadily narrowing margin for error. More than £400m of financial risk is formally assessed by officers as likely rather than theoretical, while the main protection against that risk remains reserves that the council itself acknowledges are weakening. Capital spending has been tightly constrained to avoid adding new pressure to the revenue budget, long-term maintenance backlogs are being managed rather than resolved, and one-off measures are again doing work that would normally fall to recurring income. The budget holds, but only if the optimistic version of events proves correct, which is a lot of work. That financial reality has already collided with the politics of a new administration. Reform arrived at County Hall promising to root out waste through a high-profile efficiency drive, only for senior figures to concede publicly that there was little left to cut in a council already shaped by years of restraint. Within days of those admissions being [made to the Financial Times](https://www.ft.com/content/fc3cade5-271b-4db3-8650-0067907603ee?ref=kentcurrent.news), the cabinet member most closely associated with that drive, Cllr Matthew Fraser-Moat, stepped aside, triggering a wider argument about credibility, ambition and whether Reform’s promises now sit comfortably alongside its own numbers. This is therefore not just a debate about council tax or service budgets. It is a test of whether Kent’s new political leadership can reconcile the language that helped it win power with the limits it now documents in detail, and what happens when a balanced budget leaves so little room for anything to go wrong. The starting point for understanding this budget is the council’s own assessment of risk, set out in the budget [risk register](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/documents/s134620/Appendix%20K%20-%20Budget%20Risks%20Register%202026-27.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news). Rather than offering a single headline figure, officers separate risks that could hit the budget in a single year from longer-term structural liabilities that build up over time or crystallise at a cliff edge. The register identifies more than £410m of lifetime financial exposure across risks assessed as likely, including the SEND deficit, while also flagging substantial annual pressures elsewhere in the system. These figures are not additive and are not meant to be read as a single sum. Instead, they describe different ways in which the council’s finances could fail, operating on different timescales but drawing on the same, increasingly limited, capacity to absorb shocks. The largest risks are familiar, but familiarity does not make them manageable. Adult social care remains the dominant pressure, with demand rising faster than funding, and savings are dependent on fundamental changes to how care is commissioned, delivered, and funded. The council acknowledges that holding down fee increases risks destabilising providers, yet it is relying on exactly that restraint to make the numbers work. If providers fail, costs rise rather than fall. The risk does not sit at the margins. It sits at the centre of the plan. Alongside this sits the unresolved position on special educational needs and disabilities. Kent’s accumulated Dedicated Schools Grant deficit continues to grow. In practical terms, the council is spending far more on support for children with additional needs than the funding it receives from government. A temporary accounting rule currently hides that gap from the council’s balance sheet, but officers warn that this protection expires in March 2028\. If it is not extended or replaced, the deficit would fall directly on the council’s finances. Government support beyond that point is conditional, not guaranteed. That deadline is not incidental. Under the government’s local government reorganisation timetable, Kent County Council is expected to cease to exist in 2028, with its responsibilities transferred to new unitary authorities. The most severe financial consequences of the DSG deficit therefore sit just beyond the lifetime of the organisation currently setting the budget. It is a problem scheduled to mature at exactly the moment the council itself is scheduled to disappear. If the override were withdrawn, the impact would be immediate and severe. The council’s own documents link this risk directly to the possibility of being unable to set a balanced budget at all. That is not a footnote. It is a cliff edge. What makes this more than a technical concern is timing. The budget assumes that pressures can be contained in the short term while reforms take effect, yet the risk register rates further deterioration as likely. There is no meaningful contingency beyond reserves that are already stretched. This is not a problem that can be solved by efficiency alone, and the budget quietly accepts that reality even as the politics around it struggles to keep up. The same fragility runs through the savings programme more broadly. The budget assumes tens of millions of pounds in future savings, many of them contingent on behaviour change, demand moderation, and new service delivery models that have yet to be fully proven at scale. Officers explicitly rate the non-delivery of those savings as likely. In other words, the council is approving a plan that it knows may not fully materialise, while relying on it anyway. The reason this does not immediately trigger a crisis is the continued use of reserves and other one-off measures. Reserves are drawn down again to support day-to-day spending, capital receipts are flexibly used to fund transformation work that underpins future savings assumptions, and borrowing is deliberately suppressed to avoid creating new revenue pressures. This approach is orthodox and defensible. It is also finite. Capital ambition has been pared back not because need has disappeared, but because the ongoing cost of debt would feed directly into the revenue budget and crowd out services. The capital programme is shaped primarily by what the council can afford to service rather than what its assets require. In highways, officers acknowledge an unfunded maintenance backlog of more than £1bn, with available funding focused on safety and network resilience rather than full renewal. Adult social care, despite being the council’s largest and fastest-growing revenue pressure, attracts almost no capital investment at all. Across the estate, assets are being stabilised rather than renewed, and risks are being managed rather than eliminated. The council is prioritising short-term financial stability over long-term repair, not as a strategic choice, but because the alternatives are largely unaffordable. Again, none of this is hidden. The council is clear in its capital and treasury strategies that borrowing decisions are now tightly constrained by their impact on the revenue budget, and that revenue affordability has become the primary driver of the capital programme. Capital receipts that might otherwise have been used to tackle long-term backlogs are instead being allocated to support transformation activity and short-term financial sustainability. The documents acknowledge that this reliance on one-off measures cannot be sustained indefinitely. The consequence is that options narrow over time, and the council’s capacity to absorb future shocks is steadily reduced. Politically, this places Reform in an awkward position. The party came to power arguing that councils like Kent were bloated, inefficient and riddled with waste. The first budget produced under its control quietly accepts the opposite. Services have already been stripped back, discretionary spending is limited, and the task now is to manage scarcity rather than uncover hidden excess. **We can only do this kind of analysis thanks to the readers who generously choose to support our work. If you value our journalism, please consider joining them. Becoming a* [**paid supporter*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) *of the Kent Current costs as little as £1.15 per week and helps us build a better way of telling the stories that matter to our county.* [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) ## Get the Kent Current in your inbox Clear, independent reporting on Kent’s biggest stories. No ads, no clickbait. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. Reform can fairly argue that it inherited this position from decades of Conservative control. The documents support the view that the problems did not emerge overnight and that many of the hardest decisions were taken long before the change in administration. That argument will resonate with many readers. It also only gets you so far. Once a party produces its own budget, it owns both the numbers and the risks they contain, including those it will not be around to manage. Nowhere has the collision between rhetoric and reality been more visible than in the fate of the council’s Department of Local Government Efficiency, or DOLGE. Launched with fanfare and deliberately styled as a disruptive force, it was meant to symbolise Reform’s promise to do things differently and to expose inefficiency others had ignored. In practice, the budget papers show that DOLGE has not uncovered a hidden pool of waste. Instead, its work has focused on systems, processes and longer-term transformation, the same terrain councils of all political colours have been working on for years. That does not make the work meaningless, but it does make the original promise harder to sustain, particularly when it collides with the numbers. That tension became explicit when Cllr Matthew Fraser-Moat, the cabinet member leading DOLGE, spoke to the Financial Times. “We haven’t actually made any cuts,” he said, adding that Reform had blocked some service reductions proposed under the previous Conservative administration, including plans to close libraries. Similar admissions were made around the same time by Paul Chamberlain, another Reform cabinet member, who told the Financial Times that the administration had expected to find widespread waste and had not, saying services had already been “hacked away for years and years” and describing members of the former Conservative administration as “business people.” The following day, Fraser-Moat stepped down from his cabinet role. In a [statement issued by Kent County Council](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/an-update-to-kent-county-councils-cabinet?ref=kentcurrent.news), he said he had shown a "lapse of judgement" in how he spoke to the press and that the council had now delivered a balanced budget and stabilised its finances. The council’s preceding statement disputing the Financial Times’ reporting did not distinguish between the substance of remarks made by different cabinet members. The comparison is hard to ignore. Fraser-Moat resigned after making comments that were substantively similar to those made by Chamberlain, who remains in post. The numbers did not change. The politics did. The distinction appeared to lie elsewhere. Admitting that waste was limited could be absorbed. Saying that no cuts had been made brought the contradiction into sharper focus. The fallout was political rather than financial, but it exposed how thin the line had become between honesty and liability. That pressure has only intensified as Reform’s future promises have been tested against the numbers. Reform figures have spoken publicly about freezing council tax in 2027–28, but that ambition does not feature as an assumption in the budget itself. Instead, the medium-term financial plan and sensitivity analysis show the scale of the funding gap that would open up if council tax increases were removed. To deliver a zero increase, the council would need to close a funding gap of £54.2m in a single year. At the same time, the risk register identifies more than £50m of planned savings as vulnerable to non-delivery, and rates that risk as likely. Adult social care savings, on which much of the plan depends, are both essential and uncertain. Reserves cannot be relied on again at the same scale without pushing the council into a far more precarious position. None of this makes a council tax freeze impossible. It does mean it would depend on an unusually high number of things going right at once, in a system that has repeatedly shown how difficult that is. The budget does not show how this problem is solved. It shows how it is deferred, and who will be left holding it. Opposition parties have seized on that gap between ambition and evidence. Maidstone Liberal Democrats asked whether Fraser-Moat had been “asked to deliver the impossible” when commenting on his resignation. Green councillor [Stuart Jeffery](https://www.kentcurrent.news/were-focused-on-the-practical-aspects/) described DOLGE as “hot air and bluster” and said Reform had shown “no understanding of local government.” The Tonbridge and Malling Green Party said the idea that Kent could be cut out of trouble was “the great lie,” arguing that a council starved of funding for more than a decade had already been cut to the bone. Mike Martin, Liberal Democrat MP for Tunbridge Wells, remarked that Reform’s “Elon Musk-style DOLGE Cabinet Member makes his first real saving by resigning.” Some of this is political opportunism. Some of it is theatre. But none of it exists without the figures that underpin it. Those figures show a budget that balances by narrowing the margin for error, by spending down resilience, and by relying on savings that officers themselves say may not all materialise. In isolation, there is nothing unlawful or reckless about this approach. The budget follows guidance, is candid about its risks, and avoids the more aggressive accounting practices that have landed other councils in trouble. That does not make it comfortable. By the council’s own admission, resilience is weakening, backlogs are growing, and future years will be harder rather than easier. This budget buys time. It does not buy certainty. For Reform, that marks a turning point. The first budget under its control has not collapsed, but it has forced a recalibration of tone and expectation. The language of waste and efficiency has given way to the harder work of managing scarcity, and to the reality that some of the most difficult problems have simply been deferred. When councillors gather at County Hall next week, they will be voting on more than a set of numbers. They will endorse a strategy that acknowledges the limited room for error, knowing that the documents they are voting on already assume that something will eventually go wrong. ### Footnotes ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### Questions grow over Dreamland’s Scenic Railway closure URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/questions-grow-over-dreamlands-scenic-railway-closure/ Last updated: 2026-02-02T18:51:57.000Z **Monday's Kent Current examines the sudden closure of Dreamland’s Scenic Railway and the growing political and public pressure for evidence behind the decision. We also cover council scrutiny, planning applications, local disputes, culture and property stories from across Kent, as questions about transparency, heritage and decision-making ripple beyond Margate...* ### Dreamland’s Scenic Railway closure leaves councillors demanding evidence Britain’s oldest rollercoaster has been shut down with a social media press release on a Tuesday morning. In the days since, councillors, heritage bodies and residents have begun asking the same basic question: How did a ride rebuilt with public money, and expected to operate for years to come, suddenly become 'unviable' without the evidence behind that decision being made public? The decision to retire the Scenic Railway at Dreamland has triggered protests, a petition and now formal political scrutiny. What began as a brief announcement about a single attraction has become a broader debate about heritage, transparency, and who should decide the future of one of Margate’s most recognisable landmarks. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/02/AdobeStock_321835293-1.jpeg) The scenic railway at Dreamland. **Why this matters** The [Scenic Railway](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scenic%5FRailway%5F%28Dreamland%5FMargate%29?ref=kentcurrent.news) is a Grade II\* listed structure and Britain’s oldest rollercoaster, first opening in 1920\. It is one of a very small number of historic wooden rollercoasters surviving worldwide, with national and international heritage significance. Its closure is not simply the loss of a ride. It raises deeper questions about how heritage assets are managed once they become difficult or expensive to operate, particularly when they have been restored with significant public funding. At the centre of the dispute is whether the decision was unavoidable or simply not properly explained. **What Dreamland announced** Dreamland [said last week](https://www.facebook.com/dreamlandmargate/posts/pfbid02ajSjNcTi4tih6cMPm5g51pAo1fLwy8SaQXaf5gsAfc94UJZV7qsfsPTKiKN4JBLLl) that the Scenic Railway would “take well-earned retirement from operation as a ride,” following inspections which concluded it had reached “the end of its current life.” In its statement, the park said it was “not the end but a new beginning,” committing to a long-term vision that would “reimagine” the structure so it could be enjoyed in a different way. The announcement was accompanied by a creative call-out for ideas and memories, as well as plans for a pop-up exhibition in summer 2026. Comments on the announcement were turned off on Facebook, perhaps foreshadowing what was to come. **The funding question** The Scenic Railway’s most recent restoration was not a private project. It was rebuilt and reopened in 2015 as part of an £18m rescue of Dreamland, supported by public funding and negotiated by the [Dreamland Heritage Trust](https://www.dreamlandheritagetrust.org.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) following the Save Dreamland campaign. In a [statement](https://www.facebook.com/dreamlandheritagetrust/posts/pfbid02oHz64cJFDtVj57pwVoryaZ3fMU9bbvvHVyi7popnURWFHtsMTUo7FZiaL7mJScval), the Trust said the funding it helped secure was explicitly intended to support the Scenic Railway’s ongoing operation until 2037\. It said it was particularly disappointed that, despite repeated attempts to engage, it was not included in discussions about the ride's future before the decision to retire it was announced. The Trust warned that keeping the structure while removing its function did not constitute preserving living heritage, and said meaningful consultation would be essential to any future plan. Those concerns are now being echoed publicly. A [petition](https://www.change.org/p/protect-the-grade-ii-listed-scenic-railway-at-dreamland-margate?ref=kentcurrent.news) launched by former councillor and Heritage Trust trustee Carol Messenger, calling on Thanet District Council to exercise its statutory duties to protect the Scenic Railway, has attracted more than 2,000 signatures. The petition does not ask the council to force Dreamland to operate the ride. Instead, it calls for heritage oversight, transparency and public consultation before any long-term changes are agreed. **The unanswered question** Councillors say no context was reflected in how the decision was announced. Deputy Thanet District Council leader Helen Whitehead, the ward councillor for Margate Central, has [asked](https://www.facebook.com/helenforthanet/posts/pfbid0GE25Fp54ZG7CbsCvuKURVKqmfxafT58yBHCkAhCm7s9wkFQqqBkScCsDxnuQTCYol) for Dreamland’s operators to be called before the council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee. She says councillors have repeatedly requested sight of the Health and Safety Executive advice, structural reports and external guidance relied upon by Dreamland, but have not yet been provided with them. In her words, residents need to understand exactly what advice has been given and how the extra maintenance has been assessed to determine that the ride is unviable. Until those reports are disclosed, she argues, councillors are being asked to accept a permanent decision without seeing the evidence behind it. **Safety, maintenance and viability** Dreamland says continued operation of the Scenic Railway would require daily inspections lasting up to five hours, making the ride impractical to run. No detailed technical explanation has yet been published showing how inspection requirements moved the ride from needing repair to being permanently unviable. **From announcement to scrutiny** The response has now moved from public reaction to a formal council process. Thanet District Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee is being asked to question Dreamland’s operators on how the decision was reached, what alternatives were considered, and why closure was announced before the supporting evidence was made public. The Mayor of Margate, Katie Pope, has , and Reform councillors have all raised concerns about the decision-making process and the lack of publicly available evidence the move, saying scrutiny is needed to understand whether permanent closure is genuinely the only option. The council cannot force a private operator to run a ride. But it can demand transparency, examine whether changes in use require listed building consent, and question whether the original basis for public funding still stands. **A cross-party concern** Support for scrutiny is not confined to one party. Labour, Conservative, and Reform councillors have all raised concerns about the decision-making process and the lack of publicly available evidence. Some have suggested alternative operating models, including an independent trust or company running the Scenic Railway separately, protecting Dreamland from operational risk while preserving the attraction. Former MP for the area, Roger Gale, has also , those involved to explore ways of keeping the ride operational, while recognising the importance of safety and maintenance. Across the political spectrum, the emphasis has been consistent. Safety must come first, but a decision of this scale requires a full explanation. **What reimagining means in practice** Dreamland’s operator, Sands Heritage, is now majority-owned by Live Nation Entertainment, and the park says a new long-term vision for the Scenic Railway will be announced in due course. For many residents and heritage campaigners, the concern is not whether the structure survives, but whether it survives as a functional asset rather than simply preserved as a static object. **What happens next** For now, the Scenic Railway remains closed, and the reports used to justify that decision remain unseen. Dreamland says it is imagining a new future for the ride. Councillors, heritage bodies and thousands of residents are asking for something more basic first: The evidence behind why Britain’s oldest rollercoaster had to stop running at all. ### Three big reads 1️⃣ The Times, along with every other media outlet, is very excited that Madonna visited Margate last week. The paper argues that it isn't hard to see why Kent attracts such stars, citing a '[raffish, transient quality](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/02/01/madonna-margate-visit-tracey-emin-art-seaside-kent/?ref=kentcurrent.news)' that draws artists and writers to our county. 2️⃣ Meanwhile, the Guardian takes a more nuanced view, writing on the gentrification struggle of Margate, which they suggest has [left the town divided](https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2026/jan/30/a-place-of-two-halves-how-margates-art-led-renewal-has-left-it-splintered?ref=kentcurrent.news) between the trendy art types and existing residents. 3️⃣ The Conversation looks to Kent’s early medieval past, after archaeologists [uncovered four swords buried with children](https://theconversation.com/four-early-medieval-swords-found-in-kent-child-graves-reveal-they-were-more-than-just-weapons-274059?ref=kentcurrent.news) in 6th-century graves. Far from being practical weapons, the article argues these swords were powerful symbols of status, identity and aspiration, revealing how families used burial rites to express who their children were supposed to become, not just who they were when they died. ### Council matters **Meetings this week:** - **Dover:** [**Cabinet**](https://moderngov.dover.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=121&MId=5159&ref=kentcurrent.news) gather tonight to receive a petition on sewage being pumped into the sea at Deal and Walmer, and to consider the draft budget for the coming year. - **Gravesham:** [**Cabinet**](https://democracy.gravesham.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=149&MId=9426&ref=kentcurrent.news) will tonight discuss the council's finances and progress to the next stage of a new Local Plan. - **Kent:** [**Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee**](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=112&MId=9721&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Wednesday to discuss integration of services, mental health provision, and a new group model for ambulance services. - **Gravesham:** [**Planning Committee**](https://democracy.gravesham.gov.uk/documents/s92229/20250721%20-%20Nuralite.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) will decide the fate of the redevelopment of the Nuralite Industrial Estate between Gravesend and Higham. - **Kent/Medway:** [**Police and Crime Panel**](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=776&MId=9665&ref=kentcurrent.news) on Thursday will see Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Scott deliver his latest report and set out his police and crime plan and council tax requirement for the coming year. **New planning applications:** - **Medway:** A request for a scoping opinion has been submitted for up to [550 homes](https://publicaccess1.medway.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=T9J4RGKN04R00&activeTab=summary&ref=localauthority.news), a primary school, and a local centre in Chattenden. - **Dartford:** Application to install a [mobile breast screening medical van](https://publicaccess.dartford.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=T94DVIBQGJT00&activeTab=summary&ref=kentcurrent.news) at Bluewater for 18 months. - **Sevenoaks:** Plan to demolish one property and replace it with [27 homes](https://pa.sevenoaks.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=ST2NMFBKMT000&activeTab=summary&ref=kentcurrent.news) in Kemsing. **We can only put together these briefings thanks to the readers who generously choose to support our work. If you value our journalism, please consider joining them. A paid subscription works out as £1.15 per week, and helps us build a better way of telling the stories that matter to our county.* [Support the Kent Current ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) ### In brief 🚗 Kent County Council has been accused of [spending £600,000 on a car park](https://www.thetimes.com/article/d64eb33d-fbe2-4d36-b18e-a4e7133277a9?ref=kentcurrent.news) for council leaders, while charging staff £4 per day to park. Leader Linden Kemkaran [responded](https://x.com/LeaderofKCC/status/2017933939638182175?ref=kentcurrent.news) that the plan to charge staff didn't survive an early conversation. 🗂️ [62 complaints](https://kccportal.icasework.com/resource?id=D39403717&db=CfARENrVaIw%3D&ref=kentcurrent.news) were made about Kent County Council councillors during 2025, with 58 of those coming after Reform took control of the authority in May. 👕 Meanwhile, Reform has gone to great lengths to [demonstrate its professionalism](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/reform-uk-under-attack-for-unsavoury-t-shirt-photo-335758/?ref=kentcurrent.news) at KCC. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Searchlight reports that a prominent Kent flagger from Herne Bay has been [convicted](https://searchlightmagazine.com/2026/01/kent-flagger-convicted-of-violent-disorder/?ref=kentcurrent.news) of violent disorder. 🧑‍⚖️ Dover and Manston border staff have [appeared in court](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dover/news/border-staff-accused-of-stealing-from-small-boats-migrants-335790/?ref=kentcurrent.news) accused of stealing from migrants arriving in the country. ➡️ Former University of Kent professor and awful human being Matt Goodwin has been [selected as Reform's candidate](https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/former-university-kent-professor-announced-10780547?ref=kentcurrent.news) for the Gorton and Denton by-election in Manchester. 🏗️ The University of Kent has [abandoned plans](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y3zp917gmo?ref=kentcurrent.news) for a £51m student accommodation project that would have housed 1,000 students, but will proceed with plans to build 2,000 homes on part of its Canterbury estate. 🏘️ 435 homes on the edge of Maidstone have been [approved](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/profound-disappointment-after-plans-for-435-homes-approved-335845/?ref=kentcurrent.news), despite the efforts of anti-housing campaigners. 🏠 Tonbridge and Malling has given itself the go-ahead to [build temporary accommodation](https://www.localauthority.news/temporary-housing-approved-on-medways-doorstep/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in the middle of nowhere on the border of Medway. 🚧 Work is set to begin on [regenerating the square](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/work-to-begin-on-new-high-street-public-square-335879/?ref=kentcurrent.news) outside of the former Nasons department store on Canterbury High Street. 🚲 Plans for a new headquarters for Brompton Bicycle in Ashford are '[on hold](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/maybe-well-need-to-attract-another-investor-multimillion-335610/?ref=kentcurrent.news)' despite the project gaining approval. 🐟 A fish processing and canning plant [could be built](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2026/01/28/fish-processing-and-canning-factory-proposal-for-ramsgate-port/?ref=kentcurrent.news) at Ramsgate Port. 🚙 New speed bumps in Ashford will be [rebuilt](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/they-re-awful-botched-speed-bumps-on-new-road-need-to-be-335822/?ref=kentcurrent.news) after they were built at too harsh of an angle. 🧖 The UK's largest beach spa is [set to open](https://cenemagazine.co.uk/news/ukslargest-beach-spa-set-to-open-at-folkestone-harbour-arm?ref=kentcurrent.news) on Folkestone Harbour Arm in March. 🏖️ Margate is set to [receive a boardwalk](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn9zwx89weyo?ref=kentcurrent.news) across the Main Sands to improve accessibility. 🏚️ A pregnant woman placed in temporary accommodation in Chatham by Bromley Council has said she is "[exhausted](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c99klp77kg8o?ref=localauthority.news)" by the experience. 🛍️ Rainham Shopping Centre has been [sold to a mystery buyer](https://futuremedway.co.uk/rainham-shopping-centre-sold-to-new-owners-after-1-5-million-deal-struck/?ref=localauthority.news) for £1.5m. 🚌 A school bus service has [stopped serving](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/weald/news/they-re-stranding-children-in-our-village-fury-as-bus-sto-335671/?ref=kentcurrent.news) Five Oak Green near Paddock Wood because it regularly runs late, leaving pupils with no way to get to school. 👷 The Lower Thames Crossing is launching [supply chain roadshows](https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/ltc-launches-supply-chain-roadshows-supporting-kent-and-essex-firms-to-bid-for-work-30-01-2026/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to engage Kent and Essex firms in the project. 🚚 While water issues in Tunbridge Wells are largely back to normal, the logistics of [tankers refilling storage](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0r425z00exo?ref=kentcurrent.news) tanks are starting to annoy locals. 🫥 Meanwhile, South East Water's invisible CEO, David Hinton, has re-emerged to explain that [he will address the level of service](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy8p2k5lpnro?ref=kentcurrent.news) at the company. 🚰 In perhaps an unsurprising move, the Socialist Party is calling for the [nationalisation of water companies](https://www.socialistparty.org.uk/articles/147197/28-01-2026/kent-water-shortage-nationalise-the-water-industry/?ref=kentcurrent.news) following the debacle at South East Water. ### Property of the week This week’s property comes with a twist. The most striking feature is not the house, but the outbuilding, which is larger than the home itself. The property is a three-bedroom 1930s semi in Sturry, but it is the substantial detached space, fitted with insulation, a washroom and kitchenette, that really defines the listing and opens up a range of possibilities. The house itself retains plenty of period character, alongside a private garden in a village setting just outside Canterbury. It is on the market with a guide price of £500,000. [Check out this 3 bedroom semi-detached house for sale on Rightmove3 bedroom semi-detached house for sale in Babs Oak Hill, Sturry, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 for £500,000\. Marketed by Wards, Canterbury![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/favicon-1.ico)Rightmove.co.uk![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/d5daab59ee15c1444b4e6e75b25decf5.jpeg)](https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/171684593?ref=kentcurrent.news#/) ### Events this week 🎸 Fri 6 Feb - [**Ash**](https://www.twforum.co.uk/events/2026-02-06-the-forum?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Acclaimed 90s band best known for their classic Girl From Mars. Forum, Tunbridge Wells. ### **Footnotes** ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### Kent faces £15 police council tax rise URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/kent-faces-15-police-council-tax-rise/ Last updated: 2026-01-29T20:00:11.000Z **Kent residents are being asked to pay more for policing as the Police and Crime Commissioner seeks the maximum £15 council tax rise to protect neighbourhood services amid rising costs and looming national reforms. We also report further disruption at a Swale Borough Council meeting from far-right activists during a Reform immigration debate, highlighting growing pressures on how local democracy functions in practice.* ### Kent residents asked to pay more as Police and Crime Commissioner seeks £15 council tax rise Kent residents are being asked to pay more for policing next year after Police and Crime Commissioner [Matthew Scott](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-might-well-be-interested-in-putting/) formally proposed a £15 increase in the policing element of council tax, a decision he will be questioned on by councillors at the Kent and Medway Police and Crime Panel [next week](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=776&MId=9665&ref=kentcurrent.news) as wider reforms to policing are debated nationally. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/01/KC_Police-1.jpg) Scott is seeking to raise the charge for a Band D household by £15 to £285.15 a year, the maximum increase permitted without triggering a local referendum. He argues that the rise is now necessary to prevent deeper cuts to policing services and to protect neighbourhood policing, as national funding is failing to keep pace with rising costs. The proposal sits alongside a refreshed [Police and Crime Plan](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/documents/s134426/Appendix%20A%20-%20Draft%20Refreshed%20Police%20and%20Crime%20Plan%202025-29.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) covering the period to 2029, which Scott is required to submit to the panel for scrutiny. While the plan has been updated, it does not represent a change in direction. Its priorities remain broadly the same, with Scott continuing to emphasise neighbourhood policing, tackling anti-social behaviour, supporting victims, and maintaining public confidence in Kent Police. The refresh sharpens language around town-centre crime, retail theft, and violence against women and girls, but it does not introduce major new initiatives. Instead, it sets out the framework Scott says justifies the funding increase now being requested. The financial case he is making is stark. Government funding for Kent Police is due to rise by around £12.9m next year, but Scott’s own finance officers warn that this increase is outweighed by rising costs. Pay awards, incremental salary increases, inflation on contracts, and other unavoidable pressures are forecast to add more than £30m to the budget in 2026/27 alone. Police pay awards account for £16.4m of that figure, with no additional central government funding to meet them. Even with the full £15 rise, Kent Police will still need to find £2.9m in savings next year, with around £40m of savings required over the medium term. Scott accepts the precept increase does not close the funding gap, but argues it limits the scale of cuts that would otherwise be required. In the [report](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/documents/s134425/Draft%20Refreshed%20Police%20Crime%20Plan%20and%20Precept%20Proposal%202026-27%20-%20Covering%20Report.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) he has submitted to the panel, Scott is explicit about where responsibility now sits. The national police funding settlement assumes every Police and Crime Commissioner will raise council tax by the maximum amount, effectively treating local tax rises as part of government funding for policing. Over time, this has shifted an increasing share of the cost away from Westminster and onto households. In Kent, that shift is pronounced. In 2010, central government provided 73% of police funding. By next year, only 56% of Kent Police funding will come from government, with 44% raised locally through council tax and other income. Scott argues that Kent’s relatively low precept leaves the county particularly exposed, a point he is expected to make again when he appears before the panel. The clearest pledge attached to the increase is Scott’s commitment to protect neighbourhood policing. Under his proposal, Kent Police would deploy 43 additional neighbourhood officers in 2026/27, on top of 65 added this year, taking the total to 108 extra officers working in local communities across Kent and Medway. Neighbourhood policing is now the only part of the workforce with a specific government-backed headcount requirement, leaving other areas more vulnerable if savings deepen. Scott warns that taking less than the full £15 increase would sharply worsen the position. A smaller rise would add several million pounds to the savings gap in a single year, forcing deeper staffing reductions and risking recent improvements in areas such as call handling and visible patrols. The debate is unfolding as ministers pursue plans to overhaul policing nationally, including [proposals](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/white-paper-sets-out-reforms-to-policing?ref=kentcurrent.news) to merge England and Wales’ 43 police forces into a much smaller number of large regional bodies and to replace locally elected Police and Crime Commissioners with new governance arrangements. Scott has been a vocal critic of those proposals, [arguing publicly](https://conservativehome.com/2026/01/27/matthew-scott-the-grand-centralisation-will-undermine-trust/?ref=kentcurrent.news) that centralisation risks weakening local accountability and drawing policing further away from communities. Others within policing have taken a different view, with the former chief constable of Kent, Michael Fuller, [arguing](https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2026-01-26/police-force-mergers-long-overdue-but-challenging-former-kent-chief-claims?ref=kentcurrent.news) that the current force structure is inefficient and that mergers are overdue, even if difficult to deliver well. Those arguments have been playing out publicly this week, underlining how contested the government’s reform plans remain. That uncertainty forms the backdrop to Scott’s current proposal. While he is being asked to set out a four-year plan and a funding decision for the year ahead, the government has already signalled that the governance model underpinning both may soon change, with little clarity about what will replace it or how local oversight will work in practice. Public reaction to the proposed council tax rise reflects reluctant acceptance rather than enthusiasm. Consultation [results](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/documents/s134428/Appendix%20C%20-%20Police%20Funding%20Consultation%20Report.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) show that most respondents accept the £15 increase as necessary, but fewer than half are happy to pay it. Many argue that policing should be funded more heavily by central government rather than through council tax, seeing the rise as the consequence of national funding choices rather than a local preference. That frustration is echoed in Scott’s annual policing [survey](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/documents/s134427/Appendix%20B%20-%20Annual%20Policing%20Survey%20Report.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news). While overall confidence in Kent Police has edged up slightly, satisfaction drops sharply among people who have actually experienced crime or anti-social behaviour. Anti-social behaviour remains widespread, frequently unreported, and a major source of dissatisfaction when it is reported, particularly where residents feel little changes as a result. For Scott, the refreshed plan and proposed precept rise amount to a holding operation rather than a reset. He is not arguing that the increase will transform policing in Kent, but that it will help maintain services, protect neighbourhood policing where possible, and slow the pace of future cuts in a system that increasingly relies on local taxpayers while its long-term structure remains unresolved. [“I might well be interested in putting my name forward”What we asked Matthew Scott, Kent Police and Crime Commissioner![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-12.png)Kent CurrentSteven Keevil![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f633a1240-899c-40da-84af-55d9c464da7d_1512x1134-png-2.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-might-well-be-interested-in-putting/) With only one year of funding certainty from government, active proposals to reshape policing nationally, and staff costs continuing to rise, Scott faces a searching panel next week. For Kent residents, the decision now before councillors is not whether policing should improve, but whether they are willing to pay more locally to prevent it getting worse. ## Get the Kent Current in your inbox Clear, independent reporting on Kent’s biggest stories. No ads, no clickbait. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Swale council meeting adjourned after far-right disruption during Reform immigration debate A Swale Borough Council meeting was adjourned and the public gallery cleared last night after repeated disruption during a debate on a Reform motion on immigration, despite heightened security measures introduced following [similar disorder at a meeting in December](https://www.kentcurrent.news/when-intimidation-replaces-debate/). The meeting, held at Swale House in Sittingbourne, had been ticketed in advance, with access to the public gallery limited to 34 people. An overflow livestream was available in the building's reception, and around a dozen police officers and security guards were on duty. Even so, the debate again descended into disorder, driven by a small group of far-right activists in the public gallery who cheered, jeered and shouted at councillors before being removed. The trigger for the evening was a Reform [motion](https://ws.swale.gov.uk/meetings/documents/s32901/Revised%5FBorder%5FPressures%5FMotion%2020%20Jan%2026.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) declaring a so-called 'Border Emergency,' brought forward by Cllr Richard Palmer and seconded by Cllr Kieran Mishchuk. The motion argued that immigration was placing pressure on housing, public services and community cohesion in Swale, and called on the council leader to lobby central government to recognise and respond to those pressures. Immigration policy sits firmly outside the powers of a district council, but the motion had already attracted attention in the days leading up to the meeting. Reform councillors promoted it on social media using stark language and imagery, including a [graphic](https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story%5Ffbid=pfbid07Ac9yNCj8j4AKxEWRw1kKPttkvb4Vbgvs6UUi2ixwALp9KCxg3ZkCvrnvUteWkmil&id=61581071676608) purportedly showing Faversham that councillors from other parties later said did not resemble the town. That material was widely shared by far-right activists who had mobilised supporters ahead of a Swale council meeting in December, when a separate debate on becoming a sanctuary district was derailed by abuse, vandalism and flooding inside the council building. An [amendment](https://ws.swale.gov.uk/meetings/documents/s32936/Amendment%20to%20Revised%5FBorder%5FPressures%5FMotion%2020%20Jan%2026.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) to the motion was proposed by Liberal Democrat councillor Hannah Perkin, which sought to correct factual claims in the motion and narrow its scope. During the debate, Cllr Palmer complained that Reform councillors were being “sniggered at” for holding a different opinion, a claim that drew applause from the public gallery. Lib Dem councillor Ben Martin described the Reform motion as a political weapon designed to stoke the same atmosphere that had engulfed the council in December. He reminded councillors that he had been subjected to homophobic abuse at that meeting and told the chamber that his home had later been attacked, with a swastika painted on it. At that point, laughter and derisive reactions could be heard from the public gallery. Footage from a livestream broadcast from inside the chamber captured that reaction. When Cllr Mishchuk rose to speak, the atmosphere deteriorated further. He blamed migrants for housing shortages and job competition, claimed they were setting up businesses that employed only other migrants, and said concerns about immigration were being dismissed and laughed at. He described the Lib Dem amendment as “a kick in the teeth” to residents worried about what he called the “demographic decimation” of the country and Swale, adding that “we shouldn’t be mixing together loads of different nationalities.” He claimed that areas such as London and Birmingham were “absolutely hell on earth.” **We can only do this kind of reporting thanks to the readers who generously choose to support our work. If you value our journalism, please consider joining them. A Kent Current subscription costs £1.15 per week over a year and helps us build a better way of telling the stories that matter to our county.* [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) The public gallery responded with loud cheering and clapping. As the noise escalated, far-right activist Harry Hilden, who was in the gallery, began shouting at councillors. The Mayor adjourned the meeting and ordered the public gallery to be cleared. Footage from a livestream by fellow activist Jodie Scott shows what followed. As security staff moved in, Hilden could be heard yelling at them and questioning their nationality, asking whether they were “English nationals” and whether they were “British or a foreigner.” Others made comments suggesting the guards came from migrant hotels, claiming that's “where they get them from” and asking them “which hotel did you come from?” One voice can be heard saying, “Let’s go laugh at swastika boy,” as people were escorted out. After the gallery was cleared, councillors returned to the chamber to continue the meeting. The amendments were voted down, and the council moved on to the Reform motion itself. During that debate, Swale Independents councillor Mike Baldock directly challenged the internal logic of the motion. Addressing Cllr Mishchuk as its seconder, he questioned whether the argument that immigration created pressure on Swale should also apply to people who had migrated in the past, including councillors and council staff. “There are some councillors here who are immigrants,” he said. “Cllr Mishchuk, you’re from an immigrant family. Whose job are you taking? When you were at school, were you taking the place of somebody, a true Brit? Do you live in a house that a true Brit could be living in? Or is it okay because that was in the past? Is it okay because you’re white? I don’t know. I’m trying to see the difference.” Baldock concluded that the motion was “a pile of hogwash.” Several councillors also questioned the relevance of the motion, reiterating that border control and asylum policy were matters for national government rather than a district council. When the vote was taken, only Reform councillors supported the motion, leading to its defeat. Cllr Mishchuk later confirmed that the Reform group left the meeting after the vote, missing the remaining agenda items. In the hours that followed, those involved in the disruption took to social media to justify their actions. In a video posted after the meeting, Harry Hilden defended his behaviour, rejected the legitimacy of the adjournment and accused councillors of silencing the public. Cllr Mishchuk posted that the debate had been “intense” and that the motion had been “shot down by all other councillors,” reiterating his belief that there was a border emergency and inviting followers to agree that population growth was linked to declining services. The reaction has not stopped at Swale. In recent days, Hilden and others involved in the disruption have openly encouraged supporters to attend other council meetings across Kent. He has urged people to “give councillors a piece of your mind” at an upcoming Faversham Town Council meeting and has promoted plans to target Kent County Council, including a march on County Hall. The message is increasingly explicit. Elections are dismissed as ineffective. Councils are framed as illegitimate. Pressure, disruption and confrontation are presented as acceptable tactics to force outcomes. For local authorities, this presents a growing dilemma. Open meetings and public galleries are a basic feature of democratic transparency. When that openness is exploited to intimidate councillors, abuse staff or shut down debate altogether, councils are left balancing access against safety. Swale’s response, including ticketing the meeting, limiting gallery numbers and increasing security and police presence, reflects that tension. So does the decision to adjourn once the disruption escalated. These are not measures councils want to normalise, but they are increasingly being treated as unavoidable. The impact is not confined to a single night. On Wednesday, councillors were laughed at while describing attacks on their homes, and security staff were subjected to racist abuse while carrying out their duties. The effect is to narrow who feels able to participate in local politics at all. The vote on Wednesday was clear. Reform’s motion was rejected overwhelmingly, and council business resumed once order was restored. But local democracy depends on more than votes being counted. It depends on debates being able to take place at all. In Swale, and increasingly across Kent, that assumption is now under strain. ### Footnotes ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### Kent’s “cuppa and a chat” got awkward URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/kents-cuppa-and-a-chat-got-awkward/ Last updated: 2026-01-29T10:08:09.000Z **Today's Kent Current looks at how a meeting billed as a friendly “cuppa and a chat” between Kent County Council and local MPs unravelled into a public dispute about attendance, effort and political optics. We also track a busy few days across the county, from council rows and planning battles to protests and culture. Let's get into it.* ### The awkward politics behind Kent’s “cuppa and a chat” Kent County Council’s Reform leadership framed a recent meeting with MPs as an attempt to draw a line under party politics and start the year on a more collaborative footing. In public posts ahead of the meeting, KCC leader [Linden Kemkaran](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-think-theres-a-lot-gone-wrong-with/) said she wanted to “kick off 2026 by putting party politics aside” and working together to serve Kent residents. Instead, what followed was a case study in awkward optics, mixed messages and a public argument about who bothered to turn up. **A meeting framed as cooperation** Kemkaran invited all 18 Kent MPs to County Hall for what she described as an informal, cross-party meeting, a “cuppa and a chat” aimed at putting party politics aside in the interests of residents. The meeting went ahead on Friday, but with limited attendance. Four MPs were present in person, with one leaving early. Those who attended were Labour MPs [Tristan Osborne](https://www.kentcurrent.news/a-lot-of-the-stuff-i-do-is-below/), Lauren Sullivan and Tony Vaughan, alongside Liberal Democrat MP Mike Martin. No Conservative MPs attended. The photo released afterwards shows the MPs flanked by a much larger Reform cabinet contingent inside County Hall, with the council’s leadership and senior members dominating the frame. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/01/image-1.png) MPs meeting with Reform Cabinet members at Kent County Council. Whatever the intention, the image does little to sell the meeting as relaxed or informal. The MPs appear stiff and visibly outnumbered, reading less like enthusiastic collaborators and more like participants in a slightly awkward hostage video. It is not the kind of photo that signals easy political chemistry. That sense of imbalance would soon be reflected in the political reaction. **From cooperation to complaints** Kemkaran initially struck a conciliatory tone. In a post following the meeting, she said the council was “glad” that MPs had either attended or sent aides, and listed the issues discussed, including the recent water crisis, the draft budget, income-generating schemes, adult social care, and SEND provision. The message was clear. This was about seriousness, delivery and cooperation. That framing did not last. Reform Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, Peter Osborne, who styles himself 'Pot Hole Pete' on X, publicly complained that only four MPs had “actually” turned up and that one had left early. “At least we tried,” he added, with a shrug emoji. > Yesterday we invited all 18 MPs in Kent to meet with us to discuss any issues they had, shame only 4 out of the 18 actually came, and one of them left early. At least we tried I guess 🤷‍♂️ > > — Cllr Peter Osborne (Pot Hole Pete) (@CllrPOsborne) [January 24, 2026](https://twitter.com/CllrPOsborne/status/2015058616005329030?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=kentcurrent.news) Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Special Projects David Wimble went further, [describing](https://x.com/ReformUKFHRM/status/2014777531056980021?ref=kentcurrent.news) the turnout as “pretty poor, by any measure.” While publicly thanking Tony Vaughan for attending briefly despite being “normally” one of his biggest critics, Wimble also suggested that most MPs had failed to engage at all. Local Reform groups sharpened the tone further. Reform Sevenoaks and Swanley [accused](https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story%5Ffbid=pfbid02aEPcdawkZqEXX2Cp2aTaJjnHyq5hE6EjuiwAgMMjt3a4ZvafsvFFZCT57xSHkGzdl&id=61560075547786) Conservative MP Laura Trott of choosing not to attend or contribute, calling it a “missed opportunity” and arguing that being an MP “is more than a title, it is a duty.” The post criticised both Conservatives and Labour, framing the meeting as evidence that neither party could be relied on to “put Kent first.” That criticism was quickly challenged. Dartford Borough Council councillor George Holt responded publicly, saying Trott had long-standing commitments with local schools and questioning whether she was expected to “drop everything” for a meeting organised at relatively short notice. He argued that MPs’ diaries were routinely full, and turned the criticism back on Reform, suggesting the same standards were not always met by its councillors or MPs. What had been presented as an olive branch was now a public political dividing line. **Two very different versions of events** MPs, particularly on the Labour benches, offered a different account. Five Labour MPs wrote to Kemkaran jointly ahead of the meeting to explain that they could not attend due to long-standing diary commitments. Several cited meetings and visits directly related to Kent issues, including SEND provision, transport and regeneration. They said the invitation had come at short notice and that offers to join the meeting remotely had not been taken up. Dartford MP Jim Dickson echoed that account publicly when [sharing the letter on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/JimDicksonMP/posts/pfbid0xKKKafVR1JfXD1mxemUry2m8fmHtJutVwqTcbhgNqb44f3U1HMseszSvEVbg4KqRl). He said he had offered to join online between visits and meetings but “didn’t receive a response”, adding that he would continue raising Dartford residents’ concerns about KCC services regardless. Not all MPs struck a critical note. Lauren Sullivan, one of those who attended, [described](https://www.facebook.com/reel/903646075683544) the meeting as “insightful and lively,” saying discussions ranged from transport and roads to SEND and adult social care. She thanked councillors and officers for organising the session and said she would continue pressing KCC to deliver the best possible services for local communities. The result was two competing narratives playing out in public. One of MPs failing to engage, and another of a meeting organised too quickly and inflexibly to secure broad attendance. **Why this was always going to be awkward** The meeting also came just a week after a [very public row](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kents-water-crisis-isnt-over-yet/) between Kemkaran and Mike Martin, sparked by a ministerial visit to Tunbridge Wells during the ongoing water crisis. Kemkaran accused Martin of excluding KCC officers, including the county’s director of public health, from a closed meeting with the Defra Secretary of State. She argued that KCC, as Kent’s adult social care authority, education authority and lead agency for major incident response, had been deliberately sidelined. The dispute underlined a broader tension over roles, responsibility and visibility during the crisis. Against that backdrop, Martin’s presence at County Hall alongside a Reform cabinet he had publicly clashed with days earlier was always likely to be politically awkward, whatever the stated intentions of the meeting. **The takeaway** A meeting presented as informal cooperation quickly became a public argument about attendance and effort. Rather than smoothing relationships, it exposed how thin and unsettled the relationship between Kent's new Reform administration is, and how easily an exercise in political choreography can unravel when timing, tone and follow-through do not match the message. ### Three big reads 1️⃣ The Telegraph [spent an evening at The Phoenix pub](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/01/25/pub-survived-disaster-not-rachel-reeves/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Canterbury, the day before it closed. The landlord blames a change in drinking habits, but the paper is delighted to find some regulars enthusiastically blaming the government. 2️⃣ Even the Daily Mail seems unimpressed by ['farcical' far-right protestors](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15494539/protesters-hammer-gates-migrant-processing-centre-Dover.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) who spent time over the weekend yelling at a closed migrant processing centre and blocking a tourist coach from leaving the country while shouting 'go back home.' 3️⃣ 'Dickensia meets San Sebastián' is how the new look Observer [brands Broadstairs](https://observer.co.uk/style/travel/article/broadstairs-brand-of-new-wave-retro?ref=kentcurrent.news), in a piece that is particularly excited about the food on offer in the town. ### Council matters **Meetings this week:** - **Dover:** [**Council**](https://moderngov.dover.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=122&MId=5097&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Wednesday to debate changes at Betteshanger Park and set out the coming council year. - **Folkestone & Hythe:** [**Council**](https://folkestone-hythe.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=122&MId=5614&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Wednesday to discuss the council tax reduction scheme and refresh the safeguarding scheme. - **Maidstone:** [**Cabinet**](https://meetings.maidstone.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=748&MId=5608&ref=kentcurrent.news) gathers on Wednesday to talk council tax, finances, and removing traffic from Earl Street. - **Swale:** [**Council**](https://services.swale.gov.uk/meetings/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=128&MId=4333&ref=kentcurrent.news) will be held on Wednesday, where, following disorder at the previous meeting, Reform will put forward a motion on the 'border emergency.' - **Kent:** [**Cabinet**](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=115&MId=9791&ref=kentcurrent.news) will meet on Thursday to discuss the finances at County Hall, with the budget outturn and the medium term financial plan on the agenda. **New planning applications:** - **Ashford:** Plans for commercial space to be demolished and replaced by [75 homes](https://ashfordboroughcouncil.my.site.com/pr/s/register-view?c%5F%5Fq=eyJyZWdpc3RlciI6IkFyY3VzX0JFX1B1YmxpY19SZWdpc3RlciIsInJlcXVlc3RzIjpbeyJyZWdpc3Rlck5hbWUiOiJBcmN1c19CRV9QdWJsaWNfUmVnaXN0ZXIiLCJzZWFyY2hUeXBlIjoicXVpY2stbGluayIsImxhYmVsIjoiUGxhbm5pbmcgTWFqb3IgQXBwbGljYXRpb25zIiwic2VhcmNoTmFtZSI6IlBsYW5uaW5nX01ham9yX0FwcGxpY2F0aW9ucyJ9XX0%3D&c%5F%5Fr=Arcus%5FBE%5FPublic%5FRegister&ref=kentcurrent.news) at Hamstreet. - **Dover:** Office space could be converted into a [pool and snooker club](https://publicaccess.dover.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=T93YLSFZN2800&ref=kentcurrent.news) in Whitfield. - **Tunbridge Wells:** Proposed development of [125 homes](https://twbcpa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=T8YTZJTYKXD00&activeTab=summary&ref=kentcurrent.news) on land off the A26 south of the town. **We can only do this kind of deep-dive reporting thanks to the readers who generously choose to support our work. If you value our journalism, please consider joining them. A paid subscription works out as £1.15 per week, and helps us build a better way of telling the stories that matter to our county.* [Support the Kent Current ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) ### In brief 🫥 2025 Hiding Champion (and South East Water boss) David Hinton [refused to attend](https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2026-01-23/south-east-water-chief-executive-refuses-to-attend-council-scrutiny-meeting?ref=kentcurrent.news) a Tunbridge Wells Borough Council scrutiny committee, who understandably had a few questions for him. 🏗️ The developer behind a 5,750 scheme who tried to get out of more than 120 planning obligations has been told they [must deliver](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g339nl57zo?ref=kentcurrent.news) what they originally promised. 🧑‍⚕️ The adult social care sector in Kent is [seeking legal advice](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2007vpk01o?ref=kentcurrent.news) over concerns that Kent County Council may underfund services. 🖥️ A major IT outage [hit GP surgeries](https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/major-it-outage-hits-kent-and-medway-doctors-surgeries-in-uk/?ref=localauthority.news) across Kent and Medway last week. 🚧 One Dartford Tunnel was [closed](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cr57lr9j3emo?ref=kentcurrent.news) for more than a day after an oversized lorry hit and damaged vital infrastructure. 🚇 An electric HGV has travelled between the UK and France [via the Channel Tunnel](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/cjrzqd5r79zo?ref=kentcurrent.news) for the first time. 🇵🇸 Police and pro-Palestine protestors have [clashed](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/watch-police-and-protesters-clash-in-ugly-scenes-335534/?ref=kentcurrent.news) outside of a Sandwich-based subsidiary of an Israeli arms group. 🚓 A man was [arrested ](https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/man-arrested-after-explosives-experts-10774210?ref=kentcurrent.news)after explosives experts were sent to a property in Folkestone. 🏰 The Citadel, a Napoleonic fort in Dover, has been [purchased](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dover/news/local-private-investor-buys-historic-10m-kent-fort-335358/?ref=kentcurrent.news) by a 'local investor' for £10m. 🎭 Thanet District Council has [redirected £1m](https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/council-approves-extra-1m-funding-10774324?ref=kentcurrent.news) in funds towards the refurbishment of the Theatre Royal in Margate. 🚗 Some residents are [unhappy](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/its-unfair-motorists-hit-out-at-council-decision-to-tria-335308/?ref=kentcurrent.news) that Ashford Borough Council will offer free parking to electric car drivers. 🍩 Residents of Cliftonville are [manning the barricades](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2026/01/24/petition-launched-over-fears-new-greggs-at-former-boots-in-cliftonville-will-kill-off-independent-cafes/?ref=kentcurrent.news) over the prospect of Greggs opening in an empty shop. 🍔 In an unusual move, campaigners in Dover have argued that the town needs '[housing, not hamburgers](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dover/news/our-town-needs-new-homes-not-another-mcdonald-s-335481/?ref=kentcurrent.news)' in a fight against a new McDonald's. ⚫ Gerry Clarkson, the former leader of Ashford Borough Council, has [passed away](https://www.ashford.gov.uk/news/latest-news/former-ashford-borough-leader-gerry-clarkson-cbe/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🌳 A charity is trying to [purchase](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgl3jnwdn1o.amp?ref=kentcurrent.news) Tunbridge Wells Commons in an effort to block development on the land. 🏖️ Proposals for a boardwalk in Walmer have been branded a '[poundshop version](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/deal/news/we-need-a-proper-boardwalk-not-a-pound-shop-version-335469/?ref=kentcurrent.news)' of the one in Folkestone. 🐟 Captain D's, an American fast casual fish restaurant, has [opened](https://qsrmedia.co.uk/franchising/news/captain-ds-opens-second-uk-outlet-in-kent-food-court?ref=kentcurrent.news) its second UK branch inside The Mall in Maidstone. 🧑‍🎨 Folkestone is being lined up as a [potential bidder](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/folkestone/news/kent-seaside-town-tipped-to-bid-for-uk-town-of-culture-2028-335364/?ref=kentcurrent.news) for UK Town of Culture 2028. 👩‍🎨 The Guardian [quite likes](https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2026/jan/19/crossing-into-darkness-review-tracey-emin-carl-freedman-gallery-margate?ref=kentcurrent.news) Tracey Emin's new curated exhibition in Margate. 🧣 The i thinks winter is the [best time of year](https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/travel/arty-kent-seaside-resort-best-winter-4177357?ref=kentcurrent.news) to visit Margate. 🌔 Some [remarkable pictures](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce9y1gy4x94o?ref=kentcurrent.news) of the Northern Lights that were visible in Kent last week. 📽️ A [weirdly threatening slogan](https://www.greatbritishlife.co.uk/magazines/kent/25783396.traitors-themed-projection-white-cliffs-dover/?ref=kentcurrent.news) was projected onto the White Cliffs of Dover to mark the finale of the Traitors. ### Property of the week This Grade II listed four-bedroom oast house on Heath Road in Barming is a striking former farm building that has come to the market for the first time in more than 55 years. Arranged around a distinctive triple-roundel layout, the house offers around 1,800 sqft of space, along with mature gardens and a setting that feels quietly rural despite its proximity to Maidstone. It’s a home with plenty of character and history, offered with no onward chain, and priced at offers over £750,000. [Check out this 4 bedroom barn conversion for sale on Rightmove4 bedroom barn conversion for sale in Heath Road, Maidstone, ME16 for £750,000\. Marketed by Skippers Estate Agents, Ashford![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/favicon.ico)Rightmove.co.uk![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/cd99d446cd72a89185a411816820cf52.jpeg)](https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/171427433?ref=kentcurrent.news#/) ### Events this week 🪐 Sun 1 Feb - [**Brian Cox**](https://marlowetheatre.com/shows/professor-brian-cox-warm-up/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // The astronomy one, not the acting one, warms up his new show. Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury. Tickets £40. ### **Footnotes** ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### “Intent matters and reception matters” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/intent-matters-and-reception-matters/ Last updated: 2026-08-05T08:23:34.000Z [*Sunder Katwala*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunder%5FKatwala?ref=kentcurrent.news) *is the former general secretary of the Fabian Society and is now the Director of* [*British Future*](https://www.britishfuture.org/?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, a non-partisan think tank. He is also* [*prolific on BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/sundersays.bsky.social?ref=kentcurrent.news)*. Steven met him at a cafe in Dartford where they talked about what it means to be non-partisan, who the anxious middle are, and if, as a PPE graduate, he is part of the problem...* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/01/Sunder-sml.jpg) Sunder Katwala **What is your official occupation?** I'm the Director of [British Future](https://www.britishfuture.org/?ref=kentcurrent.news), which is an independent non-partisan think tank. It's a charity and it works on issues of identity. **Do you have any other additional roles, paid or unpaid?** I do some freelance journalism. **You were formerly the chair of the** [**Fabian Society**](https://fabians.org.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news)**?** I was the general secretary of the Fabians. That was 2003 to 2011\. British Future was a start-up just after I left the Fabian Society. I've been doing this since 2012\. **How would you explain what a think tank is?** There are lots of different think tanks that do different things, doing some research. It might be research about public policy. We've got think tanks that might specialise in an area, like the [Institute for Fiscal Studies](https://ifs.org.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news). The Fabian Society was created in 1884\. It's probably the world's first think tank. Later on, in the post-war era, different parties are thinking, 'What have they done and how do we do that?' The Fabian Society is an example of a think tank that's got a view. It's created this idea with the left, orsocialism as they would have called it, and they end up creating things like the London School of Economics or the Labour Party. Think tanks are about ideas and policy, but they're also the bridge, because other people are doing research in universities and so on. Often, they're the bridge between the ideas and the research and the practitioners and the policymakers, the civil servants, the politicians, the media. You're a bridge between how ideas turn into discourse and policy. > We're particularly interested in the issues that might get very heated and how we can diffuse some of the unconstructive polarisation **What does it mean to be non-partisan?** We're non-partisan, but we've got a set of values. British Future is interested in something I hope most people could want, which is that in a fast changing and diverse society, we're looking for common ground and identity issues can divide and split people. Immigration, asylum, race relations, identity, we've got to, in a sense, be interested in the different views and the clash of ideas. But we're particularly interested in the issues that might get very heated and how we can diffuse some of the unconstructive polarisation and do something constructive about it. We're all coming from a set of small-l liberal values that, for example, the diversity of modern Britain, the British future, is going to have people of different ethnicities and faiths in it. That decision wasn't only made in 1948 or 1968, but that decision has been made. How do we make it work well now? We're interested in the engageable people. I've got difficult or challenging views of that. People have got very positive views about that. We actually like to help them think about how to talk to people who aren't where they are. Because you can get a bit of a divide. If you're at a university somewhere thinking, it's all brilliant, isn't it, diversity, change, bring it on. We're interested in helping people who, in a sense, are thinking about the diversity of a changing Britain, and build our confidence as a society. **Coming into Dartford, there are still flags on the lamp posts. Where do you stand on that?** I'm very pro-flag. But flags have different meanings, they're done for different things. We've got the Christmas lights now, but before the Christmas lights went up, we had very nice triangular bunting for St. George's Day. I think we've had it all the way since St. George's Day and the Lionesses and so on. That's the type of bunting with English life on it that you'd be very happy with. My daughter and I got the train to Wembley and watched the Lionesses beat China 8-0\. You'd have been very confident when she had her flag with her. You'd be very confident about what the flag meant in the context of all the 7- to 11-year-olds and 14-year-old girls watching England. There hasn't been that much protest in Dartford. There was one gathering at the station and down to the library. There was a little counter-protest. After that, we had on our road sign a wonky red sort of cross, quite an ugly thing. But we actually, when the Lionesses were going, we actually have face paint on in our house. The thing on the road, the thing on the street sign and the face paint makes the same symbol, but it's got an entirely different meaning. So intent matters and reception matters. The lamp posts are slightly sad, I think. For start, you can only get halfway up. They look a bit droopy, look a bit wet, look a bit half-mast. Obviously, if I put a flag up in my house or in my car, I'm choosing to do it. Someone's done it for everyone to mark the territory. There'll be some people who, when they heard about that, they thought, 'Oh, that's nice.' There's definitely organised groups of people thinking, 'This is ours.' ****Read the full conversation.** Register for free to continue reading this interview, and get access to more independent reporting from the **Kent Current*. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### What Kent’s budget means in practice URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/what-kents-budget-means-in-practice/ Last updated: 2026-01-23T08:52:35.000Z *This week’s Kent Current looks at what Kent County Council’s draft budget actually means once it lands in the real world, from council tax decisions and service cuts to the quieter trade-offs buried in the savings schedule. We also report on a growing challenge to local democracy as far-right activists openly reject elections in favour of intimidation and disruption, and examine what the latest rail figures really tell us about Kent’s uneven recovery from the pandemic.* ### Kent’s budget aims for stability while pressures continue to grow Kent County Council is asking councillors to sign off a budget it says marks a turning point for the authority after a period of significant financial challenge. The draft proposals for 2026/27 set out a net revenue budget of around £1.65bn and include a proposed council tax rise of 3.99%. The administration says the plan reflects stabilising finances, falling debt and a renewed focus on delivering for residents. But behind the language of recovery, the budget papers describe a council still operating under emergency spending controls, drawing down reserves to balance the books, and facing deep structural pressures in adult social care and SEND. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/01/KC_Cuts.jpg) Adult social care is forecast to overspend by nearly £50m this year. The Dedicated Schools Grant is expected to be in deficit by £67.8m, pushing the cumulative DSG shortfall to more than £136m by March 2026\. Officers within the council have been told to freeze recruitment, cancel discretionary spend, review procurement orders and justify every pound. When it came to setting next year’s budget, the council made a clear political choice. It opted for a 3.99% council tax rise rather than the full 4.99% permitted without a referendum. That missing 1% is worth roughly £10m a year in permanent spending power. In the context of a £1.6bn budget, £10m does not transform the council’s finances. But in a year when KCC is warning of an unprecedented financial challenge and is working to close a £43.5m in-year overspend, it is a meaningful sum. The [budget papers](https://www.kent.gov.uk/%5F%5Fdata/assets/pdf%5Ffile/0003/225822/Draft-budget-report-January-2026.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) show that the gap left by not taking the full council tax headroom is being filled through a combination of new savings, additional income, capital receipts and reserve drawdowns. Some of those savings are large and structural, including plans to renegotiate mental health funding with the NHS, tighten adult social care commissioning and increase charges to service users. Others are smaller and more visible. The savings schedule includes proposals to remove bottled water from council offices, end spending on office plants and greenery, disband several council committees, remove Blue Badge parking concessions at country parks, reduce grants to Kent Music School, cut the council’s subsidy to Cyclopark in Gravesend, and review youth travel discounts under the Kent Travel Saver scheme. In one line of the budget, the council is banking a £6,000 saving from using AI in school admission appeals. Another saves £5,000 by ending the County Car’s running costs. Together, these measures are presented as part of the council’s financial recovery plan. Individually, their financial impact is modest. Charging disabled visitors to park at country parks is expected to save about £130,000\. Cutting Cyclopark’s subsidy saves £35,000\. Reducing Kent Music School’s grant saves £57,000\. Abolishing council committees saves £75,000. But they sit alongside larger measures, including £16m of reserve drawdowns and £9m of capital receipts, which are being used to help balance the 2026/27 budget. The administration says the draft budget reflects progress since it took office. Announcing the proposals earlier this month, KCC Leader [Linden Kemkaran](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-think-theres-a-lot-gone-wrong-with/) said the council had inherited a “very serious financial situation.” “When this administration took office, the Council was facing a very serious financial situation,” she said. “KCC was saddled with more than £700 million of debt, around £84,000 was being spent every day on interest alone, and pressures on vital services were continuing to grow.” She said the council had responded “calmly and responsibly.” “Since then, we are on track to deliver £100 million of savings and income, we have reprofiled almost £40 million of future spending, and we have reduced the Council’s debt by £67 million,” she said. “Kent County Council’s financial stability is improving, and we are now firmly focused on delivering for residents.” Kemkaran described the draft budget as a balanced financial plan that delivers value for money while prioritising the services residents rely on most. She said it reflected feedback from the council’s budget consultation. “These proposals reflect the real priorities of Kent residents,” she said. “People took the time to share their views, and we listened.” She also framed the council tax decision as evidence of sound financial management. “A key element of the draft budget proposals is the proposal for the council tax charge in 2026,” she said. “Through sound financial management and efficiencies, the council has been able to keep the proposed increase below the level previously expected.” The draft budget proposes a council tax rise of 3.99%, rather than the 5% anticipated when the administration took office. “This has been achieved while protecting frontline services,” Kemkaran said. “In fact, many services will see increased spending because of the difference they make to people’s lives.” Conservative councillor Andrew Kennedy claimed in a [social media post](https://www.facebook.com/CllrAndrewKennedy/posts/pfbid0VGBdhnuAqNLs7LjYHjRfWeHooKKwj8xBeGPpp2255rxkX1spZAJg2pg5UnZiiXMHl) that “the sums don’t add up.” He pointed to a £50m budget overspend alongside a £50,000 cut to crisis grants and £120,000 spent on political advisers. “Adult Social Care costs out of control. Reserves raided. Council Tax up £40 million despite promising to cut it,” he said. Kennedy has also challenged claims that Kent’s financial difficulties stem from historic borrowing, [arguing](https://www.facebook.com/CllrAndrewKennedy/posts/pfbid0XvAqTZ5PqRMWcgLePnYA79Ky6jeTvKWMGok51o61bH7FGSNPxDVcqxUkQsCwe3zAl) that councils are legally required to balance their budgets and that long-term borrowing is how authorities fund major infrastructure. “Councils therefore borrow money from HM Treasury via the Public Works Loan Board,” he said. “The interest paid is typically 3%–4%.” “Just as any business would borrow to invest in new plant and production, or any family would have a mortgage to pay for their home.” He said Kent’s borrowing had paid for projects including Peters Bridge, New Court Road in Burham, All Saints Primary School, the Turner Contemporary, the Kent History and Library Centre, the Coldharbour Roundabout and the Allington Household Waste Recycling Centre. “While £800 million sounds like a lot of money, it represents just six months’ income for KCC,” he said. “When that borrowing is repaid, KCC will own the asset, just like you will own your home when your mortgage is paid.” Deputy Leader of KCC Brian Collins [said](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/kcc-announces-3.99-council-tax-charge-in-draft-budget-proposals?ref=kentcurrent.news) the administration's proposals were “responsible, transparent and focused on the people of Kent”. “I am proud of the work that has gone into stabilising the Council’s finances, and proud of the dedicated staff who serve this county every day,” he said. The internal budget papers, however, show that emergency spending controls remain in place and that the council is relying on one-off measures to keep the budget balanced. The medium-term financial plan shows spending continuing to rise faster than funding, with the gap closed through a combination of new savings, new income, capital receipts and reserve drawdowns. The biggest pressures in the system also remain unresolved. Demand for adult social care continues to rise. Placement costs continue to climb. The high needs SEND system remains under severe strain. Demographic change is pushing spending higher year after year. Against that backdrop, the council is also seeking to project confidence and momentum. This week, KCC announced an update on Folkestone’s Road of Remembrance, which has been closed since a major landslip in January 2024. “We know how important the Road of Remembrance is to Folkestone,” the council [said](https://www.facebook.com/reel/1938325020123667) on Facebook. “Today we’re sharing some big news.” In a [press release](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/kcc-earmarks-funding-to-reopen-folkestones-historic-road-of-remembrance?ref=kentcurrent.news), KCC said it intends to deliver major engineering works to stabilise the collapsed cliff and reopen the road after almost two years of closure. The council described the scheme as a £5m project and said it intends to allocate significant funding towards it within the draft 2026–27 budget. Peter Osborne, the Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, said: “Reopening the Road of Remembrance matters deeply to residents, businesses and everyone who understands the history of this iconic route. “I’m really pleased that we have now identified a significant proportion of funding that will allow the specialist works to start. If the Council’s budget is agreed next month, we’ll be in a position to move forward, appoint contractors, and could see work start in early summer.” “Getting this road open again will not only restore an important historic link but will also support local businesses and contribute to the wider economic regeneration of Folkestone,” he said. However, the Road of Remembrance scheme does not yet appear as a named project in the draft capital programme that councillors are being asked to approve. The capital programme lists major highways and infrastructure schemes line by line with total scheme costs and annual profiles from 2026–27 onwards. There is no specific allocation for the Road of Remembrance project. That does not mean the scheme will not go ahead. The press release makes clear that it would still need to go through a formal decision-making process even if the draft budget is approved. But it does mean that, at this stage, the project sits between political announcement and formal budget commitment. That tension has been seized on by opposition councillors. Kent’s Liberal Democrats have focused on the council tax decision. “In May, Reform said ‘vote for us to cut Council Tax’,” the group [said](https://www.facebook.com/KentLibDems/posts/pfbid0S9LFDQhVHvnGwukUuwLsyRVsHbM8VfTH1uzGiaq6A7jejG9E4yuzxmZYrwDFrwmDl). “In January, Reform announce they will put Council Tax up.” “And they are cashing in the Council’s emergency reserves. Let’s hope there isn’t a bad winter.” The Lib Dem group said the budget had been hidden for as long as possible and accused the administration of breaking trust with voters. “You can’t trust a word Reform say,” they said. The administration argues that the council is on a more stable footing and that the draft budget represents a step forward after a difficult period. But the budget papers show an authority still managing acute financial pressures, relying on one-off measures to balance its books, and asking councillors to approve a plan built on a wide range of savings, charges and service reductions. The decision not to take the full council tax headroom is central to that picture. A 4.99% rise would not resolve Kent’s financial challenges. But it would remove the need for some of the smaller, highly visible cuts now built into the budget. Instead, residents are likely to experience the financial settlement not as a single tax decision but as a series of changes across everyday life, from parking charges and travel discounts to cultural grants and public amenities. That is the context in which councillors will be asked to endorse the draft budget next month. It is a budget presented as a recovery plan, but one that still carries the hallmarks of a council operating under severe financial strain. **We can only do this kind of reporting thanks to the readers who generously choose to support our work. If you value our journalism, please consider joining them. A Kent Current subscription costs £1.15 per week over a year and helps us build a better way of telling the stories that matter to our county.* [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) ### Kent’s far right stops pretending to play by democratic rules Far-right activists in Kent are now openly arguing that elections are irrelevant and that councils should instead be subjected to sustained pressure and disruption until they get the outcomes activists want. New reporting by [Searchlight](https://searchlightmagazine.com/2026/01/kent-flaggers-look-to-turn-up-the-heat-on-county-council/?ref=kentcurrent.news), based on activists’ own public videos and posts, shows leading figures in Kent’s far-right scene discussing tactics that amount to the intimidation of local government rather than participation in it. Central to this is Harry Hilden, who has organised repeated anti-migrant demonstrations across the county. In a recent video, he dismissed street protests as ineffective and announced a shift in focus towards Kent County Council, starting with a planned march on County Hall on 28 February. Hilden told supporters they should attend council meetings to oppose decisions he claims put communities “in danger,” explaining that he has now worked out when those meetings take place. The dates and times of council meetings are published openly online as a basic feature of democratic transparency. Searchlight notes that his comments echo previous mobilisation that went far beyond peaceful attendance. Last month, a meeting of Swale Borough Council was suspended twice after a coordinated group of activists subjected councillors to [sustained abuse](https://www.kentcurrent.news/when-intimidation-replaces-debate/) during a debate on a sanctuary motion. Councillors reported spitting, eggs being thrown and feeling unsafe in the chamber. Toilets were vandalised, a lift was damaged and parts of the building were flooded. Hilden was identified by name during the meeting and later appeared online dismissing or attempting to justify what had happened. If Hilden’s pitch is about organised pressure, Jodie Scott has been even more explicit in rejecting democratic norms altogether. In recent videos, she described protests as “a waste of time” and argued that activists need to escalate their actions against what she calls “the establishment.” Reflecting on a large far-right march in London last year, she suggested it should have turned into an attempt to “storm the gates” and “arrest” political leaders for alleged crimes, drawing on conspiracy theories about vaccines and so-called crimes against humanity. When some of her own followers challenged this rhetoric, Scott accused critics of trying to silence her while removing dissenting comments from her own pages. The videos and exchanges remain publicly visible. Taken together, the material does not describe a protest movement seeking to influence policy. It describes a network that is increasingly explicit about bypassing elections, confronting councillors and disrupting the normal functioning of local government. The shift is particularly stark given that Kent County Council has been under Reform control since last May. The grievance is no longer who holds power, but the existence of democratic institutions themselves. What happened at Swale now looks less like an isolated breakdown and more like a test run. The tactics being discussed openly for County Hall suggest councillors, staff and residents should take seriously the risk of further attempts to bully, disrupt and intimidate local democracy into submission. ### Kent’s rail recovery is real and uneven More people are using the train in Kent again, but the pattern underneath the [headline figures](https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/usage/estimates-of-station-usage?ref=kentcurrent.news) is far from straightforward. Some of the fastest growth is coming from stations that were barely used to begin with. Thanet Parkway, for example, more than doubled its passenger numbers last year. That sounds dramatic, but even after that jump, it remains one of the county's lesser-used stations, handling fewer journeys in a year than Maidstone East sees in a typical month. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/01/image.png) Thanet Parkway station That contrast runs right through Kent. Big percentage increases tend to occur at small stations, where relatively modest increases create eye-catching growth rates. The stations doing most of the heavy lifting look less spectacular on paper. A 35% rise at Maidstone East added hundreds of thousands of extra journeys. Folkestone West saw a similar effect. Those increases alone outweigh the entire annual usage of several smaller Kent stations combined. The longer-term picture is even messier. In parts of north and east Kent, stations are now significantly busier than they were before the pandemic. Elsewhere, usage is still well below pre-2020 levels. This is not a single return to old commuting patterns, but a reshaping of how and where people travel. ### Footnotes ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### Kent’s water crisis isn’t over yet URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/kents-water-crisis-isnt-over-yet/ Last updated: 2026-01-19T12:43:11.000Z *Good afternoon, and welcome back to your Monday briefing.* *If the past few weeks have felt unusually chaotic for a supposedly well-connected, well-served county, you’re not imagining it. Between water outages, storm damage, hospital pressures and a steady stream of local rows and emergencies, Kent has had a rough start to the year.* *Across the county, it’s been one of those weeks where everything seems to pile in at once. A High Court ruling has cleared the way for part of Chatham Docks to be redeveloped. A Canterbury pensioner is threatening to chain himself to a historic lamppost. Folkestone’s swimming pool could be in line for a £6m upgrade. A hydrogen plant is being planned for Manston. Kent has even managed to find itself Newsthump’d.* *But the story that keeps cutting through it all is water.* *Most homes now have supply back, but after weeks of rolling outages, emergency tankers and bottled water queues, the system behind Kent’s taps is still being held together with temporary fixes. Regulators are circling, MPs are demanding resignations, and serious questions are being asked about how close the county came to a much bigger failure.* *Right. Let’s get into it.* ### Kent’s water is back for most residents, but the system behind it is still broken For most households across Kent, the taps are running again today. But after weeks of rolling outages, bottled water queues and emergency tankers, the county’s water network is still being propped up with temporary fixes. South East Water is now facing regulator action, licence risk and open revolt from MPs. 30,000 homes across Kent and Sussex were without water or with dangerously low pressure earlier this month after Storm Goretti triggered burst mains, power failures and treatment works breakdowns. Since then, fresh faults have continued to spread across the county. Over the weekend alone: - 4,500 homes around Maidstone lost supply after a treatment works failure - 800 homes in Linton were hit by a burst main - 320 homes in Bidborough went days without reliable water - Another burst main between Maidstone and Ashford hit a further 500 homes South East Water says most supplies are now restored. But it also admits the network is still being stabilised using tankers, emergency pumping and controlled refilling of pipes to prevent further failures. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/01/AdobeStock_242652960.jpeg) **What happened** This is the third major collapse in two months. Before Christmas, 24,000 homes in Tunbridge Wells were left without drinking water for two weeks. In November, a treatment works failure that regulators now say was foreseeable for weeks knocked out supplies again. Storm Goretti then triggered a new wave of failures, leaving 30,000 homes across Kent and Sussex without water or low pressure and forcing the declaration of a major incident. Since then, the network has lurched from fault to fault. **Why Kent keeps ending up here** Treatment works have failed. Storage levels have run too low. Burst mains and power outages have cascaded across the network. When one thing goes wrong, everything goes wrong. Regulators have now told MPs that at least one major failure was predictable and could have been prevented. Instead, Kent keeps finding out its water has failed when the taps run dry. **Who is now under pressure** The pressure is now squarely on South East Water’s leadership. MPs from across the county, including Helen Grant, Helen Whately, and Rosie Duffield, have demanded the resignation of chief executive David Hinton, accusing the company of an inadequate emergency response and misleading communication. Tunbridge Wells MP Mike Martin has gone further, writing directly to the company’s shareholders and owners and urging them to sack the board and bring in a turnaround team. He has warned that the government has begun reviewing South East Water’s licence, and that owners risk losing their entire investment if the company is placed into special administration. Martin has also raised serious questions about the company’s finances, revealing that shareholder loans have ballooned from £90m to £276m in just two years, while owners charge close to 10% interest, even as infrastructure across Kent continues to fail. The argument from MPs is simple. Kent residents are paying the price for years of underinvestment while shareholders continue to extract value from the company. **Martin vs Kemkaran** The crisis has also exposed a growing political row over who is actually in charge of Kent’s emergency response. Kent County Council leader Linden Kemkaran has launched a public attack on Mike Martin over his handling of a visit by the Defra Secretary of State to Tunbridge Wells last week. Kemkaran says KCC, which is the county’s adult social care authority, education authority and the lead agency for Kent’s major incident response, was deliberately excluded from a closed meeting with the minister. She says Martin physically prevented council officers, including the county’s director of public health, from entering the room. Mr Martin is MP for a relatively small part of Kent, she said. KCC is responsible for 1.6 million residents and leads the Strategic Coordinating Group for major incidents. “Mr Martin is MP for a relatively tiny part of Kent,” she said. “At KCC, we are responsible for 1.6 million residents. We are the lead agency for managing incidents and emergencies.” Kemkaran has accused South East Water of “abysmal” communication and “terrible service”, and says residents are being left without warning of outages, without timetables for restoration and without basic information about when water will return. She has also accused Martin of turning the ministerial visit into a personal publicity exercise while the wider county remained in crisis. Martin, meanwhile, has positioned himself as the most aggressive critic of South East Water’s leadership, accusing the company of disgraceful conduct, demanding its contractors be sacked and calling on shareholders to remove its board. **What happens next** Regulator Ofwat has launched an investigation into whether South East Water has breached its licence by failing to meet customer service standards during repeated outages. If it is found in breach, penalties could include heavy fines. In extremis, the company could lose its licence and be placed into special administration. The Drinking Water Inspectorate has already told MPs that at least one major failure was predictable and preventable. South East Water says engineers are working around the clock to repair leaks, reroute water and stabilise reservoirs. But for many residents, the question is no longer when the water comes back, it is whether they can trust it to stay on. ### Three big reads 1️⃣ Perhaps unsurprisingly, Kent's water issues have dominated national newspapers in recent days. Harry Cockburn in the Independent [asked](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/water-companies-south-east-tunbridge-hastings-thames-b2902009.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) how Britain can solve the crisis, calling the situation here a 'national disgrace.' 2️⃣ Meanwhile, the ever restrained Daily Mail [offered](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15471905/Tunbridge-Wells-Britain-families-water-utility-boss.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) that 'the misery of Tunbridge Wells sums up Britain today.' 3️⃣ Over at the Telegraph, they took a different approach, [talking](https://archive.is/U6RAq?ref=kentcurrent.news) to businesses and individuals impacted by the issues, who are, shockingly, not impressed by the situation. ### Council matters **Meetings this week:** - **Canterbury:** [**Cabinet**](https://democracy.canterbury.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=755&MId=14022&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets tonight (Monday) to discuss governance arrangements for Canterbury, Whitstable, and Herne Bay, alongside a draft housing strategy, property disposals, and more. - **Folkestone & Hythe:** [**Cabinet**](https://folkestone-hythe.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=142&MId=5628&ref=kentcurrent.news) will meet on Wednesday to discuss new policies and strategies for just about everything, from events to customer access to ICT to hate crimes. - **Kent:** [**Scutiny Committee**](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=752&MId=9690&ref=kentcurrent.news) on Thursday will see councillors discuss SEND, water supply issues, and the upcoming budget. - **Medway:** [**Full Council**](https://democracy.medway.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=122&MId=6344&ref=localauthority.news) meets on Thursday to discuss the constitution, disposal of Gillingham Business Park and the former Strood Civic Centre site, as well as debate motions on political intimidation, school streets, and shrinking democracy. - **Dartford:** [**Cabinet**](https://dartford.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=105&MId=3407&ref=kentcurrent.news) gets together on Thursday to discuss replacing a town centre footbridge and the latest on the Orchard Theatre. - **Dover:** [**Planning Committee**](https://moderngov.dover.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=136&MId=5175&ref=kentcurrent.news) will decide on Thursday whether to grant permission to two new housing developments, including a 30 home site in Walmer and 11 homes in Great Mongeham. - **Thanet:** [**Cabinet**](https://democracy.thanet.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=151&MId=6998&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Thursday to discuss the draft budget for the coming year. **New planning applications:** - **Kent:** Dover Grammar School for Girls is seeking permission to demolish two mobile classrooms to replace them with a [new permanent block](https://www.kentplanningapplications.co.uk/Planning/Display/KCC/DO/0190/2025?ref=kentcurrent.news). - **Folkestone & Hythe:** Lidl have applied to build a [new store](https://folkestonehythedc.my.site.com/PR3/s/planning-application/a1nbH00000bmUJrQAM/260002fh?c%5F%5Fr=Arcus%5FBE%5FPublic%5FRegister&ref=kentcurrent.news) on brownfield land off Southern Way. **We can only do this kind of deep-dive reporting thanks to the readers who generously choose to support our work. If you value our journalism, please consider joining them. A paid subscription works out as £1.15 per week, and helps us build a better way of telling the stories that matter to our county.* [Support the Kent Current ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) ### In brief 👊 Kent County Council Cabinet member Peter Osborne will [face no further action](https://pa.media/blogs/pa-editors-picks/no-action-against-reform-councillor-over-threat-to-punch-colleague-in-the-jaw/?ref=kentcurrent.news) after threatening to punch a colleague in the jaw. 📄 Two Labour councillors in Medway have publicly claimed that their administration's Local Plan [isn't legally compliant](https://www.localauthority.news/labour-councillors-raise-red-flags-over-medways-local-plan/?ref=kentcurrent.news), in response to a government consultation on it. 💡 A Canterbury pensioner is threatening to [chain himself](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/ill-chain-myself-to-lamppost-to-stop-council-tearing-it-do-335051/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to a historic lamppost if Kent County Council tries to remove it. 🏠 Residents in Folkestone are [very upset](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/folkestone/news/we-re-extremely-worried-protest-over-homeless-shelter-p-335225/?ref=kentcurrent.news) about housing being provided to homeless people. 🚁 Two search and rescue helicopters previously based at Lydd have been [relocated to Hampshire](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd9e7x7yydqo?ref=kentcurrent.news) following a row over airport fees. 🏥 East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust [declared a critical incident](https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2026-01-12/critical-incident-declared-at-qeqm-hospital-in-margate?ref=kentcurrent.news) last week following a surge in admissions. 🏥 On the other hand, the stroke unit at Kent & Canterbury Hospital has been named the [best in the country](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2026/01/15/east-kent-hospitals-stroke-service-at-kent-canterbury-hospital-named-best-in-country/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🏫 Maidstone will have a [shortfall](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/building-delays-mean-kcc-may-have-lost-out-on-up-to-3-9m-to-335206/?ref=kentcurrent.news) of 1,765 secondary school places by 2033, which seems quite bad. 🏢 The leaseholder of Arlington House in Margate is being [called before](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2026/01/16/arlington-house-leaseholder-to-be-quizzed-by-council-panel-in-light-of-building-safety-concerns-and-resident-eviction-notices/?ref=kentcurrent.news) Thanet District Council over safety concerns and eviction notices. 🏊 Folkestone & Hythe District Council is [considering](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c62nwpjx0zno?ref=kentcurrent.news) a £6m upgrade of Folkestone's swimming pool. 🏗️ The redevelopment of part of Chatham Docks [can proceed](https://www.localauthority.news/high-court-clears-the-way-for-chatham-docks-redevelopment/?ref=kentcurrent.news) following a High Court ruling that dismissed a judicial review. 🏭 Plans have been revealed for a [£120m hydrogen plant](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/plans-revealed-for-uk-s-first-120m-hydrogen-plant-in-kent-335141/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Manston. 🚑 A man has been seriously injured after '[falling from height](https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/2158992/man-seriously-injured-fall-from-significant-height-rochester-castle-kent?ref=kentcurrent.news)' at Rochester Castle. 🗣️ Three Citizens Advice organisations in Kent have [merged](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2026/01/13/merger-complete-for-thanet-canterbury-and-swale-citizens-advice/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to form a new North East Kent branch. 🍲 The Telegraph has [reviewed](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/food-and-drink/restaurants/william-sitwell-reviews-pomus-folkestone/?ref=kentcurrent.news) Pomus in Folkestone. 📢 Kent has been [Newsthump'd](https://newsthump.com/2026/01/16/kent-residents-secretly-delighted-they-dont-have-to-bother-washing/?ref=kentcurrent.news). ### Events this week 🏎️ Mon 19 Jan - [**An Evening with Damon Hill**](https://www.assemblyhalltheatre.co.uk/whats-on/an-evening-with-damon-hill-in-conversation-with-tom-clarkson.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Formula 1 champion talks about his career and the current state of the sport. Assembly Hall, Tunbridge Wells. Tickets from £39.25. ### **Footnotes** ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### A rescue sanctuary meets the planning system URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/a-rescue-sanctuary-meets-the-planning-system/ Last updated: 2026-01-15T19:27:27.000Z *Today's edition leads inside the escalating planning battle over Happy Pants Ranch, the animal rescue sanctuary now facing enforcement action after inspectors ruled it an unlawful development in open countryside. We also return to Kent’s ongoing water farce as tens of thousands of homes are hit by fresh supply failures and pressure mounts on South East Water’s leadership, before rounding up the latest wave of Conservative councillors defecting to Reform across Thanet, Gravesham and Sevenoaks. Here’s what you need to know.* ### Inside the planning battle over a Kent rescue sanctuary On a stretch of open farmland outside Newington, [Happy Pants Ranch](https://www.facebook.com/thehappypantsranch/) has become home to hundreds of rescue animals, and the focus of a long-running planning dispute that has now reached a decisive moment. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/01/KC_HPR.jpg) Swale Borough Council says it is reviewing its next steps after being unable to confirm that the animal sanctuary has complied with an enforcement notice requiring the site to close and the land to be restored. A nine-month compliance period granted by a government planning inspector expired in September last year, with the council now considering what action to take next. Happy Pants Ranch describes itself as a 'forever home to more than 450 special needs rescue animals with nowhere else to go.' But for the council, some neighbouring residents and planning inspectors, it represents a large commercial operation operating in open countryside without permission. Happy Pants Ranch relocated to the Iwade Roaf site in early 2021 after being forced to leave its previous base in Yelsted, near Sittingbourne, where it had operated for several years as an animal rescue sanctuary. Later that year, the charity applied for retrospective planning permission for a change of use from agriculture to an animal sanctuary on the 21 acre site, including animal shelters, shipping containers for storage, fencing and gates, access tracks, and a mobile caravan for residential use. Comparing satellite imagery from recent years shows the site has been transformed from open farmland into a large operational animal sanctuary, with access tracks, enclosures, shelters and compound areas now covering much of the land. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-15-at-15.39.28-1.png) The Iwade Road site in 2020. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-15-at-15.39.56-1.png) The Happy Pants Ranch in 2025. After assessing the application against national planning policy and Swale Borough Council’s local plan, the council [refused permission](https://pa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/files/958C25308E58D0590D7617D05A2225AE/pdf/21%5F500173%5FFULL-Refused-5552226.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) in April 2022. In its decision, the council said the development harmed the countryside setting, failed to conserve or enhance biodiversity, had an unacceptable visual impact, and caused noise and disturbance to neighbouring residents. It also said there was insufficient information to assess the traffic impact of open days and visitor numbers. In October 2022, the council issued a formal planning enforcement notice alleging an unauthorised material change of use of the land to a mixed use comprising an animal sanctuary and residential occupation via caravans. The notice required the mixed use of the site to stop, and the land to be restored to its condition prior to the breach. This enforcement notice was appealed by the site’s operator, Amey James, who runs Happy Pants Ranch through a registered charity. A public hearing and site visit were held in November 2024, with evidence heard from the charity, council officers, professional advisers and local residents. In December 2024, the Planning Inspectorate [dismissed the appeal](https://acp.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/ViewCase.aspx?Caseid=3311616&CoID=0&ref=kentcurrent.news), upheld the enforcement notice (with limited variations), and refused planning permission on the deemed application. In a detailed decision running to more than a dozen pages, the inspector concluded that the development had caused significant harm to the character and appearance of the countryside, threatened biodiversity and ancient woodland, and had had an unacceptable impact on neighbouring residents through noise and disturbance. The inspector also found that the use amounted to 'intentional unauthorised development,' a material planning consideration weighing against the grant of permission. While recognising the emotional importance of the sanctuary’s work, the inspector said this did not outweigh the planning harm caused by the unauthorised development. He granted a nine-month compliance period to meet the requirements of the enforcement notice, extending the original six-month deadline. That compliance period ran from the date of the inspector’s decision in December 2024 and expired in September last year. When the *Kent Current* asked whether it could be confirmed that the requirements of the enforcement notice had been complied with and whether the site is now considered compliant, Swale Borough Council said. A council spokesperson said, “We are actively reviewing the case regarding the planning enforcement notice. All considerations are being taken into account in deciding the appropriate next steps.” The council also confirmed there is an ongoing prosecution relating to an alleged breach of a noise abatement notice at the site, but said it could not comment further as this is an active criminal case. Councillors at both Swale Borough Council and Kent County Council were contacted for comment for this piece, but did not respond. The inspector’s decision also records a long history of regulatory action at the site following complaints from neighbouring residents. Shortly after the sanctuary began operating in 2021, the council received noise nuisance complaints relating to the cumulative daily noise from animals, including cockerels, geese, sheep, cattle and dogs. Noise monitoring was carried out, resulting in the issuance of two noise abatement notices in July 2021\. One related to the use of an electricity generator on the site, while the other related to noise from animals. Although the generator was later restricted to daytime use, complaints about animal noise continued. Further monitoring in 2024 found that noise from the animals remained constant and at an unacceptable level. The inspector noted that prosecution proceedings have now been commenced in relation to an alleged breach of a noise abatement notice. The decision also records that Swale Borough Council issued a Community Protection Notice in April 2023 after repeated incidents of animals straying onto neighbouring land and the public highway, causing distress to residents. Two fixed penalty notices were later issued after the problem continued. The inspector concluded that the repeated occurrence of stray animals was unacceptable and indicative of poor management or inadequate fencing. The Happy Pants Ranch is a [registered charity](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/5137161/charity-overview?%5Fuk%5Fgov%5Fccew%5Fonereg%5Fcharitydetails%5Fweb%5Fportlet%5FCharityDetailsPortlet%5ForganisationNumber=5137161&ref=kentcurrent.news). Amey James, the charity’s founder and sole trustee registered with the Charity Commission, said she had been advised not to comment on the planning enforcement process because it is ongoing. She referred the *Kent Current* to a trustee statement published by the charity, which acknowledges a series of administrative and regulatory failures and seeks to provide context for the challenges the organisation says it is facing. In the statement, the charity says it “naively assumed” that the site’s former farm use covered its activities, and accepts that it should have sought planning permission for change of use. It says it received poor legal advice during the early stages of the planning process, which hindered its appeal and damaged its credibility with the council and the public. The charity says it is now working with new professional advisers and has submitted a new proposal for pre-application planning advice. The statement also acknowledges failures in statutory reporting, including late submission of accounts to the Charity Commission, and says the trustees take full responsibility for those failings. The charity’s [most recent accounts](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search?p%5Fp%5Fid=uk%5Fgov%5Fccew%5Fonereg%5Fcharitydetails%5Fweb%5Fportlet%5FCharityDetailsPortlet&p%5Fp%5Flifecycle=2&p%5Fp%5Fstate=maximized&p%5Fp%5Fmode=view&p%5Fp%5Fresource%5Fid=%2Faccounts-resource&p%5Fp%5Fcacheability=cacheLevelPage&%5Fuk%5Fgov%5Fccew%5Fonereg%5Fcharitydetails%5Fweb%5Fportlet%5FCharityDetailsPortlet%5FobjectiveId=A18015029&%5Fuk%5Fgov%5Fccew%5Fonereg%5Fcharitydetails%5Fweb%5Fportlet%5FCharityDetailsPortlet%5Fpriv%5Fr%5Fp%5FmvcRenderCommandName=%2Faccounts-and-annual-returns&%5Fuk%5Fgov%5Fccew%5Fonereg%5Fcharitydetails%5Fweb%5Fportlet%5FCharityDetailsPortlet%5Fpriv%5Fr%5Fp%5ForganisationNumber=5137161&%5Fuk%5Fgov%5Fccew%5Fonereg%5Fcharitydetails%5Fweb%5Fportlet%5FCharityDetailsPortlet%5Fpriv%5Fr%5Fp%5ForganisationNumber=5137161&ref=kentcurrent.news), for the year ending February 2024, show it recorded a deficit of £5,097 and had negative reserves of £53,260. The accounts were filed almost a year late and were formally qualified by an independent examiner. They show that the charity is reliant on financial support from Amey James and is operating on a going-concern basis, assuming her continued support. They also record a disputed £80,000 water bill from South East Water, which the charity is challenging, and confirm that the landlord has indicated an intention not to renew the charity’s lease this year. The charity says it is fundraising to buy the land and secure the sanctuary’s long-term future, launching a [GoFundMe appeal](https://www.gofundme.com/f/qf67yt-help-us-buy-this-land?ref=kentcurrent.news) seeking £500,000 to purchase the site, telling supporters that without buying the land, it would have to vacate the site by September last year. As it stands, the GoFundMe has nearly £29,000. In the appeal, Ms James wrote that she and the animals would “devastatingly” have to leave the site unless the land could be bought, describing the situation as “heartbreaking” and saying she was doing everything she could to save the sanctuary. Other appeals have sought funds to [cover legal fees](https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-us-raise-legal-fees-to-fight-the-council?ref=kentcurrent.news) to challenge council enforcement action and to meet the costs of complying with regulatory requirements [following an avian influenza outbreak](https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-us-survive-the-avian-influenza-ordeal?ref=kentcurrent.news) that led to the culling of more than 160 birds at the sanctuary last year. In that appeal, the charity said it had been left with less than £1,000 in available funds after the outbreak and was facing urgent testing costs of £16,000 for its pig herd under public health rules. Charity Commission records show a long history of late statutory reporting by the charity. Accounts and annual returns for four of the last five years were filed between 11 and 14 months late. The charity is currently overdue again for its 2025 return. The case is unfolding less than a kilometre from Basser Hill, one of [several large illegal waste sites around Sittingbourne](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kents-mega-dumps-expose-the-limits-of-waste-crime-enforcement/) that have become a national test of how quickly regulators can shut down unlawful land use once it becomes established. As the *Kent Current* has previously reported, dumping has continued at Basser Hill and nearby Raspberry Hill Farm long after regulators became aware of the sites. The Environment Agency has issued instructions to stop activity and clear waste, but operations have continued while enforcement action works its way through the system. For communities around Sittingbourne, the question is not just whether unlawful activity can be stopped, but whether it can be stopped quickly enough to prevent lasting damage. For supporters of the sanctuary, the case of Happy Pants has become a deeply emotional fight to protect a place they see as a refuge for animals that would otherwise have nowhere to go. For neighbouring residents, it has been a years-long dispute over noise, disturbance and the impact of a large commercial operation on open countryside. And for the council, it has become a test of how far planning and environmental law can stretch when a fast-growing and popular charity outpaces its regulatory footing. With the compliance period now expired and the council unable to confirm that the enforcement notice has been complied with, Swale Borough Council says it is reviewing the case and deciding on next steps. What happens in the coming weeks will determine whether Happy Pants Ranch can find a lawful future on the site, or whether the charity will once again be forced to relocate hundreds of animals. Either way, the outcome will shape how Kent’s authorities respond when land use changes faster than enforcement can keep up. **We can only do this kind of reporting thanks to the readers who generously choose to support our work. If you value our journalism, please consider joining them. A Kent Current subscription costs £1.15 per week over a year and helps us build a better way of telling the stories that matter to our county.* [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) ### Kent's ongoing water farce We're trying not write about water in every edition, but it's hard to get away from it at the moment. This week, tens of thousands of homes around Tunbridge Wells, Sevenoaks, Maidstone, and Canterbury have once again suffered supply interruptions. In other water news: - Regulator Ofwat has announced an [investigation](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq6vm1rp2pjo?ref=kentcurrent.news) into South East Water to see whether it has complied with the terms of its licence. - Prime Minister Keir Starmer has described the situation as '[clearly totally unacceptable](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/c62081j9n30o?ref=kentcurrent.news).' If only there were someone in a position of power who could step in and do something. - Few things unite across party lines in Kent, other than a consensus that South East Water boss David Hinton should resign. Lib Dem MP Mike Martin was the first to call for him to go, and has since been [joined by MPs](https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/25766632.mps-call-south-east-water-ceo-david-hinton-resign/?ref=kentcurrent.news) Tom Tugendhat, Helen Grant, and Helen Whately, Rosie Duffield, and Reform leader of KCC, [Linden Kemkaran](https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/kent-council-leader-urges-south-east-water-chief-resign-b1266325.html?ref=kentcurrent.news). - He might not go that easily, given he's in line for a [£400,000 bonus](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jan/15/south-east-water-boss-david-hinton-in-line-for-400000-bonus-despite-outages?ref=kentcurrent.news) regardless of performance if he stays in post until 2030. - Several communities have reported [no support](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/weald/news/we-ve-had-no-help-from-water-company-it-was-community-spi-335112/?ref=kentcurrent.news) from South East Water and have instead created their own support networks. - The delightfully named Dry Wells Action group in Tunbridge Wells have called for the [army to be sent in](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/water-shortages-crisis-kent-sussex-starmer-b2899340.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) to sort everything out. - Two separate pubs in Tunbridge Wells, [The Abergavenny Arms](https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/576-year-old-kent-pub-10755620?ref=kentcurrent.news) and [The Bull](https://www.nationalworld.com/news/uk/the-bull-tunbridge-wells-future-of-pub-on-very-thin-ice-amid-south-east-water-outage-5473295?ref=kentcurrent.news), have said they are at risk of going under if supply issues continue. - Shops across the areas with supply issues are [struggling](https://www.betterretailing.com/water-shortage-hits-convenience-stores-in-kent-sussex/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to keep up with demand for bottled water. ### Three more councillors jump ship to Reform Three more district councillors in Kent have defected to Reform, continuing the steady collapse of Conservative representation across local government in the county. Thanet’s Barry Manners, Gravesham’s Dakota Dibben and Sevenoaks councillor Laurence Ball have all announced this week that they are now sitting as Reform representatives, having been elected as Conservatives in 2023. Manners, who represents Cliftonville East, left the Conservatives last year and has been sitting as an independent since May. [Announcing his move](https://www.facebook.com/Cllr.Manners/posts/pfbid0d7hH2mW8fb1HJ2kREhzHn95zq7rdA7irhjPWVnuUGRPqH9wSn9mjpZfEKeRFWob4l), he said he had joined Reform because “local people deserve honest representation, strong accountability, and councillors who are prepared to challenge business as usual,” adding that the party represents “our last real chance to reverse the managed decline of the last 30 years.” As a Reform councillor, Manners says he will now be able to sit on Thanet District Cuncil committees and link local priorities to national policy discussions. His [social media presence](https://www.instagram.com/mannersbarry/?ref=kentcurrent.news) is an eclectic mix of foreign travel, Trump-era US politics and Chinese Communist Party artwork, while [Companies House records](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/9LABz7z0JGvds0Mj0-P3QQVxvjE/appointments?ref=kentcurrent.news) list him as a resident of Thailand, the United States, as well as, helpfully for his role, England. In Gravesham, Dakota Dibben, councillor for Istead Rise, Cobham & Luddesdown, was elected as a Conservative in 2023 and has now joined Reform’s growing group on the council. Outside of politics, his [online presence](https://x.com/DakotaDibben?ref=kentcurrent.news) is dominated not by an enthusiasm for model railways. Sevenoaks councillor Laurence Ball, who represents Farningham, Horton Kirby & South Darenth, has been a Conservative councillor for more than a decade and previously served as mayor of Swanley and chairman of the council. A part-time self-employed chess coach, he is now the second Reform councillor on the authority. Reform does not control any district councils in Kent, but it remains the ruling group at County Hall. The party’s grip on county power has already been weakened by internal rows and expulsions, yet its ability to lure sitting Conservative councillors says more about the state of the Tory brand in Kent than it does about Reform’s long-term prospects. ### Footnotes **Programming note:* Our Chief Conversationalist, Steven Keevil, had an unexpected period in hospital this week. While he's doing better, he, perhaps unsurprisingly, hasn't been able to file a Sunday interview this week. As such, there won't be one this week, but we should be back on track next week.* ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### KCC balances the books. For one year. URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/kcc-balances-the-books-for-one-year/ Last updated: 2026-01-12T13:07:59.000Z *Good morning, and welcome back to your Monday Kent Current.* *We hope you managed a decent weekend, even if Storm Goretti had other ideas. After a run of freezing weather to start the year, this one was more about wind, rain and fallen trees than icy pavements, with parts of the county dealing with flooding, structural damage, and travel disruption.* *We start today at County Hall, where Kent County Council has technically balanced its £1.6bn budget for the year ahead, but only by dipping into reserves and selling off assets. On paper, the numbers add up. In reality, the council is already warning that the real crunch is still to come, with a £95m funding gap opening up over the next two years and adult social care continuing to dominate spending.* *Elsewhere, tens of thousands of homes were left without water over the weekend, Deal Pier has been closed indefinitely after storm damage, and Ashford International marked its 30th birthday, still waiting for the return of international trains.* *Let’s get into it.* ### How KCC balanced its £1.6bn budget and why the hard part is still to come Kent County Council has balanced its £1.6bn budget for next year only by selling assets and raiding reserves, while warning of a looming £95m funding gap over the following two years. Reform’s first full budget at County Hall includes a 3.99% council tax rise, 1% below the government cap. But buried in the council’s own budget papers is the reality that the books are balanced using £25m of one-off money. That includes £9m from capital receipts and £16m from reserves that are now deemed 'no longer necessary.' The council itself admits those fixes will have to be replaced with permanent savings in future years. In other words, this is a bridging budget. It buys time. It does not solve the problem. For most households, it will mean paying around £67 more a year on their Kent County Council bill for a Band D property, with no guarantee that the council’s finances are now on stable ground. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/01/AdobeStock_1228302014_Editorial_Use_Only--1-.jpeg) **The scale of the problem** KCC’s total planned spending next year is £1.65bn, up 7.6% on this year. Nearly three-quarters of that is now swallowed by care services. Adult social care alone will cost £787m in 2026 to 27, an 11% increase in a single year and 47.8% of the entire council budget. Children’s services will cost a further £421m, up 7.7%. Together, care services account for more than £1.2bn of KCC’s annual spending. The council says it inherited a difficult financial situation and is now stabilising its finances. “When this administration took office, the council was facing a very serious financial situation,” said KCC leader [Linden Kemkaran](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-think-theres-a-lot-gone-wrong-with/) in the authority’s budget statement. “KCC was saddled with more than £700 million of debt, around £84,000 was being spent every day on interest alone, and pressures on vital services were continuing to grow.” But the draft budget shows that adult social care remains the organisation's single biggest pressure. Of the £179.5m increase in spending next year, £89.8m comes from adult social care alone. That includes £37.7m to cover the full-year impact of this year’s overspends, £25.3m from rising demand, £15.8m from cost pressures and £9.9m from price inflation. **How the budget is being held together** The council describes the budget as 'balanced.' Technically, it is. But only because of a series of one-off measures that cannot be repeated year after year. The draft plan relies on £9m from asset sales and capital receipts to fund day-to-day spending, and on £16m from raiding earmarked reserves that are now considered surplus to requirements. The budget papers are explicit that these are temporary fixes and state that the one-off measures will need to be replaced by sustainable solutions in future years. The council is also rebuilding its general reserve after drawing it down to cover previous overspends. But the plan does not include any allowance for further overspend this year. If 2025/26 ends in the red again, reserves will fall further. The Green Party says the administration is sacrificing long-term stability to keep council tax below the maximum. In its budget statement, the party said Reform had “raided reserves and sold the family silver” in order to balance the books, relying on “unsustainable diversions of capital receipts from property assets they have disposed of in order to fund expenditure or bolster the General Reserve.” **The hidden funding trap** There is also a political gamble embedded in the 3.99% council tax rise. The government’s new Fair Funding formula assumes councils raise taxes to the maximum level allowed without triggering a referendum. That assumption is built into how much funding each authority is deemed to have. By choosing to go below the cap, KCC risks losing around £10m a year in future funding. In its statement, the Green Party warned that by setting council tax below the maximum, Reform had “shot itself in the foot” and risked creating a “potential £30m shortfall over the course of the Medium Term Financial Plan.” Reform, however, says it has deliberately chosen to keep council tax lower than many other authorities. “A key element of the draft budget proposals is the proposal for the council tax charge in 2026,” said Kemkaran. “Through sound financial management and efficiencies, the council has been able to keep the proposed increase below the level previously expected.” **The cliff edge ahead** Even with a £59m uplift in government funding next year, the council’s own medium-term financial plan shows large structural gaps opening up almost immediately. For 2027/28, KCC forecasts a £52.6m shortfall between spending and funding. For 2028/29, the gap is a further £42.1m. No council tax rises are currently assumed beyond next year. That means a potential £95m hole over two years, before accounting for any further shocks from adult social care, special educational needs, inflation, interest rates, or workforce costs. In short, next year’s budget problem has not gone away. It has been postponed. **The politics** Reform leaders say they have already turned the council around and insist the budget represents a clear step forward. “These draft budget proposals are responsible, transparent and focused on the people of Kent,” said deputy leader Brian Collins. “I am proud of the work that has gone into stabilising the council’s finances.” The Green Party rejects that assessment, saying the administration has abandoned its commitment to paying off the current year’s overspend and is relying on risky assumptions about future savings. “The budget has been ‘balanced’ by raiding reserves and relying on the unsustainable diversions of capital receipts from property assets they have disposed of,” the party said. **What happens next at County Hall** The draft budget will be scrutinised by committees throughout January before going to full council on 12 February. With Reform holding 48 of the 81 seats at County Hall, it is expected to pass. But this is not the end of the story. It is the beginning of a much bigger reckoning over how Kent pays for care, how it funds its services, and how long it can continue to paper over the cracks with asset sales and reserve raids. Kent taxpayers are paying more this year and may be paying much more in the years ahead. **We can only do our reporting thanks to the readers who generously choose to support our work. If you value our journalism, please consider joining them. A paid subscription works out as £1.15 per week, and helps us build a better way of telling the stories that matter to our county.* [Support the Kent Current ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) ### Water woes Thousands of homes across Kent remain affected by water supply problems after Kent County Council declared a major incident following a weekend of disruption. Around 30,000 properties across the South East have been impacted, with ten postcodes in Kent still experiencing outages or low pressure, including Tunbridge Wells, Canterbury, Maidstone and Headcorn. Bottled water stations remain open across the county, and some households have been told supplies may not return until Tuesday. Several schools have closed, and emergency arrangements are now in place to protect essential services. South East Water has blamed a combination of Storm Goretti, freezing weather, burst water mains, low reservoir levels and a power cut at one of its pumping plants. The company says the cold snap triggered an outbreak of leaks across its network, leaving drinking water storage tanks running low and reducing its ability to treat water at the normal rate. The latest failure comes just weeks after 24,000 homes in Tunbridge Wells and surrounding villages lost supply before Christmas. Elsewhere in Kent, Southern Water says customers in Medway, Sittingbourne and Thanet remain in supply for now, but has warned that recent storms, freezing conditions and a power outage have lowered reservoir levels and increased the risk of disruption in the coming days. As a precaution, bottled water has been delivered to vulnerable customers on its Priority Services Register, while engineers work around the clock to keep taps flowing and prevent any knock-on outages across the rest of the county. ### Two big reads 1️⃣ The Telegraph has assessed Reform's running of Kent County Council, describing a '[divided Kent](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/01/12/reform-party-government-kent-council/?ref=kentcurrent.news)' as their political experiment. 2️⃣ The i has [visited Margate](https://inews.co.uk/news/inside-margate-new-homes-asylum-seekers-4151494?ref=kentcurrent.news), where newbuild homes could be purchased and bought to house asylum seekers. ### Council matters **Meetings this week:** - **Dover:** [**Cabinet**](https://moderngov.dover.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=121&MId=5158&ref=kentcurrent.news) gathers tonight (Monday) to discuss a new shared ownership policy, fees and charges for the year ahead, food waste collections, and more. - **Medway:** [**Cabinet**](https://democracy.medway.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=115&MId=6448&ref=localauthority.news) meets on Tuesday to discuss the provisional local government finance settlement, the creation of a new nature reserve in the Horsted Valley, Pride in Place funding, and lots more. - **Medway:** [**Planning Committee**](https://democracy.medway.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=360&MId=6338&ref=localauthority.news) decides on Wednesday on a 75 home development east of Hoo, 9 homes near High Halstow, a floodlit football foundation playzone in Chatham, and more. - **Canterbury:** [**Scrutiny Committee**](https://democracy.canterbury.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=799&MId=14071&ref=kentcurrent.news) holds an extraordinary meeting on Thursday after Green councillors called in the decision not to establish the 'Wealden condition' in planning, which would see new developments blocked if sufficient water systems weren't in place for them. **New planning applications:** - **Maidstone:** Outline planning application for [263 homes](https://pa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=T7GIBKTYMY600&ref=kentcurrent.news) northeast of Headcorn. - **Maidstone:** Application for [25 retirement bungalows](https://pa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=T7IPYPTYG7D00&ref=kentcurrent.news) in Sutton Vallance. - **Medway:** Outline planning application for [350 homes](https://publicaccess1.medway.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=T88GSJKNGW100&activeTab=summary&ref=localauthority.news) south of Allhallows. ### In brief 🚫 Kent County Council has [refused to say](https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/amount%5Fspent%5Fby%5Fkcc%5Fon%5Fexternal/response/3270865/attach/html/2/Response%20information%20exempt.pdf.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) how much money has been spent on external consultants since Reform took control over the council. KCC said that while they hold the data, compiling the answer would take more than 18 hours, so they had no legal obligation to respond. 🚐 Thousands of drivers have been [scammed](https://www.theguardian.com/money/2026/jan/11/dartford-crossing-drivers-scam-websites-fines-dart-charge-penalty-charge-notice?ref=kentcurrent.news) by fake Dart Charge websites after trying to pay a toll to use the Dartford Crossing. 👷 Erith Contractors have been appointed to build a [new £18m tunnel](https://www.tunnelsandtunnelling.com/news/erith-contractors-secures-18m-deal/?cf-view&ref=kentcurrent.news) for public transport and active travel between Ebbsfleet and Bluewater. 🚄 Ashford International has [celebrated](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/czjge8jzkpwo?ref=kentcurrent.news) its 30th birthday, despite not having international services for the past six years. 🏥 A new 54 bed stroke unit is [planned](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/new-state-of-the-art-hospital-facility-to-increase-capaci-334822/?ref=kentcurrent.news) for the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford. 🏫 An abandoned school in Folkestone has been [put up for sale](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/folkestone/news/abandoned-school-site-hits-market-for-1-85m-334712/?ref=kentcurrent.news) for £1.85m. 🎄 Council organised Christmas lights in one part of Medway were so rubbish that Medway Council [declined to charge](https://www.localauthority.news/the-christmas-lights-so-rubbish-even-medway-council-wouldnt-charge-for-them/?ref=kentcurrent.news) for them. 🌧️ Storm Goretti caused flooding, fallen trees, and damage [across the county](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm2xn8g78zlo?ref=kentcurrent.news) last week. 🌊 Access to Deal Pier has been [closed indefinitely](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/deal/news/part-of-iconic-kent-pier-closed-indefinitely-after-being-dam-334710/?ref=kentcurrent.news) after severe stormy weather damaged railings. 🗳️ Thanet District Council have [approved the next steps](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2026/01/11/margate-town-councils-time-has-come-as-next-steps-to-create-the-grassroots-authority-are-given-the-green-light/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in creating a Margate Town Council. 🏪 Maidstone Borough Council is [offering grants](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c87r11qqddlo?ref=kentcurrent.news) from business rates to help businesses improve their shopfronts. 🚗 Cars will be [banned](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/it-would-be-the-restaurant-capital-plan-for-car-free-zone-334872/?ref=kentcurrent.news) on Earl Street in Maidstone to create outdoor dining areas for restaurants on the street to create a 'cafe culture' in the town. 🍗 Presumably not part of that cafe culture, American fried chicken chain Popeyes is [due to open](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/popeyes-to-open-new-town-branch-after-fast-food-rival-s-sudd-334853/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Maidstone town centre. 📺 The Chair of the Ashford Conservatives is [very upset](https://www.attitude.co.uk/news/tory-matthew-bridger-will-byers-stranger-things-coming-out-508175/?ref=kentcurrent.news) about Stranger Things. ### Events this week 🎸 Sun 18 Jan - [**Skep Wax Indie Day**](https://www.folkestonesongwritingfestival.co.uk/skepwax-indie-day-plus-swansea-sounds-live/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Local record label delivers day of talk and performances for Folkestone Songwriting Festival. Speedway, Folkestone. Tickets £10. ### **Footnotes** ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### “We're all about helping our neighbours” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/were-all-about-helping-our-neighbours/ Last updated: 2026-08-05T08:23:04.000Z [*Wave Community Bank*](https://wavecb.org.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *is a credit union that covers Kent and Medway. We spoke to Community Engagement Officer Jennifer Sutton to find out more about what they do and how they can help local residents. We also spoke about how she came to work at Wave, how it differs from high-street banking, and the number one thing someone can do to improve their financial situation in 2026.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/01/20250502_095152-1.jpg) Jennifer Sutton **What is your official occupation?** My official title is Community Engagement Officer at Wave Community Bank. **Do you have any additional roles, paid or unpaid?** Yes, of course I do. I'm the manager of [Creative Coast Events](https://www.creativecoastevents.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news), which organise events and Christmas markets in the Dover area. I sit on the past pupils and staff association for Dover Grammar School for Girls, because of course I do. Announcing in the new year, this is breaking news, I am a trustee for [Keep Talking Services](https://www.keeptalkingservices.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news), a charity based in Herne Bay. **What is the Wave Community Bank?** The Wave Community Bank is a credit union. That's our legal structure. But most people know us as a non-profit bank. The way that it works is that people in our community save with us, so that we can give loans in our community to people who are struggling, who've got low credit scores, who might be experiencing a financial pickle. But with each loan we give out, there's a savings component. Where they might not be able to access money from the main high street lenders, we're able to say yes, or maybe. Obviously, it's based on circumstances. But the idea is that we are able to give them loans where they couldn't access it. They're not going to high APR lenders like credit cards, loan sharks, and then we're able to make them safe. They have a bit of financial resilience. That's the whole idea. > It's never going to make you rich, but it does make you feel rich at the end of the day, knowing that you've helped your neighbours. **Why should someone able to access normal high street banking facilities save with you?** Because we're all about helping our neighbours. It's not going to get you a high interest rate on your return, because there isn't any. We're very clear about that. However, we are launching in January our reward system with very similar to a blue light card system where you can get discounts with over 100 different retailers, and it's free just by being a member. By saving with us, you're helping your community members, you're using your money in a slightly different way. It's never going to make you rich, but it does make you feel rich at the end of the day, knowing that you've helped your neighbours and sometimes people that you meet in the community who you don't know are experiencing financial issues and maybe having poverty. It's helping those neighbours and that's the whole idea. It doesn't need to be a lot of money. It can be a tenner, but ten pounds is better than nothing. It also means it's in a slightly different place to your normal banking. When you're out and about, the temptation to move money across is really strong. You can't do that as quickly. You can, but it's not as quick. That means that if you're thinking, I definitely want to buy that new gadget, you have to wait a little bit. **What can you tell us about Wave’s reward system?** Some of those discounts are actually with the big food retailers. That's important, and it's going to make a difference because if it costs £6 to join the bank, because it's a pound membership fee and a £5 admin. You can access a whole load of savings. Why wouldn't you do that? Then you get to know about us and know that we're trying to do good things. > We’ve got over five million in loans out in the community. **When is that launching?** Beginning in January. Equally, it's probably worth knowing that we've had 59% growth. We're not small, and we've got over five million in loans out in the community.We're a little dynamic in that we have a business development team, which a lot of credit unions don't. We're still growing, and lots of credit unions are shrinking. We're really lucky actually, when we go to big conferences, everybody wants to talk to us because they want to know what we're doing. We're just doing our jobs, but because we're so different to everybody else, everybody wants to see what we're doing, which is really flattering and terrifying at the same time. **As a community bank, do you have physical bank premises, or is it all online?** We don't have a physical bank premises. We've got two offices, one in Maidstone and one in Hove. You can make an appointment to go into the Hove one, which I know is a bit far for the Kent residents. But we do answer the phone, shocker. Which is why we won the Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce Award for Customer Service. Because we answer the phone. You can send messages via the app, via the website and emails and we answer them really quickly. But the majority of our business is done online or via the app, which is designed to be very simple, very easy to access. It's not complicated. It doesn't have lots of pop-ups with lots of things that you can't find. It's very basic and straightforward, which is perfect. ****Read the full conversation.** Register for free to continue reading this interview, and get access to more independent reporting from the **Kent Current*. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### South East Water said outage was unforeseeable the day before it happened again URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/south-east-water-said-outage-was-unforeseeable-the-day-before-it-happened-again/ Last updated: 2026-01-08T19:00:05.000Z *Kent’s infrastructure and public services are under renewed scrutiny this week. We examine South East Water’s evidence to MPs after the Tunbridge Wells outage, and the fresh disruption that followed almost immediately. We also look at what the start of early works on the Lower Thames Crossing really means, as the project’s main construction phase slips further into the future, and at Kent County Council’s plans to sell Folkestone’s historic library building as a long-running dispute reaches a decision point.* ## South East Water’s CEO told MPs the Tunbridge Wells outage was unforeseeable. Homes lost water again the next day. Barely 24 hours after South East Water’s chief executive told MPs that last month’s Tunbridge Wells water outage could not have been anticipated, thousands of homes across the town were without water again. For residents, the return of bottled water stations this week felt grimly familiar. For South East Water, the timing could hardly have been worse. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/01/KC_Water-again.jpg) On Tuesday, David Hinton, chief executive of the supplier, appeared before the House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee to account for the outage that left around 24,000 homes in and around Tunbridge Wells without drinking water for nearly two weeks between late November and mid-December. By Wednesday, South East Water confirmed a fresh disruption. Around 6,500 households in south Tunbridge Wells and nearby villages were without water or facing intermittent supply, this time blamed on burst mains and depleted storage levels during cold weather. The sequence of events has become central to the growing scrutiny of the company’s leadership. In evidence, Hinton described the December crisis as the result of an “unexpected” change in raw water chemistry at the Pembury water treatment works, where a coagulant chemical stopped performing as expected. He told MPs it was not something the company had seen in 20 years. He rejected the suggestion that the failure should have been anticipated and repeatedly framed the incident as the product of wider pressures, including climate conditions, housing growth and what he described as the absence of national resilience standards in the water industry. When pressed on accountability, he said his responsibility lay in securing future investment rather than preventing the incident itself. Asked directly to rate South East Water’s handling of the outage, Hinton resisted giving a single answer before eventually settling on three scores. He rated the operational response at 8/10, communications at 6/10, and preventing the incident in the first place at 6/10. That self-assessment set the tone for much of the session. MPs repeatedly pushed for clearer admissions of fault, while Hinton returned to explanations about systems, regulation and long-term infrastructure rather than immediate decision-making. Within the same hearing, that account was directly contradicted. Drinking Water Inspectorate chief inspector Marcus Rink told MPs that, in the view of his inspectors, the failure at Pembury was visible weeks before taps ran dry across Tunbridge Wells. Rink said there was a noticeable deterioration at the treatment works from 9 November, around 20 days before the outage began. He told the committee the company had failed to carry out appropriate testing requested by the regulator and was operating without the data needed to understand what was happening in real time. In his assessment, had the correct monitoring been in place, the original chemical would likely have continued to work. “It shouldn’t have been a surprise,” he said. The contrast between the two accounts was stark. One described an unforeseeable event driven by rare conditions. The other described a deterioration that was visible, measurable, and insufficiently addressed. The regulator’s evidence also placed the December outage in a longer context. The Pembury works is the sole treatment plant supplying Tunbridge Wells and has been under an enforcement notice since 2024 over contamination risks. That notice did not prevent the plant from continuing to operate, but it did identify vulnerabilities that would later prove central to the crisis. What it did not do, Rink explained, was give the regulator the power to intervene decisively before harm occurred. Once South East Water issued a boil water notice during the outage, the scope for further enforcement narrowed significantly under existing legislation. That regulatory constraint has since become part of the wider debate. But for MPs, it did not explain the gap between what the regulator said was known and what the company told Parliament. The chair of the committee, AlistairCarmichael, has since written to South East Water, raising serious questions about the accuracy and intent of the evidence given by its chief executive. He warned that providing misleading information to Parliament can amount to contempt of the House and asked the company to respond formally. South East Water has said it is reviewing the letter and will reply to the committee. There is no public record, at the time of writing, of any correction to Hinton’s evidence. The hearing also revealed strains beyond the technical detail. During questioning, Hinton was asked about his relationship with Tunbridge Wells MP Mike Martin in the days following the outage. He confirmed that he had phoned Martin on the evening the MP publicly called for his resignation, after earlier discussions during the crisis itself. Pressed on whether he had accused Martin of politicising the issue and asked how he could “sleep at night,” Hinton did not fully deny the exchange. He said he could not recall his exact words, described the call as not his finest moment and said it followed comments from Martin, which elicited that kind of response. The exchange sat uneasily alongside repeated assurances about customer focus and accountability, and committee members returned to questions of tone, leadership and transparency several times. MPs also questioned why Pembury continued to operate without certain safeguards in place. Rink confirmed that his inspectorate had previously requested the installation of a micro-filtration unit to prevent potential contamination, but that it has not yet been fitted. No public timeline has been given for when, or if, that will change. Taken together, the evidence sketched a timeline that was hard to reconcile with the claim of surprise. A treatment works under enforcement. Deterioration visible weeks before the outage. Testing not carried out as requested. A crisis described as unforeseeable. And then, the day after the company’s chief executive defended that position under oath, Kent households were without water again. If the parliamentary scrutiny was intended to reassure residents that December’s disruption was an anomaly, events on the ground quickly cut against that narrative. This week’s renewed outage left parts of Tunbridge Wells and nearby villages once again reliant on bottled water, with South East Water acknowledging that reservoir levels were so low the system depended on a continuous stream of tanker deliveries to function at all. Martin publicly contradicted the company’s restoration timelines, warning that intermittent supply could persist for days. He described a network with no margin for error, where leaks or bursts immediately drained storage and tipped whole areas back into outage. While South East Water continues to argue that regulation and investment rules lie at the heart of the problem, the regulator’s evidence points to something narrower and more troubling. Known risks were present, monitoring was incomplete, and safeguards were not in place at a critical site serving tens of thousands of people. Those failures have now prompted MPs to raise questions not just about operational decisions but also about corporate governance and the company's credibility. Those questions sit with South East Water’s board as well as its chief executive. For residents and businesses in Tunbridge Wells, however, the debate in Westminster is measured against a simpler reality. Within weeks of a major, supposedly unforeseeable crisis, and days after the company’s leadership defended its handling in Parliament, taps ran dry again. Different causes, different explanations, the same result, and for Tunbridge Wells, the patience is running out. **We can only do this kind of reporting thanks to the readers who generously choose to support our work. If you value our journalism, please consider joining them. A Kent Current subscription costs £1.15 per week over a year and helps us build a better way of telling the stories that matter to our county.* [Support our work ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) ### **Lower Thames Crossing construction starts, but tunnelling still years away** Early construction work has started on the Lower Thames Crossing, even though the main tunnelling phase remains two years away. The current focus is on preparation rather than excavation. On the Essex side in particular, engineers are stabilising difficult ground comprising deep peat, alluvium and historic landfill before a tunnel-boring machine can be launched. Large-scale ground treatment and drainage will be needed before that can happen. Archaeology and ecology are also shaping the programme. Roman-era remains are being excavated along parts of the route, while mitigation sites are being created ahead of major civil works. Both are on the project’s critical path and must be completed before construction can fully ramp up. The first permanent structures, including the tunnel portals, are due to start construction this summer, with the tunnel boring machine launch targeted for late 2028. Despite work now beginning on site, the overall timetable has slipped again. Government documents now confirm completion is expected in 2034, with responsibility for delivery moved from National Highways to the Department for Transport and the scheme set to be sold to private investors. The main construction and long-term operation would be funded through tolls under a regulated private finance model, similar to the one in place at the Dartford Crossing. For now, most of the progress is happening quietly, with the most visible part of the project still years away. ### KCC plans sale of Folkestone Library building After more than three years without a full town centre library, Kent County Council is preparing to formalise a decision that has triggered cross-party criticism and exposed tensions within the ruling Reform group itself. A [report](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/documents/s134051/25-00104%20-%20Folkestone%20Library%20Longterm%20Location%20Decision%20Report.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) going to councillors next week confirms the council’s preferred option is to base Folkestone’s library and registration service in Sandgate Road, with conversion works underway and a full library due to open in spring 2026\. Officers say the site will provide a comprehensive service alongside adult education, replacing the temporary and fragmented arrangements in place since the Grace Hill building closed in 2022. The former Central Library at Grace Hill, first opened in 1888 and extended in 1910, is proposed for open-market disposal. Council officers estimate that reopening the listed building would require around £2.9m in capital investment, while holding the empty site costs more than £100,000 a year. They argue these costs cannot be justified under current financial pressures. That assessment is disputed by campaigners and opposition parties. Creative Folkestone, working with community partners, [submitted a proposal](https://www.creativefolkestone.org.uk/news/plans-proposed-to-save-folkestone-library/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to restore Grace Hill as a community and cultural hub, combining a publicly operated library with education space, creative studios, digital workspaces, archive facilities and community uses. The proposal was framed around a partnership approach, with plans to seek central government funding to carry out the extensive repairs required. Council officers conclude the proposal carries too much uncertainty, citing reliance on external grant funding, a lack of clarity around ownership and long-term liabilities, and the risk of ongoing costs to the council while funding bids are pursued. On that basis, officers recommend confirming Sandgate Road as the library’s base and proceeding with the sale of the Grace Hill building. Political opposition has been strong. Liberal Democrat councillor Tim Prater has [said](https://www.facebook.com/timprater/posts/pfbid02TJABtHGHPjzhBFmJ4mBMfnaX4w8PkZjD9yfazRBFdms7m5V7HnTzfgbciVBqdoSJl) he cannot support the recommendation and will challenge what he describes as flawed assumptions in the report. Labour MP Tony Vaughan has [accused](https://www.facebook.com/TonyVaughanLabour/posts/pfbid01QrDNfTkNCZLQc9Wtu7fXDczNzyPPqxUu6KvKEdmGjabqz7V9FSq2UbhAxZgRwhBl) the Reform-run council of rejecting a genuine community partnership without properly engaging with it, while the Shepway Green Party [says](https://www.facebook.com/ShepwayGreens/posts/pfbid0231tt47bZuPccg4XuTUbLni4ZnswQK6UEhaX2K9NB8hHduy2iNWKZFnjfzu6GNvoFl) the decision effectively closes the door on the library returning to its historic home. However, not all Reform councillors are aligned. John Baker, county councillor for Folkestone West, [said](https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story%5Ffbid=pfbid0WibVLzA3WYCaw2gwphZLh7ex4Xb9cjwZH7co2xfHTEGJZ8y9gLGakqrTBsDtDJ9Gl&id=61577199417291) he understood the financial case for moving the library to Sandgate Road but described the loss of Grace Hill as “disappointing” given its cultural and community importance. Baker said he remained strongly supportive of Creative Folkestone’s vision for the building and stressed that the decision did not rule out a future return. Crucially, the Sandgate Road site is held on a 15-year lease with a break clause in December 2030\. The council has confirmed a formal review around 2028, creating a potential route for the library to relocate again if a restored Grace Hill or another viable option emerges. For now, however, the council’s position remains that Sandgate Road will serve as Folkestone’s library “for the foreseeable future,” with the fate of the Grace Hill building set to be decided through an open-market sale. ### In brief 💷 Medway Council will still [need to apply](https://www.localauthority.news/funding-boost-not-enough-to-stabilise-medway-finances/?ref=kentcurrent.news) for Exceptional Financial Support from the government to pass a balanced budget despite increased funding levels. 🚌 A school bus carrying children [crashed](https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/ashford-kent-stagecoach-emergency-services-paramedics-b1265336.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) into a ditch near Ashford in icy conditions yesterday. 🚆 Network Rail completed work to [upgrade](https://railway-news.com/network-rail-completes-infrastructure-works-across-kent-sussex-and-south-london/?ref=kentcurrent.news) track and equipment around Ashford over the Christmas period. Elsewhere, a project to [protect](https://news.railbusinessdaily.com/major-coastal-defence-project-underway-to-protect-iconic-railway-through-folkestone-warren/?ref=kentcurrent.news) the railway from landslips at Folkestone Warren is underway. ⛴️ Thanet District Council is [seeking](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2026/01/07/application-for-removal-of-open-port-duty-and-further-work-on-options-to-dispose-of-lease-or-freehold-for-ramsgate-port-now-underway/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to remove its duty to keep Ramsgate Port open, in an effort to dispose of the mothballed terminal. 🏗️ The tendering process has [begun](https://www.constructionenquirer.com/2026/01/06/bid-race-starts-for-ebbsfleet-115m-central-enabling-works/?ref=kentcurrent.news) for £115m of enabling works for the central phase of Ebbsfleet Garden City. ➡️ Expelled Reform councillor for Sheppey Isabella Kemp has [joined](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/expelled-reform-uk-councillor-joins-new-party-334857/?ref=kentcurrent.news) the Independent Reformers group at Kent County Council, bringing their number to three. 🗳️ Sevenoaks councillor Gary Williamson has [passed away](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sevenoaks/news/he-was-a-local-champion-tributes-after-death-of-veteran-334746/?ref=kentcurrent.news). This will trigger a by-election in his Halstead, Knockholt and Badgers Mount ward. ### Footnotes ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### How Canterbury’s Victorian lampposts are being lost URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/how-canterburys-victorian-lampposts-are-being-lost/ Last updated: 2026-01-05T14:06:10.000Z *Good morning, and welcome to the first Kent Current news briefing of the year. We hope you’ve managed to keep warm after a properly cold start to January. Much of the county has already seen snow, the ground feels permanently frozen, and 2026 has wasted no time in reminding us it is still very much winter.* *On Saturday night, I found myself at a Wassail at Loddington Farm, following a drumbeat through frozen orchards and blessing the apple trees for the year ahead. The whole point of it is care and continuity. If you want something to last, you have to tend it, year after year.* *That idea turns out to be relevant in Canterbury, where Victorian cast-iron lampposts are being removed and replaced, not because anyone has clearly decided they should go, but because responsibility has drifted for so long that replacement has become the default.* *Elsewhere, the pause is over. Planning decisions, political manoeuvring, and a grab bag of distinctly Kent stories are already setting the tone for the year ahead.* *Alright, let’s begin.* ### **How Canterbury’s Victorian lampposts are being lost** Some of Canterbury’s distinctive cast-iron Victorian lampposts are being taken out and replaced with modern steel columns, following years of unresolved disagreement between the two councils responsible for the city’s streets and heritage. The immediate flashpoint is Cossington Road, a residential street in a conservation area, where nine historic lampposts are due to be removed. But the row has widened into something more fundamental about how historic street features are lost when responsibility is split. Around 250 similar columns are thought to survive across the city. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/01/AdobeStock_538034115_Editorial_Use_Only.jpeg) One of Canterbury's Victorian lampposts **Why this matters** This is how heritage disappears without a decision ever being taken. No council has formally voted to remove Canterbury’s Victorian lampposts. Instead, years of stalled coordination have left Kent County Council acting under highway safety powers, with replacement becoming the default outcome. Campaigners fear that unless the rules change, the same process will quietly repeat itself across the city. **What makes Canterbury’s lampposts unusual** Many of the city’s cast-iron columns are based on designs supplied for more than a century by H. M. Biggleston & Sons, a Canterbury foundry that operated from 1835 to 1963. They are recognisable by their curved “swan-neck” arms, decorative ironwork and, in some cases, the old Canterbury City Corporation crest. Historic groups say only a handful of British cities retain such a consistent collection of bespoke Victorian lamp standards. **Kent County Council’s case** Kent County Council, which owns and maintains highway lighting, says some of the columns have “multiple defects” and pose safety risks. It has [previously told KentOnline](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/it-s-a-shocking-waste-of-money-and-will-destroy-character-o-330614/?ref=kentcurrent.news) that refurbishing the original posts would cost roughly three times as much as replacing them. The council has put refurbishment at around £4,000 per column, compared with about £1,255 for a modern steel replacement fitted with decorative “heritage-style” additions. The authority says structural inspections carried out in August identified problems that could not be ignored, and that it is not legally required to install heritage lighting in conservation areas. Some replacement columns have already been installed elsewhere in Canterbury, including Orchard Street. **Why residents are pushing back** Local residents and heritage groups accept that a small number of columns may require significant work. Their argument is that most could be repaired and repainted, and that years of limited routine maintenance have allowed conditions to worsen. They point to examples elsewhere in Canterbury where residents paid for professional repainting at a fraction of the council’s refurbishment estimates, and to other cities, such as Brighton and Hove, which are restoring original Victorian lighting rather than replacing it. They also argue that the steel replacements now being installed are generic and weaken the character of conservation-area streets. **The unresolved issue beneath it all** The deeper problem is not the lampposts themselves, but who decides what replaces them. Kent County Council owns the lighting and carries out the work. Canterbury City Council is the local planning authority, responsible for protecting heritage and setting design standards in conservation areas. Campaigners say correspondence released under environmental information rules shows that between 2020 and 2024, Kent repeatedly sought heritage guidance and design approval from the city council. No binding design standard, heritage impact assessment or formal specification was ever agreed. With no clear framework in place, Kent proceeded under its permitted development rights as the highways authority, citing safety obligations. Campaigners say the steel column design currently being installed has never been formally approved by Canterbury City Council’s planning or heritage teams, not because it was rejected, but because no decision was reached. **Why Article 4 is now central** Heritage groups are calling on Canterbury City Council to issue an emergency Article 4 Direction. This would remove automatic permitted development rights for street lighting in conservation areas and bring future replacements under planning control. They also point out that the city council already holds casting moulds, created under Levelling Up Fund public-realm works, that could be used to produce like-for-like replicas of the historic columns. None of those tools have yet been used. **The political context** The dispute has continued since Reform took control of Kent County Council last May on a platform of cutting costs and reshaping how the authority operates. But the underlying issue predates that election and reflects years of unresolved responsibility between the county and city councils. **What happens next** A [petition](https://www.canterburysociety.org.uk/save-canterburys-heritage-streetlights/?ref=kentcurrent.news) calling on Canterbury City Council to intervene is due to be presented to council leaders. Absent a clear decision or enforceable standard, the concern locally is that Canterbury’s historic streetscape will continue to change incrementally, not through a plan, but by default. ## Join the Kent Current Clear, independent reporting on Kent’s biggest stories. No ads, no clickbait. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Council matters **Meetings this week:** - **Kent:** [**Cabinet**](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/mgCalendarMonthView.aspx?GL=1&bcr=1&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Thursday to discuss the provisional local government settlement, quarterly performance reports, and more. - **Canterbury:** [**Council**](https://democracy.canterbury.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=138&MId=13848&ref=kentcurrent.news) is on Thursday, where the council tax base will be discussed, as well as motions on homelessness and community governance. - **Thanet:** [**Council**](https://democracy.thanet.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=141&MId=7251&ref=kentcurrent.news) will hold an extraordinary meeting on Thursday to discuss the establishment of a parish council for Margate. - **Ashford:** [**Cabinet**](https://ashford.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=136&MId=4919&ref=kentcurrent.news) gathers on Thursday to debate writing off debt, the council tax reduction strategy, the parking 'vision' and more. **New planning applications:** - **Maidstone:** A scoping opinion has been submitted for [2,000 homes](https://pa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=T7IKMATY1BC00&activeTab=summary&ref=kentcurrent.news) to form the Lidsing Garden Village on the edge of Medway. - **Tonbridge & Malling:** [350 homes](https://planning.agileapplications.co.uk/tmbc/application-details/161358?ref=kentcurrent.news) could be built on the former Coblands Nursery site in Tonbridge. - **Canterbury:** Plans have been submitted for [34 new homes](https://pa.canterbury.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=T7CS2CEAK9900&ref=kentcurrent.news) on the former Chaucer School site. **We can only do this kind of deep-dive reporting thanks to the readers who generously choose to support our work. If you value our journalism, please consider joining them. A paid subscription works out as £1.15 per week, and helps us build a better way of telling the stories that matter to our county.* [Support the Kent Current ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe) ### In brief 🪧 A far-right protest in Margate shortly before Christmas [went about as well](https://searchlightmagazine.com/2025/12/margate-mayhem-kent-far-right-ends-year-in-chaos-and-delusion/?ref=kentcurrent.news) as you might expect. 🏚️ Napier Barracks, the notorious military barracks used to house asylum seekers in Folkestone, [has closed](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/dec/18/uk-napier-military-barracks-folkestone-asylum-seekers-closes?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🏘️ Thanet has been put forward for a government pilot scheme that would see local councils [buy or refurbish housing](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2025/12/31/thanet-put-forward-for-government-pilot-scheme-to-provide-council-housing-for-people-seeking-asylum/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to house asylum seekers. 🚔 A second child has been [arrested](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cev8m4rw9jlo?ref=kentcurrent.news) following vandalism at a Swale Borough Council meeting last month. ➡️ Sevenoaks District Council has gained its first Reform councillor following a [defection](https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/sevenoaks-council-gains-first-reform-10719402?ref=kentcurrent.news) from the Conservatives. 🗳️ Plans are moving forward to [create a new Maidstone Town Council](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy8j0250m8vo?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🏢 Maidstone Borough Council are [racing to block](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/council-in-a-race-with-reform-over-hmo-plan-for-town-centr-334502/?ref=kentcurrent.news) Invicta House from being sold off for HMO housing by Kent County Council. 🎸 Thanet District Council has agreed to fund the [purchase of the Pie Factory](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2025/12/21/thanet-council-agrees-to-forward-fund-535k-to-buy-pie-factory-musics-ramsgate-youth-centre-base/?ref=kentcurrent.news), a youth centre in Ramsgate, after Kent County Council proposed selling it off. 🏗️ £40m Ebbsfleet stadium and thousands of homes [could be blocked](https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/40m-ebbsfleet-stadium-and-housing-plan-risks-lead-pollution-and-disrupting-freight-supply-15-12-2025/?ref=kentcurrent.news) after concerns were raised about less pollution and supply chain disruption. 🔋 A proposed green energy waste-processing plant between Folkestone and Dover could [generate power for 7,000 homes](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dover/news/new-green-energy-plant-on-national-landscape-could-supply-ga-334630/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🚒 Faversham arts venue, the Alexander Centre, has had to close its main hall following [a fire](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/faversham/news/fire-service-reveals-cause-of-new-year-s-eve-blaze-at-town-s-334638/?ref=kentcurrent.news) on New Year's Eve. 🚓 Four men have been arrested following a [disturbance](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn7jmv7ky13o?ref=kentcurrent.news) at Sri Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara in Gravesend on New Year's Day that left one person injured. 👮 Over 300 drink and drug driving offences were [detected by Kent Police](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clydy0wpnvro?ref=kentcurrent.news) in December. 🪲 The Colorado potato beetle has been [eradicated](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy4gd91g2zko?ref=kentcurrent.news) in the UK after being discovered in Kent in 2023, leading to apocalyptic concerns about what it could do to crops. 🐑 Maidstone Borough Council is experimenting with using [sheep](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce3wgpl2q7lo?ref=kentcurrent.news) instead of lawnmowers. 🐚 Thousands of [starfish washed up](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2025/12/26/mass-of-starfish-wash-up-on-margate-beach/?ref=kentcurrent.news) on Margate beach on Boxing Day. 🚛 Remembering Euro Route, the [slightly deranged plan](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/folkestone/news/the-forgotten-5bn-plans-for-islands-in-the-channel-334498/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to connect Kent with France using multiple tunnels, a massive bridge, and artificial islands. ❄️ It's been [snowing](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c89ql5xk971o?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🚗 You [can't park there](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c93vql4e47lo?ref=kentcurrent.news), sir. ### **Footnotes** ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### A county in transition URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/a-county-in-transition/ Last updated: 2026-01-02T10:58:39.000Z **We’re still on a short Christmas break at Kent Current, but before we fully switch back on, we wanted to pause and look ahead.* **This piece isn’t a set of predictions. It’s an attempt to set out the pressures already bearing down on Kent, the decisions being pushed down the road, and the issues likely to shape local government, politics and public services through 2026.* **Our usual publishing schedule resumes next week. For now, thank you for reading, and for supporting independent local journalism in Kent.* **\- Ed* Kent rarely changes in obvious ways. More often, pressure builds quietly until it shows up elsewhere: in slower decisions, stretched services, or institutions that no longer feel in control of events. As 2026 begins, Kent is heading into a year shaped less by single announcements than by the accumulation of unresolved reform, political disruption and financial strain. None of this has arrived suddenly. What has changed is how many of these pressures are now landing at the same time, and how little spare capacity remains to absorb them. This is not a list of forecasts. It is a map of where strain is already visible, where decisions are being deferred, and where earlier choices are now starting to have consequences. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2026/01/AdobeStock_473141263--1-.jpeg) Local government reorganisation will sit over almost everything Kent’s councils do in 2026\. Not because of any one decision, but because of the way the process has been imposed and the speed at which it is being driven. Every council in Kent has now submitted its preferred model for replacing Kent County Council, Medway Council and the 12 district authorities with a new unitary structure. Ministers will choose a model in the summer following consultation, legislate in the autumn, hold shadow elections in 2027 and switch to new councils in April 2028. The route to this point has been disorderly. Kent and Medway initially pursued a devolution deal, submitting an expression of interest and seeking entry to the government’s Devolution Priority Programme. When ministers published their white paper, Kent was not included. Instead, the county was instructed to reorganise its entire system of local government first. That instruction triggered a compressed and fragmented process. An interim plan was produced in March. Feedback arrived in May. A November deadline was set for full business cases. Councils are now working to a fixed national timetable while holding very different views about what Kent’s future governance should look like. Five options have emerged, all built on the same evidence base and all accepting the same basic premise: reorganisation will be expensive and disruptive in the short term, but cheaper in the long run once duplicated services are removed. Where they differ is scale, political credibility and risk. At one extreme sits Kent County Council’s preferred model, a single authority covering the entire county and Medway. Its financial case is simple. It is the cheapest to establish and promises the largest annual savings. But it would create the largest unitary council in England, something ministers have already signalled they do not want. The proposal was further weakened when a leaked internal meeting revealed it was designed, at least in part, to obstruct the wider reform process. Few expect it to progress. At the other end is the five-unitary model promoted by Dartford and Gravesham. Its set-up costs are high, its savings are limited, and its payback period is long or non-existent. Nothing in the modelling suggests it meets the government’s tests. The serious debate sits between the middle options: a three-unitary model and two four-unitary variants. These fall within the population ranges ministers appear to favour and produce credible, if still contested, savings. Even here, there is no shared position. Councils are edging towards different conclusions, some cautiously, others tactically, as they watch how the wider process unfolds. This matters because 2026 will be lived largely in the shadow of choices that have yet to be made. Now submissions are in, control shifts to Whitehall. Ministers will select the structure that best fits national criteria, not necessarily the one with the broadest local support. After that, Kent enters a prolonged transition, with existing councils still responsible for services while preparing for their own abolition. The incentive in that situation is caution. Senior officers begin to reposition themselves. Recruitment becomes harder. Long-term projects slow. Capital programmes are reassessed. Councils retain responsibility without certainty, authority without longevity. Residents will not see reorganisation happening day to day, but they will feel it in delayed decisions and reduced ambition. The shared evidence base underpinning all the proposals carries a consistent warning: service disruption is a real risk if adult social care, safeguarding, education and digital access are not handled carefully during transition. These are already the most pressured parts of the system, and they do not sit neatly within council boundaries. ***Last chance to get 25% off.** *We have big plans for our reporting on Kent in 2026, but we can only do it if readers choose to support our work. If you value our journalism, please consider becoming a paid supporter. Right now, you can get* [**25% off a full year's subscription*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/r/bf043e3f?m=51951aff-722e-4e4b-ab45-6cc4278701a0) *to the Kent Current and help us build a better way of telling the stories that matter to our county.* [Get 25% off for one year ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/ghosted) Health is one of the clearest examples. The Kent and Medway NHS system continues to struggle with discharge delays, access to primary care and mental health provision. When hospitals cannot move patients on, councils absorb the cost through social care. When mental health support is unavailable, demand reappears in housing, policing and emergency services. Reorganisation complicates joint working at precisely the moment it is most needed. Overlaying this institutional uncertainty is the most disruptive political development in Kent for decades: Reform’s takeover of Kent County Council in 2025. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### The end of our first year URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-end-of-our-first-year/ Last updated: 2025-12-27T07:00:07.000Z Dear reader, As we come to the end of the year, we’re breaking slightly from the usual *Kent Current* format to pause and take stock. The *Kent Current* only launched in April, so this hasn’t been a full year in the traditional sense. But in the months since we started publishing, a great deal has happened in Kent, and much of it has required careful, sustained reporting rather than quick headlines. This is a short look back at what we’ve been doing since launch, a bit of insight into how it works behind the scenes, and a look ahead to where we’re hoping to take it next. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/12/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f600bdb7a-ffe3-4cb8-897b-e8a29ff2b839_2000x1125-jpeg-1.jpg) **Why the *Kent Current* exists** Kent Current was launched with a fairly simple aim: to take county-level local democracy seriously, explain complicated issues clearly, and show up consistently, especially when the story is uncomfortable, technical, or unfolding slowly. Kent is a large county, and much of what happens at County Hall and district councils can feel distant, procedural, or deliberately hard to follow. We’ve tried to bridge that gap by spending time with the documents, sitting through meetings, asking follow-up questions, and explaining not just *what* has happened, but *why it matters*. That approach has shaped everything we’ve published since April. **What we focused on this year** A large part of our reporting this year centred on what happened after Reform took control of Kent County Council, and what that shift meant once the headlines faded. We published detailed analysis of their election win itself and then stayed with the story as events unfolded at County Hall. That meant following council meetings closely, reading internal papers, and tracking how decisions translated into practice. It also meant breaking the story about five Reform councillors [posing for photographs with a man draped in a neo-Nazi flag](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kent-reform-councillors-pictured/), a story that other outlets chose not to pursue. [Kent Reform councillors pictured smiling alongside neo-Nazi activistPlus KCC blurs neutrality line again, Lower Thames Crossing tries new regulatory system, news in brief, and more![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-5.png)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fdc9e54a2-dda7-4735-ad4d-10a7c18e8a41_2500x1406-jpeg-2.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kent-reform-councillors-pictured/) We continued that scrutiny with our reporting on a [leaked Reform group video](https://www.kentcurrent.news/a-week-of-reckoning/), which prompted a week of intense attention on the council’s leadership, and with wider analysis of how Reform’s approach to politics is reshaping the culture at County Hall. Our piece on Musk-style 'DOGE' politics [arriving in Kent](https://www.kentcurrent.news/musk-style-politics-comes-to-kent/) was part of an attempt to situate local events within a broader national pattern, without sensationalism. [Musk style politics comes to KentPlus basic democratic functions aren’t getting done, some excellent nominative determinism, news in brief, and more![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-6.png)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2ff1cd9b32-34de-4d36-9742-44f3122a5916_2500x1406-jpeg-2.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/musk-style-politics-comes-to-kent/) We also spent time reporting on the health of local democracy itself. Our coverage of [disorder at Swale Borough Council](https://www.kentcurrent.news/when-intimidation-replaces-debate/), where a meeting was suspended after intimidation from the public gallery, was one of the most important pieces we published this year. We covered the Kent County Council election count live from County Hall, and spoke to the leaders of all the main political parties ahead of polling day to understand what they believed was at stake. [When intimidation replaces debateWhat Swale’s meeting tells us about local democracy. Plus the latest from KCC, Tunbridge Wells still faces water uncertainty, news in brief, and more![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-7.png)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/KC_Swale-1.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/when-intimidation-replaces-debate/) Some of our most impactful reporting focused on institutional failure. During the [Tunbridge Wells water crisis](https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-week-the-water-stopped/), we followed what residents were experiencing day by day, rather than simply relaying official assurances. That reporting took time, repeated follow-ups, and a willingness to stick with a story once the initial shock had passed. [The week the water stoppedA week of dry taps, false deadlines and emergency queues reveals a broken system and a town running out of patience![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-8.png)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/KC_Water-1.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-week-the-water-stopped/) Elsewhere, we tried to take a longer view. We produced [detailed explanations of local government reorganisation](https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-final-countdown-to-a-new-kent/), a subject that is easy to make dull or impenetrable, and followed the long-running fight to [bring international rail services back to Kent](https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-long-wait-for-paris/). These are the kinds of stories that rarely resolve neatly, but which shape the county’s future all the same. [The long wait for ParisAshford and Ebbsfleet continue to wait while Eurostar speeds through![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-9.png)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fea02178e-3b48-49b0-bc8c-f494edc442ea_5616x3744-jpeg-3.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-long-wait-for-paris/) The *Kent Current* isn’t only about politics. We’ve also published long-form interviews and cultural reporting — from conversations with [Ralph Steadman](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-dont-think-im-much-of-a-performer/) and [Dorian Lynskey](https://www.kentcurrent.news/if-you-dont-have-hope-then-youre/), to features on comedy, [wrestling](https://www.kentcurrent.news/an-interactive-pantomime/), and Kent’s creative life. Public life isn’t confined to council chambers, and we’ve tried to reflect that breadth. **What readers don’t always see** The *Kent Current* is, at its core, a two-person operation trying to stay on top of an entire county. Much of the work happens long before anything is published. It involves chasing responses that don’t arrive, reading lengthy committee papers, sitting through meetings, whether in person or live-streamed, and repeatedly asking straightforward questions that take days or weeks to answer. Getting clear information from public institutions is often difficult. Emails go unanswered. Statements are delayed. Basic facts can take persistent follow-up to confirm. A significant part of what we do is simply staying with a story long enough that it can’t be dropped. Because of our size, we have to be selective. We can’t cover everything, so we focus on what we think matters most and try to do it properly. We’d like to expand our reporting over time, but that depends on having the resources to do so in a sustainable way. **A note on numbers** We normally try to be open about how the *Kent Current* is performing. This year, that’s more complicated. Towards the end of the year, we moved from Substack to Ghost. Subscriber and readership data didn’t transfer cleanly between platforms, which means we don’t have a full, comparable set of statistics for the year as a whole. What we can say is that the audience has grown steadily since launch, so now thousands of readers receive our newsletter, hundreds pay to support our work, engagement has been strong, and the *Kent Current* is in a healthy but still fragile position. We are somewhat viable, but not secure. Like most independent journalism projects, it relies heavily on reader support. **Where we’re heading next** The *Kent Current* is still finding its shape. Next year, we want to lean further into detailed, investigative reporting and longer-form explanatory work, particularly those stories that unfold over months rather than days. What won’t change are the values behind the site: independence, clarity, fairness, and a refusal to treat local politics as either theatre or trivia. If you read the **Kent Current* regularly and value this kind of reporting, the most direct way to support it is by becoming a paid subscriber. Paid subscriptions make it possible for us to spend more time reporting, take on more ambitious stories, and gradually expand what the **Kent Current* can do. Right now, we’re offering ****25% off an annual subscription for your first year**. There’s no pressure, but if you’re in a position to support independent local journalism in Kent, it genuinely helps. [Support us for a year for £45 ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/ghosted) However you read Kent Current - free or paid - thank you for being here. Thank you for reading, sharing stories, sending tips, and replying to emails. We read far more messages than we can always respond to immediately, but we try to get back to everyone eventually. If you have thoughts, feedback, or things you think we should look at next year, you can reply to this email or reach us via **hello(AT)kentcurrent(DOT)news**. Here’s to the year ahead. Ed Editor, *the Kent Current* ### “It's a very privileged role” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/its-a-very-privileged-role/ Last updated: 2025-12-21T11:00:02.000Z *Jonathan Neame is the Chief Executive of* [*Shepherd Neame*](https://www.shepherdneame.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *and, for one year, the* [*High Sheriff of Kent*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High%5FSheriff%5Fof%5FKent?ref=kentcurrent.news)*. Steven met him at the Shepherd Neame headquarters in Faversham, where they talked about the role of High Sheriff, whether he had a choice in becoming the Chief Executive, and whether, as a sheriff, he could arrest you...* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/12/495532894_1814263639301515_1245572543826067256_n--1--1.jpg) Jonathan Neame. **What is your official occupation?** I am Chief Executive of Shepherd Neame. I have been since 2003. **And do you have any other roles, paid or unpaid?** For one year and one year only, I'm High Sheriff. I've got various industry-related committees and roles and boards that I chair, but that's more to do with policy, industry policy, our trade association and our livery company, et cetera. But otherwise, that's it. **I saw you have an honorary doctorate.** Yes. **So you're Dr Jonathan Neame?** In theory, yes. **You don't use it?** I certainly don't. **What did you get the doctorate for?** Well, it's for civil law, which is a recognition of what I've done in the business world. > We want the brewery to be at the centre of Faversham. **I appreciate that Shepherd Neame has been going for a long time. In brief, how would you describe it? How is it different to other brewers?** Interesting question. Shepherd Neame is, I think, a unique business. It's pretty unique amongst the small and regional breweries, the small and regional family companies, in that we are still brewing. There are one or two like Adnams in Southwold, Harveys in Lewes. But many of the other ones that are similar, like Fullers, Youngs have both stopped brewing. That of itself means that we're a rarer and rarer beast. I think our heritage speaks for itself. We've been on the same site since 1573\. Our history goes back to 1147, which is pretty amazing. We evolved originally out of the [abbey in Faversham](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faversham%5FAbbey?ref=kentcurrent.news), which is 500 yards up the road. No longer exists. We've got an unusual history of evolution from a church-oriented entity to a state-run. Originally, the mayor of the town ran the organisation after the church was no longer involved, and then it became a family business in 1698\. It's gone through many different evolutions, but I think the other third dimension comes out of that story, which is that here we are in the town centre. We are integral to the town both geographically but also in terms of our attitude. I think we are a very strongly community-focused business. We like our pubs to be the centre of their community. We support any number of activities, sporting activities, charitable activities, whatever it might be. We want the brewery to be at the centre of Faversham. Here we sponsor a number of events, the literary festival, the hop festival, to name but two, but many other things beside. We're not a classic business where there is some sole focus, to build a number of pubs and sell the company or whatever. We behave in a very different way. I think that means that our brand, our culture, our behaviour is pretty different, pretty unique. **Is there a Mr Shepherd involved in that story at all?** There's been no Shepherd involved since 1877\. In fact, Shepherd Neame as a partnership only existed for 13 years from 1864 to 1877\. It was the Shepherd business before that. Then we had the short partnership, and then the Shepherd family left the business, which again is quite unusual. We kept the name. **Was there something about Faversham that meant it started here?** It's a very good question. The reason we're on this side is the water. The source of water is right in the centre of the brewery. That's pretty key and very important. Essentially, it goes back to hops. We're right in the heart of the hop country. We're surrounded by hop gardens in Faversham. We still get 80% of our hops today from Kent. We're loyal to that classic Kentish hop, which is the [East Kent Golding](https://www.britishhops.org.uk/varieties/east-kent-goldings/?ref=kentcurrent.news), which gives a particular flavour characteristic, quite grassy, quite mellow, quite different from, for example, the US type hops, which are full of smoky flavours or citrus flavours, although we have that in one or two of our beers. I think the other thing that's important is that going way back, I'm talking a thousand years, beer in this country was basically classic English ale, a malted barley-based beverage, but they would have had other herbs in it, such as coriander and bog myrtle. I'm talking here about the world of Friar Tuck. What we produce is ale with hops. That's called beer. There's a difference between beer and ale. Not only is this the home of the hop, but arguably it's the home of beer of the style that we drink today. When people talk about real ale, it's a little bit of a misnomer because it doesn't really compare with the traditional ale of a thousand years ago, except arguably mead, which is ale with honey. **In Faversham,there are a number of drinking establishments. Does someone need to get Shepherd Neame's permission to open up an independent inn?** *(laughs)* No, I like to think we have the best pubs in the town. Not all of them, there are a couple of other nice ones. But I think that's the way the world has gone. If you're a long-established business, here, Herne Bay, Whitstable, Canterbury, we've owned pubs, that's our core territory, and we've owned pubs here for hundreds of years and we're proud of them. We want to keep them going as much as we can. **What would signify that someone was in a Shepherd Neame pub?** I think that the golden thread that we hope runs through our pubs is that they are a unique building. There's something special about the building. Might be its age, might be its character. A unique location. We've got a lot of pubs near water, by the sea, rivers. Hopefully, quite a busy location, either for the weekend destination, a great place to go for a walk, great place on a beach, great place to stay, et cetera. I hope that the fact that we're a family business means that you get a warm, friendly welcome. We've got fantastic team members, lots of people who work with us for a long time. Hopefully that sense of culture of smiley faces, warm welcome comes across in our tenanted pubs or our managed pubs. Then, of course, the beer range is quite different. I mean, it's obviously our beer range. We supply beers from other brewers like Moretti and Guinness. Our beer range should have something of interest for other folk, and beer is part of the reason to go there. I suppose the final thing is that we like to support as much as possible, not always easy, local producers. We encourage people use local suppliers for their food and their drink, et cetera. **You mentioned that people come to your pubs on a walk. Have you been on any of the** [**Shepherd Neame pub walks**](https://www.shepherdneame.co.uk/pubs/walks?ref=kentcurrent.news)**?** Most of them. Walking is a pastime of mine. I love doing it. I'm surrounded by the nature reserve where I live and walk pretty much every day. Sometimes in the dark, in the rain, in the snow, whatever it might be. Walking is what I do. It clears the head. Kent has got an amazing variety of topography and landscape. The North Downs, the coastal areas, the marshlands. It’s a very remarkable county in that respect. **What is a Master of the Worshipful Company of Brewers?** [The Worshipful Company of Brewers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worshipful%5FCompany%5Fof%5FBrewers?ref=kentcurrent.news) is the livery company based in the city of London. There are about 120 different livery companies, which originally in the 13th, 14th century would have controlled their trade. It would have defined the standards you need for beer. It would have regulated the trade. Nowadays, all regulation is done by central government or trading standards. But that's what the liveries were originally there for. If you're a brewer, you've got to meet these standards. If you're a clothmaker, you've got to meet these standards. Like many livery companies, it has evolved and changed. It still has an influence over the beer industry, we have a trade association that does the lobbying with government, which is called the [British Beer and Pub Association](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British%5FBeer%5Fand%5FPub%5FAssociation?ref=kentcurrent.news). The livery, over the years, have been left with lots of charitable legacies. Nowadays it's more of an educational charity. We manage various schools, we give money to schools in particular in North London. We manage funds, property and investment that have been bequeathed to us to make charitable donations. What is unusual is that it's the only livery where you still have to be a brewer to qualify. Most of them invite other people in. It's still a brilliant place where people chat, meet, convene, do a bit of business on the side, and it's based in our classic old hall off London Wall. The Master basically is chairman for a year. > You're the King's representative for law and order and the emergency services in your county. **How would you describe the role of High Sheriff?** The role of High Sheriff, you're the King's representative for law and order and the emergency services in your county. All of England and Wales have a High Sheriff. Scotland has a slightly different system, but you're there to represent the King and work with the police, probation, prisons, courts, judges, and all the charities associated with the emergency services or law and order. If you go way back, the role of High Sheriff was to assemble the courts, assemble juries, run law and order, collect taxes, control the militia before the police came in and so on and so forth. All those powers have been stripped away. It's a ceremonial role. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Winners and losers emerge as council funding is reset URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/winners-and-losers-emerge-as-council-funding-is-reset/ Last updated: 2025-12-19T10:57:35.000Z *Kent’s funding map is being redrawn, and the consequences are already clear. This week, we examine the winners and losers emerging from the government’s Fair Funding reset, which delivers significant gains to some authorities while imposing sharp reductions on others within the same county. We also report from a tense final meeting of the year at County Hall, where scrutiny was cut, political assistants approved, and tempers frayed, alongside the latest developments shaping Kent as the year draws to a close.* ### **Winners and losers emerge as council funding is reset** The government says its new [Fair Funding formula](https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/provisional-local-government-finance-settlement-2026-to-2027/provisional-local-government-finance-settlement-2026-to-2027?ref=kentcurrent.news) marks a long-overdue reset of how money is shared out between English councils, directing a greater share of resources towards areas with higher deprivation and need. In Kent, the effects are uneven and, in some cases, severe. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/12/KC_FairFunding.jpg) It is being delivered through the first multi-year local government finance settlement in a decade, covering the period from 2026–27 to 2028–29\. It is being phased in over three years rather than applied overnight. The numbers are presented using the government’s measure of Core Spending Power, a notional figure that combines grant funding, retained business rates and assumed council tax increases. Ministers say this gives a clearer picture of councils’ overall funding capacity. Critics counter that it can flatter the position of authorities still facing intense financial pressure. In Kent, both things are true. At the top tier, the two authorities responsible for the most expensive services see clear headline gains. Kent County Council, which funds adult social care, children’s services and highways, records a 15.5% increase in Core Spending Power between 2024–25 and 2026–27\. Medway Council, the county’s only unitary authority, does slightly better, at 16.4%. Both benefit from the new weighting given to deprivation and social care demand, alongside additional funding routed through adult and children’s services. These are substantial uplifts by national standards, though neither authority is insulated from rising demand, particularly in social care and SEND provision. Below that upper-tier picture, however, the settlement produces a far more fractured map. Several of Kent’s district councils see sizeable gains, concentrated overwhelmingly in coastal or more deprived areas. Dover records a 13.6% increase, Thanet 11.4%, Canterbury 11%, and Gravesham 8.7%. These are precisely the places the new formula is designed to favour, reflecting long-standing concerns that deprivation and health pressures have not been adequately captured in previous funding systems. A second group of districts technically gains, but only marginally. Sevenoaks rises by 6.1%, Swale by 4.4%, Maidstone by 2.6%, and Tunbridge Wells by just 0.8%. Once inflation and service pressures are factored in, these increases are unlikely to feel transformative. For councils in this bracket, the settlement may slow financial deterioration rather than reverse it. Three districts fall clearly on the wrong side of the redistribution. Ashford sees a 1.8% reduction in Core Spending Power, Dartford a 2.2% fall, and Tonbridge and Malling a dramatic 16.7% drop. Tonbridge and Malling stands apart not just within Kent but nationally. Even with transitional protections built into the settlement, it is assessed as being far above its new “fair funding” share. It is therefore being pulled down sharply over the first year of the settlement. That makes Tonbridge and Malling the clearest local illustration of what Fair Funding is now doing. The government’s position is that councils with strong tax bases and historic growth in business rates have been over-funded relative to need, and that the money should be redirected elsewhere. Councils in fast-growing commuter areas argue that the model underestimates the cost of growth, the strain on infrastructure, and the challenges of service delivery in expanding populations. Under the new system, those arguments carry significantly less weight. Taken as a whole, Kent is not a loser from Fair Funding. Both upper-tier authorities gain substantially, and several districts see double-digit increases. But the settlement reshapes where pressure sits inside the county. Coastal and more deprived districts gain ground, while parts of commuter-belt Kent lose it, in some cases severely. The result is not a single Kent story but a series of divergent local ones. It is also important to be clear about what these figures do not mean. Core Spending Power includes assumed council tax rises, and almost all councils, winners and losers alike, are still expected to push bills to the maximum allowed. Rising demand for social care, homelessness support and special educational needs means financial pressure remains embedded across the system. Fair Funding changes who feels that pressure most acutely, but it does not remove it. The government’s [consultation](https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/provisional-local-government-finance-settlement-2026-to-2027/provisional-local-government-finance-settlement-2026-to-2027?ref=kentcurrent.news) on the settlement runs until mid-January, with final allocations due shortly afterwards. No Kent authority has yet commented publicly. When they do, the fault lines are already visible in the numbers. Fair Funding may be sold as a national reset, but in Kent, it redraws the internal map of winners and losers with unusual clarity. ***Last few days to save.** *We can only do this kind of deep-dive reporting thanks to the readers who generously choose to support our work. If you value our journalism, please consider joining them. Right now, you can get* [**25% off a full year's subscription*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/r/bf043e3f?m=51951aff-722e-4e4b-ab45-6cc4278701a0) *to the Kent Current and help us build a better way of telling the stories that matter to our county.* [Get 25% off for one year ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/ghosted) ### Scrutiny cut, assistants approved, and tempers fray at KCC Kent County Council’s final full meeting of the year was billed as a show of tighter control and improved efficiency. The meeting itself was more unsettled than that. Proceedings began awkwardly. Journalists were briefly stopped at the entrance and asked to show press cards, something independent outlets often do not carry. The situation was particularly odd given that only a small number of organisations regularly attend County Hall, mainly the BBC, the Press Association, KentOnline, and this publication. Of those, the *Kent Current* was the only outlet the request could realistically have affected, and appeared to be the only one not informed in advance. Access was eventually granted after a press officer let us in. Later in the meeting, as journalists took seats at the back of the chamber, a Reform councillor walked past and was overheard asking, “What are they doing down here?” Inside the chamber, in a sea of suits, one councillor stood out. Cllr Tim Prater (Lib Dem) arrived wearing a brightly patterned Christmas jacket, bringing a rare splash of colour to the room. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/12/image-3.png) Cllr Tim Prater and his colourful attire Leader [Linden Kemkaran](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-think-theres-a-lot-gone-wrong-with/) (Reform) delivered a [wide-ranging speech](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/leaders-speech-highlights-key-progress-and-developments-of-2025?ref=kentcurrent.news) on funding, adult social care, SEND and inward investment. She welcomed the latest settlement and defended proposals to reduce the number of committee meetings, arguing they would cut duplication and save £75,000 a year. Claims that the changes would weaken scrutiny were rejected. “Proper scrutiny,” she said, “represents fairness and transparency to the people who pay our wages.” Shortly afterwards, councillors voted 47–25 to reduce the number of committee meetings. The administration said the change would streamline decision-making. Opposition members said fewer meetings meant fewer chances to question decisions, regardless of who chaired scrutiny. That disagreement sharpened during the debate on political assistants. Under the proposals, Reform and the Liberal Democrats will each be entitled to appoint one assistant to support the political work of their group. The combined cost is around £100,000 a year, potentially higher once on-costs are included. Opposition councillors returned repeatedly to the same point. Committees were being cut to save £75,000, while new political roles costing more than that were being created. Earlier in the year, £50,000 in crisis grants for vulnerable residents had been cut, citing the need for urgent savings. Criticism came from several directions. Cllr Mark Hood (Green) described the move as disgraceful. Cllr Alister Brady (Lab) pointed to the council’s recruitment freeze. Independent councillors questioned the timing. Former Reform councillors, now sitting outside the group, were among the most vocal opponents. The strangest moment came when Cllr Jamie Henderson (Reform), speaking in support of the proposal, referred to “our new appointment” and said he had already met “the gentleman” who would take up the role. The council had not yet voted to create the posts, let alone approve any appointments, suggesting something of a foregone conclusion to the vote. Opposition benches reacted immediately. Cllr Alex Ricketts (Lib Dem) challenged how such a meeting could have taken place. No explanation was offered in the chamber. Later, as Cllr Brian Collins (Reform) criticised Labour councillors for raising financial concerns by referring to the state of the national economy, Cllr Brian Black (Ind Group) was heard muttering, “What the fuck does that have to do with anything?” The proposal was approved by 45 votes to 26, with one abstention. Political assistants will now be introduced at County Hall for the first time in its history. Elsewhere, the handling of questions added to the tension. The Chair, Richard Palmer (Reform), repeatedly urged councillors to keep questions and answers brief. Opposition members accused Reform councillors of using long supplementary questions and extended answers to eat into the available time. A point of order from Cllr Paul Thomas (Ind Group), accusing the administration of deliberate time-wasting, was met with applause from opposition benches. One item passed without disagreement. A Liberal Democrat motion responding to the recent water supply failure in Tunbridge Wells, which left around 24,000 households without reliable water for days, was agreed unanimously. Proposed by Cllr [Antony Hook](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-really-dont-like-party-tribalism/) and seconded by Cllr Richard Streatfeild, the motion thanked council staff, criticised South East Water’s handling of the incident, and called for a short, focused scrutiny inquiry into what went wrong and how similar failures can be prevented. Much of the meeting was marked by disagreement over priorities, spending and process. On water, at least, councillors briefly found common ground. ### What else is happening at KCC this week? - A KCC Cabinet member who threatened to punch a colleague in the jaw in a WhatsApp exchange is [facing a former complaint](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3v12kdg1e3o?ref=kentcurrent.news). Cllr Peter Osborne (Reform), who oversees the transport portfolio, claimed he hoped "the mole was a bloke so I can punch him right in the jaw" following the infamous Reform video leak earlier in the year. Reform called the complaint a "faux outrage." - Kemi Badenoch has said that Reform is "[making a mess](https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/reform-making-mess-kent-county-10711574?ref=kentcurrent.news)" of Kent County Council. Badenoch, who is... checks notes... the leader of the Conservative Party, made the comments while visiting Brands Hatch. - East Thanet Labour MP Polly Billington has [accused KCC of dodging scrutiny](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/dec/19/reform-run-kent-council-accused-blocking-scrutiny-claim-saved-40m?ref=kentcurrent.news) after the authority took five months to respond to a Freedom of Information request about supposed environmental savings. - KCC leader Linden Kemkaran issued this Christmas card to other councillors, where an awful lot is going on: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/12/image-4.png) ### In brief 🚓 A 12-year-old boy [has been arrested](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgex0lyl9dgo?ref=kentcurrent.news) following vandalism at a Swale Borough Council meeting last week. 🚛 The Planning Inspectorate has approved Sevington Inland Border Facility near Ashford [being made permanent](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg803mnl31o?ref=kentcurrent.news). The complex carries out checks on goods entering and leaving the UK. 🚚 Changes could be made to Operation Brock, the scheme that holds lorries waiting to cross the Channel on the M20, to [reduce disruption](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyzg0jx9k7o?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🚗 In news that will surprise no one, the northbound approach to the Dartford Tunnel is the [slowest major road](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dartford/news/kent-s-slowest-road-has-average-speed-of-just-14-7mph-333996/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Kent, with speeds averaging 14.7mph. 🚨 Swaleside Prison on the Isle of Sheppey has been [placed in special measures](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c17x8kxgd8vo?ref=kentcurrent.news) after inspectors found 'dangerous levels of violence.' 🏫 FAR Academy, a specialist school for vulnerable young people, has warned it '[simply cannot survive](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/whitstable/news/our-school-can-t-survive-for-much-longer-we-need-this-disp-334080/?ref=kentcurrent.news)' unless a funding row with Kent County Council is resolved. 📬 Royal Mail has [pledged to improve delivery targets](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdd5nlmepero?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Kent after many areas barely received post on time two-thirds of the time, well below the 90% minimum standard. ### Footnotes **Programming note:* This will be our final news briefing of the year unless anything dramatic happens over the Christmas period, so that we can take a short break until the new year. We still have a few pieces scheduled to fill the gap, but we won’t be publishing our usual briefing editions until we come back, hopefully fully refreshed, in the new year.* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* ### Kent’s 'mega dumps' expose the limits of waste crime enforcement URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/kents-mega-dumps-expose-the-limits-of-waste-crime-enforcement/ Last updated: 2025-12-15T16:39:58.000Z *Good afternoon, and welcome to your Monday Kent Current, slightly later than usual, for which apologies. It turns out I have managed to catch the flu that everyone seems to have at the moment, and while Kent’s politics will happily power through anything, the human body is rather less cooperative. Thank you for your patience.* *We lead this week with a close look at Kent’s largest illegal waste sites and the growing sense that enforcement is failing to keep pace. Around Sittingbourne, dumping has continued despite repeated interventions, raising hard questions about whether the current system can stop organised waste crime before the damage becomes permanent.* *Elsewhere, we cover the lifting of the boil notice in Tunbridge Wells, new funding for walking and cycling schemes, changes to train timetables, disputes over care charges, and the latest on planning decisions from Ashford to Maidstone. There’s also a packed diary of council meetings as authorities head into the final stretch before Christmas.* *Thank you, as always, for reading.* ### Catch up If you missed any of our reporting over the past week, here’s your chance to catch up. A Swale Borough Council meeting was suspended after coordinated far-right activists disrupted a debate on becoming a District of Sanctuary. Councillors reported abuse, intimidation and damage to the building. We looked at [what happened and why it matters](https://www.kentcurrent.news/when-intimidation-replaces-debate/). [When intimidation replaces debateWhat Swale’s meeting tells us about local democracy. Plus the latest from KCC, Tunbridge Wells still faces water uncertainty, news in brief, and more![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-3.png)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/KC_Swale.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/when-intimidation-replaces-debate/) For our weekend interview, [we sat down with Catherine Southon](https://www.kentcurrent.news/just-buy-things-because-you-really-like-it/), auctioneer and TV antiques expert from shows like Bargain Hunt and Antiques Road Trip. We spoke with her about working for Sotheby's, what items she doesn't sell, her advice for being on Bargain Hunt, and lots more. [“Just buy things because you really like it”What we asked Catherine Southon, auctioneer and antiques expert![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-4.png)Kent CurrentSteven Keevil![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/Catherine-rostrum-1.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/just-buy-things-because-you-really-like-it/) ### **Kent’s 'mega dumps' expose the limits of waste crime enforcement** Kent is once again at the centre of a national problem: large illegal waste sites that continue to operate long after regulators know about them. Around Sittingbourne, multiple dumping grounds are under investigation. Residents say they feel abandoned to cope with the impact. Those in power now openly question whether the state can stop organised waste crime before lasting damage is done. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/12/AdobeStock_1672608871-1.jpeg) This is no longer a story about isolated fly-tipping. It is about enforcement that moves too slowly, and about intervention that often comes only after the damage is already severe. **What’s happening** The Environment Agency has confirmed it is investigating an illegal waste site at Basser Hill near Sittingbourne, close to the long-running dumping ground at Raspberry Hill Farm, near Iwade. [When the BBC visited](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgrw62400wzo?ref=kentcurrent.news) Basser Hill earlier this month, waste activity appeared to be continuing. This was despite the agency saying it had attended the site on 24 November and instructed the landowner to stop accepting waste and clear what was already there. Dumping has also continued at Raspberry Hill Farm more than a year after earlier BBC reporting. The Environment Agency says it has carried out site visits, drone flights and other activities to disrupt operations there. The Raspberry Hill Lane site has existed since at least 2020 and has expanded over time despite involvement from Kent County Council, Swale Borough Council, the Environment Agency, and the police. Reporting from Iwade, [Channel 4 News says](https://www.channel4.com/news/organised-waste-crime-and-mass-intimidation-in-english-village?ref=kentcurrent.news) people living near one of the known sites feel abandoned by the authorities and intimidated by those running the dump. **What the MP says** [Raising the issue in Parliament](https://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2025-11-17b.503.7&ref=kentcurrent.news), Sittingbourne and Sheppey MP [Kevin McKenna](https://www.kentcurrent.news/my-job-is-to-try-and-bring-everyone-together/) described Raspberry Hill Lane as “one of these mega illegal dumps.” He said it had begun “metastasising, sprouting accessory dumps nearby” to evade enforcement. McKenna said the dumping was damaging the countryside and placing pressure on legitimate waste businesses in his constituency, including Countrystyle, MVV and DS Smith. He asked ministers how they planned not only to increase resources for the Environment Agency and the police, but to improve the skills and cross-agency working needed to tackle what he described as serious organised crime. **The national context** The Kent sites sit within a wider national debate about waste crime enforcement. A House of Lords committee has criticised the Environment Agency for failing to shut down illegal waste sites quickly enough, and the environment secretary is due to respond to its report. [The Guardian has described](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/22/uk-waste-crime-uk-environmental-disaster?ref=kentcurrent.news) waste crime as the “new narcotics”, reporting that multiple large illegal dumps known to the Environment Agency remain uncleared across the country. It says at least one large site in the Sittingbourne area is among those still receiving waste. **Case study: Hoad’s Wood** Kent has already seen the consequences of delayed enforcement at Hoad’s Wood near Ashford. In June 2025, the Environment Agency began removing more than 30,000 tonnes of illegally dumped household and construction waste from the protected SSSI ancient woodland. The operation is expected to take more than a year and require around 2,000 lorry loads. [The BBC reports](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c75z09zxy09o?ref=kentcurrent.news) the waste was dumped by criminal gangs over a six-month period in 2023\. A court order to close the site entrance was only obtained in January 2024\. From a campaigning perspective, [Kent Wildlife Trust argues](https://www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk/blog/justice-hoads-wood?ref=kentcurrent.news) the episode showed how responsibility was passed between agencies while dumping continued. It has also cited FOI material suggesting that penalties for similar offences have historically been small relative to clean-up costs. **By the numbers** The Environment Agency says that last year it stopped activity at 743 illegal waste sites, secured 13 prosecutions, and achieved £133,000 in fines, alongside six custodial sentences. Ministers say funding for the agency’s waste crime work has been increased by 50% to £15.6m, alongside reforms including digital waste tracking and tighter controls on waste carriers and brokers. **What to watch** The direction of policy is clear. The unresolved question is whether it will change what happens on the ground. For communities like Iwade, the issue is simple: whether enforcement can move quickly enough to stop active dumping, or whether the next major clean-up is already taking shape in plain sight. ### Three big stories 1️⃣ Francis Beckett has written a [blistering piece on the state of Reform at Kent County Council](https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/francis-beckett-reforms-kent-crack-up-is-getting-even-worse/?ref=kentcurrent.news) for The New World. He speaks with several of the recently expelled councillors in the group, who make extraordinary accusations about the leadership's actions. 2️⃣ An excellent [on-the-ground summary of the state of things in Tunbridge Wells during the water crisis](https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/no-tap-water-has-left-all-of-tunbridge-wells-disgusted/?ref=kentcurrent.news) by Robert Taylor in The Spectator. He sets out the complete breakdown in trust between local residents and South East Water in the town. 3️⃣ The [first wild bison born in Kent for thousands of years](https://www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk/bison-calf?ref=kentcurrent.news) has been born in Blean, near Canterbury, three years after the herd was introduced into the wild at the site. ## Sign up for the Kent Current Join our free mailing list for clear, independent reporting on Kent’s biggest stories. No ads, no clickbait. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### In brief 🚰 The boil notice for water in Tunbridge Wells has [finally been lifted](https://www.southeastwater.co.uk/help/works-and-outages/boil-notice-for-customers-in-tunbridge-wells/?ref=kentcurrent.news) by South East Water, bringing to an end a sorry saga that has blighted the two over the past couple of weeks. 🧑‍🦼 Thousands of disabled service-users in Kent could have been overpaying for their care after a court ruled that Kent County Council [hadn't informed users](https://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/thousands-of-disabled-people-in-one-county-should-benefit-from-care-charging-legal-case-victory/?ref=kentcurrent.news) of the rules around the scheme. 🚲 Nearly £26m has been awarded to Kent County Council and £1.7m to Medway Council by the government to [deliver more cycling and walking schemes](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp9k8lp4lrro?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🚘 Kent County Council are consulting on plans to [introduce camera enforcement](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/views-wanted-on-plans-to-enforce-moving-traffic-offences-across-kent?ref=kentcurrent.news) for Moving Traffic Offences at twelve yellow box junctions. 🚄 Southeastern has [launched a new timetable](https://newsroom.southeasternrailway.co.uk/news/one-month-to-go-south-eastern-railways-boosted-timetable-starts-from-14-december?ref=kentcurrent.news), which includes more high-speed trains between Faversham and St Pancras, and more carriages on some of the busiest routes. 🏗️ Hundreds of brand new flats in Ashford are [sitting abandoned](https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/37538642/outrage-hundreds-flats-abandoned-uk-town-builder-collapses/?ref=kentcurrent.news) after the builder collapsed into administration. 🏪 Residents of an isolated new-build estate near Ashford will remain without a shop after Ashford Borough Council [refused plans](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/all-we-want-is-a-local-shop-anger-as-convenience-store-bi-333580/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to open one. 👮 Ramsgate Town Council has [hired private security](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2025/12/04/ramsgate-town-council-hires-isle-security-staff-to-increase-safety-in-town-centre/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to patrol the town centre in an effort to make it feel safer. 🏊 Deal's traditional Boxing Day swim [has been cancelled](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg11gw66xlo?ref=kentcurrent.news) after organisers didn't have enough time to put the event together following an all-clear on water quality at the beach. ⛪ The Church of England is [reviewing a complaint](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/dec/11/church-of-england-reviewing-complaint-against-incoming-archbishop-of-canterbury-sarah-mullally?utm%5Fsource=dlvr.it&utm%5Fmedium=bluesky&CMP=bsky%5Fgu) against the incoming Archbishop of Canterbury regarding the mishandling of an abuse complaint against a priest. 🧖🏻 Men at a new David Lloyd Club in Herne Bay are [demanding a discount](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/herne-bay/news/men-demand-discount-on-membership-due-to-women-only-hours-at-333676/?ref=kentcurrent.news) on their memberships after two hours each week in the spa were made available exclusively to women. 🎸 Music venue Where Else? in Margate is [trying to raise £40,000](https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/save-where-else?ref=kentcurrent.news) in crowdfunding to stay open. 🏏 Michael Wilshaw has been appointed as the [new Chief Executive](https://www.kentcricket.co.uk/news/kent-cricket-appoints-michael-wilshaw-as-new-chief-executive-officer/?ref=kentcurrent.news) of Kent Cricket. 🎥 Scenes from The Family Plan 2, a recently released film on Apple TV starring Marky Mark Wahlberg, were [filmed in Faversham](https://cenemagazine.co.uk/news/new-mark-wahlberg-christmas-film-the-family-plan-2-scenes-set-in-faversham-kent?ref=kentcurrent.news). ### Council matters **Meetings this week:** - **Medway:** [**Cabinet**](https://democracy.medway.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=115&MId=6240&ref=kentcurrent.news) gathers on Tuesday to discuss introducing restrictions on HMOs, selling off some toilets, bringing some outsourced work back in-house, and more. - **Gravesham:** [**Council**](https://democracy.gravesham.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=144&MId=9532&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets to discuss a new council tax reduction scheme and changes to the constitution on Tuesday. - **Medway:** [**Planning Committee**](https://democracy.medway.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=360&MId=6334&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Wednesday to decide on an 800 home development north of Strood, which the developer is already planning to appeal, given the council has taken too long to make up its mind. - **Ashford:** [**Planning Committee**](https://ashford.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=139&MId=4958&ref=kentcurrent.news) gets together on Wednesday to decide on 18 new homes, a big wheel at Ashford Designer Outlet, loosening the criteria for businesses at Elwick Place, and more. - **Kent:** [**County Council**](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=113&MId=9800&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Thursday for the final time this year, where it will consider reducing committee scrutiny, introducing political assistants, and a Lib Dem motion on the Tunbridge Wells water issues. - **Dover:** [**Planning Committee**](https://moderngov.dover.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=136&MId=5174&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Thursday to decide on several housing applications, totally around 100 homes across the district. - **Maidstone:** [**Planning Committee**](https://meetings.maidstone.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=112&MId=5739&ref=kentcurrent.news) will decide on a 100 home development in Lenham, an 85 home development in Coxheath, a 42 home development in Harrietsham, and more. ### Events this week 🎸 Fri 19 Dec - [**Skep Wax Christmas Party**](https://www.ramsgatemusichall.com/tc-events/we-shall-overcome-presents-the-skep-wax-christmas-party/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Kent record label show featuring Swansea Sound, The Gentle Spring, and Sassyhiya raising money for community projects in Thanet. Ramsgate Music Hall. Tickets £17. ### Footnotes ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* **Enjoying the Kent Current? Pass it on.* If you know someone who’d like this too, forward this email to them and invite them to subscribe.* ### “Just buy things because you really like it” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/just-buy-things-because-you-really-like-it/ Last updated: 2025-12-14T07:00:21.000Z *Catherine Southon is the Managing Director of* [*Catherine Southon Auctioneers & Valuers*](https://www.catherinesouthon.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *and a regular antiques expert on shows like* [*Bargain Hunt*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bargain%5FHunt?ref=kentcurrent.news) *and* [*Antiques Road Trip*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiques%5FRoad%5FTrip?ref=kentcurrent.news)*. She is hosting a* [*valuation event at Nucleus Arts*](https://www.catherinesouthon.co.uk/valuations/valuation-days-events/chatham/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *in Chatham on 16 January, where she is hoping to see* *Scientific Instruments and Maritime Works of Art from the Chatham Dockyards. We spoke with her about working for* [*Sotheby's*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sotheby's?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, what items she doesn't sell, her advice for being on Bargain Hunt, and lots more.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/12/Catherine-rostrum.jpg) Catherine Southon auctioneering. Photo: Daisy Copping **What is your official occupation?** I am the managing director of Catherine Southern Auctioneers and Valuers. *(George, Steven’s dog, starts barking)* **George! Sorry about the dog.** We don't mind a dog. **Sorry, the dog's going for a haircut today, so he's all excited.** **Do you have any other additional roles, paid or unpaid?** Well, I film for the BBC. Bargain Hunt. I work for Scottish Television and do the Antiques Road Trip as a presenter, and Celebrity Antiques Road Trip. I don't think I do anything else. I'm a mum. > It should be regulated because, since the covid time, many people have just started up their own auction business. **Is there a process for becoming an auctioneer? Do you need to get an auctioneer's licence?** Not really a licence as such. I think personally it should be. Unlike a lot of other practices, it's not really governed too much. There's no rules or regulations. It should be regulated because, since the covid time, many people have just started up their own auction business. Some people seem to be able to sell whatever they want with no real expertise or anything. **Is there anything you wouldn't sell from an antiques point of view?** Personally, I'm not selling any real animal products like fur coats and things like that. I'm always a bit wary of things. I could easily sell things like that. We have to be careful with ivory. You'd get heavily fined if you sold ivory. We can sell things with ivory as long as it's less than 10%. People don't realise that a lot of the time when they come to see us. They say, but it's old. There's a new rule which means you can't sell ivory at all unless it's less than 10% of the volume of the item. I know you can make a lot of money with modern things like Pokémon cards. I'm not interested in modern effects like games and things like that. **My partner's got a Beanie Baby that we get sent headlines about, saying it's worth loads.** Definitely not for me. Definitely not Beanie Babies or stamps. Stamps are such a niche market. One that I have no interest in understanding, and I've never been able to understand. I move them on to somebody else. > We sold a timepiece for $10 million. **What is the most exciting piece you have auctioned?** Good question. Not me selling sadly, but in a previous role in New York, we sold a timepiece for $10 million. But since then, actually, the item is worth, I think, probably treble that. I wasn't selling because you have to have a certain type of licence in America to sell. I was just on the phone. Selling, strangely, it was a sundial that I sold for £145,000\. Me being on the rostrum, that was quite... I was pregnant then, and I thought about the stress. I sold some beautiful jewellery here, selling a diamond necklace for £47,000\. Really exciting. **How old does something have to be to be considered an antique?** A hundred years. **Does that hundred years keep moving forward? Next year, 1926 will be antique?** Things that were in the 1920s are absolutely antiques now. For me, whenever I say antiques, I always think of things that are in the Victorian era and beyond. **What was your favourite find on Bargain Hunt?** It's always the ones when people have no idea what they are. I'll tell you what it was. It was this black shiny object, which was not an antique, which was about 1940s. I gave it to my team, and they went, 'What is that?' And I said, 'What do you think it is?' And because it's got like a winding handle around it, they said, 'It looks like a fishing reel.' I said, 'It's not a fishing reel.' I took the top off, and I said, 'It's a calculator. It's an early calculator. It's a [Curta calculator](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curta?ref=kentcurrent.news), and it's made in Lichtenstein, and trust me, just buy it.' I walked away from the stall, and I was mouthing to them, 'Just buy it.' It was £80 or something like that. I think it made about £350. I've had my fair share. I've bought a lot of things and think they can do well, because I've sold similar well previously, and then you go to the auctions, and on the day, they don't perform, and it's hard on Bargain Hunt. **What would you say is the biggest mistake people make on Bargain Hunt?** Thinking it's easy. If I had a pound for every single person that's come along thinking it’s easy. Then you go out, and you start doing it, and the time has gone. My most memorable one was two years ago when we actually ran out of time. People think you probably get a bit extra. You really don't. They went back and bought us an item, and they said, 'Sorry, time's up,' just as we're doing the deed. We had to leave with just two items. It was a rush. **What is Kent good for antique-wise?** We do see a lot of jewellery coming out from Kent. Painting, we see some good pictures. We don't really see a lot of nice country furniture, which is something that I would like to see more. Studio ceramics, I'm not seeing a lot of, but I want to see more, definitely. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### When intimidation replaces debate URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/when-intimidation-replaces-debate/ Last updated: 2025-12-12T07:00:55.000Z *A council debate in Swale this week became the latest flashpoint in a pattern now stretching across Kent of far-right mobilisation moving from online spaces into mainstream politics, replacing argument with intimidation and halting democratic business. Our lead story unpacks how a routine motion became the target of organised disruption, the damage left behind, and what this escalation means for local government. We've also got the latest from County Hall, updates on Tunbridge Wells’ ongoing water crisis, and the key stories shaping the county this week...* ### When intimidation replaces debate A full meeting of Swale Borough Council was suspended on Wednesday night after a coordinated group of far-right activists subjected councillors to sustained abuse, intimidation and disruption during a debate on whether Swale should join the national sanctuary scheme. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/12/image-2.png) The [council’s official livestream](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=%5FhRpCCP6QO4&ref=kentcurrent.news) shows the disruption starting almost immediately. As Cllr Hannah Perkin (Lib Dem) began to introduce the motion, heckling came from the public gallery. The Mayor, Cllr Karen Watson, repeatedly asked for silence. As the noise grew, she identified activist Harry Hilden by name and asked him to leave. Shouts of “we say no” and insults, including councillors being called “paedophiles” and “nonces,” followed. Minutes later, the Mayor suspended the meeting for the first time of the evening. The livestream does not show what happened elsewhere in the building, but the council later confirmed that toilets were vandalised, deliberate flooding caused water damage through the ceiling, and a lift was left out of service after a group forced its doors open. Councillors also reported spitting, eggs thrown and behaviour they described as the worst they had experienced in office. One councillor [wrote afterwards](https://www.facebook.com/CllrBenJMartinLD/posts/pfbid029SqBoHi6PKSw4YkicyA9MbaxLLHJi836to8obcbDstEcPH94BmyByuEKdmsGKEgtl) that the scenes felt “more akin to a putsch” than a democratic meeting and said they had “never felt so unsafe.” Cllr Perkin told the *Kent Current* the behaviour was “completely appalling.” She said anyone who tried to intimidate, abuse or assault councillors “should be ashamed of themselves,” adding that what happened “was a disgrace to democracy.” She stressed that councillors should be able to “debate things in an open and respectful way and disagree with each other well,” and warned that the damage done to the building would fall on taxpayers while disrupting services for “some of the most vulnerable in our community.” The council [announced](https://www.facebook.com/swaleboroughcouncil/posts/pfbid02Jw99kXpSSPbZUk7ERkiXfZn5nqzDJcKuc1i4i1mWMq7n7gMFmWnaiWbFVB4rQuGil?locale=en%5FGB) on Thursday that its headquarters would remain closed while damage was assessed. “We will be supportive of any prosecutions police pursue,” it said. Hilden and others quickly appeared on social media, dismissing or attempting to justify the damage. The events inside the chamber followed days of escalating mobilisation online. In the run-up to the meeting, Hilden urged supporters to attend, claiming the motion would “fill Swale with third-world invaders” and telling people to “stand your ground.” Scott, a Kent-based far-right influencer who has been active at anti-migrant protests across the county, published videos alleging the council intended to house “unvetted males” in Sittingbourne and said asylum seekers were linked to serious crimes elsewhere. Reform activist Jess Valentine repeatedly targeted Cllr Perkin on social media ahead of the meeting, claiming she was “undermining” residents and urging people to come to Swale House. In one post, he described her as serving “the horrible left.” Other pages circulated false claims about Perkin's family - not reproduced here - which formed part of the same online environment driving turnout. Several posts framed the meeting in explicitly gendered terms. “Message to the MEN of Swale,” one supporter wrote, urging them to ensure the proposal was stopped. From footage and activists’ own videos, it was clear that multiple individuals arrived wearing face coverings and that a coordinated effort had been made to fill the gallery. [The District of Sanctuary motion](https://services.swale.gov.uk/meetings/documents/s32416/Motion%20-%20District%20of%20Sanctuary%20initiative.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) itself was limited in scope. It proposed appointing a lead member and officer to work with local organisations and examine how existing services could better support refugees already in the borough. It did not involve allocating housing, providing funding or influencing immigration policy. Councillors were free to vote it down, which they did. Instead, the defining feature of the night was the intimidation surrounding it. The suspension of the meeting, the damage to council property and the level of abuse directed at elected members marked a clear escalation in a pattern already visible elsewhere in Kent. Hilden and Scott have become increasingly adept at turning online mobilisation into in-person confrontation, drawing on networks that blend conspiracy content, anti-migrant narratives and calls for direct action. Wednesday’s events showed how quickly that mobilisation can affect the functioning of local government. After the first suspension, councillors attempted to continue the debate. The abuse continued. The Mayor warned that she would clear the gallery if the interruptions did not stop. Cllr Ben Martin (Lib Dem), speaking in support of the motion, was repeatedly shouted down. The motion eventually went to a vote and was defeated 23–8. Following the meeting, recordings posted by Hilden showed his supporters forcing open the lift doors. In Facebook posts, he claimed this was an attempt to prevent people “suffocating,” saying “nothing was vandalised.” He also alleged that council staff had directed the public to use the lift and then turned it off. There is no evidence to support this claim. Scott released her own video saying councillors were “dangerous,” accusing Perkin of ignoring crimes committed elsewhere, and calling her a “traitor.” She said she was “very glad” the motion had failed. By Thursday morning, both Hilden and Scott were calling for pressure to be directed at Kent County Council, sharing videos highlighting alleged wasteful spending by the authority. The material they posted referred to criticism voiced by the Reform-led administration about inherited spending, making their actual target unclear. Cllr Kieran Mishchuk, a Reform councillor in Swale, responded more cautiously. He released [a video](https://www.facebook.com/reel/833013599534284) saying he was pleased the motion had been defeated, arguing that residents did not want to be “undermined by this rhetoric” of “foreigners coming here and being more important than us.” Valentine published a lengthy statement praising councillors for “choosing family, community and country”, while adding that he did not condone the behaviour seen in the gallery. Condemnation from across the rest of the political spectrum was swift. Deputy Leader of Swale, Labour’s Cllr Ashley Wise, [said](https://www.facebook.com/CllrAshleyWise/posts/pfbid0i2PLZ52rU7XtTmdqZhRSmwM2wTHqbfQbGyLkvmgiNpD2nwHxwVJnLJWiFzdaXbXel) he was “disgusted” by the vandalism and disruption, adding “this is not political debate.” Medway Council leader Vince Maple [said](https://www.facebook.com/vincemaple/posts/pfbid02UHG2ZLgb2Y9ZjxD8VYSgYPWuRPmmctwuFyFDEvaLYE3Ng7eUt2qWty39LfZU8ThGl) criminal damage to a council building was “never acceptable.” Conservative councillor Tara Noe, who voted against the motion, [said](https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story%5Ffbid=pfbid0DfTrBirXCqx5Ku3REfzPyGf6y6ThooGtFZupm3QUj3dT2zwT7bToaBHVRDRdKVKfl&id=100095335311348) the scenes were “truly ugly” and that councillors “shouldn’t have to fear for their lives or livelihood over asking for a topic to be discussed.” Conservative Faversham and Mid Kent MP Helen Whately [said](https://www.facebook.com/HelenWhatelyMP/posts/pfbid02eEyvTvWZn9ynCAjE8UZX5iFP5fBz588aRbkQfvzdfrwH2Mp4VSVUBXGuW1PTkwiYl) she was “appalled” by reports of spitting, abuse and damage, stressing that while she did not support the motion, “violence and aggression are not the answer” and warning that such behaviour deters people from standing for election. In Parliament, Sittingbourne and Sheppey MP [Kevin McKenna](https://www.kentcurrent.news/my-job-is-to-try-and-bring-everyone-together/) [called](https://www.facebook.com/kevinmckennamp/posts/pfbid02S6Mn3YbmnFgEVGqEpPeyuVskWcwqPv9MGBKdiq6aUxFz5E11B6X3V4Nad6ZbY6D6l?locale=en%5FGB) the scenes “violent intimidation” and “an attack on democracy itself.” The Commons Speaker and Leader of the House described the disorder as “appalling.” By Thursday evening, Hilden appeared to shift position. In a new video, he said he expected authorities to “point fingers my way,” insisted he had advised supporters “not to drink alcohol or be abusive,” claimed he had not witnessed “any of the alleged offences,” and said he could not control or identify everyone who attended. He said he had told “a few people” who were “acting inappropriately” to leave and that he did “not approve of any vandalism or threats.” His supporters, commenting below, attempted to shift blame onto the masked men in attendance. Not long afterwards, he posted the council’s livestream and argued it proved that spitting, egg-throwing, and other incidents “never actually happened.” After a second adjournment, councillors continued with the agenda. In closing the meeting, the Mayor apologised for the disruption and warned members to take care in the stairwells due to flooding from the damaged toilets. She noted that it had been one of the most difficult meetings of her term. The building remained closed on Thursday while assessments continued. Swale Borough Council said police were reviewing CCTV footage of the incident. Local government routinely deals with angry meetings and contentious decisions. What happened in Swale went further. A normal motion became the focus of a mobilisation intended not to express a view, but to prevent a debate from taking place. How Swale and Kent more broadly respond will shape whether incidents like this remain isolated or become far harder to reverse. **We can only do this kind of deep-dive reporting thanks to the readers who generously choose to support our work. If you value our journalism, please consider joining them. Right now, you can get* [**25% off a full year's subscription*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/r/bf043e3f?m=51951aff-722e-4e4b-ab45-6cc4278701a0) *to the Kent Current and help us build a better way of telling the stories that matter to our county.* [Get 25% off for one year ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/ghosted) ### What's going on at KCC this week? There's rarely a dull week at County Hall, so here are the big stories coming out of Kent County Council this week: - A Freedom of Information request has revealed that [45 complaints were made against KCC councillors](https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/complaints%5Fagainst%5Freform%5Fcounci%5F7/response/3234829/attach/html/2/Response%20some%20exempt.pdf.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) since July this year. The council told the requester that it doesn't record complaints by political party, so we have no way of knowing which party or parties the complaints might relate to. The council also notes that while one complaint has been closed, 44 are still 'being assessed.' - KCC is set to [cut 10% of its committee meetings](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/documents/s133799/Appendix%201%20-%20Selection%20and%20Member%20Services%20Report.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) from the schedule by merging and restructuring the committee system. Opposition groups accuse the Reform-led authority of trying to reduce scrutiny, while the [council claims](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/committee-restructure-to-improve-efficiency-and-deliver-75,000-savings?ref=kentcurrent.news) this will boost efficiency and save £75,000 each year at a time when the council is struggling for cash. - Despite those budgetary pressures, KCC is [proposing to introduce Political Assistants](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/documents/s133800/Political%20Assistants%20-%20County%20Council%2018%20Dec%202025%20Report.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) within the council. These are roles that would carry out research and do support work for their political group. Parties with over 10% of council seats would be eligible, meaning both Reform and the Lib Dems would be eligible. Each one would cost nearly £50,000, meaning a £100,000 spend to create the roles that KCC hasn't had previously. ### Tunbridge Wells still waits for water certainty It has now been nearly two weeks since water first began disappearing from taps across Tunbridge Wells, and the crisis has shifted from a sudden outage to a long, uneasy wait for reassurance. Running water is back, but drinkable water is not. The boil notice imposed last Wednesday no longer has a defined endpoint. South East Water had said it would last ten days. It now reads 'until further notice.' Residents who went six days without any usable supply are still queuing for bottled water, boiling water for cooking and cleaning, and planning their days around what they can safely do. Some have joked bleakly about expecting ten weeks rather than ten days. Confidence in South East Water’s timelines collapsed last week and has not recovered. The company [says the supply is chemically safe](https://www.southeastwater.co.uk/help/works-and-outages/boil-notice-for-customers-in-tunbridge-wells/?ref=kentcurrent.news) and that no bacteria have been detected at Pembury Water Treatment Works or in downstream reservoirs. But the final disinfection fault that triggered the boil notice has not been resolved, so it remains in place. SEW continues to describe the notice as precautionary, while still maintaining bottled water stations and priority deliveries for residents unable to travel. Last year, the Drinking Water Inspectorate [formally warned](https://www.dwi.gov.uk/water-companies/improvement-programmes/south-east-water-improvement-programmes/sew-2024-00006/?ref=kentcurrent.news) that Pembury Water Treatment Works presented a 'significant risk' to public health without urgent upgrades. That assessment now frames the ongoing investigation into the failure and the length of time it has taken to restore safe drinking water. The Inspectorate has [now launched a further investigation](https://www.dwi.gov.uk/4-december-2025-drinking-water-inspectorate-investigating-south-east-water-incident/?ref=kentcurrent.news) into the situation. Political pressure has intensified. The chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee has [requested](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgk0l25zz8o?ref=kentcurrent.news) SEW chief executive David Hinton attend a public evidence session in early January, raising concerns about crisis management, communications and repeated failures to learn from earlier outages. Kent County Council leader [Linden Kemkaran](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-think-theres-a-lot-gone-wrong-with/) has [written to the Environment Secretary](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/leader-calls-for-government-compensation?ref=kentcurrent.news) describing the incident as a “catastrophic failure” and calling for a government-backed recovery fund, warning that standard compensation will fall far short of the losses faced by households and small businesses. Tunbridge Wells MP Mike Martin [says ministers have made clear](https://www.facebook.com/Mike.Martin.TW/posts/pfbid0ByHR3XM8birj9b8jL9CB2hjzB765uUeYnT7LDRL7ii3HuCSLy51HUPZ6mLqsQ9rcl) that compensation for businesses should exceed the regulatory minimum, and he continues to push for both enhanced payouts and a wider recovery scheme. Local businesses say the financial shock has been severe. The Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce estimates the hospitality sector alone may have lost between £7 and £8 million. Individual operators report thousands of pounds in wasted stock, cancelled bookings and lost trading days during what should have been the busiest period before Christmas. Several warn that they cannot withstand prolonged uncertainty. Life in Tunbridge Wells is edging back towards normal, but the sense of unease hasn’t gone anywhere. People are adapting to the boil notice, catching up on basic chores and trying to plan around advice that still changes at the margins. The water supply may be back, but trust is not. ### In brief 🚘 Drivers who were caught speeding are [very upset](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sheerness/news/motorists-told-to-face-the-consequences-after-speeding-fin-333731/?ref=kentcurrent.news) and demanding that Kent Police cancel the fines. 🚧 Bad news for drivers of Kent's worst bit of motorway as Operation Brock is [set to be reintroduced](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c058171ql7jo?ref=kentcurrent.news) on the M20 next week ahead of the Christmas getaway. 🏥 Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust and Medway Foundation NHS Trust are [inviting staff to resign](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/nhs-staff-given-option-to-resign-as-part-of-cost-cutting-mea-333544/?ref=kentcurrent.news#:~:text=NHS%20staff%20across%20the%20county,it%20will%20be%20making%20redundancies) to cut costs, while East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust will be making redundancies. 🔒 Napier Barracks in Folkestone is set to [close on 19 December](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjdr1ejer8jo?ref=kentcurrent.news), with asylum seekers housed there being moved to alternative accommodation. 📣 UKIP are planning to hold an [anti-migrant march in Dover](https://searchlightmagazine.com/2025/12/ukip-anti-migrant-demo-to-kick-off-at-dovers-red-hand-pub/?ref=kentcurrent.news) on Saturday, while somewhat confusingly, the previous organiser of a UKIP march in Rochester is organising another march in Maidstone on the same day. Given the single-figure turnouts at recent marches in Kent organised by the party, it will be interesting to see how many manage to turn up with this split. ### Footnotes *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* ### A Kent perspective on the Budget URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/a-kent-perspective-on-the-budget/ Last updated: 2025-12-10T17:05:24.000Z As an observer and commentator on politics and economics, the past three months of budget speculation have been painful to watch. Not a day went by when there wasn’t a briefing on what ‘might’ or ‘could’ be in the budget. Seemingly the government was tempted to raise every possible tax. VAT thresholds for business were to be lowered to a painfully low threshold of £30,000\. Income tax was supposed to be up by 2p. It was a ridiculous example of lowering expectations – which the government met last month. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/12/AdobeStock_653760899_Editorial_Use_Only.jpeg) The Budget was the government’s lack of imagination and narrative all rolled into one. No big vision. No inspiration. Nothing in it for earners, investors or entrepreneurs. Remember them? They’re the ones who keep the wheels of the economy turning. Ah yes, the productive sector of the economy. It faced another rinse. Those who take all the risk, with no holiday pay, no sick pay, no job security, they faced yet another hammering by this government. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Damage bills mount from Kent’s lamppost flags URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/damage-bills-mount-from-kents-lamppost-flags/ Last updated: 2025-12-08T11:16:39.000Z *Good morning and welcome to your Monday Kent Current briefing. We hope your weekend was calmer than last week was for residents in Tunbridge Wells, where running water became an aspirational lifestyle. The county has had its fair share of surreal weeks lately, and this one doesn’t look set to break the pattern.* *Our main story today looks at Kent’s lamppost flags, which are still flying, still unauthorised, and now quietly generating repair bills through a policy that depends on spotting risks the council isn’t checking for.* *You’ll also find a fascinating deep dive into waste crime near Iwade, the peculiar science of defining a town, and the latest news from councils across the county.* *Let’s dive in.* ### Catch up If you missed any of our reporting over the past week, here’s your chance to catch up. The biggest story in Kent last week was that one of our biggest towns [spent the best part of a week without a water supply](https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-week-the-water-stopped/), raising significant questions for South East Water. While supplies are now back on, residents are still being told that it isn't safe to drink or bathe in without being boiled first. [The week the water stoppedA week of dry taps, false deadlines and emergency queues reveals a broken system and a town running out of patience![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE-1.png)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/KC_Water.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-week-the-water-stopped/) For our big weekend interview, [we sat down with Sittingbourne and Sheppey MP, Kevin MᶜKenna](https://www.kentcurrent.news/my-job-is-to-try-and-bring-everyone-together/), who talks in-depth about how he became an MP, the hidden population in his constituency, living with HIV, and lots more. [“My job is to try and bring everyone together”What we asked Kevin MᶜKenna, MP for Sittingbourne and Sheppey![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/icon/KC-NEW-LOGO-SQUARE.png)Kent CurrentSteven Keevil![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/thumbnail/image-1-1.png)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/my-job-is-to-try-and-bring-everyone-together/) ### Damage bills mount from Kent’s lamppost flags Kent County Council’s decision to leave thousands of unauthorised flags attached to lampposts across the county is beginning to have measurable consequences. Two FOI responses reveal that the authority has already spent more than £4,000 dealing with damage linked to the flags, despite saying it would intervene only when they posed a safety risk. The headline numbers are modest. What they reveal is a policy that has avoided enforcement and inspection, and is now generating reactive costs while leaving the council exposed to risks it has chosen not to assess. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/12/AdobeStock_1665320168-1-1.jpeg) **What the FOIs show** The [first FOI](https://kccportal.icasework.com/resource?id=D38651507&db=CfARENrVaIw%3D&ref=kentcurrent.news) shows that KCC did not answer a question about whether it had carried out any structural or safety assessment of the flags attached to its lampposts. The council provided no evidence that any checks had taken place and offered no assessment against recognised load standards. It also could not provide any thresholds that would require removal, and confirmed it has no winter inspection plan, even though the flags remain in place as winter weather approaches. Despite the absence of oversight, the council acknowledged that it may be legally liable if something goes wrong. It confirmed that its public liability insurance would likely cover incidents in which an unauthorised flag contributed to an accident by blocking a light or sign, or in which the added strain played a part in a structural failure. Liability could fall on the council if negligence were established. That risk increases when an authority knows about illegal attachments but decides not to examine them. The [second FOI](https://kccportal.icasework.com/resource?id=D38564109&db=CfARENrVaIw%3D&ref=kentcurrent.news) shows how this stance is already producing costs. Since the summer, KCC has spent £4,133,72 repairing or responding to damage caused by or related to the flags. More than £3,400 pounds of that was recorded in September alone. Removal costs totalling £600 were also recorded across several months, even though the council says it does not generally remove flags unless they are unsafe. The FOI response did not include details on what was damaged or where, which is normal for such disclosures. *Kent Current* asked KCC to explain the nature of the incidents and whether any of the costs would be covered by insurance. No response was received. **A policy that cannot function** KCC’s position is that flags will remain unless they pose a safety risk. The FOIs show that the council has no system for determining whether any risk exists. It has supplied no evidence of checks, no assessments and no criteria that would trigger intervention. This leaves a policy that cannot function. The council says it will act if danger emerges, but has no mechanism for identifying danger in the first place. The result is a safety threshold that exists only on paper and can be recognised only after something has gone wrong. The damage recorded in the second FOI is already an example of that. **How enforcement blurred into inaction** Kent Police’s [public position](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kent-police-rebrand-lawbreaking-as/) has not constrained councils, but it has influenced the political environment. The force has said it views the spontaneous flying of national flags as lawful unless there is an urgent safety concern, even when flags are fixed to highway structures without permission. That has not removed KCC’s powers, but it has provided a convenient shield for a council already reluctant to intervene. The lack of intervention has pushed responsibility downward. [Parishes in Harrietsham](https://www.kentcurrent.news/flags-spark-festive-stand-off/), Queenborough and Downswood all learned this autumn that flags would have to be removed before Christmas lights could be installed. These were not disputes created by enforcement. They were the product of KCC passing responsibility to smaller councils with limited resources and little ability to manage the risks that KCC itself has chosen not to assess. **Why this matters** The amounts spent so far will not affect the county’s finances. The issue is what they signal. The FOIs describe an approach that avoids enforcement and inspection, while leaving the authority responsible for thousands of unauthorised attachments it has never evaluated. The damage recorded in the second FOI shows that the consequences of this approach are no longer theoretical. KCC has adopted a policy that relies on identifying safety risks it has chosen not to examine. The FOIs show how quickly that gap becomes visible in practice. The flags remain, but so does the question of how long the council can persist with a system that recognises danger only after it has already occurred. ### Three big stories 1️⃣ The water crisis in Tunbridge Wells has dominated much of the discourse around Kent in the past week. [The I have argued that the situation is proof that Britain is 'completely broken'](https://inews.co.uk/opinion/town-proof-britain-completely-broken-4085906?ref=kentcurrent.news) and that it should act as a wake-up call. It's not entirely hard to disagree at this point. 2️⃣ Channel 4 has been investigating organised waste crime, looking in particular at [an illegal waste site near Iwade in Swale](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNh782589uw&ref=kentcurrent.news), where residents describe 'mass intimidation' and a lack of action on the issue. 3️⃣ Nerdy (in the best possible way) YouTuber Chris Spargo has been [investigating the lines between villages, towns, and cities](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jV8Anp2z6g&ref=kentcurrent.news), using Fordwich in Kent as a starting point, given it's Britain's smallest town. ## Sign up for the Kent Current Join our free mailing list for clear, independent reporting on Kent’s biggest stories. No ads, no clickbait. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### In brief ➡️ Three expelled Reform councillors - Cllrs Paul Thomas, Brian Black, and Oliver Bradshaw - on Kent County Council have [formed a new Independent Group](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/three-expelled-reform-uk-councillors-form-new-group-at-count-333528/?ref=kentcurrent.news), separate to the recently created Independent Reformers group at KCC. 🚰 The BBC has been asking residents of Tunbridge Wells just [how they survived](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyz1jqzd4wo?ref=kentcurrent.news) a week without running water. 🚑 South East Coast Ambulance Trust has [received criticism from Medway councillors](https://www.localauthority.news/p/ambulance-service-criticised-after?ref=kentcurrent.news) after secret filming for a Channel 4 documentary found failings within the service. 🏥 East Kent Hospitals Trust have [revealed plans](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/plans-for-critical-1-8m-works-to-maternity-unit-branded-333403/?ref=kentcurrent.news) for a £1.8m upgrade of the maternity unit at QEQM Hospital in Margate. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Searchlight have done a [deep dive](https://searchlightmagazine.com/2025/12/kents-fash-harry-goes-into-overdrive-as-support-falters/?ref=kentcurrent.news) into the current circumstances of Faversham anti-immigrant activist Harry Hilden and his increasingly strong associations with the far-right Britain First. His latest protest at Folkestone's Napier Barracks drew around 35 supporters, who were outnumbered three to one by a 'cake not hate' bake sale. 📹 30 CCTV cameras covering Ashford [haven't worked for months](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/it-s-not-safe-dozens-of-cctv-cameras-out-of-action-across-333300/?ref=kentcurrent.news), with Ashford Borough Council describing the claims as 'scaremongering' while refusing to deny them. 🚌 Kent County Council will [receive over £78m](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y2xd63z0ko?ref=kentcurrent.news) in the next three years to improve bus services across the county. ⚫ John Stanley, the MP for Tonbridge and Malling between 1974 and 2015, has [passed away](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2e05gl075o?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🎛️ Lovebox Festival will [relocate from London to Dreamland in Margat](https://www.nme.com/news/music/lovebox-returns-at-new-home-of-dreamland-in-margate-with-scissor-sisters-friendly-fires-rudimental-and-more-buy-tickets-3914344?ref=kentcurrent.news)e next year, with Scissor Sisters, Friendly Fires, and Rudimental leading the lineup. 🎄 It's the time of year when stories of awful winter wonderland attractions proliferate, so it was exciting to see this new twist on them with a [miserable-looking Christmas drone show](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/there-were-not-600-drones-family-let-down-by-festive-ligh-333309/?ref=kentcurrent.news). ### Council matters **Meetings this week:** - **Canterbury:** [Cabinet](https://democracy.canterbury.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=755&MId=13842&ref=kentcurrent.news) gathers tonight (Monday) to debate the 'Wealden Condition,' a plan to try to stall housebuilding in the borough due to a lack of adequate sewage facilities. - **Dartford:** [General Assembly of the Council](https://dartford.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=108&MId=3481&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets tonight (Monday) to debate removing abandoned vehicles and issuing an Article 4 Direction against new HMOs. - **Sevenoaks:** [Cabinet](https://cds.sevenoaks.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=120&MId=3561&J=1&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets tomorrow night (Tuesday) to discuss the emerging budget and a load of rubbish. - **Thanet:** [Overview & Scrutiny Panel](https://democracy.thanet.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=119&MId=7010&ref=kentcurrent.news) will debate an interesting scheme to bring empty shops back into use by using a rental auction scheme to open up properties to new tenants. - **Folkestone & Hythe:** [Cabinet](https://folkestone-hythe.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=142&MId=5627&ref=kentcurrent.news) gets together on Wednesday, when they will discuss progress on the Otterpool Park development. - **Swale:** [Council](https://services.swale.gov.uk/meetings/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=128&MId=4332&ref=kentcurrent.news) will meet on Wednesday to debate becoming a District of Sanctuary and the next steps of the borough's Local Plan. - **Ashford:** [Cabinet](https://ashford.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=136&MId=4918&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Thursday to discuss the budget for the coming year and lots of items on social housing. - **Thanet:** [Council](https://democracy.thanet.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=141&MId=7061&ref=kentcurrent.news) will debate a motion on Thursday about some of the Pride in Place funding awarded to the district going to Broadstairs, and then a motion on motions. ### Events this week 🎤 Fri 12 Dec - [**Mark Thomas**](https://thegulbenkian.co.uk/events/funny-rabbit-comedy-club-mark-thomas/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Headline show from political comedian famous for a mix of standup, theatre, and journalism. Gulbenkian Theatre, Canterbury. Tickets £7. ### Footnotes ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* **Enjoying the Kent Current? Pass it on.* If you know someone who’d like this too, forward this email to them and invite them to subscribe.* ### "My job is to try and bring everyone together" URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/my-job-is-to-try-and-bring-everyone-together/ Last updated: 2025-12-08T13:00:30.000Z *Kevin MᶜKenna was elected to parliament as the Labour MP for Sittingbourne and Sheppey in 2024\. Having almost met Kevin in parliament, Steven met him, less excitingly, via Zoom. Steven asked Kevin about becoming an MP, being an intensive care nurse during covid, living with HIV, and lots more.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/12/image-1.png) Kevin McKenna ©House of Commons/Roger Harris **Please spell your name.** Yeah, it's Kevin MᶜKenna. K-E-V-I-N M-C-K-E-N-N-A. Obviously, I'm quite precious about this because I need to fight for my heritage. M, lowercase C, capital K. Ideally with the C as a superscript, but I know you'll never do that. So don't worry. I go potty on forms where it all comes out as capitals. Thank you for overriding my cultural heritage with your English whatever. **I will pass that note on to the editor and see what they can do.** **What is your official occupation?** I'm the Member of Parliament for Sittingbourne and Sheppey. **Why that constituency?** I grew up in southeast London, Kent borders. I really grew up in Welling, and we always came out here a lot as kids. Weekend trips were always into Kent. I've also got a lot of family around here. My aunt used to live in Walderslade. My godson lives just outside of Sittingbourne, my aunt and uncle have moved here. It was always very contiguous. But then I spent most of my adult life. After I left university, I moved into London, largely because, let's be very clear, where I grew up in Welling, it wasn't the friendliest place to be a young gay man. We had the British National Party headquarters in Welling. We had all of that stuff going on. The 80s and 90s were not so comfortable. After I finished at uni and hooked up with a guy who lived in Tower Hamlets, I found it a lot safer, frankly, to be in that part of the world than it was in the London fringes and into Kent as well. It's changed so much in my lifetime. Massive change as to how inclusive and open it is. It shifted back that way. There's still something about being an out gay man who's married and lives in the area. That actually has made a bit of difference. There are people locally that feel that part of representation matters and works, just talking to people in the constituency. But equally, in the 90s, I wouldn't have felt safe there. I spent all that time living in London. But then, particularly after I got involved in politics again and started canvassing back in the area... We had the Sidcup by-election, and then I was doing stuff in Medway when my friend *\[Medway councillor\]* David Field moved down here. This is very familiar. This is the culture I grew up in. This is actually where I came from. This is a really great place to learn politics. Incredibly complicated, very unusual politics, really quiet on the edge. > "There's a hidden population on Sheppey that makes it more complicated." **How would you describe Sittingbourne and Sheppey as a constituency?** Every MP says the same thing. It's the most beautiful constituency in the country with the most incredible heritage and people. It's got lots of really rich issues to get stuck into. Now, the truth is Sittingbourne and Sheppey is that with bells and whistles on. You've got a mainland section and an inhabited island section in one constituency, and it's well inhabited. 37,000 people. It's more than that. There's a hidden population on Sheppey that makes it more complicated. You've got the dynamic between the mainland and the island, which is really interesting as an MP, because my job is to try and bring everyone together, to represent everyone. What are the commonalities between the two parts, even though there's often friction? At the same time, we are really unusual in the southeast of England. If you look at the stats, we are massively an industrial economy. Most of the businesses here are industrial. Sittingbourne is an industrial town with a commuter fringe. The southern side of Sittingbourne, that's closer to the default for a lot of Kent, particularly somewhere that isn't actually that far out of London. But the bulk of Sittingbourne isn't like that. The bulk of Sittingbourne, a whole quarter of it by land area, is a big industrial district with some major, primary manufacturing, some nationally important industries. There's logistics, and there's manufacturing, food output, [COOK](https://www.kentcurrent.news/cultures-never-an-accident/), and other food and logistics firms. We recycle a third of the cardboard and paper in the country. We recycle a quarter of the electronics in the country. On the island, you've got Sheerness Docks. It's closest to the Port of London, and a lot of the stuff that comes in here is very specialist. We're very industrial, whereas most of Kent and most of the southeast as a whole is all service economy. We're really unusual, and it's not actually that well understood across Kent as a whole. In terms of levels of deprivation, social exclusion, challenges with accessing services, life expectancy, we are really, really challenged. Ourselves and bits of Thanet very much stand out as the areas with the most social challenge in Kent, bits of Medway as well. We stand together within the southeast. The only place that's like us on those stats is Hastings. But unlike Hastings and unlike Thanet, which are very much tourist economy and seasonal economy, which we've got here on the island, but not in as not on as big a scale. Plus, I've also got the rural areas. We're in the Garden of England, and we're in apple and pear country. There's only one small band in the country where you can really grow dessert apples and pears. In the West Country where my dad was born, and in Hereford, where my husband had his teenage years, it's all cider apples. They think they're apple country, and that's great. I love a nice cloudy cider. Right here, above the North Downs, it is the best growing area in the country for apples. In fact, in many ways, the only really properly strong area for that. There's some in Rainham, little bit on the Strood side, but not much. There's nothing in Thanet. I’m the only Labour MP that's got a really big handle on the apple and pear orchard growing. I've got an extra responsibility for that. Then we're a coastal community, and a lot of the constituency is at or below sea level. There's a real movement at the moment to understand why it is that in coastal areas we've got lower life expectancy, challenges accessing services, the challenges of seasonal employment and the social impacts that has and it gets reflected. It's almost like a magnifier for everything else. Industrial towns as a whole are really under pressure, and that's why the north of England gets so much attention and south Wales and places like that. But, economically, we're a red wall seat, but in the southeast. **Why is there a hidden population?** Have you been to Warden Bay? Leysdown? Places like that? You'll notice there's a lot of caravan parks. Probably more than you even realise. If you look on a satellite map, you can see it a bit more clearly, but even then, that's not always up to date. Because a lot are a bit hidden from the road, you can't see the full extent of them. It's much bigger than the ones on the Hoo Peninsula, where you've got Allhallows. But we have holiday homes, and they're all licensed as holiday homes, not as permanent housing, which is part of the issue. At the same time, house prices on the east of Sheppey are lower than they are in Sheerness and Queenborough, which is cheaper than they are in Sittingbourne, which is cheaper than they are in the rest of Kent and the southeast. You can automatically see there's a financial gradient, in terms of housing and accommodation, from the bulk of the southeast into Sittingbourne onto the island and then to the east of the island. On the east of the island, housing is really cheap because you've got a lot of holiday accommodation which people can get in there and use as real permanent accommodation. On top of that, you've got three prisons at Eastchurch, and they're all men's prisons. If you have a family member inside, then their wives, girlfriends, mothers of their kids, in particular, there's an incentive for them to come and live there, closer to the prison, where it's cheap. They can either rent out a caravan or, for 10, 20, 30 grand or whatever, you can get yourself a holiday home. That's not like buying a house. It's not a mortgage, therefore it's easier. But in truth, you've probably only got it for about 30 years before it gets sold off underneath you by the site owner. You've got less protections. People can either rent or buy property there and then use it 12 months of the year. But they're only licensed normally for 10 months of the year. Over the winter, people are supposed to move out of it. Although they'll have electricity and water, they normally won't have standard utility bills. You can do, but normally people don't. Normally, it's off the site account. You don't have a postal address if you live in a place like that. You don't have internet connections in the same way. In terms of services that people expect, you've got a lot less of those. And you're not really officially on the books. Although we've got people that are paying council tax for 12 months of the year, even though they're only allowed to live there for 10\. Now nominally, people are supposed to move off for the winter, but of course they're not, because these are their actual permanent accommodations. It's not every single caravan there. A lot of them are still used as holiday homes. But literally, I don't know. The council doesn't know. The county council doesn't know. No one knows. The NHS does not know what the actual population is there. It could be a few hundred extras. It could be several thousand. It could be 10,000, 20,000\. Literally, the range that I've heard is from 2,000 to 20,000\. I'm sure that seems a lot. The potential of that is enormous, and that really messes up everything about local government funding, how you plan services, and people drop off the grid. Everyone I've spoken to knows that the population is higher. No one's actually been able to get a concrete answer. **Why did you decide to stand for parliament?** Well, because I could see a lot of other people doing it. I like to follow the crowd. Obviously, I'm easily led. But more than that, I ran for council in London. I got very involved in Bethnal Green. I used to live on Columbia Road, where the flower market is, which is something we need to replicate versions of that around here, because that's another really strong community. There's a strong affinity between the docks culture in Sheerness and the old docks culture in the old East End. I see an affinity between the two, and there's actually a bit of a population link as well. There are quite a few people here who've still got families in the East End, across all communities, actually. Not just white communities, but Bangladeshi friends and so on have got links here. I was living there, and it's a double whammy really, I've done in my professional life in nursing. I'd started doing something called the [Darzi Fellowship](https://www.lsbu.ac.uk/business/cpd-and-short-courses/darzi-fellowship-challenge?ref=kentcurrent.news). I was in intensive care as my clinical speciality. As I'd gone through that I'd increasingly got interested in how you make how do you make services work better. How do you deliver better results? That led to me first getting involved in lots of quality improvement work in the health system. The Darzi Fellowship is supposed to be about that. Turns out it wasn't really about that, it was trying to get clinicians to understand everything possible about the whole health system and turn those people into future clinical future leaders in the health system. There is a habit in the health system of it being non-clinicians, who are often great but they're not a doctor, a nurse or a physio, becoming the senior leaders in the NHS. This was trying to make sure that we got more people with a clinical background doing that. The thing it uncovers is it's great that you work in intensive care right in the heart of a hospital with the most acute patients, because of what's happening in their day-to-day lives. The real way you help people's health is by improving their housing situation, their employment, and improving the food that they eat, the amount of exercise they do and the social connections they have, the wider determinants of health. But how do you even get into that? Is that something I could get into? I started expanding my knowledge there, and the most important thing was in shifting that job, I was no longer doing nights and weekends. Suddenly, I had time to get more involved in my local community. Because it's really hard when you're doing shift work. You engage with a lot of community organisations, and they thrive on having a regular meeting and really active people in the community, but tends to be the same set of people, often retired people come together, and they do a lot of community action. The answer is if you're a nurse, it's really hard, and if you're doing lots of jobs, it's really hard, but that freed me up to start attending my local residents association. I became chair of my residents association, tried to pull in stuff that I'd learned from other parts of the country that worked really well in communities, doing that locally in Bethnal Green. At the same time, it also freed up time so I could get involved in the Labour Party. **What age were you when you joined the Labour Party?** Oh God, whatever age I was in 2015\. 41\. I've always been a political obsessive, which I mostly get from my dad. I've always followed politics closely. I never, up to that point, felt I needed to get too heavily involved in it, partly because I knew not to get involved in politics in Tower Hamlets. I had friends who were, and it was absolutely brutal and not the best place for your mental health to be involved in. When I was at university back in 1992, my first year at uni, the Lesbian and Gay Society, which it was before we used LGBT and things like that, one of the first big debates we had was what we should call ourselves because I suddenly realised that actually bisexual people existed, which was apparently a novel thought. Actually, maybe we shouldn't put men at the front, because there are an awful lot of gay and bisexual women. We had this whole debate about calling ourselves the Lesbian Gay Society. Anyway, big battles about that. In my first term there, we invited all the political groups in the Students' Union to speak to us. Now, unsurprisingly, at the time, the Conservatives just said no. More surprisingly, probably to a lot of people, is that the Lib Dems said no, and the Labour said no. Lib Dems and Labour were, 'We support you, but we don't want to be seen with you.' It was a weird time when you had a lot of Labour people in the student union wandering around in suit jackets and ties because this was off the back of that disastrous election in 92 for Labour. A lot of people had gone to university, and wanted to get involved in the Labour Party as Labour people. They didn't want to be seen with us because it was still a time when getting involved in queer politics was very controversial. They didn't want to come and they sent us a letter. The two people that came along were two really hard left groups. One was a [Militant](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Militant%5Ftendency?ref=kentcurrent.news) offshoot. The other was probably [SWP](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialist%5FWorkers%5FParty%5F%28UK%29?ref=kentcurrent.news). They came along, and they talked to us. And theirs was, 'Your struggle is really important, but don't upset the working classes.' I was sitting there going, 'Okay, you may think you were working class, but now you've come out as gay, you're no longer working class.' It's a middle-class affectation. At the time, Militant was a very macho organisation. They came and said, 'We support your liberation struggle, but that's not as important as the class struggle.' That completely drove me away from all organised politics. Then, during the 90s, the noughties, we had a Labour government doing really good things. There wasn't much reason for me to get involved, but equally, I was busy learning to be a nurse. I was learning my profession as a nurse. By the time we got to 2015, the coalition had gone, and we'd lost an election. It was a very fractious time in the Labour Party, obviously with Corbyn and with all the things that went on. Me and my husband were both, well, we'd better get involved because it's all going to hell in the handcart. That's where we both learned how to operate in the political world. All those things came together. So, all those things together are why I ran for council in Bethnal Green. I didn't win. And that was a classic blessing in disguise. Because I remember a month and a half after the ‘22 council elections in London, I sat there going, we know all these people that are running for parliament, and they're all great, but I've got those skills too. I could definitely do some of that. Let's give it a go. **How did you come to be selected for Parliament?** We started looking *\[at constituencies\],* and a lot of had already been selected, but where really matters to me and where would I feel I fitted in? A lot of the north Kent seats hadn't been selected. I started getting to know people engaged in Labour politics around here. Medway were incredibly welcoming. The Labour team in Medway was very much on the up and had been getting itself out of some doldrums. Frankly, they wanted people to come down and campaign with them because they had the big election coming up the following year. I thought, well, I'll give that a go, around selection in Rochester and Stood. I didn't get that, but Lauren *\[Edwards\]* did and having a lot of fun doing that. After that, I'm not sure where I want to go next. But Sittingbourne and Sheppey came up, and I don't know it as well, let's be blunt, at the time, and now it's this is the best place to be. **What do you remember of election night?** I was shattered. I remember sitting there in the cafeteria upstairs, desperately drinking several Monsters that night to try and stay awake. You get absolutely knackered on the polling day. It's weeks and weeks and weeks of just constant work all around the clock. And actually, it was just really hard to tell. In the room, I couldn't see. We could see that Labour, the Conservatives, and Reform were really close, but no one could actually tell. I was completely gobsmacked when the returning officer gives us preliminary numbers, and they said I'd won. I don't remember much. You get this really fancy piece of card handed to you from the king. I thought, 'Oh, that looks real.' My husband had been busy working in London on a campaign, so to be honest, I'd already crashed by the time he got home. > "If you've got HIV, it isn't the death sentence that you probably think it is." _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### The week the water stopped URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-week-the-water-stopped/ Last updated: 2025-12-08T07:37:16.000Z *This week’s edition arrives on a new platform as our first full newsletter sent from Ghost, but the story leading it is one all too familiar to thousands of Kent residents. Tunbridge Wells has endured nearly a week of water failures, broken deadlines and a boil notice that will stretch well beyond the return of supply, exposing long-flagged weaknesses in South East Water’s network and a collapse of trust across the town. We unpack how the crisis unfolded, why it keeps recurring, and what it means for the wider county, plus the key developments from across Kent.* ### The week the water stopped By Thursday afternoon, most of Tunbridge Wells finally had water coming out of their taps again. Drinking it was still out of the question. South East Water told residents they would need to boil every drop meant for cooking, brushing teeth or swallowing for at least the next ten days. After nearly a week without running water, the supply was back, but not in any way resembling normality. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/12/image.png) The partial return did little to erase what had built up since Saturday night, when 24,000 homes across Tunbridge Wells, Pembury, and surrounding villages first lost water or saw their pressure collapse to a trickle. Heating systems had been switched off in many homes over fears of running boilers without water supply. Toilets were flushed with bottled water poured slowly into cisterns. Households had gone days without washing properly. Streets were filled with residents carrying plastic containers. Care homes struggled to keep residents clean with bottled water deliveries. Shops, schools, GP surgeries and community buildings shut their doors, leaving the town centre eerily quiet. People spoke about the strangeness of daily routines being rearranged around water collection. Cars queued far back along St John’s Road as drivers waited for volunteers in high-visibility jackets to open their boots and load in packs of bottles without a word wasted. For many, the queue was the clearest sign of how little the town could now take for granted. Tunbridge Wells resident Erica Jones described her week as one prolonged exercise in improvisation. Every household job had turned into a workaround. Toilets flushed with 2-litre bottles, handwashing replaced by antibacterial gel, and dishes stacked because no one wanted to risk rinsing them. Showers replaced by quick wipe downs. “It’s been a cold, dirty and miserable few days,” she said. Even with water back, she did not trust what came from the taps enough to use it. To understand how the town reached this point, it helps to trace the week back to its beginning. Taps first fell silent on Saturday evening. Residents began reporting that their water had disappeared entirely. South East Water blamed a problem with a batch of chemicals at the Pembury Water Treatment Works. The company said storage tanks could not be filled safely. People assumed it would be brief, but Sunday brought the first missed promise. South East Water suggested that the water would return that day. It did not. Some households still had no supply at all. Others had only a fading dribble. By afternoon, supermarkets were busy with people buying bottled water. The sense grew that this was more than a short interruption. The experience of 2022, when an outage lasted six days, hung in the back of many conversations. Monday opened with more problems. Another estimate from the company came and went. Some homes still had nothing. Schools closed. Cafés closed. Health services cancelled appointments. Hairdressers, restaurants and nurseries could not operate. Offices shut because their buildings no longer met basic hygiene standards. By late morning, Tunbridge Wells Borough Council declared a major incident. “This situation is wholly unacceptable,” said chief executive William Benson, warning that families were unable to wash, cook or send children to school and that businesses were suffering “significant disruption.” Kent County Council followed later that day. Its leader, Linden Kemkaran, said the council was “really disappointed that lessons have not been learnt” and added “we won’t stop until South East Water has resolved this issue.” Temporary toilets were installed. Bottled water stations were expanded. Walk-in collection points were created for people who could not queue by car. By Tuesday, the cracks were widening. Another confident deadline was given. Another slipped away. People began to see a pattern: each assurance of a return within hours collapsed into the next delay. Homes began preparing properly for a multi day outage only after it had already become one. Businesses counted the cost. A beer café threw out more than one hundred litres of spoiled stock. A restaurant wrote off thousands of pounds in produce. A café said losses had reached at least £15,000 already. Staff were sent home. Deliveries were cancelled. WhatsApp groups filled with updates on where bottled water was available and how long the queues were, while residents began reading regulatory documents for themselves. One detail began to change how residents viewed the crisis. In 2024, the Drinking Water Inspectorate formally designated Pembury Water Treatment Works as a site presenting a “significant risk” to public health unless urgent upgrades were carried out. The notice warned of potential contamination from pesticides and several bacterial pathogens. What had looked like a sudden breakdown now resembled the failure of a weakness already identified. By Wednesday, that weakness was playing out in real time. As the network was slowly refilled, South East Water’s head of water quality, Dr Neil Hudson, said the same water quality issues that caused the initial shutdown had reappeared. Pembury, he said, was “unable to produce drinking water that meets the strict regulatory standards required for consumption.” The problem was now a “potential fault in the final disinfection process.” Water was safe only for flushing and showering. It remained unsafe for drinking, cooking, brushing teeth or washing food. Residents were told to boil water for at least ten days. Some households saw water briefly return late on Wednesday, but the relief did not last. Pressure faded again within hours as the fault resurfaced, leaving people back where they had started. The boil notice took hold at the same moment that taps which had sputtered back into life fell silent again. By Thursday morning, much of the town was effectively on its sixth day without a reliable supply, waiting to see whether the latest restoration would hold. The political reaction hardened. Tunbridge Wells MP Mike Martin described the episode as “a total failure of leadership.” He criticised bottled water stations being placed in the wrong town, vulnerable residents being left without support and restoration deadlines that had been “wrong every time.” “David Hinton must resign,” he said of the South East Water’s chief executive, noting that he had been assured after the 2022 outage that such a failure would not happen again. The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee wrote directly to the company. “We are significantly concerned by your company’s performance,” it said. It highlighted the earlier warning about Pembury and reminded the utility that urgent upgrades had been required to protect consumers. The Drinking Water Inspectorate said it was investigating and could take enforcement or legal action. Ofwat, the water regulator, previously opened an enforcement case against the company in 2023\. “Too many customers have been failed too often,” said chief executive David Black. South East Water had been the worst performer in England and Wales in terms of supply interruptions at the time, and little appears to have changed. At one bottled water station, the local Green Party offered its own view. Campaigner Joe Mattei said that “the fact that South East Water keep breaking their promises for when the water supply will be back on shows how incompetent they are. Firing the CEO of South East Water, as Mike Martin MP has called for, isn’t enough. We need to bring the water companies back into public ownership.” For South East Water, this is only the latest in a run of failures. The six-day outage over Christmas 2022, last year’s summer supply problems in parts of their patch, a treatment works shutdown after a power cut earlier this year, and now a contamination-driven shutdown at Pembury. The company says it has invested heavily and improved its crisis response systems. It also argues that it needs greater funding in the next regulatory cycle to address the region's specific risks, including work at Pembury. Yet the same reports show repeated failure to meet supply interruption targets, rising penalties and unresolved vulnerabilities across its network. By Thursday afternoon, water returned to most households, though unevenly. Some saw clear water, others saw cloudy water. Care homes still could not offer baths or showers. Schools were deciding whether to reopen. Businesses weighed up the weekend. The boil notice remained. For some households, the water was back in name only. Throughout the week, the most consistent theme was the collapse of trust. Residents said their confidence dropped with each missed timescale and each shift in explanation. Erica Jones said she was “not brave enough” to follow the boil notice exactly because earlier guidance had already proven unreliable. Six days after the outage began, a wider pattern is clear. This is not the first time a major water failure has hit the area. It is another in a series of breakdowns affecting the same communities in different ways over recent years. The water is back for now. But the questions that matter most to the town remain: Why does this keep happening here, and what will finally stop it? ## Sign up for the Kent Current Join our free mailing list for clear, independent reporting on Kent’s biggest stories. No ads, no clickbait. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### In brief 🗣️ All 14 council leaders in Kent have come together to lobby the government for a [devolution deal](https://www.medway.gov.uk/news/article/2005/kent%5Fs%5Fcouncil%5Fleaders%5Fissue%5Fdevolution%5Fdesert%5Fwarning?ref=kentcurrent.news) after initial efforts were rejected. 🏛️ Kent County Council have chosen to replace outgoing Chief Executive Amanda Beer with... [Amanda Beer](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/kent-council-confirms-permanent-269-000-chief-executive-app-333357/?ref=kentcurrent.news). She had already deferred her retirement twice and will now stay on until the council is abolished under local government reorganisation plans. 🏢 Maidstone Borough Council is considering a move that would [stop Kent County Council](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c23e0v1nzlpo?ref=kentcurrent.news) from selling off Invicta House in the town for conversion into flats without planning permission. 🗳️ Meanwhile, the leader of Maidstone Borough Council, Stuart Jeffery, survived a no confidence vote in his leadership by a 28 to 14 margin. 🥀 The leader of Ashford Borough Council's Labour group has not taken a [defection of one of his councillors](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/they-should-have-more-respect-controversy-as-another-labo-333233/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to the Green Party well. 🦢 Bird flu latest: A farm near Newington has become the third location with a confirmed case, leading to a [new exclusion zone](https://www.gov.uk/animal-disease-cases-england/bird-flu-second-premises-near-newington-swale-kent-aiv2025-slash-120?ref=kentcurrent.news#:~:text=Highly%20pathogenic%20avian%20influenza%20%28HPAI%29%20H5N1%20was%20confirmed%20at%20a,premises%20will%20be%20humanely%20culled.) being set up. Elsewhere, [swans are continuing to succumb](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2025/11/29/council-issues-bird-flu-warning-swan-death-toll-along-sarre-penn-waterways-continues-to-rise/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in large numbers around Thanet and Canterbury. ### Footnotes ✉️ **Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via* ***hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news** *\- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### The Kent Current has a new home URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-kent-current-has-a-new-home/ Last updated: 2025-12-03T10:03:32.000Z We’ve moved, but nothing should change for most of you. A quick update: The *Kent Current* has now moved off Substack and onto a new home powered by Ghost. You don’t need to resubscribe, you don’t need to change anything, and your newsletters should keep arriving exactly as before. If you’re a paying supporter, your subscription has been transferred automatically and will still cost the same as before. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/12/AdobeStock_530643254.jpeg) There is one exception, and we want to be upfront about it. Readers who originally subscribed *through the Substack app* on an Apple device can’t be migrated across. Apple processes and controls those subscriptions, which means we aren’t able to move them or even see the renewal date. To prevent anyone from losing access overnight, we’ve added 3 months of free paid access to any affected accounts. After that, you’ll be prompted to re-subscribe with us directly if you’d like to continue. 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Thank you for reading, for supporting independent reporting in Kent, and for sticking with us. We couldn’t do this without you. Ed Editor, the *Kent Current* ✉️ **If you're having any issues or want to ask any questions about this transition, please don't hesitate to send us an email via* ***hello(AT)kentcurrent(DOT)news** ### Maidstone leader hit with no confidence challenge URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/maidstone-leader-hit-with-no-confidence/ Last updated: 2025-12-01T11:10:51.000Z *Good morning and welcome to your Monday Kent Current. We hope the weekend gave you a moment to breathe, whether you spent it at a school Christmas fair, hiding from one, or trying to remember where you last saw the box of decorations. It’s the time of year Kent feels full of half-finished plans and people comparing how busy they are.* *This week begins with a genuinely high-stakes moment in Maidstone, where council leader Stuart Jeffery faces a no confidence vote after months of shifting politics and a by-election result that scrambled the numbers. It’s shaping up to be one of the more unpredictable meetings of the season.* *And there’s plenty more in the rest of the briefing, from water being lost in Tunbridge Wells and roadworks U-turns to new development proposals, M&S scouting half the county for new stores, and a few national newspapers rediscovering Kent with varying degrees of enthusiasm.* *There’s plenty to catch up on, so settle in.* --- #### **Catch up** If you missed any of our reporting over the past week, here’s your chance to catch up: - Lupen Crook is an artist and singer-songwriter, originally from Medway but now residing in Ramsgate. [We talk to him](https://www.kentcurrent.news/ive-got-enough-reasons-to-break-down/) about his identities, his time in New York, his mental health struggles, and lots more. - Could Kent be heading for a bird flu winter? That’s [the question we posed last week](https://www.kentcurrent.news/is-kent-facing-a-bird-flu-winter/) as cases for this year are running well ahead of last year, with multiple cases and exclusion zones already in place across the county. --- #### Maidstone leader hit with no confidence challenge Maidstone Borough Council leader [Stuart Jeffery](https://www.kentcurrent.news/p/were-focused-on-the-practical-aspects) faces a vote of no confidence on Wednesday, after the Conservative group tabled a motion accusing him of prioritising “symbolic” projects over the borough’s practical needs. The motion is the sharpest challenge Jeffery has faced since the Greens took control 18 months ago, but the numbers heading into the meeting remain uncertain. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/image/fetch/$s_!Nfu0!-f_auto-q_auto:good-fl_progressive:steep/https_3a_2f_2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com_2fpublic_2fimages_2f6a4e86ac-90c6-49cc-952c-596c45f707d3_1430x1072.jpg) Cllr Stuart Jeffery (third from right) when he became Maidstone leader. **What’s happening:** Conservative group leader Cllr Claudine Russell and Cllr Lottie Parfitt have submitted a motion arguing that Jeffery has increasingly pursued “discretionary initiatives” that do not reflect the concerns of residents. They point to two recent areas of work: the proposal to pardon people historically convicted as witches, and Maidstone Borough Council’s exploration of “rights of nature” decision-making. They argue that while such topics may have “symbolic or academic interest”, they are not the best use of time or money at a moment of rising pressure on housing, infrastructure and the council’s financial position. Russell said that her group was united behind the motion. “We want to re-focus the council onto things that benefit our residents as we hurtle towards Local Government Reorganisation.” **What Jeffery says:** Jeffery dismissed the motion in a statement to us, calling it “silly posturing by the Tories who are still smarting from losing the council 18 months ago.” He said his administration was “delivering even more than we promised” and that it was “sad that one small piece of work that the Tories don’t like is used in this way, particularly as we are using the pardon to highlight the historical context of misogyny.” He has previously defended the council’s work on decarbonising Maidstone House, arguing the building, purchased under Conservative control, must meet future energy standards so that unused floors can continue to be let commercially. On housing supply, he has pointed to the previous administration’s Local Plan and the wider slowdown in national housebuilding. Jeffery believes he has the numbers to survive the vote. **The background:** The political picture in Maidstone has shifted repeatedly over the past year. Three councillors from Jeffery’s group resigned in the summer after sustained pressure over the Heathlands garden village development. Their departure triggered the Lenham, Harrietsham and North Downs by-election in October, where Reform [won all three seats](https://www.kentcurrent.news/p/maidstone-reformed) with large majorities. The result ended the narrow Green-Lib Dem-independent coalition that had carried Jeffery’s administration through its first year. It also brought Reform into borough politics for the first time, following its breakthrough at County Hall earlier in the year. Since then, Jeffery has been running a minority administration supported by the Liberal Democrats and an allied independent councillor, with informal cooperation from Labour and other independents. In an [interview with the ](https://www.kentcurrent.news/p/were-focused-on-the-practical-aspects)[*Kent Current*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/p/were-focused-on-the-practical-aspects) earlier this month, he described the arrangement as “stable” and “strong,” saying “the maths doesn’t work for any other combination across the council”. **What’s driving the tension:** The witch-pardon proposal has attracted the most attention, but it is only one part of a broader disagreement about priorities. Conservatives say the council should be focusing on housing delivery, preparing for potential local government reorganisation and tightening its approach to spending. They highlight the estimated £7m cost of decarbonising Maidstone House as an example of an initiative that needs closer scrutiny. Jeffery, in contrast, positions his leadership around a mixture of environmental ambition and small, visible improvements in the town. He has highlighted work in Brenchley Gardens, town-centre planting, and upcoming cultural projects as examples of the practical, incremental progress he sees. He also emphasises the importance of cross-party collaboration, citing shared work with the Liberal Democrats, Labour and independents. That difference, between a focus on long-term ideas and a focus on core services, underpins much of this week’s motion. **Why it matters:** The vote comes at a sensitive moment for the borough. Local government reorganisation is edging closer, budgets remain tight, and the housing situation is a frequent point of tension both inside and outside the council chamber. Leadership stability is likely to be a major factor in how Maidstone navigates the next two years. Even if Jeffery survives, the motion reflects growing pressure as the political landscape becomes more fractured. The chamber now includes a confident Conservative group, a still-influential Liberal Democrat presence, a smaller but determined Green group, a Labour contingent that often backs the administration, and a new Reform bloc that has already altered the tone of debate. The outcome will determine whether the current alignment continues or whether Maidstone enters another period of political readjustment. **What happens next:** The motion will be debated at [Wednesday’s full council meeting](https://maidstone.gov.uk/home/primary-services/council-and-democracy/primary-areas/your-councillors?sq%5Fcontent%5Fsrc=%2BdXJsPWh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGbWVldGluZ3MubWFpZHN0b25lLmdvdi51ayUyRmllTGlzdERvY3VtZW50cy5hc3B4JTNGQ0lkJTNEMTUxJTI2TUlkJTNENTU5OSZhbGw9MQ%3D%3D&ref=kentcurrent.news). A simple majority is enough to pass. If it succeeds, the council would be required to appoint a new leader. If it fails, the Green-led administration continues, albeit in a chamber where the balance of power remains fluid. --- #### **Three big reads** 1️⃣ [Is Kent the largest local authority in the country?](https://jonn.substack.com/p/inform-educate-implode) The ever excellent Jonn Elledge tries to answer what sounds like a relatively straightforward question, but discovers the answer is surprisingly complicated. 2️⃣ How the village of Goudhurst [defeated a notorious smuggling gang](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2k4xynl424o?ref=kentcurrent.news). 3️⃣ Byline Times have been looking at [the financial situation Kent County Council](https://bylinetimes.com/2025/11/24/reform-uks-cost-cutting-council-prepares-to-raise-taxes-after-presiding-over-46-million-overspend/?ref=kentcurrent.news) finds itself in, and how, despite looking for cuts, the Reform administration will almost certainly have to raise council tax. --- #### **In brief** 🚰 23,000 customers around Tunbridge Wells are [still without water](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2081xew4vqo?ref=kentcurrent.news) following an issue at a treatment works yesterday. 🚗 [Nearly 5,000 fines have been issued](https://www.kentcurrent.news/content/files/documents/s32289/moving-traffic-enforcement-report-dec-25-kcc.pdf) by enforcement cameras in Ashford on roads where traffic is prohibited. 🚧 Plans to abandon roadworks around Westgate Tower in Canterbury through the Christmas period have been, er, [abandoned](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c898ljzgdzyo?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🏨 68 rooms [could be added](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dover/news/plan-to-increase-size-of-game-changing-hotel-for-kent-coas-332970/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to a previously approved 90-room hotel for the seafront in Dover. 📽️ A 1930s cinema in Gravesend [will be converted](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/gravesend/news/flats-plan-for-former-cinema-given-final-approval-332900/?ref=kentcurrent.news) into 48 flats. 🛒 M&S are looking for sites to [house new food stores](https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/newsroom/press-releases/ms-expands-search-potential-new-sites-it-picks-pace-store-renewal?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Kent, including Borough Green, Strood, Tonbridge, Ashford, Folkestone, Dover, Canterbury, Whitstable, and Herne Bay. 🚌 Bus company Chalkwell is very upset that the [council has closed the toilets](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sittingbourne/news/bus-company-boss-slams-council-decision-to-close-shopping-ce-333049/?ref=kentcurrent.news) used by its drivers in Sittingbourne. 🛢️ British Gas owner Centrica [has purchased the liquified natural gas terminal in Grain](https://www.insidermedia.com/news/south-east/british-gas-owner-completes-1.5bn-acquisition-of-kent-lng-terminal?ref=kentcurrent.news), Medway, from National Grid for £1.5bn. 📰 The Mirror is [very excited about Broadstairs](https://www.mirror.co.uk/travel/uk-ireland/found-beautiful-uk-seaside-town-36298936?ref=kentcurrent.news). 😎 The Daily Mail, the well-known arbiters of coolness, has been investigating [whether Northdown Road in Margate is actually cool](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-15331007/Are-REALLY-two-coolest-roads-world-High-streets-Kent-north-London-praised-edgy-actually-worth-visit.html?ref=kentcurrent.news). 💩 Meanwhile, The Daily Express is [concerned about the level of dog poo](https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/2136651/uk-seaside-town-dog-poo-thanet?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Thanet. 🏫 The King’s School in Canterbury has a [rather stylish new building](https://www.dezeen.com/2025/11/25/walters-cohen-rausing-science-centre/?ref=kentcurrent.news). --- #### **Council matters** **Meetings this week:** - **Dover:** [**Cabinet**](https://moderngov.dover.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=121&MId=5156&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets tonight (Monday) to talk about a new district parking strategy, a neighbourhood development plan for Langdon, and the expansion of Whitfield. - **Maidstone:** [**Full Council**](https://maidstone.gov.uk/home/primary-services/council-and-democracy/primary-areas/your-councillors?sq%5Fcontent%5Fsrc=%2BdXJsPWh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGbWVldGluZ3MubWFpZHN0b25lLmdvdi51ayUyRmllTGlzdERvY3VtZW50cy5hc3B4JTNGQ0lkJTNEMTUxJTI2TUlkJTNENTU5OSZhbGw9MQ%3D%3D&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on Wednesday to discuss efforts to block the conversion of Invicta House in the town to housing, and the aforementioned vote of no confidence in the council leader. - **Tonbridge & Malling:** [**Area 2 Planning Committee**](https://democracy.tmbc.gov.uk//ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=148&MId=6013&ref=kentcurrent.news) will decide on whether to approve 17 new homes in Hadlow on Wednesday, with officers recommending they be given the go-ahead. - **Tunbridge Wells:** [**Planning Committee**](https://democracy.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=377&MId=5893&ref=kentcurrent.news) will get together and decide whether to approve 57 new homes in the centre of Cranbrook on Wednesday. - **Dartford:** [**Cabinet**](https://dartford.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=105&MId=3498&ref=kentcurrent.news) will meet on Thursday to discuss the results of a town centre parking strategy, new housebuilding, and a new medical centre in Greenhithe. - **Swale:** [**Planning Committee**](https://services.swale.gov.uk/meetings/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=130&MId=4305&ref=kentcurrent.news) will decide on the fate of a new McDonald’s on the A2 at Gate Services on Thursday. - **Tunbridge Wells:** [**Cabinet**](https://democracy.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=118&MId=5904&ref=kentcurrent.news) will meet on Thursday to discuss the borough’s new Local Plan and a lot of financial reports. **New planning applications:** - **Folkestone & Hythe:** Plans have been submitted for [**150 new homes**](https://folkestonehythedc.my.site.com/PR3/s/planning-application/a1nbH00000ZSD4hQAH/252112fh?c%5F%5Fr=Arcus%5FBE%5FPublic%5FRegister&ref=kentcurrent.news) on the former Highview School site in Hythe. - **Gravesham:** The former Job Centre in Gravesend could be converted into [**37 mostly studio flats**](https://plan.gravesham.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=T6ANFFHPK7000&activeTab=summary&ref=kentcurrent.news) under permitted development rights. --- #### **Events this week** 🐆 Wed 5 Dec - [**Mark Steel: The Leopard in my House**](https://thegulbenkian.co.uk/events/mark-steel-the-leopard-in-my-house/?ref=kent-current.ghost.io) // Multi award-winning, BAFTA-nominated writer and comedian tours new show about his battle with throat cancer. Gulbenkian Theatre, Canterbury. Tickets £18. --- #### **Footnotes** *Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via *hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news* \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* **Enjoying the Kent Current? Pass it on.* If you know someone who’d like this too, forward this email to them and invite them to subscribe.* ### “I’ve got enough reasons to break down over music and painting” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/ive-got-enough-reasons-to-break-down/ Last updated: 2025-11-29T09:04:14.000Z [*Lupen Crook*](https://www.houseofbrokenarts.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *made his name in Medway as an acoustic singer-songwriter before leaving Medway for London and reinventing himself as part of band Sex Cells. Steven met him in his home studio on the Kent coast, where he lives with his partner, Willow Vincent, the other half of Sex Cells. They talked about the name Lupen Crook, why he left the UK for New York, his mental health, and lots more.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/image/fetch/$s_!0Snp!-f_auto-q_auto:good-fl_progressive:steep/https_3a_2f_2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com_2fpublic_2fimages_2f4bc182c7-3b3e-4d1d-a563-68d1f0b0a9a9_1536x1152.jpg) Lupen Crook. Photo: Matilda Hayes **Are you known by any other names?** I’ve had a few aliases and names, yeah. **Anything you want to share?** Not particularly. They’re all just different bits of life, aren’t they? **Where did the name Lupen Crook come from?** I look back at this now and think that was a strange, stubborn thing to do, but when I was about seven, I basically changed my name on my own. I decided, and forced my parents, teachers, everyone. Some people still know me by that, but when I got to about 17, we started a band called Bonsai Reservoir. My songwriting changed. I started playing with the idea of characters. Very briefly, I didn’t go by this name, but it’s written on the back of a few demos, which is Jack Can. Jilted Jack Can, actually. After Bonzo Reservoir collapsed under the weight of the personalities in the band, I was writing a lot of strange stories about Medway. Invictus Belly was a story I wrote, and other ones about this character called Lumiere DeVille, light of the town. When I started demoing the first songs that ultimately became [Petals Fresh from Roadkill](https://lupencrooks.bandcamp.com/album/petals-fresh-from-road-kill?ref=kentcurrent.news), my very first EP, that came out of the [Tap N Tin](https://www.instagram.com/tapntin?ref=kentcurrent.news), it was off the back of Lumiere DeVille. The reason why I like Lupen Crook is because for me, although it’s veiled, it’s got a duality to it. Lupen from the wolf and Crook from the shepherd’s crook. It was just playful. I think it was a little bit therapeutic for me. Different name, you could write from a different perspective. **To be clear, have you legally changed it?** I thought about it before, but like everything, it’s just for the art. **What is your official occupation?** Well, I paint mainly. That’s what I’ve been doing for three years down here, just painting. I’ve been doing music obviously, less so out gigging. I’ve been working on a record for about a year and a half now, but painting, because the penny is now the main... I’ve never made any money out of music. Not a fucking penny. To be honest, my journey’s been a strange one. But my attempt to pay rent is basically by selling art. **Where do you sell?** Well, this has been really tricky, to be honest. I’m unrepresented. **You put on exhibitions?** Most of the ones I put on myself. Myself and Willow. She helps curate things, and we do that. This year I haven’t done as much of that, just because the year goes quickly, doesn’t it? I’ve been recording a record and really head deep into painting, and I felt I don’t really want it to exhibit. That’s the struggle. **Was there a moment when you decided that you were going to focus on the art?** Making stuff has always been part of it. Even when I was 16, I didn’t paint. To be honest, I viewed oil painting and painting on canvas, I hear a lot of people say it, but I didn’t think you were allowed to. If I used to go around Rochester, it was only for [Francis Iles](https://francis-iles.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news). If I walked in there, you were viewed with suspicion. It was like you had to be an old man with grey hair, that was retired, for them to give you any assistance. I never bought anything in there. When I got to about 21, a close friend Matthew Stephen Scott, he said “paint.” He’d come back from university and painted properly and he encouraged me. We exhibited back in 2008, when the [Nucleus Art Centre](https://www.nucleusarts.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news) had just started up. I’ve always done it, but music’s always been the most dominant and disruptive draw for me creatively. I painted regularly when I lived in Medway, and when I moved up to London about 2010, I focused on that. Started to exhibit a bit in London. Then life had its way, and I had to fire sale a big collection of work and a lot changed for me personally, and I ended up in not a particularly good place but I didn’t realise the effect of selling off a collection of work you’d made so quickly. As well as my circumstances and surroundings changing, paintings, you build a relationship with them. You probably don’t want me to go into too much depth, but ultimately, I lost my own confidence with it, lost my own place with it. **As a Medway painter at that time, were you ever part of the** [**Stuckist**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuckism?ref=kentcurrent.news) **movement?** No, not at all. We heard about that, but it didn’t seem particularly active in Medway. They were a generation at least two above us, it felt like. It was only really Nucleus Arts, but all the same characters were there that I now know. I think it’s become a lot more, at least outwardly, present as an arts community in Medway. It didn’t really seem like that when I was painting. I think I exhibited at a place called the [Deaf Cat](https://www.thedeafcat.com/rochester/home.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) and Nucleus Arts Centre, probably my only two exhibitions across a ten year period. But ultimately, it’s always been there, always been there, but when we myself and Willow moved out of London four years ago, it was in part because I just felt this need to fully focus on it in a way that I’d only ever put aside for music. What we had been doing with [Sex Cells](https://www.houseofbrokenarts.com/sexscells?ref=kentcurrent.news) had come to a natural conclusion. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/image/fetch/$s_!l-aP!-f_auto-q_auto:good-fl_progressive:steep/https_3a_2f_2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com_2fpublic_2fimages_2f4480fbde-eb54-4b2a-b24e-c7d6aef80c44_1080x725.jpg) Lupen Crook and Willow Vincent performing as Sex Cells, circa 2017. **When you say Sex Cells?** Sex Cells is a project. After I released [British Folk Tales](https://lupencrooks.bandcamp.com/album/british-folk-tales?ref=kentcurrent.news) in about 2012, I went on a bit of an exploratory journey. I was sick to death of... I was on a bit of a searching mission. Ultimately, that led to starting a band called The Pride. That turned into [Lost Film Foundation](https://www.houseofbrokenarts.com/lostfilmfoundation?ref=kentcurrent.news). It was only one album we did. Out of the ashes of that, I met Willow. She played synth in Lost Film Foundation. Then we got together, and I withdrew from singing and playing guitar completely. I started off playing the drums, but basically it was analogue synths. It wasn’t so much song-based. It was about sound design and noise and punk and really visceral attack sort of music. Covid basically closed that, but I’m not going to blame it on covid because everyone does. I think we were quite pleased for the break. Although I released [How Rotten the Teeth](https://lupencrooks.bandcamp.com/album/how-rotten-the-teeth?ref=kentcurrent.news) as a little album around 2020 and 21, I thought I’m not really out there gigging anymore. I hadn’t actually done Lupen Crook for almost 10 years. It felt like starting again. Because during the whole time with Sex Cells, I didn’t even mention Lupen Crook. We were completely fresh up in London. I didn’t, for want of a better word, trade off of anything I’d done previously. I got quite obsessed with this idea. I suppose it actually goes back to this idea of changing names of this totally fresh perspective, starting from zero again. Creatively, looking back, was that a good thing to do? Probably not in terms of career. You are literally starting again, but creatively it totally made sense. When we decided to get out of London, I think it was driven by the fact that we just wanted to go to a place to paint, for Willow to write, and us to make strange short films and just do that. Fully concentrating on art every day as a practice has been since we moved down here about three and a half years ago. **You used to incorporate jigsaw puzzle pieces into your art. Do you still do that?** That’s all part of this strange little thing that’s occurred because when I started out, before I started painting, I basically collaged. I’d get some cheap acrylic paint to splash it on. It predominantly came from the fact that in bands like Bonzai Reservoir and even bands before, people would get me to make the poster. I’d use a magazine, sellotape, glue and a biro, and I’ll knock it up. That basically gave way to little collages. Naturally, when Matthew Stephen Scott, when I was about 21, said “Paint,” I’d get some canvases, get some oil. It was very natural to me to incorporate collage, and I had no idea why I used puzzle pieces on my very first painting, and it became a thing that I loved doing. It appealed to me that you’re taking little bits of something else that exist. I used collage, oil paint and little bits of puzzle piece throughout all of that, across those ten years, I guess it was my thing. But when I had to fire sale all of that work to get myself out of a situation, I think probably owing to bit of depression, mental health wasn’t very good, but interestingly, I made the observation of my own work that I started to feel like I was using collage to mask not being a very good painter. Was that true or not? I don’t know, but once I’d sown that seed in my head, I said, ‘Well stop collaging, start just painting in oils.’ And it was a disaster. I painted, I hated, I couldn’t even finish anything. But stubbornly, I did not go back to collaging at all. I had trouble for a few years painting, but I was still doing it. But like I said, doing other stuff, video and all this stuff. When I started properly painting again, when we moved down here, I was still stubbornly holding onto that. I started using oils. It’s a difficult one. This reset and disrupting your own practice is bad for progression commercially. People get used to a thing and “I fucking liked it when you collaged.” Selfishly, I knew it was a good thing for me to be doing, but then interestingly, I’ve gone through three years now of concentrated obsessive painting, and I’m a self-taught painter. Ultimately, I actually feel quite confident now with oils. Literally, it was January of this year, I found myself in Cancer Research shop, looking at the books and looking at the puzzle pieces, going ‘Dare I?’ Because it felt scary. Is that going back? Humans don’t like returning, do they? But I was like, ‘Nah, fuck it.’ The reason you stopped collaging was because you felt like you weren’t a good enough painter, and now you feel confident as a painter. Let’s get some collage back in there. Although I’m not explicitly using puzzle pieces as much as I did, they are starting to make little appearances, as is collage. These are intermingled. They’ve been with me forever. **The various Lupen Crooks are coming together?** It’s interesting. That is exactly how it feels. It’s like you almost plant seeds on your wandering journeys through life, and I feel a little bit, and actually similarly with music, the new record I’ve been making, it’s almost looking back and reflecting, and it’s not always about charging forward. Especially with painting, it feels like it actually reminds me of stuff I did when I was like 16, before I even considered it art. Just in the back room of the Command House, where we used to rehearse with Bonzai Reservoir, and I used to sit on the dusty floor and knock up posters and front covers for EPs. It’s got a relationship with what I’m doing here. It’s not so much a full circle, but I think you’ve said it better than I did in a shorter amount of time. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Is Kent facing a bird flu winter? URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/is-kent-facing-a-bird-flu-winter/ Last updated: 2025-11-27T22:00:53.000Z *Kent enters December with warning signs on multiple fronts, with early commercial and captive-bird outbreaks, suspected wild-bird deaths on the coast, and thousands of wintering birds arriving just as national avian flu levels climb far faster than last year. This week, we look at what that convergence means, how local cases are rippling through farms and wildlife sites, and where the pressures are building as winter takes hold. Plus the latest on the Lower Thames Crossing’s move into construction, news in brief, and more.* --- #### **Is Kent facing a bird flu winter?** Wintering waders are starting to gather at Dungeness just as Kent records two avian flu outbreaks and rising signs of disease in local wildlife. It is far from clear how severe the season will become, but the timing could hardly be worse. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/image/fetch/$s_!mdbm!-f_auto-q_auto:good-fl_progressive:steep/https_3a_2f_2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com_2fpublic_2fimages_2fc021d7bf-0a3a-476e-adb9-49075683832d_2500x1406.jpg) Kent has entered winter with confirmed cases in both commercial and captive birds, suspected wild-bird deaths on the coast, and national disease levels climbing much earlier than last year. England is already under mandatory housing measures for many keepers, and the UK has logged [more than 50 cases since October](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/bird-flu-avian-influenza-latest-situation-in-england?ref=kentcurrent.news), a faster pace than at the same point in the 2024–25 season. Taken together, the picture is sharpening. Kent is not in crisis, and the risk to people remains very low. But the county is entering a winter in which several conditions for avian influenza are unusually aligned, with colder weather, large numbers of migratory birds arriving, commercial outbreaks concentrated in the south east, and a national poultry sector under strain. The most recent Kent case was confirmed on 25 November, when [DEFRA identified](https://www.gov.uk/animal-disease-cases-england/bird-flu-near-lydd-folkstone-and-hythe-kent-aiv-2025-slash-113?ref=kentcurrent.news) highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 in commercial poultry near Lydd. All birds on the site will be culled, and disease-control zones have been declared across Romney Marsh and into East Sussex. It is one of several commercial outbreaks recorded nationally in the past fortnight, part of a pattern stretching across the country. While Kent’s poultry sector is not one of the UK’s largest, these cases still inevitably have an impact. They are early in the season, geographically clustered, and they push biosecurity demands onto small farms, backyard keepers, and businesses in ways that ripple far beyond a single unit. Further north, Canterbury City Council has [warned residents](https://news.canterbury.gov.uk/news/public-urged-to-be-vigilant-as-bird-flu-circulates/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to avoid dead wildlife after a number of birds were [found at Chislet Marshes](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/bird-flu-warnings-in-kent-after-dead-wildlife-found-and-outb-333113/?ref=kentcurrent.news) with suspected avian flu. Public information signs are now up on key footpaths, and dog walkers are being urged to keep pets on leads and away from carcasses. “Avian influenza is circulating in seabirds and other wildlife in the area,” the council said, requesting that anyone who finds dead birds or mammals report them so they can be removed safely. While the cause has not yet been confirmed through laboratory testing, the presence of multiple carcasses at once is consistent with the pattern seen in previous winters when wild waterfowl and gulls carry the virus asymptomatically. Kent has also had one confirmed outbreak this season in other captive birds. On 27 October, DEFRA confirmed H5N1 at a premises near Newington in Swale. That case took place at [Happy Pants Ranch](https://www.facebook.com/thehappypantsranch/posts/pfbid02xrWuf4YwbkdrPE12aGDDAYARKVRYGTQvqirqJdxjoudCammvcXFe1KgJKAy7Z4zNl?locale=en%5FGB), an animal sanctuary that lost more than 160 birds ranging from chickens and ducks to geese, turkeys, guinea fowl, pigeons and an emu. In a [Facebook post](https://www.facebook.com/thehappypantsranch/posts/pfbid026qZtnMtRUpGSbqU3ZUmf6L1bfoy1htY3XBv7Y6e4CS4KnDp5H6KPeGQTLXw2xECPl?locale=en%5FGB), the sanctuary described the cull and the subsequent cleansing and licensing requirements as devastating, and said the financial consequences of rebuilding were severe for a volunteer-run site already struggling with the loss. The Newington case triggered a 3km controlled zone, and its effects reached beyond the sanctuary. Hen Weekend Chicken Boarding in Upchurch found itself just inside the boundary and had to close temporarily for both arrivals and departures. “By law, all poultry must be housed or kept fully enclosed, and no birds can move on or off the premises until restrictions are lifted,” owner Katriona Shovlin told customers. These are the sorts of impacts that rarely make national coverage but matter deeply to the people and businesses operating in these zones, where even short closures can disrupt income and animal care arrangements. What makes this winter feel particularly sensitive is the overlap between these outbreaks and the annual rise in bird numbers at Dungeness. Thousands of wintering waders, geese and wildfowl are now building across the reserve. The RSPB [told the BBC](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1j9rjegk4wo?ref=kentcurrent.news) that the Lydd outbreak “could not have come at a worse time”, given the influx of birds arriving from regions where avian influenza is circulating. Migrating birds were badly affected during the 2022–23 wave of the disease, when colonies of gulls, terns and other seabirds experienced significant losses. National survey data published this year reinforces those concerns. The RSPB’s UK-wide seabird counts [found population declines](https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/seabird-surveys-project-report?ref=kentcurrent.news) of more than 10% in nine species since avian flu became widespread. Gannet numbers at surveyed colonies have fallen by around a quarter. Great Skua populations in Scotland have dropped by more than 75%, wiping out decades of conservation progress. Even Roseate Terns, already one of the UK’s rarest species, declined further at their only English breeding colony. The charity now describes H5N1 as a significant new threat to the UK’s internationally important seabird populations. While Kent is not one of the UK’s major seabird-breeding regions, it does support several critical local colonies of terns and gulls, particularly at Dungeness and along the north Kent coast. The ecological pressures coincide with a series of national and seasonal trends that make this winter harder than usual. Migration is well underway, bringing large numbers of waterfowl and gull species into the UK from areas where avian influenza is circulating at high levels. England has recorded more than 45 cases so far this season, far higher than at this point last year. Housing measures for flocks of more than 50 birds came into force on 6 November, reflecting DEFRA’s heightened risk assessment. The national poultry sector is also under pressure, with industry figures warning of a ‘bad season’ and about 5% of the UK’s Christmas flock [already culled](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/nov/22/bird-flu-christmas-turkey-poultry-supply-uk?ref=kentcurrent.news). This tension between wild and domestic bird populations is at the core of the issue. Bird flu first spreads through wild birds, particularly migratory waterfowl. When these populations arrive in areas with commercial units, smallholdings or backyard flocks, the risk rises. The virus spreads through faeces, feathers, and contaminated ground or standing water. This is why routine winter flooding on marshland, including in parts of Kent, can create additional risks. It is also why dog-walking hotspots and access paths around coastal marshes become points of concern. None of these factors alone guarantees a severe winter in Kent, but their convergence increases uncertainty. For Kent’s bird keepers, this means a more demanding winter than usual. The entire county remains in an Avian Influenza Prevention Zone, requiring mandatory enhanced biosecurity measures. Most backyard keepers with fewer than 50 birds do not need to house them if they do not sell eggs, unless they are within a 3km protection or captive-bird zone. Those who do sell eggs or have larger flocks must house their birds, store feed and water undercover, disinfect footwear and equipment, prevent wild-bird access and limit visitors. Even for casual keepers, the rules can be burdensome, and many small-scale owners say they are struggling with rising feed costs and practical challenges of housing birds accustomed to roaming. Public-health advice remains unchanged. The UK Health Security Agency says the risk to people is very low, and the Food Standards Agency says properly cooked poultry and eggs remain safe to eat. There is no evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission of the H5N1 strain currently circulating in the UK. Kent is not experiencing an uncontrolled outbreak. Two confirmed cases in two months do not, in and of themselves, signal a local crisis. But the warning signs this winter are clearer and earlier than last year. Suspected wild-bird deaths at Chislet, sensitive timing at Dungeness, a sanctuary wiped out at Newington and a commercial farm cull at Lydd, all set against a national backdrop of rising infections. Kent is facing a riskier winter than last year, and the next few weeks will determine how severe it becomes. --- #### **Lower Thames Crossing set for 2026 construction start** After 16 years of planning, never-ending arguments, and more than £1bn spent getting the scheme to this point, the Lower Thames Crossing is finally moving into construction. The government has confirmed another £891m for the publicly funded early stages of the £9bn project, completing the package needed before private finance takes over the main build. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/image/fetch/$s_!I1Jy!-f_auto-q_auto:good-fl_progressive:steep/https_3a_2f_2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com_2fpublic_2fimages_2f85eb7324-f4f8-4f4f-b72a-b2068a3e4451_6720x4480.jpg) How the Lower Thames Crossing should look on the Kent side. The approval granted in March has now translated into a firm timetable. National Highways says work will start next year, with the crossing still pencilled in to open in the early 2030s. Chancellor Rachel Reeves called the scheme part of the “backbone of economic growth” and confirmed the Budget funding as the final green light. The scale remains vast. The 14.5 mile route will connect the A2 and M2 in Kent with the A13 and M25 in Essex through a pair of tunnels beneath the Thames, creating what would be the longest road tunnel in the country. It is intended to relieve pressure on the Dartford Crossing and reshape how traffic moves across the region, though the benefits and drawbacks remain sharply contested. The delivery of the build is now split across three major contractors. Bouygues and Murphy will construct the tunnel, Balfour Beatty will lead the northern approach roads, and Skanska will take on the Kent side. National Highways says the construction phase will support local jobs and skills, while positioning the scheme as part of a new wave of lower-carbon infrastructure. Before the main dig begins, the project team will continue reworking the detailed design with councils, landowners and campaigners, aiming to reduce local disruption. Archaeological, ecological and ground surveys are underway across the route. Concerns remain significant, particularly around the impact on ancient woodland and habitats near Shorne and Thong Lane, where opposition groups have long argued the scheme represents unnecessary environmental damage for limited gain. And while the funding announcement marks a major milestone, a project of this size inevitably comes with its own hazards. The timeline, the budget and the final shape of the scheme are all likely to shift once construction begins. North Kent will soon find out how quickly a decades-long plan can move from paper to reality, and how much of that reality matches the promises made. --- #### In brief 🚓 Harry Hilden, the prominent anti-immigration campaigner from Faversham that [we wrote about on Monday](https://www.kentcurrent.news/p/kents-far-right-moves-into-the-mainstream), has been [arrested and charged with assault](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/faversham/news/anti-immigration-activist-among-two-charged-after-reported-f-333036/?ref=kentcurrent.news). It is understood that the confrontation was connected to the removal of flags from lampposts in the town. 🕯️ Anti-housing campaigners [held a ‘funeral’](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgjn6v2wyj4o?ref=kentcurrent.news) for the Green Belt outside a Sevenoaks District Council meeting this week, where a new local plan to build 17,000 new homes was being discussed. Campaigners arrived armed with candles and terrible AI banners. ➡️ Kent County Council leader Linden Kemkaran has registered [her unhappiness](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/no-excuse-for-having-more-children-than-you-can-afford-ke-333186/?ref=kentcurrent.news) with the lifting of the two-child benefit cap in the budget, claiming that ‘contraception is available.’ --- #### Footnotes *Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via *hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news* \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* **Enjoying the Kent Current? Pass it on.* If you know someone who’d like this too, forward this email to them and invite them to subscribe.* ### Kent’s far right moves into the mainstream URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/kents-far-right-moves-into-the-mainstream/ Last updated: 2025-11-26T08:20:26.000Z *Good morning and welcome to your Monday Kent Current briefing. We hope the weekend brought at least a brief escape from the late-November gloom. It’s that time of year when Kent feels permanently grey around the edges and the calendar suddenly insists we’re somehow days from December.* *We begin with a detailed look at the growing influence of the far right in Kent, where a new ecosystem of activists and organisers has taken shape and, in recent weeks, reached directly into meetings with MPs. It’s a story about scale, visibility, momentum, and how quickly the political landscape can shift.* *Elsewhere in today’s edition, we’ve got a rare look inside the specialist training town on the Gravesend marshes, a sharp dive into the turmoil inside Reform at County Hall, and the Folkestone MP whose intervention on immigration catapulted him into national view. There’s also the small matter of a £1bn road contract for a council that may not exist in three years, and a fort in the middle of the River Medway up for sale for £50,000.* *Here’s what you need to know.* --- #### **Catch up** If you missed any of our reporting over the past week, here’s your chance to catch up: - Pete Nelson is one-half of the team behind Folkestone’s Docker Bakery and brewery. [We sat down with him for our big weekend interview](https://www.kentcurrent.news/sourdough-cultures-will-sour-beer/) to discuss how the business started, their new site in Ashford, and his advice to aspiring brewers. - Kent’s finances are looking increasingly perilous, with a forecasted overspend this year exceeding £46m. We looked at what happens next, as well as news on local government reorganisation, the latest financial declarations of Kent MPs and more in [our Friday edition](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kents-finances-sharply-worsen/). - Less than 18 months on from Labour’s landslide victory, their majority is already feeling shaky. Columnist Paul Francis [writes for us about what has gone wrong](https://www.kentcurrent.news/standfast/) and whether any Kent MPs will be tempted to break ranks in the coming months. --- #### **Kent’s far right moves into the mainstream** Kent is no longer dealing with fringe agitation at the political margins. A new far-right ecosystem has taken shape across the county, blending social-media influence with street-level mobilisation. It is organised, fast-moving and increasingly confident, and in recent weeks, two of its leading figures have found their way into meetings with Kent MPs. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f688377c1-e1e7-4fba-b6dd-e78a4f65410b_790x554-jpeg-1.jpg) Britain First co-leader Paul Golding with Jodie Scott (front second right) and Harry Hilden (far right). **Why it matters:** The shift reveals how easily extremist actors can present themselves as local spokespeople, especially in communities where tensions around migration and safety are already high. It also shows how vulnerable mainstream politics can be when these groups reposition themselves as “parents,” “concerned residents,” or “protectors.” Kent’s experience is becoming a case study in a national pattern. But the county is ahead of the curve. **The rise of a far-right influencer:** One arm of the movement is led by Whitstable-based Jodie Scott, known online as ‘Missus Kent,’ who emerged from anti-vax TikTok channels during the pandemic and has since become a familiar figure at anti-migrant protests. She has performed at far-right rallies led by Tommy Robinson, and her Spotify catalogue includes tracks such as *Invasion* and *This Is England*. One song contains an extreme, defamatory allegation about the Prime Minister. Her content blends conspiracy theories, anti-migrant narratives and pseudolegal ‘common law’ ideas. She has appeared on the YouTube channel of [Holocaust-denier Alistair McConnachie](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2001/feb/27/uk.race?ref=kentcurrent.news) and given lengthy interviews to filmmaker Liam Galvin, who has produced sympathetic documentaries about Tommy Robinson and promoted other far-right influencers. Earlier this year, she launched ‘National Education Security,’ a vigilante school-gate initiative framed as child protection. That work led to a meeting with Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield on 14 November. Scott later told her followers she “quite liked” Duffield and felt the MP had listened. She said Duffield encouraged her to raise concerns with Reform-led Kent County Council. We asked Duffield’s office if she was aware of Scott’s background. No response was received. **Inside the private chat:** Days after the meeting, [KentOnline published](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/shocking-messages-from-members-of-right-wing-singer-s-whatsa-332821/?ref=kentcurrent.news) leaked messages from a WhatsApp group Scott ran called ‘Missuskent’s Patriotic Community.’ The messages included calls for “mass Islam genocide,” discussion of guns and crossbows, references to petrol bombs and violent comments about Muslims and migrants. A Reform councillor from Lancashire was suspended after appearing to engage with a threat targeting the Prime Minister. Scott described some of the content as “absolutely” unacceptable, but also blamed infiltrators. She insisted she had tried to shut down the discussion while telling followers to “save that picture before I clear this chat.” That picture in question was of a five-shot repeater crossbow. The leak meant that the MP had met with a far-right organiser days before her private chat was exposed as a space where violent rhetoric was circulating freely. **The growth of a street movement:** The movement’s other major figure in Kent, Faversham-based activist Harry Hilden, has built influence online and off. He now has more than 11,000 Facebook followers, where his livestreams, neighbourhood-watch-style updates and anti-immigration posts have placed him at the centre of protests targeting sites housing unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in Faversham and Canterbury. His confrontational style has repeatedly crossed into intimidation. In September, he [waved a bag containing used toilet paper](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/reporter-abused-in-disgusting-toilet-paper-stunt-330129/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in the face of a KMTV Local Democracy Reporter during a Canterbury demonstration. Senior figures in Reform-run Kent County Council initially liked the footage online before distancing themselves. Hilden has also boasted about tracking down people he accuses of removing flags and compelling them to apologise. His activities increasingly extend beyond Kent: [UnHerd reported](https://unherd.com/2025/11/meet-favershams-answer-to-akhmed-yakoob/?ref=kentcurrent.news) that he attended Poland’s independence march this month, a significant event in the European far right. **Where activism meets extremism:** This street-level activism has attracted major national figures. Earlier this month, [Britain First](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britain%5FFirst?ref=kentcurrent.news) co-leader [Paul Golding](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul%5FGolding?ref=kentcurrent.news) addressed a Faversham demonstration organised by Hilden. Local councillors described the invitation as deeply disturbing. Golding’s presence is notable for another reason. In 2014, he attempted to lead a Britain First march through Rochester and was [driven out of the town](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/breaking-britain-first-stand-off-27043/?ref=kentcurrent.news) by anti-racism counter-protesters. His return to Kent a decade later as an invited speaker represents a significant shift in the local landscape. Days after the Faversham rally, [Searchlight published](https://searchlightmagazine.com/2025/11/flaggers-mask-slips-as-fascists-and-nazis-take-centre-stage/?ref=kentcurrent.news) a photograph showing Golding drinking in a Dartford pub with both Kent activists, confirmation that the county’s far-right organisers are connected, coordinated and aligned with national extremist figures. Searchlight also reported that fascist activists were involved early in the flag campaigns and that Britain First donated hundreds of flags. Kent has become one of the movement’s most active hubs. **The MP factor:** As these groups have grown, Kent’s MPs are increasingly being drawn into their orbit, sometimes inadvertently. In late October, Faversham and Mid Kent MP Helen Whately [publicly denied reports](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/faversham/news/mp-warns-let-me-be-clear-these-people-are-not-acting-on-m-331655/?ref=kentcurrent.news) that people were knocking on doors on her behalf about Acacia Court. The claim appears to have stemmed from confusion after she agreed to meet Hilden and his allies, but it demonstrates the risk of such associations. On 7 November, Whately met with Hilden. He later praised her heavily and apologised for previous criticism, using the meeting as proof that his activism was being taken seriously by Westminster. Alongside Scott’s meeting with Duffield, a clear pattern has emerged: far-right organisers are adept at presenting themselves as community representatives, and any contact with MPs, however routine, becomes a tool for claiming legitimacy. **The big picture:** Similar dynamics are emerging across the country. Recent flagger events in Wolverhampton assembled in front of a Patriotic Alternative banner. A protest in Bristol marched under a UKIP banner. The same framing appears everywhere: “community defence,” distrust of institutions and calls for direct action. Kent is ahead of the curve because of high migration pressures, fragmented local politics, and a long history of far-right mobilisation. Those conditions have allowed new activists to grow quickly and embed themselves in local narratives. **What’s next:** The recent revelations have brought the movement and its leaders under sharper public and political scrutiny. But the movement’s leaders appear energised rather than deterred. One has leaned deeper into national far-right networks. The other has promised more demonstrations across the county. Kent is now a test case for how local institutions respond to hyper-local, influencer-driven extremism. The challenge is whether leaders can address genuine concerns without legitimising movements built on conspiracy, intimidation or hate. Right now, that challenge is becoming more acute. --- #### **Three big reads** 1️⃣ The New Statesman [gained access to the Met Police’s Specialist Training Centre near Gravesend](https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-politics/2025/11/the-british-police-are-preparing-for-civil-war?ref=kentcurrent.news). On the marshes, the force has created a fake town to train officers for civil unrest incidents. 2️⃣ Bloomberg has [weighed in on the current state of Reform at County Hall](https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2025-11-19/reform-uk-nigel-farage-kent-stronghold-consumed-by-turmoil-and-farce?ref=kentcurrent.news), where expelled Reform councillor Bill Barrett says that the party is a “cult” and “they all talk about Farage like he’s the messiah.” 3️⃣ The Guardian has [spoken to Folkestone and Hythe Tony Vaughan](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/nov/22/tony-vaughan-labour-mp-challenges-asylum-policy?ref=kentcurrent.news), whose intervention against his own government’s immigration policy last week propelled him into the national spotlight. --- #### **In brief** 👊 Kent County Council cabinet member Peter Osborne [threatened to punch](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/folkestone/news/calls-for-reform-cabinet-member-to-resign-over-leaked-whatsa-332898/?ref=kentcurrent.news) the colleague who leaked the infamous Reform video last month. 🎙️ KCC leader Linden Kemkaran and Medway Council leader Vince Maple go head-to-head on [this week’s Kent Politics Podcast](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/your-council-s-in-chaos-well-your-plans-are-just-bonkers-332876/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🚫 Nearly a dozen Swale councillors have been [barred from a pub in Queenborough](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sheerness/news/pub-bars-councillors-in-free-parking-row-332615/?ref=kentcurrent.news) after the borough introduced car parking charges nearby. 🇵🇱 In all of the talk about inward immigration, how often do we think about the people leaving? [KentOnline tracked down](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/we-quit-kent-for-new-lives-in-poland-this-is-why-we-won-t-332740/?ref=kentcurrent.news) some of the 30,000 people who have left the UK for a new life in Poland. 🚧 Kent County Council, which likely won’t exist in three years, has [signed a 21-year road maintenance contract](https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/ringway-replaces-amey-on-1bn-kent-highways-maintenance-contract-20-11-2025/?ref=kentcurrent.news) valued at £1bn with Ringway, who take over from the existing provider Amey. 🏢 Ashford Borough Council has [relocated its operations](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/council-completes-move-to-town-s-tallest-building-as-flats-p-332612/?ref=kentcurrent.news) from the Civic Centre to International House, an office block it owns nearby. 🎭 Broadstairs Memorial Hall, which houses the town’s only theatre space, is to be [sold off to the highest bidder](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/town-s-only-theatre-to-be-auctioned-off-by-cash-strapped-cou-332947/?ref=kentcurrent.news) by Kent County Council. 🏥 Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust and Medway NHS Foundation Trust are to [combine their leadership structures](https://www.medway.nhs.uk/news/hospital-trusts-form-countys-first-group/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to form a new group covering both trusts. 🏗️ Residents of a new-build estate in Ashford have been [waiting over a decade for basic facilities](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/this-estate-is-so-isolating-i-have-to-drive-just-to-buy-b-332536/?ref=kentcurrent.news) such as a shop, buses, and a community hall. 🌊 Southern Water has apologised after pellets released from a wastewater site in Eastbourne started [washing up on Kent beaches](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c24levjvm6mo?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🦋 Two new wildlife sites in Maidstone [have been designated](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/town-s-green-space-declared-wildlife-site-after-rare-species-332704/?ref=kentcurrent.news) thanks to the lawn shrimp and green hairstreak butterfly, which are both definitely real things. 🪰 Flying insects in Kent have [declined by 66% in five years](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce3x3wg9pzpo?ref=kentcurrent.news). Sounds bad. 🙋 BBC Question Time is set to record in Dover next week. You can [apply to be in the audience here](https://eu.castitreach.com/ag/mentorn/questiontime/welcome.html?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🎸 Scouting for Girls are to [headline a village music festival](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/multi-million-album-selling-band-scooped-to-play-at-village-332792/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Preston, near Canterbury, next year. 🏫 Mick Jagger popped into [his old school in Dartford](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce3k3wejkkvo?ref=kentcurrent.news) to meet music students. 📷 A [remarkable photo](https://www.ribaj.com/intelligence/photograph-simon-menges-turner-contemporary-margate/?ref=kentcurrent.news) of the Turner Contemporary in Margate. 🚣 A nineteenth-century military fort in the middle of the River Medway is [up for sale](https://auctions.savills.co.uk/auctions/10-december-2025-198/darnet-fort-darnet-ness-gillingham-kent-me9-7hj-19505?ref=kentcurrent.news) with a guide price of £50,000. --- #### **Council meetings this week** - **Folkestone and Hythe:** [**Full Council**](https://folkestone-hythe.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=122&MId=5613&ref=kentcurrent.news) gets together on **Wednesday** to discuss delivering more council-owned temporary accommodation, the budget situation, and more. - **Ashford:** Somewhat late to the party, [**Full Council**](https://ashford.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=137&MId=4997&ref=kentcurrent.news) will meet on **Thursday** to finalise the borough’s local reorganisation position, just one day before the government’s deadline to submit a response. - **Dover:** [**Planning Committee**](https://moderngov.dover.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=136&MId=5173&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on **Thursday** to decide whether to grant permission for a large solar farm near Ash, which some are fighting against because it’s near a Roman fort. - **Thanet:** [**Cabinet**](https://democracy.thanet.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=151&MId=7093&ref=kentcurrent.news) gathers on **Thursday** to discuss the budget, acquiring new homes, and most excitingly, the procurement of a UPVC windows and doors replacement contract. --- #### **Events this week** 🐐 Thu 27 Nov - [**Led by Donkeys**](https://thegulbenkian.co.uk/events/led-by-donkeys/?ref=kentcurrent.news) //High-profile public protestors take attendees behind the scenes of their activism. Gulbenkian Theatre, Canterbury. Tickets £18. 🎸 Thu 27 Nov - [**Lou Barlow**](https://www.twforum.co.uk/events/2025-11-27-lou-barlow-dinosaur-jr-slash-sebadoh-the-forum?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Indie rock legend of Sebadoh and Dinosaur Jr. Forum, Tunbridge Wells. Tickets £20. --- #### **Footnotes** *Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via *hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news* \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* **Enjoying the Kent Current? Pass it on.* If you know someone who’d like this too, forward this email to them and invite them to subscribe.* ### “Sourdough cultures will sour beer” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/sourdough-cultures-will-sour-beer/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:53:53.000Z [*Docker*](https://dockerbakery.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *is a Folkestone-based brewery and bakery. Steven talks to Head Brewer and Director Pete Nelson to talk about how he got into brewing, why they opened a new bakery in Ashford, and his advice for new brewers.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2ff6857f2d-038e-4579-9159-26b2a3898569_4284x3213-jpeg-1.jpg) Pete Nelson (right) alongside Wesley Burden (left). **What is your official occupation?** Well, it’s officially Head Brewer, but also Director of the bakery as well. **Do you have any other additional roles, paid or unpaid?** I sometimes do some computer programming, but that’s about it. **Docker is a brewery and a bakery. Is one your focus and the other your business partner, Wesley Burden?** We own the two businesses: they’re two separate businesses. Yeah, I would say that his main focus is the bakery. But then we work together on the strategy and the overall strategy of both businesses. **How did you and Wesley meet?** He had a design company in Sandgate, and I was working at home. I wanted to work in an office so I could see other people occasionally. This is in about 2012\. They had a hot-desking set up in their studio. I got a desk in there and was working there for a few years. Then we got interested in doing something that wasn’t computer-based. He had done a course at, I think it was E5 Bake House in London, on sourdough bread, and we’d both been learning about home brewing. We wanted to expand it from a hobby, because we enjoyed those things. We were given the opportunity to do that because at the time, the harbour was quite a derelict wasteland. Diane Dever, who was running the [Harbour Arm](https://folkestoneharbourarm.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news), let us a shipping container on that wasteland. Very cheap cost, so we could get the business going and see if we could make it work. **Do you remember the moment when you thought Docker was your main thing?** That was very much a weekend side project to that point. For a while, we sold to people who came down to the harbour, and then we got the opportunity to speak to [Rocksalt](https://www.rocksaltfolkestone.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news), which was the fancy restaurant in Folkestone. They were up for taking the bread. That was a big milestone, and it felt like that was our first proper wholesale customer. **Out of that container, were you doing the brewery and the bakery?** Yeah, initially we were. It was a total bare shell container with no drainage. But it did have three-phase electrics, and we’d bought an oven off eBay and some brew kit off eBay and just set it up in there. But sourdough cultures will sour beer. We discovered that fairly quickly. I had to put the fermenters in a little shed outside, so they didn’t get soured. We started to struggle for space. We asked the harbour about a double container setup, and that was the next stage we went on to. That was as the station was being developed, and the whole site was being developed. It was a real changing environment, away from a wasteland into more like what it is today. **Other than sourdough culture souring your beer, what was the biggest learning curve in becoming a master brewer?** Oh, there are so many things that can go wrong in both processes. But with bread, we will find out almost immediately. With beer, might not find out for two weeks that something’s gone wrong. Yeah, there was a big learning curve. We’re still learning today, but it gets easier as time goes on. **What came first outside of the containers, having your first bakery or having the first tap room?** Well, we moved during covid. We had that set up there for maybe four years, slowly growing, split into two sections, but within the container still. Then during covid, it was very much down to lone working because we didn’t want to have people in the same container together. At that point, we realised that containers weren’t the future of how you could expand the business because you can’t just keep working in that environment. We decided to move to an industrial estate, and that’s when we moved down to West Hythe, where unit one is, with first the bakery and then the brewery in a separate unit down there. That was the first time with the bakery that we had a real, proper, dedicated space. We’ve always been selling out the door with both bread and beer. But we started to want to grow and have space to do it. **When did it become full-time for you?** It was probably around that time, early 2021\. It’s taking up too much time and effort. You realise that if you don’t dedicate the time to something, then it won’t reach its full potential. We went at it full time at that point, and that’s when we started to grow, and more staff and things like that. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Kent's finances sharply worsen URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/kents-finances-sharply-worsen/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:53:57.000Z *Kent County Council’s finances dominate this week’s edition, with a steepening £46.5m overspend, adult social care far beyond budget, and key infrastructure repairs drifting without resolution. Further down, we have our MPs’ latest financial declarations and the final manoeuvring over new unitary maps, news in brief, and more.* --- #### Kent’s finances sharply worsen Kent County Council is heading into the winter with a rapidly deteriorating financial position, an adult social care budget far beyond its limits, and major infrastructure repairs drifting with no clear path forward. [A new monitoring report](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/documents/s133283/25-00095%20-%20Revenue%20and%20Capital%20Budget%20Forecast%20Outturn%20Report%20-%20Quarter%202.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) shows the authority is now forecasting a £46.5m overspend for 2025/26, a sharp escalation that puts significant pressure on the council’s reserves and raises difficult questions about what Kent can expect over the coming months. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f33ed8f59-8221-4ae4-a77a-0fdc2eee00c9_2500x1406-jpeg-1.jpg) The figures, covering the first half of the financial year, make clear where the strain lies. Adult social care alone is overspending by £50.9m, more than 7% above its budget, driven by rising provider costs, higher-than-projected demand and £20.9m of savings that will not materialise. Although other directorates are underspending, it is not enough to offset the gap. Kent’s overall position stands at a 3% overspend against its £1.53bn budget, almost double the forecast at the end of June. Council leader [Linden Kemkaran](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-think-theres-a-lot-gone-wrong-with/) said the latest report showed “the incredible challenges” facing the authority, insisting the adult social care pressures began under the previous Conservative administration. “When we were elected in May, it became apparent how challenged the adult social care budget was,” she said, arguing the department had “overspent massively” before Reform took control. She warned that “necessary but difficult decisions” will now be required and urged the government to provide additional support in next month’s funding settlement. The pressures are well documented. Provider inflation has risen faster than anticipated. The number of older people needing residential or community support continues to exceed projections. The cost of placements for looked-after children remains high. In response, KCC has imposed a ‘no non-essential spend’ policy, tightened recruitment, and increased scrutiny of budget managers. Even with those measures, £27.6m of planned savings across the council are unlikely to be delivered this year. Alongside this, the wider schools budget deficit has now reached £133.4m. The Safety Valve agreement with the Department for Education is off track, and the council has said it no longer expects to reach in-year balance by 2028\. When the statutory override for DSG deficits expires in 2026, any remaining shortfall will fall onto the council’s main reserves. That risk will shape the medium-term outlook for Kent. The financial strain is beginning to show on the county’s infrastructure. On the A299 Thanet Way, urgent repairs identified in September have yet to move forward, leaving a ‘temporary’ 50mph limit in place for [more than two months](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/herne-bay/news/kcc-admits-no-plans-yet-for-works-on-rollercoaster-50mph-r-332778/?ref=kentcurrent.news). Kent County Council has not set a timeline for remedial works and says it is still carrying out inspections. In Folkestone, [excellent reporting by The Folkestone Dispatch](https://folkestonedispatch.substack.com/p/road-of-remembrance-closure-to-drag), another independent local newsletter doing vital work, has highlighted growing frustration at the lack of progress on the Road of Remembrance. The route has been closed since a cliff collapse in January 2024\. Earlier this year, KCC said it had a viable technical solution that could be delivered within months if funding was found. That plan has since been removed from the council’s project page. As the Dispatch revealed, KCC now says only that an options appraisal is underway and cannot indicate when the road might reopen. Local councillors interviewed by the Dispatch, including former Conservative figures, say the previous administration was prepared to fund the repairs outright if needed, while they believe the current leadership has been unwilling to commit the funds. More than £600,000 has already been spent on surveys and safety work. Early estimates suggest the full repair could cost up to £5m. These delays, alongside similar slippage elsewhere in the capital programme, underscore the wider pressures KCC is now confronting. Delivering major schemes on schedule is becoming increasingly difficult, adding to concerns about what further pressures might emerge over the winter. Politically, the situation has become increasingly contested. Lib Dem opposition leader [Antony Hook](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-really-dont-like-party-tribalism/) accused the administration of “hurtling towards financial oblivion,” arguing Reform had “lost control of the budget”. Conservative councillors have also criticised the new leadership, pointing to stalled highways works and warning of ‘inexperience.’ The financial situation has even reached Westminster. During Prime Minister’s Questions, Sir Keir Starmer said his “[sympathy was with the people of Kent](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/c0mx7pyl4dyo?ref=kentcurrent.news),” citing what he called the “staggering incompetence” of the Reform-led authority. His remarks followed the suspension and expulsion of several Reform councillors in recent weeks. Reform deputy leader Richard Tice rejected the claims as “absolute nonsense,” blaming national failings in adult social care funding. KCC says it is not seeking Exceptional Financial Support and still expects to set a balanced budget for 2026/27 within the 5% council tax limit. But with reserves projected to fall sharply, and pressures in adult social care showing little sign of easing, the council faces a demanding second half of the year. Whether the measures already in place, including the halt on non-essential spending, will be enough to steady the position, or whether further cuts and delays lie ahead, will become clearer as Kent moves into the winter and the next phase of its budget planning. --- #### **Latest financial declarations of Kent MPs** The [Register of Members’ Financial Interests](https://members.parliament.uk/members/commons/interests/publications?ref=kentcurrent.news) is where all MPs must register donations, gifts, and hospitality they receive. On the most recent update to the register, some Kent MPs have had some pretty substantial additions to declare: - Tony Vaughan (Labour, Folkestone and Hythe) continues to receive big sums for his work as a barrister before he became an MP. This time he received over £9,300 for 35 hours of work carried out before July 24. - Naushabah Khan (Labour, Gillingham and Rainham) received a £3,000 political donation from Homes for Britain, a YIMBY movement supporting the construction industry, for campaigning purposes. - Tom Tugendhat (Conservative, Tonbridge) went on two trips: One to Washington DC to speak at a conference funded by With Honor Action, a US organisation using veterans to fight political polarisation, and a second to New York, paid by Newest, to give a speech on UK-Europe relations. The value of both trips totalled over £1,000. - Polly Billington (Labour, East Thanet) received a trip valued at over £800 to Copenhagen as part of the all-parliamentary group on renewables and sustainable energy, where she held high level meetings on decarbonising heat and energy. - Roger Gale (Conservative, Herne Bay and Sandwich) also received a trip valued at £800 from a principality in Cyprus to attend events, meet the President, Members of Parliament, and others. - Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat, Tunbridge Wells) received a private donation of £800 from Dominic Mathon. --- #### LGR: Endgame Councils across Kent have spent the past week deciding their final positions on local government reorganisation and their preferred model for their area's future. The government would have been hoping that there would be a broad consensus across the county, but that is very much not the case. All five proposed models have received support in some parts, but some are likely more realistic than others, with two models standing out as the most likely outcome from the exercise. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fe46390fa-21c5-4911-907d-9aac4edd884d_901x504-png.jpg) Kent County Council’s ‘spoke in the works’ plan remains unlikely to get anywhere, as it doesn’t meet any of the rules put forward by the government. But KCC have stuck with it, submitting it as their final preferred option. The proposal doesn’t so much boost local democracy as concentrate more at County Hall. No unitary of this scale has ever been attempted in the UK, and the government is unlikely to take a chance on one now. This scale would either result in councillors representing an unwieldy number of residents or in a council with hundreds of representatives. Neither is likely to be appealing. It also undermines the government’s stated aim of moving to mayoral authorities in the future. It’s unlikely we’ll be hearing from this one again in the future. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f6858aa7a-1bf0-4ca3-8201-26321c8bc34e_901x504-png.jpg) The three-unitary model was the early frontrunner in the county, with five districts initially supporting it. That has changed slightly as the process has continued, with only four supporting it in the end: Maidstone, Sevenoaks, Tonbridge and Malling, and Tunbridge Wells. By happy coincidence for those four districts, grouping them would bring together the richest tax base in Kent and the lowest levels of debt, something that very much couldn’t be said for the two other unitaries that would be left. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f7105489d-efda-4d0d-aaae-ffbb62b0dfbd_901x504-png.jpg) The messy fudge of a map was seen as the primary four-unitary model throughout the process, but in the end, support has somewhat ebbed away. Only Swale, Thanet, and Dover are supporting this model. It’s not an awful map in the east or west, but the idea of a district that places Sheppey and Dungeness in the same area was always going to be something of a stretch. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f8b6609dc-8b41-4103-ae80-aed19c7adf14_901x504-png.jpg) Medway’s alternative four-unitary map was initially greeted with horror after the authority sprung it on other Kent leaders unannounced. It was also the only proposal that suggested redrawing district boundaries, which sparked outrage that Medway was trying to annex other parts of the county, even though Medway would give up more area than it would lose. Some of the borders do make more logical sense, following hard lines like motorways than random diagonals across fields. Medway seem to have convinced at least some others of the plan's merits, with Ashford and Canterbury both choosing to support it. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fd3da3357-82cc-4bfd-9069-25c6eaddc9b9_901x504-png.jpg) The wild five-unitary spite map created by Dartford and Gravesham unsurprisingly found no support outside of those two boroughs. Seemingly irritated by the Medway proposal to break up their boroughs, Dartford and Gravesham came back with a plan that would literally split Medway down the river, which is quite the power move. Four of the five created authorities would be smaller than the government would like, so it’s unlikely to get anywhere, but it’s amusing nonetheless. All proposals need to be submitted to the government by next week, which is why there has been a flurry of decisions this week. The intent is for the government to analyse and consult on the plans through the first half of next year, before deciding which direction our county will head in ahead of the changes in 2028. Place your bets now. --- #### In brief 🗳️ Sevenoaks District Council has had a third leader since last year, with [Cllr Kevin Maskell taking over the authority](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sevenoaks/news/kent-district-council-elects-new-leader-after-months-of-turm-332786/?ref=kentcurrent.news). Cllr Roddy Hogarth was forced to step down following a split in the ruling Conservative group and losing a vote of no confidence. 🥩 Dover District Council leader Kevin Mills has warned that the government [cannot wait to start tackling the trade in illegal meat](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpv1w84dxywo?ref=kentcurrent.news) coming through the Port of Dover. A report by MPs found enforcement weaknesses at the border, leading to tonnes of illegal meat travelling through the port. 🏗️ Prices have been revealed for a [nutrient mitigation scheme](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3dnjkjzzm0o?ref=kentcurrent.news) around the River Stour, which should unlock housebuilding across a wide area of Kent. --- #### More Currents Last year, Labour swept into power with a staggering majority, including across a number of seats in Kent that they had either never held or hadn’t won in a very long time. Yet, just over a year later, that majority feels increasingly fragile. [Paul Francis examines where the party finds itself](https://www.kentcurrent.news/standfast/) in the county and whether Kent MPs could be about to break ranks… [StandfastPaul Francis was the KM’s Political Editor for the best part of three decades. He writes for us on whether Labour’s current position might force some Kent MPs to break ranks…![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f8d4a4c7f-19fc-4e7c-87d7-4ed0b87571a5_567x567.png)Kent CurrentPaul Francis![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fbc0776e6-e49b-4165-af7b-4eb0d4738a97_3494x2332-jpeg.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/standfast/) [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup) --- #### Footnotes *Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via *hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news* \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* **Enjoying the Kent Current? Please pass it on.* If you know someone who’d like this too, forward this email to them and invite them to subscribe.* ### Standfast URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/standfast/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:53:57.000Z [*Paul Francis*](https://open.substack.com/users/56723965-paul-francis?utm%5Fsource=mentions) *was the KM’s Political Editor for the best part of three decades. He writes for us on whether Labour’s current position might force some Kent MPs to break ranks…* Labour emerged triumphant in the general election, with the party inflicting a crushing defeat on its opponents and seemingly set for a benign spell in power. But internal fighting, rumours of a leadership challenge and growing concern that the upcoming budget will see a major U-turn will plunge the party into a period of chaos. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fbc0776e6-e49b-4165-af7b-4eb0d4738a97_3494x2332-jpeg-2.jpg) So, what are voters likely to make about Labour as it is engulfed by tit-for-tat briefings and rumours of divisions? In an election jigsaw that would baffle the most assiduous, there is only one thing that is certain in today’s political landscape: you might think you know that the tectonic plates are shifting, but the direction of travel is another matter altogether. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Kent to lose its Police Commissioner in 2028 URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/kent-to-lose-its-police-commissioner/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:53:58.000Z *Good morning and welcome back to your Monday Kent Current briefing. We hope you managed a quiet weekend, because this week is shaping up to be a busy one for the county. We’re heading into the final days before councils must declare their preferred maps for local government reorganisation, and almost every council in Kent now has multiple meetings on the books to thrash out their positions.* *At the same time, the government has confirmed that Police and Crime Commissioners will be scrapped in 2028, making Matthew Scott the last person to hold the role in Kent. It’s a big shift arriving at the exact moment the county is already preparing for major structural change. We’ve broken down what it means, how we got here, and what comes next.* *We’ve also pulled together three big reads, from the BBC’s look at the country’s largest solar farm to fresh scrutiny of Manston after senior staff were suspended, and yet more Reform expulsions at County Hall. Plus updates on everything from hospital reopenings to shingle shifts and a new type of Greggs. Let’s get into it.* --- #### **Catch up** If you missed any of our reporting over the past week, here’s your chance to catch up: - The FAR Academy is an independent specialist college for those with special educational needs. It is now embroiled in a dispute with Kent County Council that puts them at risk of closure. For our big weekend interview, we sat down with [headteacher Brent Lewis](https://www.kentcurrent.news/if-some-of-these-kids-werent-here/) to discuss the college's unique work and its current situation. - With the deadline for local government reorganisation rapidly approaching, councils across the county are putting forward their preferred options for the future, including a range of maps and proposals. [We looked at where we are](https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-final-countdown-to-a-new-kent/), the latest news from Kent County Council, an unexpected by-election win in Canterbury, and more. --- #### **Kent to lose its Police Commissioner in 2028** The government has confirmed it is scrapping Police and Crime Commissioners in 2028, making [Matthew Scott](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-might-well-be-interested-in-putting/) the last person to hold the role in Kent. It marks the end of a 13-year experiment in police oversight, and it arrives just as the county prepares for its most significant shake-up of local government in decades. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fa5d35996-32ae-401b-b8c9-cfb6b779a2eb_1512x1134-png-1.jpg) Kent Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Scott on patrol with Kent Police. **Why this matters for Kent:** Kent has lived with the PCC model since 2012, through two commissioners, four elections and persistent questions about visibility and turnout. Ministers say the system hasn’t delivered, pointing to national polling that shows fewer than one in five people can name their commissioner. Turnout in Kent was 20% at last year’s election. The Home Office argues that abolishing the system will save £100m over this Parliament, with £20m a year sent directly into frontline policing. For the government, this is a reset. Fewer elections, more officers, and a simplified governance model. **Where things stand:** Kent’s PCC history has been unusually visible. [Ann Barnes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann%5FBarnes%5F%28police%5Fcommissioner%29?ref=kentcurrent.news) entered the role as a reforming independent but never recovered from the fallout of a Channel 4 documentary that portrayed the office as chaotic. Matthew Scott, now one of the most recognisable Conservatives in the county, stabilised the position, won three elections and built national influence through Home Office boards and police reform work. Scott has spent recent years warning about court backlogs, rising pressures on police funding and the difficulties caused by unfunded pay rises and national insurance changes. In [our interview earlier this year](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-might-well-be-interested-in-putting/), he was frank about worsening financial challenges and the strain in the broader justice system. Those issues will now be passed to an entirely different accountability structure. He also confirmed he had been “interested” in a Kent mayoral role when it was under consideration. That option remains possible in the future, but Kent is now on a slower track than most of the country. **The Kent picture:** PCC powers will move to mayors “wherever possible,” but Kent doesn’t currently have one and wasn’t included in the recent wave of new mayoralties. Most areas with PCCs will see their powers absorbed smoothly into mayoral offices in 2028\. Kent will not. Instead, the county is expected to start with a Police and Crime Board made up of the leaders of the new unitary councils, a structure that resembles the old police authorities scrapped in 2012 for being weak, low-profile and poorly understood. A mayor could still come. Once the new councils are created, and depending on when the next round of mayoralty applications opens, Kent could pursue a bid. But that would push the county into a two-stage transition: first into a council-leader board and, later, potentially, into a mayoral model. It leaves Kent running behind most of the country. The timing is awkward. The PCC role disappears in the same year KCC is dissolved and replaced by new unitaries. Those councils will be building new administrations while simultaneously taking on responsibility for police oversight. Whether they can replicate the clarity and visibility of a single full-time commissioner is far from settled. Think-tank analysis has already raised concerns. The Police Foundation warns that council-led boards risk returning to the weaknesses of the pre-PCC model: fragmented scrutiny, limited transparency and little public visibility. In Parliament, Sir Roger Gale praised Scott’s record but [questioned](https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1313979020482416) who would now provide effective oversight in a county without a mayor. **What people are saying:** Scott says his priorities “remain unchanged” until 2028\. He points to hundreds of extra officers, significant progress against county lines, improved call-handling and rising solve rates for serious offences. The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners has warned of a “dangerous accountability vacuum.” Police chiefs have taken a steadier line, stressing that strong democratic oversight must remain whichever model replaces PCCs. **What happens next:** The Police Reform White Paper, expected later this year, will set out how non-mayoral areas like Kent should navigate the transition. The likely path is a council-leader board in 2028, with an option to switch to a mayoral system later if Kent successfully bids. Until then, Scott remains in post, Kent Police continues under the current system, and the county prepares for a rare double transition: new councils and a new policing oversight model arriving at the same time. --- #### **Three big reads** 1️⃣ The largest solar plant in the UK is near Faversham, and has been generating up to 0.7% of the country’s power at times. [The BBC examines](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckg4p55725eo.amp?ref=kentcurrent.news) whether it could serve as a model for future mega-solar projects. 2️⃣ Two senior figures at the Manston processing site for small boat asylum seekers have been [suspended pending investigation](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/nov/14/senior-manston-asylum-centre-staff-under-investigation-for-misconduct?ref=kentcurrent.news) over misconduct. It is the latest incident following a string of failings at the site, following outbreaks of diseases and even the death of an asylum seeker. 3️⃣ Reform has [expelled two further Kent councillors](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c98604e4dd9o?ref=kentcurrent.news) from their ranks. Isabella Kemp, who represents Sheppey, and Maxine Fothergill, who represents Sevenoaks Rural North East, had been suspended following the infamous video leak incident last month. --- #### **Council matters** **Meetings this week:** - We usually list the most important council meetings of the week here. Still, this week, as the local government reorganisation deadline approaches, there’s a tsunami of meetings across Kent to discuss the issue. Every upper-tier and district council in the county is holding at least one meeting this week to discuss their final position, with some having multiple meetings. This entire edition was going to become a list of meetings about LGR, so we’ll just let you know that they are happening everywhere and leave it at that. **New planning applications:** - **Maidstone:** Proposals have been submitted for [**20 new homes in Tovil**](https://pa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=T3JNUUTYHR200&ref=kentcurrent.news). --- #### **In brief** 🎤 Far-right leader, convicted criminal, and horrible human being, Paul Golding, [delivered a speech](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/faversham/news/disgust-as-far-right-leader-joins-protest-in-town-332647/?ref=kentcurrent.news) at an anti-immigration protest in Faversham over the weekend. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Medway Council has [completed the removal of flags](https://www.localauthority.news/p/flags-down?ref=kentcurrent.news) across its area, in stark contrast to Kent County Council’s position across the rest of the county. 🌹 Folkestone and Hythe MP Tony Vaughan has [come out swinging](https://x.com/tonyvaughanMP/status/1990105708428136449?ref=kentcurrent.news) against his government’s new immigration policy. 🌊 100,000 tonnes of shingle is [being moved in Folkestone](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0rpeykqwnqo?ref=kentcurrent.news) to protect more than 3,000 homes and businesses from flooding. ⛳ Plans to redevelop Hythe Golf Club could see [nearly 300 homes built](https://www.kentinvictachamber.co.uk/news/major-leisure-and-housing-plans-for-hythe-unveiled/?ref=kentcurrent.news) on the site. ⛽ An abandoned hotel next to the A2 in Gravesend is [set to be converted](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/gravesend/news/superb-10m-plans-for-eyesore-hotel-off-a2-recommended-f-332184/?ref=kentcurrent.news) into a petrol and electric charging station and an M&S store. 📖 Kent County Council could be considering [library and refuse site closures](https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/reform-uk-kent-county-council-10646348?ref=kentcurrent.news) to balance the budget. 🖌️ Meanwhile, the council has enough money to repaint the lines outside a school on the Isle of Sheppey that [closed in 2016](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sheerness/news/what-a-farce-yellow-lines-repainted-outside-school-shut-332625/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🎙️ Former Kent County Council leader Roger Gough went on the Kent Politics Podcast to [discuss how things are going](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/reform-thought-they-could-fix-things-by-simply-getting-rid-332538/?ref=kentcurrent.news) under KCC’s new administration. 🗣️ Prime Minister Keir Starmer took the opportunity at Prime Minister’s Questions to [send sympathies](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/c0mx7pyl4dyo?ref=kentcurrent.news) to the people of Kent. 🧑‍⚕️ Faversham Cottage Hospital is set to [reopen next month](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm2lrp57p4zo?ref=kentcurrent.news) following a six-month closure. 🏥 Nearly one in three patients attending A&E departments in Kent wait [more than 12 hours](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/ive-never-seen-anything-like-it-almost-one-in-three-a-e-332599/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to be admitted to a ward. 🥧 Greggs has launched their new concept store in Kent. [Bitesize Greggs](https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2025/11/bitesize-greggs-shop-format/?ref=kentcurrent.news) is a miniature version of Greggs in high-footfall areas, with the first one opened in Sevenoaks railway station. 🏛️ Gravesend Borough Market’s experiment in street food is set to end, with the [operators pulling out](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/gravesend/news/market-to-close-after-operator-steps-down-332613/?ref=kentcurrent.news), citing unsustainable costs. 🕹️ Maidstone’s first (and potentially last) VR arcade [has closed](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/town-s-first-vr-arcade-closes-after-rent-dispute-with-counci-332264/?ref=kentcurrent.news) following a dispute between the owner and Maidstone Borough Council, with the dispute apparently stemming from the owner stopping rent payments. 😮‍💨 Margate’s Bong Shop has been hit with a [one-month closure order](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2025/11/07/margate-bong-shop-receives-one-month-closure-order-following-court-hearing/?ref=kentcurrent.news) following a court hearing. 🚂 The Daily Mail is very excited about a cafe near Ashford where your food is [delivered by a tiny train](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-15276207/Inside-cafe-Kent-delivers-food-table-model-train.html?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🏡 If you want to buy an Art Deco house in Ramsgate with an air raid shelter in the garden, [your time has come](https://www.standard.co.uk/homesandproperty/interiors/art-deco-house-for-sale-ramsgate-air-raid-shelter-b1256709.html?ref=kentcurrent.news). --- #### **Events this week** 📖 Wed 19 Nov - [**Gerald Dickens: A Christmas Carol**](https://revelationashford.co.uk/events/gerald-dickens-a-christmas-carol-nov25/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Great-great-grandson of Charles Dickens delivers his one-man show of the Christmas classic. Revelation, Ashford. Tickets £15. 🎤 Thu 20 Nov - [**Babatunde Aleshe: High Expectations**](https://trafalgartickets.com/orchard-theatre-dartford/en-GB/event/comedy/babatunde-aleshe-high-expectations-tickets?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Award-winning comedian and recent star of Taskmaster brings latest show to the county. Orchard Theatre, Dartford. Tickets £22. 🎸 21 - 22 Nov - [**Medway Takeover Festival**](https://thegulbenkian.co.uk/events/medway-takeover-festival-billy-childish-and-lord-rochester/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Legends of the Medway scene converge on Canterbury, including Billy Childish, The Masonics, and James Taylor. Gulbenkian Theatre, Canterbury. Tickets from £15 per night. --- #### **Footnotes** *Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via *hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news* \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* **Enjoying the Kent Current? Pass it on.* If you know someone who’d like this too, forward this email to them and invite them to subscribe.* ### "If some of these kids weren’t here, they would be dead" URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/if-some-of-these-kids-werent-here/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:54:02.000Z [*The FAR Academy*](https://faracademy.org/https://faracademy.org/https://faracademy.org/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *is an award-winning education provider for students with special educational needs and mental health support needs. We spoke with headteacher Brent Lewis about the dispute they are now facing with Kent County Council over funding, which could detrimentally affect their students. We also talked to Brent about what brought him to Kent and how his own education affected his approach to teaching…* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f3e45040c-d557-4fad-a2b2-660a959cd2ba_3024x2268-png-1.jpg) Brent Lewis. **What is your official occupation?** I’m a CEO and headteacher of The FAR Academy. **What is The FAR Academy?** I started in 2009\. I was working in schools for many years in different roles and in different types of schools. I was an English teacher, deputy head, headteacher, and that was in primary, secondary and college education. I often kept seeing these kids whose needs weren’t being met through the schools being too big and the training not there. Then I worked in a private school as well, where parents were paying thousands of pounds a term. But it’s exactly the same issue with the kids falling through, and modern education not meeting their needs. In 2009, I thought I can’t do this anymore. I’ve come to really make a difference, and it’s an exam factory and paperwork. I gave everything up, I sold most of my stuff, and I had my truck, a black Nissan truck. I had a skateboard-making kit, because I used to like skateboarding. As a hobby, I used to make skateboards. I spent a year living in the truck, and I went around to schools, skate parks, youth centres and everything, and just really tried to find out what education this generation of kids need. After the year, I made notes, made a thesis of what I think these kids need in education. Then in 2011, I opened up the FAR Academy, which supports young people with mental health issues, who don’t fit in the general school role, the mould of a school. I work with a lot of young people with SEN issues, as well as autism and ADHD. I’ve built up a programme that works for hundreds of kids a year now at the college and supports the holistic side of their nature. Their mental health, which is a priority for us, is getting that sorted here. Then they’ll come with other trauma that will work with our psychotherapists and counsellors, and then once we’ve got a stable person, as best as we can, we introduce them to education. Then they go through our program for up to five years. At the end of it, hopefully, get a job or become self-employed, or something they love to do in their lives. From 2011, I’ve still got students contacting me saying they’ve done amazing things, and they’ve got family now. FAR made a big difference. It’s important that we get the message out there of what we do. Being a non-profit as well, we don’t have a marketing budget. This is actually important for us. We’ve got a waiting list of kids who want to join. It’s a really positive community of young people with us. **Is there a reason it’s called FAR?** There is actually. No one’s asked me that for years. In 2010, I had a student who had a really tough life. And so I said, come make a skateboard, just be around. He was a skater. And I said, this is the first time I’ve done this with someone, I’m going to open up a school and a college for this. I said because you’re the first, you’re the one that’s going to name the college. That was quite risky. It could have been anything. He came up with his two favourite bands, the Foo Fighters and Rage Against the Machine. He wanted Foo and Rage. It would be a mouthful. Over time, we shortened it to FAR. It’s an acronym of that, and that’s the story behind it. It feels different to a standard school, because our reception is a skateboard shop. **There is also a** [**FAR Skate Academy**](https://farskate.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news)**?** Yeah, within our school, we’ve got a skate park and a skate shop. We do a lot of community-based work with the local community, getting in on Saturdays and Sundays, and lots of parties every term for the community to get involved and exercise, learn skateboarding, but it’s not just skateboarding. We’re not a skateboarding college, but our ethos is about creativity, and skateboarding has that. It’s based on music and art. It’s a whole way of life for these kids. They’ll come here, don’t have to be a skateboarder, but you may like the art, the design and the graffiti side. We introduce it all. Feels different to a standard school, because our reception is a skateboard shop. Then you walk in, and if they’re in the classroom, they’re doing Maths and English, and it’s just too much for them. I say, “Well, go and have a skate, go and do whatever and just go and get out your system.” They come back and they feel better. It’s completely different. Skateboarding is a part of what we do, but it’s not a main part. They don’t have to be a skateboarder. Every kid that comes in to us, we’ll spend two months working with them and saying, “What do you want to learn?” **What is the curriculum if it’s not skateboarding?** We do all standard courses. We do Functional Skills, Maths and English. Then we’ve got a range of core subjects. There’s Art, Graphics, Photography, and we do Business Enterprise. They’re core subjects. Every kid that comes in to us, we’ll spend two months working with them and saying, “What do you want to learn? What do you want to do?” We do loads of assessments. Even if some students want to do dog grooming, phlebotomy, and other things. We look at local businesses, see where we can get help. Then we draw on those experiences and build a course around their need. We actually can offer many courses by working with local communities. If some kid wants to be a mechanic, we’ll work with a local garage up the road. We’ve got somebody at the coffee shop. Then we’ve got someone joining the NHS to learn phlebotomy. We’re independent, we don’t have to be bound too much by certain things. We can offer whatever we like. **What is the age range of the students that you have?** We have pre-16\. We have 11 to 16\. They come in, mainly they’re still enrolled in school, but they’re not doing well in school. They’ll come here for a day release, we’ll do lots of assessments with them. The school uses it as a, ‘If you come in and your attendance is good, we’ll let you go to FAR Academy for a day.’ It’s that kind of partnership we have with local schools. Then from 16 to 25, we have our post-16 college, mainly with young people with educational healthcare plans. They’ll come in, and we’ll assess them, and they can stay with us for quite a few years until they find their way. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fe287777c-8184-414b-82f4-579cb29fd92c_4032x3024-png.jpg) The FAR Academy. **You mentioned that you have a waiting list. How many students do you traditionally take in a year?** We’ve got probably 60 on the waiting list. We are looking to expand. But we’ve got spaces for 40 post-16 students now, and then we have our pre-16, which is normally around 10 to 15\. It’s small, but it’s just right for the type of kids that we have, through anxiety with big crowds and things. **What is the process if someone reading this is interested in it for their young person? Is there an application process?** If they’re pre-16, they’ll speak to their school. Their parents will speak to their school and say, ‘Look, we’ve heard about this.’ We do a day release with them, and then we’ll contact the school. Most of the local schools know us around Kent. They’ll contact the school, and then it will go through that way. If they’re post-16, there’s a form on the website where they can fill out, and that will contact us. They come in for a look around, and then we’ll go from there. **You must be doing something right because in the past, you’ve won team of the year, and recently, a colleague won teacher of the year.** Yeah, we’ve won quite a few. It’s really positive. The staff this year, which is lovely of them, it’s a bit embarrassing, they’ve put me up for an MBE for the work I’ve been doing for the last 20 years, which is really nice. We win a lot of awards because we’re community-based. I think it’s really important to get out there, and we’ve got a really good team behind us. **You list the fees for a student place at £35,000 and additional SEN costs on the website. Who pays that?** So that’s... We’re a lot cheaper than most. A lot of the schools that are similar to ours are generally from £50,000 to £100,000\. Generally, it’s normally £35,000 per child. We’re quite cheap. KCC should pay that, but as you know, we’ve got issues at the moment. **Before we get to that, just to be clear, do parents pay for placements?** Yeah, parents can pay privately. We’ve had people in the past, if they want to pay for the year, they can pay privately, but obviously, they can ask KCC for the payment as well. **What was the decision behind setting up as a Community Interest Company?** We were a charity for a long time, but then covid happened, and the charity fund just wasn’t there. We’ve always been a CIC because we want to give back to the community, and that’s all we do. All our profit goes back. If we earn, even our skate shop is a non-profit shop. Anything we sell in the skate shop, all profits go back to buying books and pens and resources and all the things that the funding doesn’t cover. It’s community-based, and that’s what we want to be supporting, not just these kids, but the whole community. We get paid, but we’re all minimum wage. No one’s making a fortune out of it. It’s teaching. I could have made a fortune if I stayed in private education. I chose to go down this route, because I’m passionate about what we do. We’ve got volunteers. We’ve got members of staff that do over and above. **When did you first realise there was an issue with the relationship with KCC?** It’s been quite a few years to be honest. They’ve underpaid us for many years. Our standard price has been £35,000 because that covers everything. The education, the support services, everything. They get a full package for that, but for the last three years, they’ve only paid us £23,000\. I’ve had to get business loans, personal loans, I’ve had to sell my car to get some extra money. Then we get a lot of fundraising people to come along, we do lots of events, to get to the £35,000\. But it’s got to a point where, legally, they should be paying for the full-time education. We’re finding it harder as time goes on to keep applying for funds, fundraising, and it’s not a sustainable future. We can’t plan as a business. We can’t do that anymore. We’ve got this contract, got this certain price, now we can plan and keep everything secure. We can’t keep going on with anxiety about if they’re going to pay enough or not. **What was their justification for underpaying in the previous years?** Unfortunately, they just don’t care. That’s pretty much the basic thing of it. It’s actually really tough working with them. They’re looking to reduce the budget. I think it’s not just us. I think there’s lot of other independent non-profits that are going through this pain. We’ve done everything they’ve asked. Our accountant and our CFO have given everything over to prove that even at £35,000, we’re three grand short still. I emailed everything over, but I’ve got nothing back. Since September 5th, we’ve been doing this whole college for free for them. Normally, our funding will get split into three parts. The first one would be the beginning of October, then February, and then July. **Why was it different this year?** In July, we had a meeting with the commissioning team at KCC. They said to us, we’re going to reduce the number of young people coming to you. I said, if you do that, and we’re still getting £23,000, we are not going to be able to run the college on that. I said, we need to get to our standard published fee that’s open and transparent on the website for this year. I had an email back saying, ‘Thank you for this. We agree with this.’ I was assuming from September. I put in the invoice for the normal price, and now we’re fighting for the funds. There are two students who’ve got court orders for KCC to pay, and they’re refusing those as well. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### The final countdown to a new Kent URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-final-countdown-to-a-new-kent/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:54:04.000Z *Kent’s councils are entering the decisive phase of local government reform, with final submissions due by the end of the month and the competing business cases now laid bare. This week, we break down the numbers behind each model and examine where the political support is drifting. We also cover the latest happenings at KCC, a Canterbury by-election, and the key stories from across the county.* --- #### The final countdown to a new Kent Kent’s councils are heading into the final weeks of a process that will reshape local government across the county. By the end of this month, every authority must decide what kind of unitary structure it wants to replace Kent County Council, Medway Council, and the 12 districts. It’s a huge piece of constitutional reform that would normally take years to work through. Instead, councils are being pushed to settle on a preferred map within months, with the new system due to go live in April 2028. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fa296b92f-8674-4905-aec2-aa7d5688ec77_2500x1406-jpeg-1.jpg) The route here has been anything but orderly. Kent and Medway spent 2024 trying to secure a devolution deal, submitting an expression of interest and attempting to join the Government’s Devolution Priority Programme. When the White Paper arrived naming areas selected for early talks, Kent wasn’t on the list. Instead, the area was told to reorganise its entire structure of local government first. That instruction set off a chain reaction. Councils produced an interim plan in March and received feedback in May. A November deadline was then set for full submissions. From that point, ministers will choose a model next summer, consult publicly in early 2026, legislate in the autumn, hold shadow elections in 2027 and switch to the new councils the following spring. It is an extraordinarily compressed timetable. The work has produced [five full business cases](https://kentcouncilleaders.org.uk/councils-reveal-draft-business-cases-for-new-councils/?ref=kentcurrent.news). They all follow the same basic principle: expensive and disruptive to set up, cheaper in the long run once duplicated services are removed. The differences lie in how many councils Kent is left with and what the map looks like. Kent County Council’s own preferred model, 1A, creates a single authority for the whole county and Medway. Its financial case is simple. It is the cheapest to create (£99.4m) and the one that delivers the largest annual saving (£69m). But it does so by producing a council larger than anything else in England, and the government has been clear that it does not want mega-unitaries. The now infamous leaked Reform Zoom call saw KCC leader [Linden Kemkaran](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-think-theres-a-lot-gone-wrong-with/) declare that the proposal was designed to throw a “spoke in the works” of the changes. Few expect it to progress. At the other end of the spectrum is 5A, the five-unitary model promoted by Dartford and Gravesham. Its costs are higher to implement (£139.1m), and once the price of separating services is included, its annual savings shrink to between £19.7m and a loss of £2.4m. The payback can take up to 14 years or never arrive at all. Nothing in the modelling suggests it could meet the government’s tests. The more serious debate sits between the middle options: 3A and the two four-unitary models, 4B and 4D. These are the ones that fall into the population ranges ministers have signalled they want and that generate credible savings without creating unwieldy authorities. The three-unitary option, 3A, has become the most widely accepted. Its set-up cost is £127.7m, and its ongoing savings range from £49.7m to £40.2m, depending on how social care services are divided. The payback comes after five to seven years. It also avoids some of the more politically fraught boundary issues. The four-unitary path is harder. 4B, which keeps existing boundaries fixed and just merges current councils, costs £130.9m to establish and delivers annual savings of £34.6m to £18.9m. Its payback period stretches to 14 years. Medway’s preferred version, 4D, increases the up-front bill to £135.9m but otherwise mirrors the 4B numbers. Medway’s leadership has argued that 4D could attract wider backing. In practice, other councils responded poorly when it was presented to them, and little has changed since. The financial case is serviceable, the politics are not. All of this sits on top of a shared evidence base that runs to hundreds of pages: demographic pressures, SEND demand, adult social care modelling, transport patterns and a full equality impact assessment. The warnings are consistent across all options that service disruption is a real risk if adult social care, safeguarding, education or digital access are not handled carefully during transition. Most councils have yet to take formal decisions on which option they will back. Some are still weighing their choices, others waiting to see which way the wind seems to blow. The wider mood varies. For some leaders, this is a chance to redesign local government for the next generation, but for others, it is an unwelcome upheaval forced on already stretched services. But the deadline is fixed, and the package Kent submits this month will define what ministers can choose from. Once the proposals are in, the process moves to Whitehall. Ministers will select the structure that best matches their criteria, not necessarily the model with the broadest local support. After that, Kent enters a three-year transition to entirely new councils. For all the modelling and all the meetings, the striking feature of this process is the lack of shared direction. Kent’s councils are working toward the same deadline but toward very different preferences. The final shape of local government in the county will be decided in London, not Kent, and it will set the course for decades. --- #### What is happening at KCC this week? - Byline Times reports that Reform is planning to [shut down multiple KCC committees](https://bylinetimes.com/2025/11/12/reform-kent-council-chaos-slash-scutiny-committees-councillor-suspensions-nigel-farage/?ref=kentcurrent.news) tasked with scrutinising its work. - Reform has withdrawn from a BBC documentary being made about them following the row over how Panorama edited a clip of Donald Trump. KCC leader Linden Kemkaran, one of the subjects of the documentary, said she had [withdrawn all permission](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgk4devj77o?ref=kentcurrent.news) for footage to air. - Following the paralysis caused by a wave of suspensions, KCC has [named the 15 councillors](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/kcc-confirms-members-on-the-kent-and-medway-fire-and-rescue-authority?ref=kentcurrent.news) who will sit on Kent Fire and Rescue Authority. - Mystery surrounds the [departure of Cllr Dean Burns](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/mystery-surrounds-cabinet-departure-of-reform-uk-councillor-332400/?ref=kentcurrent.news) from his shadow cabinet position for the environment. Burns, previously heard criticising “back-biting” by the group's leadership, has suddenly found himself a backbencher again, with neither he nor the administration particularly eager to comment on what has happened. - Ramsgate councillor Terry Mole went to great lengths to try to [hide the name of the company](https://bylinetimes.com/2025/11/13/reform-councillor-accused-of-flouting-transparency-rules-after-refusing-to-declare-his-company/?ref=kentcurrent.news) he owns, seemingly in breach of the Localism Act. --- #### Greens take seat from Lib Dems in Canterbury The final county by-election of the year took place yesterday, with voters going to the polls in Wincheap ward to elect a new councillor to Canterbury City Council. This by-election was called following the resignation of Liberal Democrat councillor Roben Franklin, who moved away from the area. The ward was previously split between the Lib Dems and Labour. So, of course, the Green Party swept to victory. **🟢 Peter Campbell (Green): 842** 🔶 Guy Meurice (Lib Dem): 518➡️ Colin Spooner (Reform): 351 🌹 Jasmin Dallos-Foreman (Labour): 276 🌳 Elliott Curryer (Conservative): 166 The turnout was 33.3%, relatively high for a local council by-election. The result will be particularly brutal for Labour, which leads the administration in Canterbury and still holds the other seat in the ward, but was pushed into fourth place behind the Greens, Lib Dems, and Reform. It comes at a time when both of the traditional main parties are struggling to win votes across the country, while insurgent parties are performing significantly better. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f073de033-a12b-44de-a95b-4d47b0c8312b_1395x1046-jpeg.jpg) New Green Party councillor Peter Campbell. Peter Campbell, the Green Party’s new councillor for Wincheap, says his surprise victory reflects “an appetite for the policies of the Green Party and the positive aspects of change from what we’ve had in the past.” A long-standing Green member and coordinator of the Canterbury District party, he stepped in after the party struggled to find a local candidate, saying it was important “to show a presence” in an area where the Greens have never previously broken through. Campbell focused his campaign on planning decisions that have unsettled residents. The council’s draft local plan initially proposed turning Thanington Recreation Ground into a park and ride, a move “hastily removed” once opposition mounted, while a separate proposal to build on the orchards at Merton Park remains. He described it as “another example of conversion of green open space to luxury housing,” something that “has not really gone down too well with the locals.” Campbell also credited the momentum generated by new Green leader Zach Polanski for helping shift voter sentiment, and said he intends to work closely with Labour ward colleague and with local groups “across the political divide, for the people of Wincheap, not on a party political basis.” --- #### In brief 🚨 Police and Crime Commissioners are set to be abolished, with the role ceasing to exist in 2028\. As such, [Matthew Scott](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-might-well-be-interested-in-putting/) will be the [last Kent Police and Crime Commissioner](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/i-m-delivering-it-s-the-government-that-isn-t-declares-p-332531/?ref=kentcurrent.news), freeing him up to look toward a future Mayor of Kent role instead. 🛢️ Thousands of fish and three swans have been killed in a [pollution incident](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g7v17nyz4o?ref=kentcurrent.news) in the River Wantsum near Canterbury. The Environment Agency are trying to establish the cause. 📣 Far right anti-immigration protests in Kent seem to be [struggling to maintain attendance numbers](https://searchlightmagazine.com/2025/11/kent-pink-ladies-left-red-faced-at-shrinking-numbers/?ref=kentcurrent.news), given their current technique of turning up in one county town pretty much every weekend. 👮 A Kent Police officer has been [handed a misconduct notice](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn7e1ezrz45o?ref=kentcurrent.news) after a drone he was piloting crashed into an overhead cable, which caused it to fall to the ground, seriously injuring a child. 🗂️ The public planning inquiry into the 8,400 home Highstead Park development near Sittingbourne [has concluded](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sittingbourne/news/public-inquiry-into-8-400-home-garden-village-development-co-332286/?ref=kentcurrent.news), with the government expected to make a decision next year. 🐈 Sevenoaks seems to be in the midst of a Schrödinger’s leader scenario, where the papers for next week’s council meeting include an election of a new leader following the resignation of Cllr Roddy Hogarth, who has been under pressure for some time. At the same time, Hogarth has [insisted to the Local Democracy Reporting Service](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sevenoaks/news/tory-council-leader-faces-being-forced-out-332502/?ref=kentcurrent.news) that he is “still the leader.” --- #### Footnotes *Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via *hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news* \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* **Enjoying the Kent Current? Pass it on.* If you know someone who’d like this too, forward this email to them and invite them to subscribe.* ### Fire authority in limbo as Reform suspensions stall oversight URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/fire-authority-in-limbo-as-reform/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:54:06.000Z *Good morning and welcome to your Monday briefing. We hope you managed a quiet weekend and avoided the worst of the November gloom, because things are looking pretty murky at County Hall again.* *Kent’s fire and rescue service has found itself caught in the crossfire of Reform’s ongoing internal rows, with the authority that oversees it now unable to function after multiple suspensions. It’s the latest example of how political drama at County Hall keeps spilling into the machinery of government, and this time the unions are warning it’s starting to affect public safety.* *We’ve got the full story below, along with the latest on this week’s by-election in Canterbury, an AI planning tool that could cause headaches for councils, and the county’s most unlikely bingo controversy. Let’s get into it.* --- #### **Catch up** If you missed any of our reporting over the past week, here’s your chance to catch up: - We sat down with [Joe Bill, Editorial Director at Cene Media](https://www.kentcurrent.news/magazines-are-on-the-way-back/), for our big weekend interview. ‘cene magazine is one of the shining lights of Kent independent media, so we talked to Joe about how it came about, what goes into it, and his new padel magazine venture. - Our [news briefing last week](https://www.kentcurrent.news/flags-spark-festive-stand-off/) was packed with news about a festive stand-off over flags in one Kent village, the latest from Kent County Council, including a very odd full council meeting, and lots more. - We also heard from Tim Aker, who wrote about the [opportunities that exist to brand Kent](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kcc-can-brand-kent-with-brand-kent/) as part of KCC’s new Brand Kent initiative in the wake of the closure of Visit Kent and Locate in Kent. --- #### **Fire authority in limbo as Reform suspensions stall oversight** Kent’s fire and rescue service is operating without full political oversight after a wave of Reform suspensions left the body that governs it unable to function. It’s the latest sign of how Reform’s experiment in running Britain’s largest county council is colliding with the mechanics of day-to-day government. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2faa3fa18c-6a17-4f04-9dae-bc71c33b8f7c_7164x4778-jpeg-1.jpg) **The short version:** The [Kent and Medway Fire and Rescue Authority](https://www.kent.fire-uk.org/fire-authority?ref=kentcurrent.news) (KMFRA), which oversees [Kent Fire and Rescue Service](https://www.kent.fire-uk.org/?ref=kentcurrent.news) (KFRS), has lost five of its Reform members in recent weeks, including its chair Brian Black, vice-chair Isabella Kemp, and councillors Robert Ford, Paul Thomas, and Oliver Bradshaw. Their suspension follows earlier rows inside Reform’s new administration at County Hall, leaving KMFRA unable to carry out all its statutory functions. Without a functioning authority, Chief Executive Ann Millington is subject to strict limits on spending without formal sign-off. **Union alarm:** The [Fire Brigades Union](https://www.fbu.org.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) (FBU) has described the situation as “[a shambles and a threat to public safety](https://www.fbu.org.uk/news/2025/11/09/reform-leader-branded-captain-chaos-kent-fire-authority-disarray?ref=kentcurrent.news).” “Without sound governance, fire and rescue services will not be able to do their jobs properly,” said Steve Wright, the union’s general secretary. “Kent firefighters work round the clock to keep the public safe,” added Joe Weir, the FBU’s South East executive member. “The least they deserve is political leadership that functions.” Union representatives say they wrote to council leader [Linden Kemkaran](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-think-theres-a-lot-gone-wrong-with/) requesting a meeting, but have received no reply. The FBU says it will continue to push for dialogue “to defend the safety and welfare of firefighters, as well as the safety of the public.” **Why it matters:** KMFRA is the statutory authority responsible for firefighting, rescue and prevention work across Kent and Medway. It usually comprises 21 Kent County Council members, four from Medway, plus the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner and an independent member. The authority signs off on budgets, equipment procurement, and significant safety programmes. The official KFRS website currently warns that it is “[awaiting the announcement of our new Authority members from Kent County Council](https://www.kent.fire-uk.org/fire-authority-members?ref=kentcurrent.news).” **A council in freefall:** Reform UK secured a majority at County Hall in May, billing it as the party’s flagship administration. Since then, the council has been beset by internal disputes and public rows: - A leaked video of **Kemkaran** telling colleagues to “fucking suck it up” led to multiple suspensions. - Further clashes followed, bringing the total to nine Reform councillors suspended, including five on the fire authority. - Other council business has been disrupted, including one committee meeting on school transport appeals, which was cancelled after its chair was suspended. Opposition parties say the pattern has left decision-making across the council close to gridlock. **Between the lines:** Fire authorities are not ceremonial. They approve capital spending, fleet renewals, and cross-border mutual aid agreements. Until new appointments are confirmed, large-scale spending and planning decisions are effectively frozen, a situation that could delay long-term investment in safety and infrastructure. The episode also underscores the difficulty of translating Reform’s anti-establishment message into the procedural realities of local government. Kent’s administrative machinery runs on committees, quorums and delegated powers, and many of those are now struggling to meet. **The bottom line:** Kent Fire and Rescue Service remains operational, but the elected body meant to oversee it isn’t. Until Reform stabilises its group and reconstitutes the fire authority, one of the county’s core emergency services will be working without the political oversight the law requires. --- #### **Three big reads** 1️⃣ The New Statesman has been looking at the [ongoing battle](https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/society/2025/11/the-last-flags-of-faversham?ref=kentcurrent.news) between residents of Faversham pulling down flags in their streets, and the flaggers who keep putting them back up again. 2️⃣ The Guardian has [visited the Pie Factory](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/09/last-youth-centre-in-one-of-englands-most-deprived-coastal-areas-faces-closure?ref=kentcurrent.news), the only remaining youth centre in Thanet, which faces closure after Kent County Council committed to sell their building. 3️⃣ The BBC has been using Kent to [ponder exactly](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm2kyjrg77eo?ref=kentcurrent.news) what a Reform government in the UK might look like. --- #### **Latest financial declarations of Kent MPs** The [Register of Members’ Financial Interests](https://members.parliament.uk/members/commons/interests/publications?ref=kentcurrent.news) is where all MPs must register donations, gifts, and hospitality they receive. On the most recent update to the register, some Kent MPs have had some pretty substantial additions to declare: - Laura Trott (Sevenoaks, Conservative) received £6,000 for a speech to the Association of Consulting Actuaries. - Sojan Joseph (Ashford, Labour), Kevin McKenna (Sittingbourne & Sheppey, Labour), and Lauren Sullivan (Gravesham, Labour) all received a trip to Geneva to an event on global health. - Tom Tugendhat (Tonbridge, Conservative) was paid £250 for writing an article for the Telegraph. --- #### **Council matters** **By-elections:** - Voters go to the polls in [**Wincheap**](https://www.canterbury.gov.uk/voting-and-elections/upcoming-elections?ref=kentcurrent.news) ward in **Canterbury** on **Thursday**, following the resignation of Lib Dem councillor Robert Franklin. [Five candidates](https://whocanivotefor.co.uk/elections/local.canterbury.wincheap.by.2025-11-13/wincheap/?ref=kentcurrent.news) are on the ballot: Peter Campbell (Green), Elliot Curryer (Conservative), Jasmin Dallos-Foreman (Labour), Guy Meurice (Lib Dem), and Colin Spooner (Reform). **Meetings this week:** - **Dover:** [**Overview and Scrutiny Committee**](https://moderngov.dover.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=399&MId=5105&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets tonight (**Monday**) to consider the district's parking strategy. - **Canterbury:** [**Planning Committee**](https://democracy.canterbury.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=553&MId=13889&ref=kentcurrent.news) will decide on applications for 75 new homes across three different developments on **Tuesday**. - **Folkestone & Hythe:** [**Cabinet**](https://folkestone-hythe.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=142&MId=5626&ref=kentcurrent.news) will discuss their carbon plan and the equality and diversity annual report on **Wednesday**. - **Ashford:** [**Cabinet**](https://ashford.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=136&MId=4917&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on **Thursday** to discuss the council tax base for the coming year, the medium-term financial plan, and financial monitoring. - **Medway:** [**Full council**](https://democracy.medway.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=122&MId=6425&ref=kentcurrent.news) will meet for an extraordinary meeting on **Thursday**, where councillors will discuss Medway’s business case for a four-unitary model under local government reorganisation. This will be followed by a second meeting to finish business from October’s meeting, which was ended suddenly due to a medical emergency. - **Maidstone:** [**Planning Committee**](https://maidstone.gov.uk/home/primary-services/council-and-democracy/primary-areas/your-councillors?sq%5Fcontent%5Fsrc=%2BdXJsPWh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGbWVldGluZ3MubWFpZHN0b25lLmdvdi51ayUyRmllTGlzdERvY3VtZW50cy5hc3B4JTNGQ0lkJTNEMTEyJTI2TUlkJTNENTYzMCZhbGw9MQ%3D%3D&ref=kentcurrent.news) of the Green-led council will meet on **Thursday** to decide on a planning application for a solar farm, which officers are recommending be refused. **New planning applications:** - **Tonbridge & Malling:** An outline planning application has been submitted for [116 new homes](https://planning.agileapplications.co.uk/tmbc/application-details/161202?ref=kentcurrent.news) in the centre of Hadlow. --- #### **In brief** 🚄 Italian rail operator Trentalia hasn’t given up on its plan to run cross-Channel services and [intends to announce new plans](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/virgin-and-eurostar-rail-rival-still-in-the-running-332210/?ref=kentcurrent.news). Meanwhile, Ashford MP Sojan Joseph says [he is hopeful](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/we-must-seize-this-opportunity-to-make-kent-international-332122/?ref=kentcurrent.news) of a return to services at the town’s abandoned international station. Meanwhile, Hastings MP Helen Dollimore has [pleaded directly to Richard Branson’s ego](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/nov/04/ashford-ghost-terminal-could-be-brought-back-to-life-by-richard-branson?ref=kentcurrent.news) to get the station reopened. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Flags have been [removed from lampposts across Medway](https://www.medway.gov.uk/news/article/1986/statement%5Fon%5Fremoval%5Fof%5Fillegally%5Ferected%5Fflags%5Fin%5Fmedway?ref=kentcurrent.news), with the council taking a particularly combative tone over the issue. 👨‍💻 A Kent couple have [designed an AI tool](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/nov/09/ai-powered-nimbyism-could-grind-uk-planning-system-to-a-halt-experts-warn?CMP=Share%5FiOSApp%5FOther&ref=kentcurrent.news) to help people object to planning applications, which experts warn could grind the planning system to a halt. 👷 The Lower Thames Crossing has [opened a skills hub](https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/ltc-opens-first-skills-hub-in-gravesend-to-train-local-construction-workforce-31-10-2025/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Gravesend to train a local construction workforce. 🏚️ Medway’s largest charity, the Gillingham Street Angels, has [suddenly announced its closure](https://www.localauthority.news/p/gillingham-street-angels-suddenly?ref=kentcurrent.news), with trustees claiming it was no longer financially viable. 💷 A couple has left [£3m to a Kent hospice](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgr41p29kklo?ref=kentcurrent.news). The Heart of Kent Hospice intend to use the money to build a new facility in Linton. 🌲 £500,000 in funding is [being offered](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq50pzqle3zo?ref=kentcurrent.news) to support environmental initiatives in Maidstone. 🛍️ Ashford Designer Outlet has [hit 100% occupancy](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/outlet-set-to-hit-100-occupancy-for-first-time-in-seven-yea-331930/?ref=kentcurrent.news) for the first time in seven years. 🎱 A pub staff member in Northfleet has been sacked after [sneaking neo-Nazi numbers](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/gravesend/news/pub-employee-sacked-after-neo-nazi-reference-on-bingo-and-b-332144/?ref=kentcurrent.news) into a bingo sign. 👑 Residents of [Prince Andrew Road in Broadstairs](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/it-s-embarrassing-we-want-our-road-name-changed-332103/?ref=kentcurrent.news) want the road's name changed. --- #### **Events this week** 🎷 13 - 14 Nov - [**Rochester Cathedral Jazz and Blues Festival**](https://www.rochestercathedral.org/jazz?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Third edition of festival features performances from BBC Big Band and James Taylor Quartet. Rochester Cathedral. Tickets from £10. 🎤 Sun 16 Nov - [**Harriet Kemsley**](https://www.twforum.co.uk/events/2025-11-16-dark-horse-comedy-harriet-kemsley-the-sussex-arms?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Headline show for comedian most recently seen on Last One Laughing. The Sussex Arms, Tunbridge Wells. Tickets £10. --- #### **Footnotes** *Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via *hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news* \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* **Enjoying the Kent Current? Pass it on.* If you know someone who’d like this too, forward them this email and invite them to subscribe.* ### “Magazines are on the way back” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/magazines-are-on-the-way-back/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:54:07.000Z *Joe Bill is the Editorial Director at the award-winning* [*‘cene magazine*](https://cenemagazine.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, who has recently launched a* [*new magazine*](https://padelculture.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *looking at the world of padel. Padel is growing as a sport across Kent, so we sat down with him to discuss his route from the Medway News to ‘cene, publishing magazines, and just what is padel?* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f7d949516-a23e-4036-b790-7110be2ea678_649x487-png-1.jpg) Joe Bill. **What is your official occupation?** Editorial Director of Cene Media Ltd. **Do you have any other additional roles, paid or unpaid?** No, it’s all editorial and journalist-based. **Let’s start off with the new title. Why did you decide to launch a magazine around padel?** It’s pretty simple, actually. This time last year, or maybe August last year, I had a friend of mine who’d been playing down in Deal, which is one of the early padel courts in Kent. He was nagging me to come down to Deal on a weeknight to play with him. I’m in Faversham, and I was like, ‘I’m not going.’ Not on a Wednesday night, anyway. It turned out that one was opening at the rugby club in Whitstable. He said, ‘Play me at this new club.’ The first week it opened, September of last year, I fell in love with it. Having played sport most of my life, I’m now 40, and I can’t play football anymore. I can’t play any of those things. I’m not really a golfer. I thought my sporting days were behind me, and then I played padel. **How would you describe padel?** Padel is mini tennis in a glass box. Some people describe it as a cross between squash and tennis, because you can hit it off the glass. I would say it’s a lot closer to tennis than to squash. It’s the same layout on the court. You’ve got a net that you hit it over. It generally comes as two against two, although there are single courts available. You play with tennis balls and with what are essentially rackets. Every year, it’s tripling in size in the amount of people that are playing. **Having played it, how does that lead to launching a magazine about it?** Well, interestingly, when you play it, you learn very quickly. It’s one of those sports that lots of people can pick up, and you get better quite quickly, which is obviously very addictive, because you can see improvement. I ended up watching clips on social media of different ways of playing different shots, and all this. I started to consider what media representation there is in this. Now it’s quite big in Spain, about eight and a half million people play in Spain. Lots of people play in the Middle East as well. It was founded in Acapulco, Mexico, 69\. It’s been around, bubbling under for many years. The media presence is quite new. There are websites which are dedicated to positions and rankings, like tennis. Which player beat this player, where they are in all these tournaments around the world. Myself and my busy partner Jim, having run [‘cene](https://cenemagazine.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news), we look at the culture side of things and how that integrates into communities. There didn’t seem to be any representation of that. That being fashion, being art, that being the food and drink around it, that being the padel sites and the personalities that are involved in the sport. One thing we say to people when we talk about [Padel Culture](https://padelculture.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news), I’m not telling you how to serve, because there’s a million influencers out there that can tell you how to serve, but we can tell you great places to go to experience it, the great fashion brands to try out, great products, new rackets, all the things that surround it. It became very clear that the community around padel, particularly in the UK, is booming. Every year, it’s tripling in size in the amount of people that are playing. That’s official figures from the [LTA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawn%5FTennis%5FAssociation?ref=kentcurrent.news). But the community’s really strong. When you see people, particularly in football, it’s very tribal. People bring each other down on social media, and the whole trolling. In padel, it’s not like that. People pick each other up and they’re very supportive and they give people tips, and they share content without even asking, it feels like there’s a community that are all pulling in the same direction. To us, it felt like there was a gap in the market because we did the research to create a magazine that reflected that culture and community around the sport. **How often does the magazine come out?** It’s starting as a quarterly for the first year. The first one came out in September, the next one is coming out in January and then quarterly after that, with the idea of perhaps going bi-monthly the following year. The first one, the feedback’s been amazing. We’ve gone into 200 different padel sites across the UK. Hopefully, that will increase. That’s going to be the structure. It’s free to pick up. The niche element of it is that it’s a padel magazine, for padel players going into padel sites. It’s very targeted. As a magazine, it’s perfect in reaching the market that we want it to reach. **Is there enough happening in padel for a monthly magazine to exist?** For a monthly, possibly not just yet, but for a quarterly, we believe so based on the first one and the conversations we’re having around number two. If you look at the people that are making moves, particularly in the UK, it is growing at a rapid rate, and that’s everything from sites opening to coaches going through training to players taking it up. How often does a new sport come along in that way that’s made as much media impact as this one? You’ve got celebrities and ex-footballers and lifestyle influencers getting involved. Two years ago, no one even knew it existed. To me, that strikes as something that’s a great opportunity for a new magazine, but also something that I’m playing, I want to be involved in. We are a business and, yes, we are in the business of putting out magazines, but this is something we both really love. We love playing and we enjoy it. It’s a passion project as well as being a business. **Are you able to tell us what the print run is?** The first one was 5,000\. We’ve just done with trying to get our first [ABC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audit%5FBureau%5Fof%5FCirculations%5F%28UK%29?ref=kentcurrent.news) certificate for it in the same way that we’ve done with ‘cene. **What’s an ABC certificate?** An ABC certificate is an auditing bureau of circulation. It’s a confirmation of how many you print and where they are distributed from. I believe we are still the only free mag in the county to do it, with ‘cene magazine, and this will be the same with Padel Culture as well. It’s a guarantee basically of the numbers. **If someone wants to check out the mag, how many locations in Kent can they pick it up at?** Well, they’re probably sold out in Kent at the moment. It was quick off the shelves. But realistically, we will be targeting everywhere. You’ve got [Square One](https://squareonepadel.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Ashford. You’ve got Square One coming to Canterbury in January, I believe. [Breakpoint Padel](https://www.brakepointpadel.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) is also in Canterbury. You’ve got [Play Padel](https://www.playpadelclub.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Deal. You’ve got Rochester Tennis Club, which is opening new courts. You’ve got [Platform 26](https://platform26padel.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Chatham. You have got another one opening at [David Lloyd](https://www.davidlloyd.co.uk/clubs/herne-bay/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Herne Bay. You’ve got one court open now in Sevenoaks, and I think there’s more on the outskirts of Tonbridge. Essentially, anywhere there’s a padel court in Kent, check it out and check out the magazine. That’s the idea. You can obviously [order it online](https://padelculture.uk/buy-padel-culture-magazine?ref=kentcurrent.news) as well, which quite a few people have done. When the magazine launches, you get, particularly somewhere like, [Rocket Padel](https://www.rocketpadel.com/club/Battersea-power-station?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Battersea Power Station, with a box of magazines on the first day, it was gone within the first hour, because the throughput of people going through there is quick. For people that don’t get around to picking it up, you can order it off our website. It was designed to be a platform to show off the creativity and culture of Kent. **You have also been publishing ‘cene magazine for over eight years. How would you describe ‘cene?** It was designed to be a platform to show off the creativity and culture of Kent. Something we felt at the time we launched was underrepresented by other news websites and other magazines. Not that I’m going to name any of them, but they would focus on lambs and selling Jaguars, which wasn’t our bag. Our bag was music, and we wanted to document it. The first one went out in March 2017\. It flew out in Canterbury and we quickly grew it by the second one to Canterbury and East Kent, and then by the third one we started going into mid and west and now we’ve got 140 odd locations around the county that the mag goes out from. All free for people to pick up to really help to grow that pride in some of the amazing people that are in this county and what they are doing, whether that’s fashion designers or artists or chefs. That’s what it’s always been about. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Flags spark festive stand-off URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/flags-spark-festive-stand-off/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:54:11.000Z *Kent’s political divide keeps deepening, from a festive fight over flags and Christmas lights in Harrietsham to fresh chaos at County Hall, where the Reform-led administration faced new suspensions, press restrictions, and rows over the county’s direction. We’ve got the full details below, with news in brief, and lots more.* --- #### Flags spark festive stand-off A dispute over flags and festive lights in a Kent village has become the latest point of contention over how public space is used, and who controls it. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2ff2168a23-e4e6-4a87-aab0-1831c44bdc83_2500x1406-jpeg-1.jpg) Harrietsham Parish Council [said this week](https://www.harrietshamparishcouncil.gov.uk/community/harrietsham-parish-council-13454/home/?ref=kentcurrent.news) its Christmas lights display may not go ahead after Kent County Council, now led by Reform, issued a permit requiring that flags attached to lampposts along the A20 be removed before the lights could be installed. The parish council warned residents that the condition could make it “unable to proceed as planned,” leaving it liable for the hire cost. Kent County Council said the claim of extra costs was wrong. Peter Osborne, the cabinet member for highways and transport, said the parish’s lighting contractor could remove any obstructing flags as part of the same job. He said safety had to come first and that “flags on streetlight columns pose a risk during installation.” Asked if this marked a change in policy after earlier assurances that such flags were welcome, a spokesperson said there was no backtracking, as the council had always said flags would have to come down if there was a health and safety risk. Which may be true, but suggests the council is happy to shunt responsibility for their removal onto local parishes, despite them falling under the county's remit. KCC’s position follows a familiar line since Reform took control at County Hall. The council has resisted calls to remove street furniture flags elsewhere, arguing that it will only intervene when safety is at stake. That has left it at odds with other authorities in Kent, most notably Medway Council, which has taken the opposite approach. Medway completed the removal of hundreds of illegally installed flags yesterday (Thu 6 Nov). In a [statement](https://www.medway.gov.uk/news/article/1986/statement%5Fon%5Fremoval%5Fof%5Fillegally%5Ferected%5Fflags%5Fin%5Fmedway?ref=kentcurrent.news), leader Vince Maple said they had breached the Highways Act and “hijacked” the national flag to sow division and intolerance. His highways and enforcement lead, Alex Paterson, said contractors had been threatened during the removals and that future illegal flags would be taken down and given to a community art project celebrating Medway’s diversity. Paterson also released a video showing piles of the removed flags, saying the operation was not about health and safety but about confronting intimidation in public space. The contrast between Kent and Medway has come to reflect a wider political divide. At County Hall, Reform has framed the flags as local expression, restricted only when safety demands it. In Medway, Labour has presented them as deliberate acts of provocation. Tensions around that symbolism have already spilt into the streets, with repeated anti-immigration marches organised by the same people putting up flags across the county. In Herne Bay last week, police separated flag-waving demonstrators and counter-protestors after an anti-immigration rally at the seafront clock tower. Officers kettled counter-protestors for their own safety after attempts to set fire to their placards. The disagreement over Harrietsham’s lampposts might seem minor, but it distils a wider divide. Reform’s Kent speaks of freedom and common sense, Labour’s Medway of law and inclusion. Between them sits a county still working out how to balance expression with order, and discovering that even Christmas lights can turn political. --- #### What’s going on at KCC this week? As ever, a week is a long time in politics, so let’s quickly catch up on the latest happenings at Kent County Council: - Another Reform councillor was suspended from the party this week. Cllr Isabella Kemp, who represents Sheppey, was suddenly removed ahead of yesterday’s council meeting. - Cllr Kemp also worked in a data protection role at Reform’s national HQ, where she has been dismissed. She said she was [now seeking](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/reform-facing-legal-challenges-over-treatment-of-members-332186/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to take action over unfair dismissal. - Journalist Josiah Mortimer at Byline Times noted that Kemp didn’t declare her Reform HQ job on her register of interests as a councillor, which is potentially a criminal offence. - Two previously expelled members of the Reform group, Cllrs Bill Barrett and Robert Ford, have formed their own Independent Reformers group on the council. - Cllr Ford believes he was suspended for a reason you’ll never guess, and we really recommend you read every quote he gives in [this story](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg51n02116do?ref=kentcurrent.news). - A KCC meeting was [delayed](https://www.facebook.com/reel/1104018871810921) earlier this week because no one from the administration initially showed up to answer questions. - Richard Tice, the new leader of Reform’s ineffective DOGE unit, [didn’t take it well](https://www.politico.eu/article/reform-uk-doge-chief-nigel-farage-richard-tice-elon-musk-politics/?ref=kentcurrent.news) when asked whether data was being shared from KCC to his team. --- #### Order breaks down at County Hall Kent County Council’s latest full council meeting opened with confusion before a word was spoken. Reporters arriving at County Hall found the usual press benches closed and were directed into a public gallery with only 14 seats, forcing several journalists and members of the public into an overflow lecture theatre to watch a livestream. The council said the press benches had been closed to make space for officer seating. From the gallery, though, the view told a different story. The seats were empty, used mainly for councillors’ coats and bags. BBC journalist Michael Keohan, among those unable to enter, [described](https://x.com/michaelkeohan/status/1986381687001845814?ref=kentcurrent.news) being “ushered into a lecture hall to watch it with members of the public.” Shortly after, the audio in the overflow room failed. “Now the speakers have broken, so we can’t hear anything from the meeting,” he posted. “The poor security guard said he doesn’t know what to do.” A replacement speaker was eventually brought in, but the sound failed again mid-meeting. ![Image](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fd0275573-ed93-470f-85dd-9ecb8b5d4ae7_2048x956-jpeg.jpg) Overflow room some journalists and the public were forced to watch from. Photo: Michael Keohan. Inside the chamber, proceedings were no calmer. Cllr Daniel Taylor (Ind), currently on bail pending trial for allegedly threatening to kill his wife, attended for the first time since his arrest, narrowly avoiding disqualification for non-attendance. Once we got into the actual business of local government, things took on many of the usual beats. Cllr Alister Brady (Lab) asked about leader [Linden Kemkaran](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-think-theres-a-lot-gone-wrong-with/)’s letter to the government urging it not to close the visa route for migrant social-care workers, inviting her to join him in thanking them. Cllr Diane Morton (Ref) replied instead, thanking them while also saying that British people needed to take those roles. Cllr Andrew Kennedy (Con) asked whether Kemkaran supported the Nolan principles and the council’s code of conduct. She said “yes.” Kennedy replied that his side would be “delighted and surprised to hear that,” and asked whether her actions met those principles. Kemkaran said she was confused by the question. Kennedy was [happy to clarify on social media](https://www.facebook.com/CllrAndrewKennedy/posts/pfbid032qNgiv9gffajndngtFYj57s2k54i76UxTpRy1bnJveAEZVZeajHPs36Hxb9KUwTtl) following the meeting. Cllr Stuart Heaver (Grn) asked what level of council-tax reduction residents could expect from the ‘DOLGE’ work. Cllr Brian Collins (Ref), deputy leader of KCC, said no decision had been made, adding, to laughter, that, “It is our intention, one day, to lower council tax.” When the time for questions expired, Kemkaran began her Leader’s Report. She accused the Chancellor Rachel Reeves of “spreading misinformation” about KCC and said she should focus on fixing local government finances. She said Kent had overspent “far less than others,” cited councils of other parties needing emergency support, highlighted pothole repairs and plans to shift freight from road to rail. On Virgin’s approval to run cross-Channel rail services, Kemkaran said they had assured her personally that they would stop in Kent. She also referenced her son’s army training, noting how many were dismissed for disciplinary reasons or “not being tough enough,” a pointed jab at those recently kicked out of her group. Cllr Antony Hook (LDem) criticised the ruling Reform group, saying residents deserved better than “a punchline on Have I Got News For You.” Continuing the pop culture theme, Cllr Mark Hood (Grn) compared Reform at KCC to an episode of The Traitors. Cllr Harry Rayner (Con) said recent weeks had shown “unbelievable incompetence.” Cllr Brady (Lab) said Labour had led the fight to return cross-Channel services and noted that “the press have been banned from the chamber.” Kemkaran described opposition responses as a “group therapy session.” She then declared “the gloves are off” with the Conservatives and then addressed Rayner directly: “I guess this means our cosy chats about you coming over to our side are off.” Yikes. Cllr Sarah Hudson (Con) attempted a point of order, which the chair refused to allow. Hudson seemed to lose all patience at this point. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll listen to the bullshit,” she muttered as she slumped back in her chair. The council then debated a new Strategic Statement titled Reforming Kent, a title that almost certainly breaches the Local Government Act. Cllr Richard Streatfeild (LDem) said the document read as “a political manifesto, not a strategy.” Cllr Hood (Grn) called it “an absolute shambles of a strategic document.” Cllr Heaver (Grn) said it painted a “bleak and depressing picture” of coastal communities. Cllr Paul Thomas (Ind) said only “one in 7,000” residents had responded to the consultation, while Cllr Paul Stepto (Grn) said it contained “Farage scare tactics.” Cllr Christopher Hespe (Ref) urged opposition members to “read the document,” calling it “an innovative vision.” Cllr Dean Burns (Ref) cited his work with rough sleepers in Ashford and said the strategy emphasised early intervention. Cllr Mike Sole (LDem) criticised its stance on commercial-to-residential conversions, while Cllr Bill Barrett (Ind) said it was “rushed” and “overly partisan.” The document passed 53–21 regardless, with three abstentions. ![Kent County Council meeting.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f6ac45522-9c62-4bec-904b-58d0ecf32ad6_2000x1125-jpeg.jpg) Kent County Council meeting at County Hall. After a break, councillors debated local government reorganisation. KCC’s proposal is for a single county-wide unitary authority, which is a clear breach of the government's requirements for the process. Kemkaran called the process “an unwanted and unwelcome distraction.” She said alternative multi-unitary models were more expensive and slower to implement. Cllr Sole (LDem) said the plan broke government rules and would not qualify for future devolution. Opposition councillors highlighted the scale of the proposal, with 118 councillors covering all of Kent, and questioned its practicality. Cllr Luke Evans (Ref) read out comments from Grok, the AI system on X, in support of the model, because that’s where we are now. Reform councillors said the single unitary was the “only logical option.” Cllr Hood (Grn) raised concerns about “professionalising councillors,” asking, “surely we want councillors that look like us?” prompting laughter from the Reform benches. Cllr Thomas (Ind) defended Kemkaran and said he would vote for the single-unitary model. Cllr Brady (Lab) said it would lead to a remote, unresponsive council and block Kent from gaining a strategic mayoral authority. Cllr Robert Ford (Ind) said all the proposals would “put all of our council tax up by half,” while Cllr Hook (LDem) raised an even more chilling threat: it could ultimately see Kent forced to merge with Surrey. Cllr David Wimble (Ref) said the process would “double council tax in ten years” and, while listing good and bad mayors around the country, praised “Andy Burnham in Birmingham.” Cllr Jamie Henderson (Ref) said dividing the county would worsen inequalities. Cllr [Stuart Jeffery](https://www.kentcurrent.news/were-focused-on-the-practical-aspects/) (Grn) noted he had been called “shockingly ignorant” by Kemkaran, who nodded in response. Cllr Maxwell Harrison (Ref) said a North Kent unitary “couldn’t survive” after the “devastation” caused by Labour running Medway. Debate drifted, tempers frayed, and by the end, it was hard to tell what exactly had been resolved, beyond the fact that Kent’s politics remain anything but normal. --- #### In brief 📍 The business cases for the competing new maps of Kent under local government reorganisation [have been published](https://democracy.medway.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=122&MId=6425&ref=kentcurrent.news). We’ll dig more fully into these next week. 🦡 675 homes near Sittingbourne are set to be approved, [despite badgers](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sittingbourne/news/countryside-homes-up-for-approval-despite-fears-of-unethica-332066/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🚧 Campaigners are trying to stop a 200-home development near Ramsgate because it’s a bit too [near a Christian monument](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/it-s-sacrilege-battle-to-stop-new-build-estate-next-to-ch-332095/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🚛 Villagers near a proposed truck stop west of Dover are [not happy](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dover/news/it-will-be-like-a-70-acre-lighthouse-villagers-vent-fury-332147/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🪪 The Port of Dover has [postponed registrations](https://www.biometricupdate.com/202511/uks-port-of-dover-postpones-ees-biometrics-for-car-passengers?ref=kentcurrent.news) for car passengers under the EU Entry/Exit System at the request of French authorities. 🔎 A Thanet CIC trying to raise money for veterans has been found to be [breaching several fundraising practices](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2025/11/05/regulator-finds-thanet-based-veterans-cic-we-r-blighty-breached-numerous-sections-of-fundraising-code/?ref=kentcurrent.news), the regulator has found. 🔥 Edenbridge Bonfire Society [will burn](https://news.sky.com/story/giant-effigy-of-sir-keir-starmer-unveiled-ahead-of-towns-bonfire-night-celebrations-13464325?ref=kentcurrent.news) an 11 metre high figure of Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Saturday. --- #### More Currents For our midweek column, Tim Aker wrote about the collapse of Visit Kent and Locate in Kent, and the opportunities in replacing them. [KCC can brand Kent with Brand KentNews hates a vacuum, and there is always opportunity in crisis. One of the issues I have been keeping an eye on over the autumn is what will replace Locate in Kent and Visit Kent. These two bodies were tasked with bringing tourists and business to the county, flying the flag for our economy and ensuring Kent’s name was on the national and international map. Regrettably, both collapsed in quick succession. To some, it barely registered. To others, it looked like a failure of leadership and vision, with two flagship organisations falling by the wayside almost like dominoes. “What’s going on in Kent?” they ask, and not for the right reasons.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f8d4a4c7f-19fc-4e7c-87d7-4ed0b87571a5_567x567-1.png)Kent CurrentDr Tim Aker![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f0225f0da-d684-44b5-8b62-efa3d393ec40_4032x3024-jpeg.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kcc-can-brand-kent-with-brand-kent/) [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup) --- #### Footnotes *Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via *hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news* \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* **Enjoying the Kent Current? Pass it on.* If you know someone who’d like this too, forward this email to them and invite them to subscribe.* ### KCC can brand Kent with Brand Kent URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/kcc-can-brand-kent-with-brand-kent/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:54:12.000Z News hates a vacuum, and there is always opportunity in crisis. One of the issues I have been keeping an eye on over the autumn is what will replace Locate in Kent and Visit Kent. These two bodies were tasked with bringing tourists and business to the county, flying the flag for our economy and ensuring Kent’s name was on the national and international map. Regrettably, both collapsed in quick succession. To some, it barely registered. To others, it looked like a failure of leadership and vision, with two flagship organisations falling by the wayside almost like dominoes. “What’s going on in Kent?” they ask, and not for the right reasons. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f0225f0da-d684-44b5-8b62-efa3d393ec40_4032x3024-jpeg-2.jpg) Yet within that question lies opportunity. With a new administration comes new energy, new ideas, and a real chance to do things differently. The public mood has changed. People are tired of hearing about consultations and committees; they want action and delivery. They want to see something tangible, something that tells them that local government is not just managing decline but building a future. Kent County Council has to take that opportunity and turn it into a success story. I was recently on BBC Radio Kent, where they replayed an interview with the Council’s portfolio holder who said, point blank, that the authority would create its own phoenix from the ashes of those organisations. That remark raised expectations. It must now be followed by delivery. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### 56 children vanished after arriving alone in Kent URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/56-children-vanished-after-arriving/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:54:15.000Z *Good morning and welcome to your Monday Kent Current briefing. We hope you managed a quiet weekend and avoided both the rain and any unexpected fireworks displays from overly enthusiastic neighbours. It’s that time of year when Kent feels permanently damp and everyone is quietly rethinking their relationship with daylight.* *We start with something serious. New figures show 56 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children who arrived in Kent are still missing, part of a wider pattern of vulnerable young people disappearing after entering the UK’s care system. Kent warned for years that it couldn’t shoulder this alone. Now we are left counting children who came here for safety and somehow slipped through the gaps.* *Elsewhere, we’ve got the return of unitary manoeuvres at County Hall, cabinet meetings across what feels like half the county, a defection in Dartford, new housing and planning battles, pods for homeless residents in Gravesend, and a surprisingly lively campaign over a bong shop in Margate. Plus, Jordan Ibe is now at Sittingbourne, because apparently, football careers are as unpredictable as Kent politics.* *Let’s get into it.* --- #### **Catch up** If you missed any of our reporting over the past week, here’s your chance to catch up: - Over the weekend, [we sat down with the Green Party leader of Maidstone Borough Council, Stuart Jeffery](https://www.kentcurrent.news/were-focused-on-the-practical-aspects/). He talks about his rise from being the only Green on the council to leading it within a short period of time, recent struggles over developments, and his conflicts with the leader of Kent County Council. - Last week, we looked at the introduction of competition to the cross-Channel rail line, with Virgin clearing the first hurdle to run between London and the continent. While Kent voices span this as some kind of victory, we ask [how much it really means for the county](https://www.kentcurrent.news/a-win-for-virgin-but-not-for-kent/), given that the operator was one of the few not to commit to returning services to Ashford and Ebbsfleet. --- #### 56 children vanished after arriving alone in Kent Another week, another uncomfortable statistic out of Kent’s front-door asylum system. [Figures released](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/nov/01/more-than-50-child-asylum-seekers-still-missing-after-disappearing-from-kent-care?CMP=Share%5FiOSApp%5FOther&ref=kentcurrent.news) by Kent County Council show 345 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children have disappeared after arriving here since 2020\. 56 remain missing. Children who crossed borders and seas alone somehow managed to vanish inside the UK’s care network. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fcd3aae89-49ed-4b5f-8548-d1a8c73861a6_5472x3648-jpeg-1.jpg) **The uncomfortable numbers:** Of those 345 children, 213 disappeared from Kent County Council reception centres. 32 are still missing. Another 132 vanished from two Home Office-run hotels used between 2021 and 2023\. 24 of them have not been found. The largest group were Albanian minors, followed by Afghan and Iranian children. To be clear, this is Kent’s record, not a national figure. If that doesn’t land heavily, read it again. **Kent’s line:** The council says it takes every disappearance seriously. A spokesperson said: “Any child or young person missing from care is a serious concern and we take every effort to protect them.” They also spelt out the obvious risk: “Unaccompanied asylum seeker children are vulnerable to being trafficked and exploited due to their separation from family and circumstances of their journeys to the UK.” Social workers assess each child’s risk, the council says, and cases are escalated into formal child-protection systems, including the National Referral Mechanism and the Independent Child Trafficking Guardian Service. Agencies, including Kent Police and the Home Office, are involved. Yet as the council admits, “even then it is challenging to prevent all children from going missing.” It’s hard not to read that as a quiet admission of the scale of the problem. **The frontline strain:** Kent has said for years that it cannot cope alone. Geography turned the county into the UK’s de facto reception service for unaccompanied children, and capacity has repeatedly buckled. Most of the country sees this story through headlines. Kent sees it in real time, on the ground, and often without the backup it asked for. **The hotel years:** Between 2021 and 2023, the Home Office pushed children into hotel accommodation in Kent rather than directly into council care. A High Court ruling later found the routine use of hotels for lone children to be unlawful. The numbers that emerged from that period are not subtle. 132 children went missing from two Kent hotels. 24 remain missing. Hotels are good for seaside minibreaks. They are not good at protecting deeply vulnerable children from trafficking networks. **Whitehall’s view:** A Home Office spokesperson said the department takes these disappearances seriously, adding: “The safety and welfare of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children remains a priority.” They say systems are reviewed and information is shared with local authorities and police when children disappear. It is a familiar tone from government departments under strain: concern, commitment, and a lingering question of why the figures look like this if the systems are working. **A hostile backdrop:** To add another layer, this hasn’t happened in a neutral public climate. Far-right activists are intimidating refugee children outside reception centres for child refugees in Kent. Vulnerable minors, already isolated, are placed in settings where they are met outside by hostile crowds. Even for a county used to headline-fatigue on asylum, that’s bleak. **Where accountability sits:** Kent spent years warning Westminster that the county could not cope with the volume of unaccompanied children arriving at its borders, yet the burden remained firmly on its shoulders. National policy continued largely unchanged, the Home Office pressed ahead with hotel placements that courts later ruled unlawful, and all the while, children continued to go missing. We are now in the bleak position of still counting vanished minors in Britain, as though their disappearance were an unfortunate administrative inevitability rather than a profound moral and institutional failure. Kent’s local system strained and ultimately cracked under pressure, but it did not break in isolation. It happened because the national system allowed it to. The consequence has been felt by the most vulnerable people in this process: children who crossed the Channel seeking safety, only to slip through gaps that should never have existed, and disappear long before they had any real chance of finding stability or support in the UK. **What happens now:** Pressure will fall on Westminster to strengthen the national transfer scheme and fund safe placements across the UK, so Kent is no longer expected to shoulder this burden alone. At the same time, Kent County Council will face scrutiny over how it monitors children in care and communicates progress in locating those who are missing. The public deserves clear updates on the search for the 56 children who have disappeared. These young people deserve more than expressions of concern and procedural language about capacity. They deserve to be found. **Bottom line:** This cannot become another Kent story that fades into background noise, dismissed as a structural problem that everyone is too tired to fix. A child who arrives here alone should be safe. Instead, 56 are missing somewhere in Britain. That is not a situation to manage. It is a failure to correct. --- #### **Three big reads** 1️⃣ Does Reform’s rocky running of Kent give us a clue as to what happens when a populist party gets into power? A little known journalist called… checks notes… Ed Jennings [tackles the subject for the New World magazine](https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/ed-jennings-reforms-shambolic-kent-experiment/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 2️⃣ The Telegraph have [also looked at the situation in Kent](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/10/28/kent-shows-reform-does-not-know-how-to-govern/?ref=kentcurrent.news), concluding that the county demonstrates that the party is far from ready to exercise power. 3️⃣ Local Democracy Reporter Simon Finlay has [profiled KCC leader Linden Kemkaran](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/profile-the-life-and-times-of-reform-uk-s-poster-girl-331941/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in a piece that offers some fascinating new insights into her background and character. --- #### **Council matters** **Meetings this week:** - **Kent County Council:** [**Devolution and Local Governance Re-organisation Cabinet Committee**](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=979&MId=9846&ref=kentcurrent.news)will meet on **Monday** to discuss the council’s business case for a single unitary authority covering Kent. This is destined to go nowhere and has been described by the council leader as trying to put a spoke in the works of the process. - **Canterbury:** [**Cabinet**](https://democracy.canterbury.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=755&MId=13841&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets tonight (**Monday**) to discuss increasing car parking charges and the draft capital and revenue budgets for the coming year. - **Dover:** Also tonight (**Monday**), [**Cabinet**](https://moderngov.dover.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=121&MId=5155&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets to debate the Infrastructure Funding Statement, a walking and cycling plan, and the council’s parking strategy. - **Gravesham:** It’s definitely the day for [**Cabinet**](https://democracy.gravesham.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=149&MId=9424&ref=kentcurrent.news) meetings today (**Monday**), where Gravesham’s will get together to work through a packed agenda, including housing, budget monitoring, and town centre improvements. - **Swale:** [**Planning and Transportation Policy Working Group**](https://services.swale.gov.uk/meetings/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=354&MId=4398&ref=kentcurrent.news) will hold an extraordinary meeting on **Tuesday** to discuss the consultation launch for the council’s new Local Plan. - **Kent County Council:** Full [**County Council**](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=113&MId=9799&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on **Thursday** in what promises to be a lively meeting following recent developments at County Hall. Debate will include the council’s questionable strategic statement, the LGR business case, and motions on social care and treasury management. - **Swale:** [**Planning Committee**](https://services.swale.gov.uk/meetings/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=130&MId=4304&ref=kentcurrent.news) will gather on **Thursday** to decide on an application for 160 new homes near Borden, which officers have recommended for approval. --- #### **In brief** ➡️ A Dartford Reform councillor has [defected to the Conservatives](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpq15qx7rngo?ref=kentcurrent.news), despite only winning his seat in a by-election in July. Cllr James Buchan said he had become “uncomfortable” with his party. The local Reform branch [accused him](https://www.facebook.com/DartfordReform/posts/pfbid02MDUwxQaFeKn87LJdZNCyE3DkFy55LXMEeNwZQ5JdxRPYPsKKqFTwnbfDiF3ducFHl) of “opportunism and lack of commitment.” 🔵 Maidstone and the Weald MP Helen Grant has [written for KentOnline](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/to-really-take-back-control-we-have-to-withdraw-from-europ-331580/?ref=kentcurrent.news) about how the UK should withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights. 🚛 Plans for a [new lorry park](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdxr0n67w91o?ref=kentcurrent.news) have been unveiled to serve traffic passing through the Port of Dover. The new 70-acre site would be located west of Dover on the A20, operated by the same group that runs the Ashford International Truckstop. 🏗️ Eight modular pods for homeless people are [set to be built](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/gravesend/news/street-of-pod-homes-for-the-homeless-approved-for-construc-331634/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Gravesend in the new year. 📄 Ashford Borough Council are to [relax planning restrictions](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/i-m-not-giving-up-on-this-yet-council-bids-to-fill-long-e-331591/?ref=kentcurrent.news) on the Elwick Place development in an effort to fill long-empty units. 👷 Work to refurbish Margate Winter Gardens is set to [get underway next year](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/8m-refurbishment-of-seaside-venue-agreed-as-work-s-start-da-331607/?ref=kentcurrent.news) as part of an £8m project. 📚 Creative Folkestone has [proposed a plan](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn09kdxg8k0o?ref=kentcurrent.news) to bring the Folkestone Library back into use. 😮‍💨 Hundreds have signed a petition asking Thanet District Council to [reconsider its closure order](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2025/11/02/hundreds-sign-petition-demanding-reversal-of-closure-order-on-margate-bong-shop/?ref=kentcurrent.news) on Margate’s Bong Shop. ⚽ Former Liverpool footballer Jordan Ibe has [joined Sittingbourne](https://talksport.com/football/3696074/jordon-ibe-non-league-transfer-sittingbourne-liverpool/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in the Isthmian League South East Division on a free transfer to ‘rediscover the joy of football.’ 🍲 Food critic Grace Dent visited Franc in Canterbury and gave a [rave review](https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/nov/02/franc-canterbury-kent-grace-dent-restaurant-review?ref=kentcurrent.news). --- #### **Footnotes** *Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via *hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news* \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* **Enjoying the Kent Current? Pass it on.* If you know someone who’d like this too, forward them this email and invite them to subscribe.* ### “We’re focused on the practical aspects rather than petty politics” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/were-focused-on-the-practical-aspects/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:54:15.000Z *Stuart Jeffery is the leader of Maidstone Borough Council, having only been elected as a Green Party councillor in 2022\. Steven met him at Craft Brewed in Maidstone to discuss the recent Lenham, Harrietsham and North Downs by-election, what he enjoys about being a council leader, and his support for new Green Party leader Zack Polanski.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fae622835-6735-4dae-be63-0acc18a8fa42_1421x1066-png-1.jpg) Stuart Jeffrey **Which ward are you the councillor for?** Allington and Bridge. **Why that ward?** It’s where I live, have done for 13 years. **What is your official occupation?** Leader of the council. Yeah, I’m a politician. I don’t have any other income, well, I don’t have any other paid employment, and technically, I’m not even an employee, but I don’t have another job. **How long have you been the leader of Maidstone council now?** 18 months. It was a two-year rise from nothing to running the council. **How long have you been a councillor for?** Three and a half years. From being the sole Green on the council, we trebled the year after, and we trebled the year after again and became the biggest group on the council. It was a two-year rise from nothing to running the council. **Why did you want to be the leader of the council?** Because it’s the way you get things done. Ultimately, there are some straightforward, pragmatic things that we can do to make life better for people and to enhance nature within our borough. We had a set of good ideas that have evolved, developed and so forth over time, and we wanted to see them implemented, and the best way to implement your stuff is to be sitting at the top table, saying ‘I want to do X, get on with it, here’s the budget.’ **Are you still the largest group?** No, I lost three councillors in the summer. We’re now the third largest group. **How are you still the Leader?** Because full council voted me in 18 months ago. Full council can vote me out, but they haven’t. **It’s not just Greens in your group, there are others?** There’s ten Greens, one independent. She is very green, she’s a good ally, she’s a wonderful friend. **Do you have the support of other parties in being leader?** Yes, the Lib Dems have been our coalition partner all the way through. We were bigger than them, they’re now slightly bigger than us. We are jointly focused on delivering our agreed programme, and they seem happy with the set-up we’ve got and are comfortable that they are equal partners in the delivery of it. We’re focused on the practical aspects rather than petty politics, which I’m really pleased about. We’ve got the support of Labour, who we engage with closely, and they help shape our programme each year. The Fant and Oakwood Independents are again engaged in shaping the work we do. We’ve got wider support than just the two parties that form the cabinet, and the maths doesn’t work for any other combination across the council. I think it feels like we’re stable, we’re strong, although we’re not the biggest group. We’ve got good support and good collaboration, most importantly. I do meet with all group leaders, and obviously, the Conservatives and probably certainly Reform are not supportive, but the others are broadly supportive of our approach, and we make sure they get to input. We’ve just agreed a farmers’ market going into the town centre. It was an idea that we’ve been mulling over for some time. There was a Conservative motion. We liked it. It was a nice motion, and it gave us a bit of knowledge that there was cross-party support, so we’re doing it. Our social housing programme was started by the Conservatives. Fair play to them. Everyone, with the exception of Reform, because I haven’t spoken to them, but the rest of the council is absolutely supportive of it and that cross-party support is really important, so that feels like something massively tangible. We are building hundreds of social homes, for social rent, capped at housing benefit level, so they are truly affordable. They’re not the affordable moniker that the government has. **You mentioned you lost three people from your group. How did that happen?** There was a specific problem out in Lenham. We inherited a Local Plan that was passed two days before the Conservatives lost power. It put 5,000 houses in Lenham. We voted against it. When you have a Local Plan agreed, there is no way of unpicking it. The legal challenges failed. The national government are absolutely backing it. The only person who can overturn it is the Secretary of State. They have no interest. They want to build houses. The last thing they would do is overturn a Local Plan. The housing was going ahead, come what may. The best we could do was to limit the damage. Bring in enhanced policies that try to minimise the impacts. I think the pressure on the three councillors was horrendous, pressure from their communities. There was a lot of misinformation coming out of both Lenham Parish Council and the Save Our Heaths campaign, to the point of blatant lies at times. That translated into both anger towards the councillors, who then resigned, and that lies and misinformation carried on after and into the election, which meant we struggled. We came second, where the narrative was that we were hated. We weren’t hated that much. I did probably a dozen hours of canvassing in Lenham, I spoke to hundreds of people. People understood what we were doing. I don’t think they liked the situation, but they understood that it was the best of a bad job. **Is there anything you wish you’d known about being council leader before you became council leader?** Bloody hell. Can I have an easier question? I don’t think so. I’ve spent my life in public service. I was a senior officer over in Medway, in the NHS, but I was very much part of the council as well. I spent a lot of time in politics, so no, probably not. I think the thing I wish I’d known is how much fun it is. It is the best job in the world that I’ve ever had. Moderately small changes that make a difference to people’s lives. **What makes it fun?** I get to do real, practical stuff. I get to fund and deliver moderately small, multi-million-pound stuff sometimes, but moderately small changes that make a difference to people’s lives, and people start to recognise some of that stuff. Brenchley Gardens town centre park had an awful reputation 18 months ago. People hated it, people were avoiding it. We put a lot of effort into it this summer. Concerts throughout the summer, persuaded the police to enhance their presence, we’ve changed the planting and really put some focus on it. It’s got a Green Flag, it’s lovely. 18 months ago, there were a group of people that were just sitting there drinking, swearing and being very loud. This summer, it’s been full of families, some people sunbathing. It’s fundamentally different. People are coming to me and saying, ‘We should go through the Brenchley Gardens.’ Isn’t that nice? It’s changed. People have said about the town centre, we’ve done some planting. We’ve again given it more focus. People are saying it feels a bit better. It’s exciting to get there. The stuff we’ve done in the town centre has been great. Just putting some plants in the town centre. Moderately simple things like that make a huge difference. Getting Maidstone on the map. For the work we’ve been doing on the women’s trials, where they were murdered 400 years ago, people are talking about Maidstone and I love that. **When you consider that Maidstone is the county town, why do you think it has been left behind or hasn’t got the recognition?** I honestly don’t know. I like to think that the change in emphasis and focus that we’ve bought has made a difference. I can only guess that it wasn’t getting the focus in the past. **Does Maidstone have a tourist community?** Oh God, yeah. We’ve got the prettiest castle in the country. Leeds Castle is phenomenally gorgeous. It’s a huge attraction. We don’t have the fire festivals of Lewes. I’d love to do that. Wouldn’t that be great? We don’t have the Dickens events that go on in Rochester, but we’re starting to do a bit more of that. We’ve got our River Festival, which has become a great fun thing to do. We had Pride last year. We didn’t manage to do Pride this year, but Pride went down a storm. I wouldn’t have expected that in Maidstone. I marched along with 500 people through Week Street, and people were clapping and dancing and cheering to the sides, and I didn’t expect that. We don’t have that core theme yet, but those things will develop, and I’m hopeful. We’ve got a good arts scene, we’ve got a good music scene. I think they’ve got a way to go, but the seeds are there, and I think we can really start to build that culture, because I love the arts. **Do you have a working relationship with Maidstone’s MPs?** There’s three MPs covering the borough. They’ve each got about a third of the borough. Only one of them has Maidstone in their title. Helen Grant and I have known each other for 15 years. I stood against her a few times. We get on okay.Her aide is one of the borough councillors. We disagree a lot on policy, but she’s fine. Katie Lam, I am disappointed in the recent stuff that’s come from her that feels divisive and not the message that we want in Maidstone. Katie covers the Weald, which is everything to the south of the borough. We are priding ourselves on being inclusive, welcoming.I made sure I got some photos put out in the press of me holding the Pride flag in Pride month in the town hall. We work with the Muslim community here, we’ve got a large Muslim community, we’ve got a large Polish community. I reach out to those diverse communities a lot and I think Maidstone benefits from that diversity. To hear one of our MPs calling for people who are not ‘culturally coherent,’ basically anyone who’s different, to be deported. Frankly, that’s not what I want to hear. And Helen Wheatley, I don’t get on well with Helen. I’ll leave it there. **Do you have a working relationship with the leader of Kent County Council?** Oh, yes, we’re best friends. This is a woman who stood up in full council and called me a terrorist. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### A win for Virgin, but not for Kent URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/a-win-for-virgin-but-not-for-kent/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:54:16.000Z *The return of international rail services to Kent supposedly nudged forward this week, with the government granting Virgin access to possibly begin cross-Channel services in 2030\. While Kent leaders publicly celebrated, how likely are trains to return to Ebbsfleet and Ashford? Read the detail, and you might find we’ll be waiting even longer for that. Further down, Reform’s week has gone from bad to worse, with five of their councillors being expelled in the past week, and two by-elections in the county tonight have produced very different results. There’s also news in brief, and a fascinating long-read published elsewhere by an upstart young journalist.* --- #### A win for Virgin, but not for Kent For the first time in thirty years, Eurostar is no longer the only company cleared to run trains through the Channel Tunnel. The rail regulator has [approved Virgin Trains’ bid](https://www.orr.gov.uk/search-news/rail-regulator-opens-door-future-international-train-services-temple-mills-access?ref=kentcurrent.news) for access to the Temple Mills International depot in east London, a required first step for any operator hoping to run cross-Channel services. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f8d26942a-3845-4b4c-8995-6e1d38cfb57b_2500x1406-jpeg-1.jpg) Virgin plans to begin operating in 2030\. The company says it will invest up to £700m, create 400 jobs, and run services to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam. The Office of Rail and Road called Virgin’s proposal the strongest and most credible, saying it offered the highest confidence of delivery and the best prospects of using limited depot capacity effectively. National headlines focused on competition, fares, and the end of Eurostar’s monopoly. In Kent, the mood was more complicated. For five years, the campaign here has not been about competition. It has been about whether international trains will ever stop in Kent again. Today did not answer that. Kent leaders moved quickly to welcome the announcement. Kent County Council leader [Linden Kemkaran](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-think-theres-a-lot-gone-wrong-with/) called it the “right decision” and said Kent is “one step closer.” Ashford leader Noel Ovenden said the town stands “ready for trade, ready for jobs, ready for tourism.” Dartford leader Jeremy Kite said it was “good news” while noting that the outcome does not actually reopen Ashford or Ebbsfleet. Medway leader Vince Maple described it as a “positive step” and said he hopes plans “stay on track.” There was a common thread. Each statement celebrated momentum, but none could point to a firm commitment that international trains will return to Kent. That is because none exists. The regulator stressed that its role was limited. It approved the use of a maintenance depot. It did not specify where trains must stop. It said plainly that it “cannot require Virgin Trains to run specific services.” Virgin’s plans, as submitted to the regulator, involve services from St Pancras. There is no confirmed Kent stop. Virgin’s position is conditional. In a [letter to the regulator](https://www.orr.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2025-10/2025-10-15-vte-holdings-letter-to-orr.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) dated 15 October, the company said that “if either of the stations are re-opened, its services will stop in Kent.” That is a promise to use stations if they already exist and are staffed, secured, and approved. It is not a promise to help reopen them. It places responsibility on government and local authorities, not the operator. Other bidders went further. Trenitalia publicly committed to serving Ashford. Gemini planned to call at Ebbsfleet and consider Ashford. These bids were rejected. Virgin, which did not build Kent stops into its formal application, won because its financial modelling and readiness were stronger. The regulator’s task was to choose a viable operator, not to deliver Kent services. It is important to be honest about what happened today. The national rail market took a step forward. Kent did not. The county remains without any guarantee of services. Even in the best-case scenario, trains will not stop here before 2030\. That assumes government, border officials and local partners fund and reopen the stations. None of that work has started. Kent’s leaders are right to say they will keep pushing. They have little choice. The campaign to restore international services has been one of Kent's few areas of genuine cross-party unity. Councillors, MPs and business groups have rallied behind it. A [petition](https://www.change.org/p/bring-back-eurostar-train-services-to-kent?ref=kentcurrent.news) has gathered more than 82,000 signatures. The rail minister recently told Kent leaders that “the government hears you.” Today’s decision shows that the case for competition has been accepted nationally. But there is a difference between welcoming competition and funding Kent stations. Ministers can celebrate today and still avoid committing to reopening border control at Ebbsfleet and Ashford. Virgin can expand its services without having to call at either station. And Kent can claim progress while the platforms stay dark. The risk is that today becomes the political answer to future questions. When asked why international services have not returned, ministers and local leaders will now have a new line. Competition is coming, they will say. A new operator has been approved. The system is moving. Give it time. That may be true, but it does not get Kent any nearer to an actual train. The county has been here before. When Eurostar first withdrew services in 2020, assurances were given that it was temporary. When border infrastructure was mothballed, officials used words like paused. When leaders first began lobbying, they highlighted economic damage and tourism loss. When the petition passed tens of thousands of signatures, the argument was framed as public will. Each milestone came with statements of momentum. The stations are still shut. The regulator has now said that competition is viable and that depot capacity exists. Virgin has a path to operate. That does matter. It kills off the argument that the market cannot support more than one operator. It strengthens Kent’s case in principle. In practice, the county is still reliant on a chain of decisions outside its control. The Home Office would need to agree border staffing. The Treasury would need to approve capital work. Network Rail and border agencies would need to recommission facilities. Virgin would need to schedule calls. And all of that would need to align before the first service in 2030. There may be a genuine breakthrough ahead. Virgin may eventually call at Kent. Government may commit to reopening both stations. The infrastructure may return. The campaign may succeed. But today did not deliver that. Today confirmed something narrower. Someone else will run trains through the tunnel. Kent will still have to fight to ensure they stop. For now, Ashford and Ebbsfleet remain silent. The county has momentum but no timetable, headlines but no trains. The announcements will fade, the press photos will blur, and Kent will still be waiting on the platform. The country is getting competition. Kent, once again, is getting promises. --- #### **Reform fractures deepen in Kent** Nearly two weeks after the [leaked Reform group video](https://www.kentcurrent.news/a-week-of-reckoning/), the situation at County Hall has continued to unravel. Five councillors have been expelled, one remains suspended, and the group elected on a wave of enthusiasm in May is visibly fraying. This week saw the removal of Cllrs Paul Thomas, Oliver Bradshaw and Brian Black. Thomas and Bradshaw had already been suspended shortly after the footage emerged, but Black’s expulsion came out of the blue. There had been no public suggestion that he was involved in the leak, and the party has given no details beyond accusing the trio of “dishonest and deceptive behaviour.” They follow Cllrs Bill Barrett and Robert Ford, who were pushed out over the weekend. Barrett has accused the leadership of bullying and running what he called a “toxic” operation. Reform disputes the bullying claims but has not explained the specific allegations behind any of the expulsions. The numbers underline the scale of the upheaval. Reform arrived at County Hall in May with 57 of 81 seats. It now has 49\. The administration remains in control, but the confidence of the early months has given way to disciplinary notices, statements and repeated efforts by the leadership to steady the narrative. Cllr Linden Kemkaran has responded by leaning in. In broadcast interviews this week, she said she makes “no apology” for being “direct, forthright, blunt” and at times “fruity” in her language. She painted those who have left as a frustrated minority who had lost internal votes or hoped for cabinet roles. “We may be smaller,” she said, “but we are far more muscular.” Others see the opposite. Barrett has already begun work on forming a new Independent Reformers group and has been in discussion with other former members. If all the independent Reform councillors were to organise as a single group, they would be larger than the Conservative, Labour or Green groups. The drama has not been contained within County Hall. Cllr Black’s exit means the Kent and Medway Fire and Rescue Authority has now lost two Reform chairs in a matter of months. Labour figures warned that the authority, usually run by consensus, is being pulled into turmoil and will now see its third chair in just over six months. Relations across Kent are also strained. In a letter to fellow council leaders, Kemkaran repeated her view that many show a “shocking level of ignorance” about the costs of local government reorganisation. Maidstone’s Green leader, Stuart Jeffrey, called the message “quite obnoxious.” Tonbridge and Malling’s Conservative leader Matt Boughton suggested she should focus on the problems in her own administration, calling them “shambolic.” County Hall continues to operate, and officers keep the system moving. But the promise of disciplined and focused local government has given way to expulsions, rebuttals and rival group meetings. Reform still holds power. Whether it still holds cohesion is now the question. --- #### Two very different by-elections It’s always the way. You wait for one by-election, and two come along at the same time. This evening, two very different parts of the county voted to elect new borough councillors following two resignations. Reform took their second seat on Thanet District Council in a by-election that is rather difficult to compare to the previous result, where the now defunct Thanet Independents romped to victory with half of the vote. Reform appear to have swept up the majority of that vote, with the Conservatives actually increasing their vote share compared to 2023, something that will bring at least some minor cheer to the party in the county. **Garlinge, Thanet result:** ➡️ Darren Oxborrow (Reform): 44.6% 🌳 Kerry Boyd (Conservative): 32.0% 🌹 Bryan Harrod (Labour): 7.9% 🌍 Deb Shotton (Green): 7.8% 🔶 Matthew Brown (Lib Dem): 4.6% ⚪ Ian Driver (Independent): 3.1% Not fancying a trip to the seaside in these conditions, the *Kent Current* team attended a different election over in Tunbridge Wells, where the Lib Dems retained their seat in St John’s ward, and somehow, we were the only journalists that turned up. The result was a fairly emphatic win that largely mirrored the results from the same ward earlier in the year. Not much changed here at all, beyond Labour failing to stand a candidate this time because they couldn’t submit complete nomination papers for their candidate. **St John’s, Tunbridge Wells result:** 🔶 Ukonu Obasi (Lib Dem): 53.3% ➡️ Chris Hoare (Reform): 15.0% 🌍 Kate Sergeant (Green): 13.5% ⚪ Kit Hawes-Webb (Tunbridge Wells Alliance): 8.9% 🌳 David Sumner (Conservative): 7.6% ⚪ Joe Dore (Independents for Tunbridge Wells): 1.7% Speaking to us following his election, new councillor Ukonu Obasi told us, “I love this community. It’s a very diverse, welcoming community, and it’s my honour and pleasure to be elected to serve them.” Asked why so many people voted for him in the election, he told us that the Lib Dems represent “a strong voice in British politics. We are sensible, we are campaigning for things people care about. We’re very community-based, and of course, locally here, it’s all about community. So the vote and the majority that we’ve won here represents the confidence that people have with the Liberal Democrats, not only to deliver for them locally but also to stand up for the things that they believe in.” The next Kent by-election is on 13 November, when voters in Wincheap will elect a new councillor to Canterbury City Council. --- **Today, we were the only journalists in the room for a by-election in Kent.* We can only be there to cover what other people aren’t because generous readers pay to support our work. If you believe it’s important that journalists are in the room for election counts, council meetings, and to hold those in power to account, please consider supporting us today.* [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup) --- #### In brief 🚫 In shades of a [story we reported on a couple of weeks ago](https://www.kentcurrent.news/protecting-imaginary-countryside/), Ashford Borough Council has [refused planning permission](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5ylp0r5jgko?ref=kentcurrent.news) for a battery storage facility near Brabourne Lees. The council cited ‘significant adverse effects on landscape character’ that would be caused by the plans. 🕳️ Southern Water are spending £3m to [seal sewers](https://www.southernwater.co.uk/latest-news/southern-water-begins-3m-sewer-sealing-project-in-kent-town/?ref=kentcurrent.news) around Sittingbourne to stop them overflowing during storms. 🚑 South East Coast Ambulance Service is set to [come together](https://www.secamb.nhs.uk/patients-set-to-benefit-as-ambulance-services-join-forces-in-first-group-model/?ref=kentcurrent.news) with South Central Ambulance Service. Each service will operate independently but will share resources on areas like digital innovation and clinical best practice. 🔥 A former nightclub in Northfleet [caught fire](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz7p1vr3nwwo?ref=kentcurrent.news) on Sunday, leaving debris containing asbestos. Work is still ongoing to clean up the scene. 🐦 Bird flu has been identified at a property in Newington, near Sittingbourne, resulting in a 3km protected zone [being enforced](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5yp2xv75m6o?ref=kentcurrent.news) around the area. 🅿️ Residents are outraged that Canterbury City Council are [planning to increase](https://www.kentlive.news/news/cost-of-living/residents-slate-diabolical-plans-increase-10606849?ref=kentcurrent.news) parking fees by 10p per hour, some calling the move ‘diabolical.’ --- #### More Currents This isn’t strictly another edition of the *Kent Current*, but I did a bit of writing on the side this week, putting together a [long-read for The New World magazine on (what else?) six months of Reform running Kent County Council](https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/ed-jennings-reforms-shambolic-kent-experiment/?ref=kentcurrent.news). There won’t necessarily be any new details for established readers of this publication, but I think it’s a pretty good read regardless. --- #### Footnotes *Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via *hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news* \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* **Enjoying the Kent Current? Pass it on.* If you know someone who’d like this too, forward them this email and invite them to subscribe.* ### Two councillors expelled as County Hall turmoil deepens URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/two-councillors-expelled-as-county/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:54:17.000Z *Good morning. We hope you survived the clock change and the sudden descent into what definitely feels like proper autumn. The wind is strong out there, the evenings are darker, and once again, County Hall is in complete chaos.* *Reform has managed to outdo itself with two councillors expelled and the word “toxic” now being thrown around like confetti. What began with a leaked video has spiralled into a full-blown feud, complete with bullying claims, legal threats, and a party that looks more distracted by infighting than by running the county.* *Elsewhere this week, we’ve got by-elections, cancelled housing plans, angry residents, and some newly graffiti-covered postboxes in Dartford. Dover’s Discovery Centre is back open, a devastating fire in Faversham, and the AI-generated railway musical we thought we hallucinated turns out to be, tragically, real.* *Let’s get to it.* --- #### **Catch up** If you missed any of our reporting over the past week, here’s your chance to catch up: - For our [big weekend interview](https://www.kentcurrent.news/it-lets-people-show-where-their-truth/), we sat down with Richard and Alexandra Wise, the husband and wife team behind the acclaimed outdoor education experts, Wise Up. We talk about how they came to work in outdoor education, how Richard can ruin Alexandra’s working day and how they came to stick magnets to their vans. - Our [Thursday news briefing](https://www.kentcurrent.news/a-week-of-reckoning/) looked at the continued dramas involving Reform at County Hall (more on that below!), named Kent firms identified for breaching minimum wage laws, looked at the latest financial interests of Kent MPs, and lots more. --- #### **Reform expels two councillors as County Hall turmoil deepens** Reform has expelled two Kent county councillors, widening the rift that has dominated County Hall since the leak of a private group meeting video earlier last month. The pace of internal drama has been so relentless that it feels like a long time since Cllr David Wimble, the party’s environment lead, called a resident a “fuckwit” on social media. [We reported that](https://www.kentcurrent.news/a-quiet-test-of-the-rules-at-county/) barely two weeks ago. Since then, the group has been consumed by leaks, suspensions and now expulsions. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2ff86c86ef-0059-4731-ae0e-a787c59f1d8a_1456x1048-jpeg-1.jpg) Cllrs Robert Ford and Bill Barrett Councillors Bill Barrett and Robert Ford were formally expelled by Reform’s London headquarters on Friday. Both men had already been suspended from the council group. Their removal brings the number of councillors to have left, been suspended or expelled since May to seven. A Reform spokesperson said the pair were removed because their conduct “undermined the interests of the party and brought Reform UK into disrepute.” **Barrett’s response:** Barrett, the member for Ashford Rural South, only joined Reform in March after previously serving first as a Conservative and then as an independent. He told the [Local Democracy Reporting Service](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/two-suspended-reform-uk-county-councillors-booted-out-of-par-331662/?ref=kentcurrent.news) (LDRS) that the leadership at Kent County Council had become “toxic,” alleging bullying and claiming eight formal complaints had been lodged with Reform headquarters against leader Linden Kemkaran, deputy leader Brian Collins, and chief whip Maxwell Harrison. He said he had been expelled over comments in a private WhatsApp group, including calling a colleague “daft” and describing party communications as “scripted horseshit.” “The reality is KCC at the moment is run by three incompetent individuals who are harming the party brand and the lives of people like me who have worked hard to get us all elected,” he told the LDRS. “It’s toxic to the decent Reform backbenchers, toxic to the opposition and toxic ultimately to the party’s reputation.” Reform said there was “no evidence of bullying in either case.” **Ford’s expulsion:** Cllr Robert Ford, who represents Maidstone Rural West, was suspended on 13 October over what the party described as “unofficial complaints” by female KCC staff members. He said at the time that no details were ever put to him and believes his removal stemmed from an internal email he sent criticising the leadership, describing it as a “dictatorship.” Ford said the publicity around the row has damaged his reputation locally and confirmed he is seeking legal advice. **Continuing instability:** The expulsions come a week after four other councillors, including Barrett, were suspended on suspicion of leaking the video that showed Kemkaran telling colleagues to “just fucking suck it up.” She has called those who shared the footage “cowards” and “traitors.” Those suspensions followed earlier disciplinary action and a defection to UKIP, leaving Reform’s dominance at County Hall visibly eroded. Still, the group now controls 50 of the 81 seats. In recent days, several members have submitted complaints to Reform’s head office about the leadership’s style and conduct. The party has not commented. **County Hall under strain:** The unrest has become the defining story of the administration’s first months in power. Officials are attempting to maintain regular business as the political row continues, even as a committee meeting on school transport was cancelled last week. Inside the group, attempts to draw a line have faltered. Kemkaran’s call for members to sign a joint statement of support has produced only 37 signatures, according to [The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/oct/25/reform-uk-kent-meeting-chaos-factionalism?ref=kentcurrent.news), leaving 13 councillors declining to do so. The leadership has made no further comment beyond brief press statements. **Where things stand:** Reform UK entered County Hall promising fiscal discipline and a new culture of politics. Five months later, it has lost over 10% of its councillors to suspension, defection or expulsion, and it is hard to imagine that the row is now over. The council still runs, budgets still need balancing, and Reform still holds the majority. But each week, that majority looks less united, and a little more preoccupied with itself. --- #### **Three big reads** 1️⃣ The Guardian have been [assessing the state of Reform in Kent](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/oct/25/reform-uk-kent-meeting-chaos-factionalism?ref=kentcurrent.news), following, well, just about everything, describing the situation as “factionalism, farce and chaos.” The paper also discovered that leader Linden Kemkaran failed to declare that her husband is the director of digital transformation at East Kent’s health authority, a potential conflict of interest. 2️⃣ Alan Rusbridger argues in the Independent that Weald of Kent MP Katie Lam’s hardline position on immigration is [starting to sound like the rhetoric of the 1930s](https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/rusbridger-katie-lam-immigration-tory-1930s-b2851012.html?ref=kentcurrent.news). 3️⃣ The Daily Mail [visited Reform Road](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15198839/A-walk-Reform-Road-migrants-live-tell-ROBERT-HARDMAN-backing-Farage-snapshot-modern-Britain.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Chatham to find out if residents there might vote for the party just because of the street’s name. They found a mix of responses, including a number of people who would vote for the party, even if it led to them being deported under the party’s plans. --- #### **Council matters** **By-elections:** - **Thanet:** Voters in **Garlinge** will go to the polls this week to elect a new councillor after the previous independent councillor resigned to move away from the area. [Six candidates are vying for the seat](https://whocanivotefor.co.uk/elections/local.thanet.garlinge.by.2025-10-30/garlinge/?ref=kentcurrent.news), including former Conservative councillor Kerry Boyd and local character Ian Driver. - **Tunbridge Wells:** A vacancy will be filled in **St. John’s**, following the resignation of the sitting Lib Dem councillor for personal reasons. [Six candidates will fight here](https://whocanivotefor.co.uk/elections/local.tunbridge-wells.st-johns.by.2025-10-30/st-johns/?ref=kentcurrent.news), including the inevitable Lib Dem, Reform, Conservative, and the ~~People’s Front of Tunbridge Wells and the Tunbridge Wells People’s Front~~ Tunbridge Wells Alliance and Independents for Tunbridge Wells. Curiously, Labour don’t have a candidate on the ballot as the returning officer rejected the nomination papers of candidate Alan Bullion for being incomplete. **Meetings this week:** - **Tonbridge and Malling:** [Full council](https://democracy.tmbc.gov.uk//ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=126&MId=6438&ref=kentcurrent.news) will meet on **Tuesday** to discuss the creation of a Tonbridge Town Council. - **Tonbridge and Malling:** [Cabinet](https://democracy.tmbc.gov.uk//ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=146&MId=6523&ref=kentcurrent.news) will hold an extraordinary meeting on **Wednesday** to move forward on publishing a new Local Plan. - **Canterbury:** [Full council](https://democracy.canterbury.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=138&MId=13847&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on **Thursday** to debate whether to declare Canterbury a City of Sanctuary and to put stricter conditions on developers regarding sewage. - **Dartford:** [Cabinet](https://dartford.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=105&MId=3405&ref=kentcurrent.news) will gather on **Thursday** to decide whether £4.5m of Community Infrastructure Levy should be put towards a school expansion, review the budget position, and confirm that the council is pushing for a five-unitary model under local government reorganisation. - **Maidstone:** The [Democracy and General Purposes Committee](https://maidstone.gov.uk/home/primary-services/council-and-democracy/primary-areas/your-councillors?sq%5Fcontent%5Fsrc=%2BdXJsPWh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGbWVldGluZ3MubWFpZHN0b25lLmdvdi51ayUyRmllTGlzdERvY3VtZW50cy5hc3B4JTNGQ0lkJTNENjU0JTI2TUlkJTNENTY1MiZhbGw9MQ%3D%3D&ref=kentcurrent.news) will meet on **Thursday** to move forward with a proposal to create a Maidstone Town Council. - Thanet: Similiarily on the coast, the [Boundary and Electoral Arrangements Working Party](https://democracy.thanet.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=433&MId=7232&ref=kentcurrent.news) will meet on **Thursday** to discuss the creation of a Margate Parish Council. --- #### **In brief** 🌤️ Kent County Council may find itself in conflict with the government over a new solar farm in Ashford. The government has [granted development consent](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/stonestreet-green-solar-development-consent-decision-announced?ref=kentcurrent.news) for the site following examination by the Planning Inspectorate, but Kent County Council have [walked away from talks](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0kpxn8kd07o?ref=kentcurrent.news) with the developer after rescinding the authority’s declaration of a climate emergency. 🚫 Plans for a 1,350-home development in Chestfield, near Whitstable, [have been blocked](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/whitstable/news/council-blocks-controversial-1-350-home-estate-as-traffic-pl-331571/?ref=kentcurrent.news) by Kent County Council, which described traffic plans as ‘not fit for purpose.’ 🪧 Plans to relocate Canterbury’s Wincheap Park and Ride site to nearby Thannington Recreation Ground [have been withdrawn](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/we-have-won-our-precious-green-space-is-safe-from-the-digg-331659/?ref=kentcurrent.news) after local residents got very angry. 📋 Faversham and Mid Kent MP Helen Whateley has had to [distance herself from far-right activists](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/faversham/news/mp-warns-let-me-be-clear-these-people-are-not-acting-on-m-331655/?ref=kentcurrent.news) who have allegedly been canvassing on her behalf. 🔒 The government has once again claimed that Napier Barracks in Folkestone, the wildly inappropriate military base housing asylum seekers, will [close by the end of the year](https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/home-office-confirms-kent-barracks-10594797?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🚒 A large fire has [destroyed a building](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgv727y218o?ref=kentcurrent.news) housing two businesses at Standard Quay in Faversham. 🍕 Pizza Hut’s restaurant division fell into administration last week, leading to [nationwide closures](https://www.itv.com/news/central/2025-10-21/is-your-local-pizza-hut-closing-full-list-of-68-uk-restaurants-shutting-down?ref=kentcurrent.news). Locations at Chatham Dockside and Westwood Cross in Thanet have now permanently closed. 📭Someone has been [covering postboxes](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kmtv/video/vandalised-postboxes-divide-opinion-in-dartford-63984/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Dartford with graffiti, leading to mixed opinions in the town. 📚 Dover Discovery Centre [has reopened](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5ypg5edx52o?ref=kentcurrent.news) following a £7.5m refurbishment. The community centre will bring the town’s library, adult education services, early years support, and registration services under one roof. ⏰ Annoyed by having to change your clocks? [A builder from Kent is to blame](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/oct/25/looking-forward-to-an-extra-hour-in-bed-on-sunday-time-to-thank-a-farsighted-builder-from-kent?ref=kentcurrent.news). 👻 BBC Radio Kent has made a podcast about [ghosts of Blue Bell Hill](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0mb7wj3?ref=kentcurrent.news) for some reason. 🚄 Finally, when [we attended an event last month](https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-long-wait-for-paris/) to push for international rail to Kent, we were treated to a head-spinning song and dance routine about bringing trains back to Ashford and Ebbsfleet. Thankfully, the entire thing was recorded, meaning you too can now enjoy the AI-created monstrosity, and we can reassure ourselves that it wasn’t a fever dream: --- #### **Events this week** 🎲 Tue 28 Oct - [**David Spiegelhalter: The Art of Uncertainty**](https://canterburyfestival.co.uk/whats-on/david-spiegelhalter-the-art-of-uncertainty/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Statistical superstar talks how we can live with risk and uncertainty. Augustine Hall, Canterbury. Tickets £12.50 📖 Wed 29 Oct - [**Richard Ayoade with Bob Mortimer: Afterthoughts**](https://www.visitkent.co.uk/events/richard-ayoade-with-bob-mortimer-afterthoughts-150029/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Deep dive into a lifetime of wisdom to mark the new book of Ayoade. Great Hall, Canterbury. Tickets £14.50. 🎤 Fri 31 Oct - [**Mark Steel: The Leopard in My House**](https://www.thegranvilletheatre.com/whatson/mark-steel-the-leopard-in-my-house?ref=kentcurrent.news) // New show from comedian focuses on his battle with throat cancer. Granville Theatre, Ramsgate. Tickets £21.45. --- #### **Footnotes** *Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via *hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news* \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* **Enjoying the Kent Current? Pass it on.* If you know someone who’d like this too, forward them this email and invite them to subscribe.* ### “It lets people show where their truth strengths lie” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/it-lets-people-show-where-their-truth/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:54:20.000Z *Richard and Alexandra Wise have been nominated for the* [*King’s Award*](https://www.gov.uk/kings-awards-for-enterprise?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for their innovative work in outdoor education, with Alexandra also being a finalist for the Kent Businesswoman of the Year. Steven caught up with them to talk about how they came to work in outdoor education, how Richard can ruin Alexandra’s working day and how they came to stick magnets to their vans.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f038b423e-ef16-40c0-a012-d4dc9b50be85_3664x2800-png-1.jpg) Alexandra and Richard Wise. **What is your official occupation?** **Richard:** I’m the founder and company director of [WiseUp](https://www.wiseup-teambuilding.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news). **Alex:** Co-Founder and Chief Operations Officer. **What is Wise Up?** **Richard:** We are a mobile outreach company that goes out to schools all across the UK and delivers high impact team building days that focus on soft skills like planning, communication, working together, whilst building resilience. These skills are very much lacking in today’s world, and schools focus on academic results. We go in and help support teachers and students to focus on those soft skills that are going to help them not only back in the classroom, but also later in life. **Alex:** I think we’ve been in the outdoor industry working with activities like this for young people for many years. We have seen quite a big decline in the skills that young people have, mainly due to technology. There’s also been a considerable drop in schools being able to have the funding to access activities like what we do. We are really passionate about getting as many schools as possible to use us so that as many students as possible can develop that side of things and achieve potential in other ways that aren’t always measured in a school environment. Sometimes they don’t even realise they’re learning anything. The feedback we get all the time is that teachers are blown away. **What does outdoor education involve?** **Richard:** We have a number of different activities, but the activities we run are just the vehicle for delivering the outcomes, from command tasks, team building, problem solving activities. We run bushcraft. We run five-day multi-activity programs where the students, rather than go offsite to a residential centre, they can bring us in. Most schools have great sites. They have fields, woods, playgrounds, tennis courts, all sorts of facilities. We go to them, which is our USP. We utilise their school site, set everything up, and we can do a five-day program where they would do team building on the Monday, bushcraft on the Tuesday, then we can do archery and an assault course, we do things like catapult building, we’ve got an apprentice themed day, which is an entrepreneurship day as well. We’ve got different activities, but for us, they’re just a vehicle to then deliver the outcomes. After every activity, we do debriefs with the students on ‘How well did you plan that activity?’ ‘Did you work together as a team?’ ‘Did you stay motivated throughout?’ ‘Was everybody involved?’ We pick it apart and have a look. After each activity, they get some feedback. Throughout the day or the course that we’re running, two days, three days, we see a massive improvement with their soft skills and teamwork skills. **Alex:** I would say the premise, like all of our activities, is to get them outside, out of between the four walls, doing something different that they’re not doing day to day and really be able to see that, or I suppose apply some of the learning that they’re doing in school, but in very different ways and transfer those skills into practical problem solving and being able toput into action, communicating with other people, learning about other people’s differences. Doing that in a fun way. Sometimes they don’t even realise they’re learning anything. The feedback we get all the time is that teachers are blown away. They’ll be like, ‘In the classroom, he is a nightmare. He’s always being sent out, sent to the headteacher’s office. You know, we’ve struggled to engage him.’ Then he comes outside on one of our activities, and he’s at the fron,t and he’s leadin,g and he’s sharing great ideas, and the teachers are just blown away, and they actually then go back into the classroom, seeing that student from a completely different perspective. Schools are geared up for academic results. It’s quite a dated education system. **When you can see those results and you see the effect it has and the value in it, why do you think that this sort of activity doesn’t happen just inherently in schools?** **Richard:** Because schools are geared up for academic results. It’s quite a dated education system. Everybody’s talking about it at the moment, how everything’s advancing in the world, technology, AI. The schools are still teaching old school things. Nowadays you can go onto a bit of software and get the result instantly.I think they’re massively overlooking the soft skills, and it really needs to be incorporated into the curriculum. I think there’s huge, huge gaps in the curriculum. **Alex:** For schools, there’s a lot of pressure on them to achieve results, and it’s easier to measure whether somebody gets 10 out of 60 on a test or 50 than to be able to measure somebody and how good they are at empathy within a group situation, or how good they are at leading a team. It’s hard to put a number on that. The focus has been taken away from that overall person and is purely we need to get this person to pass these tests in order to look like they’re achieving what they’re setting out to do in a school. **Richard:** The biggest problem with that is actually the workforce has moved on, but schools haven’t. Most companies nowadays do personality testing when they’re employed. They might come with a university degree, they might have all of the qualifications that they need to apply for that job, but if it comes down to ten people, they want the person that’s going to fit into their team best, who’s the best team player, who’s going to be fitting personality wise and what we want within our company, but they’re not. That’s not filtering through to the schools and it’s not being taught in the schools and these people are coming out of uni and couldn’t get employed even though they had a degree in what they were told they needed a degree in. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f92eccd44-c613-45f9-a842-a045519be496_5184x3456-png.jpg) Students taking part in WiseUp activities. **You also offer sessions for the corporate sector?** **Richard:** Yeah, we have that as a separate business so that they don’t get too confused. We have [WiseUp Team Building](https://www.wiseup-teambuilding.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news), which is our schools company, and we have [WiseUp Events](https://www.wiseup-events.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news), which is our corporate company. It’s very similar, focusing on the soft skills. For many years, there’s been corporate away days floating around where you can go clay pigeon shooting, chocolate making, all of these fun activities, which are brilliant fun. But no one’s really dived into the soft skills and linking that up. We use the activities to facilitate these really important talks on personalities and teamwork and whatever the corporate client wants to tailor it around. If they want a wellbeing day for their staff, we can create a wellbeing package that fits around, and we link up with venues like local hotels. Our corporate is very much Kent-based. We work with some of the top hotels in Kent, and they invite us in to work with their corporate clients. **Alex**: I think all of it, between the schools and the corporate, is to let everybody see how, although people are all different, everybody has their strengths in different areas and how that can be, that’s really valuable within a team environment. Sometimes that’s forgotten because it is very much, ‘That’s your job and that’s what you do.’ But when you’re put into a completely different situation, it lets people show where their true strengths lie. Then it gives people the opportunity to see how that can be utilised in different ways, either in the school environment or in a workplace environment too. **Richard:** We’re looking at ways to try and quantify it, because we’ve done it for years, we’re very passionate about it, and we know it works. The feedback we get day in, day out blows us away, and just seeing it on the day, the improvement in the students or in the corporate clients, but we are looking at a way to quantify it going forward because I think once you can do that, we have a lot more impact in what we’re doing. We’re doing studies into the impact of what we do. **How did WiseUp come about? Did you meet through outdoor activities?** **Richard:** A bit of background on me. I started sailing when I was eight. I remember standing at the edge of a reservoir looking out at my grandad, and he said, ‘Once you turn eight, you’re old enough to have a lesson. I’ll take you for a lesson.’ I started to sail. Then I started getting into quite competitive racing. I was in Team GB, sailing at a high level. When I was 16, I didn’t really thrive in school. I struggled to stay focused. I was definitely an outside person, loved the outdoor activities. When I turned 16, I did my sailing instructor qualification. That took me all around the world, teaching in Turkey and South Africa and all over. I was doing that and working for different outdoor centres. I got more qualifications. I became a windsurfing instructor, canoeing, kayaking, power boating, lots of water-based activities. I worked for some companies in the UK, some local council-run activity centres, and I’ve got lots of land qualifications, climbing, walking, archery, mountain biking, and all of those qualifications. Later on in my career, I was running an outdoor centre for Kent County Council, which was Bluewater Outdoor Centre. I was the chief instructor there. Alex came down from Scotland, where she lived, for a job and never went back. We met each other and worked there for a bit, and then we’re hearing from the teachers all the time working there, ‘These a brilliant activity, great for the students, but we’re traveling out from London for two hours and two hours back, the coaches are getting really expensive.’ We thought, ‘Why is no one taking these activities into schools?’ Okay, we can’t pick the lake up and take it in, but a lot of the activities we were passionate about, they were more than able to be taken in. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### A week of reckoning URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/a-week-of-reckoning/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:54:21.000Z *Look, we don’t want to be constantly writing about Reform, but in a week where four councillors have been suspended, the leader has tried to whip up support and possibly come up short, internal complaints are being sent in to HQ, and arguments with neighbouring authorities are becoming common, here we are once again. Things look increasingly volatile less than six months into Reform’s tenure at County Hall, so we’ve got the full details below. We’ve also got details of Kent firms caught not paying their staff minimum wage, including at least one you will have heard of, the latest financial declarations of Kent MPs, news in brief, and more.* --- #### A week of reckoning Five months after Reform swept into power at Kent County Council, promising a new leadership style and fiscal discipline, the administration has endured its most chaotic week to date. The week began with the fallout of a leak and ended with formal complaints being lodged against its own leader. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f2244a038-15d5-4289-87eb-97caf85b9cf0_2500x1406-jpeg-1.jpg) The story first broke over the weekend, when a [leaked recording](https://www.kentcurrent.news/reform-turns-on-itself/) of a private Reform group meeting revealed open dissent among councillors and a leadership style many described as heavy-handed. Within hours of the footage emerging, County Hall was in damage-control mode. By Monday morning, four councillors - Paul Thomas, Oliver Bradshaw, Bill Barrett and Maxine Fothergill - had been suspended pending investigation for “bringing the party into disrepute.” All four remain elected members but will now sit as independents, reducing Reform’s dominance from 54 seats to 50\. The suspensions followed an earlier suspension over misconduct allegations, another of a councillor now awaiting trial over threats to kill his wife, and a defection to UKIP, meaning that seven councillors have now left or been suspended since May. Leader [Linden Kemkaran](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-think-theres-a-lot-gone-wrong-with/) reportedly told colleagues the leak was an act of “treachery” and that she had begun a hunt for the “cowards” responsible. There was no formal comment or press conference, and attempts to draw a line under the matter quickly failed as the backlash spread beyond the party. Liberal Democrat group leader [Antony Hook](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-really-dont-like-party-tribalism/) said, “Reform’s meetings are starting to sound more like an episode of [The Traitors](https://www.southeastlibdems.org.uk/news/article/kent-reform-suspend-whip-from-councillors-meetings-more-like-episode-of-traitors?ref=kentcurrent.news) than the running of a major council. All that’s missing is Claudia Winkleman asking who they’re going to banish next,” he said. “Residents are paying the price for their incompetence.” Green Party leader Mark Hood took a more sober line, issuing a statement under the heading Disarray and Division – Seven councillors down in six months amid foul-mouthed fury. “While every political group will have its differences, they are usually resolved by reasoned debate,” he said. “Being told to ‘just fucking suck it up’ by your leader is unlikely to attract universal and unwavering support.” Hood noted that the administration had already lost one councillor to suspension and another to UKIP before the latest row, arguing that “the administration is floundering amid chaos and finger-pointing.” He added that “a change at the top before the year is out” now appeared possible. Writing in [The Conversation](https://theconversation.com/kent-county-council-is-reforms-shop-window-its-leaked-zoom-call-implies-chaos-and-poor-leadership-267900?ref=kentcurrent.news), psychologist Lisa Lazard called the meeting “a case study in poor leadership,” saying its language revealed “a lack of the psychological safety needed to effectively run a council or any other organisation.” Behind closed doors, Kemkaran tried to steady the ship. Early in the week, she circulated a message to councillors asking them to sign a joint statement of support. “To counter all the negativity, HQ would like a statement ready to issue in support of the leadership ideally signed by all members,” with [KentOnline publishing](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/council-leader-pleads-for-member-support-after-video-leak-331467/?ref=kentcurrent.news) the statement in full. Days later, no statement has publicly appeared. The silence speaks volumes inside County Hall, and may yet represent a miscalculation by the leadership. Labour MPs across the county also sensed an opportunity, with seven Kent MPs writing to Nigel Farage calling for Kemkaran to step down, arguing that “the people of Kent deserve better.” The week’s next flashpoint came from outside the county administration. Medway Council leader Vince Maple wrote publicly to Kemkaran following [The Guardian’s coverage](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/oct/18/suck-it-up-leaked-video-exposes-bitter-infighting-at-reform-uks-flagship-kent-council?ref=kentcurrent.news) of her comments about local government reorganisation (LGR). He sought “urgent clarification” on whether Kent County Council was still acting “in good faith” after Kemkaran was quoted describing participation in the LGR process as “the cleverest way of putting a spoke in the works.” “Are you acting in good faith or attempting to be clever by putting a spoke in the works?” Maple asked. He also objected to a remark in which Kemkaran allegedly described other Kent leaders as possessing “a shocking level of ignorance” about reorganisation, calling the phrasing “pretty disrespectful.” Maple’s letter further challenged any suggestion that criticism of the Reform leader was rooted in sexism. “Any potential implication that I have acted in a misogynistic way is one I find ludicrous,” he wrote. “I would welcome clarification.” The correspondence, released publicly, underlined the breakdown in relations between Kent’s two largest councils, one now led by Reform, the other by Labour. As attention shifted to inter-council relations, a Medway Council Cabinet meeting revealed that a proposed deal to continue the work of Visit Kent and Locate in Kent, agencies responsible for promoting tourism and inward investment that recently collapsed, had fallen apart. Councillors revealed that KCC had agreed in principle to a £500,000 joint package with Medway Council, but then asked at short notice for Medway’s contribution to double from £50,000 to £100,000\. Medway’s leadership described the request as “chaotic” and accused KCC of playing politics rather than partnership. The future of both organisations remains unresolved. Elsewhere, [Byline Times disclosed](https://bylinetimes.com/2025/10/23/reform-council-asks-opposition-for-help-making-cuts-after-desperate-search-for-savings-falls-short/?ref=kentcurrent.news) that the Reform leadership had approached opposition parties for help finding further budget savings after its own search for cuts fell short. The council, which manages a £2.5 billion annual budget, invited rival groups to suggest reductions to close a looming funding gap. For a party elected on pledges of tight fiscal management, the move suggests promises that savings would be easy to find were not as simple as initially made out. By this morning, it [KentOnline reported](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/reform-uk-councillors-lodge-official-complaints-about-their-331527/?ref=kentcurrent.news) that at least five Reform councillors had lodged formal complaints about the leadership’s behaviour. The grievances, sent through regional officials to the party’s London headquarters, allege that backbench councillors have been sidelined and ignored by senior figures. One member told the website that, “This comes down to the way backbenchers feel they have been treated. There is a culture and a leadership style among those at the very top that a significant proportion of those backbenchers are not happy with.” A Reform spokesperson declined to comment directly, saying only, “As standard, we don’t comment on internal complaints.” The complaints added a new layer to a story already defined by revolt and suspension. What began as disciplinary action against four councillors has now become a dispute reaching Reform’s national leadership. The episode has already become shorthand for the difficulties of turning a protest movement into a governing administration. It is natural to wonder how much of the council’s focus has been lost to infighting at a time when budgets still need balancing and services still need running. Internal correspondence, resignations, and statements of condemnation have consumed the week. The group still holds a working majority, but few in County Hall expect the situation to remain static for long. Whether the internal investigations bring reconciliation or more departures, the ‘shop window’ Reform once touted now shows a council preoccupied with its own reflection. --- #### Kent firms caught underpaying staff Several Kent employers have been named by the government for failing to pay the minimum wage, including Faversham brewer Shepherd Neame, one of the county’s biggest and most recognisable businesses. The company, which runs around 300 pubs across the southeast, was found to have underpaid 942 workers a total of £18,686\. The issue related to deductions for uniforms and training, a recurring problem across the hospitality sector. Kate Ware, People Director at Shepherd Neame, told the *Kent Current*: > “An unintentional breach of pay guidelines for uniforms and training for team members in some of our pub businesses was brought to our attention by HMRC in 2022\. We acted immediately to revise our guidance in both areas, and arranged one-off payments to those former and current team members affected with payment of historic arrears of pay as calculated by HMRC.” Shepherd Neame’s case accounts for most of the county’s total underpayment in this latest enforcement round, which together saw over £42,000 owed to more than 1,300 Kent workers. Also on the list was Townsend Montessori Nurseries Ltd, another Faversham-based company, which owed £9,147 to 60 workers. The business has since been taken over by The Old Station Nursery Group, which said the problem occurred before it acquired the company and was addressed immediately afterwards. > “The Old Station Nursery Group, current owners of Townsend Montessori Nurseries Ltd, can confirm that the breach occurred prior to the acquisition of the company and was inherited at the point of sale. As soon as the issue came to light, it was rectified. The Old Station Nursery Group has robust payroll processes in place and follows all current guidance on the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage to ensure full compliance across all settings.” Other Kent firms on the list were the bafflingly located South Yorkshire Pizza Ltd in Gravesend (£5,026 to 242), Sunrise Day Nursery (Langley) in Maidstone (£3,546 to 11 workers), Pearson Carpentry in Ashford (£2,369 to 2), Alcaline UK in Hythe (£1,898 to 3), H2O Plumbusters in Maidstone (£1,281 to 1), and P J (Spar) Ltd in Folkestone (£708 to 1). Across Britain, almost 500 employers have been named this month for similar breaches. Officials say the most common causes are deductions for uniforms or training, mistakes with apprentice rates, and failing to count all working hours. Companies are required to repay arrears in full and face penalties once identified. For most Kent businesses, the sums involved were modest, a few hundred pounds spread across a handful of staff, yet the reputational damage is hard to ignore. For larger employers, the errors often stem from outdated guidance or payroll systems rather than intent. Still, for those on the receiving end of underpayment, intent makes little difference. A few pounds short each shift adds up, but at least for many of the workers affected, that gap has now finally been rectified. --- #### **Latest financial declarations of Kent MPs** The [Register of Members’ Financial Interests](https://members.parliament.uk/members/commons/interests/publications?ref=kentcurrent.news) is where all MPs must register donations, gifts, and hospitality they receive. On the most recent update to the register, some Kent MPs have had some pretty substantial additions to declare: - Lauren Sullivan (Labour, Gravesham) has been given a parking permit by Gravesham Borough Council that allows her to park in council car parks when on constituency business, valued at £1,564. - Tom Tugendhat (Conservative, Tonbridge) undertook a tour of Gallopi, paid for by the Commonwealth War Graves Association. The total value for travel, accommodation, and food was £1,103. - Naushabah Khan (Labour, Gillingham and Rainham) visited Brunei as part of the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme. Flights were valued at £799 and paid for by the Armed Forces Parliamentary Trust. - Tony Vaughan (Labour, Folkestone and Hythe) received £37 for 20 minutes’ work as a barrister that he undertook before he became an MP in July 2024, suggesting he really needs a better invoicing system. --- #### In brief 🗳️ The leader of Sevenoaks District Council is ‘[considering his position](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwy51qv0jydo?ref=kentcurrent.news)’ after losing a confidence vote at an extraordinary full council meeting last week. Conservative councillor Roddy Hogarth lost the vote 24-15, a remarkable figure given his group has 24 seats on the council. 📣 UKIP attempted to lead an [anti-immigration march through Rochester](https://www.localauthority.news/p/a-protest-in-search-of-a-crowd?ref=kentcurrent.news) over the weekend, where their group were outnumbered roughly 12:1 by counter-protestors. 🚧 Two and a half years after it fell down, there is still [little movement in fixing](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dartford/news/we-need-to-get-on-with-it-mp-presses-for-government-cash-331410/?ref=kentcurrent.news) Galley Hill Road in Swanscombe. 🪪 The new EU Entry/Exit System has got off to a [fairly quiet start](https://www.route-one.net/features/eu-entry-exit-system-quiet-start-for-coach-but-the-real-test-awaits/?ref=kentcurrent.news) at Folkestone and Dover, but the real test will likely come as traffic ramps up ahead of Christmas. 🏫 A specialist school for vulnerable children and young people is [set to close suddenly](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/whitstable/news/fears-as-bitter-funding-dispute-threatens-specialist-college-331494/?ref=kentcurrent.news) following a funding dispute with Kent County Council. ⚓ Attempts to create a Dover version of Folkestone’s Harbour Arm [haven’t gone well](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dover/news/folkestone-harbour-arm-is-buzzing-but-we-have-a-number-of-331457/?ref=kentcurrent.news). --- #### Footnotes *Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via *hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news* \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* **Enjoying the Kent Current? Pass it on.* If you know someone who’d like this too, forward them this email and invite them to subscribe.* ### Reform turns on itself URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/reform-turns-on-itself/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:54:23.000Z *Welcome to your Monday ~~morning~~ afternoon Kent Current briefing, brought to you later in the day than usual because of a massive internet services outage that knocked our publishing platform offline. Still, better late than never, no?* *It’s a grey and gloomy morning in Kent. These conditions seem to match the tone at County Hall, where arguments over Reform’s leadership at Kent County Council spectacularly spilt into public over the weekend. A leaked, foul-mouthed video on Saturday led to suspensions by this morning, with four more councillors elected in May now having lost the whip.* *We’ve got the details of what’s happened below. There’s also a full roundup of news from around the county, including big reads on the flag wars of Faversham, a Conservative rising star and her positions, and a look at one of Labour’s more hawkish MPs on borders. There’s lots more too, including upcoming council business, news in brief, and the biggest events in the county this week.* *Let’s get to it.* --- #### **Catch up** If you missed any of our reporting over the past week, here’s your chance to catch up: - For our big weekend interview, we talked to [Matt Boughton, the leader of Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council](https://www.kentcurrent.news/we-should-wave-our-flags-more/). He talks about how he ended up in the role, the imminent local government organisation and his disputes with Medway over the shape of it, flags, the risk of defections from his ruling group, and lots more. - In our Thursday edition, [we covered the big stories from across the county](https://www.kentcurrent.news/protecting-imaginary-countryside/), including an absurd scenario where green energy infrastructure was being blocked to protect a strip of nothing land between a dual carriageway, a railway line, and a tip. We also looked at the latest strife within the Kent Reform group, the potential return of cross-Channel rail services to Kent, and more. - We also featured the [first column by former MEP and Federation of Small Businesses Development Manager for Kent and Medway, Tim Aker](https://www.kentcurrent.news/change-isnt-coming-it-is-here/), on the changes sweeping through Kent both politically and otherwise. --- #### **Reform turns on itself** Reform UK won control of Kent promising a new style of leadership. A leaked internal meeting has instead exposed visible fractures inside the group that governs County Hall, leading to suspensions and silence from those still in charge. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f4b00f032-ab3c-4655-9d2e-da230488cea0_2208x1228-png-1.jpg) The Reform meeting was leaked to the Guardian. **The recording:** The video, filmed during a private online meeting of Reform councillors and [published by the Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/oct/18/suck-it-up-leaked-video-exposes-bitter-infighting-at-reform-uks-flagship-kent-council?ref=kentcurrent.news), showed council leader Cllr [Linden Kemkaran](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-think-theres-a-lot-gone-wrong-with/) asserting her control over major decisions, including plans for local government reorganisation (LGR). “It is the leader and the cabinet who make the big decisions,” she said. “However, when it comes to making really big decisions… I am afraid you’re just going to have to fucking suck it up, okay? Because I am the democratically elected leader.” She reminded members that the group would be judged by its ability to balance finances, referring to efforts to keep council tax rises below 5%. “We are the shop window for KCC. People are looking at us, they’re judging us every single day, every single minute of every single day.” **A challenge from within:** Tension intensified when Cllr Paul Thomas, who represents Maidstone South, questioned whether backbenchers were being asked to support proposals without briefing. “The proposal that is going forward is, frankly, is that the right leader and the right cabinet?” he asked. “Because we as backbenchers need to understand what we are getting behind.” Kemkaran noted, “I’m on holiday this week, Paul. I don’t want to be having this meeting.” When Thomas continued, she warned him: “Paul, Paul, I’m going to mute you in a minute, let me reply.” As she spoke, Cllr Brian Collins could be heard laughing. Thomas responded, “It’s all right Brian, you keep laughing your head off, mate,” before being muted by Kemkaran. **Deeper discontent:** The footage later moved to Cllr Dean Burns, who described wider dissatisfaction with how the group was being run. “Let’s face it, the situation at the moment with regards to our group is not great,” he said. “There is a lot of backbiting going on, and that tends to be coming from the top down. I’ve worked my arse off in my own portfolio, and I’m still getting a rod up my backside all the time.” Burns’ comments pointed to broader frustrations over communication, recognition and internal culture. **Disciplinary action:** This morning, four councillors - Paul Thomas, Oliver Bradshaw, Bill Barrett and Maxine Fothergill - had the whip suspended. In a formal statement, Reform said “Cllrs Paul Thomas, Oliver Bradshaw, Bill Barrett and Maxine Fothergill have had the whip suspended pending investigation, following evidence that they brought the party into disrepute.” The suspensions reduce the group’s official number from 54 to 50\. All four remain elected members of Kent County Council and will serve as independents. **A broader pattern:** Reports earlier this month had already noted unease among Reform members at County Hall, including concerns over access to information and involvement in decision-making. The leaked footage is the first time those concerns have been seen directly. The recording captured interruptions, raised voices and visible frustration, rather than any formal breakdown of policy. No senior member of the Reform cabinet has commented publicly on the video or the suspensions. There is no indication of when internal investigations will conclude or whether the councillors may be readmitted. **Position at County Hall:** Reform continues to hold a substantial majority at Kent County Council, though it is notable that the party has now lost seven of their group since May. The council leadership has not addressed whether the leak or its aftermath will affect ongoing work, including discussions on LGR or budget planning. A scheduled meeting on school transport was cancelled last week, but no link has been officially made to the internal dispute. **After the leak:** The video did not conclude with agreement or apology. It ended with open challenges, muted replies, and a group that could not resolve its own disputes. Reform still holds the chamber by numbers, but what was once concealed behind private calls now sits on record and cannot be taken back. --- #### **Three big reads** 1️⃣ There is a war in Faversham between the ‘patriots’ and the ‘de-flaggers,’ [writes the Telegraph](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/10/09/faversham-union-flag-division/?ref=kentcurrent.news), who attended an anti-immigration rally in the town and ironically found no one local speaking. They also talk to locals about the shifting perspectives some in the town have had on the flags. 2️⃣ The Times have [profiled Weald of Kent MP Katie Lam](https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/katie-lam-mp-hopeful-tory-party-leader-xd7bbjw09?ref=kentcurrent.news), described as one of the rising stars of the Conservative Party. In a sign of how far things have shifted, she talks about how she wants to kick legal migrants out of the country, as well as the illegal ones. 3️⃣ The New Statesman have gone [on patrol with Dover and Deal MP Mike Tapp](https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-politics/2025/10/on-patrol-with-labours-mike-tapp?ref=kentcurrent.news) as he goes out on a Border Force cutter trying to intercept drug smugglers. Tapp is described as one of Labour’s hawkish MPs on borders and immigration. --- #### **Council matters** **Meetings this week:** - **Medway:** [Cabinet](https://democracy.medway.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=115&MId=6238&ref=kentcurrent.news) meets on **Tuesday** to discuss a selective licensing scheme for landlords, a flag flying protocol, and a review of the taxi tariff. - **Ashford:** [Planning Committee](https://ashford.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=139&MId=4956&ref=kentcurrent.news) will meet on **Wednesday** to decide on the building of 97 homes in Kennington. - **Maidstone:** [Cabinet](https://maidstone.gov.uk/home/primary-services/council-and-democracy/primary-areas/your-councillors?sq%5Fcontent%5Fsrc=%2BdXJsPWh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGbWVldGluZ3MubWFpZHN0b25lLmdvdi51ayUyRmllTGlzdERvY3VtZW50cy5hc3B4JTNGQ0lkJTNENzQ4JTI2TUlkJTNENTYwNSZhbGw9MQ%3D%3D&ref=kentcurrent.news) will discuss on **Wednesday** the emerging Local Plan, the delivery of a pump track, and the creation of a new farmers’ market. - **Tunbridge Wells:** [Cabinet](https://democracy.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=118&MId=5903&ref=kentcurrent.news) gathers on **Thursday** to consider the pathway to net zero and a budget update. **New planning applications:** - **Medway:** Proposals to build [24 new flats](https://publicaccess1.medway.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=T3VIZNKNL5W00&ref=kentcurrent.news) above shops at the entrance to the Pentagon Shopping Centre on Chatham High Street. - **Tunbridge Wells:** A screening opinion has been submitted for [125 new homes](https://twbcpa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=T3TIE0TY0US00&activeTab=summary&ref=kentcurrent.news) on Spratsbrook Farm to the southwest of the town. - **Tunbridge Wells:** Outline application for [90 homes](https://twbcpa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=T2ZZOGTYIO600&activeTab=summary&ref=kentcurrent.news) on the former gasholder site on Sandhurst Road. --- #### **In brief** ⛴️ Gravesham MP Lauren Sullivan has called for some of the toll money raised from the Lower Thames Crossing to be [used to reinstate](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czdr1pgqnl5o?ref=kentcurrent.news) the Gravesend-Tilbury ferry. 💷 KentOnline has been talking to residents of Leysdown about how they would like £20m in Pride in Place funding [spent in their area](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sheerness/news/we-need-buses-shops-and-swings-how-we-would-spend-20m-t-331318/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🇪🇺 EU flags have started going up [on road signs in Kent](https://www.roads.org.uk/blog/red-white-and-blue?ref=kentcurrent.news), but not in the way you think. 🪧 Faversham and Mid Kent MP Helen Whately [staged a protest](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/low-turnout-for-mp-s-op-brock-protest-rally-331338/?ref=kentcurrent.news) against Operation Brock on Friday. A ‘handful’ of people turned up. 🐝 Asian hornet sightings have soared in Kent this year, with [110 nests found and destroyed](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/c4gwlwnkr44o?ref=kentcurrent.news) in what feels like an increasingly losing battle. 🏗️ Panattoni have acquired a 70-acre site in Lenham to [create a 1 million sq ft](https://bdcmagazine.com/2025/10/panattoni-acquires-key-site-in-kent-for-1m-sq-ft-industrial-development/?ref=kentcurrent.news) modern industrial development. ☕ Objections have been raised to a [new cafe near Margate](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/our-bay-is-unique-we-mustn-t-let-it-become-developed-and-331092/?ref=kentcurrent.news) because it would “destroy” the area by removing “essential” parking. ⚽ Subbuteo is returning to the county where it was created, with [Faversham hosting the Champions League and Europa League](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgw3290wwwo?ref=kentcurrent.news) of the tabletop sport this weekend. 🎥 Parts of the latest Alan Partridge series were shot in Kent, with some [scenes being shot at Castle Farm](https://cenemagazine.co.uk/news/new-alan-partridge-series-films-in-kent?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Lullingstone. 🫖 8,000 novelty teapots from Teapot Island [failed to sell at auction](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/it-s-such-a-pity-world-famous-collection-of-8-000-teapots-331158/?ref=kentcurrent.news) last week, and now face being broken up into smaller lots. --- #### **Events this week** 👩‍⚖️ Thu 23 Oct - [**Lady Hale: With The Law On Our Side**](https://canterburyfestival.co.uk/whats-on/lady-hale-with-the-law-on-our-side/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Former President of the Supreme Court talks through the law of the land. Augustine Hall, Canterbury. Tickets £14.50. 🖥️ 24 - 26 Oct - [**Electric Medway Festival: Aurora**](https://www.electricmedway.org/festival.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Showcase of high-quality digital art made within the community. Various locations. Free. --- #### **Footnotes** *Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via *hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news* \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* **Enjoying the Kent Current? Pass it on.* If you know someone who’d like this too, forward them this email and invite them to subscribe.* ### "We should wave our flags more" URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/we-should-wave-our-flags-more/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:54:23.000Z *Councillor Matt Boughton is the Conservative leader of Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council. He talks with Steven about his route to becoming a Conservative councillor and council leader, his thoughts on local government reorganisation, how confident he is that there won’t be any defections from his group, and lots more.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f89cd5a8e-37fc-4c91-a54c-db44f90b45b2_1400x788-jpeg-1.jpg) Matt Boughton **What is your official occupation?** I’m leader of Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council. That’s my job. I still do work part-time for Tom Tugendhat. I’ve been his office manager. I still do bits and bobs for Tom and help him with stuff there. I also have another role at Local Government Association, which started last month, and that’s chairing their Safer and Stronger Communities Committee. That role effectively is representing local government nationally on areas related to antisocial behaviour, crime prevention and democracy and election issues, which is quite interesting. I’m enjoying that so far. **Do you have any other additional roles, paid or unpaid?** I’m also a football referee. I’ve done that since 2007. **What does your average day entail?** My average day starts at eight o’clock in the morning. I’ve got a one-year-old daughter. I like to get up and see her. Ordinarily, there’ll be lots of meetings, lots of internal meetings with the officers at the council. I’ll be going out to visit businesses or residents. I try and meet as many people as I possibly can. Particularly in the last year, lots of Kent-wide meetings about reorganisation and devolution. Obviously, catch-ups with Cabinet members and with members of my group about particular issues. We meet in the evening, like most councils do, and I think should, because that makes it accessible. More often than not, there’s an evening meeting or a parish council meeting to attend or a community meeting. After that, anything I’ve not done during the day, certainly in terms of emails, gets caught up on until midnight, basically, in which I force myself to bed. It really is nonstop, and the in-tray is never empty at all. I’d like to have a little bit of a structure to my day in terms of trying to do as many meetings as I can in the daytime, as many visits in the day. **Where are you at the moment? Where am I speaking to you from?** You are speaking to me from my office in the council offices at Kings Hill. **Why are you not at *(Conservative Party)* conference?** Three reasons. The first reason is I went last year, but I was doing Tom Tugendhat’s leadership campaign. My God, was that hassle beyond belief. It’s good fun if you see what I mean, but it was tiring, and I think I was scarred from that in some ways. Not in a bad way, but it was a very different thing. The second reason is a practical reason. It’s in Manchester, not Birmingham. It’s further to go. We have to pay from our own pockets. Being council leader doesn’t make you a millionaire. There’s a financial cost. I’ve got a wife, a mortgage, a daughter, a cat to look after. The third reason is I simply have a lot to do. I didn’t need to go. If anyone who has invited me to any fringe event wants to see me that much then I’ll tell them the door is open. That’s a great way of weeding out the invites. **As council leader, are you the leader of a minority or is it a coalition?** It’s partnership we have in Tonbridge and Malling. Effectively, after the last elections, we had 20 Conservatives, and we needed 23 to get a majority. We couldn’t quite get to 23, but with two independents from the Independent Alliance Kent Party, we’ve got 22\. 22 Conservatives and Independent Alliance against 11 Lib Dems, 8 Greens and 3 Labour. That also took you to 22\. The mayor at the time had to use his casting vote to elect me as the leader of the council, having just got in on his casting vote from the previous mayor. It was a bit tight, shall we say. **Are you now leader for the whole term? Does that change every year when you get a new mayor?** You get elected as leader for a four-year term under our constitution.Now obviously, since then our position has been strengthened, because we gained a seat from Labour in a by-election in Snodland East in May. We’ve now got 21 Conservatives, but we remain in partnership with the Independent Alliance Kent Party. It’s now 23-21 in our favour. I don’t face a vote every year like they do in some councils. I carry on until the council decides to get rid of me, really. But it does influence your leadership style in terms of you’re in no overall control, even though you’re in partnership and by its very nature, you need to take a much more collaborative approach. Two years before, when I had a majority, I always tried to collaborate as best I could with all of the opposition parties, regardless of how much I agreed or disagreed with them to identify those areas of agreement and focus on them. That made it easier, doing that groundwork. I like to think the last two and a half years have been considered a relative success, given our numbers mean we could have ended up in a position in which it could have got unstable quickly. **How did you end up becoming the leader? Why did you want it?** It goes back to 39 Conservatives at the time in 2021\. That’s when I became leader of the council. My predecessor got a new job, and he resigned quite suddenly. One of my colleagues, sadly she lost her seat in 2023, submitted a nomination form for me. She did it at four o’clock in the morning. I didn’t know until I woke up. She thought I was the right person for the job, and then basically went on, with a couple of her colleagues, this lobbying spree for me. I was chatting with my wife, and I was on the back benchers at the time. I wasn’t in a leadership position or anything. I’ll go for it, and if I get it, great, and I’ll make the best of it, and if I don’t get it, that’s absolutely fine. I’ll still be loyal and supportive. I got it, which meant that I’m actually prepared for the role very much because this happened, I think, over a few days. I know that some of my councillors have great sympathy with what Reform, as do I, on some issues, but on others, I couldn’t think of anything worse than joining Reform. **In the news, there have been defections occurring from the Conservatives. Are you fully expecting to still be at 21 councillors by the end of the year?** I very much hope to be at 21 councillors. I like to think, as a group leader, I keep in touch with my councillors both in terms of what they’re doing as councillors, but also personally too. I think it’s important. You’ve got duty of care to your members, and look, I know that some of my councillors have great sympathy with what Reform, as do I, on some issues, but on others, I couldn’t think of anything worse than joining Reform. I don’t think I’ll lose any councillors, but who knows? **Just to ask the question, have you given any consideration to changing party?** No. I’m too dyed-in-the-wool Conservative. That’s the thing. The Conservative Party’s been very good to me. **Who has been the best leader of the party during your membership?** We’ve had a few, haven’t we? I would say probably David Cameron. He was the first leader I knew, and I think he’ll go down as one of those underrated Prime Ministers. I mean, to keep the coalition going five years was a good effort, I have to say, both from him and Nick Clegg and Lib Dems, to be fair. He then got the majority in 2015, and obviously, because of Brexit and how it ended, it was a real shame, because I felt that actually had the potential to do some good for the country. I think since 2016 until 2024, the Conservative Party has, in one shape or form, laid out its disagreements in public and that resulted more than anything in the General Election result last year. I think in terms of stability, definitely David Cameron. **In your time as a member, the party has had a number of leaders. How confident are you that your current leader will see you into the next General Election?** I’m confident that she will, absolutely. I think Kemi has been true to her word in terms of her campaign was all about we’re going to renew the party, we’re going to look towards 2030\. She wasn’t going to see results by 2025, and she delivered on what she said in her leadership campaign. I think the problem for the Conservative Party is that we’ve got a huge legacy from the reason that we were kicked out of government. Time will heal to some degree, but we need to present ourselves as being serious. We also need to present ourselves as being a more conservative party than Reform. The announcement on stamp duty is a brilliant example of this. Reform, they say stuff on migration that is absolutely in line with what lot of conservatives think, and I’ve got great sympathy for that, but they are not economic conservatives at all. They are high tax, spend. You see that in their views on things like the two-child benefit cap. I’m an economic conservative. You asked me about why I’m a conservative in the first place. It’s the economy that matters a lot to me. I think that’s how you generate growth, and you generate that feeling and that sense of place by having a good strong economy, by having people who’ve got disposable income. I think we’re still the party best placed to do that. That’s where Kemi needs to park her tank on that lawn. The more that we can do that, the quicker the recovery for the Conservative Party nationally can become. **Obviously, at Conservative Party conference, there’s been topics that have hit the headlines. Should the UK leave the ECHR *(European Convention on Human Rights)*?** It’s inevitable that we have to now. Ideally, you’d reform it, but I think that the problems that it has now caused are now of such a scale that we’re going to have to leave it if we’re to address the issues that people care about. **Are judges enemies of the people?** I don’t think so. Fortunately, I’ve never had that much involvement with any judges or ever appeared in front of one or the judicial system. I think part of the problem we’ve got is that, actually, sentences for some crimes in this country are just far too low. We need to address that, I think, as people involved in policies. **Are people studying English at university wasting their time and money?** No, because I think you need subject specialists in every single area. I think there is a broader question about the value of university degrees as opposed to apprenticeships, and actually just encouraging people to do apprenticeships or go straight into the workplace or work-based qualification, rather than going to university as default. I went to the University of Sussex, I got a politics degree, and I got a 2:1, and that’s jolly good. But if I think about why I went there, I went there because it was the default that I was doing. Politics was what I’d enjoyed doing in sixth form. I thought I would study it more at university. I’d have liked to have the opportunity to think a bit deeper about that. I think if people have the opportunity between the ages of 14 to 18 to think a bit deeper than that, then actually that gives them better life chances. I’m not blaming my teachers. Oakwood Park Grammar was a good school. I really enjoyed it there, particularly in my later years. I’m not blaming the teachers at all one bit, and I think careers advice has moved on significantly, but they judged themselves in their exam results, and that meant getting people into good universities. I was on that conveyor belt. **What is an unpopular opinion you have amongst council leaders?** Oh, amongst council leaders, that’s a really good question. Council leaders in Kent, other than Dartford and Sevenoaks, are all very left-wing. Most of my views are probably unpopular on wider political stuff. I’m not necessarily saying it’s unpopular, but in terms of reorganisation, I am signed up to the principle of unitary authorities, and that might be unpopular with some of my colleagues and council leaders. I think the way they’re implementing this current reorganisation the government are doing is just appallingly bad in many of the process bits, but the principle of having unitary authorities, one council that does everything, is one that actually you can engage me in a conversation. I’m not going to turn around and say “No, I am wedded to the two-tier system.” **In that case, let’s engage you in the conversation of local government reorganisation as it is happening.** _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Protecting imaginary countryside URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/protecting-imaginary-countryside/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:54:27.000Z *Councils like to talk a good game about the transition to clean energy, but how many of them actually match that talk with action? It’s becoming common to see councils block solar farms and green energy developments, and today we have an infuriating case from Dartford. Further down, we have news of Reform losing another county councillor as part of a misconduct row, new hope for international rail services returning to Ashford, news in brief, and more.* --- #### Protecting imaginary countryside Dartford Borough Council was expected to [decide last night](https://dartford.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=107&MId=3426&ref=kentcurrent.news) whether to block one of the largest battery storage projects in the UK. Not because it posed any danger or technical risk, but because planning officers believe the development in Southfleet would harm the “rural character” of land wedged between an eight-lane dual carriageway, two railway lines, a waste depot, and a garden centre car park. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fb0a6ac65-a1b9-4750-a914-591eabd1b730_2500x1406-jpeg-1.jpg) The [Dartford Energy Hub](https://www.clearstoneenergy.com/project/dartfordenergyhub/?ref=kentcurrent.news) is a £200 million, 300MW battery site proposed by Clearstone Energy. It is designed to store excess electricity from wind and solar farms and release it back into the grid when demand rises. National Grid has already warned that without large-scale storage, the UK cannot reach net zero targets or take full advantage of renewable generation. If approved, it would be one of the largest installations of its kind. It would run without permanent staffing and produce no emissions. The location was selected because it already sits within an infrastructure corridor, close to grid connections and away from homes. To the north sit the A2 and High Speed 1\. The Pepperhill Household Waste and Recycling Centre and Millbrook Garden Centre are to the east. Pylons stride across the fields. Across Station Road are polytunnels and storage containers. Even Dartford’s officers classify the land as ‘Grey Belt,’ acknowledging it no longer performs meaningful Green Belt duties. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f4bf3dc84-3ca6-49aa-abbe-c11c997479be_2612x1570-png.jpg) The proposed site for the Dartford Energy Centre. There are no footpaths across it. No one walks there. No one paints it. The only view is a sideways glimpse through a car window. But officers insist the project would “greatly alter and harm the rural character of the area,” objecting in particular to “unnatural, perfectly flat platforms,” as though flatness is more offensive than nearby embankments and sliproads. What marks this case out is how little opposition came from national bodies normally keen to intervene. Historic England was content. The Environment Agency accepted the drainage plan. Kent Fire and Rescue raised no objection. Highways authorities at county and national levels were satisfied. Natural England, which routinely objects to just about everything, stood aside. Silence from them means there is nothing to protect on the site. Public comment was minimal. 18 letters supported the scheme. 14 opposed it. Supporters noted the obvious point that if energy infrastructure cannot be placed beside a motorway and a substation, there is nowhere left for it to go. Opponents warned of industrialisation, despite being surrounded by the visible evidence of it. Officers acknowledged the land is of limited agricultural value, severed by infrastructure, and could be restored after 40 years. They noted a projected biodiversity gain of 13% through new hedgerows and woodland. But they held firm. Visual impact was the line that could not be crossed. This is now a familiar feature of planning in Kent. Councils express support for climate action, but recoil when its physical form arrives. Solar farms are treated as intrusions. Substations are treated as threats. Words like ‘ambition’ and ‘transition’ remain welcome. The idea of clean energy is accepted, but the sight of it is not. National planning policy requires significant weight to be given to renewable and low-carbon projects. The Dartford report does not. It elevates the theoretical appearance of a field nobody visits above the national need to store power already being produced. It treats infrastructure as alien, even in a landscape already dominated by it. At the heart of this argument is a refusal to accept what the land has become. What is being protected is not countryside. This land will never host pastoral life. It will never be a view walked through. It is part of the service corridor of a modern county. Officers are not defending a living landscape. They are defending an empty gap. If we can accept that energy infrastructure has to exist in visible places and that this location is as logical as any. Or councils can assert that no corner of Kent will ever be suitable, no matter how saturated with infrastructure. If they choose the latter, they will push the responsibility elsewhere and pretend the consequence stops at the boundary. There are signs the decision may not even be allowed to play out. There are unconfirmed reports that the application was withdrawn following the officer recommendation. If true, the developer may rework its plan or walk away entirely. Withdrawal does not suggest caution but a belief that refusal is inevitable. Unfortunately, we cannot confirm this at the time of publication as Dartford Borough Council doesn’t appear to stream their meetings online, and the council’s press team didn’t respond to our questions. This points to a deeper issue. If developers begin pulling large-scale energy projects before they reach public vote, it means local government is developing a reputation beyond negotiation. It means national infrastructure will bypass counties like Kent entirely. The grid will still expand. The question is whether Kent will host any part of it or simply import power from places willing to change. The idea that the landscape must remain visually untouched is not sustainable. The infrastructure of the last century already occupies it. The question is whether it can now support the infrastructure of the next. Batteries cannot remain hypothetical. They must exist on land. If not here, then where? Kent cannot continue to talk about climate ambition while refusing every site that carries consequence. Leaving a field untouched on a map will not lower emissions. Preserving an image will not keep the power on. The view from Station Road may remain exactly the same. The cost of keeping it will appear somewhere else. --- #### Reform suspends councillor in misconduct row Reform has suspended Kent county councillor Robert Ford, who represents Maidstone Rural West, following allegations of misconduct made by multiple women. Ford, who was elected in May as part of Reform’s sweeping of 57 seats, will now sit as an independent while an internal investigation takes place. His removal marks the third loss for the party in Kent since the local elections, deepening scrutiny over how a group that entered County Hall promising discipline and disruption is increasingly becoming defined by internal upheaval. ![Councillor details - Robert Ford](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f39919f22-8b08-4f8f-8039-c634fbff0d7c_200x300-jpeg.jpg) Cllr Robert Ford. The circumstances around Ford’s suspension are already disputed. Reform briefed that it had received an informal complaint from several women, reportedly concerning inappropriate or lewd remarks, and that Ford was offered a meeting with the whips’ office to respond. According to the party, he declined to engage with that process, leaving them “no choice” but to suspend him. Ford contests that account entirely. In comments to both the BBC and ITV, he said he only became aware of the allegations “a few hours” before his suspension was made public, claiming he heard of them via a third party and had not been given any details. He has denied wrongdoing and suggested he will consider legal action against those making the complaints. Ford had been appointed to the Kent & Medway Fire & Rescue Authority committee, but otherwise, he hadn’t made a big impression on the council. [His X account](https://x.com/BobFord1966?ref=kentcurrent.news) is oddly light on content but features a lot of photographs he’s taken at council meetings. This is the latest in a run of controversies for Reform in Kent. Earlier this year, Cliftonville councillor Daniel Taylor was suspended and now awaits trial over allegations including threats to kill his wife. Another Reform councillor resigned the whip and defected to UKIP. Less than five months into their first term holding significant power on the council, the party’s momentum is being overshadowed by internal crises, disciplinary disputes and departures. Reform entered rural and suburban Kent with the promise of straight talking and accountability, positioning itself as an alternative to what it portrayed as complacent establishment politics. Instead, it has spent much of its short tenure responding (or [not responding](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kent-reform-councillors-pictured/)) to misconduct allegations involving its own councillors. Ford’s case, with its conflicting accounts and threatened legal escalation, leaves the party facing another prolonged and public test of credibility, one that it cannot easily blame on opponents. Whether the investigation concludes quietly or expands into something more serious, the question lingering over Reform in Kent is no longer how it governs others, but how it governs itself. --- #### Kent edges closer to a return of cross-channel services For the first time since Eurostar abandoned Kent, there is a credible plan on the table to bring international rail services back, and it isn’t coming from the company that left. Italy’s state rail operator, Ferrovie dello Stato (FS), has confirmed it is preparing a bid to run services through the Channel Tunnel, with Ashford International proposed as its first UK hub. It is talking about investment of up to £1bn, Paris connections by 2029, and a specific commitment to stop in Kent. This matters because it moves the conversation on from protest to possibility. Until now, Kent has been making a case. Now someone with trains, capital and intent is making one too. Only a month ago, [we watched the old Eurostar lounge at Ashford briefly come back to life](https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-long-wait-for-paris/) with a ribbon, a performance, a minister assuring the room that “the government hears you,” before it fell silent again. That event felt symbolic. FS’s arrival makes it strategic. If Eurostar won’t return, others are now willing to try. There are still serious obstacles. No operator can run from Kent without access to the Temple Mills depot in London, currently controlled by Eurostar. The rail regulator, the ORR, has hinted that capacity could be opened. Eurostar insists it is already full. That decision will determine whether this new competition becomes real or remains theoretical. But unlike previous expressions of interest, FS is not speaking in hypotheticals. It already runs cross-border services in Europe. It already has rolling stock in development. It already operates at scale. The economic argument behind Kent’s campaign is also clearer than ever. Before the pandemic, only 4% of Eurostar passengers boarded at Ashford or Ebbsfleet. Local leaders believe those numbers reflected retreat, not demand. Business groups have run out of patience, and tourism bodies talk of falling European visitors. Political voices on both sides of the channel want the services to return. Other competitors are now queueing up. Virgin has submitted its own bid for Tunnel access. Gemini Trains plans services that would call at Ebbsfleet en route to Brussels and Cologne. All of them name Kent. None of them repeats Eurostar’s argument that stopping here is not viable. No one is promising an immediate return. FS acknowledges that services would take years to build. But this is the first time since trains stopped that a major operator has publicly committed to Kent. It shifts the question from if back to when, and from pleading to planning. What happens next will be decided in boardrooms and regulator briefings, but Kent is back on the departure board for the first time in years. --- #### In brief 🚓 Kent Police has [apologised and paid damages](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/oct/13/kent-police-apologise-palestine-protester-laura-murton?ref=kentcurrent.news) to a woman who was threatened with arrest under the Terrorism Act for holding a Palestinian flag at a protest in Canterbury. 📣 An Oxford student from Tunbridge Wells [has been arrested](https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/oxford-student-zios-ground-arrested-b1253043.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) after leading a chant of ‘put the Zios in the ground’ at a pro-Palestinian rally in London. 🏥 In another sign that everything is going well at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, the café again [had to be screened off](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/hospital-caf-screened-off-again-as-government-steps-in-to-h-331179/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to give privacy to patients being treated in corridors. 🚗 Delays at the Dartford Crossing [have increased](https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/dartford-crossing-delays-increase-as-fees-hiked?ref=kentcurrent.news) in the month since the toll to cross was increased by £1. 🏚️ The Regulator of Social Housing [has found ‘serious failings’](https://www.housingtoday.co.uk/news/canterbury-city-council-fails-to-meet-consumer-standards/5138733.article?ref=kentcurrent.news) with the safety and quality of housing stock at Canterbury City Council. 🗳️ Sevenoaks District Council held an [Extraordinary Council meeting this evening](https://cds.sevenoaks.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=121&MId=3655&J=1&ref=kentcurrent.news) to pass a motion of no confidence in council leader Roddy Hogarth. The move is the latest twist in a turbulent time at the council, sparked by nine Conservatives who broke away from the ruling party to form the West Kent Independents. Cllr Hogarth previously said [he would be willing to stand down](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sevenoaks/news/council-leader-i-ll-resign-to-make-peace-with-tory-rebels-331240/?ref=kentcurrent.news) if the splinter group returned to the fold. --- #### More Currents For our midweek column, former MEP and Development Manager for the Federation of Small Businesses in Kent, Tim Aker, [writes on the political changes](https://www.kentcurrent.news/change-isnt-coming-it-is-here/) sweeping our county and country, and their likely impact. [Change isn’t coming. It is here.Today, we’re welcoming the first column by Tim Aker, former UKIP MEP and Development Manager for the Federation of Small Businesses in Kent and Medway. Drawing on his years in election trenches and business battles, Tim will offer insider perspectives on the shifting state of British politics and business with the candour of someone on the front lines.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f8d4a4c7f-19fc-4e7c-87d7-4ed0b87571a5_567x567-2.png)Kent Current![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f58be8d38-dfd4-4ad2-b93d-df2424307226_6318x4212-jpeg.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/change-isnt-coming-it-is-here/) [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup) --- #### Footnotes *Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via *hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news* \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* **Enjoying the Kent Current? Pass it on.* If you know someone who’d like this too, forward them this email and invite them to subscribe.* ### Change isn’t coming. It is here. URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/change-isnt-coming-it-is-here/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:54:29.000Z *Today, we’re welcoming the first column by *Tim Aker*, former UKIP MEP and Development Manager for the Federation of Small Businesses in Kent and Medway. Drawing on his years in election trenches and business battles, Tim will offer insider perspectives on the shifting state of British politics and business with the candour of someone on the front lines.* #### Change isn’t coming. It is here. **by Tim Aker** I guess the best way to begin this regular column is to introduce myself. I have a very interesting future behind me. I’ve been in the cut and thrust of politics for many years, far more than I ever anticipated. I was an MEP during Brexit. I was a parliamentary candidate in one of the closest fought races in 2015\. I’ve been a local councillor dealing with the grassroots issues of politics: homelessness and housing, school places, care for the elderly. If pressed, the latter I found most rewarding. Helping individual residents with their issues and needs, genuinely changing lives and doing what we were elected to do: representation and delivery. I like to think I did alright. I was returned at my final election as an independent with the highest percentage and raw vote I achieved in all my council elections. It’s that one that mattered to me the most. I can give you chapter and verse about the rest, but I’d rather direct you to the [interview with the editor](https://www.kentcurrent.news/you-get-a-lot-more-political-power/) I gave a few months ago. That was then, this is now. Change has not only come to Kent, but it is also coming to the country. Prior to the 1979 election, Prime Minister James Callaghan took his aide Bernard Donoghue to one side and confided in him that the future would be different. He felt the mood of change in the air, that the country was ready - and willing - for the economic, social and political change that was to come. And there was little that anyone could do about it. That is happening now. The Reform tsunami in May heralded a complete clear out at County Hall. A new politics and way of doing things that doesn’t appear to be slowing down. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f58be8d38-dfd4-4ad2-b93d-df2424307226_6318x4212-jpeg-2.jpg) Change has already come to County Hall, with more to follow. Kent’s political boundaries may soon change. Indeed, and most perplexing of all, it is something that people are generally interested in. I posted about it on my [LinkedIn page](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/tim-aker%5Fdid-you-see-the-proposed-boundaries-for-the-activity-7362033913306697728-8uCd?utm%5Fsource=share&utm%5Fmedium=member%5Fdesktop&rcm=ACoAACxvL9UB-xiG69nS7wqF19D2QW7u-vvM9yY), and, whether this says more about my other posts, it generated tens of thousands of impressions and is my best performing post to date. Yet could it be stopped? This reorganisation was ushered in during the Christmas period last year, and the ministers who proposed it are no longer in place. More prescient are the concerns that the tax base will not be broad enough to maintain social and elderly care. There are concerns for the viability of any East Kent authority proposed under any recommended boundaries. Also, what about debt transfers? KCC and Medway have significant debt levels. What happens to that? _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### A distant war reaches the gates of BAE URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/a-distant-war-reaches-the-gates-of/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:54:36.000Z *Good morning, Kent. We hope you had a lovely weekend. We’re back with another Monday briefing to catch you up on what is happening in the county and let you know what’s coming up this week.* *Thanks for the positive feedback on our first Monday briefing last week. We’ll be introducing new sections to this over the coming weeks, to make this your go-to destination for summing up the week across our county.* *Today, we’re examining a protest at the gates of Kent’s largest weapons manufacturer, after pro-Palestinian campaigners descended to demand a stop to the arming of Israel. We have some big reads on KCC diverting money from the school’s budget, a dispute in Sole Street, and very important news from the University of Kent on the ability to grow tea on the moon.* --- #### **Catch up** If you missed any of our reporting over the past week, here’s your chance to catch up: - For our big weekend interview, we sat down with [Melissa Todd, writer, performer, and kink-based sex worker](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-have-had-a-few-cabinet-ministers/). It’s an enlightening and wide-ranging conversation with someone who has had a fascinating life. - In our Thursday edition, [we covered the big stories from across the county](https://www.kentcurrent.news/not-magic/), including the impending rise of council tax at County Hall, five Kent Conservatives defecting to Reform, and yet again, some old tweets returning to haunt a sitting councillor. --- #### **A distant war reaches the gates of BAE** Protesters blocked the gates outside BAE Systems in Rochester last week, Palestinian flags lifting in the wind as around 200 people gathered at the site, calling for an end to UK arms exports used in Israel’s F-35 fighter jets. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f7f9b9529-78c9-41f2-8c0a-2dd3f9b204ae_4000x2250-jpeg-1.jpg) **At the gates:** The demonstration, organised by Medway Palestine Solidarity Campaign, began outside the Marconi Way entrance before moving to the junction with City Way. Chants of ‘free, free Palestine’ and ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ accompanied banners reading End the Genocide and Stop Arming Israel. A red cardboard heart left against the fence read ‘Break Up With BAE.’ Protest marshals guided the crowd, and police officers kept a close watch on events. Protesters eventually lined a roundabout, some holding placards toward passing drivers who sounded their horns. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f6ad0651c-a3c2-4e30-a465-34e779f51f10_4000x2250-jpeg.jpg) **What was said:** Speakers focused their anger on BAE’s role in the F-35 programme. One protester claimed the company’s technology had taken 57,000 lives. Ajaib Hussain, of Medway Interfaith Action, accused the company of “cashing cheques while funerals replace birthdays in Gaza,” and said there was “nothing complicated about standing on the side of the oppressed.” Steve Wilkins of Medway PSC told supporters the demonstration would not be the last held at the Rochester plant. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f166d1fcf-1fa3-46d0-b9c6-b588b6307ca0_4000x2250-jpeg.jpg) **Why it matters:** BAE is one of Medway’s largest private employers and the UK’s biggest defence contractor. The Rochester site produces the Active Interceptor System, used in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft. According to Campaign Against Arms Trade, around 15% of each jet is manufactured in the UK. The company has faced controversy in the past, including a halted investigation into alleged corruption involving [Saudi arms deals](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Yamamah%5Farms%5Fdeal?ref=kentcurrent.news). BAE has said it complies with all UK export regulations and has not commented on the Rochester protest. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fc63b002e-88bb-439f-9065-ae11783dbab2_4000x2250-jpeg.jpg) **Watched from afar:** The demonstration drew national and international media attention. PoliticsJoe [filmed on location](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c%5Fld0krMYUo&ref=kentcurrent.news), while Press TV, Iran’s state-owned broadcaster, interviewed demonstrators. Their presence underscored how a factory in Kent has entered a wider dispute over arms, responsibility and the war in Gaza. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f77380f50-9446-4de6-8b0f-1096d6fad522_4000x2250-jpeg.jpg) **What comes next:** Organisers say they intend to return to the site and increase pressure on local MPs to support an arms embargo. No Kent political figures have publicly responded to the protest or to calls for scrutiny of BAE’s role. The demonstration ended without incident. The banners came down, the crowd dispersed, and the factory behind the gates continued its day. Yet the images left behind signalled that this argument is now playing out in Kent and will likely return in the future. --- #### **Three big reads** 1️⃣ Schools Week believes Kent’s Reform-led administration is planning to [cut £2m from the schools budget](https://schoolsweek.co.uk/reform-run-kent-council-plans-2m-school-budget-raid/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to divert to other parts of the budget that it can no longer afford. KCC itself says the changes are “not new” and reflect changes across the sector. 2️⃣ The Daily Mail has a lengthy piece on a [dispute between residents of Sole Street and travellers](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15177449/How-country-idyll-middle-class-residents-800k-homes-picture-postcard-Kent-hamlet-turned-living-hell.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) who have set up camp nearby. Last weekend, century-old oak trees were cut down in the middle of the night, which residents believe is so that homes can be moved onto an unauthorised encampment. 3️⃣ Critical [research from the University of Kent](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/09/18/tea-grown-moon-kent-university/?ref=kentcurrent.news) has discovered that tea can be grown on the moon. --- #### **In brief** 🏗️ Ministers are to [take control of the Lower Thames Crossing scheme](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/oct/12/uk-ministers-take-control-of-10bn-lower-thames-crossing?ref=kentcurrent.news). The £10bn project will now be managed by the Department for Transport instead of National Highways. 🚄 An Italian operator says they will [return international rail services to Ashford](https://www.thetimes.com/business-money/companies/article/ashford-international-eurostar-rival-ferrovie-dello-stato-italiane-gwjqk98h8?ref=kentcurrent.news) if they get permission to operate cross-Channel trains. 🗳️ After discovering a paperwork error, [Birchington Parish Council will face a fresh election for all ten seats](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2327d4974o?ref=kentcurrent.news). As a result, the May 2023 election administered by Thanet District Council has been declared void. 🏘️ Plans for ten (that’s ten) homes will cause “[chaos and misery](https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/plans-new-homes-edge-kent-10567218?ref=kentcurrent.news)” according to locals campaigning against the proposal. 📣 Kent County Council and Medway Council are [to work together on Brand Kent](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/brand-kent-reinstating-a-visitor-economy-and-inward-investment-service?ref=kentcurrent.news), in an effort to continue the work of the recently shuttered Visit Kent and Locate in Kent. 📻 West Kent Radio is attempting to [expand into Sevenoaks](https://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/2025/news/radio-station-bids-to-fill-gap-left-by-decline-of-local-print-journalism/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to fill the gap ‘left by the decline of local print journalism.’ ⚽ Chatham Town have [advanced to the first round of the FA Cup proper](https://www.facebook.com/chathamtownfc/posts/%F0%9D%9F%B5%F0%9D%9F%B3-%F0%9D%98%86%F0%9D%97%B2%F0%9D%97%AE%F0%9D%97%BF%F0%9D%98%80-%F0%9D%97%B6%F0%9D%97%BB-%F0%9D%98%81%F0%9D%97%B5%F0%9D%97%B2-%F0%9D%97%BA%F0%9D%97%AE%F0%9D%97%B8%F0%9D%97%B6%F0%9D%97%BB%F0%9D%97%B4-chatham-town-advance-into-the-emirates-fa-cup-first-round/1395087225957242/) for the first time in 97 years. 🪦 Efforts to rectify the injustice for ‘witches’ killed in Kent have been [escalated to the Home Secretary](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/oct/10/calls-for-uk-government-to-pardon-women-executed-for-witchcraft?ref=kentcurrent.news), in efforts to secure them a formal pardon. ⛪ Some awful people are [upset about Canterbury Cathedral’s new art installation](https://www.christianpost.com/news/jd-vance-elon-musk-rebuke-church-of-england-for-mocking-god.html?ref=kentcurrent.news). --- #### **Events this week** 🎤 Wed 15 Oct - [**Rosie Jones: I Can’t Tell What She’s Saying**](https://thegulbenkian.co.uk/events/rosie-jones-i-cant-tell-what-shes-saying/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // New show from BAFTA-nominated comedian. Gulbenkian Theatre, Canterbury. Tickets £18. 🤼 Sat 18 Oct - [**Tables, Ladders and Scares**](https://www.fatsoma.com/e/v5p2rekp/ukpw-live-wrestling-in-maidstone-tables-ladders-scares-v?ref=kentcurrent.news) // UKPW deliver their biggest and wildest wrestling show of the year. Lockmeadow, Maidstone. Tickets from £12.50. 🐐 Sun 19 Oct - [**Goat. Book. Dad.**](https://favershamfringe.co.uk/goat-book-dad?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Steven Todd’s one-man play about the relationship between a man and his dad. No goats in the performance. Alexander Centre, Faversham. Tickets £6. --- #### **Can you help us?** So many of our best tips come from readers, so we’re going to start throwing out what we’re working on, with the hope that some of our incredible readers might be able to contribute some knowledge. Here’s where we could currently use some local knowledge: - We still want to speak to anyone who knows what is happening with Deal’s former Regent Cinema site. The council sold the original cinema to private developers in 2011 under the condition that a cinema would be retained on the site, but 14 years later, the building sits crumbling. If you have any knowledge of what’s going on, we’d love to hear from you. If you can help with this story, or have something else we might be interested in, contact us via ***hello AT kentcurrent DOT news*** \- we’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance… --- #### **Footnotes** *Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via *hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news* \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* **Enjoying the Kent Current? Pass it on.* If you know someone who’d like this too, forward them this email and invite them to subscribe.* ### “I have had a few Cabinet ministers over my knee” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-have-had-a-few-cabinet-ministers/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:54:37.000Z [*Melissa Todd*](https://melissatodd.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *has a show,* [*Gag Writer*](https://favershamfringe.co.uk/gag-writer?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, at the Faversham Fringe on Sunday 12 October, where she will be joking about her experiences as a kink sex worker. Steven spoke with her to discuss how she started sex work, her books, and who is the most famous person she has ever spanked.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fcb3c827f-b011-4d2f-bf99-45913fd52eb5_1713x1285-jpeg-1.jpg) Melissa Todd. **What is your official occupation?** Gosh, I’m a disciplinarian kink model and porn producer, but I also write books and articles, and apparently, I do shows at [Faversham Fringe](https://favershamfringe.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news), which is a surprise to me. **Do you have any other additional roles, paid or unpaid?** I have property as well. I’m a landlord, I guess. I’m kind of embarrassed about it, but there it is. Porn brings a lot of money. I didn’t know what else to do with it, and I’m very nice. All my tenants are on benefits with massive dogs. **That’s a whole thing in itself. “I made all this money in porn, I don’t know what to do with it, I’ve become a landlord.”** I get no sympathy. **You’re also a columnist?** Yes, I write for [Metro](https://metro.co.uk/author/melissa-todd/?ref=kentcurrent.news), [KentOnline](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/authors/melissa-todd/?ref=kentcurrent.news), and [Love It!](https://www.loveitmagazine.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) magazine, from whom I got this book out a couple of months ago. It’s my [129 best-ever columns in Love It!](https://www.waterstones.com/book/gag-writer/melissa-todd/9798308328230?ref=kentcurrent.news) It was meant to be 120, but I can’t count it, turns out. **You mentioned your book of columns, but that isn’t your first book. What was your first book?** My first book is called [My Body is My Business](https://www.waterstones.com/book/my-body-is-my-business/melissa-todd/9781914498138?ref=kentcurrent.news). That came out in 2021, and it’s a fictionalised account of my career in the sex industry. Moving through from stripping into webcam and into domination and porn. But it is fictionalised. It’s about 80% true, but I don’t really like biographies. I’ve got an MA in Creative Writing. I thought, I’ll make use of that and fictionalise it. That way, if there’s anything my husband objects to, I can just say “Oh, that’s not true.” **How did you first enter sex work?** Oh gosh, I just answered an ad in the Evening Standard. I was reading Philosophy, Politics, Economics, but I went mad, which a lot of people do in their first year. I just hated it. It wasn’t for me. I dropped out and decided to take a year out to become less mad. During the course of that year, I saw this ad in the Evening Standard saying dancers wanted, you’ll make £600 a night, no experience necessary. I loved dancing and money, and I had no experience of anything at all. I thought this is ideal. That year out became, well, 30 years out and counting. I’d always been naughty. I never really liked following the rules, doing as I was told. I’d always been interested in sex work. My mum used to take me around Soho when I was about seven or eight, and I was fascinated by all the models in the window and the thigh-high boots and all of that. I know feminists always say, ‘No little girl ever dreams of being a stripper,’ but I really did. I always thought that was going to be the life for me. It’s been brilliant, and I regret nothing. If you’re into tits, that’s not kink. But if you’re into toenails, that seems more unusual. **How would you describe kink?** Oh, what an interesting question. I don’t know. I suppose it’s any sort of sexual interest that isn’t straightforward missionary with the lights off. My particular version of kink is mainly spanking, causing people pain or having pain done to me. But I do other sorts of kink as well. I do people who are interested in feet or splosh or wee occasionally or bursting balloons. Yes, it’s anything that’s sexually interesting that isn’t normally sexualised, I suppose. If you’re into tits, that’s not kink. But if you’re into toenails, that seems more unusual. That’s a really cute question. Why have I never thought to ask myself that? **I’m slightly worried, but I’ve started, so I’ll finish. What is splosh?** Oh, it’s when people get covered in custard and food stuff, baked beans, chilli sauce, yoghurt, meringues. There’s a lot of that about at the moment. **For want of better phrasing, how did you get into kink?** Well, I was stripping in Soho, which I guess is another story. But a man came in, and he was a model talent scout for a spanking magazine. I always had a very nice bum and legs. That was my thing. Still do, not quite as much, but they’re not bad. He asked if I wanted to model for his magazine, Janus, which is a hugely famous thing. It’s still going. There was a Janus shop in Old Compton Street at the time. I didn’t really think about it. I just went, ‘Yeah, that sounds a laugh.’ He took me to the back of his shop. I was such a naive, I still am really. Took down my pants for him, and he gave me a spanking, and I absolutely loved it. I really did. It turned out I passed that audition and made his day. I started modelling for him, and once you’re in, it’s hard to get out, really. I met lots of other models who I started doing videos with. The internet was just starting to be a thing. I was making content for websites. Then all these models seemed to be incredibly wealthy, and they were offering one-to-one sessions with chaps, and I thought, ‘Oh, I bet I could do that.’ It turned out I could. It was a natural ability, just talking shit for an hour and hitting people. Well, the hitting people took me longer to get, actually, the talking shit I managed. I’d never played hockey or tennis or anything. It took me a little while to get my hand-eye coordination in, because hitting people with sticks is actually quite tricky. If you get it wrong, you can do them serious damage. But I’m fine now. I’ve got it sorted after 20 years of effort. **In that time, has the British relationship with kink changed?** Certainly, the relationship with the sex industry has changed. It’s blamed for absolutely everything. Now, obviously, the relationship with porn is changing all the time and becoming much trickier. With kink, I think it’s quite similar. I think maybe it’s become a little bit more mainstream. But it’s still very much nudge, nudge, wink, wink. I think we’re still where we were with gay people, maybe 30 years ago, that it is still the punchline to the joke that nobody asked to hear, particularly with men, actually. I think men who like being hurt recreationally are seen as inevitably ridiculous, particularly in the media. Fat, sweaty twat in a gimp suit is the usual stereotype. I’d probably get off more lightly because the idea of a woman wanting to hurt men is seen as more reasonable. People tend to see me as a hero. But yeah, I think it still is seen as taboo and hilarious and risible. I’m not sure why that is. But we’re not where gay liberation is. Kink liberation is a long way behind. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Not magic? URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/not-magic/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:54:39.000Z *It’s been a rough week for Reform in Kent. A Financial Times story over the weekend broke the news that the party were planning to raise council tax by the maximum permitted amount after discovering that there weren’t huge savings to be found after all. We get into the financial reality below. Further down, we have news of five Conservative councillors defecting to the insurgent party, and - once again - some questionable social media activity from a KCC councillor.* --- #### **“We’re good, but we’re not magic”** The message was clear enough when Reform took charge of Kent County Council in May. Cut the waste, balance the books, and keep bills down. Five months later, that plan has collided with reality. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fdc590145-3256-4537-a6e6-59ce063bdf70_2500x1406-jpeg-1.jpg) [The Financial Times reported this week](https://www.ft.com/content/277c6a95-e45e-4e7b-a99b-b757693955ca?ref=kentcurrent.news) that Kent will likely raise council tax rates next year because Reform’s savings drive hasn’t found the significant cuts it promised. Cllr Diane Morton, the cabinet member for adult social care, told the paper that services are already “down to the bare bones.” “We’ve got more demand than ever before, and it’s growing,” she said. “We just want more money.” For a party that campaigned on slashing ‘wasteful spending,’ the admission was brutal. It confirmed what every council leader in the country already knows: When half your budget is tied up in adult social care and children’s services, there isn’t much left to squeeze. Reform’s big idea at County Hall was to create its own efficiency unit, the Department of Local Government Efficiency, or DOLGE. According to the FT, it has identified around £40m of savings over four years. Most of that comes from cancelling a £30m home-energy programme and scrapping plans for an electric-vehicle fleet. Opposition parties say those savings will cost more later. The *FT* quoted Liberal Democrat leader of the opposition [Antony Hook](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-really-dont-like-party-tribalism/), pointing out that even Reform’s debt-repayment headline wasn’t its own idea. The council had announced that paying back £50m of debt would save about £670,000 a year in interest. Hook said the offer came directly from Barclays, which declined to comment. One Reform cabinet member was blunter about the situation they find themselves in: “Everyone thought we’d come in and there were going to be these huge costs we could cut away, but there just aren’t.” The numbers now need to move fast. Kent’s draft budget will appear in November, but the final grant from government won’t land until December. Councils have to balance the books by March. At the reinstated Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government, officials have made it plain that any council that chooses not to raise council tax by the full 5% will not qualify for emergency financial support. That policy leaves councils boxed in. Every 1% rise brings Kent roughly £10 million, but this will likely not keep pace with the cost of care. The sums make the tax rise look unavoidable. On Tuesday, KCC leader Cllr [Linden Kemkaran](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-think-theres-a-lot-gone-wrong-with/) appeared on BBC Radio Kent to try to calm the row. She claimed the FT reporter had “overheard some banter” between councillors and DOLGE members, a claim at odds with the paper’s account, which quoted cabinet members directly. She insisted it was “way too early to be having this conversation” and “completely irresponsible to tell you now” whether council tax would go up. Finally, perhaps the closest thing to an admission of reality: “We’re good, but we’re not magic.” For a former BBC journalist, it was not a smooth interview. The stakes here are higher than her party might care to admit. For Reform, Kent is more than another local authority, it is the first real-world test of a party built on national slogans about doing more with less. What happens here will colour perceptions of the party across the country. Kent’s own figures show why those promises are hard to keep. Over half of the council’s [£2.6bn budget](https://www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-council/finance-and-budget/our-budget?ref=kentcurrent.news) goes on adults’ and children’s social care, plus education for children with special needs. Those costs keep rising, and they’re legally unavoidable. For this financial year, the county element of council tax is [£1,630.32 for Band D](https://www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-council/finance-and-budget/council-tax/council-tax-2025-to-2026?ref=kentcurrent.news), up 4.99% on last year. A further 5% rise would add roughly £80 a year, or about £1.50 a week, to the average bill. In places like Thanet and Swale, where incomes are lower, that extra £80 bites harder than it does in Sevenoaks or Tunbridge Wells. Yet, all sit under the same banding system, which is still based on 1991 property values. A group of MPs called it [unfair](https://www.theguardian.com/money/2024/dec/15/group-of-mps-intent-reforming-madly-unfair-council-tax?ref=kentcurrent.news) last year. They’re right. Whether they can do much about it remains to be seen. The structure of council tax itself magnifies the gap. Because it relies on outdated valuations, councils in poorer areas often collect proportionally less, even while residents pay more relative to income. Kent’s patchwork of wealth and deprivation makes that imbalance impossible to ignore, but every government has shelved reform of the system for three decades. The broader picture is that the funding model drives the same outcome everywhere. Councils that don’t raise to the limit risk insolvency and can’t expect help from Whitehall. Those that do raise only stand still. Reform’s Kent team insists its DOLGE plan will still deliver savings and that the council is “making progress.” But the big ideas, like an a Elon Musk-style Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) at national level, have yet to do any detailed work in Kent because of tensions over data access. So far, the practical results amount to a few scrapped projects and a one-off debt deal with a bank. The draft budget will appear in November, with the final decision coming early next year, once the government’s grant figures arrive. Few at County Hall expect generosity. If the council goes for the full 5%, Band D households will pay around £1,711 for the county share of their bill, a rise that would raise about £50m and barely cover inflation in social-care contracts. That is the unglamorous truth behind all the talk of ‘efficiency.’ Every council in England is being forced into the same corner, just some are hitting the wall faster than others. Five months in, Kent’s ‘shop window’ for Reform looks less like a showcase and more like a mirror. It reflects the same pressures every council faces. The difference is that this one was built on a promise to fix the maths. But the maths, as ever, appears to be winning. --- #### **There’s always a tweet** Another Reform councillor at Kent County Council is facing scrutiny after a series of social-media posts containing anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant material were uncovered this week, adding to growing national attention on the party’s conduct in Kent. Screenshots [published by Hope Not Hate](https://hopenothate.org.uk/2025/10/08/reform-watch-12/?ref=kentcurrent.news) yesterday and circulated by the account [ReformExposed on BlueSky](https://bsky.app/profile/reformexposed.bsky.social/post/3m2pao45ywk2l?ref=kentcurrent.news) appear to show that Cllr Christopher Hespe, Reform’s Deputy Cabinet Member for Finance and Cross-Cabinet Activity, reposted or wrote multiple offensive tweets between June and December 2023. The posts include: - a meme showing a man in Arab dress beside weapons and explosives with the caption “Introducing the new Bradford action man kit.” - a post reading “People who eat bacon are less likely to blow themselves up.” - a doctored image of London Mayor Sadiq Khan carrying a placard claiming “85 % of murders last year in London were carried out by immigrants & foreigners with the majority being Muslim.” - a meme comparing an immigrant to the film character E.T. with the caption “E.T. learned English and wanted to go home.” - a tweet stating that the RNLI had “sold its soul to the devil” and was “now a taxi service for illegal migrants from France.” - and a comment on a Parliamentary post about Black History Month claiming there was “very little ‘black history’ in the UK” and describing those involved as “delusional and foolish.” - a tweet from November 2023 that reads “Islam is NOT a race, but an ideology and political system, which can be questioned legitimately… \[Tommy Robinson\] is a national treasure.” Hespe represents Elham Valley, between Canterbury and Folkestone, and was appointed to the county’s finance team after Reform took control of Kent County Council earlier this year. As of publication, neither Hespe nor Reform had issued a public response to the tweets raised. The discovery comes as Reform faces renewed criticism over its behaviour elsewhere in Kent. Only a few weeks ago, [five Kent Reform councillors were photographed](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kent-reform-councillors-pictured/) smiling alongside a man draped in a neo-Nazi flag at an anti-immigration protest in Maidstone. The picture circulated widely online and was reported by multiple outlets, but none of the councillors pictured issued a public response, and the party took no disciplinary action. Earlier this week, [we reported](https://www.kentcurrent.news/a-quiet-test-of-the-rules-at-county/) that Cllr David Wimble, another Reform UK member of Kent County Council, called a resident a “f@?kwit” in a social-media post. The message remained visible for roughly two weeks before being deleted shortly after our story. Reform’s national office has not commented on any of the Kent controversies. Within the county, there have been no public disciplinary announcements or statements from leader Linden Kemkaran. With the council preparing its draft budget next month, Reform’s promise of a ‘new style of politics’ in Kent is being tested on multiple fronts. The resurfaced tweets, the earlier flag photograph and the outburst from one of its councillors have added to a picture of a party full of members lacking discipline and questionable views. For a group that came to power pledging discipline, transparency and competence, the question is no longer whether Reform can make Kent run better, but whether it can govern without tripping over its own headlines. --- #### Five Conservative councillors defect Five councillors in Kent have defected to Reform this week, widening the party’s reach beyond County Hall and deepening its hold on local politics. The moves started in Gravesham, where four Conservative councillors - Emma Elliott, Aaron Elliott, Gary Harding and David Beattie - announced they were joining Reform. In a joint statement reported by Kent Online, they said that “decades of broken promises have eroded trust in the established parties” and that “they can no longer be given the benefit of the doubt.” The move cuts the size of the Conservative opposition on Gravesham Borough Council and gives Reform its first organised group in the borough. Gravesham Conservative leader of the opposition Cllr Jordan Meade said he was disappointed, but remained entirely “focused on getting on with our job of providing effective opposition on GBC.” Shortly after, attention shifted to Medway, where Cllr Robbie Lammas, who represents Princes Park ward, also quit the Conservatives to join Reform. Lammas [told our sister title ](https://www.localauthority.news/p/princes-park-councillor-defects-to?ref=kentcurrent.news)[*Local Authority*](https://www.localauthority.news/p/princes-park-councillor-defects-to?ref=kentcurrent.news) that he had been left “unsupported” by his party after disputes over the wave of flags going up and plans to house asylum seekers locally. In his public statement, he called Labour’s decision to remove flags “a disgrace” and said he wanted to ask “necessary questions” about Home Office moves that he claimed had been kept from residents. He told *Local Authority* that making the switch was “a very strange feeling” but that he had no plan to call a by-election, adding, “I’m still a conservative. I’m just under a banner.” Lammas, a former parliamentary aide and special adviser, gives Reform its third seat on Medway Council. His former colleagues in the Conservative group said they were “disappointed,” while Reform figures described his move as “principled” and “a sign that the momentum is with us.” By that evening, [The Mirror focused on Lammas’s past](https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/reform-defector-bullied-harassed-colleague-36029184.amp?ref=kentcurrent.news), reporting that he had previously been accused of bullying and harassment by a colleague while working in Parliament, allegations he “strongly denied.” Clearly, someone at Conservative HQ had a file in a drawer, and they were ready to dispatch it at the right moment. For Reform, the optics are powerful, but the risks are growing. With its administration at County Hall already under scrutiny over the likelihood of the 5% council-tax rise above, the party’s expanding footprint makes it harder to point blame elsewhere when unpopular choices land. It also raises questions about how long the party can project an image of being new and different as its ranks fill up with disgruntled Tories. --- #### Footnotes *Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via *hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news* \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Are you doing something interesting in Kent, or know someone who is? Steven is actively seeking interviewees for future editions. If you’d like to put yourself or someone else forward, drop him an email via *steven AT kentcurrent DOT news** *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* **Enjoying the Kent Current? Pass it on.* If you know someone who’d like this too, forward them this email and invite them to subscribe.* ### A quiet test of the rules at County Hall URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/a-quiet-test-of-the-rules-at-county/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:54:42.000Z *Good morning and welcome to the first of our new Monday briefings. We’re changing the schedule around a little bit here to squeeze in this extra edition that gives you the latest on what is happening in Kent this week. Free subscribers will still receive our Thursday edition, but by moving some of the shorter, sharper bits here, we’ll have more room for bigger, more detailed stories there.* *Over the coming weeks, we’re going to add some more sections to this Monday briefing to provide the most well-rounded view of the week in Kent that we can. Of course, none of this is possible without the generous readers who support our work with a paid subscription. Their support gives us the resources we need to spend time chasing down the stories facing our county. If you value our dispatches and want to help us keep doing them, please consider joining us as a* [*paid supporter*](#/portal/signup)*.* [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup) --- #### Catch up We’ve had a big week here on the Kent Current. If you missed any of our reporting, here’s your chance to catch up: - We sat down with [Kent author, comedian, and podcaster Rosie Wilby](https://www.kentcurrent.news/growing-apart-may-indicate-healthy/) for our big weekend interview. We chatted about her book and podcast about breaking up, ethical dilemmas, her upcoming panel in Margate, and lots more. - Reform taking their first seats on Maidstone Borough Council in a triple by-election win [led our Thursday briefing](https://www.kentcurrent.news/maidstone-reformed/). We also looked at the anti-immigration protests spreading across Kent, the return of covid to the county, and more. - Kent is in an absurd position of having two international train stations but no international trains. We looked at [the campaign to return continental rail journeys to the county](https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-long-wait-for-paris/), spoke to some of the key voices involved, and pondered the chances of trains actually stopping here once again. --- #### **A quiet test of the rules at County Hall** A senior Reform councillor on Kent County Council has called a resident a “f@?kwit” during a public exchange on the council’s own Facebook page. Remarkably, the comment remains visible, and no action has been taken. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f184ad66e-2c93-42c6-81fb-cebe187b33e6_1032x1032-jpeg-1.jpg) Cllr David Wimble **Power meets profanity** Councillor David Wimble, who represents Romney Marsh and serves as Reform’s Cabinet Member for Environment, made the remark under an official Kent County Council post. The exchange attracted limited reaction but highlights the tone of political debate since Reform took control of County Hall earlier this year. **The £50m post that started it** The comment appeared beneath a Kent County Council [Facebook post](http://pfbid01s78anhhmjljntdfsddrhnbqbtein71v619a6wn3qjzq5ngaypyonbl4e8whzlpcl/?ref=kentcurrent.news) announcing that the authority had paid off £50m of debt, part of efforts to reduce borrowing. When a resident called Rosy Macduff criticised Reform’s approach to council finances, Wimble replied: > “ok mr rosy f@?kwit Macduff How do you square that circle…” The message from Wimble’s personal account is still visible beneath the post. Though written personally, it appeared under an official council update, meaning it falls within the Code of Member Conduct, which covers social media. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f60e92813-88a7-43a9-bd06-41ec7d53fded_1170x1656-jpeg.jpg) **The long road to Reform** Wimble’s political career has taken several turns. He stood as an independent candidate in 2017 but also signed the nomination papers for his Conservative rival. Two years later, he was elected as an independent councillor on Folkestone & Hythe District Council and entered an alliance with the Conservatives and UKIP. In 2024, he joined Reform. Ahead of the May local elections, he was forced to withdraw election leaflets that included the Kent County Council logo, a clear breach of electoral law. He previously published The Looker, a Romney Marsh newspaper, which, coincidentally, was sympathetic to Reform, but appears to have ceased publication since his Cabinet appointment. **When the rules are clear but the process isn’t** Kent County Council’s [Code of Member Conduct](https://www.kent.gov.uk/%5F%5Fdata/assets/pdf%5Ffile/0015/3705/Kent-code-of-conduct-for-members.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) forbids behaviour that ‘harasses or bullies any person’ and instructs councillors not to act in ways that could bring their office or the council into disrepute. Councillors are expected to maintain professional standards both in meetings and online. Complaints are first considered by the council’s Monitoring Officer, who decides whether to refer them to the [Standards Committee](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/mgCommitteeDetails.aspx?ID=141&ref=kentcurrent.news). That committee is now controlled by Reform councillors, meaning any judgment on alleged misconduct would ultimately rest with members of the same party. Opposition figures have described the setup as ‘marking your own homework,’ questioning whether any complaint could be reviewed independently. **Reform’s test of tone** Reform gained control of Kent County Council after winning 57 of the council’s 81 seats in the May local elections. The group, led by Cllr Linden Kemkaran, has promoted itself as a ‘common-sense’ alternative to traditional politics. This is not the first time questions have been raised about councillor behaviour. In August, five Reform councillors were [photographed smiling alongside a man draped in a neo-Nazi flag](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kent-reform-councillors-pictured/). No public comment or disciplinary action followed. The Wimble exchange has also prompted no official response or formal complaint. **Silence speaks for itself** *Kent Current* asked Cllr Wimble, Cllr Kemkaran, and Reform whip Cllr Maxwell Harrison for comment. None replied. The post remains live on the [Kent County Council Facebook page](https://www.facebook.com/KentCountyCouncil/posts/pfbid01S78aNhhMjLjNtdfsdDrhNbQbTein71v619a6WN3qjZQ5nGAypyonbL4E8whZLpcl). **The bottom line** A cabinet member calling a resident a “f@?kwit” beneath the council’s own announcement might once have drawn swift attention. Under Kent’s new administration, it has passed largely without notice. The council’s code of conduct calls for respect and integrity in public office. With Reform controlling the committee responsible for enforcing those rules, it is unclear whether anyone will take action. --- #### Three big reads 1️⃣ [Kent Reform councillors have been talking anonymously to the Financial Times](https://www.ft.com/content/277c6a95-e45e-4e7b-a99b-b757693955ca?ref=kentcurrent.news) about how they will have to raise council tax by the full 5% next year. The party, elected with a promise of making sweeping cuts to save money, has discovered the reality of local government. “Everyone thought we’d come in and there were going to be these huge costs we could cut away but there just aren’t,” one Cabinet member told the paper. 2️⃣ [Could Weald of Kent MP Katie Lam be the next leader of the Conservative Party](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/oct/04/rise-of-katie-lam-next-tory-leader-migration?ref=kentcurrent.news)? That’s the question the Guardian asked over the weekend, who pondered her projection of a fairly traditional Tory on her website, but spends her days on social media shouting about immigration and grooming gangs. 3️⃣ Kent journalist Joseph S. Furey writes for Sam Bright’s newsletter about how conspiracy theories and far-right rhetoric have reshaped British culture and politics. [He talks about visits to Faversham and Ramsgate, where extremist ideology has become normalised](https://writesbright.substack.com/p/the-global-far-right-is-brainwashing), and the signs of pushback against it. --- #### In brief 💣 An ally of Vladimir Putin has gone on Russian state television to suggest [blowing up the SS Montgomery](https://www.the-express.com/news/world-news/185761/britain-russia-ww3-nato-ukraine-war-vladimir-putin?ref=kentcurrent.news), a sunken ship in the Thames Estuary with roughly 1,400 tonnes of explosives on board. ⚫ Kent and Medway have suicide rates [higher than the national average](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/what-can-we-do-about-it-kent-and-medway-suicide-rate-hig-330753/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🏨 Sevenoaks District Council is considering spending £18.5m to [build a new hotel in Swanley](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn76p6gk4xlo?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🗳️ KentOnline has been talking to [Kent’s youngest parish councillor](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/the-18-year-old-councillor-who-prefers-a-planning-agenda-to-330666/?ref=kentcurrent.news). --- #### Can you help us? So many of our best tips come from readers, so we’re going to start throwing out what we’re working on, with the hope that some of our incredible readers might be able to contribute some knowledge. Here’s what we’re currently developing as stories: - We want to speak to anyone who knows what is happening with the former Regent Cinema site in Deal. The council sold the original cinema to private developers in 2011 under the condition that a cinema would be retained on the site, but 14 years later, the building sits crumbling. If you have any knowledge of what’s going on, we’d love to hear from you. - It’s been over two years since Galley Hill Road in Swanscombe collapsed, cutting off a key route between Gravesend and Ebbsfleet. We’re planning to look into the Swancombe Hole, as we’re calling it, so if you know anything we might find helpful, please get in touch. If you can help with either story, or have something else we might be interested in, contact us via *hello AT kentcurrent DOT news* \- we’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance… --- #### Events this week 🎸 Tue 7 Oct - [**Jeffrey Lewis & The Voltage**](https://www.twforum.co.uk/events/2025-10-07-jeffrey-lewis-and-the-voltage-the-forum?ref=kentcurrent.news) // New York master of anti-folk. Forum, Tunbridge Wells. Tickets £20. 🎷 Thu 9 Oct - [**The Horne Section’s Hit Show**](https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/the-horne-sections-hit-show/leas-cliff-hall/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Comedy band led by Taskmaster’s assistant Little Alex Horne. Leas Cliff Hall, Folkestone. Tickets £32.50. 🎤 Fri 10 Oct - [**Dr John Cooper Clarke**](https://www.thekingshall.com/events/dr-john-cooper-clarke-and-special-guests/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Godfather of punk poetry plays seaside show. The King’s Hall, Herne Bay. Tickets £26. --- #### Footnotes *Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via *hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news* \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* **Enjoying the Kent Current? Pass it on.* If you know someone who’d like this too, forward them this email and invite them to subscribe.* ### "Growing apart may indicate healthy growth" URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/growing-apart-may-indicate-healthy/ Last updated: 2026-02-20T09:10:49.000Z *Rosie Wilby was on a writer’s retreat with unreliable wifi, working on her first fiction book, when we talked with her for this interview. We talked about her route from stand-up to podcasting to writing The Break-Up Monologues, conscious uncoupling, staging a mock wedding, and her upcoming panel at Margate Bookie…* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f3d8c52ae-9d95-40cf-9bee-6d657169e16c_6192x4128-jpeg-1.jpg) Rosie Wilby. **What is your official occupation?** Oh my God! Well, I do so many different things. I don’t know whether any of them count as official occupations in the sort of traditional sense that my parents would have believed in having an occupation. But I have been a comedian for many years. Before that, I was a musician. I have been a journalist and latterly I am the author of two humorous books about the psychology of relationships that combine memoir and science and other people’s personal stories. The first one was called [Is Monogamy Dead?](https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/is-monogamy-dead-rethinking-relationships-in-the-21st-century-rosie-wilby/549994?ref=kentcurrent.news) and now the current book is called [The Breakup Monologues](https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-breakup-monologues-the-unexpected-joy-of-heartbreak-rosie-wilby/4921493?ean=9781472982285&next=t&ref=kentcurrent.news). There’s also a [podcast of that name](https://breakupmonologues.wordpress.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news), and as you can imagine, it’s all about people’s breakup stories and how we can maybe harness a breakup as an opportunity for growth. **Do you have any additional roles, paid or unpaid?** I’m a patron of a charity called [Switchboard](https://switchboard.lgbt/?ref=kentcurrent.news). They’re a helpline for LGBTQ+ people. I’ve done a number of different things in my life, but mostly I earn a living from writing, speaking and performing. My work looking at human relationships in comedy shows and then in these humorous books and in my podcasts has then expanded into sometimes offering corporate talks where people, companies want me to go in and talk with a bit of humour about people’s resilience skills. Instead of perhaps talking about your worst breakup ever, maybe your worst ever day at work and how you bounce back from that. The concept that I cover in the Breakup Monologues book, harnessing adversity and then learning from it, is universal and applicable to all types of loss or misfortune. They can be terrible at the time. However, they can be the things, of course, that we learn a great deal from. **Your book, The Breakup Monologues, started as a podcast?** Yes, it almost started as a live show. Initially, it was a show modelled on something like the Vagina Monologues, where different performers would get up on stage and tell a breakup story, and I would compère it. That originally premiered at Bradford Literary Festival back in 2017\. However, podcasting was becoming popular around that time. Obviously not as popular as it is now. Everyone’s got a podcast. It was the beginning of the real podcast boom. We started doing it as a type of chat show where I would interview them, almost be their relationship therapist, and we would record those and release them as a podcast. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fb9d8707e-6002-4d01-a55f-0221f8e23ddd_1522x2339-jpeg.jpg) Rosie Wilby’s The Breakup Monologues. **How did that develop into becoming a book?** Well, it was always something that I wanted to do because I’d already written one book based on one of my comedy shows called Is Monogamy Dead? I really wanted to do another book. And obviously, I was collecting a lot of interesting information, stories, and ideas about breakups. I thought it was just this universal topic that whoever we are, whatever age or whatever our sexual orientation, we’ve probably been through some type of a breakup. It seems something of interest to me, having had quite a few breakups myself. *W*e tend to think of a breakup as really a terrible thing, particularly if we’re the one who gets dumped.But it can actually be this new chapter, a new beginning. **What would you say have been the key findings regarding people’s breakups?** I think that the important thing that a lot of people have found is that we tend to think of a breakup as really a terrible thing, particularly if we’re the one who gets dumped.But it can actually be this new chapter, a new beginning. It can be a way to find the freedom suddenly to start new projects. And certainly, many of the women, in particular, that I spoke to had perhaps started new careers or pursued dreams that they had had or had put on hold in particular relationships that they were in. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Maidstone reformed URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/maidstone-reformed/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:54:47.000Z *Reform’s march through Kent continued last night as the party claimed three Maidstone Borough Council seats, erasing the Green-led alliance’s majority in the process. We’ve got the full breakdown below, plus the latest on far-right protests across the county, covid’s return, news in brief, and more.* --- #### Maidstone reformed By the time the returning officer finished announcing results in Lenham just after 1am, something had shifted. Reform, the insurgent party that took control of Kent County Council earlier this year, continued its march on local politics by breaking into Maidstone Borough Council. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f79030351-9850-4f39-9e6b-6ec85b0c5f53_2500x1406-png-1.jpg) Chris Houlihan, Mariela Nedelcheva and Steve Povey all won in the Harrietsham, Lenham and North Downs by-election last night, each securing well over 1,000 votes. Their nearest challengers were left far behind, with the Greens, Conservatives and Lib Dems unable to mount a serious challenge. Labour didn’t even bother to field any candidates. The contest came about after three councillors resigned over the proposed Heathlands development, a garden village of 5,000 homes on farmland outside Lenham. That created the unusual situation of three borough seats being contested in a by-election at once, with Reform sweeping them all. Full results: **➡️ Chris Houlihan (Ref): 1228** **➡️ Steve Povey (Ref): 1226** **➡️ Mariela Nedelcheva (Ref): 1153** 🟩 Callum Sweetman (Grn): 459 🟩 James Snyder (Grn): 452 🟩 Reshmi Kalam (Grn): 430 🌳 Isobelle Horne (Con): 342 🌳 Darcy Rotherham (Con): 285 🔶 Jennifer Horwood (LDem): 236 🌳 Onyekachukwu Chukwuma (Con): 234 🔶 Sam Burrows (LDem): 156 🔶 Andrew Cockersole (LDem): 123 🔵 Sean Turner (Her): 97 ⚪ Gary Butler (Ind): 74 ⚪ Sam Lawrence-Rose (Ind): 69 Up until now, the council was run by a fragile alliance of Greens, Lib Dems and independents with the narrowest of majorities. With Reform now holding three seats, that majority has disappeared. The alliance is expected to continue as a minority administration, as no other grouping has the numbers to take over, but every close vote will become more difficult. This fits a wider pattern across the county. Reform took control at County Hall earlier in the year, going from one to 57 seats to form the administration. Now it has secured its first borough councillors in Maidstone. To its opponents, this looks like momentum building. For Reform activists, it is proof that their strategy is working. Houlihan, semi-retired after four decades in banking, told the *Kent Current* the message was clear. “We listened to the local community, especially around Heathlands, and that made the difference. People want change, and they have sent a message.” Povey, who has lived in Harrietsham for 25 years, only joined Reform four weeks ago. “I was advised to listen to the people I represent and vote in their interests. That is what I will do.” He also questioned Maidstone’s finances, pointing to a 44% rise in council debt in the past year. Reform now faces the challenge of turning electoral anger into day-to-day council work. One of the winning candidates, Mariela Nedelcheva, did not attend the count. Outside afterwards, activists were overheard fretting about what happens next. Noting an upcoming council meeting on 13 October, one told another, “All three of them need to be at that. It’s embarrassing if not.” Another added, “Project number one: We cannot fail.” For the losing candidates, the campaign was bruising. Callum Sweetman, a Green candidate, said he encountered anger on the doorstep. “People are frustrated with the whole situation. Heathlands feels like it is in the wrong place, but unless central government changes its mind, there is no way to reverse it.” Darcy Rotherham, a Conservative candidate on a gap year after A-levels, admitted the housing debate was complex. “I agree new housing is important. But not in villages known for their character, and if it is built, then we need the infrastructure to support it.” The Conservative vote held up consistently to the last election in the ward in 2024, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Reform surge. One election agent for an opposition party said the tone of the campaign had changed, describing abuse on the doorstep and fewer opportunities for rational discussion compared to only two years ago. The outcome means Reform now has a presence in Maidstone politics. The Green-led alliance still runs the council, but without a majority, and Reform will be present on every contentious decision from housing and planning to the looming debate on local government reorganisation in Kent. Houlihan said he wanted to work constructively. “We may have different approaches, but representing the community is in everyone’s interests.” Povey said he had already spoken with Stuart Jeffrey, the Green leader of the council. “We can disagree politically but still be respectful.” Whether that spirit lasts is uncertain. What is clear is that Reform’s surge has now reached one of Kent’s largest borough councils. The villages around Lenham have delivered a result that reinforces the party’s grip on County Hall and signals that Kent’s political map is shifting again. --- #### Anti immigration protests expand to more Kent towns Far-right groups continue to test the ground in Kent, staging a series of anti-immigration protests that have drawn varying turnouts and solid counter-demonstrations. Here’s where things stand this week: **Folkestone:** Around 30 far-right protesters gathered last weekend, including one carrying a neo-Nazi British Movement flag. More than 100 counter-protesters met them. The [Folkestone Dispatch reports from the ground](https://folkestonedispatch.substack.com/p/islamophobia-is-through-the-roof) and talks to a local mosque about the rise in Islamophobia. **Margate:** UKIP’s attempted comeback flopped. Only nine people attended a rally led by county councillor Amelia Randall, who recently defected from Reform. [The Isle of Thanet News reported](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2025/09/27/police-in-attendance-at-ukip-gathering-and-counter-demos-in-margate/?ref=kentcurrent.news) they were drowned out by a much larger, noisier counter-protest featuring drums, whistles and flags. **Upcoming protests:** Faversham this Sunday, Rochester on 18 October, Canterbury on 25 October, Chatham on 1 November. --- *The Kent Current exists because readers back it. Join them and get the whole story.* [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup) --- #### Covid is back on the field For a while, it felt like covid had shuffled off into the background, only reappearing when an old lateral flow test tumbled out of a drawer or someone started coughing a little too violently on the bus. But the numbers are rising again in Kent, at a time when government policy seems to be to leave more vulnerable people exposed to the virus. Admissions have been climbing steadily across the county’s hospitals since the summer. At the start of July, there were 11 covid patients in Kent and Medway wards. By the end of August, that had risen to 43\. It is not the tidal wave of 2020, but it is enough to stretch services already creaking with staff shortages and autumn illnesses. Wards that had inched their way back to normality are once again finding space for covid bays. The national picture backs this up. The UK Health Security Agency has warned of a steady rise in admissions linked to new variants, with positivity rates among patients with respiratory symptoms climbing in recent weeks. Hospital figures have become the most precise measure of what is happening now that mass testing has gone, and the warning lights are beginning to flicker. The impact is spilling beyond hospitals. Ebbsfleet United had to shut the club down for two days last week when the virus tore through the squad. Assistant manager David Kerslake [told KentOnline](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/gravesend/sport/we-shut-the-club-down-after-covid-outbreak-330417/?ref=kentcurrent.news) that players were “going down left, right and centre,” which is not the kind of squad rotation the team would have wanted. All of this makes the government’s vaccination policy harder to understand. This autumn’s covid booster is no longer available to those aged 65 to 74 or to many with chronic conditions such as respiratory disease, unless they are also immunosuppressed. Over 75s still qualify, as do care home residents, but someone in their late sixties with COPD is no longer on the list. What jars is that the same groups remain eligible for the flu jab. Ministers consider them vulnerable enough for one vaccine but not the other. That might make sense on paper in Whitehall, but it looks much stranger when cases are rising in hospitals and football clubs are suspending training. Officials say there is no cause for alarm and certainly no appetite for restrictions. The advice is familiar: Take a jab if you can and stay at home if you feel unwell. But with eligibility pared back, Kent is heading into another winter with fewer defences than before. Covid has not returned with the drama of the first waves, but the steady rise in admissions and the disruption at Ebbsfleet show it is still capable of causing trouble. It may not be the apocalypse, yet it is not nothing either. Kent will once again be left to get on with it while ministers insist everything is under control. --- #### In brief 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 A curious note from a Kent County Council Freedom of Information response on flags. A Faversham resident asked about England flags not being removed and whether other flags could also be erected on the public highway. The somewhat vague [response from KCC](https://kccportal.icasework.com/resource?id=D37712953&db=CfARENrVaIw%3D&ref=kentcurrent.news) says they will only remove flags causing an obstruction or risk, and that ‘this applies broadly and is not limited to the St. George’s flags,’ which sounds like a green light for residents to start erecting other flags. 💷 Debts of £2.3bn across Kent councils could leave plans for local government organisation [unworkable](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj07vpl77d0o?ref=kentcurrent.news), with concerns about the viability of potential north and east councils starting with significant debt levels. 🏫 Kent County Council are [pushing the government](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9qnd98wl8jo?ref=kentcurrent.news) for answers after two new SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) schools that were supposed to open in 2026 were delayed until at least 2028\. The two sites in Swanley and Whitstable would create 370 new places. 🗄️ Quinn Estates have submitted a [planning application](https://pa.sevenoaks.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=T064YLBKI2900&activeTab=summary&ref=kentcurrent.news) for over 800 new homes, a care home, a primary school, a local centre, and a country park on a former golf course next to a railway station in Halstead. Naturally, local residents are furious. 💰 The Duchy of Cornwall could be asked to pay [nearly £35m](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/faversham/news/revealed-how-35m-will-be-spent-if-prince-s-kent-garden-to-330256/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to get its plans for a 2,500 new town on the edge of Faversham off the ground. 🧑‍⚕️ 73% of Kent GPs say they are suffering ‘[significant stress](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czx0r91n94qo?ref=kentcurrent.news),’ with 13% reporting it as ‘unmanageable.’ Sounds bad. 🚛 Residents near the Sevington Inland Border Facility near Ashford are very unhappy about [light pollution](https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/furious-residents-say-kent-towns-10535160?ref=kentcurrent.news) from the site. 🏁 Drivers waiting to cross the Channel could be [held at Lydden Hill racetrack](https://inews.co.uk/news/holidaymakers-hours-racetrack-brexit-border-checks-3947294?ref=kentcurrent.news) if the new EU Entry/Exit System goes badly. 🚨 Part of Rochester town centre was evacuated on Monday after someone mistook an [e-bike battery for a bomb](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/medway/news/e-bike-battery-caused-high-street-evacuation-and-police-resp-330521/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🪦 The Daily Express have visited Ashford, [declaring the town ‘dead’](https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/2113721/tragic-uk-market-town-dead-126m-blow-eurostar-ashford?ref=kentcurrent.news) since Eurostar abandoned it. ⛪ Sarah Mullally has been named [the next Archbishop of Canterbury](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/03/sarah-mullally--named-first-female-archbishop-of-canterbury?ref=kentcurrent.news), becoming the first woman to fill the role. 🌲 The Forestry Commission is [consulting on designs](https://consult.forestryengland.uk/forest-districts/eelh/?ref=kentcurrent.news) for a new woodland on land they have purchased near Smarden. 🐦 Elmley Nature Reserve on Sheppey has seen a [bumper breeding year](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce32d0qwnrqo?ref=kentcurrent.news) for wild bird species. 🌊 Remembering [Kent’s hovercrafts](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0q75klgkpxo?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🏗️ Architecture Today has been talking to the [designers](https://architecturetoday.co.uk/dispatches-from-folkestone/?ref=kentcurrent.news) of the Folkestone Harbour regeneration scheme. 🏢 [Inside Arlington House](https://archive.is/Pe4hg?ref=kentcurrent.news), Margate’s brutalist icon. 🫖 If you’re interested in purchasing 8,000 novelty teapots, [click here](https://hansonsauctioneers.co.uk/spout-about-it-more-than-8000-novelty-teapots-up-for-sale-in-kent/?ref=kentcurrent.news). --- #### More Currents Kent boasts two international rail stations, neither of which has any international services. As the [campaign to return direct connections between Kent and the continent gains momentum](https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-long-wait-for-paris/), how likely are trains bound for Europe to stop in our county again? [The long wait for ParisOn Friday morning, the old Eurostar departure lounge at Ashford International station came alive for the first time in years. Students from North Kent College took to the stage with an interpretative dance to a bewildering song about the return of rail services, Kent County Council leader Linden Kemkaran cut a ceremonial ribbon, and Rail Minister Lord Peter Hendy told the room “the government hears you.”![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f8d4a4c7f-19fc-4e7c-87d7-4ed0b87571a5_567x567-3.png)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fea02178e-3b48-49b0-bc8c-f494edc442ea_5616x3744-jpeg.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-long-wait-for-paris/) [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup) --- #### Footnotes *Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via *hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news* \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* **Enjoying the Kent Current? Pass it on.* If you know someone who’d like this too, forward them this email and invite them to subscribe.* ### The long wait for Paris URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-long-wait-for-paris/ Last updated: 2026-04-07T08:48:43.000Z On Friday morning, the old Eurostar departure lounge at Ashford International station came alive for the first time in years. Students from North Kent College took to the stage with an interpretative dance to a bewildering song about the return of rail services, Kent County Council leader Linden Kemkaran cut a ceremonial ribbon, and Rail Minister Lord Peter Hendy told the room “the government hears you.” For a short while, Ashford looked like an international station again. Then the invited guests were ushered onto a Southeastern train, taken 20 minutes up the line on High Speed 1, and deposited at Ebbsfleet for more speeches, another ribbon cutting, and the signing of a memorandum of understanding. By midday, it was all over, with the platforms standing empty again, and the promise of cross-Channel services through Kent remaining just that: a promise. #### **A county on hold** Kent County Council organised the event, and its leader, [Linden Kemkaran](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-think-theres-a-lot-gone-wrong-with/), made the case in direct terms: “It’s really important for the residents, so they don’t have to go all the way up to London and spend £40 on a ticket up to London before they’ve got the cost of the Eurostar. It’s really important for business because having the Eurostar stop here gives a boost to all local businesses. And it’s really important for tourism because Kent should not be a place that you just speed through. We’ve got so much to offer. We’ve got fabulous country pubs, we’ve got everything here. So it’s such a shame that the train is just whizzing through at the moment.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f7149b88e-b1f8-43f9-8a6f-740901cc1d75_3000x2250-png.jpg) Kent County Council leader Linden Kemkaran. She was equally clear about the bigger picture. “If Eurostar won’t play ball, there’s gaps in the market for somebody else to. That’s the beauty of capitalism, isn’t it?” Eurostar, in her view, had lost the right to local loyalty. She also pointed out that the job of councils does not end with a single event. “We can keep the pressure on government. We can follow up this event with a letter, with hopefully a meeting with Lord Hendy. We can keep the pressure on. But hopefully, with the competition being introduced when the franchise is up for bidding. I’ve just been talking to some of the competitors. They are keen as mustard. They want this. They can see the opportunity.” Ashford International and Ebbsfleet International were designed as gateways. Ashford was rebuilt at a cost of £80m to allow Eurostar trains to stop there from 1996\. Ebbsfleet was purpose-built a decade later, opening in 2007 with a 9,000-space car park and the expectation of millions of passengers. Together, they were supposed to make Kent’s proximity to Europe pay off. Instead, both are now ghost stations. Ashford has only domestic services and the Designer Outlet to draw visitors in. Ebbsfleet functions mainly as a park-and-ride into London. International trains stopped during the pandemic, and Eurostar has made clear it does not plan to return. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fea02178e-3b48-49b0-bc8c-f494edc442ea_5616x3744-jpeg-2.jpg) Ebbsfleet International. That absence is felt across the county. Canon Andrew Dodd of Canterbury Cathedral told us that visitor numbers have fallen since the trains stopped. “Part of that story is about the lack of connectivity to Canterbury city itself. Reinstituting the line here at Ashford would be a big boost to local business in Canterbury and improve visitor numbers for the cathedral,” he said. For him, the issue is also personal. “I personally have made the choice not to fly. It’s a difficult journey to make. I have to get to central London, just to come back through an Ashford station that would have only been a 20 minute trip for me.” #### **The battle lines** Eurostar says stopping in Kent is uneconomic. The Guardian [reported last week](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/sep/26/uk-government-backs-return-of-international-rail-travel-to-kent-stations?ref=kentcurrent.news) that only 4% of passengers boarded at Ashford or Ebbsfleet in 2019, with as few as 50 people joining a peak-time service. The company argues that restarting would require significant investment in new border systems and staff that cannot be justified for those numbers. That reasoning is no longer accepted locally. Tudor Price, chief executive of the Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce, told us that patience has run out. “We understand the commercial challenges Eurostar faces. We’ve been very supportive and patient. But there was always an implied intent that they would return services here. They don’t seem to be honouring that obligation. Businesses that were built off the back of this international service are struggling to survive. I don’t think they can afford to wait another five, six, seven years before the competition comes into the line.” Price argued that Eurostar is not a normal commercial operator. It runs services on infrastructure built with public money, and the communities around it should not be left abandoned. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f2542d394-c66e-43b1-a1cb-78dbb675c2c2_4000x3000-png.jpg) Attendees of the ‘Grow in Kent’ event on Friday. The breadth of the coalition at Friday’s event underlined that. MPs and representatives from across parties, council leaders from Ashford, Dartford, Medway, and Folkestone, officials from Calais, the German honorary consul for the South East, representatives from potential competitors Trenitalia, Evolyn, Virgin, and Gemini Trains, and business leaders from Bluewater to Biddenden Vineyards all attended. Medway Council leader Vince Maple said the message was simple. “It’s great to have a cross-party, cross-council, cross-sector, very clear message, saying we need to bring back those trains which are really important for our community, both for business but also for leisure as well. There are lots of Medway residents who at the moment, if they wanted to go over to Paris or Brussels, they’ve got the ridiculousness of probably taking a train through Ebbsfleet where they would get off and then coming back through, and the train not stopping.” He also noted that the campaign’s momentum has been boosted by public support. “The fact that more than 75,000 people have already signed a [petition](https://www.change.org/p/bring-back-eurostar-train-services-to-kent?ref=kentcurrent.news) and that is growing every day shows just how much this matters.” If Eurostar will not change, others might. Gemini Trains, backed by Spanish capital, are eager to promote their plans. Commercial director Ian Chaplin told the *Kent Current* that their trains would all stop at Ebbsfleet, with services to Paris and Brussels and later to Cologne. “Our initial plan states that all our trains will call in Kent,” he said. “For us, the decision was related to how we indeed achieve our goal of making international rail travel more accessible to more people, and we think that Ebbsfleet helps us meet that objective.” He admitted it would take time. Trains need to be built and depot space secured, meaning four to five years before launch. But the symbolism of challengers standing alongside Kent leaders was clear. Dartford MP Jim Dickson said competition is the key. “The key to unlocking international rail services again in Kent is competition.” For him, the absence has already caused huge damage. “I think it’s retarded the growth of Ebbsfleet. It’s hit house sales, it’s made businesses less viable and it’s really undermined the promise of Ebbsfleet International, which was that it would be the station which could take you into the heart of Paris in an hour and 45 minutes and somewhere that would attract tourists from across the continent to spend money at Bluewater, for instance, but also in places like Swanscombe and Greenhithe and Dartford.” He also described the tactics used to press the case. “I’ve been along to the ORR *(Office of Rail and Road)* with eight Kent and south eastern Labour MPs to hand in a letter and sort of ambush them. They weren’t expecting us to turn up. We turned up with a letter, and we got senior staff there who were happy to receive us and hear our point of view. We’re determined to continue with those sort of hardball tactics until we get the outcome we want.” He was encouraged by Hendy’s public stance. “What’s brilliant about today is to hear from Lord Hendy, who is the Rail Minister, saying that they are determined to make sure the ORR come up with the right decision. They’ve written to them. They’re clearly lobbying them as hard as they can.” Dartford Borough Council leader Jeremy Kite said he saw “a future without Eurostar” and welcomed the arrival of new operators. Even Lord Hendy, the Rail Minister, told the room that competition was the most promising way forward. ![The empty train tracks at Ashford International train station](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f69434461-29b0-4f41-9a71-9ff8278c2061_800x450-jpeg.jpg) Ashford International. Not everyone was prepared to let Eurostar carry all the blame. Kent County Council opposition leader [Antony Hook](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-really-dont-like-party-tribalism/) was clear that Brexit had worsened the situation. “Brexit caused damage, means fewer passengers, and that’s because with Brexit, we all lost our right to work in the EU. EU citizens lost their right to work here. Student numbers have dropped by half and there’s more extensive passport checks, which causes long delays and extra costs,” he said. Hook argued that unless Britain aligns more closely with the EU, the added costs and delays will continue. His was a minority voice in a room otherwise careful to avoid reopening old battles, but his point cannot be dismissed. The economic case has become harder to ignore. BBC News [reported figures](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g6wd6lgyeo?ref=kentcurrent.news) from the Good Growth Foundation suggesting that reopening Kent’s international stations could bring £2.7bn in growth over five years and attract 500,000 extra visitors annually. Ashford MP Sojan Joseph, elected last year on a pledge to restore services, was clear about the benefits. “I no longer call it Eurostar. I call it eurotravel back to Ashford because it will help the economy of Ashford. It will help the tourism. It will bring value for my constituents, because when there is a competition, the ticket prices may come down. That will encourage more train passengers, which is good for the environment as well.” He also laid out the reasons trains stopped. “In 2015, the previous government took our stakes, the government stakes from the Eurostar. And then came Brexit, and then came the pandemic. So we’ve gone through those big steps in the past that has stopped Eurostar serving Ashford.” He added that new services would not just be about Ashford itself. “Every holiday season, we get Operation Brock on the M20\. The M2 and M20 are always under pressure. Getting more passengers on the train helps the road, the economy, and people save time. They can start the journey from here rather than having to travel into London.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fc4bf39f7-1869-400d-bc97-9eb3bf5a89a6_3000x2250-png.jpg) French National Assembly member Vincent Caure. French National Assembly member Vincent Caure stressed solidarity from across the Channel. “It is about opportunity, growth, and sustainability. Together, we can make it a reality again. It is a matter of principle. We are united in our determination to bring back international trains in Kent.” With around 5,000 French citizens living in Kent, he argued this is a shared cause. #### **Waiting for the green light** None of that changes the obstacles. New trains, border systems, and depot capacity will not appear overnight. Even the most optimistic projections talk about 2030 before anything starts to run. Eurostar itself has been blunt. It has no plans to return to Kent. Stopping adds time to services, infrastructure costs are high, and passenger numbers do not justify the outlay. Unless regulators insist, Eurostar will keep Kent off the map. That is why attention has turned to the ORR’s decision on depot space at Temple Mills. If capacity is opened for a new operator such as Gemini, momentum could build. If not, the campaign risks losing steam. There is also the broader question of identity. Ashford and Ebbsfleet were branded as international stations to show Kent as a connected, outward-facing county. Their closure leaves a psychological mark as much as an economic one. Friday’s event showed how broad the coalition now is. There are ministers in support, international voices willing to help, and new operators ready to invest. The national press even paid attention for a day. What Kent does not have is a train. At least not yet. The next step depends on regulators, competition arriving, and whether Eurostar can be forced to reconsider. Until then, Kent waits. Ashford’s international lounge, briefly dusted off, is empty again. Ebbsfleet’s grand concourse echoes once more. It may be 2030 before that changes. It may never change. For now, Kent’s international future remains out of reach, and the train that never stops keeps rushing through. ### Producing growth in Kent URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/producing-growth-in-kent/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:54:52.000Z *Kent has a thriving food and drink sector, but how much do we really know about the unique foods that come out of our county? Steven Keevil has decided to make it his mission to find out more by putting them all in his stomach. Further down, we continue our serialised conversation with Maidstone author Dan Abnett, where this time we turn our attention to the video games he has worked on. Beyond that, we have our guide to the best upcoming Kent events, news in brief, and more.* --- #### Producing growth in Kent This month, [Visit Kent](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kents-tourism-megaphone-suddenly/) and Locate in Kent both entered liquidation. The knock-on effect for the economies in Kent and Medway is likely to be significant, leaving a void in their sectors and raising concerns about the region's long-term economic health. Yesterday saw the launch of the campaign to bring international travel back to Kent, more of which we will be coming in the next week. Today, it’s time for us to mention the B word: Boosterism. It’s time to highlight more of what Kent does well, speak to the people behind it and put our mouths where our mouths are. I am talking about Kent’s food and drink sector. Kent produces a wide range of high-quality fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses, snacks, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. We recently published an interview with [Ed Perry and Rosie Brown, the co-CEOs of award-winning food manufacturers COOK](https://www.kentcurrent.news/cultures-never-an-accident/). We wrote about [the award-winning Canterbury Ales](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i/164990173/award-winning-and-kentish-canterbury-ales), whilst in our award-winning sister title [*Local Authority*](https://www.localauthority.news/?ref=kentcurrent.news), we spoke with [chef and head brewer Calvin Gear of Moot Brewery](https://www.localauthority.news/p/beer-brings-good-people-together?ref=kentcurrent.news) and [Katalin Takacs, baker and owner of Mrs Sourdough Bakery](https://www.localauthority.news/p/everyones-sourdough-is-different?ref=kentcurrent.news). In our interview with him MP for [Chatham and Aylesford, Tristan Osborne](https://www.kentcurrent.news/a-lot-of-the-stuff-i-do-is-below/), spoke about the growth and success of the wine sector in the southeast. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f8583f4c5-99ef-40d7-81e4-b71844705f68_2452x1839-png-1.jpg) Kent producers with Rochester and Strood MP Lauren Edwards. Earlier this year, Lauren Edwards, MP for Rochester and Strood, held a parliamentary event bringing together food and drink producers from across Kent and Medway for the ‘Taste of Kent and Medway’ showcase. The event drew a strong turnout, including members of the House of Lords, and a range of other guests, all there to celebrate the innovation and quality coming out of Kent. This included [Copper Rivet Distillery](https://copperrivetdistillery.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news), [Jaggers Gin](https://www.jaggersrochester.co.uk/jaggers-gin/?ref=kentcurrent.news), [Wine Garden of England](https://www.winegardenofengland.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news), [Kent Crisps and Condiments](https://kentcrisps.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news), [Wooden Spoon Preserving Company](https://www.thewoodenspoon.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news), [Fudge Kitchen](https://www.fudgekitchen.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) and the [Cheesemakers of Canterbury](https://www.cheesemakersofcanterbury.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news). The event highlighted just some of the artisanal producers, expanding businesses and award-winning drink makers leading innovation, tradition, and the mentioned award-winning excellence of Kent and Medway’s food and drinks producers, alongside those all-important networking opportunities to forge new commercial relationships and demonstrate the region’s role in the UK food economy. At the time, Edwards said, “Rochester and Strood is home to some of the UK’s most innovative and high-quality food and drink producers. I’m so proud to bring their work to Parliament.” Jill Sargent, Head of Business Development at [Produced in Kent](https://www.producedinkent.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news), added: “It’s a fantastic opportunity to showcase some of Kent’s outstanding food and drink producers. Our members pour their passion and energy into creating exceptional food and drink, and we are only too pleased to help them share it with a wider audience.” Before it closed, Visit Kent would have told us about acclaimed eateries like [The Sportsman in Seasalter](http://www.thesportsmanseasalter.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news), [The West House in Biddenden](https://www.thewesthouserestaurant.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news), and the [Fordwich Arms in Canterbury](https://www.fordwicharms.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news). I recently ate oysters for the first time, and up until this time, I have failed to tell you about it. Going forward, I will eat Whitstable oysters, Romney Marsh lamb, and sea-fresh Dover sole, washed down with a pint of Shepherd Neame’s finest ale. Until I started writing this piece, I hadn’t been aware, consciously at least, that [Kent Breakfast accreditation](https://www.visitkent.co.uk/stay-and-eat/food-and-drink/kent-produce/kent-breakfast/?ref=kentcurrent.news) is actually a thing. It is “a commitment that most of the produce has been sourced in Kent.” I can’t recall ever seeing it, but I will certainly be keeping an eye out for it in the future, as I am assured that it is a sign that the breakfast will be “high on quality and low on food miles.” In researching this piece, I have gained a new appreciation for the mighty sandwich, which is, of course, a Kent invention. Where is the best sandwich in Kent, and by default, the best sandwich in the UK and the world? If that place is not actually in Sandwich, what is going on? Is the best course of action to eat a variety of sandwiches in Sandwich and to set the baseline? Or should I do a sandwich tour of Kent, finishing in Sandwich, so I can end on a high and anoint the sandwich king of the world? Many of you will be aware of cheese on toast’s origins in Welsh Rarebit, but did you know there is a Kent Rarebit? For this delight, you add apple to the recipe. Before the Hawaiians added pineapple to pizza, the people of Kent added [apple to cheese on toast](https://daisiesandpie.co.uk/kentish-rarebit-super-tasty-cheese-on-toast/?ref=kentcurrent.news#mv-creation-380-jtr). I have never seen this on a menu. I must find it. Will I enjoy it? The website for [British Food and Travel](https://britishfoodandtravel.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news), which sounds authoritative, lists [ten ‘traditional’ Kentish foods](https://britishfoodandtravel.com/2020/01/29/10-traditional-kent-foods/?ref=kentcurrent.news). With my new mission, I must try them all. It’s not about want: It is a mission. Bread is known throughout the United Kingdom and the world, but apparently, Kent is known for huffkins. I have never seen these in the wild. They are rolls that are notable for a small indentation in the middle, which can be filled with small fruit, a spoonful of jam, or whipped cream! On my travels, I will be visiting the village of Appledore, once a busy river port, but it gave its name to a pie containing chicken and hard-boiled egg in a creamy bacon sauce. During my visit to Folkestone, I failed to have any Folkestone Pudding Pie, which must be rectified. Also known as Kentish Lenten Pie, it is a baked custard tart with raisins and nutmeg. Gypsy Tart originated in East Kent, along with the dessert of the same name. It can now be found throughout Kent, but where is the best? Which is better: The modern Canterbury apple pie, an open-faced tart made with a variety of apples, or the medieval version, which adds saffron? Then there’s Cobnuts! That’s all I have to say on the subject at this time. Kent has over 2,000 food and drink production enterprises, and I am looking forward to finding out more about them. *If you represent one of them and would like to invite us to visit and find out more about what you do, and of course taste the produce you have to offer, then contact me via steven AT kentcurrent DOT news.* --- #### In brief 📦 Ever wanted to tour an Amazon warehouse? If so, [this is the link for you](https://events.amazontours.com/uk/onsite/LCY3?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🏏 Kent Cricket are aiming to [redevelop the Spitfire Ground](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/new-hotel-at-historic-ground-to-ensure-cricket-is-sustainab-329800/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Canterbury. Plans include a hotel, a new pavilion, and media facilities. 🤠 Great British Life has [spoken to Jonathan Neame](https://www.greatbritishlife.co.uk/magazines/kent/25402470.jonathan-neame-role-high-sheriff-kent/?ref=kentcurrent.news) about his role as High Sheriff of Kent. 🏖️ The Independent has [bravely asked](https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/uk/folkestone-kent-triennial-b2828998.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) whether Folkestone is the UK’s answer to Venice. --- #### IP Man and the Game of Doom *As part of our serialised conversation with Maidstone author* [*Dan Abnett*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan%5FAbnett?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, we turn to his work on some very important video games…* Having [discussed with Dan Abnett](https://www.kentcurrent.news/maidstone-makes-it-up-as-it-goes/) his involvement in the computer game Alien: Isolation, we turned our focus to other computer games he had worked on, including one small franchise called Doom. “That was in an early iteration,” he notes, even though it the final game, [Doom: The Dark Ages](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doom:%5FThe%5FDark%5FAges?ref=kentcurrent.news), was only released earlier this year. Dan worked on the game a couple of years ago, when “they decided they were going to revise and come up with a new volume.” Dan had done computer game consultancy work before, including on both Middle-earth games, “where they come to me and say, we specifically want you to look at this, or we specifically want you to, for instance, with [Shadow of Mordor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle-earth:%5FShadow%5Fof%5FMordor?ref=kentcurrent.news), create 60 distinct characters and then write 6,000 lines of dialogue for them.” The games were built on the [Nemesis System](https://www.ign.com/wikis/middle-earth-shadow-of-mordor/The%5FNemesis%5FSystem?ref=kentcurrent.news) where “the NPC *(non-playable character)* protagonists in the game remember who you are, so if you encounter them again the game, they will remember specifically your encounter with them.” While Dan did not write the overall story, he had to write specific parts to facilitate that mechanic. With Doom, Dan “basically brainstormed with the guy who was running the game how to build their new mythology.” Dan recognises the inevitability that, as games take years and a lot of money, they go through many iterations. “I doubt there’s much of what I remember from a couple of years ago that has survived through to it, but it was brilliant to experience them getting enthusiastic, ‘we want to go bigger and better this time.’” Dan’s suggestions including making the setting medieval, something that did survive to the finished game. There have been many other games which Dan has written dialogue. When we talked, he was contributing to [Darktide](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warhammer%5F40,000:%5FDarktide?ref=kentcurrent.news), “which is one of the Warhammer games which I thoroughly recommend.” Whilst the game has now launched, “we’re adding to it all the time, because it’s basically a game where you play an Inquisitorial Warband, which is basically like the psychic police, being sent into what is called a Hive, which is one of their enormous super cities.” As you explore it, “because there is a chaos that’s got in there and you need to weed out the chaos, you’re creeping around all these pipes and alleys and ducts.” Dan’s enthusiasm grows. He is clearly having fun with this project. “The Hive city is the cross-section of what the 40K universe is like. We’re introducing story strands and characters that will teach you about the universe as you go along.” Dan is confident that the game is growing in success. “It’s a great looking game. I was so impressed early on when I started working on it. They’ve got the atmosphere right.” Dan has a weekly meeting with the game developers in Sweden. “We get on Zoom, and we brainstorm stuff.” Dan will then write a treatment for a new character they want to introduce, explain how this might work in-universe, or create names. “Sometimes they’ll send me a video that’s a walkthrough of the new level. They say, we want names for everywhere. What’s this or what’s that? What do we call this?” Dan then invents the world, ensuring consistency to the rest of the game. Over the years Dan has also worked on Tom Clancy games, as well as games he can’t remember and games that never appeared. “I’ve worked on a couple of games where I thought, ‘This is great,’ and two years down the line they decide their funding is up and they’re not going to make it after all because it’s cheaper not to put it out than it was to spend the millions they spent on it. That happens a lot.” Dan finds computer games a fascinating industry. One of the first jobs he was contracted for was to write “what they called ‘chatter.’” In the beginning, he knew little about games as he didn’t play them. “I said the reason I don’t play them was because I know that I would get quite drawn into it and then I’d never get any work done.” Thankfully, this wasn’t held against him. Developers wanted to hire Dan for his skills as a storyteller, not as a player. “Over the years, my sheer ignorance, I think, has been one of my greatest assets.” Dan has been able to sit in with the game designers, and when they aren’t explaining the basics to him, he has been able to challenge the status quo. “There has to be a better reason to do something than ‘Because that’s how we’ve always done it.’” Dan is continuing to learn through the work and has been able to write dialogue for actors and watch as scenes are filmed using mocap (motion capture). “I’m not there in the studio,” but he works on ‘chatter’ and dialogue and diary pieces that are read by actors playing the characters. “It’s close to working on audiobooks, where you’re thinking about writing dialogue in a very different way, because somebody’s got to read it out loud and make that work. Some of the best lines of dialogue I’ve ever put in a novel, I would never give to an actor to say because it would either sound silly or it would be a mouthful.” As ever, what works on the page doesn’t always work off the page. --- #### Upcoming Kent events 🕰️ 30 Sep - 4 Oct - [**Time**](https://www.rochestercathedral.org/lightshow?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Latest light show from Luxmuralis explores humanity’s relationship with the concept of time. Rochester Cathedral. 📚 Sun 5 Oct - [**Censorship in British Literature & Media: A Talk by Connor Sansby**](https://www.indexoncensorship.org/event/banned-books-reading-room-margate-queer-library/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Talk on books that have been banned under UK law. Marine Studios, Margate. Pay what you can. 🎷 Thu 9 Oct - [**The Horne Section’s Hit Show**](https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/the-horne-sections-hit-show/leas-cliff-hall/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Comedy band led by Taskmaster’s assistant Little Alex Horne. Leas Cliff Hall, Folkestone. Tickets £32.50. 🎤 Fri 10 Oct - [**Dr John Cooper Clarke**](https://www.thekingshall.com/events/dr-john-cooper-clarke-and-special-guests/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Godfather of punk poetry plays seaside show. The King’s Hall, Herne Bay. Tickets £26. --- #### Footnotes *Are you doing something interesting in Kent, or know someone who is? Steven is actively seeking interviewees for future editions. If you’d like to put yourself or someone else forward, drop him an email via *steven AT kentcurrent DOT news** *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* **Enjoying the Kent Current? Pass it on.* If you know someone who’d like this too, forward them this email and invite them to subscribe.* ### Sport England objects to homes on a fenced-off field URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/sport-england-objects-to-homes-on/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:54:54.000Z *Wherever housebuilding is proposed, complaints almost universally follow. Sometimes, concerns might be reasonable. Other times, less so. Today, we look at an absurd situation in Margate where Sport England is objecting to new brownfield housing because part of the site is officially a ‘playing field,’ despite the fact that the school it was attached to closed a decade ago, and the field is inaccessible. We’ve got the full story below. Further down, we have news of new levelling up funds for Kent, councillors celebrating the intimidation of a journalist, the latest donations to Kent MPs, news in brief, and more.* --- #### **Sport England objects to homes on a fenced-off field** Plans to redevelop the former Royal School for Deaf Children site in Margate into 150 homes have been hit with an objection from Sport England, which says the scheme would mean the loss of an important playing field. The intervention comes despite the pitches being fenced off and unused for a decade, and at a time when the government is preparing to strip Sport England of much of its planning role. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f3d469eef-de0d-4e75-9b1c-1a8933fd22c1_2500x1406-jpeg-1.jpg) The [application](https://planning.thanet.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=T2HDY0QEIXL00&ref=kentcurrent.news) from Geronimo Estates sets out a familiar package of new houses and flats, a community building, landscaped gardens, and improved entrances on Victoria Road and Park Crescent. The design statement promises ‘high quality residential accommodation’ and ‘a good mixture of unit types.’ It avoids saying that almost a quarter of the land is still officially classed as playing fields, even if the designation is largely meaningless if they are inaccessible. That detail was enough to draw a formal response. Sport England’s [representation](https://planning.thanet.gov.uk/online-applications/files/5DFDB356C73A228AA16771F26A59F3CA/pdf/OL%5FTH%5F25%5F0996-SPORTS%5FENGLAND-1304793.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) notes that its involvement here is non-statutory because the school has been closed for more than five years, but adds that “a lack of use should not be taken as necessarily indicating an absence of need.” Its standard policy is to oppose development on pitches unless they are replaced like-for-like. The fact that Dane Park’s public pitches are literally across the road does not, in their eyes, change the rule. It highlights the strange theatre of the planning system. A body set up to protect community sports land is now defending fields that nobody can actually use. At the same time, a developer tries to build on what is fundamentally a brownfield site. The council sits in the middle, caught between housing targets and policies that treat fenced-off grass as untouchable. In 2021, Kent County Council planned to build a 900-pupil secondary school here, complete with pitches, before [abandoning the idea](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/plans-for-900-pupil-secondary-school-axed-258674/?ref=kentcurrent.news) when pupil forecasts dipped. That left the land derelict and overgrown until this latest application came forward. Sport England’s objection here also carries less weight than in other cases. Last year in Chatham, its [intervention](https://www.localauthority.news/p/sport-england-objects-to-housing?ref=kentcurrent.news) forced a referral to the Secretary of State and delayed a housing scheme for months. Whitehall eventually refused to intervene, and the plans went through. In this case, the rules mean the council could press ahead if it wished, adding an extra element of charade to the whole thing. Public opposition has so far been limited. Two residents have lodged [objections](https://planning.thanet.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=T2HDY0QEIXL00&ref=kentcurrent.news), one pointing to the lack of affordable housing, the other raising concerns about traffic and pressure on services. Both criticisms are arguably more grounded than the national body’s stance on a locked-up pitch. The broader context is that organisations like Sport England and Natural England regularly hold up schemes across the country, sometimes for reasons developers see as arbitrary. Ministers now want to [strip them of their planning roles](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/apr/29/thousands-playing-fields-lost-sport-england-stripped-planning-role?ref=kentcurrent.news), arguing that they are blockers rather than protectors. Sport England insists it has saved more than a thousand pitches since 2022, but in cases like Margate, it looks like an organisation reduced to defending a fence rather than a field. Thanet councillors must still decide whether to push the plans through or demand some kind of sporting contribution, perhaps money for facilities elsewhere. Sport England has left open the possibility of dropping its objection if that happens, though the developer has yet to offer anything, and without the council demanding it, there is little incentive for them to do so. As it stands, the site remains behind the fence, a patch of land for sport on paper but useless in practice, waiting for councillors to decide what will happen next. --- **Enjoying the Kent Current? Pass it on.* If you know someone who’d like this too, forward them this email and invite them to subscribe.* --- #### Latest financial declarations of Kent MPs The [Register of Members’ Financial Interests](https://members.parliament.uk/members/commons/interests/publications?ref=kentcurrent.news) is where all MPs must register donations, gifts, and hospitality they receive. On the most recent update to the register, some Kent MPs have had some pretty substantial additions to declare: - Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat, Tunbridge Wells) received £3,000 from an individual and £3,000 from Field View Mentors Ltd. An individual also hosted a dinner for him, valued at £3,153, but sadly, the menu is not included in the data. - Laura Trott (Conservative, Sevenoaks) received £3,000 from Lord John Nash. - Tony Vaughan (Folkestone and Hythe, Labour) received £1,431 for three hours’ work as a barrister in August. - Sojan Joseph (Ashford, Labour) received a trip to Switzerland valued at £742, paid for by [Be Friends Switzerland](https://befriends.ch/?ref=kentcurrent.news). Additionally, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA), a parliamentary body designed to ensure outside earnings of MPs are within the rules, has granted Tom Tugendhat (Conservative, Tonbridge and Malling) [permission](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68c98fe55e09a4a59af0bf7a/Advice%5FLetter%5F-%5FTom%5FTugendhat%5F%5FScript%5FWriter%5F%5F%5FPresenter%5F%5FSelf-Employed%5F%5F1%5F.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) to pursue his dream of becoming a script writer and presenter. The MP told the committee that he wished to start writing scripts for documentaries, including possibly on European defence, which might lead to presenting opportunities, like a kind of Michael Portillo, but perhaps on a fighter jet instead of a train. --- #### FKA levelling up The government [announced](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-backs-true-patriots-to-lead-uk-renewal-with-5bn-investment?ref=kentcurrent.news) a new tranche of funding today as part of a new initiative that definitely isn’t a rebadged ‘levelling up’ scheme. The new Pride in Place programme will see areas given either £20m over ten years or a £1.5m one-off pot to upgrade public spaces. The new gimmick here is that the money should be spent with community consultation, but it is unclear how this will work in practice. The good news is that some parts of Kent are in line for funding. The following areas are set to receive £20m over the next decade: - Buckland & St Radigunds, Dover - Parkwood & Senacre, Maidstone - Sheppey East, Swale Meanwhile, some wider council areas will receive the one-off £1.5 sum: - Gravesham - Medway - Swale - Thanet It will take some time for local areas to figure out exactly how the money will be spent, but the overall amount represents £66m for Kent, out of the £5bn being distributed across the country. --- #### Councillors applaud far-right intimidation of the press Kent’s anti-immigration protests took another ugly turn in Canterbury last week when Local Democracy Reporter Oliver Leader was [confronted](https://pressgazette.co.uk/news/journalists-targeted-by-protesters-at-kent-anti-asylum-rally/?ref=kentcurrent.news) with a bag of what a protest organiser claimed was used toilet paper. Leader was outside Connors House, a Kent County Council building for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, when organiser Harry Hilden waved the bag in his face and led chants of “used toilet paper for the press.” Leader later described it as “alarming” and said he had been made the centre of “vitriolic attention” simply for doing his job. The stunt was filmed and posted online, where it quickly spread. By itself, the incident would have been bad enough, but the fallout became worse when the video was liked by two senior Reform councillors at County Hall: Richard Palmer, Reform chair of Kent County Council, and Peter Osborne, the cabinet member for Highways. Palmer has since claimed he didn’t watch the clip through and thought it showed a microphone fault, and who among us hasn’t found themselves in that position while doomscrolling TikTok? Osborne has seemingly said nothing at all. Either way, it is indefensible. Two elected county councillors amplified footage of a journalist being publicly humiliated for reporting on a protest. This is part of a wider pattern. Far-right groups have become increasingly active across Kent, often draping themselves in flags (national or [neo-Nazi](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kent-reform-councillors-pictured/)) and turning up at asylum sites. More marches are planned in the coming weeks in Folkestone and Faversham, while in Medway, flaggers angry about Medway Council threatening to take them down are trying to get their own march off the ground. These groups don’t seem particularly interested in reasoned debate. They instead thrive on spectacle and intimidation. All of which is why the councillors’ behaviour matters. Leaders at County Hall may want to shrug this off as a misunderstanding or an accidental click, but liking and sharing footage of a reporter being abused sends a message. It signals to those orchestrating the protests that their tactics are working and that the county's political leaders are not willing to call them out. What happened in Canterbury was unacceptable. If Kent’s councillors cannot be clear on that, then they are complicit in normalising it. And if journalists cannot cover local protests without being turned into props for far-right theatre, the whole county has a problem that goes well beyond immigration policy. --- #### In brief 🚄 Eurotunnel’s boss has fired shots at other operators who claim they are [not ready](https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2025-09-24/new-eu-border-checks-will-have-minimal-impact-on-travel-says-eurotunnel-boss?ref=kentcurrent.news) for Europe’s new Entry/Exit System (EES), saying they are admitting that they “didn’t do a good job.” Eurotunnel says new checks will only add two minutes to each passenger's journey, but also says their new system can process 700 vehicles per hour at 224 booths, which suggests a figure closer to triple that. 🥀 A Thanet Labour Cabinet member has [resigned from the party](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2025/09/19/thanet-council-cabinet-member-rob-yates-leaves-labour-party-to-join-greens/?ref=kentcurrent.news) and switched to the Green Party. Cllr Rob Yates, who represents Margate Central, said he can’t be associated with “this right-wing government anymore.” 🏢 According to the Green Party, Kent County Council’s plan to keep its Maidstone headquarters rather than sell it off could [cost five times what it saves](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0596224j9mo?ref=kentcurrent.news). Reform claims that staying in Sessions House will save £14m, but the Greens argue it will cost between £20m and £67m to make it suitable and refurbish. 🚫 Sevenoaks District Council is set to [reject plans](https://cds.sevenoaks.gov.uk/documents/s64041/4.1%20-%2024-02765%20-FORMATTED.pdf?J=2&ref=kentcurrent.news) for a 450-home development east of Edenbridge. The report from planning officers cites the somewhat contradictory reasons of harm to the Green Belt, but also that the density of the proposed development is too low. 🏨 Plans to convert a former Premier Inn in Gravesend into a 46-person HMO have been [withdrawn](https://democracy.gravesham.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=106&MId=9410&ref=kentcurrent.news) by the applicant. Gravesham councillors were due to debate the application last night, with planning officers recommending the proposal be refused. 🏘️ Swale Borough Council is set to debate a [motion](https://services.swale.gov.uk/meetings/documents/s31672/Motion%20Management%20and%20Regulation%20of%20HMOs%20in%20Swale%20Update%2010SEP25.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) to block new HMOs. The proposal has Reform backing, but it is unclear whether the largest political groups on the council will support it. 🚧 Plans to [demolish Park Mall](https://ashfordboroughcouncil.my.site.com/pr/s/planning-application/a0hTw000003R0QPIA0/pa20251749?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Ashford have been submitted following a contentious plan to redevelop the site. The demolition plans will see part of the site used as a 200-space car park for up to five years. 🏥 Darent Valley Hospital plans to build a [new modular ward](https://publicaccess.dartford.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=T1ATURBQK4200&ref=kentcurrent.news) because an existing ward has been deemed unsafe due to fire safety issues. 🍷 Plans for a winery, visitor centre, and hotel in Harrietsham have been [approved](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/it-s-a-natural-addition-major-winery-visitor-centre-and-330085/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Kent County Council has confirmed in a Freedom of Information response that [no permission was sought](https://kccportal.icasework.com/resource?id=D37613742&db=CfARENrVaIw%3D&ref=kentcurrent.news) for the approximately eighty billion flags that have been attached to lampposts around Faversham. They also reiterated that they don’t care and are happy for them to stay. 🇬🇧 Meanwhile, Medway Council has [pledged to remove flags](https://www.localauthority.news/p/council-pledges-to-remove-medways?ref=kentcurrent.news) attached to lampposts, with a particularly direct video blaming ‘agitators of the far-right.’ 🏆 Two Kent politicians are [up for awards](https://lgiu.org/events/cllr-awards/cllr-awards-2025-the-shortlist-england-wales/?ref=kentcurrent.news) at Local Government Information Unit awards. Former KCC leader Roger Gough is up for the ‘Lifetime Legend’ award, while Cllr Helen Whitehead from Thanet is up for Innovator of the Year. 🗳️ A by-election for Ashford Borough Council takes place today in Rolvenden and Tenterden West after Green councillor Kate Walder resigned. Election expert Andrew Teale [previews the contest on his newsletter](https://andrewspreviews.substack.com/p/previewing-the-four-local-by-elections-ba1). ⚽ Gillingham FC owner Brad Galinson has [launched legal action](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/medway/news/gills-owner-sues-former-chairman-scally-over-7m-club-takeov-330220/?ref=kentcurrent.news) against the club’s former chairman, alleging financial wrongdoing at the club ahead of a £7m takeover. 🏛️ The Old Town Hall in Gravesend was [sold at auction](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/gravesend/news/iconic-town-hall-sells-at-auction-for-more-than-double-the-330253/?ref=kentcurrent.news) last week to a mystery buyer for nearly £800,000. 🕳️ AI has apparently [discovered a fatberg attached to a dumbbell](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c78nzj33zmpo?ref=kentcurrent.news) blocking a sewer in Folkestone. 🚌 A driver on a Fastrack route between Gravesend and Dartford seemingly took the name a little too seriously, getting into a ‘[chase](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dartford/news/passengers-thrown-from-seats-as-bus-driver-attempts-to-ch-330206/?ref=kentcurrent.news)’ with a car which resulted in multiple passenger injuries. --- #### More Currents Our paid supporters receive extra editions of the *Kent Current* every week. This week, for our latest big interview, [we sat down with Antony Hook](https://www.kentcurrent.news/from-saddle-to-soil/), leader of the opposition at Kent County Council. The former MEP talks about the Reform administration in Kent, flags on lampposts, Brexit’s impact on Kent, and lots more. [“I really don’t like party tribalism”Antony Hook is the Liberal Democrat leader of the opposition at Kent County Council, a former MEP and a barrister. Steven met him in the County Hall canteen to talk about the results of this year’s county council elections, flags on lampposts, and how Brexit has affected Kent...![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f8d4a4c7f-19fc-4e7c-87d7-4ed0b87571a5_567x567-4.png)Kent CurrentSteven Keevil![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f56aaa122-e631-4ff4-a4d4-3321fde71c95_2611x1851-png.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-really-dont-like-party-tribalism/) Our midweek feature had a different vibe, as writer and naturalist [Carol Donaldson wrote about two very different autumnal wanderings](https://www.kentcurrent.news/from-saddle-to-soil/) of our county. [From saddle to soilCarol Donaldson is a writer and naturalist. Today, she takes us on two very different autumn wanderings of our county: One by bike through orchards and churchyards to Queendown Warren, and one on foot through Bredhurst Wood in search of fungi and memories of a richer countryside…![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f8d4a4c7f-19fc-4e7c-87d7-4ed0b87571a5_567x567-5.png)Kent Current![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fda8bd1c0-fa3f-4ce2-b3c1-887ad31a6503_700x400-webp.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/from-saddle-to-soil/) Our generous paid supporters ensure we can keep this Thursday news briefing free for everyone, so [please consider joining them](#/portal/signup) to ensure we can keep doing it. You’ll receive every edition we publish, access to the full archive of past editions, the ability to join our community discussions, and more. [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup) --- #### Footnotes *Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via *hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news* \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* ### From saddle to soil URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/from-saddle-to-soil/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:54:56.000Z [***Carol Donaldson***](https://caroldonaldsonwriter.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *is a writer and naturalist. Today, she takes us on two very different autumn wanderings of our county: One by bike through orchards and churchyards to Queendown Warren, and one on foot through Bredhurst Wood in search of fungi and memories of a richer countryside…* **Bike riding to Queendown Warren** It has been easy to feel worn down with the housebuilding and traffic issues around Rainham, but heading out of town on my bike, I quickly find myself in the rural country route of Canterbury Lane, speeding through pools of light and shade as I flash in and out of the shadow of the tall poplar trees lining the golf course. Across the road, a cycle path leads through orchards laden with blushing pink apples. Later into winter, flocks of redwings and fieldfares will descend from Scandinavia to feast on fallen fruit, the chuck chuck chuck of fieldfares, a handsome thrush with a slate grey head, chestnut back and a bandit mask, can often be heard in town as flocks fly over the tower of St Margaret’s Church. Our fruit farmers are having a tough time as supermarkets favour cheaper imports from abroad, so buy British where possible. I cross the A2 at the Tuck Inn and head up through the outskirts of Hartlip village as flocks of starlings whistle and chip in the hedgerows. A woolly bear caterpillar is crossing the road, all bristling indignation as I pick him up to rescue him from the traffic. These furry caterpillars of the garden tiger moth were once favourites of children, although they have declined in numbers with rising temperatures. The fur is there to protect them from being swallowed by birds, who find the hairs irritate their throats and spit them out. I park my bike beneath the 900-year-old yew tree in St Mary Magdalene Church, Stockbury. The ancient trunk of the tree is weather-beaten into pinnacles like stalagmites, but the tree is bright with scarlet berries, which blackbirds are feasting on. Presumably, they are immune to the poisonous black seeds within each sweet berry. The trees are associated with death and resurrection, as a limb dropped in a storm quickly roots and regrows. Yews were also associated with ancient Celtic worship sites, and the location of this church, with its views across the valley, would have been an ideal location for our ancestors to worship the constellations and spot enemies approaching. ![gallery image](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f60116d5d-981e-44c6-814c-54f783e0eec5_1024x768-jpeg.jpg) The square towered church replaced an earlier Saxon building, and next door is a Norman [Motte-and-bailey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motte-and-bailey%5Fcastle?ref=kentcurrent.news), last used in the Second World War when it supported anti-aircraft guns. Lambs, grown chunky since the spring, are grazing beneath the remains of an old cherry orchard. Sedate now, all the skip of a few months ago seemingly lost with their lolloping tails. Inside the church, there are bats in the belfry. Little black droppings, like dried coffee grounds, can be spotted on the pews. I think of the bats hiding in the crevices of the old oak beams that criss-cross the ceiling and emerging at night to flit through the forest of stone columns. Churches provide an important sanctuary for our bats at a time many are being evicted by housing renovations and developments. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### “I really don’t like party tribalism” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-really-dont-like-party-tribalism/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:54:58.000Z *Antony Hook is the Liberal Democrat leader of the opposition at Kent County Council, a former MEP and a barrister. Steven met him in the County Hall canteen to talk about the results of this year’s county council elections, flags on lampposts, and how Brexit has affected Kent...* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f56aaa122-e631-4ff4-a4d4-3321fde71c95_2611x1851-png-2.jpg) Cllr Antony Hook **Which division are you the councillor for?** I'm councillor for Faversham, and the division is the whole town of Faversham. The town boundaries are just about the right size to be a council division. **Why are you the councillor for that division?** I've lived there for a long time. I absolutely love the town. I grew up in a different part of Kent, but moved there when I met my wife, and I absolutely love it. It's a small town and has a really positive, friendly community. But it's also got amazing services for a small market town. We've got two swimming pools run by a charity. We've got our own cinema. We've got a number of independent shops, and we've got schools that Ofsted say are all good. It's an amazing town. **Which party are you a member of?** I'm a Liberal Democrat and I'm the leader of the Liberal Democrat group here at KCC. **Have you ever been a member of any other party?** No, I've never been a member of any other party. I joined the Liberal Democrats when I was 18, when I was a student at university. **Why did you join the Liberal Democrats?** I had worked out in the course of my teenage years that I was a liberal. I believe in everyone having freedom and the maximum opportunities to live their life to the full and that means both freedom from and the government getting out of people's way, but also having an active government that evens up opportunity and make sure we have good quality education and health because freedom is meaningless if you don't have access to education and access to services like the health service. I was personally very inspired by [Paddy Ashdown](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paddy%5FAshdown?ref=kentcurrent.news). He brought honesty to politics, and honesty in the 90s was in short supply. The Conservative government, through the 90,s became rotten to the core. You could barely get through a week without another scandal, whether it was cash for questions, sex scandals or infighting in the government or monetary scandals. Back then, people forget our whole political system was much less transparent. We had no Freedom of Information Act back then, and we also had no internet and the internet, I realise, is a double-edged sword, but people didn't have access to information. All sorts of wrongdoing was got away with or was got away with for longer, before it was eventually uncovered. We had no Nolan Principles, the principles of standards in public life, such as objectivity and selflessness and honesty, which anyone who holds public office is expected to obey those principles. The [Nolan Principles](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-7-principles-of-public-life?ref=kentcurrent.news) hadn't been devised until the late 1990s. In fact, it was the scandals of the Conservative government in the 90s that led to Lord Nolan's committee being created. I was very inspired by Paddy, and particularly, an issue in the 90s was the Bosnian Civil War. We had had the end of the Cold War, and there was a tremendous sense of optimism in the world. I know my father's generation literally had drills at school of what you do if there's a nuclear attack. In that whole period from the 50s through to the 90s, people seriously feared that nuclear war was something that was going to happen to us eventually. I remember watching on television as a boy, when the Berlin Wall fell down, there was a real sense of positivity that even as a child, I could appreciate that things were going to get better. Then when the former Yugoslav Civil War broke out. That was a challenge because we saw genocide at places like Srebrenica. There were stories of towns and villages where people lived side by side for decades and suddenly were being killed by militia from one side or the other. That was really shocking, and Paddy was one of the few leading figures in British politics who said, “This is unacceptable and the international community should intervene to stop it.” The international community eventually did, but it took several years, and outrages like Srebrenica happened, and lots of people were victims of genocide in the meantime. I was very inspired by that and also later by [Charles Kennedy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles%5FKennedy?ref=kentcurrent.news), who also brought a freshness and a sense of honesty and truth-telling to politics. But also, the Liberal Democrats to me embodied a calm and rational approach, rather than an emotive prejudice. **How long have you been the leader of the Liberal Democrat group?** I've been the leader of the group for four years now, in the previous council and in this one. In the previous council, we were opposing the Conservatives, and there were six of us. We had in the previous county council three opposition groups, Labour, Liberal Democrat, and Green, who were all roughly the same size. We all had between four and seven members. Then in this year's county council elections, we doubled our number of seats, went from six to twelve, and we became the largest opposition group and hence why I'm designated as leader of the opposition. **Is there anything particular about yourself that you the leader of the group?** We had an election within the group, and I was elected. **Why did you stand and why do feel the people voted for you?** I put myself forward because I thought I've got skills to be an effective leader. Part of my role is to coordinate members of the group, making sure that we're covering the range of activities and all the different committees and policy areas, but try and bring that together and have a strategic focus. **In the previous council, did you have a working relationship with the leader of the council at that time?** Yeah, I got on personally quite well with Roger Gough. I have a lot of respect for Roger Gough. I disagreed with many of the decisions they were making, but there was always a mutual respect and also, I thought Roger was a good listener, and I thought he was usually interested in what opposition groups said, and sometimes changed policy or amended policy as a result of when good points are made. I think he had a very genuine desire to do the best by the people of Kent and had a long-term view. He'd been on the council for a very long time. I thought Roger always had a very long-term view, and that's absolutely essential because the council's been here for 135 years. Local government will continue to be here for decades to come. The form of local government has changed. It changed in a big way in the 1970s, when our current district councils were created from smaller units. It's probably going to change again in the next couple of years, but there will be local government. The decisions we make will have long-term consequences. Also, the scale of it, because we're making decisions for the whole of Kent. That's about 1.8 million people, the largest local authority in the country. I thought Roger always listened, and I thought Roger could sometimes put party tribalism aside, which I think is really important. I really don't like party tribalism. I don't think I ever will be one of those people who says my party's always right, and all the other parties are idiots. I've never felt that way, and I find that approach very destructive in politics nationally and locally. Reform came in and replaced the Conservatives where the Conservatives hadn’t offered very good political leadership. **As you mentioned, in the last local elections, your group doubled in size, there were also other dramatic events. Roger lost his seat, the Conservatives were practically wiped out, and Reform took control. What's your explanation for that change?** It's interesting. I was surprised by the scale of the Conservative defeat. I thought the Conservative group would still be here in a significant number, and I thought the council would probably have no overall control. I was clearly wrong about that. What I know is, because people ask me how did you beat Reform, and this is true both in Faversham and in all the places where the Liberal Democrats were elected. We tend to be in places with a strong, vibrant sense of community. It doesn't just exist by itself. That comes from political leadership. We have in Faversham a good team of Liberal Democrat councillors on the town council, the borough council, and the county council who are working hard all year round, in touch with people all year round, organising lots of events and quite apart from councils, we have a good sense of community where there's lots of clubs, societies. It's a very active community. I think that across the county, Reform did particularly well, and maybe there isn't the same quality of political leadership in place, or the same community infrastructure had not been developed. I think it was, in some ways, political choices coming home to roost, that Reform came in and replaced the Conservatives where the Conservatives hadn't offered very good political leadership. I'll give you an example of that on quite a controversial issue. We have, in Faversham, a place called the Acacia Court. It's a reception centre for refugee children who arrive in the country with no adults. The children who are 16 to 17, assessed by KCC social workers who are very experienced, good at their job as being that age, they go there for up to two weeks, sometimes less, just as an initial reception, a safe place for them to be before they go into the national transfer scheme, where they may go into care anywhere in the country. It's been open a year. When the opening of it was announced, there was a little bit of concern and quite a lot of false information going around. The decision I took was to go on the front foot and tell people through social media, but also through face-to-face conversations, the facts and that I didn't oppose it, and it doesn't pose a danger to the community and also point out that it's been opened on a site that's been derelict for ten years. This derelict site had become a magnet for drug-taking anti-social behaviour, or drug-dealing anti-social behaviour. This was actually a really good thing for the community. It was going to be refurbished at the UK government's expense. When the UK government don't need it anymore, there will be a lovely, refreshed building that could be used. I found, by being honest, people were receptive to that and were reassured and have continued to elect me and my Liberal Democrat colleagues since. I think there are other parts of Kent where, to be blunt, councillors from other parties would not have shown the same leadership. There was a degree of courage in it because there was plenty of abuse. I think we made the decision not to be cowed by that, but just to be honest and tell people the truth. Last autumn, the manager of Acacia Court mentioned to me that they were short of fruit and vegetables to serve. I put a message out on Facebook to tell the community. Lots of people have allotments, lots of us grow fruit and veg in our gardens. I've got two big apple trees. And people took apples, cherries, potatoes up there. I related this story in a KCC meeting, and a couple of members from other parties said to me, “In our community, that wouldn't have happened. If I put up a Facebook post saying please donate food and vegetables to the refugee children’s home, I would have got abuse,” which is really sad to hear. But I think it's about the quality of political leadership over time. I think if a politician, taking immigration as an example, only talks about refugees in a negative way, their community will feel negatively about refugees. If you're positive about that and actually say, these children don't pose any threat, and we should be really proud of looking after children, then people respond very positively, and the proof of that is fabulous. I would say, and that's bringing it back to your question to me, which was about the election and the places where the Liberal Democrats beat Reform, we had a strong track record of community politics. I don't know, but I suspect that the places where the Conservatives lost in such a big number is because they didn't have that track record of community politics. I think they were probably very complacent for many years. The current leadership is very disappointing. There’s a real lack of leadership. **Talking about quality leadership, what are your views on the current leadership of Kent County Council?** _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Kent councillors decide there is no climate emergency URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/kent-councillors-decide-there-is/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:54:59.000Z *A meeting of Kent County Council yesterday saw tempers flare inside and outside the chamber as the Reform administration voted to rescind Kent’s climate emergency. We’ve got the full details of the motion, the debate, and what it means for Kent below. Further down, we have news of a Medway school being forced into a u-turn after trying to run an essay contest with a Reform shirt as a prize, more happenings at KCC, news in brief, and more.* --- #### **Kent councillors decide there is no climate emergency** Kent County Council has scrapped its declaration of a climate emergency, making Kent one of the few places in the country to row back from acknowledging the crisis. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f80f65805-7384-4ce0-83ee-0f6e6a0cf07d_2500x1406-jpeg-1.jpg) Reform councillors put forward the motion at yesterday’s [county council meeting](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/mgCalendarMonthView.aspx?GL=1&ref=kentcurrent.news). The result was expected but still remarkable. Six years ago, the council had declared the issue an emergency. By Thursday afternoon, it decided it no longer was. The mood was set before councillors even entered the chamber. Around 30 climate campaigners turned up outside County Hall to oppose the Reform motion. They were met by three counter-protestors with a banner calling climate change a hoax. Voices were raised, and at one point, a protester tried to drag the hoax banner down. Inside, the tension carried into the chamber. Chair Cllr Palmer opened by chastising members for their behaviour at the last meeting. He cited councillors storming out, slamming doors and using “foul and abusive language.” He called for civility, which lasted for all of a few minutes. As council leader Cllr [Linden Kemkaran](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-think-theres-a-lot-gone-wrong-with/) delivered her report, she spoke about migrant arrivals and “civil unrest” over accommodation before arguing that “more jobs and fewer rights” was a sensible economic approach. She went on to repeat her view that a single countywide unitary was the only model for local government reform, and finished by invoking the recent death of Charlie Kirk as a call for civility in politics. Opposition leaders pounced. Cllr Hook for the Lib Dems said it was “odd” to invoke Kirk’s death in the chamber when Cllr Kemkaran had previously said Ukraine was “too far away to care about.” He accused Reform of wanting to centralise power at County Hall. Cllr Hood for the Greens reminded the chamber that five Reform councillors had [recently posed with a man waving a neo-Nazi flag](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kent-reform-councillors-pictured/). Cllr Rayner for the Conservatives said his group would only back reorganisation tied to a mayoral model. Labour’s Cllr Brady mocked “a lot of hot air in the chamber.” Chair Cllr Palmer immediately quipped that he too felt the hot air after Brady spoke. An odd remark given the supposed impartial role of a Chair who had told councillors to treat each other with respect only an hour earlier. There were other clashes. Cllr Kemkaran accused Cllr Hood of turning up to a meeting on violence against women and girls with “six foot men pretending to be women.” Seconds later, she suggested Cllr Jeffrey’s scarf made him a “supporter of Hamas.” Cllr Palmer asked her to “reflect on the comment,” though there was no further action. After lunch, where Reform councillors largely headed to Wetherspoons, the big moment arrived. The [Reform motion](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/documents/s132214/MTLD%201%20-%20Reform%20UK%20-%20Rescinding%20Climate%20Emergency.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) itself was sprawling and littered with junk science. It argued that Kent’s 2019 climate emergency had achieved ‘no discernible effect on the world’s climate’ and pushed the line that human-driven climate change is ‘unproven.’ Its background notes leaned heavily on organisations like the Heartland Institute in the US and the Global Warming Policy Foundation in the UK. Both groups are long associated with climate denial and fossil fuel interests, and have been repeatedly criticised for presenting one-sided or misleading information as if it were science. The motion cited a 2022 ‘World Climate Declaration’ signed by a small pool of climate sceptics, alongside a grab-bag of contrarian sources, including Climate: The Movie, a film fact-checked for spreading misinformation and conspiracy theories. It painted carbon dioxide as ‘plant food,’ suggested weather stations were unreliable, and argued that past warming was good for civilisation. It also slipped into the language of conspiracy theories, warning that net zero would mean ‘15-minute cities,’ rationing flights, bans on red meat, and ‘anti-human’ agendas pushed by unelected global bodies. The motion’s conclusion was straightforward: Kent should be ‘open-minded but sceptical’ of climate science, welcome more debate, and rescind the climate emergency declaration . Reform councillors lined up to support it. Proposer Cllr Hespe said climate change was “not settled science.” Cllr Moat claimed the declaration had cost “tens of millions.” Cllr Fothergill said the earth was “evolving naturally.” Cllr Foster accused campaigners of wanting to “take steak off our plates.” Cllr Williams dismissed “scare stories about disappearing polar bears” and called climate education in schools “indoctrination.” Opposition responses were scathing. Cllr Stepto of the Greens asked if the motion had been “written by David Icke or the Reform agitprop department.” Lib Dem Cllr Moreland said fossil fuel companies were recycling tobacco-style tactics to undermine science. Cllr Ricketts, another Lib Dem, joked that all it took to undermine decades of consensus was someone with a YouTube account, and warned it was “perilous to bury your head in the sand” when sea levels are rising. Cllr Hudson, a Conservative, opposed rescinding the declaration and told Reform to stop chasing headlines. Green Cllr Jeffrey said 97% of scientists agreed on the climate crisis, and the rest were “in the pocket of fossil fuel companies like Reform.” He added that the climate breakdown would increase migration, which is ironic given “Reform’s hatred of migrants.” Cllr Palmer demanded an apology. Cllr Jeffrey refused, while one Reform councillor shot back that they were married to a child of Windrush. Tempers flared before Cllr Palmer pushed the chamber to a vote. Reform carried the day, winning 50 votes to 21\. Kent County Council no longer recognises a climate emergency. The rest of the meeting never reached the same heat. A [Green motion](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/documents/s132215/MTLD%202%20-%20Green%20-%20Environmental%20Action%20in%20Kent.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) to cut pesticide use and encourage biodiversity was voted down by the same margin. A [Lib Dem vaccine motion](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/documents/s132216/MTLD%203%20-%20Liberal%20Democrat%20-%20Vaccinations.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news), slightly watered down to broaden support, passed unanimously. Reform councillors lined up to praise it. Labour’s Cllr Nolan reminded the chamber that science on vaccines “is not debatable,” a perhaps pointed comment given Cllr Kemkaran’s recent musings about covid jabs and the royal family. But it was the climate motion that will have the largest impact. By the close of the meeting, Reform had overturned the policy and declared that Kent no longer faces a climate emergency. The decision may prove symbolic rather than practical, but its message is clear: Kent has stepped away from the national consensus. --- *The Kent Current is a reader-supported publication, designed to deliver Kent news without the ads or the clickbait. To support our work and receive our latest editions straight to your inbox,* [*subscribe for free*](#/portal/signup)*.* [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup) --- #### What else is happening at KCC this week? - Hope not Hate has [published a set of remarkable quotes](https://hopenothate.org.uk/2025/09/18/reforms-kent-councillors-are-all-wankers-who-hate-each-other-reform-staffer-says/?ref=kentcurrent.news) from Reform’s southeast organiser, Adam Wordsworth, who describes Kent’s Reform councillors as “all wankers” who “hate” and “fight with each other.” Blimey. - Kent County Council is forecasting a [£27.9m overspend for 2025–26](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/documents/s132367/Revenue%20and%20Capital%20Budget%20Forecast%20Outturn%20Report%20Quarter%201.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news), mainly due to pressures in adult social care and undelivered savings. The school’s budget deficit is also set to rise to £125.6m, driven by high demand for special needs provision despite additional government funding. The capital programme is broadly on track, but reserves will be needed to cover the shortfall. - Ashford East Reform councillor Dean Burns has [spoken out](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqxz915wdlvo?ref=kentcurrent.news) after his drink was spiked while visiting the pub, telling the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the incident left him with anxiety and depression. - Former leader of Kent County Council, Roger Gough, has [written to the Financial Times](https://x.com/RogerGough2/status/1967862833946791977?ref=kentcurrent.news) to call the alleged savings that Reform have found at KCC ‘performative’ and ‘insubstantial.’ --- #### School backtracks on Reform contest after row over neutrality A Medway school has been forced into a U-turn after it planned to award a Nigel Farage football shirt as an essay prize, following a [story exclusively revealed](https://www.localauthority.news/p/farage-football-shirt-offered-as?ref=kentcurrent.news) by our sister title [*Local Authority*](https://www.localauthority.news/?ref=kentcurrent.news). Sir Joseph Williamson’s Mathematical School in Rochester, known locally as Rochester Math, told GCSE Citizenship students earlier this month that they could enter a 1,000 word essay competition on the title ‘evaluate the view that Reform have obliterated the two-party system.’ The winner will receive a Reform football shirt printed with ‘Farage 10’ on the back, to be presented in person by Kent County Council leader Linden Kemkaran during a visit to the school on 1 October. The plan sparked immediate concern about political impartiality in the classroom. Parents and students questioned why overtly political merchandise was being used as a prize and why an active party leader would be involved in presenting it. After our reporting and national coverage in Politico, the New World, the Daily Mail, and others, the school backtracked. In a statement, it said: > *“Following the response to this particular competition, the school will no longer be awarding the original prize. We recognise our responsibility to be impartial, but recognise too that we need to be seen to be impartial. As a result of this we will no longer award any party political items as part of politics competitions or events. The visit and essay competition will go ahead.”* The school, which operates under the Leigh Academies Trust and is rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted, originally defended the competition as part of a wider programme of political engagement. Principal Mr Hodges had said essay contests were an established feature of the curriculum and listed past prizes, including cardboard cut-outs of Jeremy Corbyn and Rishi Sunak, copies of Vince Cable’s book, and Vote Labour leaflets. He said excluding Reform UK would not be impartial and insisted the school took its obligations “extremely seriously.” That explanation was contradicted by students, who said they had not seen similar competitions linked to other party visits, and by politicians named by the school. Labour MP Naushabah Khan’s office said they had no knowledge of any such contest, and Medway Council leader Vince Maple told *Local Authority*: “I’ve spoken at lots of politics and citizenship classes but never offered or been asked for a prize.” After further questions, the school said it did not keep records of competitions and confirmed it had never been offered a shirt by a political party. It later announced a Labour-linked essay contest with a novelty mug as a prize, but this was only advertised to students after the Reform contest became public. Government rules state schools must avoid promoting partisan political views and take steps to ensure balanced treatment of political issues. Inviting politicians is encouraged, but offering party merchandise as prizes falls into far greyer territory. The Reform leader will still be welcomed into a Medway classroom next month. Whether pupils remember her speech or the Farage shirt that never was is another question. --- #### In brief 🗂️ Sevenoaks is set to begin consultation on its [new Local Plan](https://cds.sevenoaks.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=361&MId=3567&J=1&ref=kentcurrent.news). The plan would largely see the rural sections of the district left alone, but with extensive development to the north of Sevenoaks, as well as around Swanley, Edenbridge, and New Ash Green. The most significant move, though, is a proposed 2,500 home development on Pedham Place golf course. 🗳️ Tunbridge Wells is set to participate in a government pilot of [flexible voting during its 2026 local elections](https://democracy.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/documents/s79822/Flexible%20Voting%20Pilot%20Application%20-%20Local%20Elections%20May%202026.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news). The scheme will allow voters to visit central voting hubs in Tunbridge Wells, Paddock Wood, and Cranbrook on the weekend before the election to cast their votes, alongside the usual on the day method and postal voting. 🏗️ Planning officers at Ashford Borough Council are recommending that a [180 home development in Willesborough](https://ashford.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s31702/2024%5F1087%20PC%20report%20FINAL.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) be approved. In Maidstone, officers recommend a [100 home development in Lenham](https://maidstone.gov.uk/home/primary-services/council-and-democracy/primary-areas/your-councillors?sq%5Fcontent%5Fsrc=%2BdXJsPWh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGbWVldGluZ3MubWFpZHN0b25lLmdvdi51ayUyRmRvY3VtZW50cyUyRnMxMDA3NzElMkYxOTUwNDcyNEhZQlJJRCUyMENvbW1pdHRlZSUyMFJlcG9ydC5wZGYmYWxsPTE%3D&ref=kentcurrent.news) also be approved. 🏨 In Gravesend, a proposal to convert a former [Premier Inn into a 46 person HMO](https://democracy.gravesham.gov.uk/documents/s90746/20241069%20-%20Premier%20Inn%20FINAL.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) is set to be rejected, with officers claiming that losing a hotel would be too detrimental, as well as the impact on neighbouring properties. 👮 [A Strood man has been charged](https://hellorayo.co.uk/greatest-hits/kent/news/rochester-man-charged-disorder-unite-the-kingdom-protest?ref=kentcurrent.news) under Section 4A of the Public Order Act following disorder at the far-right Unite the Kingdom rally in London last weekend. Aaron Wren of Kingswear Gardens has been released on bail but will return to Highbury Magistrates Court on 29 September. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Anti-immigration protestors are set to [march through Canterbury](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/another-anti-immigration-march-and-counter-protest-planned-i-329967/?ref=kentcurrent.news) on Saturday. At the same time, residents in Faversham are using the time to [remove the flags](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/faversham/news/plan-to-de-flag-town-while-protest-takes-place-in-city-330050/?ref=kentcurrent.news) that have been left across their town. Meanwhile, Medway Council broke with Kent County Council and Kent Police to say that they will [begin removing flags in a pretty blunt video](https://www.facebook.com/MedwayLabour/videos/1116410450066643). 🚓 A Whitstable restaurant faces a licence review following a Home Office immigration raid. When [officers visited the Star of Bengal](https://democracy.canterbury.gov.uk/documents/s131035/Star%20of%20Bengal%20Review%20Application%20205.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) last year, they found two people working there illegally, one of whom wasn’t being paid. 📱 A woman from Kent has been [kicked out of her market stall](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/folkestone/news/kent-mum-targeted-after-kill-them-all-video-on-charlie-kir-329898/?ref=kentcurrent.news) at Petticoat Lane Emporium in Folkestone after posting a controversial video about the death of Charlie Kirk. 🏢 Locate in Kent, the organisation working to encourage businesses to base themselves in the county, has [entered liquidation](https://www.locateinkent.com/news-from-locate-in-kent/?ref=kentcurrent.news). It comes just two weeks after Visit Kent, a similar body to encourage tourism in the county, [also collapsed](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kents-tourism-megaphone-suddenly/). 🧑‍⚕️ Nearly half of the first intake of Kent and Medway Medical School students have chosen to [stay and work locally](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c237nmv7gkpo?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🩺 That is good news, because GP teams in Kent and Medway had their busiest ever July this year, with [960,000 appointments](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2503yq07lo?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🏥 The William Harvey Hospital in Ashford became so overwhelmed with patients this week that the [Costa Coffee near the entrance was turned into a makeshift ward](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/it-s-horrific-shock-as-overwhelmed-kent-hospital-uses-co-329988/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🌳 The Kent Wildlife Trust has purchased 400 acres of land near Lamberhurst as part of an [ambitious rewilding project](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c62n64d2nv9o?ref=kentcurrent.news). --- #### More Currents Earlier this week, writer and podcaster [James O’Malley](https://takes.jamesomalley.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) wrote for us about Kent’s housing crisis and how the only solution is to build, however unpopular that might be. [It’s time for Kent to build!As Kent’s housing crisis becomes ever more acute, there’s only one way out, argues writer and podcaster James O’Malley…![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f8d4a4c7f-19fc-4e7c-87d7-4ed0b87571a5_567x567-6.png)Kent CurrentJames O'Malley![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f65d0fce9-d74c-4b51-ad52-a609d51cc894_4032x2268-jpeg.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/its-time-for-kent-to-build/) [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup) --- #### Footnotes *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* **Enjoying the Kent Current? Pass it on.* If you know someone who’d like this too, forward them this email and invite them to subscribe.* ### It’s time for Kent to build! URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/its-time-for-kent-to-build/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:55:00.000Z *As Kent’s housing crisis becomes ever more acute, there’s only one way out, argues* [*writer*](https://takes.jamesomalley.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *and* [*podcaster*](https://www.abundancepod.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news) **James O’Malley*…* Back in 2008, at the age of 21, I left home for the first time, to live in a house – or more specifically, a room in a shared house – of my own. At the time, I was pretty embarrassed about this. Most of my friends had moved out at 18, making me feel like I was *incredibly* uncool and late to the party. However, today the story would be rather different. Last year, it was only by the [age of 24](https://blog.ons.gov.uk/2024/04/12/our-changing-population-is-there-for-all-to-see/?utm%5Fsource=chatgpt.com) that 50% of people had moved out of their parents’ home, and nationally, [3.6 million people](https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/families/bulletins/familiesandhouseholds/2024?ref=kentcurrent.news#:~:text=Young%20adults%20living%20with%20their,Notes:) aged between 20 and 34 were still living with a parent. The reason for this change is not hard to guess: it’s because the cost of living is so damn high. And this goes back to well before the wave of post-pandemic inflation we’re still feeling today. Here in Kent, for example, the [average price](https://www.kent.gov.uk/%5F%5Fdata/assets/pdf%5Ffile/0008/138527/house-price-annual-bulletin.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) paid for a home in 2024 was £400,679 – more than *double* the price of a home here twenty years ago. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f65d0fce9-d74c-4b51-ad52-a609d51cc894_4032x2268-jpeg-2.jpg) Ebbsfleet, a rare example of construction happening in Kent. That’s *a lot* of money – in 2023, the median Kent home [cost](https://www.kent.gov.uk/%5F%5Fdata/assets/pdf%5Ffile/0018/205830/Affordable-housing-in-Kent.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) almost ten times as much as median earnings, and the story is the same everywhere. In Swale, the ratio is ‘only’ 8.15x earnings, and in Tunbridge Wells it is an eye-watering 11.88x. By contrast, when my parents bought their home in the early 1980s, the national ratio was only around 3.6x – something I like to remind them when they complain about my generation having it easy. Anyway, fundamentally this is why most of the millennial and Gen Z homeowners you know have only managed to buy a home with help, either from rich parents or perhaps a convenient inheritance. And it’s why there are many more millennial families who aren’t so lucky, and are trapped renting or living with parents. It’s also why the situation is, if anything, even worse for people in social housing – or perhaps more accurately, people who are *not yet* in social housing, because in 2024 the [housing waiting list](https://www.kent.gov.uk/%5F%5Fdata/assets/pdf%5Ffile/0009/205767/Kent-Housing-Register.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) for Kent and Medway combined was 17,656 households. So this is all to say that Kent, like the rest of the country, is currently suffering from a profound housing crisis. And this isn’t just a problem for people who need somewhere to live – it’s also at the heart of many of our other problems too. Why does life feel like such a struggle, even for people in traditionally well-paid, white-collar jobs? Because so much of our income is spent on housing. Why has the British economy been so sluggish for a generation? Because it’s not easy for people to move where there are jobs. And why is there such a stark intergenerational wealth gap? Because baby boomers are a generation of homeowners, and the younger generations are not. However, there is a solution to Kent’s housing crisis. For as much as we may wish to pretend that the problem is that empty homes are not being used, or that greedy developers are ‘land banking’, or that the crisis can be mitigated through demand-side policies like rent controls, the reality is there is only one path out of this nightmare – and that is for Kent to build. **Time to build** What I describe above might be stark, but it shouldn’t be controversial. The need to build is widely recognised across the political spectrum by national leaders – which is why it is such a focus of the Labour government in Westminster, which is currently in the midst of passing a Planning and Infrastructure Bill to speed up planning approvals. Nationally, the government has set a housing target of 1.5 million new homes before the next election, which means that Kent needs to build around [13,000 homes a year](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/13k-new-homes-a-year-needed-in-kent-as-districts-with-bigg-317331/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to keep pace. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Maidstone makes it up as it goes along URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/maidstone-makes-it-up-as-it-goes/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:55:01.000Z *Improv comedy seems to be having something of a resurgence in Kent, with the second Maidstone Improv Festival happening next weekend. We’ve been talking to the organiser to find out what it’s all about. Further down, we continue our conversation with legendary comic writer and novelist Dan Abnett, we review Fifi’s Italian in Maidstone, look at upcoming Kent events, news in brief, and more* --- #### **Maidstone makes it up as it goes along** *Maidstone’s improv festival returns next weekend, bringing unscripted comedy and workshops to the town. We spoke to Creative Director Christopher Riley to find out more…* Silence is usually fatal in comedy. A stand-up dreads it, a sitcom edits around it, and sketch writers plan so it never happens. But silence is where things begin for the performers walking onto stages in Maidstone next weekend. The [Maidstone Improv Festival](https://maidstoneimprovfestival.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news) is back for its second outing, bringing together groups from Kent, Sussex, London and beyond to test what happens when you throw away the script and hand control to the audience. “All improv shows are based on the audience suggestions, so every show is different,” says Creative Director Christopher Riley. “It makes it more inclusive. You’re less likely to see a stand-up you don’t like or disagree with.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fbf078731-8405-49bd-94c0-531c11733767_1600x1200-jpeg-1.jpg) Maidstone Improv Festival. The first festival ran for nine days last year. This time, the organisers have cut it down to a single weekend of shows and workshops, a tighter run that reflects what they learned from the debut. Riley’s own group, County Town Improv, had already built links with performers across the south east, and opening the doors more widely brought in applications from Brighton and London. “We’re bringing as many of them as possible together for one big weekend,” he says. It is a statement of intent for a town with little comedy infrastructure. “Outside of some touring comedians who come to the Hazlitt, there really isn’t a comedy scene here,” Riley says. Music dominates Maidstone’s cultural calendar, from the Fringe Festival to the River Festival, while County Town Improv have been the only comedy act at the Fringe for two years running. “Maidstone has a fantastic live music scene, but that’s not for everyone. Improv comedy would be a good string to add to that bow.” The aim is not just to put Maidstone on the map but to give Kent something different. Canterbury Festival and Faversham Fringe both include plenty of comedy, but nothing has focused purely on improv until now. There are enough groups around to justify it, with Medway Playlab ([recently featured on our sister title, ](https://www.localauthority.news/p/playtime-for-grown-ups?ref=kentcurrent.news)[*Local Authority*](https://www.localauthority.news/p/playtime-for-grown-ups?ref=kentcurrent.news)) in Rochester, Folkestone Improv Theatre, Flock Improv, Happy Box of Imps, and Canterbury Improv all popping up around Kent. Maidstone is an easy gathering point in the middle of that patchwork. “Maidstone is well placed for all those groups to come together,” Riley says. Part of the appeal is its unpredictability. “From an audience perspective, there is a thrill in that not only do you not know what’s going to happen next, but the performers don’t either,” Riley says. The shows are built on shouted suggestions, the kind of participation that would horrify most stand-up comics. That energy makes it feel less intimidating and less solitary than other forms of comedy. “Improv is a team game. It works best when everyone on stage is helping each other out, and that really lends itself to building friendships and a sense of belonging. You don’t really get that with stand-up.” The festival wants audiences involved in more ways than shouting. Alongside the shows are workshops for children and adults. The aim is to convert spectators into participants, whether for confidence, public speaking or just the pleasure of messing around. “Everyone can do improv, that’s the joy of it,” Riley says. “It’s all about engaging in that sense of fun and playfulness that we all have as children, and can be hard to get back in touch with as adults.” There is a serious edge, too. The first two years have been funded through Maidstone Borough Council’s Creative Communities Grant, which drew on Levelling Up money. That support has now ended. “Ultimately, to make this a regular event, we need bums on seats,” Riley says. The workshops are filling up, but the long-term future depends on audiences paying to see the shows. The festival is also part of a wider attempt to broaden Maidstone’s cultural identity. The town already has [LitFest](https://www.maidstonelitfest.org/?ref=kentcurrent.news) and the [Kent Art Collective](https://www.kentartcollective.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news) pushing things in new directions. Comedy gives the town another strand. “We want to help people discover that there’s more going on in Maidstone than you might realise, as well as, primarily, giving them a really good laughter-filled evening out,” Riley says. Comedy has always been a gamble, and improv more than most. But for Maidstone, it is also an experiment in whether the town can stretch beyond the dominance of live music. With new groups springing up across Kent, there is a community of performers ready to take the chance. The open question is whether the audience will follow. “If you ever enjoyed Whose Line Is It Anyway? or I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue, then you’ll find something to love at Maidstone Improv Festival,” Riley says. “So come and enjoy it in your own county town.” Maidstone might not know what is coming next. But maybe that is the whole point. [*Maidstone Improv Festival*](https://maidstoneimprovfestival.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *runs 19 - 21 September at various locations in Maidstone town centre. Full details and ticket information are* [*available on the festival website*](https://maidstoneimprovfestival.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news)*.* --- #### In brief 🚜 J Myatt & Co, a Cliffe farm, is [featured in a new advert by M&S](https://www.fruitnet.com/fresh-produce-journal/kent-grower-myatt-stars-in-mands-farm-to-foodhall-ad/268679.article?ref=kentcurrent.news). In it, chef Tom Kerridge visits the farm to examine their plums. 🎤 ‘cene magazine have [interviewed Kent comedian Lou Sanders](https://cenemagazine.co.uk/features/in-conversation-with-lou-sanders-interview-2025?ref=kentcurrent.news) about her upcoming ‘homecoming’ show in Ramsgate. 🎛️ Louder Than War [reviews Dizzee Rascal at Dreamland](https://louderthanwar.com/dizzee-rascal-dreamland-margate-kent-live-review/?ref=kentcurrent.news). --- #### Aliens vs Predator vs IP Man *As part of our serialised conversation with Maidstone author* [*Dan Abnett*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan%5FAbnett?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, we turn to Alien, both in the comics Dan wrote and an award-winning computer game…* Scifi movie universes Dan has worked in have ranged from Planet of the Apes, Alien, Predator, and Alien vs Predator. Dark Horse Comics published these titles for an extended period. “There was loads of stuff going on at Dark Horse. In fact, my Terminator story was quite early on, just after T2 came out.” Dan has worked on so many of these franchises, “There's going to be others that I'm forgetting.” He worked with his wife, the writer Nic Vincent, on Tomb Raider novels and novels for the ITV series, Primeval, “Which got me a set visit and to meet them all, which is lovely”. Alien vs Predator speaks to a significant focus in pop culture: What happens when X fights Y? Who wins for Dan? “Human interest.” How do you keep that interesting? “Alien vs Predator is quite interesting because I love the early Alien and Predator movies.” Dan notes that the interesting thing about the Aliens vs Predator concept was, “and this wasn't me writing it, but it had been an incredibly brilliant comic book from Dark Horse, which they then went, ‘Well, why don't we make that as a movie?’” When Dan was asked to enter the universe, it was post-Prometheus. “They wanted this massive crossover which took all of the elements of the franchise, Alien and Aliens, Predator, Alien vs Predator as a distinct franchise, and Prometheus and tied them all together in a big story.” For Dan, it was a complicated assignment, made tougher by the fact that “the boss of Dark Horse had his own ideas.” Dan focused on creating a cast of human characters “that we could relate to, that would take us through encounters with all these elements and cross them over.” Dan wrote mini stories into the mini-series. “Each bit was tailored to the flavour of that particular property. Dan wrote Alien material as “haunted house spooky.” Aliens naturally was “militaristic.” The Aliens vs Predators was “literally being caught in the middle of that clash when those things came together. That was fun.” In terms of Alien though, more significant was Dan’s work on the computer game [Alien: Isolation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien:%5FIsolation?ref=kentcurrent.news), which won two BAFTAs. “That was a big deal.” Dan was essentially asked to be the project’s lead writer. “That was several years' work. It's a formidably brilliant game, not because of the story. It's the most amazing looking thing.” Released as an official sequel to the original Alien film. “There'd been lots of Aliens games before, but they'd always been Colonial Marines Aliens sequels.” The difference is that this was a survival horror instead of a straight shoot-em-up, “with an AI-controlled alien, so it never appeared in the same place.” The game perfectly recreated the interior of the Nostromo, “although it wasn't Nostromo, it was a sister ship.” [To this day, it is still considered a scary game](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLZG5Avev9k&ref=kentcurrent.news). “It still terrifies people who play it because it's incredibly creepy.” Dan tells me that when they had 30 minutes of playable game, they got the gaming press in to preview it and “they would freak out and one guy fell off his chair.” Another took “45 minutes to play through the 20 minutes because he was doing it so slowly, because he didn't want to get jumped on. It had the most amazing atmosphere and was very different to what the other games would always be like, which were much more, ‘Here's a pulse rifle, go and kill something.’ But the most you could have here, if lucky, was a flamethrower.” --- #### Out to Brunch: **Fifi’s Italian in Maidstone** On Wednesday, I was in Maidstone to meet a Kent councillor for an upcoming interview. Whilst in town, I went to [Fifi’s Italian](https://fifisitalian.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news) for lunch, as I was assured it had excellent pizza. However, I got there slightly after 11 due to scheduling and was given the breakfast menu. Curious as to what an Italian breakfast had to offer, I discovered a menu with English, Irish, and garden breakfast options. Before I reveal how I resolved that cultural dilemma, let’s take a moment to talk briefly about Fifi’s. Part of the Mu Mu estate, it has a slightly confusing entrance, at least for this writer. There were people sitting outside. I went inside, and it was empty. I went back outside and was assured no, I should go inside. Outside is a modern, chic café. Inside was a slightly dark, baroque setting with a very curious choice of wall decoration. I was, of course, sat inside. I ordered the English breakfast with tea. It seemed the appropriate thing to do with all the flags everywhere. Because I wanted to give you an insight into the full Fifi’s breakfast experience, I also ordered a fruit smoothie and a pain au raisin. I was informed that the breakfast also came with toast, and ordered sourdough. I foolishly thought that the ‘with toast’ element would mean that the toast would come with the breakfast, and the pastry would come with the tea. I was very wrong. The toast came first with complimentary butter and jam. Frankly, it was delicious. Some of the nicest toast I’ve been served with breakfast. The tea was fine, and the smoothie very cold. It was enjoyable in that berries blended straight out of the freezer way. The English breakfast was to a really high standard, except for the cold beans. Excellent sausage, well done bacon, lovely black pudding and an exceptionally well-seasoned mushroom. Once I had finished all that, the pastry was sat waiting in the middle of the table, served last. It was, to be fai,r a very good pastry. I will have to return to Fifi’s at some point to try the pizza. In the meantime, if you are going to a meeting at County Hall, go to Fifi’s first for breakfast. --- #### Upcoming Kent events 🎤 14 - 15 Sep - [**Josh Widdicombe: Not My Cup of Tea**](https://marlowetheatre.com/shows/josh-widdicombe-not-my-cup-of-tea/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Popular TV comedian and original Taskmaster champion plays two nights in Kent. Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury. Tickets £33.50. 🎤 Fri 19 Sep - [**Lou Sanders: No Kissing in the Bingo Hall**](https://www.thegranvilletheatre.com/whatson/lou-sanders-no-kissing-in-the-bingo-hall?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Kent comedian and more recent Taskmaster champion performs hometown show. Granville Theatre, Ramsgate. Tickets £22. ⚓ Sat 20 Sep - [**Festival of Chatham Reach**](https://tillerandwheel.com/festival-of-chatham-reach/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Activities and river-based excitement in the centre of Chatham. Sun Pier House, Chatham. Free. --- #### Footnotes *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* **Enjoying the Kent Current? Pass it on.* If you know someone who’d like this too, forward them this email and invite them to subscribe.* ### Trailblazing or takeover? URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/trailblazing-or-takeover/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:55:02.000Z *The University of Kent is a staple of the county, but changes are on the horizon as the establishment is set to merge with the University of Greenwich to form a ‘multi-university group.’ But given the state of Kent’s finances in recent years, is this the trailblazing move the universities are pitching it as, or a desperate move to survive? Further down, we have news of a Reform councillor quitting the party for an unlikely destination, the latest happenings at KCC, news in brief, and more.* --- #### Trailblazing or takeover? The University of Kent and the University of Greenwich suddenly [announced this week](https://www.kent.ac.uk/news/statements/37128/kent-announces-trailblazing-collaboration-with-the-university-of-greenwich?ref=kentcurrent.news) that they are to fuse into something that doesn’t quite exist yet: the London and South East University Group, a ‘multi-university group’ with one vice chancellor, one governing body and one academic board, but two brands still pretending to be separate. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f27e3d071-3686-47de-8012-0ea266a75727_2500x1406-jpeg-1.jpg) On the surface, students won’t notice much. They’ll still apply to Kent or Greenwich, and they’ll still graduate with that name on the certificate. Campuses in Canterbury, Greenwich, and Medway will keep their signs. But behind the curtains, one executive team led by Greenwich vice chancellor Jane Harrington will manage the organisation. The official line is that this is about sustainability and strength. Together, the two universities say they can widen access, boost research and pull in more investment. They talk about “trailblazing collaboration,” but the reality is a more basic financial necessity. Both Kent and Greenwich have been struggling, and the financial screws have been tightening for years. Kent has already been through painful rounds of redundancies. In recent years, hundreds of staff have been cut, with whole departments hollowed out, in a desperate attempt to balance the books. Morale has been low ever since. As such, this move could look less like a trailblazing merger and more like a desperate attempt to cling on. Greenwich hasn’t exactly escaped controversy either. In the spring, the University and College Union [branded it](https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/14019/Rogue-employer-University-of-Greenwich-could-axe-over-300-staff?ref=kentcurrent.news) a ‘rogue employer’ over plans to axe more than 300 staff. Now, the same union describes the new arrangement as a [takeover rather than a merger](https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/14174/UCU-response-to-University-of-Greenwich-takeover-of-University-of-Kent?ref=kentcurrent.news). “This is a transformation driven by severe financial pressure,” said general secretary Jo Grady, who also blasted how staff and students only found out when the press release dropped. The union is demanding “urgent reassurance that jobs and student provision will be protected.” The geography makes it feel even more challenging. Greenwich’s main campus sits on the Thames, Kent’s flagship sprawls over Canterbury’s outskirts, and the two are more than 50 miles apart. Medway, already a compromise campus jointly occupied by Kent, Greenwich and Canterbury Christ Church, sits between them like a neglected middle child. Linking these three very different places under one roof won’t be straightforward. Local politicians, though, are keen to sound upbeat. Medway Council [welcomed the deal](https://www.medway.gov.uk/news/article/1950/comment%5Fon%5Fthe%5Fannouncement%5Fof%5Fthe%5Fnew%5Fcollaboration%5Fbetween%5Fthe%5Funiversities%5Fof%5Fkent%5Fand%5Fgreenwich?ref=kentcurrent.news), saying it should guarantee the town keeps a spread of degrees. Kent Student Union [echoed](https://ksu.co.uk/news/article/statement-merger?ref=kentcurrent.news) the “nothing changes for now” message, telling students “for students there is no change right now” while promising to make sure their voices are heard as the London and South East University Group takes shape. But the fears are obvious. One leadership team running two universities means overlapping roles will vanish. Redundancies, course closures, and decisions potentially made in Greenwich with Kent as an afterthought concern Kent staff. Identity is the other worry. Kent has spent decades branding itself as a research-led university, with Canterbury’s skyline dominated by its campus. How much of that survives in a structure run from Greenwich remains to be seen. Canterbury risks being cast as a satellite, and the promise that the “Kent brand” will continue feels thin when financial logic points in the opposite direction. Medway is again in the middle. Optimists talk about new courses and better funding at a campus that has never quite worked. Perhaps a more realistic scenario sees resources flowing up the A2, leaving Medway to scrape by. None of this happens overnight. While contracts are supposed to be signed by Christmas, with the London and South East University Group officially launching in 2026, the legal process could stretch past that. The sector is watching. Wonkhe, the higher education policy site, [called it](https://wonkhe.com/blogs/the-first-multi-university-group-arrives/?ref=kentcurrent.news) the first true “multi-university group” in England. If it works, other struggling institutions might follow. If it collapses, it will be the case study everyone else avoids. For Kent, the stakes are brutal. This could be the deal that keeps higher education thriving in the county. However, it could just as easily strip away the identity, culture, and independence the university has built since the 1960s. Management insists everything continues as normal. Unions insist cuts are inevitable. Somewhere between those two lines lies the truth. The next 18 months will show whether this is Kent’s lifeline or the end of the university as we’ve known it. --- *Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via *hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news* \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* --- #### Reform councillor defects to 2015 Cllr Amelia Randall has had quite a month. In August, the Birchington & Rural county councillor was [photographed with four of her fellow Reform councillors](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kent-reform-councillors-pictured/) smiling alongside a man draped in a neo-Nazi flag, something she has refused to acknowledge in the weeks since. Last weekend, she attended Reform party conference after spending the week promoting Reform policies on social media. On Monday, she defected to UKIP. It’s a remarkably quick turnaround for a councillor who [admitted in one post](https://x.com/BetterWayOf/status/1965157806148886870?ref=kentcurrent.news) that she was unaware UKIP was still a thing, and only looked into them when she met leader Nick Tenconi at the anti-immigration march in Maidstone last month. She went on to claim that she was won over by his ‘masculine figure saying it as it is.’ ![Image](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f56e8399a-7b3a-413c-8bd8-605a9443ff4d_400x400-jpeg.jpg) Cllr Amelia Randall and masculine figure Nick Tenconi. In the week since, she’s been [setting out her stall](https://x.com/BetterWayOf/status/1965334105744089186?ref=kentcurrent.news) as a UKIP councillor - putting local people first, protecting green spaces, ending the war on motorists, ending woke policing, ending council waste, and no more climate emergencies. You aren't alone if you’re struggling to find a difference between this and Reform. Perhaps the main difference is the strangely Christian bent UKIP is now running with Tenconi, who likes to pose in front of crosses and the such. Cllr Randall pushed in [another tweet](https://x.com/BetterWayOf/status/1965372486389735726?ref=kentcurrent.news) that she supports a position of ‘no more mosques’ and, perhaps the most telling part, told people who come to the UK to ‘remain in your lane.’ It also says a lot about where we are that on the same day Randall announced her defection, she was already having to [defend Tenconi](https://x.com/BetterWayOf/status/1965182291027918850?ref=kentcurrent.news) performing a Nazi salute. We requested comment from Cllr Randall about her defection, but received no response. It’s hard to see Reform being particularly concerned about this, given they still hold a commanding majority on KCC, with 55 out of 81 seats. That said, this is the second loss within their four months of taking office, following the whip being removed from Cllr Daniel Taylor, who is currently awaiting trial after being charged with making threats to kill his wife. --- #### What else has been happening at KCC this week? - A new [Economic Impact Report](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/documents/s132097/Lower%20Thames%20Crossing-%20Economic%20Impact%20Report.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) from KCC is bullish about the £10bn Lower Thames Crossing, billing it as the long-awaited fix for Dartford’s overloaded crossing and a catalyst for jobs, housing and inward investment across Kent and Medway. It argues the new route will ease congestion, open new business markets and unlock suppressed growth in North Kent. However, it also cautions that some firms may relocate across the river to Essex, that the benefits depend on wider upgrades to the A2, M2, and other routes, and that the funding model for the project remains unresolved. - Local government reorganisation edged forward this week, with [two plans being progressed](https://www.medway.gov.uk/news/article/1949/council%5Freorganisation%5Ftakes%5Fthe%5Fnext%5Fstep?ref=kentcurrent.news) by Kent Council Leaders. One three-unitary model and one four-unitary model were moved to the next stage, though KCC is [moving ahead](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2025/09/11/kent-county-council-to-press-ahead-with-single-unitary-council-proposal-under-local-government-reorganisation/?ref=kentcurrent.news) with its own one-unitary model that stands nearly no chance of getting off the ground. - KCC leader Linden Kemkaran went on Times Radio to defend her party conference platforming a crank who claimed that covid vaccines gave members of the royal family cancer. [Within two minutes](https://bsky.app/profile/sturdyalex.bsky.social/post/3lyfjzk45ec26?ref=kentcurrent.news), she claimed covid vaccines were never meant for children (they were), didn’t rule out the connection between the vaccines and royal cancer, and said we should ‘talk about’ holding an inquiry into a link between vaccines and cancer. - KCC meets next week for a regular [county council meeting](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=113&MId=9798&ref=kentcurrent.news). The agenda includes debate on a new draft strategic statement for the council called ‘Reforming Kent,’ which could breach the Local Government Act, a motion from Reform repealing Kent’s declaration of a climate emergency, and a motion from the Lib Dems in favour of vaccines. --- #### In brief 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 It’s been another big week for flags in the county. Anti-immigration protestors [turned up in Faversham](https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/hundreds-immigration-protestors-counter-demonstrators-10484637?ref=kentcurrent.news) last weekend and were met with counter-protestors. A [column in the Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/sep/09/racist-mob-menacing-refugee-children-far-right?ref=kentcurrent.news) called the protestors a ‘racist mob menacing our town.’ KentOnline [got in on the witch hunt](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/whitstable/news/disgusting-man-captured-on-camera-tearing-down-and-spitti-329658/?ref=kentcurrent.news) of a ‘disgusting’ man who pulled down a flag in Whitstable. Meanwhile, Labour MPs still don’t know how to react, with Folkestone and Hythe MP [condemning](https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/vandalism-not-patriotism-kent-mp-10484039?ref=kentcurrent.news) ‘vandalism not patriotism,’ while Chatham and Aylesford MP Tristan Osborne [celebrating](https://www.localauthority.news/i/173075568/red-white-and-awkward?ref=kentcurrent.news) the people erecting flags in this constituency. 🏥 The government has released [league tables on the performance of NHS trusts](https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/nhs-oversight-framework-nhs-trust-performance-league-tables-process-and-results/?ref=kentcurrent.news) for the first time. Out of the 134 acute trusts in the UK, Medway came near the bottom of the pile in 130th. Dartford and Gravesham is marginally better in 114th, with East Kent in 101st. Nearer the top of the table, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells clocked in 12th. Things are better in non-acute trusts, with both Kent trusts making the top ten. Finally, South East Coast Ambulance Service are ranked 4th out of the ten in the country. 🪖 In May, [we covered a remarkable planning dispute](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i/163906170/cheeky-planning-application-ruined-by-pandemic-and-google-maps) in Tunbridge Wells over a 1.5m strip of footpath that a restaurant had annexed without permission. The saga is set to come to an end next week, with the council proposing to [let the restaurant get away with it](https://democracy.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/documents/s79769/RH%20Old%20Fishmarket.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) and make it permanent. 🪦 Maidstone councillors will this week consider the petition [we covered recently](https://www.kentcurrent.news/remembering-the-maidstone-witches/), calling for a memorial to six women executed for witchcraft in 1652\. [A report recommends adding it to the council’s Heritage Spaces project](https://maidstone.gov.uk/home/primary-services/council-and-democracy/primary-areas/your-councillors?sq%5Fcontent%5Fsrc=%2BdXJsPWh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGbWVldGluZ3MubWFpZHN0b25lLmdvdi51ayUyRmRvY3VtZW50cyUyRnMxMDA3NTYlMkZDcmVhdGUlMjBhJTIwTWVtb3JpYWwlMjB0byUyMHRoZSUyME1haWRzdG9uZSUyMFdpdGNoZXMucGRmJmFsbD0x&ref=kentcurrent.news) at Penenden Heath, though options range from expanding a planned statue to a temporary museum exhibition. 📜 Tunbridge Wells Borough Council proposes [changing its constitution](https://democracy.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/documents/s79761/Change%20to%20the%20Constitution%20-%20Voting%20and%20Two%20Third%20Majority%20-%20APPENDIX%20B.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) so that a simple majority vote can remove a leader rather than the two-thirds of councillors currently required. 🌳 Also in Tunbridge Wells, a [borough councillor has defected](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/tunbridge-wells/news/councillor-who-left-independent-alliance-defects-to-tories-329646/?ref=kentcurrent.news) from the Tunbridge Wells Alliance to the Conservatives for reasons. 🏗️ Swale planning officers have recommended that a [90-home development in Newington](https://services.swale.gov.uk/meetings/documents/s31175/2.2%20Land%20West%20of%20Church%20Lane.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) be approved. 🗄️ Big planning applications submitted in the county this week include proposals for [135 homes and retail floorspace in Folkestone](https://folkestonehythedc.my.site.com/PR3/s/planning-application/a1nbH00000Rm4OOQAZ/251316fh?c%5F%5Fr=Arcus%5FBE%5FPublic%5FRegister&ref=kentcurrent.news), [100 homes in Eastry](https://publicaccess.dover.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=T11AUQFZHDO00&ref=kentcurrent.news), and [100 homes in Meopham](https://plan.gravesham.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=T0MVJ5HPGCI00&ref=kentcurrent.news). 🏨 Two applications have also been submitted for hotels in Kent this week. [The Cave in Boughton under Blean proposes building](https://pa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=T20APVTY1BA00&activeTab=summary&ref=kentcurrent.news) a spa, 36 hotel rooms, padel courts, holiday lodges, and custom-build homes. Elsewhere, [The Moat pub and wedding venue in Wrotham has proposed](https://planning.agileapplications.co.uk/tmbc/application-details/160450?ref=kentcurrent.news) to build a 29 room hotel on its grounds. 👨‍💼 Recent *Kent Current* interviewee [Tim Aker](https://www.kentcurrent.news/you-get-a-lot-more-political-power/) will [step down from his role at the Federation of Small Businesses](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent-business/county-news/small-business-chief-confims-he-is-quitting-329655/?ref=kentcurrent.news) on 1 October to launch his own consultancy firm. 🚧 Sittingbourne and Sheppey MP Kevin McKenna and Swale Borough Council leader Tim Gibson have called for [residents to be compensated over roadworks in Iwade](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2lx947y4y4o?ref=kentcurrent.news) that were supposed to be completed in 2024 but will now run until 2026. 💣 Bomb disposal teams were called after a [grenade was found in a bin in Wye](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/bomb-disposal-team-called-after-unexploded-ordnance-found-i-329619/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🏬 The former Debenhams building in Gravesend [has been sold](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/gravesend/news/mystery-surrounds-sale-of-former-debenhams-building-329555/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to a mystery buyer. 🏊 Work is set to begin on a [new £43m leisure centre](https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/initial-work-set-begin-site-10486725?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Gravesend. 🚄 The Le Shuttle terminal at Folkestone will see a transformation through [extensive works over the next five years](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/folkestone/news/once-in-a-generation-upgrades-announced-at-channel-tunnel-329635/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🥩 Illegal meat passing through the Port of Dover has surged, with [70 tonnes being discovered between January and April this year](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czjvd7vlnvzo?ref=kentcurrent.news), up from 13 tonnes in the same period in 2023. 🤬 Thanet District Council have [withdrawn a Public Space Protection Order](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn82lm14pdpo?ref=kentcurrent.news) that would have potentially fined people for swearing after a free speech organisation threatened to take them to court. [We covered the council's plans](https://www.kentcurrent.news/can-thanet-really-police-bad-language/) and their feasibility last month. --- #### More Currents Our paid supporters received a double helping of extra *Kent Current* editions this week. On Tuesday, former KM Political Editor Paul Francis [wrote for us on how the rise of Reform is leaving Kent’s old political certainties looking shaky](https://www.kentcurrent.news/from-fruitcake-to-frontrunner/). Over the weekend, we published our latest big interview, this time with [writer and podcaster Dorian Lynsky](https://www.kentcurrent.news/if-you-dont-have-hope-then-youre/). We’ve had some great responses to this conversation, so check out the full thing if you haven’t already. The *Kent Current* only exists thanks to the generous readers who pay to support our work. If you enjoy these dispatches and would like to help us keep making them, [please consider supporting us](https://www.kentcurrent.news/when-kent-was-coal-country/) if you are able. [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup) --- #### Footnotes *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [***Facebook***](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews)*,* [***BlueSky***](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, and* [***Instagram***](https://www.instagram.com/kentcurrentnews/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* **Enjoying the Kent Current? Pass it on.* If you know someone who’d like this too, forward them this email and invite them to subscribe for free. It really helps us out.* ### From fruitcakes to frontrunners URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/from-fruitcake-to-frontrunner/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:55:03.000Z *Loud music, an auditorium and indoor fireworks. It can only mean one thing: the new political force in the country has kickstarted the general election campaign and it’s all up for grabs, including the keys to Downing Street, writes *Paul Francis*…* ![Image](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f2853f29a-b03c-4b78-bbe0-2e2b34c24ce5_1372x1029-jpeg-1.jpg) Nigel Farage with Kent Reform councillors. There is very little that connects the 1981 version of David Steel’s Liberal Democrat party and Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party, version 2025. That is, bar one thing: both were and are supremely confident of their election prospects and so confident that the two leaders felt emboldened to urge their respective parties to return to their constituencies and prepare to form the next government. We know what happened next: the Lib Dems alliance failed to do as well as expected. Predicting the outcome for the Reform party is a bit trickier. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### “If you don't have hope, you're essentially complicit in the thing you hate” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/if-you-dont-have-hope-then-youre/ Last updated: 2026-03-18T20:53:29.000Z [*Dorian Lynskey*](https://www.dorianlynskey.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *is a music journalist who became a podcaster during the Brexit years and has written on dystopias. Steven met him at the British Library, where Dorian can be found researching* [*Origin Story*](https://www.podmasters.co.uk/origin-story?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, the successful podcast he co-hosts. They talked about podcasting, if Remain could have won the referendum, where hope can be found, and lots more.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f01bc66b9-3787-4b69-8561-d67aa2277814_3788x2841-jpeg-1.jpg) Dorian Lynskey **What is your official occupation?** I think that I am a journalist, author and podcaster now. **How did you come to be a podcaster? What was the first step?** That was Spring 2017\. A friend called Andrew Harrison, who I'd worked for on various music magazines, was moving into podcasting. They already had a culture podcast. He approached me here, in fact, in this very area *(a café outside the British Library)* to say that he wanted to do a podcast, an anti-Brexit podcast, and would I consider hosting it? That was called [Remainiacs](https://www.remainiacs.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news). I hadn't done any podcasting, but like a lot of people, I was very agitated about Brexit. I thought it was a really interesting idea that there was no outlet for people who were explicitly anti-Brexit and wanted to cover the story from that angle, not from a neutral political angle that you would get from places like The Guardian and The New Statesman in their podcast coverage. Even though they were obviously remain publications, they still had that sort of BBC approach. Not neutrality, but of trying to get some balance. What we realised we could do, which you couldn't get anywhere else, was just be really passionate and robust about it. We realised it was even just being able to swear, being able to give pro-Brexit politicians stupid nicknames, being able to have running jokes. It felt like people needed that emotionally. They just didn't want to hear ‘now we've got a pro-leave politician to provide balance.’ We launched the week that Theresa May called the 2017 election just by chance. We found that we could get all kinds of guests, could get people who were remain activists, MPs. But we could also get public figures who sympathised like [Al Murray](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al%5FMurray?ref=kentcurrent.news) or [Mark Gatiss](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark%5FGatiss?ref=kentcurrent.news). It was a really nice period, and so I felt that I was able to use my political knowledge, but also this experience of interviewing, because that's what I'd mostly done for the preceding 20 years. I was doing album reviews and essays and things like that, but I'd mainly been interviewing musicians, actors and authors, so I knew how to do that. But then there was this whole other skill set, which I was developing on the fly, which was how to organise a panel, how to fold guests into the vibe of the regular panellists, how to then do that on stage at live shows. It was really enjoyable. Particularly since, I think like a lot of journalists, it's very painful when you're listening back to an interview. You might hear yourself doing a stupid laugh or a question that's way too long. I hated hearing my own voice, and with podcasting, you have got to get over that. I felt much more confident talking and doing this live. It was not live, obviously, but it's not edited much. This whole thing that I had, listening to me interviewing, was quite uncomfortable. I was doing all this sleight of hand on the page and obviously eliminating my bad questions and making the interview like smoke and mirrors, making it seem very different on the page and then on podcasts, you can't do that, and you just have to get better. But you also get a bit more relaxed about how it sounds, and maybe one of your questions is going to be long-winded or maybe you're not going to get the answer that you wanted. Then you have to deal with it because you can't cover it up on the page later. You've got to make it work. The interview is the experience. There is nothing to write up. That was actually really nice and funny. Sometimes I find if I'm doing a lot of podcasting, I actually have to make sure that I'm also doing some writing and specifically some interviews, because otherwise I forget how to do that, because I'm so used to doing the talking version of my opinions or questions. Wouldn't it be great if we just explained the origins of neoliberalism? What does it mean? **What led to the creation of your** [**Origin Story**](https://www.podmasters.co.uk/origin-story?ref=kentcurrent.news) **podcast?** Well, when we started Remainiacs, we had somebody, Peter Collins, who Andrew knew, a former Economist journalist. Then we needed somebody else. He was quite dry, we needed somebody else who combined knowledge, but with a kind of looser, more informal style. We really liked [Ian Dunt](https://www.iandunt.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news)'s writing on politics.co.uk and his social media presence. I'm sure that I must have had some interactions with him on Twitter. Andrew suggested him, and I said, he's the person I suggest. We met up with him, just to see what he thought, if it was something he wanted to do. Because early on, for quite a few months, it was unpaid. See if we got on, which we did. Peter left, other people came in, but me and Ian were always the core of the podcast. In ‘22, Ian suggested that we do a podcast together. We talked about what that might be. We wanted something that was broad, but not so broad that it didn't make any sense. At first, he was like, ‘We could just talk about anything we're interested in.’ I was like, ‘I think we need a concept.’ The concept originally became the history of certain ideas, because we got so annoyed with the way that, particularly in online discourse, certain words would be used, ‘left,’ ‘right,’ and ‘centre’ in an either deliberately misleading way or just ignorant. Wouldn't it be great if we just explained the origins of neoliberalism? What does it mean? As we've gone on, we've made it a bit more narrative. Not so many of these very broad concepts with a story. We did one on satire. We started with the ancient Greeks, and we're going up to [The Onion](https://theonion.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news) or whatever. We do try and still do the history of certain ideas for sure, but we found ourselves leaning towards more people to more events. Do Winston Churchill, do Margaret Thatcher, we do Martin Luther King, we do events like the Partition of India, because the storytelling is very exciting and so we're always trying to explain things in a way that are relevant to politics now. My take was that it's a history podcast, with a current affairs slant, and Ian's interpretation of it is that it's a current affairs podcast, using history. What are people talking about? What are people arguing about if it's something that seems relevant now? People were throwing the word eugenics around. What actually is eugenics? We wanted it to be useful, and sometimes we cover contemporary ones, like Russell Brand. Not because we're fascinated by Russell Brand per se, but it was both a story of radicalisation and how you can go from the left via conspiracy theories to the right. But it was also a story, I think, about how popular culture changed and how tolerated his misogyny was in the 2000s. What happens is that these topics that we take on, some of them we know how they're going to work straight away. Other times we don't. It might be one of Ian's suggestions that I didn't quite understand, or vice versa. But we just know from experience now that it will be interesting. **Is there a clear division of labour?** The bonus episodes, it's very clear, because it's almost a solo podcast with a listener. The other person will know stuff, they'll ask interesting questions, they'll make interesting observations, but the bulk of the research and the storytelling is one of us. In the regular episodes, we tend to split up angles or periods. With Thatcher, I was very much doing from birth up to the Falklands War, and Ian was leading on the later bit. But then both of us would make sure that we knew a fair amount about what the other person was doing so that we didn't just sit back. **How did that lead to the Origin Story books?** That was Ian's publisher, his regular publisher. We had interest from a few publishers after the first season, and Ian's publisher had the idea of a series. We'd start with three. There may be more, but we started with [fascism](https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/fascism-the-story-of-an-idea-an-origin-story-book-ian-dunt/7712347?ref=kentcurrent.news), [conspiracy theory](https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/conspiracy-theory-the-story-of-an-idea-an-origin-story-book-ian-dunt/7712345?ean=9781399612869&ref=kentcurrent.news), and [centrism](https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/centrism-the-story-of-an-idea-an-origin-story-book-ian-dunt/7712346?ean=9781399612890&ref=kentcurrent.news). That was a whole other experiment, because neither of us had written books in partnership before. That was quite a fun experience, because we thought we would argue a lot. We thought that was the thing, because we've got quite different styles. But actually, you just work them out, even things like paragraph length. I write quite long paragraphs, Ian likes really short ones. We just end up writing medium-sized ones. With the audiobook, we had to read alternating chapters, and because of the way that we've done it, each chapter one person would lead, then the other person would add bits, and then we'd edit, and then we'd hybridise it. There were definitely chapters where I had done the bulk of the writing, but he was the one reading them, and vice versa. It did become quite hard. There are definitely lines in there, individual lines, they're very clearly mine, or they're very clearly his. But overall, I felt that we just got a really nice blend of voices. It was interesting because I've never been an editor, really. But I was editing his text, and he was editing my text, and then we go back and forth, ‘actually I really don't want you to cut that bit’ or ‘I think that that edit loses a really important nuance’ or ‘I really love that quote, I want to keep it in.’ There's just a lot of mutually respectful compromise involved, which was great, because the podcasting teaches you already to be more collaborative. It's a different thing to being a journalist. If you're an author, if you're writing a book, a copy editor can do this and that. But you don't have to go with their suggestions. Ultimately, if the author insists on something, the author gets their way. With journalism, the editor has more power. They can genuinely go, ‘I don't like this intro.’ You can push back. You can't win if they really don't like it. They're paying you. In both of those cases, there's an imbalance. Whereas with the origin of the podcast and the books, me and Ian are entirely equal. If one person doing the work is more knowledgeable about one area, etc. Overall, you have to be equal, and you have to agree, and you have to learn to be a bit more flexible, which I think is a good life skill, particularly at this age. **Is there a possibility of further books?** Yeah, it would be good to write more. It was very stressful. Nothing's confirmed. It also depends on individual books that me and Ian might want to write, or whether there's another way of doing a book tied to an origin story. But funnily enough, I just read a Substack post by a non-fiction author, who said how hard it was to sell non-fiction books, how hard it is to market. You can do all this social media activity, you can do all these book events, and it might not make a huge difference. Actually, a lot of non-fiction authors that she knew were instead channelling that research into podcasts, where you can build up this loyal following. The money is better. If you can get to a certain level of support on Patreon, then the money is better. Right now, I'm working on a bonus episode and, as usual, over-researching. Getting a book and I probably don't need this book, and then you discover there's a whole other area, I have no idea about, and then it makes it so much richer and it’s a really strong bonus episode and there is enough research for me to start writing, probably a short book, or certainly a chapter in a book, but I'm thinking maybe, the podcast is the better way to do this. It's just a format. You're going to reach more people. We have maybe 50,000 listeners. It's hard to sell 50,000 books. In terms of audience and instant reward, maybe podcasting is better. **As you mentioned, you have written your own books. One of them is** [**The Ministry of Truth**](https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-ministry-of-truth-a-biography-of-george-orwell-s-1984-dorian-lynskey/942617?ref=kentcurrent.news)**. How aware of** [**George Orwell**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George%5FOrwell?ref=kentcurrent.news) **were you before you started that project?** Well, with anything that I write about or anything I do for the podcast, as soon as you commit yourself to digging into something, you know how much you don't know. Obviously, I've read Orwell's [Nineteen Eighty-Four](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen%5FEighty-Four?ref=kentcurrent.news) and [Animal Farm](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal%5FFarm?ref=kentcurrent.news). I had read all of his essays. You come across him quoted all the time. I knew the basic outline of his life. The idea came about because I was really interested in dystopian fiction, how much dystopian fiction there was. I love tracing influence. I love doing it in music, literally finding out when was the first record to use a wah-wah pedal. What effect did that have? Where did this genre start? How did soul suddenly become political? I got interested in doing that with fiction and was going to maybe do a history of dystopian fiction. And then immediately I realised that most of it comes from Nineteen Eighty-Four and that Orwell had read pretty much all the important dystopian fiction up to that point. If you were doing a history of dystopian fiction, you'd have Orwell in the middle, you'd have some books flowing into it, and then a whole load of books flowing out of it. Then I thought, I could do a biography of Nineteen Eighty-Four, which was therefore partly a biography of Orwell, but because it's the story of the book, you get to follow its influence and its life after he dies. I don't know that there's many books that you can do that with, where the influence is so broad and so massive and then it cuts across all these different fields, not just in fiction. It's in politics and it's in journalism, it's even in psychology. That just really appealed to me. What I find with my books is I'm always trying to cover a lot of things. I'm always interested in a lot of things. I've never done a book that is just about one subject, really. It's always trying to accommodate all these different things that are interesting. The book is the first book about Orwell that has a significant bit about David Bowie and his attempts to do a rock musical version of Nineteen Eighty-Four, because the Orwell experts aren't that interested, but I was really interested in that, and I'm interested in how it influenced different movies. I've realised that the way I approach things is bringing in a lot of the high, low and middle brow and spotting all these connections and influences. **Looking back, could remain have won the referendum? Or was it always destined to fail?** One of the things that we did on Origin Story, one of the themes is that everything is contingent and nothing is inevitable. There might be trends that push in another direction, but nothing is inevitable. You go back over many elections, and there is some you think, okay, the 1997 election probably was inevitable, Labour would win. But a lot of the time it's not. It changes. It's really quite close, different things happen. So sure, if you could go back to the beginning, change how you were running that campaign, be more alert to the kind of forces that were driving a leave vote. Think about the weakness of a pure status quo establishment campaign. I think there are ways, because it was so close. I think undoubtedly there would have been a huge leave vote. When you're looking at numbers like that, I think any number of different decisions might have led to a different outcome, but probably still a narrow outcome, 52-48 in the other direction. **Have you ever been a member of a political party?** I've been a member, not currently, but I've been a member for various periods. **When did you first join?** I didn't join until 2010, because I didn't really think of myself as that, I didn't really feel like I had to join. I was furiously left-wing in sixth form, in university. But again, didn't really join groups. I remember the campaign against the arms trade, and we'd go on protests, anti-Nazi protests, the [Anti-Nazi League](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Nazi%5FLeague?ref=kentcurrent.news) and the Criminal Justice Bill, those kinds of protests, because that was quite big around southeast London. I knew a lot of squatters and things like that. I was very much grounded in that kind of politics. But then I went to music journalism, and it was the late 90s, and it was a less political time, and it took up less space in my head, and probably my politics became a bit more moderately, not quite centre-left, soft left in late party terms. I remember after 9/11, I was at the Mercury Awards, and I was interviewing Super Furry Animals, and it was delayed by 9/11, and everyone was just watching the news. After a while, I had to go and interview Super Furry Animals, and it was so uncomfortable. It was such an awkward interview. Nobody really wanted to be talking about music, neither me nor the band. I did feel like, ‘Oh I need to write about some other things.’ I did start doing more stories about music and politics, and then wrote a book, [33 Revolutions Per Minute](https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/33-revolutions-per-minute-dorian-lynskey/4654980?ean=9780571241354&ref=kentcurrent.news), which is a history of protest songs, because I felt like ‘I've got to write about more than just music.’ That was a long path that then leads to Remainiacs and The Ministry of Truth. **Would you ever consider putting your name on a ballot?** To go into an election? No, because I'm not diplomatic enough, I'm not canny enough. My opinions are quite unguarded. I think I'd be impatient. I don't have any of those skills. I do think that even the worst MP does have to have a certain set of skills. I've got the humility to realise that I don't have that. The campaigning bit. I made a joke with my wife that I wouldn't mind doing the work of politics, but she would have to do the campaign, because she's got much better social skills. She knows what not to say. I'm better in that role of journalist or a podcaster where I can just say what I think, and I don't have to worry about the consequences, and I don't have to hedge my bets and dial things back. I'm just not very good at compromise in that sense. **Who has been the best Prime Minister of your lifetime? I apologise if this ends up being our final question.** Maybe it shouldn't be the last one. Well, there's just not many to choose from, is there? I would suppose I would say pre-Iraq Tony Blair. **Very common answer.** But I mean, what are the options? If I was a bit older? Maybe Harold Wilson, but late Harold Wilson wasn't very good at all. If you don't have hope, you're essentially complicit in the thing you hate. **Having covered Brexit, modern politics, and Orwellian dystopia, do you agree that it's the hope that kills you?** No, because the hope is the thing. Despair kills you. And despair is, as [Rebecca Solnit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca%5FSolnit?ref=kentcurrent.news) says, despair is like a form of collaboration. If you don't have hope, you're essentially complicit in the thing you hate. But of course, it's very hard, because there are times when you're just at moments being very disappointed with the government, not really expecting anything from the new left-wing party, horrified by what's happening in America, horrified by the inability for anything to change what's happening in Gaza, in Ukraine, horrified by the rise of transphobia in a very short space of time. These things are just... So much that happens is very distressing and depressing. **What is the new version of hope?** Hope was quite simple, I think, in the late 90s, mid-late 90s. Because you could put some faith in the government, the Labour Party. Now, I think it's very difficult. But the alternative is worse. My last book, [Everything Must Go](https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/everything-must-go-the-stories-we-tell-about-the-end-of-the-world-dorian-lynskey/7525475?ean=9781529095937&ref=kentcurrent.news), is about narratives at the end of the world. I didn't find that depressing to write, it's not depressing to read. I found it was really interesting, history, seeing patterns, learning more about the past, and realising that so many things we're worried about now, people have been worried about in the past. Few thoughts are truly original. You're constantly learning all these echoes and realising how we got out of very difficult periods, having this affinity. There's almost affinity with people in the past. Or, a really obvious example, wrestling with similar problems to what we're wrestling with now, but much worse. Not just right-wing populism, but a Nazi regime. What do you do? How can you be a moral person? How can you see things clearly? How can you act on your principles without being dogmatic? How do you interpret the world? How do you remain flexible in your understanding of what is going on? How do you not become grumpy and cantankerous and despairing? That’s where history and art, I think are constantly showing me ways to resolve these problems in the present. **Let's do some background stuff. Where were you born?** I was born in Norwich. And then we lived in the Wirral for a bit. There's always a feeling that when you're leaving London, you're going home. You really are going somewhere else, going somewhere much quieter, more homogenous. **How did you end up in Kent?** I think when I was six, I moved to Sidcup, because my dad got a job at a school in southeast London. Some of our other relatives had moved to that general area. Bexley and Bromley and so on. That was where we settled. I came with a kind of Liverpool accent, which didn't last very long, as you can imagine. I was 11 I think, moved to Bexley, which is where my mum still lives, that same house. Moving around quite a lot as a kid and then really settling, and I just found that there was a very strange identity issue because your postal address, it’s Sidcup, or Bexley, Kent, and then it has a Dartford postcode. Because there's no tube, I very much felt like I was in Kent coming into London. It was only later, when I went to university, I was talking to people who said they were from London, and they were from zone 6\. But because they were on the tube, were from North London. I was like zone 5, but I realised that a lot of it was the postal code. It was psychological that it didn't feel like London, even though I was going to school there. Maybe it's something that was cultural. It just didn't feel like London, but of course it feels very different to Canterbury, Maidstone or Rochester. It's relatively urban, there was always that feeling that you see so often in the history of pop music, Robert Smith, Paul Weller, Bowie, they're from these between spaces. They're close enough to London to visit, go record shopping, to go and see gigs, and yet there's always a feeling that when you're leaving London, you're going home. You really are going somewhere else, going somewhere much quieter, more homogenous. I had that classic, frustrated, suburban-eyed thing. Where you're just close enough, you're outside, you've got your nose pressed against the shop window, but you're not inside the shop. I think there is just a real suburban mindset where if you don't feel at home there. **Did you enjoy school?** School was okay. I don't know. I didn't not enjoy... I think I was quite an unhappy teenager for various reasons. I think I was quite depressed, a dissatisfied teenager. I don't know how much you could blame the school, or Bexley or my family or a Dartford postcode or anything. I think I blamed those things at the time. **Did you stay on for sixth form?** Yeah, I did English, History, Politics and Economics. You can very much see a connection. It's always been there in one form or another. It's pretty consistent. I was very much an arts guy, not a scientist. **What did you study at university?** I studied English Literature at Cambridge. I was also interested in politics there, writing for the university paper and obsessed with music. **Do you play any instruments yourself?** I played bass, and I had a band. We wrote some songs, but like the bass playing, wasn't very good. It was a nice thing to do, and I do think that it teaches you an understanding that it is actually quite hard to be, it's not hard to be in a band, but it's hard to be in a good band. When I came to music journalism, which is what happened after university, there really was a general appreciation of what it takes to get a record that sounds good, to get a song which doesn't just have one good bit, but the verse, the chorus, the middle, they're all good. **What's a dystopian film you'd recommend?** Oh, [Children of Men](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children%5Fof%5FMen?ref=kentcurrent.news) is one of the best. For ideas, for the execution, for the style of it. **What do you do to unwind? Do you unwind?** Well, the problem with that is that most of the things that I do to unwind are in some ways work-related. Music, I find much more relaxing now. I write a bit about film, but I'm not a film journalist. Mostly I want to read, listen to music, watch films. Some of those things are tainted by work, since I'll be reading a book late at night, it gets me thinking about work, and I can't sleep. I have to strategically choose what I read. Walking and cooking. They're really good things that are not to do with work. I'm trying to detach a bit more from politics. Because politics is very stressful and depressing. **What advice would you have for a young writer before engaging on a research project that requires reading hundreds of books?** I would say I like this question, because my advice is always just do as much research as you can, because what you're trying to do is basically layering. You read the first book, and it gives you the basic narrative, the basic facts, almost like an equivalent to a Wikipedia entry, but better. I know when what happened in this person's life. Then the next one will explore areas that you didn't know. And then it might challenge a fact in the previous one. And then you're fact-checking and ‘I thought that happened in different year,’ and you're checking, and then that happens over and over again. The more that you read, the more ideas come up and the more you'll spot mistakes. There's always mistakes in books, and you'll spot a contradiction, or you'll spot a simplification. You don't think that's quite what happened. That's what I'm always trying to do. What everyone should try and do is get to that point where what you would have written based on that first book would be completely simplistic and unsatisfying. You really want that sense that you're developing your knowledge and the sophistication of your understanding. Also, try and build up the reading muscles so you read fast. I think it was during my first book, I became a much faster reader. I can read a non-fiction book in three hours. That's a certain kind of reading. That's not luxuriating the prose. That's looking for information. Just before I met you, I skimmed two books for podcast research, and it took about an hour. Build it up and learn to like skimming, learn to know what it is that you're looking for. Because it's a completely different tempo to pleasure reading. It's almost a different word. It's not really reading, it's looking for stuff. But it's brilliant because sometimes I would take out a book and I would maybe take nothing from it, but one amazing quote. One brilliant fact that I hadn't found anywhere else. Everything you read is going to tell you something new, you just have to read fast. --- *This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.* ### Kent’s tourism megaphone suddenly switched off URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/kents-tourism-megaphone-suddenly/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:55:06.000Z *The collapse of an organisation tasked with marketing Kent to the world might not sound like the most important of issues. Still, the loss of Visit Kent this week profoundly impacts scores of small businesses that form part of the county’s £4bn tourism sector. Further down, we have news of five sites that KCC are proposing to sell off to become housing, the latest donations to Kent’s MPs, a questionable descent, news in brief and more.* --- #### Kent’s tourism megaphone suddenly switched off From the outside, [Visit Kent](https://www.visitkent.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) looked like little more than a cheery website and an events guide for our county. Castles, coastal walks, beer festivals, and theatre all featured heavily. A nice bit of PR fluff for the so-called Garden of England. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f459eb44a-814f-46e1-a440-ea206cb1dbbd_2500x1406-jpeg-1.jpg) In reality, it was the county’s coordination machine for selling itself. Tourism, by its nature, is messy. Thousands of small operators, a patchwork of councils, heritage bodies, hospitality providers, and festivals, all shouting at once. A destination organisation attempts to turn that noise into a sellable story. Visit Kent did that job for more than twenty years. It ran the campaigns, pitched Kent to potential visitors, courted organisations, and quietly stitched the sector together. It produced visitor data, trained businesses, and gave everyone from breweries to museums a chance to ride on the back of a county-wide brand. Perhaps most importantly, it kept the [calendar](https://www.visitkent.co.uk/whats-on/search-events/?ref=kentcurrent.news) we used ourselves to find events worth flagging in this publication. That all ended yesterday when Visit Kent ceased trading. Insolvency firm Crowe has been appointed to liquidate. The website is now dominated by a simple message pointing people to them. This isn’t just Kent’s problem. Visit Kent sat under [Go To Places](https://www.gotoplaces.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news), the umbrella body that also ran [Visit Herts](https://www.visitherts.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news). Go To Places itself has gone into liquidation, taking both operations with it. It is also unclear what happens to the organisation's more local subsidiary sites, like [Visit Medway](https://www.visitmedway.org/?ref=kentcurrent.news), [Visit Canterbury](https://www.canterbury.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news), and [Visit Gravesham](https://www.visitgravesham.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news). The economic stakes are clear. Tourism in Kent is worth around £4bn each year and supports about 11% of jobs. The big attractions can still buy advertising. The smaller players, like local museums, craft workshops, and markets, relied on Visit Kent to be visible. [Kent County Council called the collapse](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/sad-day-as-visit-kent-ceases-operations?ref=kentcurrent.news) “a significant loss to the county.” Paul King, the Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Coastal Regeneration, put it bluntly: “This is a sad day for Kent and will undoubtedly impact the profile and marketing reach of our great county as a tourist destination. The Garden of England is a national treasure, but it still has to stand out in a hugely competitive market for people’s time and money and Visit Kent has served as an important champion in that regard.” He also pointed to the funding picture. “Government reductions in funding to Visit England have had wide reaching repercussions, and investment Visit Kent as our Local Visitor Economy Partnership had anticipated from Government has therefore regrettably not come forward. The visitor economy of Kent is likely to suffer, impacting hundreds of local businesses as a result.” King confirmed KCC would be writing to the government and added: “We continue to be incredibly proud of Kent’s offer to visitors, and are determined that we find a way forward, with partners, that this can continue to be recognised.” Ashford Borough Council put out its [own statement](https://www.ashford.gov.uk/news/latest-news/statement-visit-kent-ceases-operations/?ref=kentcurrent.news) promising to “work closely with all stakeholders and partners throughout this transitional period.” Other districts will likely say similar things, but the reality is that until a new body appears, each council will be left fighting its own corner for attention. The knock-on effects of organisations like Visit Kent disappearing create more challenging conditions for the county. Much as we like to poke fun at them, media mentions will fall, so that’s less of the [Telegraph declaring Folkestone the ‘new Brighton’](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/property/house-prices/how-folkestone-became-new-brighton/?ref=kentcurrent.news) or the [Mirror optimistically comparing Ramsgate to Amalfi](https://www.mirror.co.uk/travel/uk-ireland/pretty-seaside-town-like-amalfi-35825484?ref=kentcurrent.news). The county becomes harder to package as a single offer, with smaller operators struggling to be found by more casual visitors. The odds are that everyone will spend more to reach fewer people. Tourism marketing is slow work. Relationships are built over years. Campaigns need to run year after year before they stick. A sudden collapse risks wiping that slate clean, and whoever comes next may have to start from scratch. KCC has said it will fund a replacement organisation. That was announced today, so details are thin at the moment, with no name, no structure, and no timetable. But there is at least a commitment that Kent will have a county-wide voice again, but as always, the details will matter as to how successful an operation it will be. Kent hasn’t gone quiet. The events and attractions remain, and a replacement body is promised. The task now is to rebuild the megaphone fast enough to keep Kent’s story in front of the potential visitors to our county who provide so much to our economy. --- #### **Latest donations to Kent MPs** The [Register of Members’ Financial Interests](https://members.parliament.uk/members/commons/interests/publications?ref=kentcurrent.news) is where all MPs must register donations, gifts, and hospitality they receive. On the most recent update to the register, some Kent MPs have had some pretty substantial additions to declare: - Tom Tugendhat (Conservative, Tonbridge) received over £2,500 from Sulnox Group, an environmental science and technology company, to cover airfare for attending a board meeting in Greece. - Kevin McKenna (Labour, Sittingbourne and Sheppey) is receiving communication support to the value of £500 each month from June until the end of the year from Homes for Britain Ltd. - Tony Vaughan (Labour, Folkestone and Hythe) was paid over £2,000 for work he completed as a barrister before he became an MP, and another £381.60 for 48 minutes of work he completed in July. - Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat, Tunbridge Wells) received four donations from private individuals totalling £4,450. --- *Like what you’re reading? Send it to a friend in Kent, or even that neighbour you only sort of like.* --- #### Siri, define ‘descent’ We’re trying to take a week off from writing about flags, but our eyebrows were raised by a [story on KentOnline](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/protestors-descend-on-hotel-housing-asylum-seekers-329210/?ref=kentcurrent.news) that claimed anti-immigration protestors had ‘descended’ on the Holiday Inn in Ashford. That ‘descent’ in full: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fe7c92920-1095-4b25-af5e-3f3241aabfa8_1888x970-jpeg.jpg) The protestors who descended on the Ashford Holiday Inn. By our count, it’s seven people with flags outside a hotel. Seven. If that qualifies as a descent, we’ll be breaking news on the next great descent upon the lunch queue at one of the county’s Greggs. --- #### KCC set to sell off five sites for housing Kent County Council is preparing to offload a bundle of land and buildings it no longer wants. Five sites, from old school grounds to farmland held in reserve for projects that never happened, are set for disposal at [next week’s Policy and Resources Cabinet Committee](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=750&MId=9811&ref=kentcurrent.news), with developers expected to eye them for housing. The biggest is in Hextable, where the former Oasis Academy has stood empty since 2016\. The 38-acre site stretches from scrubland and playing fields to a lime tree avenue. Council papers suggest it could take anywhere between 75 and 250 homes, though the South East Dance Studio, still in use thanks to lottery funding, is expected to be excluded from any sale. A few miles away in Wilmington, the former Rowhill Primary School has been mothballed since 2010\. What’s left of the single-storey buildings is in poor shape, and KCC currently spends around £30,000 a year on securing the site. Dartford Borough Council has indicated that around 20 homes could be acceptable there. Two Tonbridge and Malling sites are also heading for sale. Four hectares of farmland once earmarked for a scrapped road scheme near West Malling are currently leased out for farming at £1 a year. 50 homes have been suggested for the site, with pre-planning advice already being taken. Meanwhile, in Aylesford, a plot off Pratling Street was once meant for a primary school, an idea first floated back in the 1970s. Nothing was ever built, and today it’s used for horse grazing. Advice has been sought on building 49 homes there. Rounding things off is Gravesend, where 7.5 acres of grassland off Westcott Avenue were once held back for potential school expansion. That’s no longer on the cards, so the land is being pitched as suitable for up to 106 homes. All five disposals will be considered by councillors next week. If approved, they’ll be marketed from late 2025 with sales likely to follow in 2026. --- #### In brief 🌊 Maidstone High Street is at risk of flooding due to an [eight-year-old dispute](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/town-centre-at-risk-of-flooding-due-to-eight-year-disagreeme-329255/?ref=kentcurrent.news) between Kent County Council and Maidstone Borough Council. 🏘️ Planning officers in Folkestone & Hythe have recommended that councillors [approve a 105-home development in Sellindge](https://folkestone-hythe.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s52458/23-1413-FH%20Elm%20Tree%20Farm%20FINAL.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news). The plans include affordable and self-build housing, commercial space, and a school extension. 🏠 In Swale, approval is recommended for a [90-home development in Iwade](https://services.swale.gov.uk/meetings/documents/s31175/2.2%20Land%20West%20of%20Church%20Lane.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news). The scheme includes 40% affordable provision, but the scheme has over 100 objections. Also in Iwade, plans have been submitted for a new [156-home development](https://pa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=SZ1C14TYFZ400&ref=kentcurrent.news) in the town. ☀️ Also in Swale, planning officers recommend approving plans for a [65-hectare solar farm development](https://services.swale.gov.uk/meetings/documents/s31172/2.1%20Pitstock%20Farm.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) south of Sittingbourne. 🏡 Plans have been submitted for a [66-home development in Wateringbury](https://planning.agileapplications.co.uk/tmbc/application-details/160773?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🏗️ Construction of luxury flats in Folkestone, which stalled 18 months ago, leaving two giant concrete towers overlooking the town, is [set to get underway again](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/folkestone/news/developers-insist-work-will-restart-on-eyesore-towers-left-329316/?ref=kentcurrent.news) ‘soon.’ 👨‍💼 A new chair of the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation [has been appointed](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-chair-appointment-of-ebbsfleet-development-corporation?ref=kentcurrent.news). Dr David Prout is a current Pro-Vice Chancellor at Oxford University, but will take up the challenge of accelerating the delivery of new homes in the town. 🚗 Kent County Council [spent nearly £80,000](https://kccportal.icasework.com/resource?id=D37322419&db=CfARENrVaIw%3D&ref=kentcurrent.news) to add red paint and new lines to a ‘turbo roundabout’ in Maidstone. 👮 A Kent Police officer has been [dismissed after pleading guilty to assaulting his partner](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/police-officer-sacked-for-beating-vulnerable-partner-329270/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🗣️ A Medway councillor [found to have bullied a nursery boss](https://www.localauthority.news/p/councillor-found-to-have-bullied?ref=kentcurrent.news) has insisted that ‘all is not as it seems.’ 🗳️ Maidstone Borough Council will hold a [by-election in Harrietsham, Lenham & North Downs ward on 2 October](https://docs.maidstone.gov.uk/elections-2025/notice-of-election-harrietsham-lenham-north-downs.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) following the resignation of three independent councillors. If you want to be a candidate, you have until tomorrow to put your name forward. 🧑‍💻 An independent councillor representing Garlinge ward on Thanet District Council [has resigned](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2025/09/02/outspoken-garlinge-councillor-steps-down-from-district-council/?ref=kentcurrent.news), triggering a by-election for the seat. 🦽 New government funding worth £34m will [support disabled people and those with complex health conditions in Kent](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/100-million-cash-boost-to-help-thousands-into-work-across-the-country?ref=kentcurrent.news) to find employment. Dartford MP Jim Dickson was particularly enthused about the news, [speaking in parliament](https://x.com/Jim4Dartford/status/1962590187449409760?ref=kentcurrent.news) about what it could mean for his constituents. 💥 Bomb disposal experts carried out a [controlled explosion on Westgate-on-Sea beach](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgr9e5nkwezo?ref=kentcurrent.news) after a metal detectorist found suspected ordnance. 🔬 A non-profit company developing cancer research tools has opened its [first lab at Discovery Park in Sandwich](https://www.bioindustry.org/resource/cancertools-org-grows-uk-operations-at-kent-s-discovery-park.html?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🎣 An angler in Ashford is angry about the [smell of the River Stour](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/ive-come-to-this-river-for-50-years-but-cant-anymore-th-329303/?ref=kentcurrent.news), but the Environment Agency says nothing is wrong. 🧬 Ancient DNA shows [two people buried in 7th-century Kent and Dorset had recent West African ancestry](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/west-african-ancestry-in-seventhcentury-england-two-individuals-from-kent-and-dorset/F00D6E3182A79B643ADC8994F2EA5818?ref=kentcurrent.news), the first direct evidence of such diversity in early medieval Britain. 🤖 Thanet District Council will hold an Extraordinary General Purposes Committee next week [to agree on an AI policy](https://democracy.thanet.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=327&MId=7222&ref=kentcurrent.news). Sure, why not? 💫 The Northern Lights were [visible in parts of Kent](https://www.thetimes.com/uk/science/article/see-northern-lights-tonight-time-watch-xgt90v5kr?ref=kentcurrent.news) this week, but as we’re tucked up in bed by 10pm, we failed to see them. --- #### More Currents In our midweek feature for our paying subscribers, we [examined the coalfield history of Kent](https://www.kentcurrent.news/when-kent-was-coal-country/), an industrial past somewhat at odds with the Garden of Kent branding the county prides itself on. [When Kent was coal countryKent sells itself carefully. The Garden of England, the White Cliffs, the gateway to Europe, the county of orchards, hop gardens, and cathedral spires are an evocative image. The marketing works, with people outside the county rarely imagining anything beyond chalk downs and seaside piers.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f8d4a4c7f-19fc-4e7c-87d7-4ed0b87571a5_567x567-7.png)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fb990111e-6d64-49d9-8ffe-e2d042e7b278_600x400-jpeg.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/when-kent-was-coal-country/) The *Kent Current* can only exist thanks to the generous readers who pay to support our work. If you enjoy these dispatches and would like to help us ensure we can keep doing them, [please consider supporting us](https://www.kentcurrent.news/when-kent-was-coal-country/) if you are able. [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup) --- #### Footnotes *Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via *hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news* \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews) *and* [*BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* *If you enjoy the Kent Current, please share it with your friends, family, associates, and even your enemies. We have no meaningful marketing budget, so we rely on word of mouth from our readers to find new readers.* ### When Kent was coal country URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/when-kent-was-coal-country/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:55:06.000Z Kent sells itself carefully. The Garden of England, the White Cliffs, the gateway to Europe, the county of orchards, hop gardens, and cathedral spires are an evocative image. The marketing works, with people outside the county rarely imagining anything beyond chalk downs and seaside piers. Yet for much of the twentieth century, Kent was also coal country. Four collieries in the east employed thousands, transformed sleepy villages into industrial communities, and left political and cultural legacies that still shape the area. The pits have been closed for over thirty years, but the memory of coal is still there if you know where to look. The [Kent Coalfield](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent%5FCoalfield?ref=kentcurrent.news) was discovered by accident. In 1890, engineers drilling exploratory shafts for an early Channel Tunnel scheme near Dover hit coal seams instead. A working pit, the Shakespeare Colliery, briefly followed in the 1890s, but it was the later development of Snowdown in 1908 that began serious mining. Tilmanstone opened in 1909, Chislet in 1919, and Betteshanger, the largest, in 1924\. For the next seven decades, east Kent was unexpectedly part of the industrial heart of Britain. Unlike South Wales, Yorkshire, or Durham, Kent had no tradition of mining. There were no generations of local men ready to descend into the pits. In a story that might be familiar today, the workforce had to be imported. Families arrived from South Wales, the north-east and Scotland, tempted by the promise of jobs and new housing. In 1926, [Pearson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearson%5Fplc?ref=kentcurrent.news) and [Dorman Long](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorman%5FLong?ref=kentcurrent.news) set up Aylesham Tenants Ltd to build a planned village beside Snowdown. The inter-war vision imagined 3,000 homes. The reality saw about 650 were completed before the slump and war halted the plan. Travelling from Canterbury to Aylesham meant stepping into a pocket of mining Britain transplanted into the Kent countryside. ![Snowdown Colliery - Northern Mine Research Society](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fb990111e-6d64-49d9-8ffe-e2d042e7b278_600x400-jpeg-2.jpg) Snowdown Colliery. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Remembering the Maidstone Witches URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/remembering-the-maidstone-witches/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:55:08.000Z *A Maidstone councillor is leading a campaign to erect a memorial to women of the town who were tried for witchcraft in 1652\. We’ve been talking to her to learn more about why she believes it’s necessary. Further down, we continue our conversation with Kent’s legendary comic book writer and novelist Dan Abnett, look at the best upcoming Kent events, news in brief, and more.* --- #### Remembering the Maidstone Witches *Claire Kehily is a Maidstone borough councillor for the Green Party. We spoke with her about a petition she submitted as a resident, looking to create a memorial to a centuries-old injustice…* Claire deliberately submitted a petition when, as a councillor, a motion was an option, because she wanted to reflect that this wasn’t just her, it was friends and residents who were interested in this as well. “I wanted it to be completely transparent, and raising awareness of what had happened.” As well as being a Green Party councillor since May 2024, representing Coxheath and Farleigh ward in Maidstone, Claire is also a funeral celebrant and works for the Winter Shelter in Maidstone. “I do a variety of things,” she says. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f1a0ac1f5-4ad2-4de6-b4e1-7aeec232a28f_2048x1536-jpeg.jpg) Cllr Claire Kehily As a councillor, you can attempt to ‘pass a motion,’ which Claire describes as “a terrible turn of phrase.” However, Claire and the friends she was working with decided a petition was the way forward for them. A petition must have at least 100 signatures from people in the borough. “They have to live in the borough, work in the borough, or of significant interest to them in the borough.” “Electronic petitions these days are quite easy to share, and it raises awareness.” A friend of Claire’s who was involved was Richard, who runs [Grimhilde's Kitchen](https://royalstararcade.co.uk/shops/grimhildas-kitchen/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Royal Star Arcade. They were drawn to the transparency of the petition process. “It's not me trying to sneak anything in as a councillor. It's me as a resident, as somebody that wants to do this, but also as a councillor.” The petition was about having a memorial in place in Maidstone town centre for women who were killed in the witchcraft trials. “Specifically, I was looking at the witchcraft trials of 1652\. There were actually 18 people on trial, which was unheard of here in Kent.” Claire admits she isn’t a historian. “I'm not an expert, but I am interested.” Claire’s research showed that the average was one or two a year. Of the 18 people who were on trial that year, several were hanged. “They were single women, they were widows, they weren't married women or men.” This was common amongst these trials of the era. Over the last decade, there has been a movement of people wanting to rectify this. “Now you can't bring people back, and the government are not likely to consider pardons,” whereas Scotland is. Claire and friends felt that a memorial to remember, even if it doesn't fully vindicate them, “honours their names and recognises that something drastically went wrong with the legal system.” Something similar has already occurred in Faversham. “Last year they put in a [stone for the ‘witches’](https://favershamlife.org/the-faversham-witches/?ref=kentcurrent.news) that were hung at Faversham.” Claire feels that a small memorial slab, “not a huge great statue,” is feasible and would be appropriate. “It's Maidstone's turn to recognise these women.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fa666acf9-9b9f-4fec-ba58-a3a7fcb2a4a7_1542x2048-jpeg-1.jpg) Ribbons placed in memory of the Maidstone Witches The women had been accused of murder by witchcraft. Mary Reed from Lenham was accused of murdering a local farmer by witchcraft three and a half years before the trial. “That's obviously something that had festered in the community.” Women from Cranbrook, Ann Ashby, Mary Brown and Mildred Wright, were accused of murdering three people by witchcraft. Witchcraft was then punishable by death. “They were accused of murdering a baby, a young child and a woman. Whether they were healers and midwives, and it all went terribly wrong, it is impossible to know.” At that time, little evidence would have been presented against them. They were accused and had to prove their innocence. The trial would have been held near the location of the present town hall. The judge was Judge Peter Warburton. “I've seen their indictments, and it looks like they were testimonies.” For each indictment, there were several testimonies by people, including the widow of the lady who died, the father of the children who died, and other people accusing them. A common instrument was a ‘[witch's pricker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pricking?ref=kentcurrent.news).’ Similar to a sword used in amateur dramatics, if it makes contact, it retracts. The pricker was a similar needle. “They'd poke that into what they thought were witch marks and moles, things like that.” If it didn't bleed, then they were witches, because they felt no pain. Whilst the torture of prisoners was illegal, the women on trial had been physically examined and ill-treated, sleep-deprived and facing the death penalty. “Some of them did say, yes, they'd been in league with the devil.” The last woman in the UK to be hanged for witchcraft was around 1680\. Thankfully, our attitudes towards single women and elderly widowers are much better now. Of the 18 women who were found guilty and hanged, some were found not guilty, so they could go home, and some were imprisoned further. Claire has changed her attitude towards witches from the clichéd perception after she read The Crucible during her A-levels, “and I thought, they weren't just witches, they were women.” About 14 years ago, Claire came across the Maidstone Witches and has been interested in the local history of it since. “It hadn't occurred to me when I was younger, the impact it really had, and the economic situation, the political situation, the religious situation. And the fact that as a woman, had I lived 373 years ago, for somebody who's quite outspoken and does what they want, I could have been in an awful lot of trouble.” “We talk a lot about violence against women and girls, and it just feels like the right time to bring this up and to acknowledge that this happened. This has always been happening. No one is necessarily going to take us to the gallows and hang us, but there is always social injustice. There is a lot of fear, there is a lot of misinformation, and there's always a scapegoat.” Claire and her friends first started talking about the petition last year. “It was after the Faversham memorial stone was laid”. They faced negativity whilst arranging the petition on the subject of it being a waste of money, and whilst no response fundamentally said they were found guilty, they should be forgotten about, “Somebody did say ‘all their families will want compensation now’ and I thought ‘good luck tracing them.’” Once the petition was accepted, Claire presented it in June and gave a small speech about the need for the memorial. “Mainly it was met with really positive comments. A few people thought it was potentially a waste of money, or what was the relevance?” Maidstone Borough Council agreed to take the petition and look into the matter, including enquiring whether any funding is available for the memorial stone. “I did offer to raise funding myself.” Claire recognises that budgets are limited and that “things don't happen overnight.” She is hopeful that after the summer break, conversations will continue. “There's not many council meetings in August.” There is currently no time scale on when a decision will be made, but Claire does know the people making the decision. “I know how to get hold of them and check.” Whilst Claire can’t be involved in the decision-making process, she is hopeful she will be part of moving the idea forward. “I'm doing a [talk in September at Maidstone Museum](https://museum.maidstone.gov.uk/whats-on/events/the-history-of-witchcraft-in-maidstone-2/?ref=kentcurrent.news), which has already sold out.” Claire remains hopeful that a decision can be made and the memorial stone in place for next year. *If you would like to know more or keep informed about the progress, you can follow their Facebook page,* [*Maidstone Witches 1652*](https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61577721604148)*.* --- *The Kent Current is a reader-supported publication, designed to deliver Kent news without the ads or the clickbait. To support our work and receive our latest editions straight to your inbox,* [*subscribe for free*](#/portal/signup)*.* [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup) --- #### In brief 🥖 [Bailiffs have evicted the operators](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sandwich/news/shock-as-bailiffs-evict-operators-from-celebrated-kent-bistr-329131/?ref=kentcurrent.news) of the popular French bistro No Name Shop in Sandwich. 🍰 The Great British Bake Off returns on Tuesday, with one contender from Kent. [Lesley from Eynsford described being on the show](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp94e8v51y7o?ref=kentcurrent.news) as a ‘pinch me moment.’ 🔥 Residents near Ashford claim they are living in ‘absolute hell’ after a [pile of manure caught fire](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/it-s-absolute-hell-fury-over-steaming-pile-of-poo-in-fiel-329081/?ref=kentcurrent.news) and has been smouldering near their homes for a week. --- #### IP Man returns *In which we* [*continue our conversation*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-prolific-ip-man/) *with Kent’s legendary comic book writer and novelist,* [*Dan Abnett*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan%5FAbnett?ref=kentcurrent.news)*…* Dan Abnett moved onto the Star Trek universe in the early 90s. By this point, he was working for Marvel Comics in the United States, and they had recently acquired the license to produce original Star Trek comics from DC. Marvel launched five monthly titles, including [Starfleet Academy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star%5FTrek:%5FStarfleet%5FAcademy%5F%28comics%29?ref=kentcurrent.news). Dan was co-writing on Star Trek with another British writer, [Ian Edginton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian%5FEdginton?ref=kentcurrent.news), for [Star Trek Unlimited](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Star%5FTrek%5FUnlimited%5F%28Marvel%29?ref=kentcurrent.news) on Next Generation and Original Series adventures, “which was great fun writing those characters.” They were also asked to write a regular monthly title, [Star Trek: Early Voyages](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star%5FTrek:%5FEarly%5FVoyages?ref=kentcurrent.news), which became successful until Marvel suddenly and unexpectedly lost the licence. Dan describes Star Trek: Early Voyages as the most successful of the titles in some respects because “we were allowed for the first time to tell stories about Captain Pike.” Years before the JJ Abrams movies or the recent Strange New Worlds TV series, they went back and created an Enterprise crew around Captain Pike. “I loved writing that comic. It was so much fun. We ended on a cliffhanger.” Star Trek: Early Voyages has subsequently been collected several times. “Strange New Worlds is not the TV version of our comic by any stretch of imagination,” says Dan, while noting that he would be surprised if they weren’t aware of his comic series. The Roddenberry Foundation considers Early Voyages to be canon. “I'm very proud of that fact.” Star Trek will often come up at conventions with Dan. “As a comic, it felt different. Every other comic had been trying to extend or continue,” the adventures of Kirk, Picard or Sisko, whereas Early Voyages was going back to “something that had been left behind.” Another popular IP is, of course, Star Wars. “That's the one significant universe that I haven't written for. I find Star Wars tremendously influential. What I really love about Star Wars is the way the universe feels so real and lived in. It made a huge impression on me when I was a kid.” Dan would understandably jump at the opportunity to work on Star Wars, but the stars, pun intended, have not aligned. With Dan currently working at DC, whilst Marvel publishes Star Wars comics, it might be a while longer yet. He admits, “It's one of my bucket lists.” One of the strangest jobs Dan had was for a tie-in for the [Nemesis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemesis%5FReborn?ref=kentcurrent.news) rollercoaster. “That's the sort of thing that comes up all the time and you end up doing them!” Alton Towers was trying to promote their new Nemesis rollercoaster in the early 90s, which has “a sort of Aliens-ish vibe.” They wanted to do a comic book that was a single, standalone issue for a free giveaway. They recruited Dan and a 2000AD artist called [Will Simpson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will%5FSimpson%5F%28comics%29?ref=kentcurrent.news). “We came in and got to look around Nemesis and wrote a story about Nemesis and a monster alien. I've probably got a copy of it.” The oddest job Dan had was writing the Happy Meal comic for Ronald McDonald. This wasn’t a one-off but a regular gig for several months until “my brain hurt.” Dan notes that the work often crops up in odd places, though it doesn't necessarily end up getting re-published as a comic or a book or something like that. “When I was a freelance writer, I would take the jobs that were offered to me. It's weird to turn a job down. But sometimes a job would come along, and I want to do that because that sounds interesting. Write a comic based on a roller coaster. All right. Challenge accepted.” --- #### Upcoming Kent events 🎸 Fri 12 Sep - [**Brian Bilston & the Catenary Wires**](https://www.ramsgatemusichall.com/tc-events/brian-bilston-the-catenary-wires/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Poetry’s version of Banksy teams up with indiepop heroes for album and live shows. Ramsgate Music Hall. Tickets £20. 🚜 Sat 13 Sep - [**Weald of Kent Ploughing Match**](https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/weald-of-kent-ploughing-match-2025-tickets-1495300828029?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Annual ploughing competition, events, displays, farmers’ market, and 80 trade stalls. Moatenden Farm, Headcorn. Tickets £8.50. 📰 Sat 13 Sep - [**John Simpson - The Leaders and Lunatics Tour**](https://www.assemblyhalltheatre.co.uk/whats-on/john-simpson-the-leaders-and-lunatics-tour.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Legendary journalist explores personalities of world leaders. Assembly Hall Theatre, Tunbridge Wells. Tickets from £34.25. 🎤 14 - 15 Sep - [**Josh Widdicombe: Not My Cup of Tea**](https://marlowetheatre.com/shows/josh-widdicombe-not-my-cup-of-tea/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Popular TV comedian plays two nights in Kent. Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury. Tickets £33.50. --- #### More Currents Our [news briefing this week](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kent-police-rebrand-lawbreaking-as/) focused on the awkward scenario we’ve found ourselves in, where a Reform-led KCC is telling people that hanging flags on the highway is unlawful, while Kent Police say it’s fine. [Kent Police rebrand lawbreaking as free speechIt’s been a weird week of flags going up across the county, which has led to some awkward political positions. While Reform-led KCC tried to encourage people not to hang flags from lampposts this week, Kent Police made it equally clear that it was absolutely fine and they wouldn’t arrest anyone even if they were breaking the law. We dig into the full de…![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f8d4a4c7f-19fc-4e7c-87d7-4ed0b87571a5_567x567-8.png)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f6e3733c0-b97f-440e-8e91-8c71c2df3e5f_2500x1406-jpeg.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kent-police-rebrand-lawbreaking-as/) It’s the last few days where you can [get 20% off an annual subscription](#/portal/signup) to the *Kent Current*. The generous support of our paid subscribers ensures we can keep digging into the Kent stories that others ignore. [Get 20% off for 1 year](#/portal/signup) --- #### Footnotes *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews) *and* [*BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* *If you enjoy the Kent Current, please share it with your friends, family, associates, and enemies. We have no meaningful marketing budget, so we rely on word of mouth from our readers to find new readers.* ### Kent Police rebrand lawbreaking as free speech URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/kent-police-rebrand-lawbreaking-as/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:55:09.000Z *It’s been a weird week of flags going up across the county, which has led to some awkward political positions. While Reform-led KCC tried to encourage people not to hang flags from lampposts this week, Kent Police made it equally clear that it was absolutely fine and they wouldn’t arrest anyone even if they were breaking the law. We dig into the full details below. Further down, we have the latest happenings at KCC, news in brief, and more.* --- **Kent Police rebrand lawbreaking as free speech** When is breaking the law not breaking the law? When Kent Police decide so, apparently. This week has been dominated by flags, after a campaign led by far-right agitators gained national traction. Under the name ‘[Operation Raise the Colours](https://politicsuk.com/what-is-operation-raise-the-colours/?ref=kentcurrent.news),’ flags have been erected on lampposts and other public spaces across the country, with Kent seeing large amounts in areas like Medway, Canterbury, Faversham, and Dartford. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f6e3733c0-b97f-440e-8e91-8c71c2df3e5f_2500x1406-jpeg-2.jpg) Flags and their usage can be an emotive subject, with many wishing to fly them as a symbol of pride in their country. In contrast, others see them as being usurped by the far-right, with their placement representing the sort of uncomfortable ethno-nationalism that previously appeared to be in the past. Like many campaigns that rapidly gain traction on social media, politicians across Kent have struggled to figure out how to respond. Kent County Council’s Reform leader Linden Kemkaran initially [took to social media to confirm](https://x.com/LeaderofKCC/status/1957532314583351469?ref=kentcurrent.news) that KCC “will not be removing any of these flags put up unilaterally by the people of Kent.” We asked KCC’s press office whether Cllr Kemkaran’s post represented council policy, and whether KCC would accept any liability for any injuries or accidents that came from flags left up on lampposts. As is the standard at this point, we have received no response to our query. After a week of flags being attached to highway infrastructure, KCC suddenly took a more nuanced tone, saying that flags would remain for now but encouraging residents not to scale lampposts to erect them. The council also clarified that they will remove anything that risks people’s safety, like flags blocking CCTV cameras or road signage, before suggesting they’d report anyone caught putting a flag on the highway to the police. It turns out this would be a rather pointless exercise, though, as Kent Police appear to have taken a position that putting up flags wherever you like is absolutely fine, whatever the law might say. A statement from Kent Police on BBC Radio Kent yesterday morning said: > *“Kent Police is aware of a number of instances where the Union Flag and St George’s Cross have been spontaneously flown in public spaces around the county in recent days.* > > *Flying the nation’s flags is always lawful. Furthermore, they are a unifying symbol of national identity and pride for many, and their presence will not be viewed as an expression of hostility or in support of any political cause or issue.* > > *Officers will not be arresting anyone or removing the Union Flag or St George’s Cross without a need to do so for urgent public safety reasons, such as endangering traffic.* > > *Kent Police’s role is to protect and serve the people of Kent and this includes not infringing on people’s rights to freedom of speech.”* There’s a lot to unpack there. Taking aside that the campaign to erect flags has been entirely driven by the same people who are protesting outside of asylum seeker hotels and marching to ‘stop the boats’ not being viewed as a political action, the statement still raises several questions. First, the claim that flying flags is “always lawful.” This would appear to contradict both the statement put out by KCC’s Reform administration above and [Section 132 of the Highways Act 1980](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1980/66/section/132?ref=kentcurrent.news), which states: > *A person who, without either the consent of the highway authority for the highway in question or an authorisation given by or under an enactment or a reasonable excuse, paints or otherwise inscribes or affixes any picture, letter, sign or other mark upon the surface of a highway or upon any tree, structure or works on or in a highway is guilty of an offence…* As a result, it would appear that despite attaching flags to lampposts being an offence in law, it is something that Kent Police are explicitly choosing not to enforce. That sets a precedent that if one law can be waved aside on the grounds of symbolism, what happens the next time campaigners decide to ‘spontaneously’ hang banners, slogans, or something less palatable than a national flag? Further, Kent Police states that their role is 'not infringing on people's rights to freedom of speech.' Does this mean Kent Police will take no action against anything spontaneously displayed in a public space, even if in contravention of the law above? Is this exception only for those flying national flags, or are other flags, symbols, banners, or posters also acceptable? The message is muddy at best, and seems in contrast with an incident earlier this summer when [armed Kent Police officers threatened to arrest a woman](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/17/armed-police-threatened-to-arrest-kent-protester-for-holding-palestinian-flag?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Canterbury for having the temerity to support Palestine in public. Finally, the statement focuses entirely on flags and doesn’t mention the extensive graffiti of England flags onto roundabouts and road markings in recent days, which is presumably also an offence. Will Kent Police turn a blind eye to this kind of ‘freedom of speech’ too? We put all of these questions to Kent Police’s press team. We received no response. While Kent County Council seem happy to try and walk a delicate line between pragmatism and not annoying the people putting up the flags, Medway Council seem to be taking a rather blunter stance. Cllr Alex Paterson, Portfolio Holder for Community Safety, Highways and Enforcement, told us: > *“Anyone who believes flying a flag is always an innocent act of pride has clearly never been in Glasgow when an Old Firm match or Orange Walk is taking place. I have, so let’s not be naive. I’m all for claiming back the symbolism of our country’s flag from bigots, but the best way to do that is probably not to participate in a craze started by far-right agitators, and then to turn a blind eye when a significant number involved state it is a ‘message’ to immigrants. At a time when elected Kent councillors are happy to be pictured next to the banner of a neo-nazi group we shouldn’t shy away from calling that out, and in being wise to the motives of those who wrap themselves in the fabric of our flag while tearing apart the fabric of our nation.”* It does feel somewhat disengenuous for Kent Police to claim that the ongoing campaign won’t be viewed as an expression of hostility or in support of a political cause when Dartford Borough Council are having to take to social media [to beg people](https://www.facebook.com/dartfordboroughcouncil/posts/pfbid02kfL4M1PHcuxG28Dbogdim5wsumUB6csCspQzcBhSWpjR9bypETQV425tqhZaHGXPl) not to paint England flags on children’s playgrounds alongside racial slurs. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f446bf763-efb2-4aa2-8f31-34f4b07c0f49_1536x1152-png.jpg) Graffiti in Dartford. Photo: Dartford Borough Council Whatever the intentions of those joining in, the campaign’s architects know exactly what they are doing. Kent Police’s decision not to enforce the law has handed them a victory they could not have achieved alone. If breaking the law now counts as free speech, then it seems the only condition is that you do it with the right colours stitched to the fabric. --- *The Kent Current is a reader-supported publication, designed to deliver Kent news without the ads or the clickbait. To support our work and receive our latest editions straight to your inbox,* [*subscribe for free*](#/portal/signup)*.* [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup) --- #### What is happening at KCC this week? - Despite all the song and dance about Reform sending their DOGE team into Kent County Council in June and the amount of outrageous spending they had supposedly found, the reality is somewhat different. A Freedom of Information request put to Kent County Council recently revealed that [the council shared no data](https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/data%5Fshared%5Fwith%5Freforms%5Fdoge%5Fte%5F2?ref=kentcurrent.news#incoming-3133578) with the Reform DOGE team other than that which was already publicly available. Reform’s crack team of the best and the brightest travelled to County Hall and were only shown things that were freely available anyway, despite threats toward staff that they would face misconduct claims if they refused to co-operate. - Kent County Council [reduced their debt by 5%](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/debt-of-councils-in-kent-soars-to-2-3-billion-but-two-don-328953/?ref=kentcurrent.news) between 2023/24 and 2024/25\. Just the trivial matter of the remaining £733m to go. - Following the High Court ruling on the hotel housing asylum seekers in Epping, KCC leader Linden Kemkaran [requested information from district council leaders](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd7y0l7l5d7o?ref=kentcurrent.news) on the hotels in their areas and asked them to consider taking the same kind of legal action that Epping did. This presumably didn’t go over well, with the Green leader of Maidstone and the Conservative leaders of Dartford and Sevenoaks [making it clear](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/council-leaders-defy-reform-uk-call-for-united-approach-to-a-328957/?ref=kentcurrent.news) that they wouldn’t comply. - We’ll have more on this next week, but [KCC held a meeting on violence against women and girls](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/reform-criticised-as-hate-rally-goes-ahead-despite-protest-329115/?ref=kentcurrent.news) this week, where one speaker claimed ‘hundreds of thousands of young women’ had been murdered by migrants. - Daniel Taylor, the suspended Reform councillor for Cliftonville, [appeared in court last week](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c07p2n39d18o?ref=kentcurrent.news) after being accused of making threats to kill his wife. The trial is set to take place at the Crown Court in May next year. Remarkably, the charge was updated to cover alleged actions up until 2 July, nearly a month after he was initially arrested. - It’s been over a week since [we revealed that five Kent Reform councillors posed smiling for photographs alongside a man draped in a neo-Nazi flag](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kent-reform-councillors-pictured/). In the time since, Reform have refused to acknowledge the incident, with no response coming from the national party, the leadership in Kent, or the five councillors themselves. No other outlets have picked up the incident, with the exception of the Byline Times, which [identified the flag-draped man in question](https://bylinetimes.com/2025/08/21/the-reform-and-conservative-politicians-mingling-with-neo-nazis-and-fascists-at-asylum-hotel-protests/?ref=kentcurrent.news). --- #### In brief 🔊 Staff working at the Manston asylum centre have spoken about the [inhumane conditions and abuse asylum seekers are subjected to](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/aug/26/people-sleeping-while-walking-inside-manston-asylum-centre-in-kent?ref=kentcurrent.news) when they arrive there for processing. 🚒 A £450,000 drone used to scour the English Channel for migrants somehow [caught fire on the M20](https://metro.co.uk/2025/08/24/home-office-drone-worth-450000-crash-lands-on-kent-motorway-23988897/?ref=kentcurrent.news) near Folkestone. 🕷️ Michael Dnes has been digging into whether a rare type of spider really did derail the town centre plans for Ebbsfleet and finds a [reality that’s even more silly](https://michaeldnes1.substack.com/p/what-really-ate-ebbsfleet). 🏗️ Plans for a 5,000-home development near Lenham [will take nearly 30 years](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/inside-council-s-plans-for-mega-5-000-homes-project-329107/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to deliver. 💸 Levels of debt at Kent’s district councils [vary dramatically across the county](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/debt-of-councils-in-kent-soars-to-2-3-billion-but-two-don-328953/?ref=kentcurrent.news). Ashford carries a debt of £261m, followed by Canterbury on £183m. Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge & Malling have none at the other end of the scale. 💷 Households in Folkestone and Hythe [owe £6.7m in council tax](https://folkestonedispatch.substack.com/p/revealed-how-many-millions-owed-in), with the authority taking enforcement action using bailiffs against 1,446 households this year, data obtained by the Folkestone Dispatch reveals. 🏚️ Thanet District Council are considering a [selective licensing scheme that would apply to over 12,500 homes](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2025/08/26/council-considering-selective-licensing-scheme-which-could-cover-12625-privately-rented-homes-in-margate-and-ramsgate/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Margate and Ramsgate in an effort to improve standards within privately rented properties. 🪧 [Protestors gathered outside of Sittingbourne’s greyhound racing stadium](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sittingbourne/news/it-s-a-cruel-practice-we-need-to-ban-it-for-good-protest-328901/?ref=kentcurrent.news) last week as part of an effort to ban the activity. Sittingbourne has one of just 17 dog racing stadiums left in the country. 🗳️ [A by-election will be held in Rolvenden & Tenterden West](https://www.ashford.gov.uk/your-council/register-to-vote-and-elections/elections-and-referendums/upcoming-elections-and-referendums/rolvenden-tenterden-west-ward-notice-of-election/?ref=kentcurrent.news) for a vacant Ashford Borough Council seat on 25 September. If you wish to stand, you have until tomorrow to get your nomination papers in. 🪵 Fergus Wilson, Ashford’s own Scrooge minus the redemption, is [offering to sell some woodland](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/it-will-go-down-like-a-lead-balloon-landlord-s-plan-to-se-328840/?ref=kentcurrent.news) he chopped down to Maidstone Borough Council for £4m to be used as a traveller site. 🚄 Restoring Eurostar services to Ashford could [inject £2.7bn into the local economy](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g6wd6lgyeo?ref=kentcurrent.news) over five years. 🚆 ianVisits came to [explore Southeastern’s open day at their Ashford depot](https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/thousands-explore-ashford-depot-at-their-railway-200-open-day-83503/?ref=kentcurrent.news) on Sunday. 🛍️ Three Kent Poundland stores are set to close following a restructuring deal to keep the company from falling into administration. Shops in Canterbury, Tunbridge Wells, and Rainham will cease trading on Sunday. 🚗 Dartford Crossing charges will [increase on Monday](https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/dartford-crossing-charge-update?ref=kentcurrent.news), with the cost for a single crossing in a car increasing to £3.50 or £2.80 for pre-pay account holders. --- #### More Currents For our latest big interview, [we sat down with Tim Aker](https://www.kentcurrent.news/you-get-a-lot-more-political-power/), former Member of the European Parliament and Development Manager for the Federation of Small Businesses in Kent. We talk to him about his electoral journey, going from MEP to FSB, his book, and more. [“You get a lot more political power by persuading people than you do by crushing them”Tim Aker is the Development Manager for the Federation of Small Businesses in Kent and Medway. He did his doctoral thesis on Margaret Thatcher and was a UKIP Member of the European Parliament. Steven met Tim to talk about Thatcher’s Praetorian Guard, his journey from MEP to FSB, his book The First Brexiteer, and lots more.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f8d4a4c7f-19fc-4e7c-87d7-4ed0b87571a5_567x567-9.png)Kent CurrentSteven Keevil![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2ff1292c60-3d59-4aa9-8127-5090f4d12378_702x527-jpeg.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/you-get-a-lot-more-political-power/) Our interviews and extra features are only available to our paying subscribers, and we have some great content coming up through September. For the next few days, you can [get 20% off an annual subscription](#/portal/signup) to the *Kent Current*. The generous support of our paid subscribers ensures we can keep digging into the Kent stories that others ignore. [Get 20% off for 1 year](#/portal/signup) --- #### Footnotes *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews) *and* [*BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* *Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via *hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news* \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *If you enjoy the Kent Current, please share it with your friends, family, associates, and even your enemies. We have no meaningful marketing budget, so we rely on word of mouth from our readers to find new readers.* ### “You get a lot more political power by persuading people than you do by crushing them” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/you-get-a-lot-more-political-power/ Last updated: 2026-03-25T16:57:26.000Z *Tim Aker is the Development Manager for the* [*Federation of Small Businesses*](https://www.fsb.org.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *in Kent and Medway. He did his doctoral thesis on Margaret Thatcher and was a UKIP Member of the European Parliament. Steven met Tim to talk about Thatcher’s Praetorian Guard, his journey from MEP to FSB, his book The First Brexiteer, and lots more.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2ff1292c60-3d59-4aa9-8127-5090f4d12378_702x527-jpeg-2.jpg) Tim Aker. **How would you describe the Federation of Small Businesses?** It's a support organisation to encourage people into self-employment. To support small businesses through their journey and to provide essential backup if and when things go wrong. For instance, there's a 24/7 legal hub, there's free tax investigation support and cover, there's a HR hub, there's lots there, and it's very comprehensive to support small businesses as and when they need it, because, as you and your readers will appreciate, it's a tough journey. It's getting a lot tougher. But when done right, it can be one of the most rewarding things people can do. **And how did you end up there?** A very convoluted journey that starts by leaving the European Parliament via an Amazon warehouse and seeing a job advertised. I thought with my experience being a local authority councillor, with my public affairs experience in local government and European government and with the media, PR, and press requirements that come with this job that I've done on-the-job training over the years. I ticked all the boxes and I've been able to put a strategy and plan in place, and seeing that play out has increased the new joiners by 25% in the four years I've been doing it, which, in two recessions, if I may modestly say, ain't half bad. **How did you successfully negotiate periods of free parking in Medway?** I asked for them. This is the thing, right? Everybody believes public affairs can be very convoluted, but start with a start. Everything's in negotiation. You go high, they go low. Seeing the problems that retail had, particularly with covid, I spoke with the officers and said that the banks leaving the high street was the third or fourth domino down the line. And when people go to Hempstead Valley or go to Bluewater, they get free parking. You need that extra pull factor for the high street. Free parking incentivises that. We said that you need periods of free parking. If you want to stay all day, of course you should pay something. Particularly if you're going onto the train to go into London. You're not spending your pounds and shillings on Rochester High Street, for instance. We wanted periods of free parking, so that if people wanted to go do their banking, they can have a cup of tea at Store 104\. They can buy a book there, can do more impulse purchases, and it's a pull factor on it. And we got it. The problem is local government is told what to do by central government and given barely any resource to be able to do that and the sad reality was the period of free parking didn't last that long, but when it did, it really helped our members in Medway and we will keep banging the drum for this, but as I say to Vince *(Maple, leader of Medway Council)*, I don't envy the task he's got. I actually think they should call it local administration rather than local government. Government implies a sense of control. What they've got is unfunded mandates and very, very little wiggle room. I know, for people who aren't so clued up on local government, they are told what they've got to do. If they don't do that, it doesn't matter whether they've got the money to do it, they've got to find the money to do it. Everything else comes second to that. They have a priority list of things to do and very, very, very few resources to do it, and they've got the spectre of reorganisation over their head. Yeah, I really don't envy them their task. We have a lot of positive work with Medway Council, and the best thing that they did was sign our FSB pledge when they came in within their first 50 days, not even their first 100 days. It designated an officer, who is the point of contact for small businesses. You go to any local government website, I don't know who makes them, but please stop, they're unusable and unworkable. People just don't bother. They want to speak to someone with a name who can meet them, empathise with them, which a recording can't, which an AI automated chatbot can't yet. They want to either vent or talk through their problems. I've tried to export that revolution to other boroughs. It's been a challenge, but you've got to ask. In a convoluted way, to answer your question, we asked. **Just picking up on what you said there about local administration rather than government, when you look at what the new KCC administration is saying, and their Department of Local Government Efficiency, do you think that they will be able to find areas for efficiency?** I wish them every success, but there is a problem between highlighting what has been spent and the judgment that one calls it waste and saving money on future spend because that money has already been spent. If they're seeing wasteful programmes that continue to be spent and aren't mandated by central government, because if a local authority is told what to do by central government, there is no wiggle room. Anyone who has experience of planning will emphasise, you don't want it built on that green bit, but it's in the plan, you've got no choice. If they can find delegated decisions that are wasteful and can cut them and save money for taxpayers, marvellous. But the best bit of advice I'd give them is to learn. It's a very difficult task. I spent a period of time at Thurrock Council learning, just taking everything in. They've been given a great task by the people of Kent, and in politics, you seldom get a second bite of the cherry. Take your time, there's no need to rush. **Who was Sir Neil Marten?** He was the first Brexiteer, I'm reliably told by this wonderful book that is on [Amazon](https://www.amazon.co.uk/First-Brexiteer-Diaries-Neil-Marten/dp/1917743009?ref=kentcurrent.news), in [Waterstones](https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-first-brexiteer/tim-aker/anthony-marten/9781917743006?ref=kentcurrent.news) and any reputable bookshop. Sir [Neil Marten](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil%5FMarten?ref=kentcurrent.news) was the First Brexiteer, chairman of the No Campaign in the ‘75 referendum. He was the Conservative MP for Banbury, a member of the executive of the 1922 committee, which is the Conservatives' trade union for MPs. They're the ones who MPs go to if they've got a problem, and then they take it to the leader or the Prime Minister. It's a very important committee in the Conservative parliamentary party. He was a transformational politician because he introduced the notion of rebellion into parliamentary politics, which we take for granted today. If you look back at the first application to join Europe in 1961, only one Conservative MP voted against it. Only one. I think only five or seven MPs in total voted against. The defiance of the whip was very rare. Neil Martin decided that the sovereignty of the country was too important to put party before country, and he corralled a group of Conservative MPs to rebel against the accession to the European Economic Community, as the EU was then known, in 1972\. On 17 February 1972, 15 Conservative and Unionist MPs voted against a confidence measure which very nearly brought the Ted Heath government down. And they were only saved by Liberal votes. At the time, your readers and subscribers, particularly younger ones, will be shocked to hear that at that time the Labour Party were against Europe and the Conservatives were fully in favour. The Labour MPs were fervently against it, and some were so upset that the Liberal leader had saved Heath that they grabbed him by the lapels and dragged him over to the benches. An extraordinary scene, absolutely extraordinary scene. Labour pro-marketeers, as pro-Europeans were then known, were seen crying, their faces as they were being basically pushed through the lobbies to vote against it. On the Conservative side, MPs were threatened with deselection, and you very nearly had UKIP 20 years before they formed. Several constituency associations threatened their MPs with deselection because, at the time, boundaries were changing, and Conservative associations could use a technicality as the boundaries were changing to reopen nominations for the next election. That happened to one MP, [Ronald Bell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald%5FBell%5F%28politician%29?ref=kentcurrent.news). Marten and his colleagues decided to pre-empt all of this. Their associations weren't happy. They said, if you push us too far, we will cause a by-election. There were six Conservative MPs that threatened their associations one way or another to do it. One of them, [Robin Turton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin%5FTurton,%5FBaron%5FTranmire?ref=kentcurrent.news), the [Father of the House,](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father%5Fof%5Fthe%5FHouse%5F%28United%5FKingdom%29?ref=kentcurrent.news) elected during Baldwin's time. This is how far back it goes. He was Father of the House, not what you'd call a swivel-eyed headbanger. And on the 29th of February 1972, he goes to the front page of the Times and says, I will stand in the by-election against my own party on the provision that Labour step aside. Labour don't take him up on that offer. But imagine for a moment if they had, you've got the man whose family goes back generations in the constituency, been there 40 years, you would have had the Tories fighting each other openly. It would have been the Clacton by-election 40 years before the event. **Why did you decide that you needed to finish a book about him?** This is where, as a historian, you find things that you'd assume would never be there. My Master’s, I wrote a thesis on the rebellion. I have a personal interest in this, having been, for my sins, a Conservative and also being an MEP and with a fascination of history. This was interesting, and nobody had really written about it. There's a fascinating book called [Conservative Dissidents](https://www.abebooks.co.uk/9780851171630/Conservative-Dissidents-Dissent-Parliamentary-Party-085117163X/plp?ref=kentcurrent.news) by Lord Norton. Wonderful historian. It just glosses over this. You go through the archives, and I saw there was an archive, Neil Marten's papers were deposited at the Bodleian Library in 1986, a year after he died. I consulted the archives, and there's a lot here. I thought, let's turn it into an academic paper, get some peer review element in all this. I had the best peer reviewer of my exam, [Dominic Sandbrook](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominic%5FSandbrook?ref=kentcurrent.news). I went to visit the son of Sir Neil Marten, who's the copyright holder, to talk about my research and get his permission. After lunch, he says, ‘You might be interested in these,’ and comes up with a stack of his father's diaries. When I picked myself up off the floor, I asked him, ‘Can I do this?’ Diaries for historians are the real primary source. He said yes. I did that alongside my doctoral studies and alongside my job. We had a successful launch. We had Lord Hannon, who gave the address, Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg was there, Lord Frost, Mark Francois. It's been great, and it's been nice to elevate the career and life of a man who deserves it and to see the respect that Neil Marten deserves and the pride that's given the family. It was wonderful, a real labour of love. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f12e4b4c1-5610-4193-979c-b50436889140_1600x1200-jpeg.jpg) Tim Aker signs a copy of his book for a fan. **What political parties have you been a member of?** Oh goodness, Conservative Party and UKIP. **What age were you a member of the Conservatives?** Oh God, I was a dreadful Tory boy with the glasses and all sorts. I think I was about 15\. I don't come from a political family. I had a very good history teacher at GCSE who encouraged me to read newspapers. Great education for anyone. I know they're all going online, but there's something great about holding a newspaper, because you keep a scrapbook. Don't hoard the whole things, but it helps with your education, your awareness around the world. I didn't like the idea of this Euro business. I remember at the time thinking, leaving Europe would be a bridge too far. Let's just keep things as it is. Let's conserve what we have. And it just escalated from there. The more I knew, the more I knew that I didn't know. It got to a point in 2009 where I saw UKIP and thought, particularly with my community and people I knew in Aveley, that something's changing. I didn't get into politics to sit on the side. I left the [Taxpayers’ Alliance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TaxPayers%27%5FAlliance?ref=kentcurrent.news) to work for [David Campbell Bannerman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David%5FCampbell%5FBannerman?ref=kentcurrent.news) and thought, I can help and contribute to this, and all roads led to Brussels in one way or another and very nearly Westminster. **What is the Taxpayers’ Alliance?** The Taxpayer’s Alliance is a campaign group, a pressure group for lower taxes and better government. **Can you have better government if you don't pay more tax?** Oh absolutely. The economy is the billions of individual micro transactions, and anytime government intervenes, it has a plan for that snapshot that it has at that time. By the time it comes to act, those circumstances have changed, and government can't keep up with that. Now, of course, everything is a trade-off and a compromise, but I do believe that the more you can decentralise power and decision making, and that includes economic decision making, I genuinely believe the better off we will be. **Were you a candidate whilst in the Conservatives?** Very nearly, and not a lot of people know this. I did put in to become a Conservative candidate in Thurrock in 2006. **That would have been for a council?** Yeah. And looking back on the rings I ran around them and the sleepless nights I gave certain members of parliament who will remain nameless, wouldn't I have been in a much better position to have given me that council seat? I was too outspoken. One important matter in politics is that all the parties need pastoral care, particularly for young people coming into it and particularly a mentoring system. It sounds paradoxical, but it isn't. To keep that radicalism and enthusiasm of youth alive, but also to temper it. And realise that now what you say and do lasts forever. It's a long game. You don't need to go in and make enemies from day one. Take people with you on the journey because you may have got in with 40% but there's nothing stopping you turning that 45 and 50 and so on, and you get a lot more political power by persuading people than you do by crushing them. **So your first official ballot was with UKIP?** In 2010\. It was a local election. We had no idea what we were doing. This was in Thurrock. I'll never forget that I was out on my own, always on your own, soul destroying. Three knockbacks and you're out. You hear, “not interested,” “I'm not voting,” “I'm voting for one of the other parties,” your shoulders slump. I remember an avenue and seeing 40 Tories. I thought, I can't do this. But I did alright in the local. In 2011, I lost by only 98\. Then I thought, no, I can't spend my life doing this. I went to live in London. Everyone should live in London for a bit just for the experience. Big city, enjoy that life. I got a job as the head of policy for UKIP and got myself on the list, and the rest is history. After that, five elections in five years. Please don't try that at home. Won three, lost two. Not a bad record. The last election I fought in 2018 was as an independent. **We’ll get to that, don't spoil it. When you say “won three”, were they for European Parliament?** Europe. I had a by-election in 2014\. Then locals. **You were serving as an MEP and a councillor at the same time?** Yeah. Not advisable. In 2016, we were one vote in one seat away from becoming the largest party in Thurrock. Talk about on the precipice. Having the largest party would give you rights to form a cabinet, and considering the opposition was Labour and the Conservatives, if they wanted to team up against us, they'd prove our point there and then. Something to keep an eye on for Wales next year. All the good work we were doing on the ground was being completely destroyed by what was going on at the top of the party. We all switched to become [Thurrock Independents](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thurrock%5FIndependents?ref=kentcurrent.news) because we thought the borough is too important, our residents are too important for this. I went in for one last hurrah. I wasn't going to, but I thought I owe it to my team. **You were still a UKIP MEP whilst you were Thurrock Independents councillor?** I designated as that because there were two different elections, and there was actually nothing in the rules. We'd actually had UKIP members stand as local independents in local government elections. There was nothing in the rules that I was aware of that prohibited me doing that. After the 2017 General Election, I was done with national politics. I was going in 2019\. ‘What were they going to do? Kick me out?’ I was semi-detached in that regard, but still cared very passionately about my local community. It was about Christmas time, 2017\. Somebody phoned me up and [David Van Day](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David%5FVan%5FDay?ref=kentcurrent.news) is standing against you for the Conservatives. I thought it was a joke. They these big campaign days, they billed them as ‘Get Aker’ campaign days. Goading me, and I got my highest vote that I'd ever got. It was fantastic. I had people that respected the work I'd done locally. People that said, ‘I couldn't have voted for you when you were at the other party, but I can now. I feel liberated by what you've done.’ It was, for me, the most fun campaign because it was local. We wanted to really turn the borough around. I'd taken all my councillors' allowance and put that back into the community. I set up a community bus service. In 2014, I stood in that by-election and all of them actually pledged to bring a bus service back to my ward. The negotiations with bus companies were just ridiculous. When a decision has been made and people not to have that open mind to even hear out the other side, it's very frustrating. I thought, let's use the allowance, it's not my money, it's the people's money. I set up a community bus service that ran from my ward to Romford Market every Friday. I did fish and chip nights to try and alleviate loneliness. I've got to tell you, that was the one that visibly moved me. If you go into politics for any other reason than seeing the difference that you can make in people's lives, don't. Life is not an abstraction. It's flesh and bone and hopes and dreams and emotions and feelings. **Were you ever a member of the Brexit Party?** I helped them. I think I did join. Not for long because it didn't last long, did it? I did help [Richard Tice](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard%5FTice?ref=kentcurrent.news) for that General Election. **Have you considered becoming a member of Reform UK?** I've got a lot of good friends in Reform and like seeing them succeed, but for the immediate time being in my current role, I can’t. **Where were you born?** Essex. **What brought you to Kent?** New start. **What jobs did your parents do growing up?** My father was a mechanic. My mother had a very difficult job in mental health in the NHS. **Did you enjoy school?** I don't look back on it with any real emotion really. It was just a part of life. **What did you study in sixth form?** I loved my specialisms. My GCSEs were crap. I underperformed across the board. Anyone doing any GCSEs, it is not the end. Nothing is the end. A-levels allowed me to do English Language, Economics, Politics, History, Law and General Studies. As you know, I don't like free time. **What did you study at university?** I went to the University of Nottingham, History and Politics. **Then you did your MA?** The University of Buckingham, many years later. **Why did you decide to go back?** It was lockdown. A friend of mine had started his PhD in 2006 and then left it, went back into it. I was listening to all of this, and I was going to the archives, and I thought, well I'm quite inspired by this, and the penny dropped. I'd known Simon Hanford for a good few years. He'd spoken for me at public meetings in Thurrock. He's professor of history at the University of Buckingham. I made contact with him and he gave me great advice. He said read and a subject will, a thesis title will emerge, and the rest is history, literally. **You have a PhD?** I do, yeah. **What can you tell us about Margaret Thatcher's praetorian guard?** How long do you want us to do this one? **30 seconds.** Quite contrary to the received wisdom, Margaret Thatcher could have been ousted in 1981\. The backbench committee were the barometer of opinion for the parliamentary party. They'd got rid of Heath, they felt empowered to get rid of a leader that was not steadying the ship or improving the polls. There was this group called the 92 Group, so named after 92 Cheyne Walk in Chelsea, where its founder lived and their first meetings were held. It evolved over time into a group, backbench group, that was supported by Margaret Thatcher. By organising the backbench committee elections, it put her supporters in key positions. In 1981, these became a proxy war, and the Thatcherites won. I don't think she would have survived to the Falklands because Roy Jenkins won an SDP by-election. The Tories had been losing by-elections. He won another one, just before the Falklands War. Economy was improving though, but their politicians, they look at polls as much as they look at economic data. She would have been in a very precarious position, and maybe with very few of her supporters on the backbench committees, with the Argentines invading the Falklands, maybe that would have precipitated, but she would have been in a far weaker position had the ‘92 not been there. That's the crux of it. **I’m** [**interviewing Iain Dale about his book on Margaret Thatcher**](https://www.kentcurrent.news/iain-dale-on-margaret-thatcher/)**. What is a question I should ask him about Margaret Thatcher?** It's a great on-the-spot question. He spoke at the Margaret Thatcher Centre Symposium, and he's got a Q&A that dispels some of the myths. I think to ask is ‘Why did she not promote more supporters to her cabinet?’ Of course, you can't really answer it because primary sources aren't there. She promoted people that obviously were not in tune with her line of thinking, but somehow managed to work with her. [Peter Walker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter%5FWalker,%5FBaron%5FWalker%5Fof%5FWorcester?ref=kentcurrent.news), being one of them. He managed Ted Heath's election campaign. He was also Energy Secretary during the miners' strike. Similarly, she fell out with the late [Norman Tebbit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman%5FTebbit?ref=kentcurrent.news). She almost had a revolving door of personnel people she trusted and didn't trust. The paradox is that she kept people. Peter Walker lasted the longest in her cabinet. She got completely hoodwinked by John Major. **What is the last book you read that you would recommend?** Well, obviously, The First Brexiteer. The problem in answering that question is a lot of it is focused upon very niche history to do with my PhD. **Any fiction?** My favourite fiction author is [Dean Koontz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean%5FKoontz?ref=kentcurrent.news). [Odd Thomas](https://uk.bookshop.org/book/9780007368303?ref=kentcurrent.news), watch the film after the book. The film is true to the book, and when you read the book, you'll know why you watched the film after. But that was a very, it's a moving book, it's an exciting book. It is just absolutely breathtaking. **Who is the most famous person you are one degree of separation from?** *(pause)* Nigel Farage *(laughs).* I'd say he's pretty famous. He gave me a chance. I'm grateful always to everyone that gave me a chance and an opportunity. This isn't a political point. It's one thing for people who never been on a ballot paper to mock. When they used to say to him, he's stood for parliament nine times and not won and mocking him for that, well, how many times have they done it? To see him succeed in Clacton was very moving because it was graft. Never give in and never give up. **What do you do to unwind?** I like watching films with the wife at the end of the day. That's nice. Going for meals. I love dining out, finding new restaurants, for the purposes of people reading this, I'm pointing, fervently and enthusiastically, to the [Copper Rivet Distillery](https://copperrivetdistillery.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news). It was glorious, and it pains me to use the past tense. It was Mayfair quality at Medway prices, three-course set lunch for £25\. The food was delicious, absolutely first class, everything was sourced as locally as they could get it, and it was destroyed by the last budget. It's unforgivable what the government have done. I'm very upset. There's other great shoutouts, The New Delhi in Grays that was next to my old office. Wonderful food, flawless food. Yeah, finding new hidden gems out there. They don't have to be silver service, but good places that have good service that are small businesses, independents, that offer an experience. Because it's not just a plate of food. If you want to go and have a meal, that's now a very serious cost with how the economy is going. You want to go for that complete experience, good service, to be made to feel welcomed, looked after. Finding those gems is another thing I do. **Who has been the best Prime Minister of your lifetime?** Margaret Thatcher. There's the immense number of opportunities, excellent opportunities. You have the right to be able to own their own council homes, broadening ownership. People feel they have a stake in something if they own something. We're perhaps missing that now. It's a statistic that needs more extrapolation, particularly with the Local Plan that's gone on around here. The Greens took Bristol Central, and I saw a statistic that over half of the voters rent there. Ownership is important. If you believe in a system that's based on ownership, you need more people to own things. **When you look at the current economic and financial situation, what advice would you have for someone looking to launch a small business today?** Uncertainty is always there. You can only control things you can control. Taxes will go up as they go down, but good ideas are invaluable. What problem are you going to fix? Who are you going to help? They're the two things. Collaboration is important. Communication is vital. First impressions count. AI now means that content can be produced at remarkable speeds and rates, which makes the online community saturated. The online marketplace is going to become even more competitive. Business and leads are generated through person-to-person interactions, by communication and speaking in public. Get comfortable with it, because that's the key to your success. You've got to be able to diagnose a problem and tell people how you're going to solve that problem. --- *This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.* ### Kent Reform councillors pictured smiling alongside neo-Nazi activist URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/kent-reform-councillors-pictured/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:55:13.000Z *Five Reform councillors attended a ‘stop the boats’ protest in Maidstone over the weekend, which might not be particularly newsworthy in itself. What stuck out immediately though were photographs of the group taken with protestors, including one man draped in the flag of a neo-Nazi organisation. We’ve got the full details below. Further down, we have news of Kent County Council continuing to blur the line of neutrality, a new regulatory system that should help the Lower Thames Crossing get done, news in brief, and more.* --- #### Kent Reform councillors pictured smiling alongside neo-Nazi activist Five Reform councillors in Kent joined a ‘stop the boats’ protest in Maidstone at the weekend and appeared in photographs with a man draped in a flag of the British Movement, one of the UK’s longest-standing neo-Nazi organisations. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fdc9e54a2-dda7-4735-ad4d-10a7c18e8a41_2500x1406-jpeg-1.jpg) On Saturday, a group of protestors marched through Maidstone before gathering outside County Hall, where they were joined by councillors Oliver Bradshaw, Dean Burns, Amelia Randall, Garry Sturley and Pamela Williams. Photographs and TikTok videos from the day show the five councillors posing with protestors, including a heavily tattooed man wrapped in a British Movement flag. In some shots, councillors are smiling and giving double thumbs-up gestures. The [British Movement](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British%5FMovement?ref=kentcurrent.news) was founded in the late 1960s and is one of the most overtly neo-Nazi organisations in Britain. Its members have been convicted in recent years for offences including stockpiling weapons and preparing acts of terror. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f581b877a-0ce2-4873-8434-200cd5fda98b_1042x1594-png.jpg) A man takes part in the Maidstone protest draped in a flag bearing the symbol of the British Movement. A number of TikToks posted by those attending the protest show the heavily tattooed man walking as part of the group, draped in the flag. He then appears in multiple posed photos alongside the five Reform councillors, some of whom are performing a double thumbs-up gesture. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f789a6e00-6b70-41b6-a5a3-c8a6fb6837e6_1864x1049-jpeg.jpg) Kent Reform councillors Dean Burns, Garry Sturley, Oliver Bradshaw, Pamela Williams, and Amelia Randall posing with protestors. The man at the front left is draped in a flag bearing a neo-Nazi symbol. Several of the councillors later shared the photographs on their own social media accounts. At the time of publication, those posts remain live even after the presence of the neo-Nazi symbol was highlighted to them. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f8058346b-ef02-45f8-a299-d811a5efd3aa_2048x1462-jpeg.jpg) Kent Reform councillors posing with protestors. The man at the front left is draped in a flag bearing the symbol of the British Movement. The protest itself drew fairly modest numbers. Chants of “stop the boats, send them back” were joined by less policy-focused refrains of “Keir Starmer’s a wanker” and “never trust a leftie with your kids.” UKIP leader Nick Tenconi also appeared with a small group of activists, who led part of the march while shouting about “migrant filth.” At County Hall, the protestors were met by around 50 counter-demonstrators, including local Green and Lib Dem councillors. The event passed off without arrests. Ahead of publication, we asked each of the Reform councillors pictured how they came to be photographed alongside a man displaying overt neo-Nazi symbolism. None responded. We also requested comment from Kent County Council’s Reform leader, Linden Kemkaran, the group’s chief whip, Maxwell Harrison, and the press office of Reform UK nationally. No response was received from any of them. As things stand, five Reform councillors in Kent have left online, without explanation, photographs of themselves grinning alongside a man openly flying a neo-Nazi flag. Until they or their party address it, the images speak for themselves. --- *The Kent Current is a reader-supported publication, designed to deliver Kent news without the ads or the clickbait. To support our work and receive our latest editions straight to your inbox,* [*subscribe for free*](#/portal/signup)*.* [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup) --- #### KCC blurs the neutrality line once again Last week, we [wrote about the questionable ‘Reforming Kent’s roads’ slogan](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i/170666474/reform-slogan-blurs-council-neutrality-line) that Kent County Council were using to promote their road maintenance programme. We questioned whether this would breach Section 2 of the Local Government Act, which forbids councils from publishing ‘any material which, in whole or in part, appears to be designed to affect public support for a political party.’ No one from KCC’s press office responded to our request for clarification, and they have continued posting the slogan in recent days. Further evidence of KCC flying fast and loose with regards to impartiality rules appeared this week when the organisation posted about a councillor and some employees visiting a Skills Bootcamp that they support. All very normal so far. What stuck out was the Facebook tagging of the post, which read that ‘Kent County Council is feeling grateful with Reform UK Dover and Deal Branch,’ which would once again to be a breach of the Local Government Act. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2ff68588e7-e168-4521-8ce8-da32ce1f0e80_732x1470-png.jpg) KCC social media post. In this case, it appears that someone at KCC might have realised this was over the line, as the tag has since been removed. In what seems to be a running theme this week, a request for comment from KCC’s press office went unanswered. --- #### Lower Thames Crossing gets new regulatory system The Lower Thames Crossing connecting Kent and Essex is set to become the first infrastructure project to be assigned a single environmental regulator. This seemingly bureaucratic change should make a big difference in the speed of construction and avoid the need for builders to juggle the demands of multiple different regulators to mitigate environmental damage. That’s on paper, anyway. The reality is that the project will be overseen by Natural England, an organisation so rigid in its processes that it [objected to Natural England](https://metro.co.uk/2023/10/24/cornwall-natural-england-opposes-its-own-development-plans-19710536/?ref=kentcurrent.news) building an office in Cornwall. In theory, the single regulator should reduce the time it takes to get through the planning process to actually start building, something that Britain is notoriously slow at. The Lower Thames Crossing was first proposed in 2009, and in the decade and a half since, it has become a symbol of the country’s creaking planning system. By the time the route was approved, £1.2bn had already been spent on it, including on a 350,000 page planning application. Now that the project has been approved, construction is set to get underway in 2027, with an estimated opening date of 2032\. We’ll wait and see if streamlining one part of the regulatory process helps or hinders builders in meeting that timeline. --- #### In brief 🧑‍⚖️ [A jury has cleared Dartford councillor Ricky Jones](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjeykklwn7vo?ref=kentcurrent.news) of encouraging violent behaviour after he called for the throats of far-right protestors to be cut. 🚄 Virgin has [ordered 12 new high-speed trains](https://www.railwaypro.com/wp/virgin-orders-new-high-speed-trains-in-bid-to-rival-eurostar/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to operate between London, Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam as the company attempts to break Eurostar’s monopoly on the Channel Tunnel route. Ashford MP Sojan Joseph called the move a ‘[step in the right direction](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/mp-dubs-virgin-trains-cross-channel-rail-bid-step-in-right-328727/?ref=kentcurrent.news)’ toward high-speed trains stopping in Kent again. 🗳️ A third [Maidstone councillor has resigned](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/third-councillor-quits-in-a-week-amid-controversial-homes-pl-328731/?ref=kentcurrent.news), joining two others who did the same last week. Independent Kathy Cox represented Harrietsham, Lenham and North Downs Ward. Now all three seats in the ward will be contested in a by-election following discontent over plans for a 5,000 home development. 📄 Planning consultancy DHA has [requested a screening opinion](https://pa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=T0XFA0TY1BA00&activeTab=summary&ref=kentcurrent.news) from Swale Borough Council on plans to build 40 new homes in Oare, near Faversham. 🗄️ Ashford Borough Council is [consulting on a new Local Plan](https://www.ashford.gov.uk/news/latest-news/have-your-say-now-on-our-draft-ashford-local-plan-2042/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in a largely pointless exercise, given the authority will likely be abolished in the next few years. 🖊️ Thanet District Council is [consulting on creating a Margate Town Council](https://www.thanet.gov.uk/info-pages/community-governance-review/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🚜 A tractor plummeted from a bridge near Wrotham [onto the carriageway of the M20](https://news.sky.com/story/man-seriously-injured-after-tractor-falls-off-bridge-on-to-m20-13414137?ref=kentcurrent.news) on Monday, with the driver airlifted to a London hospital with critical injuries. ⛴️ The Home Office has [purchased the headquarters of P&O Ferries in Dover](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dover/news/ferry-firm-agrees-deal-to-sell-off-hq-to-government-328589/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to use as an administrative building. 📷 The Folkestone Dispatch has been [speaking to a former asylum seeker held at the infamous Napier Barracks complex](https://folkestonedispatch.substack.com/p/inside-napier-barracks-the-asylum). 🫶 The Kent residents [trying to build community cohesion](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/aug/16/you-dont-see-many-locals-at-anti-migrant-protests-kent-residents-work-for-community-cohesion?ref=kentcurrent.news) and support migrants seeking help. 🚓 A Herne Bay councillor has spoken to the Daily Express about the “wave” of antisocial behaviour [plaguing the town this summer](https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/2096510/herne-bay-kent-anti-social-behaviour?ref=kentcurrent.news). 👷 The Canterbury Society is [very upset that an emergency water leak was fixed](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/uproar-after-historic-cobbled-street-ruined-by-ugly-black-as-328555/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 📍 Bromley and Biggin Hill MP Peter Fortune has made the case for his constituency leaving London and [becoming part of Kent](https://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/25397252.peter-fortune-bromley-kent-london/?ref=kentcurrent.news), just like in the olden days. 🧊 East Thanet MP Polly Billington has [come out in favour of air conditioning](https://labourlist.org/2025/08/air-conditioning-summer-heat-net-zero-climate-change/?ref=kentcurrent.news), a stance that is gaining traction across the political spectrum. 🏨 Once named the town’s ugliest building, Maidstone Travelodge could get [a new look](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/plans-to-give-town-centre-hotel-dubbed-ugliest-building-a-328648/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🏠 A planning inspector has banned a man in a West Malling conservation area from [painting his house pink](https://www.kentlive.news/news/resident-gorgeous-medieval-home-kent-10428890?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🐚 The Margate Shell Grotto and [how it inspired Davie Bowie](https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-shell-grotto-the-bizarre-british-mystery-that-inspired-david-bowie-memento-mori/?ref=kentcurrent.news). --- #### More Currents Over the weekend, [we spoke to Kent comic book writer and novelist Dan Abnett](https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-prolific-ip-man/) about his work on some of the world’s biggest franchises, from Doctor Who to Guardians of the Galaxy. [We also chatted to Rhys Griffiths](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i/170666485/folkestone-dispatch-joins-kents-indie-news-wave), the journalist behind a new hyperlocal news outlet in Folkestone. [The Prolific IP ManDan Abnett is a Kent comic book writer and novelist who has carved out a unique niche working on some of the world’s most recognisable franchises. We sat down with him to discuss his work on Doctor Who, Guardians of the Galaxy, and more. Further down, we speak to a reporter who has set up a new hyperlocal news outlet for Folkestone, and more![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f8d4a4c7f-19fc-4e7c-87d7-4ed0b87571a5_567x567-10.png)Kent CurrentSteven Keevil![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fcb0d57e8-3683-4287-ba1a-59d4513225f2_1456x1456-webp.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-prolific-ip-man/) [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup) --- #### Footnotes *Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via *hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news* \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews) *and* [*BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* *If you enjoy the Kent Current, please share it with your friends, family, associates, and even your enemies. We have no meaningful marketing budget, so we rely on word of mouth from our subscribers to find new readers.* ### The Prolific IP Man URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-prolific-ip-man/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:55:14.000Z *Dan Abnett is a Kent comic book writer and novelist who has carved out a unique niche working on some of the world’s most recognisable franchises. We sat down with him to discuss his work on Doctor Who, Guardians of the Galaxy, and more. Further down, we speak to a reporter who has set up a new hyperlocal news outlet for Folkestone in the form of a.. checks notes.. email newsletter. It’s a crazy idea, but it might just catch on. Beyond that, we have the best upcoming Kent events, news in brief, and more.* --- #### The prolific IP Man *Kent comic book writer and novelist* [*Dan Abnett*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan%5FAbnett?ref=kentcurrent.news) *has written for, developed and changed some of the world's most famous Intellectual Property (IP). When we interviewed him and his talented wife, the maker Nik Vincent,* [*for our sister title*](https://www.localauthority.news/p/if-im-prolific-it-means-that-people?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, we didn’t touch upon all of the projects for fear of it taking over what had already become a two-part interview. But we had more we wanted to discuss with him, and Dan was very generous with his time, so we dived with him into some of the big franchises he’s worked on, which definitely doesn’t just end up with us geeking out over* [*Doctor Who*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor%5FWho?ref=kentcurrent.news)*…* Dan Abnett started his career strongly by working on Doctor Who comics. “I was a fan of Doctor Who as a kid. Jon Pertwee was the one I started watching.” Dan arrived at [Marvel UK](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvel%5FUK?ref=kentcurrent.news) in the late 80s on editorial. “My office was adjacent to the office of [Doctor Who Magazine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor%5FWho%5FMagazine?ref=kentcurrent.news),” which is still running today. “It rekindled my love of Doctor Who.” Dan became friends with the editors, and, at the time they ran a black and white comic strip. “My editor said, ‘Do you fancy writing a story for Doctor Who magazine?’ That felt like a really big deal.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fcb0d57e8-3683-4287-ba1a-59d4513225f2_1456x1456-webp-2.jpg) Dan Abnett. Dan compares it to when he was first invited to write a Batman story. “It was like, ‘Oh, that's a real thing.’ It's not that the other things weren't real things, but it's something that people take very seriously.” Dan wrote a number of stories for Doctor Who Magazine, involving the Seventh Doctor, portrayed by Sylvester McCoy, as well as stories for the Third Doctor, Jon Pertwee, and Fourth Doctor, Tom Baker. “It was great fun, and they had an absolute archive of episodes on videotape.” Dan would borrow these things and watch episodes he hadn't seen since he was a child. “That was lovely.” His Doctor Who comic strip has been subsequently collected by Panini in different volumes, both in anthology titles and one story, which was collected in its own right. “Some years later, I was contacted by [Big Finish](https://www.bigfinish.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news),” who produce excellent Doctor Who audio adventures, leading to Dan writing a couple of Sylvester McCoy stories. “I got to watch them record it, which was great fun.” Later, Dan would get invited to Cardiff, home of modern Doctor Who, as a writer for the new series of novels around Doctor Who spinoff, [Torchwood](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torchwood?ref=kentcurrent.news). “I visited the set, which was wonderful to be part of.” Arguably, the pinnacle of Dan’s involvement with Who was having a Tenth Doctor David Tennant, audio adventure recorded by Catherine Tate. “She did the most amazing job. It was really funny because I'd written a light-hearted story where there were silly alien voices and she just committed.” The other candidate was writing a novel for the Eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith, ‘[The Silent Stars Go By](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The%5FSilent%5FStars%5FGo%5FBy%5F%28Abnett%5Fnovel%29?ref=kentcurrent.news),’ as part of the 50th anniversary, which “they released as a hardback, and I was really honoured to be asked to do it.” Dan’s work continues to be republished, including comic strips he admits he had forgotten doing. “Doctor Who is one of those things that just never goes away. It resurfaces in unexpected ways.” A classic question for writers of Doctor Who is whether they write the different Doctors differently. “It depends on what you mean by that,” Dan replies. When writing for Sylvester McCoy, Dan wanted to capture his particular attitude. “Not just ways of speaking, but the personality and the frame of mind.” Dan reflects on writing an audio adventure for Peter Davison's Fifth Doctor. “It was wonderful, the opportunity of writing dialogue for his voice and his mindset.” A big part of the Doctor Who books is the [Target novelisations](https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Target%5Fnovelisation?ref=kentcurrent.news), which Dan has an extensive collection of. “I grew up reading them.” There has been sporadic publication of the modern Who episodes. Would Dan be interested in writing one of those? “That would be a wonderful opportunity. What you're talking about there is adaptation and tie-in.” Dan tells me that almost all of the tie-in work that he has done has been focused on creating new stories for an IP rather than adapting old stories. Dan is thanked in the credits on the [Guardians of the Galaxy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guardians%5Fof%5Fthe%5FGalaxy%5F%28film%29?ref=kentcurrent.news) films, as he was part of the team that created the Marvel comics and the modern team on which the film was based. With the films, Dan was invited to work on tie-ins. “Marvel commissioned me to do what they wonderfully called prose novels, distinguishing from graphic novels.” Dan realised what they wanted was for him to adapt a story he liked from his initial successful comic run. Dan asked if he could write an original story, which they agreed to after Dan assured them that it wouldn’t cost more. “If you commission me to write a comic, I've got a story in mind. If you commission me to write a novel, I've got a completely different idea.” Whilst Dan acknowledges the comparative strengths and weaknesses of what a comic and a novel can do, “it would almost be a description of what's happening in the comic.” With the opportunity to write a Rocket Raccoon and Groot novel, Dan was interested in getting into their psychology, “get into what a prose narrative can do that you'd never do in a comic.” Getting back to the question of adapting a Doctor Who story as part of a novelisation of an episode? “I wouldn't care which one it was. I would absolutely do it to be part of that honourable tradition.” Dan recognises the specific skillset that you need to do justice to it. “I grew up reading [Terrance Dicks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrance%5FDicks?ref=kentcurrent.news).” Dan highlights that Terrance brilliantly adapted the old Doctor Who serials into novelisations. He acknowledges the work in the 70s novelising the Star Wars films, and they were brilliant at it. “[Alan Dean Foster](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan%5FDean%5FFoster?ref=kentcurrent.news) was a favourite of mine,” as well as the work of [James Blish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James%5FBlish?ref=kentcurrent.news), who adapted every single Star Trek episode, including the animated ones. “It's an absolute art form,” says Dan, “and given that I am technically a tie-in novelist, a tie-in writer, it's something I've done comparatively little of.” Our conversation then moved onto Dan’s work in the Star Trek universe, and his lack of work on Star Wars, but this is all the space we have for now. It’s a conversation we’ll likely pick up with Dan again in the future, given we haven’t even reached his work on Marvel or DC Comics yet. --- #### In brief 🪑 Scandinavian homeware shop Sostrene Greene is set to open a second branch in Kent. The [new outlet at Fremlin Walk in Maidstone](https://www.fremlinwalk.co.uk/retailers/sostrene-grene/?ref=kentcurrent.news) will open on Friday 29 August. 🍷 The owners of Fort Borstal in Rochester have teamed up with a local businessman to [turn it into a winery](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kmtv/video/fort-borstal-in-rochester-is-set-to-get-a-new-lease-of-life-63693/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🏖️ Inside a [delightful beach cabin in Seasalter](https://www.wallpaper.com/architecture/residential/studiomama-compact-kent-coast-cabin-uk?ref=kentcurrent.news). --- #### Folkestone Dispatch joins Kent’s indie news wave [*The Folkestone Dispatch*](https://folkestonedispatch.substack.com/) *is the latest in the exciting world of local news outlets for Kent. We caught up with founder Rhys Griffiths to discuss why he has joined this trend of launching newsletters via Substack…* For Rhys, the Folkestone Dispatch is about telling stories about life in Folkestone. It is a weekly email newsletter that comes out every Wednesday. Every edition provides a mix of original reporting and curation of useful information from other sources. In what sounds like an excellent format, Rhys runs a long main piece, then news in brief, before an events guide. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2ffc6f8171-0690-427b-a2f7-54cb685a65aa_2000x1333-jpeg.jpg) Rhys Griffiths, founder of the Folkestone Dispatch The Folkestone Dispatch is free to subscribers, though there is a subscription tier for people who want to support the project, whilst Rhys works on establishing the title. Ultimately, Rhys hopes that the title can become self-sustaining. Self-sustaining local news, imagine such a thing. Rhys has started to consider what further work he could do that would be behind a paywall, but has yet to decide how to proceed. At the moment, the focus is on learning how best to use the tools available to him and understand who his audience is. Rhys is in no rush, recognising that this is a long-term proposition, and wanting to build a regular habit-forming relationship with his readers. Rhys has been open and explicit with his audience that they decide ultimately if this will truly be a long-term project for him. Rhys is encouraged by the positive reaction he has received so far, with ever-increasing subscriber numbers. This project started after Rhys left the KM Media Group, publishers of most newspapers in Kent and KentOnline, in the Spring and was faced with a decision about what he was going to do next. Rhys is complimentary about [our Medway title](https://www.localauthority.news/?ref=kentcurrent.news) and inspired by the growth in independent journalism via email newsletters, not just in this country, but around the world. Rhys is hopeful that if he can, in his words, “keep his head above water” by the end of the year, he will keep going. The Folkestone Dispatch is a very different proposition from his work at KMG. Rhys has said from the beginning that what he is doing is not intended as a rival to any other service that is available. He notes that Kent has a healthy media landscape, including the BBC and [Brightside Publishing](https://www.brightsidepublishing.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news), who produce the award-winning [Folkestone Foghorn](https://www.brightsidepublishing.com/folkestone-foghorn/?ref=kentcurrent.news). He is not focusing on breaking news with his set schedule. The key difference to his time with KentOnline, where Rhys wrote the newsletter, is the focus on being hyperlocal. He previously worked on the Dover Express, where the stories would be local in their interest, but he says regional titles have, by their nature, got to focus on what stories would interest a whole region. Not everything has to be an attention-grabbing headline. It can be a nice picture and 50 words on a local achievement. Rhys recently received good feedback on a [story about a PE teacher who runs weekly activity sessions for adults](https://folkestonedispatch.substack.com/p/meet-the-folkestone-pe-teacher-on). The piece was not about fitness and getting ‘jacked,’ it was a fun piece about people getting out and taking part. Rhys recognises that if he had pitched the piece to KentOnline, there would have been a debate about how wide the interest would be. His model means Rhys isn’t focused on how many people are going to click on the story, something he has found freeing. Instead, he can focus on writing a nice read that receives good feedback. As his own editor, he focuses on “does it interest me?” and as a resident of Folkestone, “would I want to read about this?” *You can* [*subscribe to Folkestone Dispatch here*](https://folkestonedispatch.substack.com/)*.* [Folkestone DispatchStories about life in Folkestone, written and curated by Rhys GriffithsBy Rhys Griffiths](https://folkestonedispatch.substack.com/?utm%5Fsource=substack&utm%5Fcampaign=publication%5Fembed&utm%5Fmedium=web) --- #### Upcoming Kent events 🎸 Sat 23 Aug - [**Words and Music at the Skep**](https://arts.theskep.uk/words-music-2025/?ref=kentcurrent.news) //Family-friendly and relaxed poetry and music event across two stages. The Skep, Rolvenden Layne. Tickets £20. 🎭 23 - 24 Aug - [**bOing! Festival**](https://boingfestival.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // International family arts festival with a large number of free activities and events. University of Kent, Canterbury. Free, some events ticketed. 🚄 Sun 24 Aug - [**Southeastern Train Depot Open Day**](https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/southeastern-train-depot-open-day-tickets-1469564469889?aff=ebdssbcitybrowse&ref=kentcurrent.news) // Go behind the scenes of one of the rail operator’s largest depots. Ashford Train Maintenance Centre. Tickets £25. 🤼 Mon 25 Aug - [**Grapple in the Garden**](https://reuthes.com/tc-events/live-family-friendly-wrestling-grapple-in-the-gardens-summer-slam-25-08/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Live outdoor wrestling from UKPW, with (for some reason) alpaca walks. Ruethe’s, Sevenoaks. Tickets from £1. 🎤 Thu 28 Aug - [**The Sugarhill Gang**](https://www.twforum.co.uk/events/2025-08-28-the-sugarhill-gang-and-furious-five-the-forum?ref=kentcurrent.news) // New York godfathers of hip-hop. The Forum, Tunbridge Wells. Tickets £33. 🍻 30 - 31 Aug - [**Faversham Hop Festival**](https://www.favershamhopfestival.org/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Internationally renowned festival celebrating hops and harvest, with music, entertainment, and stalls. Faversham Town Centre. Free. --- #### Footnotes *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews) *and* [*BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* *If you enjoy the Kent Current, please share it with your friends, family, associates, and enemies. We have no meaningful marketing budget, so we rely on word of mouth from our readers to find new readers.* ### Map wars intensify in Kent reorganisation URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/map-wars-intensify-in-kent-reorganisation/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:55:17.000Z *We seem to talk about maps a lot here, as we move closer to the grand reorganisation of Kent into new unitary authorities. It’s usually a pretty dry affair, but a proposal this week has sparked an angry response from one council leader, proving that any consensus for the county will be challenging to achieve. Further down, we have news of a questionable publicity campaign from KCC, other news from the authority, sad news of an awful person having a point, news in brief, and more.* --- #### Map wars intensify in Kent reorganisation It feels like we’ve gone on a lot here about the imminent local government reorganisation, which will see every council in Kent abolished and reshaped into (most likely) three or four unitary authorities to deliver services. Up until now, the process has been broadly civil, despite different areas having different priorities. Now, as the deadline for final proposals approaches, things are getting a little more testy. This was demonstrated this week by a plan proposed by Medway Council leader Vince Maple that was received so poorly by Tonbridge and Malling leader Matt Boughton that we wouldn’t be surprised to see him riding up Blue Bell Hill in a tank to protect his territory. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f37791cce-d93a-4fca-9d42-6c9ea44a9f44_2500x1406-jpeg-1.jpg) Until now, all of the future potential layouts for Kent have been largely hypothetical and lacking in detail. Five district councils were early out of the blocks with a proposal for a [three unitary structure across Kent](https://www.kentcurrent.news/kent-edges-toward-a-three-way-split/), which retained existing district boundaries but grouped four or five together to form new, larger unitaries. An internal report by Kent County Council seemed to agree with this assessment, rating the three unitary model as the most effective. This went out of the window this week, when KCC leader Linden Kemkaran instead proposed a one unitary model to a meeting of Kent leaders. The proposal is nothing if not ambitious. The government has set out guidelines that the new unitary authorities should cover roughly 500,000 people, while Kent and Medway have a combined population of around 1.9 million. As it stands, the largest unitary council in the UK is North Yorkshire, which has a population of 600,000, so Kent would be attempting to create something three times larger. A limited number of unitary councillors administering an area so large would be an interesting experiment, if nothing else. The plans also don’t make clear how a larger strategic authority (part of the government plans) would work if the unitary already covered the strategic area. The proposals put forward also include three ‘area assemblies,’ suggesting an edging back toward two tiers of governance that the government is trying to abolish. Somehow though, this wasn’t the most controversial proposal brought to the meeting. That honour goes to Medway Council leader Vince Maple, who arrived with a four unitary plan he and Labour colleagues have supported since the start of the conversations. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f6ef2d31d-0655-40ed-9fb6-5bec8daa10ab_2260x1590-png.jpg) Medway Council’s four unitary plan for Kent. At first glance, there are some sensible rationalisations in the plan, particularly around the Medway border. Currently, parts of Walderslade and Lordswood sit within Tonbridge and Malling or Maidstone, and using the A2/M2 as a clear dividing line does make sense. As a result, this does mean this is the first plan to propose breaking up existing district areas, most notably in Swale, which would see everything but Faversham and some rural areas joining the North unitary, with the rest joining the new Mid one. Mid turns out to be an apt name on the basis that while there are arguments that make sense for North, West, and East, Mid is a fudge of everything that is left over. It’s hard to identify much that connects the communities of Maidstone, Faversham, and Romney Marsh other than that they didn’t have anywhere else to go. It was Medway’s border with Tonbridge and Malling that caused the biggest row though, with TMBC leader Matt Boughton calling the proposal ‘appalling and disrespectful.’ His issue primarily came down to the plans splitting Blue Bell Hill and Walderslade from the rest of the Tonbridge and Malling area, leading to [an angry Facebook post](https://www.facebook.com/MattBoughton93/posts/pfbid0fLoczhHR8fa7DqbYiMR69aTaPVsjG9Sz17HS3Rk7djoYhCJ4Q2Axjy2VYCo9wAKel) that concluded with ‘We will not let Medway break us apart.’ His issue largely seems to centre around Medway not consulting with TMBC before presenting the plan, which is perhaps fair. It also echoes a recent situation where TMBC approved plans to build temporary accommodation [on the border of Medway without consulting their neighbour](https://www.localauthority.news/p/neighbouring-council-plans-temporary?ref=kentcurrent.news). Medway claims they were just putting forward one option and that all of the Kent districts had agreed that they would put together a potential four unitary map, so perhaps it shouldn’t have been that surprising. Nonetheless, as it stands, there is little evidence that any district outside of Medway supports the proposed four unitary idea. With the clock ticking down on local government reorganisation’s November deadline, it is looking increasingly unlikely that any consensus will be reached across the county. As such, new maps will most likely be imposed upon the county by central government, with the possibility that no one will end up with anything they like. --- *Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via *hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news* \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* --- #### Reform slogan blurs council neutrality line Local councils are, by their nature, political institutions. They are run by elected politicians who will work to achieve their political goals. Despite this, councils are supposed to be politically impartial themselves, where public resources shouldn’t be used to promote or influence support for political parties. With that in mind, you can perhaps imagine the eyebrow raising at Kent Current Towers over the past fortnight when Kent County Council began promoting their ‘[Reforming Kent’s Roads](https://www.kent.gov.uk/roads-and-travel/what-we-look-after/roads/potholes/reforming-kents-roads?ref=kentcurrent.news)’ campaign. [Section 2.2.1 of the Local Government Act 1986](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1986/10/section/2?ref=kentcurrent.news) clearly states, ‘A local authority shall not publishany material which, in whole or in part, appears to be designed to affect public support for a political party.’ It is very difficult to see how a slogan centred around the word ‘reform’ and good work being done doesn’t fall foul of these rules. Of course, there are, in reality, very few consequences for breaking such rules, as our public institutions are built mainly on polite agreements to play by the rules rather than anything with teeth. Last week, we asked Kent County Council whether they viewed the campaign as being in breach of the rules. We also asked if any internal discussions were held about its legality before publication. We received no response to these requests. --- #### What else is happening at KCC this week? - Kent County Council [launched a budget consultation](https://letstalk.kent.gov.uk/budget-consultation-2026-27?ref=kentcurrent.news) this week, claiming they still need to fill a £50m shortfall for the coming year. Much of the consultation is framed by asking how ‘comfortable’ the respondent would be with cutting in various areas, including adult social care and children’s services. - GB News have [looked at the first 100 days](https://www.gbnews.com/politics/nigel-farage-reform-uk-kent-county-council?ref=kentcurrent.news) of Reform being in charge. - KCC leader Linden Kemkaran [spoke at a Reform press conference](https://x.com/LeaderofKCC/status/1954947591050825776?ref=kentcurrent.news), claiming that immigration had made women and girls in the UK less safe. - KCC cabinet member for the environment [David Wimble went on the YouTube show](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hF5D-mHicM&ref=kentcurrent.news) of former Lib Dem turned climate change denier Lembit Opik to talk about Reform replacing the Conservatives and, of course, immigration. --- **Help us keep doing this.* The Kent Current can only exist because of the generous readers who choose to become paying subscribers. We want to do more, to do that, we need more people to support this project. If you value our work and are in a position to do so,* [*please consider supporting us for as little as 92p per week*](#/portal/signup)*.* [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup) --- #### Thanet’s swearing ban allows awful person to make a point Every now and again, the worst person you know has a point. So it was this week when Toby Young of [last week’s Kent independence column](https://www.kentcurrent.news/when-in-doubt-secede/) rolled into Margate to threaten Thanet District Council over their recent Public Space Protection Order, which, among many other things, prohibits swearing. Of course, things aren’t quite that simple. The PSPO is designed to give powers against all kinds of antisocial behaviour, and the swearing provision is just one part of it. Thanet District Council leader Rick Everitt has said publicly that the rules don’t prohibit ‘casual swearing,’ but rather abusive and threatening language. The wording of the rules on the PSPO still leaves an element of interpretation, though. One could be forgiven for thinking Thanet District Council hadn’t entirely thought through its proposals. Indeed, last week, a number of alterations were approved to the wording, as it turned out that they’d [accidentally banned crying and breastfeeding](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2025/08/12/free-speech-union-to-pursue-legal-action-against-thanet-council-over-latest-public-spaces-protection-order/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in the areas covered. Last year, Thanet proposed similar restrictions on foul language and backed down when they were threatened with legal action. As the restrictions returned this year, so too did the legal threats. This led Toby Young, Spectator stalwart and professional grievance machine, to march on Margate this week with several activists from his ‘Free Speech Union.’ They brought trucks plastered with the face of Cllr Everitt alongside slogans like ‘Stubbed your toe? Remember it’s a crime if you swear in Thanet.’ Perhaps the most baffling protest was their signs that read ‘Thanet District Council doesn’t give a f\*\*\* about free speech.’ For a group standing up for free speech against a swearing ban, they remain remarkably prudish about using the word ‘fuck.’ Young’s Free Speech Union has promised to launch a legal action against Thanet and then ban, confident they will win. Whether or not they do or can remains to be seen, but the fact someone as generally odious as Young is managing to score points out of a council trying to create silly rules is probably the most disappointing thing of all. --- #### In brief 🚓 Kent Police are investigating three murders in the county over the past week. A 49-year-old man was [killed in Leysdown](https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2025-08-13/three-teenagers-charged-with-murder-as-isle-of-sheppey-victim-named?ref=kentcurrent.news), a man in his 30s was [stabbed in Gravesend](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgjz9kg9nro?ref=kentcurrent.news), and another man in his 30s was [killed in Sittingbourne](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sittingbourne/news/murder-charges-after-man-dies-in-town-centre-328299/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 👮 A woman threatened with arrest by Kent Police for attending a pro-Palestine protest in Canterbury has [launched legal action against the force](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/08/pro-palestine-protester-threatened-with-arrest-takes-legal-action-against-kent-police?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🧑‍⚖️ A Dartford councillor [went on trial this week for encouraging violent disorder](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy40rmlerx2olabo?ref=kentcurrent.news) after he called for the throats of far-right protestors to be cut. Ricky Jones, a Labour councillor at the time, now sits as an independent on Dartford Borough Council. 🎣 JD Vance, US Vice President and billionaire-backed everyman, visited Kent last week to meet with Foreign Secretary David Lammy. Unsurprisingly, he was [greeted by protestors](https://www.instagram.com/p/DNGEqvOIaRh/?img%5Findex=5&ref=kentcurrent.news). The meeting ended with Lammy [reporting himself to the Environment Agency](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/aug/13/david-lammy-watchdog-illegal-fishing-without-license-jd-vance?ref=kentcurrent.news) for illegally fishing with Vance. 🗳️ Two Maidstone councillors [have resigned over development plans for Lenham](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/double-resignation-over-plans-for-5-000-home-garden-village-328539/?ref=kentcurrent.news). Two seats will now be contested in a by-election, with the ruling Green and Independent Group on Maidstone Borough Council now being reduced to 12 members, one behind the Conservatives. 💡 Otterpool Park, an 8,500 home all-electric new town between Ashford and Folkestone, will run on renewable energy and [be able to share power back to the grid](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/aug/07/new-all-electric-town-in-kent-strikes-deal-to-supply-power-back-to-the-grid?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🗄️ It’s been a big week for major planning applications, with proposals including a scoping opinion for [520 homes west of Paddock Wood](https://twbcpa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=T0MGI4TY0US00&activeTab=summary&ref=kentcurrent.news), [215 homes on the waterfront of Maidstone](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/new-cgis-reveal-how-waterfront-housing-scheme-could-look-on-328577/?ref=kentcurrent.news), [150 homes in Eccles](https://planning.agileapplications.co.uk/tmbc/application-details/160659?ref=kentcurrent.news), and [100 homes in Hadlow](https://planning.agileapplications.co.uk/tmbc/application-details/160626?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🏘️ Maidstone Borough Council is set to decide on a [planning application for 85 new homes in Coxheath](https://maidstone.gov.uk/home/primary-services/council-and-democracy/primary-areas/your-councillors?sq%5Fcontent%5Fsrc=%2BdXJsPWh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGbWVldGluZ3MubWFpZHN0b25lLmdvdi51ayUyRmllTGlzdERvY3VtZW50cy5hc3B4JTNGQ0lkJTNEMTEyJTI2TUlkJTNENTYyNyZhbGw9MQ%3D%3D&ref=kentcurrent.news) next week, with officers recommending that the proposals be approved. 🏊 Elsewhere, Dover District Council are set to approve plans to [replace Tides Leisure Centre in Deal](https://moderngov.dover.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=136&MId=5170&ref=kentcurrent.news). 🦼 Disability campaigners have said [they will seek a judicial review](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/we-re-just-an-afterthought-fury-as-disabled-people-not-c-328545/?ref=kentcurrent.news) if Ashford Borough Council doesn’t oppose a new pedestrian bridge that excludes wheelchair users. 📚 Nearly three years after it closed due to a water leak, Kent County Council [has put the Folkestone Library building up for sale](https://folkestonedispatch.substack.com/p/folkestone-librarys-future-remains). Despite this, the council insists it is working to reopen a library somewhere in Folkestone town centre. 🚢 Centrica, the owner of British Gas, [has agreed a £1.5bn deal](https://www.insidermedia.com/news/south-east/british-gas-owner-makes-1.5bn-deal-to-buy-liquefied-natural-gas-terminal-on-kent-coast?ref=kentcurrent.news) to buy the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Medway. 🧱 North Kent College will share a £100m funding pot as it becomes [one of ten specialist construction colleges in the UK](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2xx7jk90eo?ref=kentcurrent.news), as part of a government push to train more bricklayers, roofers, and electricians. 🤢 Sainsbury’s in Maidstone has been [awarded a two-star food hygiene](https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/shocking-pictures-show-sainsburys-store-35695576?ref=kentcurrent.news) rating after inspectors found filthy shelves, mould in fridges and freezers, and bins ‘beyond cleaning.’ 🚲 A Dover councillor is [locked in a dispute](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dover/news/it-s-madness-council-bike-rack-is-blocking-entrance-to-my-328317/?ref=kentcurrent.news) with Dover Town Council over a bike rack. ⚽ The National League are [investigating the ownership of Ebbsfleet United](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/08/11/fraud-scandal-sparks-investigation-at-football-club/?ref=kentcurrent.news) after one of its directors was convicted of fraud. 🦫 Wildlife campaigners are [raising money for a beaver mural](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c98l9v69edro?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Canterbury. 🎥 A film production company has asked permission to [turn a farm in Selling into a film set](https://pa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=SYTIJ1TYGG100&ref=kentcurrent.news) for four months. This wouldn’t usually be particularly exciting, but the company behind the plans is SDTA Productions, a production company linked to Steven Spielberg. --- #### More Currents We sat down with legendary comic creator and director [Dave McKean](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-was-interested-in-creativity-it/) for our latest big weekend interview. We talked to him about why he isn’t interested in making superhero comics, why he stopped working with Neil Gaiman, filming Michael Sheen, and lots more. [“I was interested in creativity, it is my God as it were”Dave McKean exploded onto the comics scene nearly forty years ago with Violent Cases, which he followed up with Black Orchid and the bestselling graphic novel Arkham Asylum. He has gone on to direct feature films, including Mirrormask, and create unique book cover designs. We caught up with him to discuss why he didn’t make more superhero comics, why he stopped working with Neil Gaiman, and how he ended up filming Michael Sheen in Port Talbot.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f8d4a4c7f-19fc-4e7c-87d7-4ed0b87571a5_567x567-11.png)Kent CurrentSteven Keevil![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fa782f8ce-c244-4093-a4ae-8974bb355209_5616x3744-jpeg.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-was-interested-in-creativity-it/) [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup) --- #### Footnotes *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews) *and* [*BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* *If you enjoy the Kent Current, please share it with your friends, family, associates, and even your enemies. We have no meaningful marketing budget, so we rely on word of mouth from our readers to find new readers.* ### “I was interested in creativity, it is my God as it were” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-was-interested-in-creativity-it/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:55:20.000Z [*Dave McKean*](https://www.davemckean.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *exploded onto the comics scene nearly forty years ago with Violent Cases, which he followed up with Black Orchid and the bestselling graphic novel Arkham Asylum. He has gone on to direct feature films, including Mirrormask, and create unique book cover designs. We caught up with him to discuss why he didn’t make more superhero comics, why he stopped working with Neil Gaiman, and how he ended up filming Michael Sheen in Port Talbot.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fa782f8ce-c244-4093-a4ae-8974bb355209_5616x3744-jpeg-2.jpg) Dave McKean. **What is your official occupation?** I don't really have an official occupation. My unofficial occupation is a creative person. I'm an illustrator and artist and writer and occasional musician and filmmaker and photographer. Mostly storyteller, actually. Most of my work is about storytelling. **How did you come to work on** [**Arkham Asylum**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkham%5FAsylum:%5FA%5FSerious%5FHouse%5Fon%5FSerious%5FEarth?ref=kentcurrent.news) **in 1989? Had you worked with** [**Grant Morrison**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grant%5FMorrison?ref=kentcurrent.news) **before?** I had just started working for DC Comics, and I did a book with the writer that I started there with, [Neil Gaiman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil%5FGaiman?ref=kentcurrent.news). I had done some covers for Hellblazer, John Constantine. We finished up Black Orchid, and my editor at the time was Karen Berger. She sent me the script *(for Arkham Asylum),* and it was a dog-eared script. I think it had been through the hands of about 20 other illustrators who turned it down. I liked Grant, and I thought he seemed to be at a point in his career when he was looking for a bit more of a challenge than just doing a regular Batman comic. I'm not really a superhero fan. I didn't really get the superhero stuff. But I thought it was an interesting, kind of strange, symbolic... Alice in Wonderlandy, horror-y story. We had a lunch and talked over how we could move it around a bit, make it something a bit different. **You mention your personal feelings regarding superhero work. The book was very successful. Was there never any conversation about doing another superhero title?** There was a lot. But by the end of that year, I knew that I didn't want to do that anymore, apart from the fact that it's not my taste, those other books should be written by enthusiasts. They should be done by people who really love those characters and want to enjoy playing with them. If you look at Arkham Asylum now, it's so obvious that I was trying not to draw Batman. Just draw a black shadow or something that looks somewhere between a bat and a man. I was trying to get out of the responsibility of drawing the superhero characters. **If you'll excuse me gushing for a moment, but** [**Cages**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cages%5F%28comics%29?ref=kentcurrent.news) **is one of my favourite graphic novels.** Oh, great. Thank you. I was interested to see if it was possible to write about music in a comic, where there is no music. **Just an extraordinary piece of work. How would you describe Cages to someone?** Well, that was very much me coming to the end of Arkham Asylum and my two years doing books at DC. I carried on doing covers, but two years doing books at DC, trying to get off that ladder, onto the ladder that I felt I needed to be on. I was really interested in getting back to writing my own stories. In art school, I wrote all my own stories. It was odd for me to work with writers. I enjoyed it, but it wasn't what I was naturally interested in. I'm interested in real people, going through changes in their lives and what they believe in and falling in love and all that stuff. I wanted to do a book that was centred in all of the things I was fascinated with at the time. I liked observing the way that real people talk, not caricatures of people that you get in comics most of the time. The way people express themselves and their body language, and the way they start to say one thing and then sort of bail out halfway and lose track and go. And all those manners of speech. I didn't really see much of that in comics. I wanted to see that in a comic. I was interested in creativity, it is my God as it were, and what we believe in and what we don't believe in, but creativity is my belief. I wanted it to be about that and music. I was interested to see if it was possible to write about music in a comic, where there is no music. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fdf730aff-048e-49fd-a266-cb2fe060f9c7_4000x2634-jpeg.jpg) Cages by Dave McKean. **There is an extraordinary sequence, for those who haven't read it, where a couple are talking and there is music playing, and they become the notes and time blends away.** There were two or three scenes where I was trying to do musical comics to see if that would work. And then falling in love and relationships and how that works. I just wanted to see some real people in a book. Also I got a bit tired with very densely illustrated full-colour pages, because although I thought there's no reason why a comic can't be made in any style from very complex, to the simplest of line drawings and everything in between, I did start to think that it slowed the storytelling down and I wanted to do something that was much lighter and easier across the page and your eye just starts to animate those characters across the page. It's a different attitude to it, really. **You mentioned getting back to writing yourself, but you do still do illustration work for other writers. Is there something in particular that will attract you to working with a writer?** If it's a living author like [S.F. Said](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.%5FF.%5FSaid?ref=kentcurrent.news) or [David Almond](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David%5FAlmond?ref=kentcurrent.news), then it's obviously what they're writing, but also them. I enjoy working with them. They're great company. They're full of ideas. And most important, they love the collaboration. I understand when writers don't want to be illustrated, when they feel that they are conjuring the images in the words that they choose, and they don't want an illustrator coming in and making it literal. I think David and SF and [Iain Sinclair](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iain%5FSinclair?ref=kentcurrent.news) and some of the others that I've worked with love that collaboration and love the fact that we come out with something that neither one of us would have done on our own, and it becomes another thing. **You mentioned living, because you have also done illustrations for more classic books. Does a publisher comes to you with a title, or is that you working with books you enjoy?** I love Alice in Wonderland. I want to work in that world. I did Gormanghast recently for the Folio Society, and they came to me with that one. They wanted to do a new edition and thought I'd be up for that. I did an edition of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. That was my choice. That was a publisher called Beehive in America. My brief was the text had to be older than 100 years. I thought that was a really important book with a core theme and message at the centre of it that has not really been illustrated very much at all. I could only find one edition and I thought there was a lot of room for me to play there that had not been taken already. They're all different really. They come from different places. **How did you come to do the** [**Heston Blumenthal**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heston%5FBlumenthal?ref=kentcurrent.news) **cookbook?** He was putting together his first big cookbook from the Fat Duck. He loves Alice in Wonderland, and that children's picture book feel. He was interested in trying to get something of that into his first big book. We were at Bloomsbury Press. I had done some children's books there, and they showed my books to him, and he liked them. I went along for a meeting to see if we were compatible. I did a few samples of possible ways that illustration could be used in a cookbook, and we immediately clicked. It was one of those magical meetings where you find a soulmate. **Did you get to eat lots of food?** Well, the problem is that I'm a method illustrator. I have to eat the food to understand really what it's about. I've tried doing it other ways, but at the end of the day, you've just got to taste everything. **I commend your craft.** **You've managed to direct movies. What was fascinating about** [**Mirrormask**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MirrorMask?ref=kentcurrent.news) **is that the visual style of you is all over that. How did that come about?** _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### When in doubt, secede URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/when-in-doubt-secede/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:55:21.000Z *We don’t want to say the Spectator has a bit of a thing about Kent, but fresh from describing Canterbury as a lawless no-go zone, one of their columnist is now proposing Kent become an independent nation. Obviously, no one should take this seriously, but the summer weeks are a bit slow, so we’re running with it anyway. Further down, we have news on some hefty donations for Kent MPs, ongoing political posturing, Kent’s favourite baby names, news in brief, and more.* --- #### When in doubt, secede It was only a matter of time before someone floated the idea of Kent breaking away from the United Kingdom, and this week, Toby Young, columnist, free speech enthusiast, and perennial contrarian, stepped up to the plate. Fresh from a fundraising dinner in Vancouver (because of course), Young returned to the pages of the Spectator to ponder [what if Kent went it alone](https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-case-for-an-independent-kent/?ref=kentcurrent.news)? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f2ebc3796-520a-42d8-bca8-5946f8b9f743_2500x1406-jpeg-1.jpg) Young’s grand theory, cooked up somewhere on the way back to the UK following a crash course in Canadian oil politics, is that if Alberta can talk about seceding, why not Kent? With Reform now running the county council, surely it’s time to break away, write our own laws, and sort out the Channel crossings without having to worry about the European Convention on Human Rights or all those annoying treaties signed in Brussels and Strasbourg. You’d be forgiven for thinking the Spectator has developed a bit of an obsession with Kent lately. Back in May, they ran a piece [so full of doom about Canterbury](https://www.kentcurrent.news/is-it-possible-to-character-assassinate/) that you’d think the cathedral was propped up with police tape and the whole city was ready to be evacuated. The reality, as anyone who’s actually been there in the last year will tell you, is a lot less apocalyptic and a rather more 'blimey, the car park is a bit expensive, isn't it?' Apparently, Kent’s function in the Spectator is to be Britain’s canvas for whatever the latest existential drama happens to be. There are, of course, a few details Young seems to have missed in his rush to carve out his imaginatively named 'Kentland.' For a start, he fails to address the Medway question, which would run the risk of becoming an enclave trapped on all sides by an independent Kent. Would Medway residents have to apply for dual citizenship? Does Bluewater become a kind of international duty-free zone? How do you fix the congestion at the Dartford Crossing once it's an international frontier? In fairness, Toby Young’s plan isn’t meant to be taken that seriously, not that you’d know it from his references to international treaties and visions of Reform councillors patrolling the Channel with harpoons. It’s just the latest in a long line of “what ifs” from commentators who love using Kent as shorthand for “Britain’s border.” The reality on the ground is a bit less glamorous, with Kent facing the same issues as everywhere else, like a lack of GP appointments, unaffordable housing, and inevitably, potholes. But there is a certain comic energy to the idea of an independent Kent. You can already picture the squabbles: Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells arguing over where the parliament should be placed, border checks on the edge of Sevenoaks, and perhaps Manston finally roaring back into life as the ~~county's~~ country's only international airport. For now, Kent will have to settle for being the punchline of Toby Young’s latest column rather than the world’s newest state. Independence is off the menu, but arguments over small boat crossings, housing, and who should run Kent in the future are very much here to stay. --- #### Kent MPs receive foreign trips, big donations, and tennis tickets The [Register of Members’ Financial Interests](https://members.parliament.uk/members/commons/interests/publications?ref=kentcurrent.news) is where all MPs must register donations, gifts, and hospitality they receive. On the most recent update to the register, some Kent MPs have had some pretty substantial additions to declare: - Tom Tugendhat (Conservative, Tonbridge) took up a new job as a member of an advisory board of environmental science and tech firm Sulnox Group at a rate of nearly £300 per hour. Foreign policy forum Le Cercle also paid for him to speak at a US event on international affairs, with travel and hospitality totalling nearly £7,000. - Tony Vaughan (Labour, Folkestone and Hythe) received £1,131 for three hours’ work as a barrister. - Laura Trott (Conservative, Sevenoaks) received two donations totalling £27,500, including one of £25,000 from Lord Philip Harris. - Helen Grant (Conservative, Maidstone and Malling) received two tickets to Wimbledon from the Lawn Tennis Association, valued at £640. --- *Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via *hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news* \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* --- #### What’s happening at KCC this week? Not very much, frankly. Like most councils, things go pretty quiet through the month of August, but that hasn’t entirely stopped politicking between parties. - Acting leader of the Kent Greens, Cllr Mark Hood, [wrote for Byline Times this week](https://bylinetimes.com/2025/08/07/clickbait-and-chaos-100-days-of-reform-uk-running-kent-county-council/?ref=kentcurrent.news), giving his take on the first 100 days of Reform running Kent County Council. He describes it as being a period of ‘clickbait and chaos.’ - Labour MP for East Thanet, Polly Billington, described the Reform administration as ‘[continuity Conservatives](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/mp-accuses-reform-uk-of-being-continuity-conservatives-328073/?ref=kentcurrent.news)’ for not reversing cuts made by the previous administration. It is unclear whether Reform or the Conservatives will be more offended by this. - Reform councillor for Sevenoaks Rural North East, Maxine Fothergill, fresh from failing to win the leadership of Kent County Council, has [put her name forward](https://www.reformparty.uk/mtc6?ref=kentcurrent.news) for election to the national party board, Reform’s new decision-making body. --- #### Kent can’t agree on favourite baby names Every year, the Office for National Statistics releases data on the most popular baby names over the past year, and the press falls over themselves to publish the top ten. But this misses the most significant issue of all. What are the most popular names in each part of Kent, and what does it tell us about our county? The main thing is that there are few clear patterns to be found across Kent. No one name dominates the county, with several contenders sweeping across our districts. Amongst boys’ names, no less than six names take the top spot in the different parts of the county. Oliver takes the top spot in four districts, being the most chosen name in Canterbury, Dover, Maidstone, and Thanet. Harry is also top in four, claiming Ashford, Dartford, Folkestone & Hythe, and Swale. Jack is top in Gravesham and Tonbridge & Malling, while George leads in Sevenoaks and Tunbridge Wells. Of course, Medway, being Medway, has gone its own way, where Charlie’s as most dominant. The picture for girls’ names is just as mixed, though Olivia is the clear frontrunner, taking the top spot in Medway, Ashford, Canterbury, and Maidstone. Olivia is also joint top in Swale, where it is shared with Poppy, the number one choice in Folkestone & Hythe. Amelia is top in Dartford and joint top in Thanet, shared with Evie, a name which tops the table in Dover. Emily is top in Sevenoaks and shares Tonbridge & Malling with Sophie. Elsewhere, Gravesham is topped by Isla while Grace leads the way in Tunbridge Wells. So does this actually tell us anything? Probably not. In the end, the list feels less like a revelation and more like a reminder that people across Kent will call their children whatever they like. --- #### In brief 🥶 If you feel a cold chill in the air this evening, it’s possibly because US Vice President and awful human being JD Vance is due to arrive in Kent. He’ll start his UK holiday here, [meeting Foreign Secretary David Lammy at Chevening](https://www.itv.com/news/2025-08-08/lammy-to-host-jd-vance-as-us-vice-president-arrives-for-uk-holiday?ref=kentcurrent.news) near Sevenoaks. 💉 MMR vaccine uptake in Kent has [fallen to 84%](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c14g01gk6x6o?ref=kentcurrent.news), which is rather below the 95% needed for reliable herd immunity. ☢️ The Office for Nuclear Regulation has served an [enforcement notice against Dungeness A nuclear power station](https://www.onr.org.uk/news/all-news/2025/08/fire-safety-improvements-required-at-dungeness-a?ref=kentcurrent.news), citing fire safety deficiencies, which seems bad. 🏘️ A plan to build 76 homes on a former BT depot in Gravesend has [been approved](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/gravesend/news/are-they-taking-the-mickey-76-homes-plan-for-former-bt-d-328164/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🇵🇸 Protestors [placed a giant Palestinian flag](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/folkestone/news/protesters-put-giant-palestinian-flag-at-kent-landmark-328119/?ref=kentcurrent.news) alongside the Folkestone White Horse over the weekend. 🚆 A rail junction west of Dartford will [close for nine full days next year](https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/major-rail-disruption-in-dartford-as-key-junction-to-close-for-10m-upgrade-82748/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to be upgraded. 🚉 The iconic departure board from Euston station [now lives (and still functions) in a Margate warehouse](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/aug/03/old-euston-departures-board-margate-warehouse-jeremy-hosking?ref=kentcurrent.news) of an eccentric rail collector. 📰 This week in newspapers discovering Kent for easy content, it’s a Daily Express triple header, which in a single week has recommended that their readers visit [Whitstable](https://www.express.co.uk/travel/uk/2091811/whitstable-kent-seaside-town-exclusive?ref=kentcurrent.news), [Folkestone](https://www.express.co.uk/travel/uk/2090029/folkestone-seaside-town-exclusive?ref=kentcurrent.news), and [Ramsgate](https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/2089357/underrated-little-uk-seaside-town?ref=kentcurrent.news). ⚓ A 350-year-old English warship, which sank off the Kent coast in 1703, is [more complete than initially thought](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c207nn1lrqyo?ref=kentcurrent.news), a new assessment has found. 🍛 Prime Minister Keir Starmer [had dinner at a Kings Hill restaurant](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/malling/news/day-to-remember-as-prime-minister-enjoys-meal-at-kent-curr-328129/?ref=kentcurrent.news) at the weekend for some reason. 🏪 Some residents in Tenterden are unhappy that a Premier convenience store is [trying to open on the high street](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/tenterden/news/first-domino-s-and-now-this-residents-react-as-convenienc-328059/?ref=kentcurrent.news) after a Domino’s did the same last year. 🐦‍⬛ The red-billed chough has [flown from a wild nest in Dover](https://www.rarebirdalert.co.uk/v2/Content/First%5FWild%5FBorn%5FChough%5Fin%5FOver%5F200%5FYears%5FTakes%5FFlight%5Fin%5FKent.aspx?s%5Fid=490231241&ref=kentcurrent.news), the first time the bird species has done so in the UK in over 200 years. 🏗️ Flood defence works [can continue](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2enrplxxw1o?ref=kentcurrent.news) after a successful £2.35m funding bid. 🧖 [Plans are afoot to build Kent’s biggest seaside sauna](https://cenemagazine.co.uk/news/kents-biggest-seaside-sauna-to-launch-at-folkestone-harbour?ref=kentcurrent.news) on the beach at Folkestone Harbour. 🗿 FAD Magazine has been [reviewing art installations](https://fadmagazine.com/2025/08/05/a-day-in-folkestone/?ref=kentcurrent.news) around Folkestone. 💷 Hadlow Tower, the UK’s tallest gothic tower, is [up for sale for a mere £2.8m](https://www.fineandcountry.co.uk/tunbridge-wells-estate-agents/property-sale/4-bedroom-detached-house-for-sale-in-tn11-0eg-tonbridge-hadlow-high-street-hadlow-castle-the-tower/4220849?ref=kentcurrent.news). --- #### Footnotes *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews) *and* [*BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* *If you enjoy the Kent Current, please share it with your friends, family, associates, and even your enemies. We have no meaningful marketing budget, so we rely on word of mouth from our readers to find new readers.* ### Rural festival brings poetry and music together URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/rural-festival-brings-poetry-and/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:55:25.000Z *As festivals become increasingly corporate, a tiny event in Kent is carving its own path, focusing on both music and poetry. We’ve been talking to one of the organisers to learn more about what makes it so special. Further down, we chat to the man satirising Faversham, a third toilet visits Rochester, a Kent author kickstarts a new book, upcoming Kent events, and more.* --- #### Rural festival brings poetry and music together It’s the kind of festival that doesn’t really feel like a festival, and that’s entirely the point. [Words and Music at the Skep](https://arts.theskep.uk/words-music-2025/?ref=kentcurrent.news) returns to Rolvenden Layne on 23 August, quietly offering something a little different in a Kentish barn, house, and gardens. Organised by Rob Pursey and Amelia Fletcher from the legendary indiepop bands [Heavenly](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavenly%5F%28British%5Fband%29?ref=kentcurrent.news) and [Tender Trap](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tender%5FTrap?ref=kentcurrent.news), the event began as an experiment. “I love poetry and music equally,” Rob says, “and I thought it would be good to do a mini festival which brings poets and musicians together.” Several editions in, it’s grown a reputation for drawing in performers and visitors both local and from further afield. Rob insists that combining music and poetry is not trying to force some awkward hybrid. “History has plenty of warnings about when you bring poetry and music together and it can go badly wrong,” Pursey admits. “But it’s not meant to be a fusion. It’s not like rock poetry fusion. It’s a musician, then a poet, then another musician. There are a few people who blur the boundaries, but I’m not trying to encourage experimental new sub-genres. You’re not being invited to watch people experimenting with a new sub-genre, which is never much fun.” If anything, it’s that relaxed, unforced approach that’s seen Words and Music at the Skep become something of a hidden gem for performers and audiences alike. “It’s a bit more informal than the kind of events poets normally do,” Pursey says. “People do things like clap after a poem, which apparently doesn’t often happen at standard poetry readings. For musicians, I try to choose acts where the lyrics really matter, because they’re playing quieter than usual, so you’ve actually got a fighting chance of hearing the words.” The result is a kind of literary intimacy that’s both gentle and, in its own way, quietly subversive. Audiences listen closely, but nobody is shushed for chatting in the garden or missing a set while enjoying a drink or a pizza topped with local ingredients. As Pursey puts it, it’s kind of like a festival, but without the downsides. It’s quite small, the toilets work, and you don’t have to walk very far. You’re not obliged to go on the grass, but you can wander around the garden if you want. ![No photo description available.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f51046a6b-c7cd-49dc-b3f7-986295cb9e63_2048x1542-jpeg.jpg) Elva performing at the 2022 event. The Skep itself is central to the festival’s charm. A former barn now rigged up with a PA and basic stage lighting, it’s the sort of venue that wouldn’t exist if it had to pay its way, but which feels like a gift to the community. Pursey and Fletcher moved to Kent from London in part to care for relatives, ending up with a big house and a barn in the garden. The barn became an informal venue for music and film screenings, drawing in a local crowd eager for culture without the hassle of long drives or late trains. “There’s enough people around here who are really interested in unusual or non-mainstream things,” Pursey explains, “and we found it actually did work. We filled the barn on several occasions.” Some of the highlights of past years have been genuinely special. American poet and trans activist Stephanie Burt gave “a pretty amazing set of three quite inspirational poems,” Pursey recalls, describing Burt’s appearance as important in terms of setting a tone for the inclusiveness of it. Indie legend Calvin Johnson (of [Beat Happening](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beat%5FHappening?ref=kentcurrent.news)) also played at close quarters in a setting more used to the quiet of the countryside than the thrum of American indiepop, and Elizabeth Morris from Allo Darlin’ played a stripped-back acoustic set that felt “pretty wonderful.” For 2025, the festival returns on Saturday 23 August, opening its doors at 1.30pm and running through to the evening. The line-up this year includes poets Brian Bilston, Pete Green, Roger Huddle, Dan Culmer and Maggie Harris, with music from European Sun, White Town, Fay Hallam and Sassyhiya, plus special guests. The event runs across two small stages, one in the barn and one in the house. Children are well catered for, with a free workshop for ages five and up, ending in a garden performance that tends to charm even the most poetry-averse adults. Kids under twelve get in free with a grown-up. There’s even a ‘Poeoke’ at the end, inviting anyone brave enough to step up and read a favourite short poem as the sun goes down. ![No photo description available.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f2f2e256b-a4d2-4103-83c4-49fed20010dd_2048x1542-jpeg-1.jpg) Pete Green performing at the 2022 event. There is no social media frenzy, no branding, and nobody waving a corporate flag. Words and Music at the Skep is, unapologetically, a festival for people who like their culture intimate. It is not trying to be anything except itself. “There’s something better to be got if you can get people together to hear something performed live, maybe something you’ve never heard before.” *Words and Music at the Skep takes place on 23 August at Frensham Manor in Rolvenden Layne. Tickets cost £20 for adults and £11 for concessions, and* [*can be bought here*](https://wegottickets.com/event/661705?ref=kentcurrent.news)*.* --- #### Satirising Faversham [The Spire](https://www.instagram.com/thefavershamspire?ref=kentcurrent.news) is a satirical topical magazine all about Faversham and the surrounding areas. Created by Andy Capon, it started as a blog in 2019, which “seemed to land at the right time,” Andy tells me. Over time, it picked up a supportive audience who enjoyed its surreal account of life in the area. “It was a bit Private Eye, a bit Viz, a bit Monty Python.” In February of 2019, Andy was diagnosed with cancer, and his boss told him to go home and rest and let the NHS take care of him. “I spent most of 2019 cooped up in the flat, bored to tears. I had the operation, but it got complicated. It returned later on in the year, just as I thought I was fit enough to go back to work.” Andy released the first book of content in December of that year. “I remember saying to myself, if this book sells, if I make a profit from it, I should quit my job and go for it full time.” Six years later, he is still doing it. “We're about to release book number 15.” By now, several other writers are working with Andy on the project. “If anyone wants to send an article in, they're more than welcome. If it's any good, we use it.” Andy recognises that getting others involved has taken the pressure off what has become a full-time endeavour for him. He could see that over time, his work had become formulaic and complacent. “They made me up my game,” he admits. For Andy, The Spire is about poking fun at everyone and everything. “We have a little poke at all the local political parties.” Andy highlights a recent story about the Green Party councillor, Rich Lehman, about how “his election hopes being hindered because he turned into a tree. That's the daftness we are talking about.” “People are often looking for a political message in The Spire and “the truth is there isn't really one.” The central message of The Spire is that “we owe it to ourselves not to take ourselves too seriously.” Andy never intends for the articles to be personal or nasty, though he admits to wanting to give “the Tories the biggest kick in the balls, but I think they deserve it.” The articles go out every Saturday morning across both [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61559318061119) and [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/thefavershamspire?ref=kentcurrent.news). “People can and do subscribe if they want to,” but because of the nature of The Spire,’ a lot of people tend to read it for free. “We could take it down and put it behind a paywall, but people would soon lose interest. It's faith-based.” They currently have enough subscribers and regular donors to keep going. This is supplemented by their book sales. Andy runs a market stall on Fridays and Saturdays in Faversham, “where we sell the books and associated merchandise. T-shirts, mugs, badges, clothing, that sort of thing.” The Spire marks it’s sixth birthday this week, with no signs of slowing down. --- #### Third toilet visits Rochester Following the controversial UK Supreme Court’s recent ruling on the definition of ‘woman’ under the Equality Act, a series of public protests was organised in response to a ruling that left trans people with ‘nowhere to go.’ The Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission suggested trans people should “fight for their own third spaces.” TransActual UK, an organisation advocating for trans rights, responded by [installing a single toilet outside the Supreme Court](https://transactual.org.uk/blog/2025/05/21/press-release-the-trans-loo/?ref=kentcurrent.news). ![A group of people standing outside AI-generated content may be incorrect.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f5eac8ecb-1a9f-4c82-8993-31bc169b1442_2048x1365-jpeg.jpg) Supporters of the ‘Trans Loo’ protest in Rochester. Following its appearance at Trans Pride Brighton, the ‘Trans Loo’ visited Rochester, where a queue of trans people and allies queued to use the toilet. “I was honestly amazed at how many folks gave up their time to come along and show support to Medway’s trans community,” said event organiser Shea Coffey. The next milestone for the community will be the first Trans Pride Kent, which was set up following conversations with trans activists based in Kent. An inaugural Pride event to signpost and support trans and non-binary People will be held in March 2026. --- #### Kent author focuses on butterflies *The Butterfly Family is a new all-ages book by Thomas Delahunt. He is trying to get it off the ground via Kickstarter and has just reached 50% of his target, so we spoke with him over Zoom to learn more about the book…* The book is based around the Butterfly Family poem that can be found on the wall of Canterbury Christchurch University, “which is an ode to my granddad,” says Thomas. “David Attlee was a celebrated thinker, and he helped me to see the world transcendentally. He helped me to understand, and this is a homage to him making me feel valued”. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f94e8af66-8e95-4fa9-930f-af36871a0523_600x430-heic.jpg) Artwork from The Butterfly Farmer. The story is of a butterfly farmer who looks after fragile, beautiful butterflies. He takes them on a walk to a particular meadow with his granddaughter. “It's also helping children understand the change and loss of losing someone who's significant to them.” Caleb Simmons illustrates the book. “It's going to be very pasteled and unbelievably beautiful.” Thomas would visit Caleb at his studio, and “he would have me literally close my eyes and describe the feelings of the page. When I opened my eyes, it was drawn.” The book has odes to a place that Thomas is now a part of, “which is the Enchanted Garden” in Dargate. “Home to the talking tree,” a physical tree that people can visit and sit under. Part of a working garden centre, with a sustainability focus to “create spaces of safety for fragile, beautiful butterflies.” A school that Thomas visited to recite the poem has generated a butterfly dress, which Thomas is now going to place on one of the characters. “The butterfly girl is going to be wearing the dress that the children made”. Thomas is currently working with eight Kent schools as a poet in residence. “I'm going in and I'm working on creating sanctuaries for butterflies because the big butterfly fountain is coming and the big butterfly count may well show that we've had a discernible impact.” Thomas is working with the support of Roland Brown of the Butterfly Conservation Team. “He comes into the schools with me and talks about the science of the butterfly.” Thomas is also being supported by the Rare Breed Centre in Ashford, and Sodexo, “who are producing the Seeds of Hope.” If any schools want to get involved, Thomas will travel because “ultimately it's about creating these little sanctuaries for butterflies and safety corridors.” This is Thomas’ second book, following the successful release of ‘The Wandering Lamb,’ and he has plans for a third book, ‘Hunter Moon.’ “We don't need to talk about that today, but that's a really important kind of conversation we'll have in the future.” Thomas is working his PhD out through a child’s narrative, with a full animation being created, something else to discuss at a later date. *Thomas’ Kickstarter is live with a number of rewards available. You can* [*support it here*](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tcl/the-butterfly-farmer-the-next-adventure?ref=kentcurrent.news)*.* --- #### Upcoming Kent events ✈️ Until 31 Aug - [**Floatplane**](https://www.rochestercathedral.org/floatplane?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Short Scion Floatplane displayed in a cathedral, with an exhibition and activities. Rochester Cathedral. Free. 🪕 8 - 16 Aug - [**Broadstairs Folk Week**](https://broadstairsfolkweek.org.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // 60th anniversary event featuring over 400 performances across more than 20 venues. Various ticket prices. ⛴️ Sat 9 Aug - [**Whitstable Harbour & Boat Festival**](https://www.whitstableboatshow.org.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Festival celebrating connections with the sea. Whitstable Harbour. Free. 🎲 9 - 10 Aug - [**Canterbury Gaming Convention**](https://canterburygamingconvention.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Exhibitors, guests, traders, cosplay, and activities. University of Kent, Canterbury. Tickets from £25. 🎹 Thu 14 Aug - [**Squeeze**](https://www.dreamland.co.uk/event/squeeze/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Legendary band play only Kent show of the year, supported by Badly Drawn Boy. Dreamland, Margate. Tickets from £50. 🏳️‍🌈 Sat 16 Aug - [**Medway Pride**](https://medwaypride.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Annual community LGBTQIA+ festival with live music, stalls, and fringe events. Rochester Castle Gardens. Tickets £10. --- #### Footnotes *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews) *and* [*BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* *If you enjoy Local Authority, please share it with your friends, family, associates, and enemies. We have no meaningful marketing budget, so we rely on word of mouth from our readers to find new readers.* ### Can Thanet really police bad language? URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/can-thanet-really-police-bad-language/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:55:28.000Z *Towns across Thanet have been plagued with antisocial behaviour, and Thanet District Council are launching a Public Space Protection Order to clamp down on it. Most of it seems pretty standard, but an argument over the banning of swearing has garnered a lot of attention. We take a look at both sides of the argument. Further down, we have news of a former Kent Conservative MP jumping to Reform. A true conversion or political opportunism? Plus we have news in brief, details of our interview with Reform KCC leader Linden Kemkaran, and more.* **Editor’s note:* Thanks for your understanding and kind words I’ve received after slowing down our schedule a little following the death of my father. We’re almost back to full speed now (if not quite, hence this arriving on Friday morning and being a little shorter than usual), but we’ll be putting out a full slate of content next week.* --- #### Can Thanet really police bad language? Thanet has always been a place of contrasts, known for its coastlines, characters, and, in recent months, significant antisocial behaviour. Thanet District Council is now taking steps to address these issues with a new [Public Space Protection Order](https://democracy.thanet.gov.uk/documents/s92401/PSPO-Cabinet%20.docx%20-%20Google%20Docs.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) (PSPO). The order targets various forms of public disorder, including aggressive begging, drug dealing, and intimidating street drinking. However, its clause banning ‘foul and abusive language’ has generated considerable controversy. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fce87d4ed-b3ee-4fec-a405-7796d4dd00d2_2500x1406-jpeg-1.jpg) The PSPO covers Margate, Ramsgate, Broadstairs, Westgate, and Westwood Cross, and was introduced following extensive public consultation and contentious debate. Council Leader Rick Everitt and Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, Cllr Helen Whitehead, have championed the scheme as essential for maintaining public order, stating that residents deserve to feel safe in their communities. However, others argue that the clause targeting foul language is excessive and difficult to enforce effectively. Thanet District Council maintains the PSPO does not aim to police everyday conversation but addresses language likely to cause harassment, alarm, or distress. Critics have raised concerns about the subjective nature of determining when casual swearing becomes criminal behaviour. Public consultation responses revealed a broad range of views among Thanet residents. One Margate local described regularly feeling intimidated by aggressive groups using loud, abusive language, negatively impacting both residents and tourists. Similarly, a Broadstairs beach hut owner reported avoiding Viking Bay due to drunken, abusive teenagers, commenting: "It used to be lovely. Now we avoid it altogether." On the other hand, several residents argued that the language aspect of the PSPO is overly restrictive. One resident said, "Swearing has become part of everyday speech. Policing something this subjective seems unrealistic." Another respondent expressed concern about potential bias, noting the measure's broad wording could unfairly target young people or minority groups. In response, Thanet District Council insists that enforcement guidelines provide clear discretion for officers, highlighting that similar measures have successfully operated in other areas without excessively restricting everyday speech. This is not the first time Thanet has attempted to introduce similar measures. A previous effort last year failed after facing legal challenges, forcing the council to temporarily withdraw the proposal. Despite this history, residents and businesses continue to highlight serious concerns around antisocial behaviour. Ramsgate business owners, for example, report increasing issues damaging their livelihoods, while Margate residents regularly detail disturbing incidents involving violence and alcohol abuse. During consultation, a business owner from Margate Harbour Arm described an incident involving individuals wielding broken bottles, expressing frustration at the lack of visible policing: "We urgently need a visible police presence. It’s disheartening that we’re left to handle these situations until help arrives, if it ever does." Despite these pressing concerns, critics argue that including a swearing prohibition risks trivialising more severe antisocial behaviour. One Ramsgate resident summarised this viewpoint succinctly: "Anti-social behaviour is about violence, drugs, and intimidation, not swearing." Thanet District Council and other supporters argue the measure is necessary and proportionate, but the swearing clause continues to attract criticism. While the PSPO’s broader intentions to improve public safety are commendable, vague efforts to police swearing appear to potentially distract from more meaningful efforts to tackle genuine antisocial behaviour issues in Thanet. --- *Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via *hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news* \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* --- #### Former Gravesham MP jumps to Reform Adam Holloway, the former Gravesham Conservative MP known for his army background, rebellious streak, and a CV that stretches from the Gulf War to investigative journalism, announced this week that he has joined Reform UK. Defeated by Labour at the last election after nearly two decades in Westminster, less than a year later, Holloway is announcing his new allegiance, framing his move as a stand on principle. However, the timing does raise an eyebrow or two. ![Adam Holloway - Wikipedia](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f9abe1638-9813-4fa3-a177-93ccf10eaac5_750x607-jpeg.jpg) Adam Holloway Holloway’s post-election reinvention as Reform’s newest flag-waver feels less like a shock and more like the latest act in a well-worn drama. Before he was Gravesham’s perennial Tory (he won the seat in 2005 and hanging on for nearly twenty years), Holloway had already packed more into a CV than most MPs. Born in Faversham and schooled at Cambridge, he saw action as a Grenadier Guards captain in the Gulf War. He then lived as a rough sleeper to expose homelessness for ITV’s *No Fixed Abode*. If there’s a box marked ‘colourful political backstory,’ he’s ticked it. In Parliament, Holloway made his name as something of a serial rebel: a Brexit hardliner, a regular on select committees, and never too shy to thumb his nose at the party line, whether over air strikes in Iraq or Theresa May’s Brexit deals. He even managed a brief stint as a government whip under Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, which in recent Tory history is less a badge of honour and more a sign you turned up to the right meeting. His latest transformation came quickly after losing Gravesham to Labour at the last election. Instead of quietly nursing his wounds, Holloway wasted no time announcing he’d joined Reform, a haven for Tory exiles who still want to keep the flame of Brexit burning and their phone ringing with media requests. In his [grandstanding Spectator essay](https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/why-i-left-the-conservatives-and-joined-reform/?ref=kentcurrent.news), Holloway follows the old cliche: “I didn’t leave the Conservative party, it left me.” Apparently, the Tories have given up on “sovereignty, secure borders, low taxes, personal responsibility, and cultural confidence,” all values Holloway now assures us are alive and well in Reform. He takes aim at his former party for “allowing 728,000 net arrivals in a single year” and launching what he calls a “job-exporting Net Zero agenda.” As ever, Holloway is big on casting himself as the honest man who finally had enough. The move to Reform, he insists, isn’t about his own career—even if he concedes it “is a consideration.” Still, the timing is impeccable. Lose your seat, find a new cause that happens to be riding high in the polls, and write a piece for The Spectator. The line between renewal and opportunism is a very narrow one. Whether he’s driven by conviction or just keen to stay in the limelight, Holloway’s journey from army captain and investigative reporter to restless Tory rebel and now Reform cheerleader is textbook modern Westminster. He finishes with the sort of apocalyptic warning every new convert must deliver. Only Reform, he says, is “fully fit and credible for the rescue mission of 2029, which may well be the United Kingdom’s last best chance.” Or perhaps just the next stop in a career that never lacked for drama. --- #### In brief 🏘️ The ever excellent James O’Malley has written about [what new towns can learn from Ebbsfleet](https://takes.jamesomalley.co.uk/p/what-new-towns-can-learn-from-ebbsfleet?ref=kentcurrent.news). 💷 Residents in Ramsgate are being asked [how to spend £20m in regeneration funding](https://www.thanet.gov.uk/have-your-say-on-shaping-the-future-of-ramsgate/?ref=kentcurrent.news) provided by the government. 🗄️ [Plans have been submitted](https://applications.ebbsfleetdc.org.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=SYCJE7UAGE500&ref=kentcurrent.news) for 68 new homes, a commercial unit, and Fastrack bus provision as part of the ongoing redevelopment around Northfleet. 🏗️ Maidstone Borough Council is seeking a builder for a [£50m project to build 103 flats](https://www.constructionenquirer.com/2025/07/31/maidstone-seeks-builder-for-50m-flats-project/?ref=kentcurrent.news) on the former Springfield library site. 🚨 In a move that couldn’t possibly go wrong, a [private security firm has been brought in](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/herne-bay/news/private-security-firm-patrolling-streets-to-help-crack-down-327830/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to try to deter anti-social behaviour in Herne Bay. 🚗 Increases in the Dartford Crossing toll from £2.50 to £3.50 from September will generate up to £46m in additional revenue, and [Kent County Council want a cut of it](https://highways-news.com/kent-leader-renews-demand-for-cut-of-46m-dartford-crossing-toll-increase/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🚧 [An investigation has been launched](https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2025-07-28/investigation-opens-into-rail-crash-which-killed-amazon-driver-at-level-crossing?ref=kentcurrent.news) after an Amazon delivery driver was killed when his van was struck by a train at a level crossing near Teynham. 🚛 A Waitrose lorry veered off a road in Northfleet and [nearly landed in a lake](https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/shocking-moment-waitrose-lorry-veers-35625853?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🚶 A row has broken out in Faversham over [renaming a path](https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/move-stop-namby-pamby-renaming-10383159?ref=kentcurrent.news) called Shooting Meadows to one named after Queen Matilda. 🚌 Stagecoach has launched a [new open-top bus service](https://www.stagecoachbus.com/promos-and-offers/south-east/thanet-open-top?ref=kentcurrent.news) that will run throughout the summer, connecting Margate, Broadstairs, Ramsgate, Minnis Bay, and more locations. 🧱 A street cleaner has [accidentally destroyed a century-old shelter](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/tonbridge/news/street-cleaner-destroys-century-old-river-shelter-327926/?ref=kentcurrent.news) next to the River Medway in Tonbridge. 🛥️ Great British Life has [profiled Lionel Lukin](https://www.greatbritishlife.co.uk/magazines/kent/25171790.lionel-lukin-kent-man-invented-lifeboat/?ref=kentcurrent.news), a Kent man who invented the lifeboat in the 1780s. 🔎 In the latest in the ongoing series of publications discovering Kent, the London newspaper [Ham & High has found out about Hythe](https://www.hamhigh.co.uk/news/25342645.hythe-hidden-gem-kent-seaside-town-2-hours-london/?ref=kentcurrent.news), the [Mirror is excited about Margate](https://www.mirror.co.uk/travel/uk-ireland/trendy-uk-seaside-town-miles-35618823?ref=kentcurrent.news), [Secret London says Ramsgate ‘has it all](https://secretldn.com/ramsgate-coastal-town-near-london/?ref=kentcurrent.news),’ and [Great British Life is enjoying Faversham](https://www.greatbritishlife.co.uk/magazines/kent/25249849.faversham-life-medieval-market-town-kent/?ref=kentcurrent.news). --- #### More Currents For our big weekend interview, we [sat down with the new Reform leader of Kent County Council, Linden Kemkaran](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-think-theres-a-lot-gone-wrong-with/). In addition to discussing her life and career, she talks about the ‘nonsense’ of net-zero, Cliftonville councillor Daniel Taylor, who has been suspended from the party, and how she believes the UK is heading toward significant civil disturbance. [“I think there's a lot gone wrong with politics, not just in Kent”In May, Reform swept to power at Kent County Council, taking 57 of 81 seats. Linden Kemkaran emerged as their new leader from that group. We met her at County Hall to discuss her experiences as the child of the Windrush generation, why she joined and left the Conservative Party, Brexit, running the UK’s largest local council, and lots more.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f8d4a4c7f-19fc-4e7c-87d7-4ed0b87571a5_567x567-12.png)Kent CurrentSteven Keevil![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f50587ceb-ae28-4893-bf8b-98621b48dd45_3672x2754-jpeg.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-think-theres-a-lot-gone-wrong-with/) We believe this is by far the most extensive interview conducted with Kemkaran since she became the leader of Kent County Council, and it’s well worth your time if you’d like a better understanding of who is running the county. [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup) --- #### Footnotes *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews) *and* [*BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* *If you enjoy the Kent Current, please share it with your friends, family, associates, and even your enemies. We have no meaningful marketing budget, so we rely on word of mouth from our readers to find new readers.* ### “I think there's a lot gone wrong with politics, not just in Kent” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-think-theres-a-lot-gone-wrong-with/ Last updated: 2026-03-25T16:56:40.000Z *In May, Reform swept to power at Kent County Council, taking 57 of 81 seats. Linden Kemkaran emerged as their new leader from that group. We met her at County Hall to discuss her experiences as the child of the Windrush generation, why she joined and left the Conservative Party, Brexit, running the UK’s largest local council, and lots more.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f50587ceb-ae28-4893-bf8b-98621b48dd45_3672x2754-jpeg-2.jpg) Kent County Council leader Linden Kemkaran **How did you come to be leader of the Reform group?** I can't speak for anybody else, but obviously we won a heck of a lot of seats on May the 1st, and I still remember that moment sitting in the count. I'd won my seat. I was very happy about that. I thought, I'm a councillor, this is amazing. What a great opportunity, what an honour, what a privilege. Then it flashed up on my phone that Reform had suddenly won control of Kent County Council. Bear in mind, I only knew a handful of people I'd been campaigning with in and around Maidstone and this bit of Kent. Anybody else, I had no idea who they were, and suddenly we've got 57 councillors. We were now a group. Then, of course, we had control, and we knew we'd have to elect a leader. The next morning after the count, Saturday morning, we all met in a hotel in Maidstone, in a room that was far too small, because I don't think the person that booked it ever thought we'd get 57\. We're all crammed in a tiny room, just trying to get to know each other. We were told we had to elect a leader there and then. I think from memory, there was a moment where people stood up and said, ‘Well, I'd like to be considered,’ and they gave a little pitch. I was one of them because I thought, well, why not? Someone's got to be the leader. Then we were launched into this very intense week of a leadership campaign, knowing that on the Thursday night, we would have to elect our group leader. That was very intense. It involved a lot of phone calls, a lot of going around to meet people, basically to sound people out and work out where the support was going to go. I think there were five of us on the night of the actual leadership election, here in Sessions House, and I won. I got the most votes out of everybody. **Why do you think you got the most votes?** I presume that my fellow members thought I would be the best person to get started straight away because of my media experience. I think they knew that the media pressure was intense from day one. Before day one, it was absolutely intense. I think everybody realised there'd be no time to find your feet. You would win, and then you'd be wheeled straight out to face the media, and that's exactly what happened. Maybe there was that feeling that because I had the experience of having been a broadcast journalist, I would be very well placed to be able to give interviews straight away without having to undergo weeks of media training.Maybe I was able to sell them a vision of the direction I wanted to take Kent County Council in. Maybe it was because I stressed about the stakes being so high here for us in Kent that now we were in control of this council, we were effectively the shop window through which the electorate was going to be looking to see if they could trust a Reform government in a few years' time. Maybe it was a combination of those factors. Maybe I just did a good speech on the night, and I carried the crowd with me, as can sometimes happen. **You then had to pick from a group of strangers who could make the best cabinet. Was there any particular process you went through with that?** It was probably the most difficult thing I've ever attempted, and I've done a few difficult things in my time. I selected the deputy leader straight away, because this was somebody I'd identified, having got to know Brian Collins. I thought he would be very good in lots of ways. We're complementary in our style, but different. I thought I need someone who's not a clone of me. I need someone who's going to bring a different viewpoint to the table. That was good. I got him in place. I started asking all the members to email me if they would like to be considered for cabinet or deputy cabinet. I said, tell me who you are, what makes you tick, what your experience is, basically send me a mini-CV. I had so many replies. That was the most amazing thing. I knew then I was leading a group of committed, enthusiastic, talented individuals. But then it was trying to sift through and work out, sitting down with Brian and saying, well, this person says they'd like this, but I think this person might be a better fit. Then it was a case of trying to get as many people up to see us as we could, doing mini-interviews, and just trying to thrash out who we thought we could slot into which role. All the appointments were made on the understanding that there might be a reshuffle because, naturally, I didn't know the people, they didn't know me, I didn't know if it's going to work. I would say we've been probably 95% successful, which I think is pretty good considering the timescale we were operating within and the ridiculousness of the situation. **If we can just take a moment to reflect on that 5%, there was a member of the cabinet who has recently been replaced. Why was that needed?** What I've had to do with every single cabinet member, they all know they're being reviewed all the time. Obviously, I'm watching them in meetings, I'm getting them in for one-to-ones, I'm evaluating, working out how it's going. It's not just about how they're doing the job. Is that person really going to thrive in that role? Sometimes you have to make very tough decisions early on, and I think it's always better if you can address something early on. I think that's good management. The worst thing you can do to somebody is keep them in a role where they're clearly not going to thrive. That is actually bad management. I knew straight away that I would have to make tough decisions, and luckily, I'm not afraid to make tough decisions. **There is another member of the council who is no longer a member of the party. I won't ask you to comment on a current court case, but do you think they should stand down? Should there be a by-election?** Well, there are very odd laws in this country. Unless somebody is sent to prison for a certain number of days, weeks and months, there is nothing the party or anyone can do to stop that person being an elected representative. I think it's crazy. As you said, I cannot comment on an active court case, nor would I wish to. I think the law needs to be looked at by the government because I don't think it's a healthy position for anybody to be in. **Should this councillor resign?** I'm not going to comment on that case. I think when we came in as Reform UK, there were a lot of worried people inside and outside the building because the media portrays us as being neo-Nazis walking around with horns and a tail. It's appalling. **You are almost coming up to 100 days. What do you feel is your biggest achievement in that period of time?** I think our biggest achievement is giving a sense of direction to this place. I think when we came in as Reform UK, there were a lot of worried people inside and outside the building because the media portrays us as being neo-Nazis walking around with horns and a tail. It's appalling. The press we had, when we came in, I think there was a huge sigh of relief that everybody thought we were quite normal. ‘They happen to be Reform, but they essentially want the best for the residents of Kent.’ The second thing I think we've achieved is we found savings already. I appointed my Department of Local Government Efficiency, my DOLGE, on day one, and they have done fantastic work. Now, bearing in mind it's only been a hundred days, that's nothing when you look at the grand scheme of things and an organisation of size and sheer scale of KCC, they have done amazing work. While they've been getting to grips with their roles and undergoing all the essential training, they've still managed to find me already over £40 million worth of savings. That's a modest estimation of what they found me. There's much more to come, but what I'm not going to do is drip-feed things into the media or give you figures that I can't back up. Being a journalist, it's all about being able to back up what you say. I'm sure you'll appreciate that. I'll be releasing the information as and when it's ready to be released, and it's been fully costed, fully checked, substantiated. Then it will come out in full council as is right and proper. **Do you have any interaction with the opposition leaders within the council?** Far too much, far too much. They're great. I mean, bless them. I feel sorry for them because they have to sit there and look at all of us together, and we are very united. We are very strong as I think was evidenced in the last full council meeting. They tried to throw the usual words that the opposition try and throw, that we're racist and we're bigoted and we're xenophobic. It just bounces off, because we don't accept it. We know we're not. We know we're none of those things. I think it was a very significant show of strength in the last full council meeting. They tried all the usual tricks. Two of them stormed out of the chamber, which you might have seen, because they have no argument. They have no political argument. They've become so used to throwing insults at people like us over the years. Back then, it used to shut down the debate. If somebody called you a racist or an Islamophobe, you would scurry off feeling ashamed and probably be cancelled. I don't think that's working anymore because the people of Kent have spoken. They wanted Reform to be in charge because they wanted the changes that Reform are going to bring to this council. Whatever the opposition throw at us, it really doesn't matter. I feel sorry for them because they've never been in that position before. They've always held the power because they could use the words, but now it's the actions that are speaking and not the words. **One of the savings you have is the reduction in councillor allowances. Why was that important to bring forward so quickly?** That was something I really wanted to do from the off because when do you ever see a politician taking a pay cut? You don't, do you? Up in parliament, I know it's not controlled by them, it's controlled by IPSA, but it’s the snouts in the trough image that all politicians have got. I wanted Reform to be different. I thought, what's the best way of showing we are not here to make money out of this? We are here because we want to make something, break something, change something. That's our driving passions. I thought, let's take a 5% pay cut across all of us. That's the opposition as well. That generates quite a lot of money. It's over £200,000\. Instead of just absorbing that into the debt mountain that is KCC, let's use that money, let's divide it up between us. We've got an extra £2,500 that's going to go straight into our community member grant funds. We can use that. That could repaint a church hall, that could buy a bench, that could refurbish a children's playground. There are so many things we can do with that money in our individual division. I'm really excited to see how that money is going to be spent. **You mentioned the debt mountain. How concerned should residents be about the council going bankrupt?** I don't think residents need to worry about the council going bankrupt. It has been managed well. £740 million of debt. I think it's less than that now because it's gone down since we've been elected. It's still a huge number. But having now familiarised myself with levels of council debt, Kent is not in a terrible, terrible position. We're okay. It's not brilliant, but it's okay. I don't think residents need to worry about that. **You said you are ‘leading Kent to be the capital of common sense.’ What did you mean by that?** Well, essentially, I think I demonstrated on day one, it's things like taking down the flag of Ukraine that was in the council chamber and replacing it with the flag of Kent. I thought we need to refocus our minds. I think there's a lot gone wrong with politics, not just in Kent, but on a national level recently. Politicians have become addicted to cheap virtue signalling tricks like flying a flag, wearing an armband, or taking the knee. It doesn't actually mean anything. It doesn't change anything. All it does is signal, ‘I’m a lovely person, you should like me because I'm doing a lovely thing.’ It's nonsense. We need to sort out the mess in our backyard before we start virtue signalling about other parts of the world. We are here for Kent. We're not an international council, we are a county council. To me, that was a massive red flag, if you like, a massive Ukrainian flag, that things were not right within this building and to bring everyone's focus back to the fact of the matter, what we're here for is to represent the people who voted for us, the people in Kent. We're here to represent everybody. I thought that was a really important change to make on day one. Yes, it's only a flag, but look at the press coverage it received and the message I was able to send out to the residents of Kent. It was me basically saying, ‘I am here for you, my members are here for you, do not worry, we have your back.’ **What are your thoughts currently on local government reorganisation?** Well, where do I start? I think it's something that's being imposed upon us from on high. It's something that's not being thought through very well, and I think it's something that's not necessarily the best answer for Kent. **Do you feel that it's no reorganisation or just needs more time?** I think it needs reorganisation because the county council and the various layers beneath it are not perfect. I definitely think we can improve how we do things, how we provide services for people, and how we save money. But do I think LGR is the answer? No. **Would you support a mayor for Kent?** Not sure. Because that would involve obviously becoming a devolved authority. There are issues with all these options. **Which political parties have you been a member of?** I was a Conservative. I had a political awakening quite late in life. I really was not very political before my late 40s, when I left my job as a journalist and got involved in politics. I was a Conservative from, I think, 2017-ish, just after the Brexit referendum, up until just before Christmas last year, late 2024\. Then I joined Reform on the very same morning. **Was it the Brexit campaign that led you to join the Conservatives?** I had been feeling a bit of a stirring. I was a BBC journalist for many years, so apolitical, I did not really have a strong political opinion either way. But around about 2014, I started looking at the country in a different way. Maybe it's because I was a mother of two by then, and you see things slightly differently when you're a parent. You suddenly realise the implications that certain things are going to have on how your children are going to grow up. I think it was around then I started shouting back at the radio. When I wasn't on the radio or producing the radio, I was shouting back at Radio 4 and saying, “No, you're missing the point. What needs to happen is this, this and this.” I started to feel quite strongly about things. Then I decided I was going to leave the BBC and do something about it. It was a slow awakening really, but I think Brexit really encapsulated to me just how far gone the BBC was, in the fact that it didn't see the Brexit vote going the way it did at all. I was in that newsroom when it happened, and it was like a nuclear bomb had gone off. I was the only person I knew who'd voted for Brexit and when my BBC colleagues found out, and bearing in mind these are people I'd worked with day in day out for 20 odd years, I was told by some of them that I was possibly racist and or thick and or stupid and possibly xenophobic as well for having voted a certain way. Then, of course, the Brexiteers won the vote, and I just thought crikey, if they think that about me, what do the BBC people think about the rest of the country out there? This is shocking, and it made me realise how myopic BBC News had become at that moment. I realised I probably no longer really felt I fitted. **Did you leave the BBC?** Yes, after a fashion. I mean, I think I left in 2016 and then ended up bouncing back. The BBC was like my Hotel California. I could check out any time I like, but I could never actually leave, because I was a freelance journalist by then. I was working for lots of people, but of course, the BBC is a very big employer. It was very easy for me to just pop back to see my old friends and colleagues, just slot straight back in, earn a bit of money and then pop off to do something else again. That was the pattern I got myself into. I had to finally call it a day in 2018, because I realised that it was like living a double life. I could no longer do it. **When you joined the Conservatives, did you stand for election?** I did. I got involved locally at first because I knew nothing about the party structure. I knew nothing about how one went about campaigning. I got into my local Conservative association in Sevenoaks, where I lived then, and just started learning the ropes. Started going out campaigning. I got asked if I would stand in a losing seat as a paper candidate in 2019 in the local elections. I said, ‘Sure,’ get some more experience. Then, of course, Boris became leader. I felt a great surge of hope that we would actually start to turn things around and get Brexit done. I felt we should have done years ago. I put my name on the list to become a parliamentary candidate and again was given another losing seat. I think you can detect a pattern here. Losing seat at Bradford to go and get some experience. I stood, obviously didn't win, but it was a very good experience of campaigning in fairly hostile territories. It was a good grounding. **During that period, it is fair to say that the Conservatives had a number of leaders. What was your experience of the leadership of the party in that time period?** Well, it was a funny time. Obviously, as soon as we won that 2019 election, which was amazing, it was amazing to think I played a small part in propelling Boris Johnson into number 10, because, of course, we all thought he was a Conservative then. How silly we were. But we got him into number 10, thought, yes, here we go. Then we had covid. I can't say it was why Boris Johnson failed to deliver, but I think it was a very big reason why the country was knocked off course. Who knows what would have happened if the covid pandemic hadn't come along when it did, but it did. Then we were in a very different territory. We were fighting a war against an asymmetric enemy none of us could see, but obviously, it was doing a great deal of damage. It was a very, very odd time. I think the country lost the plot. I think the Conservative Party definitely lost the plot. And of course, then they defenestrated Boris in 2022\. Now, by that point, I was the chair of Sevenoaks Conservative Association. I had a close relationship with my MP, Laura Trott. But I felt very uncomfortable with the rumblings that suddenly started and the fact that it seemed to be a coordinated campaign to bring down Boris, who had been democratically elected for all of his faults, and there were many. He'd been democratically elected by the members and then the country. That bothered me. I did support my MP, she was part of the effort to bring him down. Sometimes you have to put your own personal thoughts aside and do what you think is best for the party at that moment in time, but it was very uncomfortable. Then, of course, we saw the ridiculous situation of having to choose between having Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak. What a ridiculous choice that was. Then it all just went into a farce after that. **Was there a definitive moment that made you go ‘I'm leaving the Conservatives’?** There were so many moments where I kind of wobbled, but the trouble is, like any situation in life, it's very difficult to leave one thing if there's nowhere to actually go. Until Nigel Farage came back on June 3rd, 2024, there was nowhere really for me to go. I still had that burning ambition to be a politician, to change things, because I think you need that to go into politics. It's not about wanting to be someone, it's about wanting to do something. I had that inside of me, to get in there and do something. But where could I do it? Nigel came back. At the time, I was working for a Tory MP, and we were mid-election campaign. I'm actually a very loyal person, I didn't feel I could ditch my MP, and dash off to Nigel, much as I really, really wanted to. I just couldn't do it. It would have been horribly disloyal and a really awful thing to do to somebody. I stayed put, but watched from afar as Reform coalesced around Nigel, who is very talismanic, as we know, and went from strength to strength. But I still hung on in there because I thought, we're going through yet another leadership election. Maybe this time we'll get it right in the Conservative Party. I liked Kemi. I wanted her to win in 2022\. I thought if Kemi wins, maybe the Tories can get back to the right of centre ground where they need to be firmly and remember what being a Conservative is all about. I hung on. Kemi got elected. It was just before Christmas. I watched yet another dismal PMQs and I thought, ‘I cannot do this anymore.’ How much longer do I give these people to wake up and realise what they have to do? So I left. I sent a message to CCHQ saying, ‘Please cancel my membership. I am no longer a member. Please stop emailing me, blah, blah. Take me off your list.’ Thirty seconds later, I emailed Reform and said, ‘Please may I join?’ Just like that. Reform was unapologetic about what it stood for. I thought, ‘This is where I belong.’ **How would you describe what makes Reform different?** I know people criticise Reform for taking on former Tories, but what you have to realise is a proper Conservative, which is how I class myself, is somebody who has very traditional right of centre views on family, community, country. I don't think it's a bad thing to be proud of your country. I don't think it's a bad thing to want the place where you grew up or the place where you live to roughly stay the same and not have huge demographic change inflicted upon it. The Conservative Party used to stand for that. I guess I'm an old-fashioned conservative, but the trouble is the Conservative Party forgot that. They started to move towards the centre ground, because they thought that is how to win elections and then they went beyond the centre ground, I think, way too much and started losing. As soon as you do that, you lose your founding principles, your core beliefs. Who are you? What do you stand for? Nobody knows. They didn't even know. Reform was unapologetic about what it stood for. I thought, ‘This is where I belong.’ Finding your tribe, and it's been that feeling from day one. **Let’s go back to the beginning. Where were you born?** In Dartford. **What brought your parents to Kent?** Well, my father was an immigrant. That will be a shock to some people listening to me bang on about immigration, but he was. He came over on the Windrush from Trinidad in the 1960s and met my mum at Teacher Training College. They married and they lived in southeast London, and then they wanted space to raise a family. They moved out to the green and pleasant garden of England. **Were they both teachers when you were growing up?** Yes. My mother did primary and secondary, and my father was secondary. **Did you enjoy school? Was it difficult having parents for teachers?** Well, I'll tell you the most difficult part was, and this might seem odd, but there was a lot of racial abuse back in the day. We were a mixed-race family. That was back in the days when my mother would get spat at in the street for having a mixed-race baby in a pram. Things were very different back in the 1970s and 80s. I was the only brown kid in the school, as were my siblings, and there was a lot of racial abuse. Getting beaten up after school by the skinheads was fairly run-of-the-mill. If you got through a day or a week without getting beaten up or called very, very unpleasant names, that was a good week. That was something I spent a lot of time dealing with, probably up to the age of about 14, where I think everyone suddenly turns into a teenager, and suddenly being brown was very fashionable. Everybody wanted the old fake tan from Boots. Everybody wanted skin like me. Suddenly everything flipped, and suddenly it was okay to be different. But up to that point, I'd say school was quite tough. **Did you stay on for sixth form?** Briefly, yes, but I didn't take A-levels. **Did you leave education and go into work?** I did, yes. I bought my first house age 18, because in those days you could get 100% mortgage with no trouble at all. I bought my first house in Strood in the Medway Towns. Then of course, once you've got a mortgage, you have to pay that mortgage. I was trapped in the world of working to pay the mortgage, because interest rates went up to 15%. I had negative equity on the house that I bought, I couldn't afford to sell it. It was a case of hanging on. But then age 24, I had a very bad road traffic accident, which gave me time to think about where I was going in life and what I wanted to do. After I'd recovered from that, I went to university, aged 25, and got a degree, and then I joined the BBC. **What did you study at university?** English, drama and theatre. I got some very good advice from somebody I worked with when I was 24, after I'd had my bad motorbike crash. I was working at the Ministry of Defence at the time, and I was working with a squadron leader in the RAF, and he became a mentor for me. He could obviously see something in me that he thought he should try and nurture. He came to see me in hospital when I was recovering and said, ‘You're a bright girl, you can do a lot more than you're doing now.’ He said, ‘Go to university, get a degree, doesn't matter what in,’ and I think he used the phrase, ‘can be underwater basket weaving,’ go and get a degree and see where it takes you. That was the first time anybody had said that to me. Do what you're good at, don't make it more difficult, don't try and pretend to be mega academic if you're not. He said, ‘What are you good at?’ I said English. I love drama. He said, ‘Do that.’ So I did. It was a little light bulb coming on. Somebody saying do what you enjoy and you'll succeed. That was one of those turning points in life. I don't think we tell our kids that enough, actually. **You became a playwright?** I've written plays. It was an additional thing. I wrote plays as part of my degree course, and I've always written creative writing. I did advise BBC Drama on a comedy. They were doing a place called the Headley Court, which is a military rehabilitation centre, which I'd spent time in recovering from my motorbike crash. They wanted me to advise them on what it was actually like to be in there and getting rehabilitated. **Was there a novel? News, Blues and High-Heeled Shoes?** Yes, that was novel number one. I've written novel number two. I started novel number three just before I joined Reform. After I lost my job, after the last election, and my MP lost her seat, I thought it's time to get to grips with that novel that's been going around in your head. I started it and I was doing really well. I think I'm about 60 or 70,000 words, and then I joined Reform and got selected to be a candidate, and that's had to be put on the shelf now. But I think every time you start a new piece of writing, you just improve slightly. Maybe one day, maybe novel number four. **Are the novels available?** No, not yet. One, two weren't quite there. Number three, I think, is probably the closest. I've got high hopes for that one. It's as yet unfinished, but you know, it’s all here. Just got to get it down. **Can you give us any teaser?** Well, it involves a bit of journalism, a bit of politics and a bit of terrorism. **Do you rescue battery chickens?** Yes, I've got four currently. I’m a bit concerned, one looks not very well at the moment. She might be on her way out, but at least she's had a lovely end to her life. **How did that start?** I don't know. I think I just thought it's something I wanted to do. I had a coop left by the previous owners in our new house. My husband is a very good man, cleans it all out, got it all ready, made a run and I rescued some chickens. I've since supplemented my flock with some posh birds, which I've written about in the Spectator. **When did you illegally obtain testosterone?** Oh my God. That was an article I wrote for The Spectator about the difficulties of women being able to access proper HRT. My friend passed me a little sachet and said, ‘Try this. I get it in Dubai.’ I tried it and was ‘Oh my God, that is the missing ingredient.’ I went to the GP and said, ‘I know I shouldn't have tried this, but I did. Please forgive me. But can I have some of this?’ She said, ‘It's not licensed on the NHS. You can get it, but you have to go private.’ I found myself in a ridiculous merry-go-round of trying to work out how, having never been private for anything in my life, to find a private menopause clinic to go have my blood tests, all the tests done, and then I could buy very expensive testosterone cream, which has made all the difference. I feel like myself again. But the point about the article was it is disgraceful that women, we are the backbone of society, especially women my age, we've raised a family, we're often juggling looking after our elderly parents and children and holding down a job, paying taxes, all those useful things. We can't access the drugs that we rightfully need to keep ourselves going because you cannot function. Once your hormones have started going… Everybody's different. Some women managed to get through menopause quite well. I wasn't one of them. It really is terrible how women suffer. The fact you can't just go to your GP, and they will give you the drugs you need. You have to jump through all these hoops and get the second-rate stuff because it's cheaper. It's an utter disgrace. That was the point of the article. It was shining a light on this one vital hormone, because it's three hormones, oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone. Women produce all three naturally. Why do we not get all three in HRT? It's ridiculous. **Who has been the best Prime Minister of your lifetime?** It's got to be Margaret Thatcher. At the time, I couldn't see it, but now looking back, oh my goodness, what a woman. She knew what she stood for. She wasn't cowed, she wouldn't be bullied. She could express her feelings very eloquently. What a woman. **When you say at the time you couldn't see it, what do you mean by that?** Well, both my parents were teachers, don't forget. I would say maybe a bit left of centre. In my house, Maggie Thatcher was a dirty word. Taking on the unions and just trying to change the country, trying to drag it up by its bootstraps to be the great country that it briefly was when she was in power. **Having left of centre teacher parents, and now being the leader of a Reform council, has that led to some interesting family dynamics?** Yes, possibly, but I think it's probably wise you don't talk about politics when you're in family gatherings. **Do you support votes for 16-year-olds?** No. It would be great for Reform because they all love Nigel. I think it will help us in the polls no end. Not that we need any help at the moment, but you never know. But I think actually no, 16 is not an adult, and I think you have to have a cut-off age for certain things. Voting is such a huge responsibility. I think it must be something that is kept when people are officially adults, and 16 is not that. **What action should KCC be taking with regard to climate change?** Nothing.The way I see it, the climate is always changing. I think the whole net-zero is absolutely nonsense. I think whatever we do on this little, tiny island of ours is not going to make a jot of difference. All we are doing is shipping our problems overseas for someone else to deal with, like all the waste that we ship to India and China and all the rest of it. We're importing really key important ingredients like steel. We no longer make anything ourselves. We're not tapping into our own resources. We're buying them in from overseas. Utter nonsense. It's made us all poorer, it’s made us carry a massive guilt complex around on our shoulders for no reason at all. The climate will do what the climate will do, and I think the emphasis has to be on adaptation rather than trying to prevent it in some way. **As council leader, if raw sewage is poured into our rivers or coastline, do you have any powers to do anything about that?** Well, this is something I'm working on. You'll see some results hopefully in the next few months. I've asked two of my cabinet members to convene a clean water summit. The first of many, which we're going to hold at various points around the Kent coast. As you know, we have over 350 miles of beautiful coastline, which is frequently ruined by sewage spills. I think the water companies need to be held to account properly, not just by letter or Zoom call. They need to come when they're summoned and meet the people who are affected by their actions. That's what I'm going to convene. I've seen it being done in other places around the country. It's a model I want to copy because I think it's extremely effective, bringing everybody together under one roof and making it happen on regular basis. We agree a set of actions at the first summit, everybody goes away. At the next summit, we call the same people back and ask them to tick off which actions they've achieved. I find that's a very effective way of keeping people's minds focused. **Why are you against supporting SEN students getting to school?** I'm certainly not against SEN children getting to school. What I am in favour of is trying to discover why so many children are being diagnosed with special educational needs. It's going up year on year in a quite alarming fashion, and I think we need to start looking at the root causes. We keep throwing money at the end problem, the result is not sustainable. We can't afford it. I think parents need to be asked if they could possibly get their own child to and from school because, at the moment, we don't even ask. The transport is just provided. I think that's ludicrous. It's your job as a parent to make sure your child can get to and from school. We need to look at different ways. If somebody needs funding, then obviously, we should give them that funding because obviously, the child has to get to school and back again, but it's how we do that because the budget is astronomical, and it can't continue. **What has been the biggest benefit to Kent from Brexit?** You'd have to assume that Brexit was done properly, which clearly it wasn't. I don't think Kent has had the benefits yet because I don't think we've actually achieved proper Brexit. Just the other day, we saw Keir Starmer selling our fishermen down the road yet again by not reclaiming our fishing waters, which was part of the Brexit deal. I think it's disgraceful what’s happened to the whole country, not just Kent. I think we need a Prime Minister who is going to take it seriously and is going to have to grow a pair and do some very tough negotiations with the rest of the world to make sure that we get the benefits that should have come our way after Brexit. But as we see, the whole process is being thwarted again and again. It's still being thwarted now. It's incredibly frustrating. I don't want to use the phrase ‘civil war’ because it's a frightening phrase, but if you look at the signposts that normally lead up to some big civil disturbance happening, we are quite far down the road already. **Why do you think voters have turned to Reform UK in Kent?** I think they've turned to Reform UK in Kent because they can see what a change we've made at the county council level already. People are fed up, they feel that the social contract is broken. They feel that if you're one of the alarm clock classes, you get up in the morning, go to work and pay your taxes. There's an increasing feeling of why on earth should I do that when I can have a much easier life, so-and-so down the road, who claims benefits and has a very nice lifestyle. The scales have been tipped in this country. Nigel Farage spoke about it yesterday. I feel we are teetering on the brink of something quite unpleasant happening. Nobody wants that. I don't want to use the phrase ‘civil war’ because it's a frightening phrase, but if you look at the signposts that normally lead up to some big civil disturbance happening, we are quite far down the road already. People are seething, they’re seething. The levels of immigration, of course, here in Kent. We've got small boats landing on our shores every day that’s sucking up huge amounts of resources that could otherwise be going to something else. We're dealing with the problem of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. We've got enough problems of our own to deal with, we cannot keep looking after the rest of the world. I think people aren't daft. They know what's happening. They feel it, even if they can't always articulate it. But I think having Reform politicians in positions now of elected power and responsibility, people can feel there is somebody speaking up for them. That's why they're going to keep voting for us, because we get it. We feel the same as them, and we're not afraid to say it out loud. We won't be bullied. We won't be put off by people calling us racists or bigots, all the other ridiculous abusive terms thrown at us. We don't care. We know why we're here. We've got to save Kent, and then we've got to save the country. It's as simple as that. --- #### Footnotes *This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.* ### Kent edges toward a three-way split URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/kent-edges-toward-a-three-way-split/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:55:32.000Z *With the end of Kent County Council, Medway Council, and the 12 districts of the county on the horizon, discussion about what will replace them continues at pace. After not revealing a preference until now, a report from Kent County Council suggests splitting the county into three might be the way to go, but are things so simple? Further down, we have the latest happenings at KCC, on the ground reporting of the ‘Great British National Protest’ in Dover last weekend from Local Democracy Reporter Daniel Esson, the latest entries from Kent MPs in their Register of Interests, news in brief, and more.* --- #### Kent edges toward a three-way split Kent County Council has released its [internal options appraisal for local government reorganisation](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=979&MId=9870&ref=kentcurrent.news). While it insists no final decisions have been made, the message between the lines seems clear: the three-way split leads the pack. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fbfe2db09-ccd0-47b8-9f68-4ba91469ed20_2500x1406-jpeg-1.jpg) The report, which weighs up six potential ways to restructure Kent and Medway’s local government system, uses government criteria to score each model on things like financial resilience, service efficiency, democratic accountability, and readiness for devolution. The option that comes out on top is the one already championed by a handful of West Kent councils (and for some reason, Canterbury): a new structure of three unitary authorities covering North, East and West Kent. In this model, Medway joins Gravesham, Dartford and Swale to form a North Kent authority. Maidstone, Sevenoaks, Tonbridge & Malling, and Tunbridge Wells make up the West, and the East takes in Canterbury, Thanet, Dover, Folkestone & Hythe and Ashford. Each area ends up with a population between 550,000 and 660,000, which fits neatly with the government’s preferred size for new authorities. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fad5f18f3-cc6b-4014-8c5e-643345fa3af4_1109x624-jpeg.jpg) Proposed map of three unitary authority model for Kent. KCC’s scoring matrix gives this Option 1 the highest marks across the board. It’s supposedly financially sustainable, operationally deliverable, and does the best job of setting Kent up for future devolution. It also avoids some of the more surreal cartographic experiments floated in other proposals, which range from splitting natural communities to inventing entirely new ones that seem to exist only on paper. Other options don’t fare so well. A four-unitary model that separates the county into North, East, South and West struggles with population imbalances, high transition costs, and unclear service boundaries. More experimental proposals that carve out so-called ‘Mid-Kent’ authorities are treated with polite scepticism. And while a two-unitary model performs better financially, it raises concerns about democratic distance, with each authority serving close to a million people. A single mega-unitary for all of Kent and Medway was also assessed, but only as a benchmark. It’s the most efficient on paper, but nobody seriously believes a 1.9 million-resident council is going to fly with ministers or with Medway, which has made clear it has no interest in being reabsorbed into the Kent mothership. All this analysis is being presented as neutral groundwork ahead of final decisions in the autumn. But with Option 1 scoring highest on every major front, and aligning neatly with the model already being pushed by five district councils, it’s not difficult to guess where the county council is heading. Not everyone is on board. Medway Council leader Vince Maple has made a case for a four-authority solution, arguing that smaller councils mean better representation and stronger local democracy. Under the three-unitary model, councillor-to-resident ratios could rise to over 6,000 to one, a significant jump from the current figures in both Medway and the districts. Maple has written to the minister to make the case for four authorities, and hinted that future proposals could involve boundary tweaks to avoid some of the more illogical arrangements currently in place. Whether that means a redrawing of Medway’s famously odd borders remains to be seen. The political situation has also shifted. Kent is now run by a Reform administration that hasn’t exactly rushed to embrace the reorganisation process. With their general suspicion of central government diktats and bureaucratic reshuffles, it’s still not entirely clear whether Reform will back any of the models on the table, let alone help push one through. There isn’t much time left to figure it out. All councils across Kent and Medway have until 28 November to submit final business cases to the government. KCC has already asked for an extension to allow more public engagement, but that request was refused. The work is now being carried out at pace, with consultants from KPMG building the shared evidence base, and each of the 14 authorities involved preparing to take a position. Whether those positions will align is another matter entirely. The process began with a rare outbreak of harmony as Kent’s councils agreed that the current two-tier system is no longer fit for purpose. Since then, the consensus has begun to fray, with local loyalties, party politics, and practical realities pulling different councils in different directions. What KCC’s report does offer, though, is a sense of where the numbers are pointing. The three-unitary model may not be perfect, but it’s coherent, cost-effective, and most closely matches the structure ministers say they want. With or without a public consensus, it’s becoming the option to beat. --- #### What else is happening at KCC this week? - Politico came to the recent full council meeting at County Hall, providing a [sketch of the proceedings](https://www.politico.eu/article/nigel-farage-doge-reform-uk-zia-yusuf-elon-musk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) and insight into what is happening behind the scenes. It reveals some of the internal fighting within the Reform group and the friction between elected councillors and officers at the council. - KCC’s Cabinet Member for Environment, David Wimble, talked rubbish this week. Responding to a question on the council’s household waste sites, which were under threat of closure from the previous administration, he made it clear they were [safe under his watch](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgjg9dl574no?ref=kentcurrent.news) “subject to some act of God.” - The Liberal Democrats at Swale Borough Council are [proposing a motion](https://services.swale.gov.uk/meetings/documents/s30974/Motion%20on%20Fighting%20back%20against%20censorship%20in%20Libraries.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) next week on ‘fighting back against censorship in our libraries,’ requesting that Swale push back against KCC and write to the Education Secretary to raise concerns about the recent issues with books on trans issues being relocated. - Ashford Central Reform councillor Pamela Williams has defended describing a halal meat shop opening in the town as a “[takeover](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/reform-councillor-defends-calling-launch-of-halal-meat-shop-327531/?ref=kentcurrent.news).” She described this as “absolutely acceptable language coming from a councillor.” --- **Coming up on Saturday:* This weekend, our big sit-down interview is with the new leader of Kent County Council, Reform’s *Linden Kemkaran*. It’s an extensive, wide-ranging conversation about her life, career, politics, and running the UK’s biggest local council. As always, our full interviews are only for our* [*paid supporters*](#/portal/signup)*, so please consider becoming one if you aren’t already.* [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup) --- #### ‘The Great British National Protest’ rolls into Dover **by Daniel Esson, Local Democracy Reporter** To at least 90% of the public, protests are somewhere between oddity and annoyance. One billing itself as ‘the Great British National Protest’ came to Dover on Saturday. It was one of many such demos organised over the past few months by ex-British Army soldier Richard Donaldson, who has shrunk from any precise political label and disavowed the term far-right, clearly astute to the connotations it carries. In Dover on Saturday, he was joined by a bodyguard wearing a thick tactical vest adorned with pockets and Union Jacks, which I overheard him describe as ‘stab and slash proof.’ ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f8587e246-56f9-434a-9af5-dbb0b2f3a9a5_4032x2111-jpeg.jpg) Reform Kent county councillors Paul King (l) and Albert Thorpe (r) at the 'Great British National Protest' in Dover on July 19 2025. Less militaristic in fashion sense were the two Reform Kent county councillors for Dover whom I ran into: Paul King and Albert Thorpe, positioned on the outer edge of the crowd, half-listening to feverish speeches. They both stressed their attendance was to “show solidarity” with the public who are vexed by illegal immigration, and that there were many members of their local Reform branch present. Cllr King reiterated to me that the gathering overall was not far-right. It was at this point our conversation was interrupted by an elderly couple from Leeds, who wanted to share Cllr King’s sentiment and disavow the term. But the husband then proceeded to complain about being surrounded by ‘p\*\*\*s’ in his hometown. His wife then detailed her belief in the Agenda 2030 conspiracy theory and that the government is trying to start a civil war. The paralysing awkwardness of this situation was not lost on the Reform councillors, who tried to steer the conversation back towards more mainstream concerns. Half an hour earlier, I had interviewed Jason Withey, flying the flag of Patriotic Alternative. He said he was there because “this is a far-right protest and I’m far-right.” His party is avowedly white-supremacist and led by the former leader of the Youth BNP. His hat bore the slogan “remigration,” a newish buzzword on the extreme right referring to mass deportations of not only immigrants, but anyone who is not ethnically British. He has also been identified by Hope Not Hate as a regular attendee of events of this sort, and once posted on Facebook a picture of a swastika birthday cake he had made himself. This is not to say that the Reform councillors there are themselves extremists. Indeed, Steve Dand, organiser of the Unite the Right march, held to support Mr Donaldson’s protest on the seafront, said: “We are right-wing, not far-right. Unfortunately, we can’t stop one person with a flag.” Many of those taking part in the march chanted “stop the boats, send them home,” alongside another shout of “Keir Starmer is a w\*\*\*\*r.” Asked if he supported Reform, Mr Dand, from Lincolnshire, said: “I’m not political. I don’t vote. At the moment, I don’t know who to trust. A lot of people in my groups are Reform. I don’t agree with Labour.” The radical and extreme ends of politics have always existed in a tension with the relative mainstream. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2ffbd90e1a-acc8-409f-b92d-15d882bd8f15_1171x613-jpeg.jpg) Some of the protestors marching from town to meet others on the beach at the 'Great British National Protest' in Dover on July 19 2025. There was no counter-protest organised on Saturday, likely because many who would attend were instead at a Palestine demonstration in London. But at counter-protests of the left, the same tension between fringe and mainstream leaps out at you. Run-of-the-mill centre-left Labour members end up marching in the same columns as black-hooded self-described ‘anarcho-communists’ and people who think it is racist for nation states to have and enforce borders. One local Reform member I know even told me beforehand of her hope that one attendee at previous protests wouldn’t be present. Face tattooed, voice hoarse and wearing a St George’s flag as a cape, at a demo in Dover some months ago, he became rather aggressive with police while confronting counter-protesters. Many Reform members and politicians explicitly disavow the thuggish and violent trappings of the street protest scene, and are clearly aware of just how much the public abhors such things. Many on that fringe – especially the likes of Patriotic Alternative and the Homeland Party – disavow Reform right back, viewing Farage and his ilk as shilly-shallying compromisers uninterested in the explicitly ethno-nationalist politics they promote. To make out like Reform is a party of fascists is alarmist and hysterical, and carries little weight coming from a Left which has abused that term to the point of meaninglessness. But just as Labour and the Greens find themselves in a permanent, low-level war of position against more radical currents to their Left, Reform already find itself dancing the same tango with extreme-right protest movements. --- #### Kent MPs receive money, trips, and tennis tickets The [Register of Members’ Financial Interests](https://members.parliament.uk/members/commons/interests/publications?ref=kentcurrent.news) is where all MPs must register donations, gifts, and hospitality they receive. On the most recent update to the register, some Kent MPs have had some pretty substantial additions to declare: - Helen Grant (Maidstone and Malling, Conservative) received tickets twice to a tennis tournament valued at over £1,400. - Kevin McKenna (Sittingbourne and Sheppey, Labour) was part of a delegation to Israel and Palestine in May, receiving flights, accommodation, and meals valued at £2,600 paid for by Labour Friends of Israel. - Tom Tugendhat (Tonbridge, Conservative) did a one-hour speaking engagement for an investment bank and received £8,000 for his trouble. --- #### In brief ➡️ [Reform won two seats on Dartford Borough Council](https://www.dartford.gov.uk/elections/elections-home-page?ref=kentcurrent.news) in by-elections last week. As a result, the party now has three seats on the Conservative-controlled council. 🇵🇸 A Canterbury woman was [threatened with arrest by armed Kent Police officers](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/17/armed-police-threatened-to-arrest-kent-protester-for-holding-palestinian-flag?ref=kentcurrent.news) for protesting in support of Palestine. Officers suggested the mere act of doing that meant she was supporting the proscribed group Palestine Action. 🏥 Emergency department staff at Maidstone Hospital are to [begin wearing body-worn cameras](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgk3pj5kn15o?ref=kentcurrent.news) to try to reduce the levels of violence and abuse they receive. 💷 Rents in Medway have risen faster than anywhere else in the southeast. Property costs have [jumped nearly 27% in the past three years](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/rent-rises-my-area-map-london-manchester-zoopla-b2793490.html?ref=kentcurrent.news), with the average rent now being £1,243pm. 🗄️ Two big planning applications in Gravesham are set to be decided on at [planning committee next week](https://democracy.gravesham.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=106&MId=9409&ref=kentcurrent.news). A plan to [convert a pub into a mosque](https://democracy.gravesham.gov.uk/documents/s90076/20250369%20-%20The%20Peacock%20Public%20House.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) is set to receive approval after receiving 249 letters of support. At the same time, officers recommend progressing a plan for [76 dwellings on Milton Place car park](https://democracy.gravesham.gov.uk/documents/s90070/20250167%20-%20Milton%20Place%20Car%20Park.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news). ☀️ Canterbury City Council has approved a [solar farm the size of 78 football pitches](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg98k4dn2ko?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🚧 Ashford Borough Council have [approved plans for a bridge](https://ashfordboroughcouncil.my.site.com/pr/s/planning-application/a0hTw0000024GUrIAM/not20250708?c%5F%5Fr=Arcus%5FBE%5FPublic%5FRegister&tabset-9095e=3&ref=kentcurrent.news) between two new housing developments. The bridge is fully stepped and inaccessible to those in wheelchairs or with other mobility issues, as [we wrote about previously](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i/162959955/network-rail-decides-inclusivity-is-too-expensive). 🏗️ Also at Ashford, [councillors approved plans to demolish Park Mall](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce9x7y21vlmo?ref=kentcurrent.news) to create a car park until full regeneration plans come forward. The meeting can best be described as ‘lively.’ 🏢 Maidstone Borough Council are set to [spend £7.7m to improve office buildings](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/buildings-earmarked-for-7-7m-refit-by-council-valued-at-4m-327483/?ref=kentcurrent.news) that are only worth £4m in the first place. 🏊 Following heavy rain last weekend, [14 beaches in Kent were deemed unsuitable for swimming](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g21nqe6z1o?ref=kentcurrent.news) due to sewage overflows. Restrictions at Tankerton, Herne Bay, Deal Castle, Dymchurch, and Littlestone remained for several days. 🚕 Uber has been [given a licence to operate in Tunbridge Wells](https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/taxi-drivers-fuming-after-uber-10362253?ref=kentcurrent.news). Inevitably, local taxi drivers are not happy. 🍌 In a climate sign that can only be good, a man from Deal has managed to [grow bananas in his garden](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/deal/news/kent-man-grows-bananas-in-garden-i-don-t-know-if-it-s-glob-327065/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🧑‍🎓 The University of Kent [awarded a number of honorary degrees this week](https://www.kent.ac.uk/news/kentlife/36797/pinkpantheress-among-university-of-kent-honorary-graduands-for-july-2025?ref=kentcurrent.news), with names like singer-songwriter PinkPantheress, director Andrea Arnold, and broadcaster Iain Dale all receiving doctorates. 📰 The [Folkestone Triennial](https://www.creativefolkestone.org.uk/folkestone-triennial/?ref=kentcurrent.news) is back until October. Fad magazine calls it the “[strongest edition yet](https://fadmagazine.com/2025/07/21/review-folkestone-triennial-2025/?ref=kentcurrent.news),” the Guardian call it “[bleakly brilliant](https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2025/jul/18/folkestone-triennial-review-arm?ref=kentcurrent.news),” and the Times call it a “[triumph](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/art/article/folkestone-triennial-review-this-is-exactly-what-public-art-should-do-wclj6btlt?ref=kentcurrent.news).” 💃 The Independent came to visit [Kate Bush Day on Folkestone Harbour Arm](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/kate-bush-day-folkestone-wuthering-heights-dance-b2791778.html?ref=kentcurrent.news). 👃 Investigations are still ongoing to figure out why a roundabout near Aylesford has a ‘toxic’ smell. This week, the anti-skid coating added to the surface was [ruled out as a possible cause](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/anti-skid-surface-on-new-roundabout-is-not-source-of-toxic-327558/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🪻 Shrubs have been removed from the newly remodelled St George’s Street in Canterbury after [too many people pissed on them](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0rvk9987lwo?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🤬 Thanet District Council are [proposing to ban swearing in public](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/jul/16/pass-notes-swearing-ban-thanet-council?ref=kentcurrent.news), in what is, quite frankly, a fucking ridiculous plan. --- #### Footnotes *Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via *hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news* \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews) *and* [*BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* *If you enjoy the Kent Current, please share it with your friends, family, associates, and even your enemies. We have no meaningful marketing budget, so we rely on word of mouth from our readers to find new readers.* ### Iain Dale on Margaret Thatcher URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/iain-dale-on-margaret-thatcher/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:55:35.000Z *It’s difficult to argue that Margaret Thatcher is still a divisive figure, 35 years after she left office. Kent-based broadcaster Iain Dale has written a new biography about her for a new generation, so we’ve been talking to him about the process and her legacy. Further down, we talk to the owner of a chicken hotel who appeared on Dragon’s Den, learn about a pilgrimage along the River Medway, look at upcoming Kent events, and more.* **Editor’s note:* Thank you so much to everyone who sent incredibly kind and thoughtful messages following the passing of my dad last week. It’s been lovely to read them all. I’ve tried to reply to everyone, but please don’t take it personally if I've missed you given the volume I received. Today’s edition should have gone out over the weekend, hence the unusual Tuesday edition. After today, we’ll be back to our usual schedule with our regular news briefing on Thursday and a big interview on Saturday. -Ed.* --- #### Iain Dale on Margaret Thatcher [*Iain Dale*](https://www.iaindale.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *is a Kent-based broadcaster, political commentator and author. We spoke to him about his new biography of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.* The definitive biography on Margaret Thatcher is a three-volume edition by Charles Moore. Iain Dale’s version is intended to be much more accessible. There is a great [podcast about the life of Thatcher](https://www.globalplayer.com/podcasts/episodes/7DrfB2k/?ref=kentcurrent.news), as part of Iain’s podcast series on UK Prime Ministers. This short interview is to that podcast what Iain’s book is to Moore’s biography. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f21ce46b7-5333-4f15-b888-1ab7476f4b6b_1630x2624-png-1.jpg) Margaret Thatcher by Iain Dale. I ask Iain how he would describe Margaret Thatcher. “The greatest peacetime Prime Minister of the 20th century,” adding the peacetime caveat as “I think Churchill stands out on his own.” Iain classifies Prime Ministers of the 20th Century into one of two categories: “They're either weathervanes or signposts.” Atlee and Thatcher are “two that really knew exactly where they wanted to go and how they were going to get there.” For Iain, successful politicians need to have a strength of ideology, and although “neither Atlee nor Thatcher always stuck to the core ideology, I think all the voters knew that they believed in.” Whilst Iain feels that others had their own beliefs, they didn't manage to communicate them in the same way. Iain has written and edited a number of books, but this is his first biography. He found the book challenging. “I thought because it's a very short book, I'd be able to write it off the top of my head and polish it off very quickly.” It didn't turn out like that at all. “It's much more difficult to write a short book, because you have to decide what to leave out.” Publishers approached Iain to write the book, and his first instinct was to say no “because I don't think anyone can compete with the Charles Moore trilogy of biographies.” He decided to aim the book at a new generation, after having a conversation with his personal trainer. “He was 25 years old, and when he found out what I did for a living, his first question was ‘Margaret Thatcher, I've heard of her, but what did she do?’ He didn't even know she had been Prime Minister for 11 and a half years.” While Iain wrote the book, he aimed it at him because “she left office 35 years ago. You have to be 56 years old to have voted for Margaret Thatcher. She's a distant memory and yet in many ways she dominates our politics today.” Iain explains that the Thatcher economic settlement has not changed, and her trade union reforms have not been rolled back by Labour governments since. “I really wanted to use it as a book to introduce her, not to write about every single detail. Nobody who is 25 is going to want to read 800 pages about anybody.” This book is 170 pages. If you enjoy it, then you can check out the Charles Moore. What are the first things about Thatcher that come to Iain? “First of all, my niece was born in 1981\. In 1988, I remember her saying to me, ‘Uncle Iain, can a man become Prime Minister?’ She was a person of significance, even to children at that time.” During her time as Education Secretary, when she became known as ‘Margaret Thatcher, the milk snatcher,’ because she abolished school milk, “I was at primary school then. I thought it was fantastic, because I hated the stuff.” Thatcher’s reform of the economy is a significant part of Thatcher’s legacy, “because the economy was a basket case in 1979\. Inflation was high, unemployment was rising, strikes, particularly in heavy industries. We were seen as a sick man of Europe by virtually every other country.” Iain also highlights Thatcher’s role in winning the Cold War. “She was the first one to identify Mikhail Gorbachev as a different Soviet leader. She introduced him to Reagan and was an intermediary through that time.” “The Russians dubbed her the Iron Lady, and they couldn't have done her a greater favour because it enabled her to basically live off that for the rest of her political career.” Symbolically, the Falklands War was a real turning point because it was a difficult time, and her cabinet colleagues “had to sit her down and say, ‘There will be reverses, there will be British Armed Forces personnel that die.’ Her daughter Carol says that she would see her mother with tears running down her face, writing personal letters to each of the families of the soldiers that had been killed.” For Iain, the fact that Britain won that war sent a big signal to the rest of the world that Britain was back. For some, Thatcher can be seen as a divisive figure, with policies that were not popular. “I'm seen as one of the keepers of the Thatcher flame, but I'm not blind to the fact that there were failures in the eleven and a half years.” These are outlined in the book, including the introduction of the poll tax, “probably the biggest failure,” and, for Iain, the main reason why she was ousted in 1990, “because people saw it as intrinsically unfair.” The book does cover her post-political life from 1990 to 2013\. “It wasn't a happy period.” Iain believes she suffered from a degree of PTSD. “She found it very difficult to come to terms with what happened.” She won three elections and felt that her cabinet had betrayed her. “I don't think there was a plot in the conventional meaning of that word, but she lost their confidence.” In an upcoming Interview with Dr Tim Aker, who wrote his PhD on Thatcher, I asked him for a question to ask Iain. He asked, ‘Why do you think she didn't do more to promote supporters and friends within cabinet and within the party?’ “That is a great mystery, because he's absolutely right. She didn't.” For Iain, it was a big mistake consistently appointing Chief Whips who were not of “her type of conservatism. They were generally people who she would have described as wets.” Iain explains that after 11 and a half years, she didn't enjoy majority support in her cabinet. “Now, I can blame Chief Whips, but in the end, the buck stops with the Prime Minister. It was her fault. It's bizarre. In 15 years of leading the Conservative Party, she was almost the opposition in her own cabinet.” The main question Iain is asked the most often is how would she have dealt with Donald Trump. “The answer to that question is I don't know.” ‘Would she have supported Brexit?’ “The answer, in theory, is I don't know, because how can we know?” Iain highlights how most of the people who knew her best think she would have voted remain because, “although she cultivated an image of being quite anti-Europe, if you actually look at what she did, quite a lot was pro-European.” Thatcher did become more Eurosceptic, particularly after she left Downing Street, but would she have actually voted to come out? “There is no evidence to support the view that she would.” *Margaret Thatcher by Iain Dale is available in bookshops. If you want a signed copy, you can order through* [*Iain’s Polictos bookshop*](https://www.politicos.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news)*. Academic Professor Mary Beard reviewed it for the Observer and said, ‘I still hate her, but it was a really interesting read.’ Iain is currently working on his autobiography and has no plans to write another biography, “although I’ve always fancied having a crack at Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman.”* --- #### What is a Chicken Hotel? *Katriona Shovlin is an alumnus of MidKent College and appeared on Dragon’s Den seeking investment in* [*Hen Weekend*](https://www.facebook.com/people/-Hen-Weekend-Chicken-boarding/100093158051128/)*, a chicken boarding enterprise in Upchurch, near Sittingbourne. We spoke to her to find out about it and her appearance on the show…* We get the crucial question out of the way first, asking exactly what a chicken hotel is. “It's a hotel for chickens,” Katriona replies. Cats go to catteries, dogs go to kennels. Hens go to Katriona. ![Who is Hen Weekend Chicken Boarding owner Katriona Shovlin and when was she on Dragons' Den? | The Sun](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f69535ff4-8fd3-4ca5-bed2-e987beacd647_960x640-jpeg.jpg) Kartiona Shovlin. The idea was hatched *(really?-Ed)* when Katriona could not get anybody to look after her chickens when she went on holiday. “I just thought there's got to be a gap in the market here.” She has had chickens since 2020 after looking after her neighbours. “They clocked on that I was literally just the other side of the hedge.” The chickens would sneak under the hedge and spend time with Kat, so the neighbour eventually agreed they should live with her, “and that's how I ended up chicken keeping in the first place.” Kat has an animal background, having had various pets and studying Animal Care and Animal Management at MidKent College. She now lives in a rural setting with her seven-year-old. “I love chickens. I think in the society that we live in, they're just seen as a commodity, an egg layer or food. When you spend time with a chicken, they're endearing, clever, and not what people would expect.” Kat has been able to allow a lot of space to the hen hotel. “There's two acres here, and flocks are never mixed.” Hens are territorial animals, and Kat ensures they never see a hen from outside their flock. “My largest hotel, I can take up to 20 at one time.” The only rule, and it’s a fairly significant one, is “no cockerels allowed, it's a female-only hotel.” Cockerels make a lot of noise, and Kat’s resident hens “probably wouldn't take too kindly to a male being on site.” It also is no longer just for holidays, as Kat has started taking on hen social care cases. “I’ve had two hens since October,” after a house sale fell through and they needed emergency care. “I've got another flock of eight hens which have been here since January,” arranged by Kent County Council due to their owner’s wellbeing. Kat works closely with the [British Hen Welfare Trust](https://www.bhwt.org.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news), which “rescues hens from slaughter.” She also undertakes educational visits to nurseries and schools. “I take a hen with me so that they can see a rescue hen, and it steers them away from hatching projects, to be honest.” Following the launch of the hen hotel, Kat appeared in regional, national, and international news, which led to her receiving a call inviting her to appear on Dragon’s Den. “The producer asked if I had ever thought about coming on. Absolutely not.” Before Kat knew what was happening, she was involved in due diligence. “I just thought, what better platform could I get than on the BBC?” While no investment was made then, Kat remains hopeful that further conversations could lead to future support. *If you have chickens and are looking for somewhere for them to stay whilst you are away, you can contact Kat via her* [*website*](https://henweekendboarding.wixsite.com/henweekendchickenboa?ref=kentcurrent.news)*,* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/p/-Hen-Weekend-Chicken-boarding-100093158051128/) *and* [*Instagram*](https://www.instagram.com/henweekend%5F?ref=kentcurrent.news)*.* --- #### A pilgrimage along the Medway *The* [*Friends of the River Medway*](https://www.formedway.org/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *are currently embarking on a pilgrimage along the river, so we spoke with Executive Director Zofia Page to find out more…* The Friends of The River Medway started five years ago as a group of people who wanted to look at how they could create long-term change for the river. This started with litter-picks at Forest Row, near the source of the river and led to a community of people passionate about finding a holistic perspective. This is practical and about basic conservation, litter picks, invasive species removals, and understanding what actions can be individually taken, as well as collectively. They are citizen science practitioners, monitoring the river's health and building data. This encourages people to go out on the river and actually look at its state. This is done in partnership with Sussex University in a project called ‘Ripple Effect.’ They want to advocate for the rights of the River Medway. [We spoke with Councillor Stuart Jeffrey](https://www.localauthority.news/p/i-was-successful-in-getting-the-council?ref=kentcurrent.news) about this for our sister title [*Local Authority*](https://www.localauthority.news/?ref=kentcurrent.news). The group seek to reimagine and reshape our relationship with the river, rooted in a way that is ancient and still relevant in indigenous cultures around the world, where the river is seen as something sacred and to be respected, rather than a place for our sewage, or our trolleys. *The pilgrimage began on 19 July at Willwood Reservoir. The walking pilgrimage is planned to finish in Chatham at Sun Pier House on 26 July, where there will be an art exhibition, titled ‘*[*The Medway is our Muse*](https://www.facebook.com/events/sun-pier-house/the-medway-as-our-muse-a-community-river-art-exhibition/1396302331721069/)*.’ On 27 July, the group encourages people to join them on a* [*Jetstream Tour*](https://jetstreamtours.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *to the Isle of Grain, where the Medway joins the Estuary. They also have a* [*crowdfunder*](https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/from-source-to-sea?ref=kentcurrent.news) *should you wish to support their efforts.* --- #### Upcoming Kent events 🎭 Until 9 Aug - [**Canterbury Shakespeare Festival**](https://thegulbenkian.co.uk/festivals/canterbury-shakespeare-festival-2025/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Varied lineup of Shakespeare plays from well-known productions to more experimental experiences. Gulbenkian Theatre, Canterbury. Various prices. 🛞 Sun 27 Jul - [**Monster Slam**](https://www.monsterslam.co.uk/tickets?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Monster truck demonstrations, stunt shows, motorcross, and entertainment. Quex Park, Birchington. Tickets £20. 🎸 Wed 30 Jul - [**Deerhoof**](https://www.gigantic.com/deerhoof-tickets/margate-the-lido/2025-07-30-19-00?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Legendary American indie band come to the seaside. The Lido, Margate. Tickets £20. ✏️ From 1 Aug - [**Herne Bay Cartoon Festival**](https://www.beachcreative.org/cartoon-festival-2025?ref=kentcurrent.news) // 12th edition of the UK’s only cartooning festival, featuring work from 20 professional cartoonists. Beach Creative, Herne Bay. Free. 🎉 Sun 3 Aug - [**Margate Carnival**](https://www.facebook.com/margatecarnival) // Parade of performance, entertainment, and celebration. Margate Seafront. Free. --- #### More Currents Last week, we welcomed former KM Political Editor Paul Francis to the Kent Current, where he will write occasional columns for us. In his first edition, he looked at the highs and lows of Labour’s first year in office. [Paper anniversaryFormer KM Political Editor Paul Francis on the highs and lows of Labour's first year in office.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f8d4a4c7f-19fc-4e7c-87d7-4ed0b87571a5_567x567-13.png)Kent CurrentPaul Francis![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f24c5a4d0-9cce-4a5b-8ae1-607c532e76da_4034x2685-jpeg.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/paper-anniversary/) After today, we’ll be resuming our usual schedule, with our regular news briefing edition following on Thursday and a big interview following on Saturday. --- #### Footnotes *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews) *and* [*BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* *If you enjoy Local Authority, please share it with your friends, family, associates, and enemies. We have no meaningful marketing budget, so we rely on word of mouth from our readers to find new readers.* ### Paper anniversary URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/paper-anniversary/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:55:35.000Z *We’re delighted to welcome former Kent Messenger Political Editor to the Kent Current. In his first column, he assesses the highs and lows of the party’s first year in office…* It is an anniversary that Labour would probably prefer to have overlooked, but one year on from its election victory, the party has been riven by internal feuding over welfare reform and its leader leeching support as he tries to steady the ship. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f24c5a4d0-9cce-4a5b-8ae1-607c532e76da_4034x2685-jpeg-2.jpg) Newly-elected governments rarely get much of a honeymoon period - and are persistent in reminding us of that - but the rapid descent in opinion polls has shown just how fragile Labour’s success was and how it was not quite the landslide it seemed. In the general election, the party - on paper - did well. Among some surprise results was its victory in Ashford, where long-standing MP Damian Green lost out to Sojan Joseph. It also enjoyed success by returning MPs in other Kent constituencies, including East Thanet, Dartford, Folkestone, Gravesham, and Dover and Deal. There was a solid set of results in the Medway towns, where it took all three seats. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### “Culture's never an accident” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/cultures-never-an-accident/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:55:38.000Z [*COOK*](https://www.cookfood.net/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *is an award-winning food manufacturer and retailer. Steven met the brother and sister co-CEOs, Ed Perry and Rosie Brown, at the company’s Sittingbourne headquarters. They discussed how they both came to be at COOK, taking action to protect people and the planet, and why the magnificent turkey laab dish is at risk.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f48dc486e-80c0-4534-bf8c-79ab32fafa06_6016x4016-jpeg-1.jpg) Rosie Brown and Ed Perry of COOK. **What is your official occupation?** **Ed:** I am the co-CEO of COOK. **Rosie:** Ditto. **How would you describe COOK?** **Ed:** Frozen food that looks and tastes homemade. Our founding statement was to use the same ingredients and techniques that a good cook would use at home, so everything looks and tastes homemade. That founding principle still holds true. Essentially, when somebody doesn’t have the time, energy or inclination to cook for themselves, whether it be a meal for one, a meal for two, or inviting friends or family over dinner, we will have something that can help. **And how would you describe COOK from a non-food point of view?** **Rosie:** I think COOK is a business that cares very deeply for people and planet. I think from a non-food point of view, we're very interested in culture being a good workplace. We're very interested in helping feed the vulnerable people in our communities, and we're very interested in food and where it comes from and supporting British farmers and farmers who are looking after the environment. **How did you come to be involved with COOK?** **Ed:** I was working as a salesman for my parents’ bakery business. They made wonderful cakes and tray bakes that looked and tasted homemade, which were sold frozen to coffee shops and caterers in the south of England. We got brought up with our mother cooking from the freezer. She would make a batch of chili con carne or chicken casserole, some of which we would eat and the balance of which she would put in old ice cream tubs in our big chest freezer at home and then on a Tuesday night she'll take out the ice cream tub, put it in the microwave and we'll eat it and it would always be delicious. It was in my early 20s, whilst I was working as a salesman, I thought, the cakes and the puddings, they look and taste so different from what you can buy in the supermarket. If we could make savoury food that is similar in principle to the cakes and puddings they were already making, then potentially it could be a retail concept that could work on the high streets. I had this bubbling away in the back of my head, and the only problem I had was that I'm not a chef. I didn't know how I'd actually go about making this food, and the only chef I ever spoke to about it was Dale Penfold, who was head chef at the Whitbread Hop Farm. He was a customer of mine, and I would go and see him every three months or four months to see if he would carry on buying the cakes from my parents' bakery. Whilst I was there on a sales call, I talked to him about this idea I had to make savoury food that looked and tasted homemade but was sold frozen. Eventually, back in 1996, I said to him, ‘I'm going to do this. Will you come and do it with me?’ Happily, it coincided with him falling out with his boss, and I remember him saying to me, ‘Look, I've got four kids. I'll come and do it with you. You just need to pay me what I’m being paid at the Hop Farm, and I'll come and do it.’ I said, ‘I'll commit to that.’ That's how it basically got started. We borrowed a little bit of money off NatWest, and our parents lent us about six grand as well. We had a total budget of about 30 grand, and Dale had a budget to set up the first kitchen, which, even 26 years ago or 27 years ago, was a crazily small amount of money to get a commercial kitchen up and going. But because he's just extraordinary, he managed to do that. Bought a bunch of old second-hand equipment, found an old pizza delivery unit in Rainham that was condemned, and the landlord said, ‘Well, you can have it for 50 quid a week, but I could give you six months’ notice at any moment, and you're going to have to go, because McDonald's are going to build here.’ But we thought, ‘We'll take a punt on it.’ **Rosie:** My other brother James called me. Ed and James were both working in the business, and they called me in 2000 when COOK was three years old and said, ‘Why don't you come and join us?’ I said, ‘I have no idea about running a business,’ and they said, ‘Well, neither do we. We're trying to figure it out as we go.’ So that was that. **Neither of you are chefs, so what was your involvement in those early days?** **Ed:** I was very much in the shops. The first three years, I was in the shop the whole time. I was very, very much running the sales front end of the business. I suppose I had a clear idea of the sort of product I wanted to sell. I'm a salesman. I would essentially give Dale, who was a chef, a brief of the sort of product I wanted, and then Dale would go and create it. I was sales and product creation. We had not the first idea about conventional food shortcuts that you can make. I think the fact that our ignorance protected us from possible shortcuts that could be made. **Do you remember what the first meal was that came where you thought, ‘This is going to work?’** **Ed:** Well, I remember the first meal I ever tried that he made. It was about three weeks before we opened the first shop. It was a lentil and fennel bake. I was living in a small flat in Clapham at the time when I got this thing, and I was so excited. It was our first meal. I remember thinking at the time, ‘Lentil and fennel bake, I'm not sure…’ I pulled it out of the oven, and it was completely inedible in every way. Up until that moment, I'm a very glass half full type person, I just assumed Dale would be able to produce the sort of food my mother used to produce, and it would just happen. It was in that moment where I realised this is going to be really hard, because if it was easy, other people would have done it. You couldn't buy anything like this in the supermarket. You can't now, really. That was the moment I thought this is going to be really hard. But that was the first thing. The second thing was more successful, which was a beef bourguignon, which was okay. It wasn't nice, but at least it was okay. The first three years was really about Dale testing and learning, changing recipes, tweaking everything as he went along to get to a point in about 2000 where we had a menu where we could go, ‘That's pretty good.’ But it took a long time. That's still where easily the biggest challenge in the business is. It's about making the food taste good every single time. **Rosie:** I initially stayed on the cake company side, and I did HR, traditional transactional HR, hiring and firing. They had about 80, 100 employees at the time, and then eventually I moved over to the COOK side. I remember setting up the first customer care team, answering all the emails. I did that for a bit, but I always came back to people. I've done most departments in HQ at some point or another. I came back from maternity leave in about 2010 and became People Director. That's when we really started to work on our culture intentionally. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2ff3bf8eb8-6b61-41e0-980c-1b4700e7ba33_1200x900-jpeg.jpg) Beef Bourguigon by COOK. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Culture wars and cost-cutting set tone at KCC URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/culture-wars-and-cost-cutting-set/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:55:40.000Z *Just how are things going for Kent’s new Reform administration? KCC held a full council meeting today, with culture wars and cost-cutting setting the tone. We’ve got the full details below, alongside news of what else has happened at KCC this week, details of the war on padel, news in brief, and more.* --- #### Culture wars and cost-cutting set tone at KCC Two and a half months into Reform’s tenure at Kent County Council, it’s fair to say that things haven’t been quite as smooth as the insurgent party might have liked. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f47a9ddbe-b3c2-4ec1-a642-b2ef1bb78c33_2500x1406-jpeg-1.jpg) It’s been another messy week for the administration, with a row dominating over whether a cabinet member was sacked or resigned from his role in charge of the transport brief. Kent County Council put out a formal statement saying that Cllr Bill Barrett of Ashford Rural South ‘[made the decision](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/top-table-change-at-kcc?ref=kentcurrent.news)’ to step down from the role. That isn’t quite how Cllr Barrett tells it himself. [Speaking to Politico](https://www.politico.eu/article/reform-uk-cabinet-member-bill-barrett-sacked-ambush-meet-nigel-farage/?ref=kentcurrent.news), he claimed that the idea he resigned was a “complete lie.” He went on to say he was “ambushed” by KCC leader Linden Kemkaran, her deputy Brian Collins, and whip Maxwell Harrison, who proceeded to spend “50 minutes saying how shit I was.” Cllr Barrett has since been replaced by Hythe West’s Peter Osbourne, another success of the party’s vetting program, who has [littered social media](https://x.com/reformexposed/status/1903355633039999143?ref=kentcurrent.news) with misogynistic ‘jokes’ and comments based on racial stereotypes. All of this comes in the same week that Cliftonville councillor Daniel Taylor [appeared in court](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/suspended-reform-councillor-appears-in-court-accused-of-thre-326773/?ref=kentcurrent.news) charged with three offences, including making threats to kill his wife, sending an offensive, indecent, obscene or menacing message, and engaging in coercive control over a period of 11 years from 2014 to 2025\. Reform suspended Cllr Taylor last month, though he continues to sit as an independent. Outside the chamber, a group of young pro-trans protestors waved signs and chanted in favour of trans rights, urging councillors to ‘Reform your mind.’ It was a jarring sight in the centre of Maidstone on a Thursday morning. So it was with this backdrop that Kent County Council met today for one of the first proper council meetings since Reform swept to power in May. On the agenda: the big savings Reform’s team of cost cutters has supposedly found at KCC, changes to councillor allowances, and the opportunity for opposition councillors to scrutinise the administration. It took all of two questions to leader Linden Kemkaran before things descended into the culture wars. Green councillor Stuart Jeffrey asked a reasonably straightforward question about tackling violence toward women and girls, but of course, things are never straightforward at KCC. Kemkaran replied that men from “deeply misogynistic” and “unenlightened cultures” were “invading” the county. For bonus points, she also managed to get in a jibe about some people believing that “a man can magically turn into a woman because he wears a wig and a skirt.” Next, it was the newly minted Cllr Osbourne’s time to shine as he was asked to share his administration’s strategy for improving roads in Kent. When Labour’s Cllr Brady accused him of not having a plan, he retorted, “We most certainly do have a plan, we just haven’t chosen to let you know about it yet.” Which seems like a healthy way for a democratic institution to operate. Cllr Stepto of the Greens asked about what powers the DOGE team that visited KCC had, and whether the letter that Reform sent, threatening council staff if they didn’t cooperate, was seen by the council's Chief Executive before it was published. Cllr Kemkaran said that it wasn’t, which again, all sounds very healthy. Following questions, it was time for Cllr Kemkaran to announce the big savings that the administration had been able to cut from the budget since they took over. The headlines: - £202,500 saved by cutting councillor allowances by 5%. - Scrapping the net-zero renewable programme of property renovations, saving £32m over four years, with a further £7.5m by scrapping the transition to electric vehicles. - £14m saved by not moving out of the current headquarters at Sessions House, which was due to be relocated to Invicta House. - £180,000 saved by cancelling some subscriptions. - Debt has reduced by £16m since Reform took over, which will increase to £33m by March, though opposition councillors, this would have happened regardless of who was in charge and doesn’t qualify as a saving. While these may represent some savings, within the full KCC budget of £2.6bn spent every year, it appears that DOGE haven’t found the huge savings they were looking for. Cllr Kemkaran even added some additional costs, such as some money to bring Sessions House up to standard and, perhaps most excitingly, ‘recommissioning the coffee cart’ for council meetings. Opposition councillors raised concerns about some savings, particularly the decisions to remain in Sessions House, which Conservative leader Harry Rayner called a “significant black hole.” At the same time, Labour’s Alister Brady said the savings didn’t add up. Elsewhere, councillors agreed to cut councillor allowances by 5%, and there was even a moment of cross-party unity when Reform accepted a Lib Dem amendment to increase the amount given for carers. Similar unity could not be found in response to shithousery from Labour, who wanted to increase the cut to the leader to 10% or the Conservatives, who wanted to cut allowances for councillors who don’t turn up to meetings. But if Reform had hoped this first full council meeting would help steady the ship and present a competent face to the public, it didn’t quite land. Between culture war outbursts, unanswered questions about internal conduct, and savings that appear more symbolic than structural, the meeting laid bare the growing gap between Reform’s headline-grabbing rhetoric and the messy, often mundane business of running a council. --- *Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via *hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news* \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* --- #### What (else) happened at KCC this week? Following [our reporting last week](https://www.kentcurrent.news/first-they-came-for-the-books/) about an invented moral panic by the administration, where they [falsely claimed](https://hellorayo.co.uk/greatest-hits/kent/news/reform-uk-party-kent-county-council-trans-book-libary-linden-kemkaran?ref=kentcurrent.news) a trans reference book was in the children’s section of a library (it wasn’t), the debate rumbled on during full council with Cllr Kemkaran claimed that a ‘whistleblower’ had been in touch to tell her that there are trans books in the children’s section after all. This is no secret, and Kent’s library system makes no secret of the fact that age-appropriate books about LGBT+ issues are indeed available, so it’ll be interesting to see if moves are made to remove these titles as well. Cllr Kemkaran [wrote to the Minister for Future of Roads](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/kcc-leader-writes-to-the-minister-for-future-of-roads-about-the-increase-in-dartford-crossing-charges?ref=kentcurrent.news) to ask for a cut of the increased Dartford Crossing revenue when the charges go up later this year. It’s a move that feels wildly optimistic, but there’s no harm in asking, right? Reform leader Nigel Farage actually got within 30 miles of his Clacton constituency this week as he decided to visit County Hall. While here, he declared that [Kent should hold a referendum](https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/nigel-farage-calls-referendum-absolutely-10328301?ref=kentcurrent.news) on the government’s plans for local government reorganisation and devolution, even if such a thing would have no meaning and there would be no way to compel Medway to take part in it. He also said KCC should [remove home-to-school transport funding](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd6gx56je91o?ref=kentcurrent.news) for children who need it, and reminded councillors that they should ‘[think before they act](https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/nigel-farage-tells-kents-new-10325733?ref=kentcurrent.news),’ which might have come a little too late, given the above. --- #### The fightback against padel begins You can barely go anywhere anymore without someone going on about padel, a slightly smaller version of tennis that is somehow taking the world by storm. Over the past year, developers and organisations have rushed to build courts to cash in on padelmania, but the tide might finally be turning, at least in Kent. Plans for courts at the Lockmeadow entertainment complex in Maidstone have been [withdrawn](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/we-re-being-left-behind-padel-tennis-courts-refused-over-326599/?ref=kentcurrent.news), with the reasons unclear. The council leader claimed noise for nearby residents (the closest of which are literally across a river), while a backbencher said it was about protecting insects. Either way, Kent’s county town won’t be playing padel anytime soon. Elsewhere, tennis club members in Tunbridge Wells are angry about two courts being converted into padel courts. Speaking to KentOnline, they claimed the courts would be like ‘[constant gun shots](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/tunbridge-wells/news/the-sound-is-just-like-bullets-hitting-off-a-wall-326817/?ref=kentcurrent.news)’ going off and would ruin the concentration of the proper tennis players, all of which sounds incredibly reasonable and not overblown at all. In Sevenoaks, planning officers recommended that councillors reject plans for new padel courts at an existing club, claiming the move would cause ‘[urban sprawl](https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/kent-padel-centre-expanded-meet-10306926?ref=kentcurrent.news).’ In a rare example of residents supporting a planning application, over 500 wrote in favour of it, with councillors voting to overrule officers and let the padelling commence. Perhaps the sport shouldn’t be written off after all… --- #### In brief 🚨 It’s been a bad week for Kent Police officers engaging in questionable activities. A detective was [sacked after sexually touching](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5ydve9x1j4o?ref=kentcurrent.news) a female colleague, another was sacked for [trying to have sex with a woman reporting a crime](https://www.policeconduct.gov.uk/news/kent-police-officer-sacked-trying-have-sex-woman-who-reported-crime?ref=kentcurrent.news), and a third was jailed after [getting relatives to take speeding points](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/medway/news/kent-police-officer-jailed-after-getting-relatives-to-take-r-326869/?ref=kentcurrent.news) for him. 🏗️ The recent Government Spending Review [allocated money for road projects](https://maps.dft.gov.uk/road-and-rail-investment-spending-review-2025/index.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) across the country, including upgrades of junctions on Bluebell Hill and the North Thanet Link. 👷 A milestone has been reached on a [flood protection project](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/flood-protection-for-more-people-in-west-kent-one-step-closer?ref=kentcurrent.news) that will protect nearly 1,200 homes and businesses in Tonbridge and Hildenborough. 🚧 [Operation Brock will be reinstated](https://highways-news.com/m20-to-close-to-allow-for-operation-brock-deployment/?ref=kentcurrent.news) on the M20 next week ahead of the summer holidays. ☀️ [Plans have been submitted](https://ashfordboroughcouncil.my.site.com/pr/s/planning-application/a0hTw000002XxGHIA0/pa20251201?c%5F%5Fr=Arcus%5FBE%5FPublic%5FRegister&ref=kentcurrent.news) to Ashford Borough Council for a vast solar farm around the village of Kenardington that would generate 35MW of power. 📄 An application has been submitted for [59 new homes](https://pa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=SW9BFRTYL0C00&ref=kentcurrent.news) south of Lenham. 🎥 Plans for a Netflix-linked film studio complex in Ashford [have been abandoned](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/netflix-linked-film-studios-to-be-officially-scrapped-as-m-326709/?ref=kentcurrent.news), with more homes going on the site instead. 🏘️ Medway Council don’t seem thrilled that Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council plan to [build a temporary accommodation complex](https://www.localauthority.news/p/neighbouring-council-plans-temporary?ref=kentcurrent.news) on their border. 👑 [King Charles visited Kent today](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce37k9nwr16o?ref=kentcurrent.news), taking in Walmer Castle and Deal. 👃 No one seems any closer to figuring out what is behind the [‘toxic’ smell at a new roundabout](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/it-wasnt-me-nearby-businesses-deny-toxic-smell-is-the-326944/?ref=kentcurrent.news) near Aylesford. 🏥 Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust are to [make 30 cleaners redundant](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cedgxgg9088o?ref=kentcurrent.news) in a move that couldn’t possibly go wrong. 🪦 Maidstone Borough Council are to debate a [petition calling for the creation of a memorial to six ‘witches’](https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/create-a-memorial-to-the-maidstone-witches-who-were-wrongly-persecuted-convicted-and-executed?ref=kentcurrent.news) who were persecuted and executed in 1652. 🍓 A Kent farm is trying to [improve strawberry production using AI and robotics](https://www.insidermedia.com/news/south-east/kent-farm-to-pioneer-smarter-strawberry-production-in-three-way-partnership-with-ai-and-robotics-firms?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🎢 A new [log flume ride has opened at Dreamland](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2025/07/09/wild-river-log-flume-opens-at-dreamland-margate/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Margate, the first the park has had in a decade. 🚄 Southeastern is holding an [open day at their Ashford depot](https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/tickets-alert-open-day-at-southeasterns-ashford-rail-depot-82365/?ref=kentcurrent.news), and it’ll only cost you £25 to get in. 🌊 Cliftonville Lido is [up for sale](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2025/07/05/cliftonville-lido-complex-goes-on-the-sale-market/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 📰 The Telegraph has once again discovered Margate, calling it a ‘[magnet for priced-out Londoners](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/property/deprived-kent-became-a-magnet-for-london-wealthy/?ref=kentcurrent.news).’ Meanwhile, the Guardian has described Folkestone as one of the UK’s ‘[best revitalised resorts](https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2025/jul/06/scarborough-folkestone-portobello-llandudno-uk-seaside-towns?ref=kentcurrent.news).’ 🗣️ ‘cene has [interviewed Led by Donkeys](https://cenemagazine.co.uk/features/led-by-donkeys-the-art-of-protest?ref=kentcurrent.news) about their protests in Kent and elsewhere. --- #### Footnotes *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews) *and* [*BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* *If you enjoy the Kent Current, please share it with your friends, family, associates, and even your enemies. We have no meaningful marketing budget, so we rely on word of mouth from our readers to find new readers.* ### New Plunder to be found in Ramsgate URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/new-plunder-to-be-found-in-ramsgate/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:55:42.000Z *With nearly a quarter of shops in Ramsgate empty, launching a new business, particularly a pirate-themed bookshop, is a daunting venture. We’ve talked to one half of a team that is doing just that. Further down, we hear about a marathon Shakespeare performance in Whitstable for charity, a comic book shop in Folkestone supporting small publishers, and upcoming Kent events. Let’s get to it.* --- #### New Plunder to be found in Ramsgate [*Melissa Todd*](https://melissatodd.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *is a writer, sex worker and dominatrix. She is also now the co-owner of a book shop in Ramsgate. We caught up with her to talk about* [*Plunder*](https://plunderbooks.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news)*…* Plunder is a brand-new bookshop on Ramsgate High Street. “It's mainly the brainchild of Seb Reilly, my business partner,” says Melissa. “We've been talking for ages about setting up a publishing company together.” Seb had left his job, had time and money, and decided now was the time. They found a large shop that had been empty for some time. “We got a deal on it, right in the middle of Ramsgate.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f4fe880c9-f8a5-4f27-8552-c8a72eb93023_1559x1169-jpeg-1.jpg) Seb Reilly and Melissa Todd at Plunder. Ramsgate has a number of empty shops at present, with the highly recommended [Isle of Thanet News telling us](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2025/05/20/ramsgate-space-launches-new-hq-as-team-aim-to-tackle-empty-shops-and-spark-town-renewal/?ref=kentcurrent.news) that there is a 24% vacancy rate, compared to a national average of 14%. “There's an awful lot of shops that are empty, but somebody's got to be brave and say, ‘Let's try and make something happen and build a resurgence.’” They opened at the end of June, and Melissa found the experience “wonderful. It was insanely busy.” Melissa highlights that people were always saying “unpleasant things about Thanet, that they are illiterate scumbags,” and to find people queuing to enter a book shop was “genuinely heartwarming.” With books flying off the shelf, having to restock so soon is a good challenge to have. “It's been a real labour of love,” though Melissa admits that the majority of the labour has been Seb’s. “I have done absolutely nothing, because I have no practical skills whatsoever.” Seb has essentially built all the shelves on the walls and “the incredible piratey signs.” Seb is currently focused on building a smuggler experience around the back of the shop. “It's going to be a massive pirate ship and museum-y,” the space leaning into Ramsgate's pirate and smuggler history. “He's got all sorts of plans. He keeps telling me, and it's too much for me to take in.” It is intended as a family experience, but “there'll be places for children to play, while mums sit back and have a coffee.” Seb is building whilst Melissa and I speak, intending to have the space open for the summer holidays. “He’s building a ship out of nothing. It's magic.” Plunder was chosen as a name and theme, with Melissa and Seb wanting something “vaguely piratical and a bit naughty.” There was already a nautical theme, with Seb, a born and bred Thanet resident, running a literary journal called [Seaside Gothic](https://seasidegothic.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news). “He's just obsessed with the sea and sea tales.” Plunder has a nautical section, including classics Moby Dick and Treasure Island, but non-nautical books are also available, including [Melissa Todd’s books](https://www.fantasticfiction.com/t/melissa-todd/?ref=kentcurrent.news), which feature “very little mention of the sea.” They also stock other local writers, including Medway’s Sam and Barry Fentiman-Hall. “We've got all our mates' books in as well. Why else would you open a bookshop?” Melissa and Seb met when he was the editor of the now-defunct Thanet Writers, a local writing group that published online every day for years, before coming to an end during covid. Seb had published Melissa, and she became managing editor for a time. Ultimately, the plan “is for Plunder to become a publisher. We will be taking on manuscripts and hopefully, publishing one under the Plunder name. How we do that, I don't know. But that's the dream.” --- #### Marathoning Shakespeare for charity *Emma Dewhurst is an actor and the founder and former editor of WOW Kent magazine. She is organising a marathon reading of Shakespeare plays in Whitstable to raise money for the British Red Cross Gaza Crisis Appeal, so we spoke to her to find out more…* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f43f1ae0e-9615-427e-820a-f6ad07c11f0a_1200x675-heic.jpg) Bard Aid is a 14-hour Shakespeare play reading marathon, with five of the “most well-known and best loved plays,” read from 8.30am until 10pm. Though Emma admits, some have been chosen because “they’re not quite as long as some others, because there is no way we could read five of some of them.” The plays in question are Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing, The Tempest, with A Midsummer Night's Dream, “in the evening, the one everybody knows best in a way.” This isn’t the first time Emma has attempted such a venture. “It grew out of something I did a very, very long time ago, in the late 1990s, actually,” when she did a smaller version in a friend’s house to aid the Kosovan refugee crisis. With Bard Aid, there will be something being read almost all day. “There will be a very quick 20-minute turnaround, which is fast, because the cast will change, the readers will change”. Some readers will be involved in more than one play, with some involved all day, “but nobody, probably apart from me and my husband Simon, will have to do something in all of them.” Emma is organising the event largely on her own, “and it's turned out to be enormous and I must be mad.” She does have the support of her partner, playwright Simon Mendez de Costa. He's a fan of Shakespeare and “a fan of me, so he's helping me.” Emma has been focused on gathering a core group of professional actors who will be joined by members of the community “who love Shakespeare.” Though she does need readers for Julius Caesar, because “I'm struggling to find people to come out and read at 8.30am on a Saturday,” she laughs, noting that “women can play men's parts, by the way.” Emma runs a theatre workshop for adults at the Whitstable Umbrella Centre, “which is a real community-based class.” They started from scratch in September, forming a regular group, and Emma is encouraging them to come and join on the day. She is gradually bringing the project together. “I am slowly but surely in my five Excel spreadsheets creating casts for each play.” There will definitely be roles that are not cast on the day. “I will literally be saying, ‘Is there a member of the audience who can read?’” So, be prepared for audience preparation. Despite Emma’s planning and spreadsheets, there will be elements that are “going to be a bit ad hoc”. The readings will occur in a circle, “where it's not an us and them situation.” Emma knows the audience will also be fluid, with people coming late or leaving early and moving around the room if they want to. “The actors can create a lovely communication and contact between each other while they read. If you read in a row to an audience in front of you, it's just not going to have the same communal community feel as two circles.” There will be some element of actors being able to handle props, or have a costume, if they want, but largely the expectation is that they will “read the play beforehand and know what you're reading and get on with it on the day.” Emma is also organising a team of volunteer stewards so that the audience will be “welcomed and directed as to where to go and take donations. Emma is also hopeful of refreshments. “There'll be some food, definitely tea and coffee. Good coffee because I love coffee.” The Red Cross are supporting the event. “They've been fantastic actually. They've assigned me a person, the regional fundraiser is supporting me, and he said this is completely unique.” The event is not ticketed, with “entrance by donation. People can come and go. They can come to a play in the morning, then a play in the evening. It's very fluid.” Emma is aware that “if by some miracle there's an enormous audience, we will have to cap it in the room at about 100,” which includes the readers. “That would be a really good problem to have, to be honest. We'll just send them away and say come back for another play.” Emma chose Shakespeare because he “speaks to the human condition more than any other playwright.” She was raised on Shakespeare; her mother was an actress, and her father was a writer. “They took me to Shakespeare, they talked about Shakespeare, my mother quoted Shakespeare, Shakespeare was part of my life.” Emma’s mum became part of the Royal Shakespeare Company and spent a lot of time in Stratford-upon-Avon. “Literally, she could get comps for anything. I went to all the shows. Shakespeare's been part of my life for a very long time.” Emma is a Buddhist, noting that “there is in the Buddhism that I'm a member of a driving principle of standing up saying ‘I'm here to be counted.’” She is focused on doing something for the community “where you live to make it better in some way, shape or form, using your talents and skills.” Bard Aid is Emma using her knowledge and skills of theatre, Shakespeare, and organising and galvanising a community. “I got to the point where I felt, given the whole principle of my Buddhism is promoting peace in individuals and the world, I have to do something.” All actor readers are being asked either to sponsor themselves to read, or to raise sponsorship for their efforts, Audience members will be able to donate on the day to gain entrance to hear the plays. “There'll be QR codes to the donation page on the day, and good old-fashioned collecting tins for cash!” They are accepting [online donations](https://www.justgiving.com/page/bard-aid?ref=kentcurrent.news) for “people who just want to support the British Red Cross Gaza Crisis Appeal and can't attend on the day.” *Bard Aid is at the Wesley Hall, part of St John's Methodist Church in Whitstable on Argyle Road, with doors opening at 8.15am on Saturday 19 July, with* [*donations accepted*](https://www.justgiving.com/page/bard-aid?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for the British Red Cross Gaza appeal.* --- #### Folkestone comic shop celebrates small publishers *Saturday 19 July is* [*Small Press Day*](https://smallpressday.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, so we spoke with Jake Tomlin of* [*Lighthouse Comics*](https://lighthousecomics.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *in Folkestone to learn more about it and his plans for the day.* Lighthouse Comics is a small, independent comic shop based on the Old High Street in Folkestone. They have been open for just over six months, intending to show people new things, stocking a wide range of titles from Batman to Bunny vs Monkey, trying to have something for everybody. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fbd2d490f-d08a-4814-bd29-510afb253757_3000x2250-jpeg.jpg) Lighthouse Comics in Folkestone. Jake himself inspired the shop, as he was frustrated with his inability to buy graphic novels for himself without resorting to a multinational technology company. Jake had been made redundant and was looking to start his own business, and had fond memories of helping his Dad deliver comics to newsagents when he was younger. Things have changed since then, with a diverse creator base of graphic novels, comics and manga. Whilst some comics have gone digital, the physical object can be a beautiful and intriguing thing. Small press titles provide opportunities that are not available in the mainstream. Anybody can be a comic creator, you just need some paper and a pen (or a tablet, or some cardboard or... you get the idea). Small press includes anybody who self-publishes and small independent publishers that publish a small number of titles. Despite dwindling sales numbers, it doesn’t include Marvel and DC, or publishers like Image and Dark Horse. Whilst there are advantages to publishing through a big company, self and small press publishing allow creators to tell stories they want to tell without restrictions or executives making editorial decisions. Small Press Day is a nationwide event that has been set up to try to highlight the burgeoning independent comic scene, and this year is the 10th anniversary. It's not compulsory, but there are a number of shops running events, and these can be anything that helps to promote independent comic creation & creators. Lighthouse Comics has two confirmed guests for the day, signing books: [Nicholas Woodhead](https://www.instagram.com/lethargicmargin/?ref=kentcurrent.news), who makes Wetnurse, and [Nick Bryan](https://www.instagram.com/nickbryandotcom/?ref=kentcurrent.news), who writes Death of Necromancer. Jake is also organising a ‘Create Your Own Comic’ workshop, encouraging people to draw their own one-page comic, with the results on display in the shop. The event will start at 12pm, and Jake is offering a 10% off all small press titles. He recommends the aforementioned Wetnurse as “funny, gentle, autobiographical comic strips about a man and his cat,” Tales of Courier Z as “a great anthology of short sci-fi stories,” and A Fall From Grace, “a beautifully illustrated book about an Aztec God who falls to Earth and their efforts to get back to where they were.” --- #### Upcoming Kent events 🎨 Until 20 Jul - [**Medway Open Studios**](https://medwayopenstudios.org/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Artists across Medway throw open their studios and exhibit their work. Various locations. Free. 🎤 Mon 7 Jul - [**Matt Chorley**](https://thegulbenkian.co.uk/events/matt-chorley-making-a-meal-of-it/?ref=kentcurrent.news)// Political satire from BBC 5 Live presenter. Gulbenkian Theatre, Canterbury. Tickets £27.50. 🏴‍☠️ Sun 13 Jul - [**Faversham Pirate Festival**](https://www.visitkent.co.uk/events/faversham-pirate-festival-136048/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // It’s a festival about pirates. Front Brents, Faversham. Free. 🏎️ Mon 14 Jul - [**Guenther Steiner: Unfiltered**](https://marlowetheatre.com/shows/guenther-steiner-unfiltered-live/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Sweary former team boss of Haas F1 Team offers behind the scenes conversation into the sport. Assembly Hall Theatre, Tunbridge Wells. Tickets from £38.25. --- #### More Currents [The Guardian picked up on our reporting](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jul/04/reform-councillors-boast-about-removing-trans-ideological-books-from-childrens-library-sections-falls-flat?ref=kentcurrent.news) on Kent County Council’s Reform administration claiming to remove trans literature from the children’s section of a Kent library. You can [catch up on the story here](https://www.kentcurrent.news/first-they-came-for-the-books/). [First they came for the booksKent’s Reform administration leapt into action this week to tackle what they called ‘trans ideological material’ on children’s library shelves in Kent. But is everything as it appears? We take a look at exactly what’s been going on.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f8d4a4c7f-19fc-4e7c-87d7-4ed0b87571a5_567x567-14.png)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f55ee4062-b4ef-4e23-b7d9-80649e709af4_2500x1406-jpeg.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/first-they-came-for-the-books/) As ever, we can only do this reporting with time and resources. To do that, we need enough readers to support our work. So far, the Kent Current isn’t generating enough income to make this sustainable, so please consider [upgrading your subscription](#/portal/signup) if you haven’t already done so, and we’ll be able to keep doing this. [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup) --- #### Footnotes *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews) *and* [*BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* *If you enjoy Local Authority, please share it with your friends, family, associates, and enemies. We have no meaningful marketing budget, so we rely on word of mouth from our readers to find new readers.* ### First they came for the books URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/first-they-came-for-the-books/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:55:43.000Z *Kent’s Reform administration leapt into action this week to tackle what they called ‘trans ideological material’ on children’s library shelves in Kent. But is everything as it appears? We take a look at exactly what’s been going on. Further down, we have news on other happenings at KCC, Kent’s water supply creaking under the heat, news in brief, and more.* --- #### First they came for the books We’ve spent several weeks since Reform’s victory in Kent’s local elections commenting on how the time since has been dominated by inaction, cancelled meetings, and financial audits that have yielded few results. So this week, we are obliged to highlight that the new KCC administration has achieved something: They have proudly banned one book about trans autistic adults from the children’s shelves in Kent libraries. As ever, though, things may not be quite so simple, given that the book was never on them in the first place. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f55ee4062-b4ef-4e23-b7d9-80649e709af4_2500x1406-jpeg-2.jpg) Cllr Steve Webb, Sittingbourne South councillor and Cabinet Member for Community and Regulatory Services, [took to X](https://x.com/CouncillorWebb/status/1940460981303628167?ref=kentcurrent.news) (for it is always X) to declare that he was “recently contacted by a concerned member of the public, who found trans ideological material and books in the children’s section of one of our libraries. I’ve looked into this, and this was the case. I have today issued an instruction for them all to be removed from the children’s sections of any of our libraries. They do not belong in the children’s section of our libraries. Our children do not need to be told they were born in the wrong body. So from today, this will stop.” Kent County Council Leader Linden Kemkaran [called this](https://x.com/LeaderofKCC/status/1940446162785603671?ref=kentcurrent.news) “another victory for common sense in Kent,” adding that “telling children they’re in the ‘wrong body’ is wrong and simply unacceptable.” Alongside this, she included photos of the book in question, The Autistic Trans Guide to Life, as part of a Pride month display at Herne Bay Library. Now, there is a lot to unpack here. First, KCC’s own library system lists the book as being for an adult audience, and all five copies of the book are currently in ‘adult non-fiction’ sections of Kent’s libraries. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f5e7338e3-39b8-4870-ba2f-1a7b3d82b69c_1558x1108.png) Second, the positioning shown in the photos posted by Cllr Kemkaran of the book in Herne Bay Library shows it in the Pride Month display, which is located in the library's main ‘Welcome’ section rather than the children’s section. Thirty seconds on KCC’s own [virtual tour of Herne Bay Library](https://tour.giraffe360.com/hernebaylibrarykent/?ref=kentcurrent.news) establishes that this area is not in the children’s section. So it is unclear precisely what Cllr Webb and his ‘instruction’ is supposed to have achieved. If he wants to claim a quick win by banning a book from a section it wasn’t in in the first place, that’s presumably up to him. But it is depressing that the leadership of a county council can make claims like this, even if there is no reality in them, which suggests an element of just trying to rile up the base rather than achieve anything meaningful. Of course, once we start heading down this path, it is unlikely to stop at only one book. KCC holds a number of titles on trans and other LGBT+ subjects, including some that are held in the young adult collections. Ironically, after only one book had been [challenged at KCC](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i/166052842/library-news) in several years, one of the new administration's first acts is to suppress books. *We’ll be following this one closely…* --- #### What else has been happening at KCC this week? Brace yourself, for Kent County Council held not one, not two, but three committee meetings this week, the first since Reform took control of the council back in May. It was important stuff too, so councillors spent 16 minutes at the Kent Flood Risk and Water Management Committee, an hour on the Growth, Economic Development and Communities Cabinet Committee, and a whopping three hours on the Governance and Audit Committee. Four committee meetings are scheduled for next week, including a full council meeting on 10 July at County Hall. It’s a [relatively sparse agenda](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=113&MId=9528&ref=kentcurrent.news), where councillors will debate whether their allowances should increase to £17,773 or decrease to £16,266, clearly the most significant issue facing Kent currently. Elsewhere, the Greens have submitted a motion on preventing violence against women and girls, while the Lib Dems have submitted one on the blue badge scheme. In another instance of Reform potentially crashing into the reality of what councils actually do, Cllr Kemkaran says she will [unleash her local DOLGE team](https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/reform-led-kent-council-calls-10306936?ref=kentcurrent.news) (not to be confused with the national Reform DOGE team) to tackle the £98m KCC spends on home-to-school taxi services. Thousands of students with disabilities and special educational needs in Kent have such provision as part of their education health care plans. These sorts of services are statutory responsibilities, so it is unclear exactly where the administration will be able to find savings. Finally, regular readers will be familiar with the saga of KCC failing to publish the register of interests for their councillors since the 1 May election, despite being obliged to do so within 28 days. Excitingly, we have some progress with some councillors now having entries on their individual [councillor profile pages](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/mgMemberIndex.aspx?bcr=1&ref=kentcurrent.news). The data started being uploaded last week, but still doesn’t include all councillors. Still, it’s only been 63 days, so maybe we’ll get there in the next few weeks… --- *Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via *hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news* \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* --- #### Kent’s water creaks in the heat You might have noticed it was a bit hot over the past week. [Kent recorded the highest temperature](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/jul/01/hottest-day-of-the-year-recorded-in-uk-says-met-office?ref=kentcurrent.news) of the year in the UK with 33.6°C at Frittenden. As a result of the heat, demand on the network increased by nearly 20%, resulting in the water network collapsing in parts of Kent, with swathes of Herne Bay and Whitstable being left without supply on the hottest days of the year. At one point, up to 7,000 households were left without access to water. South East Water (not to be confused with Southern Water, which supplies other parts of Kent) is responsible for the network in the area and apologised for the outage. Mitigation efforts didn’t go well, with the company closing a bottled water collection point in Whitstable after too many people turned up. Which perhaps shouldn’t have been surprising given the conditions at the time. The issue comes at a time when water supply in Kent is under increasing pressure from both increased demand and a changing climate that makes it harder to maintain. South East Water have plans to [develop a new reservoir](https://www.geplus.co.uk/news/ground-investigations-set-to-begin-for-kents-proposed-broad-oak-reservoir-21-05-2025/?ref=kentcurrent.news) at Broad Oak near Canterbury to shore up supplies, but this won’t be ready until at least 2033\. As summers get hotter, more outages may well be in our future. --- #### In brief 🚓 It’s been a big week for antisocial behaviour in Kent. Residents claim teenagers in Snodland [have been plaguing the town](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/malling/news/it-s-more-than-just-kids-being-town-s-frustration-at-te-326542/?ref=kentcurrent.news). Kent Police [issued dispersal orders](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c784437ml3xo?ref=kentcurrent.news) against 19 people in Whitstable and Herne Bay. Laughing gas cannisters [were seized](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2025/07/01/nitrous-oxide-cannisters-and-balloons-seized-as-kent-police-disperse-large-crowd-on-margate-main-sands/?ref=kentcurrent.news) from a large group dispersed on Margate beach. Finally, East Thanet MP Polly Billington is [holding a public meeting](https://pollybillington.org.uk/2025/07/01/polly-to-host-public-meeting-about-disorder-in-broadstairs/?ref=kentcurrent.news) on the issue following recent disorder in Broadstairs. 🗣️ Canterbury City Council will hold a [special planning committee meeting next week](https://democracy.canterbury.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=553&MId=13946&ref=kentcurrent.news) to decide on a 300-home development in Bekesbourne. Council officers are recommending that the application be approved. 🏗️ A 250-home development north of Faversham has been [granted on appeal](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/faversham/news/david-vs-goliath-battle-lost-as-rejection-of-250-home-esta-326484/?ref=kentcurrent.news) by the Planning Inspectorate. 🏘️ A planning application for 135 new homes and a shop [has been submitted](https://planning.thanet.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=SVWBRFQEHBA00&ref=kentcurrent.news) to Thanet District Council. 📄 [Plans have been submitted](https://publicaccess.dover.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=SXLGH8FZMQ000&ref=kentcurrent.news) for 45 homes and a 66-bed care home south of Sandwich. ✅ Medway Council has [approved a Local Plan](https://www.localauthority.news/p/medway-council-approves-local-plan?ref=kentcurrent.news), which will set the direction of the area until 2041\. It is the first time the council has managed to pass a Local Plan since 2003. 🗳️ A Community Governance Review is set to be launched in Margate with the [intent of creating a town council](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2025/07/02/next-steps-to-be-taken-for-margate-to-establish-a-town-council/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to boost local governance. 🛠️ Dover District Council are set to spend up to £700,000 to undertake [structural repairs on Deal Pier](https://moderngov.dover.gov.uk/documents/s62515/Deal%20Pier%20Report.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news). ⚡ 2km of overhead power cables and poles have been [relocated underground](https://www.energylivenews.com/2025/06/30/kent-historic-views-restored-as-power-lines-go-underground/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to improve views of the Stour Valley around Wye. 🍔 An application by McDonald’s to build a new drive-through outlet at Knights Park in Tunbridge Wells has led to a [torrent of objections](https://twbcpa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=SXSV7QTYGOS00&ref=kentcurrent.news). 🧳 Christ Church Gate, the main entrance to Canterbury Cathedral, could see its upper levels [converted into a short-term holiday let](https://pa.canterbury.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=SXLGHHEAHJS00&ref=kentcurrent.news). 🏎️ Buckmore Park kart racing circuit, just outside Medway, has [gained planning permission for a new 20,000sqft motorsport centre](https://benews.co.uk/kent-karting-circuit-gets-green-light-for-new-20000-sq-ft-motorsport-centre/?ref=kentcurrent.news) with simulators, a restaurant, and a viewing gallery over the circuit. ⛽ KentOnline are wondering why [Canterbury pays so much more for petrol](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/200-a-year-why-are-some-kent-drivers-paying-so-much-more-f-326298/?ref=kentcurrent.news) than the rest of Kent. 👃 Drivers have been baffled by a [mysterious ‘toxic’ smell](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/malling/news/it-might-be-damaging-people-s-health-toxic-smell-at-new-326408/?ref=kentcurrent.news) from a new roundabout near Maidstone. 💷 More than 63,000 Dartford Crossing fines have [been cancelled this year](https://highways-news.com/63000-dartford-crossing-fines-cancelled-in-first-half-of-2025/?ref=kentcurrent.news) following accusations of incorrectly issued penalties. 🔥 Ramsgate Tunnel has been closed for a week following a [vehicle fire inside](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/ramsgate-tunnel-closure-statement?ref=kentcurrent.news), which has caused fire and electrical damage to the route. ⚫ [A man has died after being taken ill](https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2025-06-29/man-dies-after-being-taken-ill-at-drum-and-bass-festival?ref=kentcurrent.news) at Dreamland’s Drum & Bass Festival in Margate last weekend. The event was later abandoned after organisers deemed it too hot to continue. 🌹 The Folkestone Dispatch has [sat down with Folkestone and Hythe MP Tony Vaughan](https://folkestonedispatch.substack.com/p/i-didnt-come-into-politics-to-make) to discuss his first year in office. 🇨🇾 Congratulations to Herne Bay and Sandwich MP, Roger Gale, who updated the parliamentary [register of interests to declare](https://members.parliament.uk/members/commons/interests/publications?ref=kentcurrent.news) that he’s been made an honorary citizen of Cyprus. --- #### Footnotes *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews) *and* [*BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* *If you enjoy the Kent Current, please share it with your friends, family, associates, and even your enemies. We have no meaningful marketing budget, so we rely on word of mouth from our readers to find new readers.* ### “You never feel like you've cracked it” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/you-never-feel-like-youve-cracked/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:55:45.000Z [*Harriet Kemsley*](https://harrietkemsley.com/home?ref=kentcurrent.news) *has just finished her first solo tour and a breakout performance in Amazon Prime’s* [*Last One Laughing*](https://www.primevideo.com/detail/LOL-Last-One-Laughing-UK/0JGA2QEJRARE30NQM0AXSNQWBF?ref=kentcurrent.news)*. We spoke to the Kent comedian about how she got into stand-up, her experiences on LOL, her prolific podcasting, having a Wikipedia page, and lots more.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2faabad056-d0d2-4d1f-a6e3-c3363f96a119_4425x3319-jpeg-1.jpg) **Let me start by congratulating you for being part of the** [**Daily Mail’s Ideal Woman**](https://www.facebook.com/reel/1212439233717878)**.** Thank you, yeah, that was a big surprise. I don’t know if congratulations is the right thing. **Did you get told about that, or did you discover it?** I was sent it by a couple of friends with crying face laughing emojis. That's how I found out about it. **Let's start off with the explanation of why we're here. What is your official occupation?** I guess my official occupation is stand-up comedian. That's the thing that I've been doing for 14 years, and that I do most nights. It's also the thing I always see as the day job. It's the thing I can always come back to. Other things crop up that are fun and weird and exciting. But the nice thing is I can always come back to stand-up, and that can be something I can keep working on and trying to get better at. You never feel like you've cracked it. It's painful and great in that way. They thought I should do stand-up. I thought that was crazy. I didn't know anything about stand-up. It was the maddest thing I'd ever heard. They were like, ‘Just go and do it. Bizarre things happen to you that are funny, and you should go talk about it.’ **How did you start? You're from Canterbury, is there a big stand-up scene in Canterbury?** No, not at all. I didn't know anything about stand-up. I did youth theatre at the [Marlowe](https://marlowetheatre.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news). I did a few summers of that, and then I did the National Youth Theatre. Then I did bits of acting, and I wanted to go to drama school, but they kept saying, ‘You need to live more of a life, you're not ready.’ I didn’t know what to do. I just wanted to get started. I went to university, and when I finished, I didn’t know what I was going to do. My mum and dad were watching [Live at the Apollo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live%5Fat%5Fthe%5FApollo%5F%28TV%5Fseries%29?ref=kentcurrent.news), and they thought I should do stand-up. I thought that was crazy. I didn't know anything about stand-up. It was the maddest thing I'd ever heard. They were like, ‘Just go and do it. Bizarre things happen to you that are funny, and you should go talk about it.’ So, I did, and I kept it quiet. Kept it a secret for ages because it felt so embarrassing to let people know that I thought I was funny. It just felt so arrogant. But I loved it. **Do you remember that first gig?** Yeah, it was a gig in central London, and I just felt sick the whole day, like completely sick. I went on stage. It just went fine, and I got some laughs. I came off and thought this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. It was crazy. There's still some comics that I know that were there that night. From that moment, it just became a thing that I did. It was the secret underworld life, where I didn't tell my housemates what I was doing. I sneaked out and would see all these stand-ups that were going between gigs. It was very exciting. **What was the moment when you thought ‘This is my main thing now?’** It took a long time. I kept my day job. I ended up changing a few day jobs, but I would go down one day a week every year for a few years. I think the first time I thought, **‘**Oh my God, I actually could maybe do this’ was six months in. I won a couple of comedy competitions, and I was just so happy to be in the final. I was the happiest person you've ever seen. Then, the fact I won, I couldn’t believe it. And I was like, ‘Oh, maybe this is something that I could do.’ **Is that a challenge? You have this overnight success, you're winning awards, people saying great things, but that's not the same as actually being able to pay the bills?** Yeah, exactly. It's been 14 years. Just the last two months, things have changed. It's crazy. And yeah, I won these competitions, which was amazing, and it gave me a real boost. The problem was then I'd only been going six months, and I didn't have much material, and I was thrown into these late night club nights, and I just completely bombed. I'd be talking about stuff that was weird and a bit inappropriate maybe for people on a night out, and I just bombed around the country for years, and sometimes it would go great, and sometimes it would go terribly, and it was just so confusing. I just had no idea how to make it consistent. I took years to work out how to package myself. I think I also looked very young, and I was clearly very nervous, and that made people so uncomfortable. If it worked from the beginning, then they'd be like, ‘Oh, we get it, she's funny.’ But if they didn't, they'd be like, ‘What is happening? Why is this young girl on stage? And she looks like she's having a breakdown.’ **Part of the modern life of the comedian is the world of the panel show. What was the first one of those you got?** I had just turned 30, and I got an [8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8%5FOut%5Fof%5F10%5FCats%5FDoes%5FCountdown?ref=kentcurrent.news). I tried out for it maybe three years in a row. And it had always gone quite well, but I'd never got through. You have like run-throughs where all the comics try out for it. And it's very stressful as everyone is in these run-throughs. People are just trying to get heard, and they're trying to get their slot. They all went well, but I never quite got it. Then, I got this one, and that was a really big step for me. **You said on** [**Hypothetical**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypothetical%5F%28TV%5Fseries%29?ref=kentcurrent.news) **that you lie to everybody. How much can we trust your answers in this interview?** I think what I mean by that is I am always trying to be polite and nice, and that is slightly exhausting… I'm so sorry, my dog needs to go outside. *(Harriet disappears to take care of the dog. I mean, that’s what she said, and who wouldn’t believe her…)* **Hello again. Last One Laughing was a big success. Was there a process of application for that, or are you at a stage now where you were invited to take part?** Yeah, they're the company that makes *(8 Out of 10)* Cats Does Countdown, Zeppotron, and they've been absolutely amazing to me. Yeah, I was very much the newer person in it, and I'm so grateful to them that they had me in it for sure. **How much of that was prepared? You had your big number, were you given any guidance, or did you have to come up with a surprise?** Yeah, you have a few days. I worked with a couple of comics and just talked through ideas. Then you try and have a few things that you've got in your locker, and you don't end up using half of them. But the divorce letter was something that I brought along that I'd thought about before. Then you've got these things that you can bring out. You also have to try and just relax and enjoy it, and be present in the moment. It's a mix. **What for you was the hardest moment?** It was any of the one-on-one bits. Like those were the bits that I crumbled because to look someone in the eyes is so hard. That's why I went with [Nick ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick%5FMohammed?ref=kentcurrent.news)[*(Mohammed)*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick%5FMohammed?ref=kentcurrent.news), I went with [Jimmy ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy%5FCarr?ref=kentcurrent.news)[*(Carr)*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy%5FCarr?ref=kentcurrent.news), with everybody, because it's just the pressure and it just builds and builds and builds, and there's nothing you can do. Also, [Lou ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou%5FSanders?ref=kentcurrent.news)[*(Sanders)*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou%5FSanders?ref=kentcurrent.news) was very hard because Lou is a very close friend of mine, and she catches you off guard. I'd have to sometimes just walk away from her, and I'd be like, ‘Lou, I can't. I can't do it, we'll talk afterwards.’ Then [Richard ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard%5FAyoade?ref=kentcurrent.news)[*(Ayoade)*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard%5FAyoade?ref=kentcurrent.news) as well. He was really on the front foot and just seemed unbreakable. I'm really proud that it seemed he was a little bit on the edge with the divorce letter. That was a very proud moment of mine. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Can Manston flights get off the ground again? URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/can-manston-flights-get-off-the-ground/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:55:46.000Z *Could flights take off from Manston Airport once again? That’s the plan of one company with big ambitions to see 10,000 flights running from the site by 2033\. But just how feasible is it? We look at the plans and their prospects below. Further down, we have news on what’s been happening at Kent County Council this week, look at which Kent Labour MPs joined a major rebellion against the government, news in brief, and lots more.* --- #### Can Manston flights get off the ground again? Since Manston Airport shut its doors to commercial flights in May 2014, it has become one of Thanet’s most hotly debated plots of land. To some, it’s a strategic national asset waiting for its renaissance. To others, it’s a windswept lorry park with delusions of grandeur that’s seen more boot fairs than passengers in the last decade. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2feefd97b9-dbe5-447a-aebf-39f03986d220_2500x1406-jpeg-1.jpg) The site’s history is certainly busy, if not always successful. RAF Manston once served as a key airfield in both world wars, and later as a civil airport, it watched a procession of short-lived operators come and go. Brief dalliances with EUjet, Flybe, and KLM tried to position the airport as a budget airline hub, but little seemed to stick. By April 2014, Manston’s last scheduled flight took off. Since then, the closest thing to an international movement at Manston has been rows of lorries parked during covid or production companies using the old terminal for film productions. Enter [RiverOak Strategic Partners](https://rsp.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news), who bought the site in 2019 and immediately set about plotting a revival, but not by chasing after low-cost airlines. The new pitch is freight, and lots of it. Their plan, immortalised in planning applications, press releases, and a fancy website, is to transform Manston into a freight-focused operation with hopes of seeing up to 10,000 cargo flights a year within five years of reopening. That’s roughly 27 landings or take-offs a day, which would be a significant jump from the current baseline of zero. The legal and bureaucratic dance required to make this happen has been lengthy. Because of the airport’s size and ambitions, RiverOak needed a Development Consent Order, a sort of government permission slip for major national infrastructure projects. The DCO was first approved in July 2020, promptly challenged and overturned in court, and then reissued in August 2022 after a further review. Not to be outdone, campaigners brought yet another legal challenge, but in May 2024, the Court of Appeal dismissed it. At last count, the DCO is now in force, and RiverOak, in theory, has permission to start turning their blueprints into reality. So what are the plans? The official documents detail a phased redevelopment of the airport. The first step is resurfacing the 2.7km runway and building new cargo stands, followed by a 65,500sqm cargo terminal, a new control tower, maintenance hangars, and more. The aim is not just to shift boxes, but to eventually reintroduce passenger flights, flight training, business aviation, and every conceivable aviation-adjacent job, should demand appear. RiverOak claim Manston’s rebirth could create 2,150 direct on-site jobs by the fifth year of operation, with the potential for over 13,000 more in the wider economy through supply chains and service industries. Kent County Council and Thanet District Council have tentatively welcomed the plans. There also remain questions about just how viable the proposals are. Much depends on growth projections being met and airlines, logistics companies, and a robust post-Brexit import and export market all turning up on cue. No airline has publicly confirmed a plan to relaunch flights from Manston, so dreams of a cheap weekend trip from Europe may remain just that for now. Then there’s the small matter of the neighbours. Communities in Ramsgate, Minster, and Cliffsend are keenly interested in what happens next. Local campaigners, including the long-running No Night Flights group, have raised concerns about noise, pollution, and the impact of HGVs on already battered local roads. RiverOak’s answer, spelt out in the DCO and supporting documents, is that no routine scheduled flights will take off or land between 11pm and 7am, though exceptions for delays and emergencies will exist just in case a cargo operator can’t keep to time. Environmental impact is another sticking point. RiverOak have promised the airport’s own operations will be “net zero,” though much depends on details still being finalised and on broader decarbonisation across the aviation industry. The Planning Inspectorate’s own examining panel was sceptical of the business case for a new UK freight airport, recommending refusal, but the government gave Manston the nod regardless. RiverOak suggests construction could start in early 2027, with the first flights possible by 2028 if funding, licensing, and infrastructure all slot neatly into place. Before then, an [airshow is planned this August](https://www.manstoninternationalairshow.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news), billed as a last chance to see Manston in its present form. This assumes, of course, that there are no further twists in a tale that already has more than enough. For now, the runway remains quiet. Whether Manston finally becomes a cargo hub or simply adds another chapter to its saga of reinvention is anyone’s guess, but it does feel like a return to flights from the airport might be closer than they’ve been in a while. --- *Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via *hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news* \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* --- #### The week in Kent County Council *The latest in an ongoing series on what is (or isn’t) happening at Kent County Council this week…* - Following [our reporting last week](https://www.kentcurrent.news/whats-not-happening-at-kcc-this-week/) about the councillor register of interests not being completed and published within the 28 day period, KCC told us that “all members submitted their Register of Interests to the Monitoring Officer within 28 days of being elected.” They went on to tell us that they will be published “in due course.” Which is a sort of progress, even if we are now 56 days after the election. - Big news for democracy fans, as KCC might actually have some committee meetings taking place next week. After two months of everything being cancelled, [only two of next week’s six scheduled meetings](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk:9071/mgCalendarMonthView.aspx?XXR=0&M=7&DD=2025&ACT=Go&&ref=kentcurrent.news) have been cancelled or postponed. - In this week’s baffling Reform DOGE claim of the week, Zia Yusuf [announced that KCC spends £100m a year](https://www.thenewworld.co.uk/rats-in-a-sack-reforms-fantasy-numbers-simply-kent-be-serious/?ref=kentcurrent.news) on people working from home. It is unclear where that figure comes from and no evidence has been provided to back it up. - The government has rebuffed efforts from new KCC Leader Linden Kemkaran to delay the timeline for local government reorganisation in Kent. Cllr Kemkaran wrote to the government and said that the existing November timeline would be “almost impossible” to meet, but said that she had received a “[hard no](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cql0d1951n9o?ref=kentcurrent.news)” from Local Government Minister Jim McMahon. --- #### Kent MPs prepare to rebel for the first time The government has been facing its first serious rebellion since taking office last year, with Labour MPs coming out against their own government’s plans for significant reductions to disability and sickness-related benefits. Labour took 11 Kent constituencies at last year’s General Election, though their number of MPs in the county has since fallen to ten after Canterbury’s Rosie Duffield resigned the whip to sit as an independent. Of the ten Labour MPs in Kent, four have publicly chosen to rebel on the welfare reforms, [adding their names to an amendment](https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/labour-mps-rebel-full-list-b1234791.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) that would likely stop the plans from progressing through Parliament. Polly Billington (East Thanet), Lauren Edwards (Rochester and Strood), Kevin McKenna (Sittingbourne and Sheppey), and Tony Vaughan (Folkestone and Hythe) all chose to come out against the plans. It does appear that the rebels have been successful in their efforts, with the [Guardian reporting tonight](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jun/26/starmer-offers-massive-concessions-on-welfare-bill-to-labour-rebels?ref=kentcurrent.news) that the government is offering massive concessions on their plans to get the bill through. We’ll find out by next week whether it’s been enough to bring them back onside. --- #### In brief 🗣️ Medway Council will vote on [whether to publish its new Local Plan at a special full council meeting tonight](https://www.localauthority.news/p/we-might-actually-get-a-local-plan?ref=kentcurrent.news). The area has been without a Local Plan since the previous one expired in 2011. 📒 Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council have published their [masterplan framework for regenerating the east of the town centre](https://democracy.tmbc.gov.uk//ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=146&MId=5977&ref=kentcurrent.news). The report, scheduled to be debated next week, would see existing car parks and the Angel Leisure Centre replaced by over 120 new homes, a new leisure centre, healthcare facilities, a hotel, and a new river park. 🏚️ Higher council tax levies on second homes in Folkestone & Hythe are set to generate more than £2m. [Data obtained by the Folkestone Dispatch](https://folkestonedispatch.substack.com/p/revealed-the-number-of-second-homes) shows that nearly 900 second homes currently exist within the district. 💷 The government has identified Park Wood and Senacre estates in Maidstone to [receive ‘trailblazer neighbourhood’ funding](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/this-is-a-pleasant-surprise-housing-estates-handed-20m-t-326026/?ref=kentcurrent.news) for a £20m scheme. No one knows what it means or how much the area will get, but everyone seems very happy. 🚓 Business owners in Broadstairs have raised concerns about [anti-social behaviour in the town](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2gp15e7qzo?ref=kentcurrent.news), following incidents with large groups of teenagers fighting and damaging property. 🚒 A fire in Rainham caused [significant damage to rail signalling systems](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp90yzn2zeko?ref=kentcurrent.news) on Tuesday, leading to more than 24 hours of service disruption. ☢️ New Romney Marsh councillor David Wimble is calling for the government to [build a small modular nuclear reactor at Dungeness](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3vdx7p1l4po?ref=kentcurrent.news). The government previously deemed the location unsuitable, but is now on a renewed push to introduce the technology. 👷 The Environment Agency has started an operation to [remove 30,000 tonnes of waste illegally dumped](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/environment-agency-launches-clean-up-operation-at-hoads-wood?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Hoads Wood near Ashford. More than 50 specialist workers have been deployed as part of the process. 🛟 The RNLI is set to begin work on a new [£3.5m lifeboat station in Margate](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2025/06/19/rnli-plan-for-3-5m-new-build-margate-lifeboat-station-construction-designs-and-how-to-get-involved/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🚶‍➡️ Natural England has opened a [28-mile walking route around the Isle of Sheppey](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/royal-step-around-the-isle-of-sheppey?ref=kentcurrent.news). The project feeds into a wider 2,700-mile England Coastal Path that is still being developed. 🦡 A Kent wildlife charity says it has been [inundated with badgers](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg914y07ggo?ref=kentcurrent.news) this year. Folly Wildlife Rescue near Tunbridge Wells says warm weather and increased traffic accidents have led to the surge. 🦋 A moth thought to be extinct in England has been [rediscovered at a nature reserve near Dover](https://www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk/news/lets-twist-again-extinct-moth-rediscovered-england-kent-wildlife-trust-reserve-after-73-years?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🪖 Historic wartime [tunnels beneath the White Cliffs of Dover have been unearthed](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kmtv/video/historic-wartime-tunnels-unearthed-beneath-the-white-cliffs-of-dover-63381/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🪂 An idiot has been spotted [throwing himself off the same cliffs](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dover/news/footage-shows-daredevil-s-crazy-white-cliffs-stunt-326223/?ref=kentcurrent.news) with a parachute. 👩 Equality charity Power of Women Thanet is [set to close after ten years](https://www.powthanet.com/pownews/2025/6/19/we-have-an-announcement?ref=kentcurrent.news), describing their position as ‘unsustainable’ in an ‘increasingly challenging funding environment.’ 🖼️ Two Kent museums are [shortlisted in the Family Friendly Museum Awards](https://museumsandheritage.com/advisor/posts/family-friendly-museum-award-2025-shortlist-announced/?ref=kentcurrent.news). The Amelia Scott Museum in Tunbridge Wells is up for Best Medium Museum, while the Beaney in Canterbury is up for Best Accessible Museum. 🎬 Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon have been [filming scenes for the latest series of The Trip in Kent](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/rob-brydon-and-steve-coogan-in-town-as-tv-show-comes-to-ken-326224/?ref=kentcurrent.news). The actors descended on a coffee shop in Reculver to record for their upcoming Trip to the Northern Lights. 🎞️ Little White Lies has been exploring Whitstable and the [ongoing influence of actor Peter Cushing on the town](https://lwlies.com/journeys/peter-cushing-lives-on-in-whitstable?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🏡 A unique bungalow near Maidstone, built in a modernist style inspired by Frank Lloyd-Wright in the 1970s, is up for sale for £1m. [It looks delightful](https://www.standard.co.uk/homesandproperty/property-news/1970s-bungalow-frank-lloyd-wright-maidstone-b1234678.html?ref=kentcurrent.news). --- #### More Currents Coming up on Sunday, our big weekend interview is with Kent comedian and star of Amazon’s Last One Laughing, Harriet Kemsley. We talk about her route into comedy, her experiences on that show, her personal life playing out in the public eye, and lots more. As ever, our big interviews are exclusive to our paid supporters, so please consider upgrading if you haven’t already. [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup) --- #### Footnotes *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews) *and* [*BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* *If you enjoy the Kent Current, please share it with your friends, family, associates, and even your enemies. We have no meaningful marketing budget, so we rely on word of mouth from our readers to find new readers.* ### College seeks to reconnect with former students URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/college-seeks-to-reconnect-with-former/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:55:48.000Z *A Kent college aims to build new connections and provide opportunities for past students with the creation of an alumni network. We’ve been speaking to the man behind it to learn more. Further down, we have news of a new series of silent films mixed with modern albums coming to Kent cinemas, details of a songwriting workshop with folk trio the Ashen Keys, some important library news, upcoming Kent events, and more.* --- #### College seeks to reconnect with former students *MidKent College has launched a new* [*Alumni Network*](https://www.midkent.ac.uk/about-us/alumni?ref=kentcurrent.news) *to build new connections, support lifelong learning, and provide opportunities for past students to stay engaged with the college. We met with Deputy CEO Chris Hare at their Medway Campus to learn more…* In his own words, Chris Hare has a broad remit at MidKent College. “An eclectic mix of responsibility” including HR function, payroll, marketing communications, apprenticeships, IT and data protection. What Chris does day to day, “because I have amazing managers that do the work,” is spend a lot of my time on external relations. “I work effectively alongside the CEO, Simon Cook, to manage stakeholders and to work with stakeholders across the region.” Chris is on his third stint at MidKent College. He was there as a student, on the former Horsted site in Chatham. After working for a number of years in engineering, he joined MidKent in 1994, working in various roles. “I had about five different promotions,” before becoming Director of Business Development. Chris then left to work for West Kent College and Kent Further Education, before returning to MidKent ten years ago. As both an alumnus of the college and the lead on their new Alumni Network, why does he feel there is such a strong connection to the college? “It's such a friendly place, a friendly place to learn.” Chris stayed in touch with his tutors from his time there. “It's an inclusive college and I really felt at home here.” As an employer, Chris recognises these same aspects brought him back to work there twice. “I've had happy years working here, and I work with amazing people.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f056bb2d3-2402-4ce4-bae7-d80c79c38083_3680x2496-jpeg-1.jpg) A recent Stakeholder Celebration event at MidKent College. The Alumni Network is Chris’ brainchild. “I've been wanting to do this for a number of years. The turning point for me was when I sparked real interest from ex-students that reached out to me via LinkedIn.” They had studied with Chris and shared fond reminiscences of the college, and wanted to reconnect. Chris spoke with the college’s governing body to ensure that the network would succeed. As a result, the project was linked to raising MidKent’s profile as an organisation. That ensured that funds were put behind the project, and they were able to create a role that now effectively runs the alumni service. MidKent’s aim is to “use it as a way to reconnect with our student population,” and there are a number of reasons why. “Reconnecting is a good thing, and it's a good way of keeping in touch with how our students progress.” Chris recognises the need to utilise people in business in their day-to-day operations, from work experience, work placements, guest speakers, and lecturers. “We find those external relations are important to the running of the college.” The college sees the alumni network as a great way of engaging with people who “already knew us, had an affinity with us, had a connection.” In the first week, the network has had over 200 people sign up, and those people have come from all parts of the world. “People who have emigrated to Australia, America and some obviously closer to home in the Medway Towns and Maidstone.” The college is developing a goodie bag for people who sign up, something that's environmentally friendly, “because of course our green credentials are really important to us and very sincere to us.” Once people have signed up, the team connect with them, and as well as the goodie bag, there are engagement events planned for the future. These are likely to be sector-oriented, based on the sector they qualified in, and the sector they are now work in. “We will then bring them together, where we can reconnect, but also introduce them to our current student population.” Somebody becomes eligible to join the network from the day that they leave the college, though with the network fresh, some students have joined before officially leaving. “We're going to be focusing on working with the students that are due to leave us, to gain that connection.” Chris wants them to leave their details and maintain that relationship as they go forward. Whether through university, into employment, or through apprenticeships. “We can plot their journey, because their destination is really important to us.” As well as enabling them to measure the success of qualifications, “actually where they end up, what they do and how they benefit society and how they reach their ambition is important.” “FE has a real place in society, and I think people arrive at the college where opportunities haven't allayed themselves up to that point.” Chris sees the ability of the college to transform lives. “I'd hope that our alumni would look back with fond memories about what part we played in that journey.” Despite some outliers, early data suggests that many alumni have not gone far from that starting point, “which actually is interesting as well and helpful to the local economy,” with the college focused on developing skills in people for local jobs. Alumni of the college have included Simon Ryan, who works for Wilmot Dixon, a developer, who has had an illustrious career working for organisations including Locate in Kent. Sarah Howard MBE, who studied A-Levels at City Way, is currently the British Chamber of Commerce chair. Steven Grix, a brick-laying student who returned years later to be the college's principal. And this writer, who graduated from Media Production in 2000 and 25 years later is writing a story about the place. *To learn more about the Alumni Network or to join, you can* [*visit the MidKent College website here*](https://www.midkent.ac.uk/about-us/alumni?ref=kentcurrent.news)*.* --- #### Silent Synced is coming to the UK *Josh Frank is the owner of an independent drive-in cinema in Austin, Texas. We spoke to him about* [*Silent Synced*](https://www.silentsynced.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, an exciting new project that is coming to the UK later this year…* Silent Synched was first created in Josh’s home office. He has been the owner of his drive-in arthouse theatre for 15 years. “Playing the content I want,” but also “seeing the change in the industry, the pandemic, streaming, the writer's strike. Every time there was a content squeeze, it was scary and frustrating.” That led to his thought experiment: Can small cinema owners take content into their own hands and create something interesting, original and appealing that other cinemas would also want to play? Josh started tinkering around in his home office and created a technique for making new interpretations of old classic silent cinema. Josh edited the film to modern music albums. “I made a couple of them and a friend of mine urged me to send them to the management of the bands,” to see if the bands would approve of what he had done. Josh had started by searching through famous, and some obscure, silent films that were 100 years old and in the public domain. “Then I put my headphones on and started going through all my favourite rock bands’ albums to see which paired well.” Josh went through them and figured out his own techniques for “shaving off seconds from the dialogue boxes to make them hit harder with the beats.” Once he had this content, he took his friend’s advice and contacted the bands. “Each band got back to me relatively quickly and said, ‘We think this is really cool.’” The first band to respond was a small indie band called Radiohead. Their albums Amnesiac and Kid A have been synced with the silent film Nosferatu. “I thought that would be the biggest long shot,” but it was a shot that worked. This experience will be the first Silent Synced performance to make it to the UK this October. Other bands include the Pixies, They Might Be Giants, and REM. The latter has been synced with Buster Keaton’s Sherlock Jr and will be in UK cinemas next year. Having worked with independent movie distributors in the United States, he contacted those who he thought would be supportive of the project and contacted CineLife at the Art House Convergence Conference two years ago. “I said, ‘I’ve got this thing that I want you to consider.’ Immediately they were like, ‘We're in.’” Through them, Josh was able to contact CinemaLive in the UK. “I had people coming out of the premieres in the US and LA, being like, ‘Huge Radiohead fan, this was the coolest thing and I'd never seen a silent movie before in my life.’” *Cinemas across Kent will be screening Silent Synced films. To find out more about this project and other events that CinemaLive support,* [*click here*](https://www.cinemalive.com/movies/in-cinemas?lat=53.3382&lon=-6.2591&sortDesc=true&ref=kentcurrent.news)*.* --- #### Library news Should you need a book from a library they don’t have in stock, the good news is that you can order it via the [SELMS](https://selms.spydus.co.uk/docs/SELMS/home.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) system, which will reserve the book at any participating library in the southeast and deliver the book for you to collect from your local library. The less-than-good news is that the non-refundable reservation charge to order a book through SELMS has increased by a third from £3 to £4\. The powers in charge told us that the increase for this financial year was the first since April 2013\. The charge contributes towards staff time, packaging and transportation costs, but doesn’t cover the whole expense. For the year ending March 2025, 1,808 items were requested by Kent borrowers via SELMS, and 159 items were supplied to SELMS borrowers. We were also curious about this story in the Guardian about [requests to libraries to remove books](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/apr/14/librarians-in-uk-increasingly-asked-to-remove-books-as-influence-of-us-pressure-groups-spreads?ref=kentcurrent.news). Kent County Council told us that they have only had one request in the last year (and before that, nothing for many years), which was to remove copies of Zombie by Steve Barlow and Steve Skidmore, a children’s fiction book. The book was not removed as it was in the appropriate age category as recommended by the publisher. --- #### Write songs with the Ashen Keys [*Marshy Mudflats and the Call of the Curlew*](https://www.visitchurches.org.uk/whats-on/marshy-mud-flats-and-the-call-of-the-curlew-in-higham?ref=kentcurrent.news) *is a 10-day exhibition at St. Mary’s Church in Higham, organised by local artist Fiona Spirals as part of the* [*Estuary Festival*](https://www.estuaryfestival.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news)*. Rachel Lowrie and Vicky Price of the* [*Ashen Keys*](https://www.theashenkeys.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *will hold a songwriting workshop as part of that exhibition. We spoke to Rachel to find out more…* “We've taken inspiration from nature and from Fiona's work. Fiona's going to have poetry displayed, and it will be a celebration of the exhibition.” The workshops will enable people to craft songs and look at the processes Vicky and Rachel use to inspire songwriting and focus on place. Rachel has been friends with Fiona for some time and has watched the exhibition evolve. “An ongoing conversation about the importance of the marsh, the local habitat, the stories from the marsh, the river… The peninsula where she lives is caught between both rivers.” In Rachel’s mind, this unique and beautiful place on the Thames Estuary connects Medway to wider parts of Kent. The Ashen Keys performed at St Mary's Church last year, so already felt a connection with the exhibition space. “It's such a beautiful church. The pulpit is this beautiful wooden work. Even the front door is an absolute thing of beauty.” Even if you can’t make the exhibition, Rachel is enthusiastic that people should visit the church regardless. Vicky and Rachel have held the songwriting workshop before at Swale Wassail. Vicky also has many years’ experience as an educator within the cultural sector. “I cannot wait to see the actual exhibition and be writing some songs with participants in the space as well.” Participants do not need to have any previous experience with songwriting, as there will be a variety of tasks to suit different levels. All are welcome from those who “fancy having a go, someone who's just finding their sea legs with songwriting or someone that's looking for a bit of a challenge.” Rachel wants to highlight that the toilet facilities are basic. “When Fiona checked yesterday, there were two little baby owls nesting in the toilet space,” though they are due to be rehomed before the exhibition. If it's hot, bring water, but also bring a notebook, a pen and “bring your creative soul.” The two-hour workshop is on Saturday 28 June from 11am to 1pm, with tickets ranging from £10 for those unwaged to £20 for those waged. “Very happy for people to take the ticket that's appropriate. And obviously we're not going to know who's got what” *You can* [*book tickets for the Ashen Keys songwriting workshop here*](https://www.seetickets.com/event/the-ashen-keys-song-writing-workshop/st-mary-s-church/3430181?ref=kentcurrent.news)*.* --- #### Upcoming Kent events 🏳️‍🌈 Sat 21 Jun - [**Pride Ashford**](https://www.prideashford.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Inclusive celebration of Ashford’s LGBTQIA+ community and its allies with a full day of activities. Ashford Town Centre. Free. 🌊 21 - 29 Jun - [**Estuary Festival**](https://www.estuaryfestival.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Extensive lineup of arts events on both sides of the Thames Estuary, with Kent events in Gravesham, Medway, and Sheppey. Free. ⚓ 25 - 30 Jun - [**Nao Santa María**](https://tickets.velacuadra.es/selection/timeslotpass?productId=10229405979118&lang=en&ref=kentcurrent.news) // Explore a replica of Columbus’ ship that visited America in 1492\. Gravesend Town Pier. Tickets £10. 🖥️ Sat 28 Jun - [**Crash Festival**](https://www.wearecrash.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Day-long program featuring talks from designers and creative professionals. The Ashford Cinema. Tickets £25. 🎸 Sat 28 Jun - [**Careful Now Medway Foodbank Fundraiser**](https://wegottickets.com/event/651910?ref=kentcurrent.news) // All day festival of music featuring excellent indiepop bands, including Tugboat Captain. Oast Community Centre, Rainham. Tickets £18. 🎸 Wed 2 Jul - [**Crywank + support**](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/crywank-support-live-at-three-sheets-tickets-1301232343969?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Anti-folk trio play special summer show in Rochester. Three Sheets to the Wind, Rochester. Tickets £15. --- #### More Currents Earlier this week, we [reported on the latest happenings (or not) at Kent County Council](https://www.kentcurrent.news/whats-not-happening-at-kcc-this-week/), whose new Reform administration seems slow off the mark in getting things done. The longer things go on, the more questions start to be raised about precisely what is going on at County Hall. [What’s (not) happening at KCC this week?It’s been another odd week at Kent County Council, where accusations of inactivity have plagued the new Reform administration. Little this week will do much to dispel that perception. We’ve got the latest on what’s been (not) happening below. Further down, we have news of the Lower Thames Crossing edging closer with new funding, Kent residents recognise…![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f8d4a4c7f-19fc-4e7c-87d7-4ed0b87571a5_567x567-15.png)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f9de2964e-6a36-4dbd-b4c8-ebd0683440e7_2500x1406-jpeg.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/whats-not-happening-at-kcc-this-week/) We can only do this sort of journalism thanks to our readers who fund it by becoming [paid supporters](#/portal/signup). Please [consider joining them](#/portal/signup) if you haven’t already. [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup) --- #### Footnotes *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews) *and* [*BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* *If you enjoy Local Authority, please share it with your friends, family, associates, and enemies. We have no meaningful marketing budget, so we rely on word of mouth from our readers to find new readers.* ### What’s (not) happening at KCC this week? URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/whats-not-happening-at-kcc-this-week/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:55:50.000Z *It’s been another odd week at Kent County Council, where accusations of inactivity have plagued the new Reform administration. Little this week will do much to dispel that perception. We’ve got the latest on what’s been (not) happening below. Further down, we have news of the Lower Thames Crossing edging closer with new funding, Kent residents recognised on the King’s Birthday Honours List, our news in brief roundup, and more.* --- #### What’s (not) happening at KCC this week? Another week, another weird week of Kent County Council’s new Reform administration. Look, we’d rather not be writing about the inaction of a county council every single week, but it’s where we are, so we’re just going to have to get through it together. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f9de2964e-6a36-4dbd-b4c8-ebd0683440e7_2500x1406-jpeg-2.jpg) Given the ongoing cancellation or postponement of KCC committee meetings, we are approaching nearly two straight months of Reform being in office with only one full council meeting under their watch. Based on the KCC calendar, the first committee meetings that could take place will be in the first week of July, but of course, there is still time to cancel or postpone those. So just what is going on? A Freedom of Information request from a member of the public raises an interesting question: **Have some Kent county councillors not even signed their Declaration of Acceptance of Office yet?** The declaration is a legal requirement that must be carried out before any newly elected councillor can serve in the role. It’s usually done pretty quickly after an election, but for some reason, KCC are being cagey about whether or not all KCC councillors have indeed done this. A [Freedom of Information request from Jon Patience](https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/declarations%5Fof%5Facceptance%5Fof%5Fof?ref=kentcurrent.news) on 13 May asked KCC whether all councillors had signed, the names of any councillors that hadn’t, and for copies of their declarations. On paper, this should be a straightforward request for a functioning council. Public bodies have 20 working days to respond to FOI requests, but Mr Patience still hadn’t received a reply by 12 June. Following up, he was told that “I am very sorry but your request is taking longer to complete than our officers anticipated” and that “the team who hold the requested information are doing everything they can to resolve this delay, but in the meantime, please accept my apologies for the delay and any inconvenience this may have caused you.” Now, delays do happen, but this is usually when a request is complicated or requires gathering substantial amounts of information. Mr Patience’s request should be easy for a council to ask, unless, of course, there is some reason that they can’t confirm that all councillors have signed their declaration. Of course, any councillors who haven’t would be in trouble if they were found to be acting as a councillor by turning up to council meetings or carrying out any official business. A week later, Mr Patience still hasn’t received a response to his FOI. He informed KCC yesterday that he was escalating the matter to the Information Commissioner’s Office, which oversees data disclosures. It’ll be interesting to see whether that manages to prod KCC into action or not… **No sign of any Register of Interests yet either** As reported previously, councils are legally required to publish a full Register of Interests for all elected councillors within 28 days of their election. It has now been 49 days since Kent’s county elections, and there has been no sign of any Register of Interests since then. We requested a copy of the Register from KCC on 4 June, 34 days after the election, and were told on the same day that they “will come back” on the matter. We have heard nothing since then, despite following up on our request again this week. Like the data on declarations, providing a Register of Interests should be easy for a council, given all councillors are obliged to provide the data soon after taking office. That KCC are either unable or unwilling to do so raises serious concerns about transparency within the organisation. **Less than half of Reform councillors turn up for training** This week, KCC provided training on planning applications for all councillors due to sit on KCC’s Planning Committee. This training is required before a councillor can take part in planning decisions. Given that one planning meeting has already been cancelled, and another one is coming up on 9 July, one might consider getting councillors trained to be something of a priority for any political party. Or perhaps not. A source within KCC tells us that of the nine Reform councillors chosen to sit on the committee, only four bothered to turn up for the training. **Return of the DOGE** We know it can be hard to keep up with the comings and goings of DOGE, Reform’s Elon Musk-inspired team that seems to consist of ~~Reform Chair~~ ~~former Reform Chair~~ team leader Zia Yusuf and delightful and trustworthy (and incredibly litigious) millionaire Arron Banks. After they swept into KCC a couple of weeks ago before quickly falling apart after Yusuf resigned, the ‘group’ seems to be active again this week, with Yusuf tweeting more claims about spending at KCC designed to rile up just the right sort of people. This week, his outrage was about an ‘asylum budget’ at KCC that was paying for TV licences and trips to bowling alleys, cinemas, and trampolining for asylum seekers. As is often the case, he provided no data to back this, while certain news outlets were happy to parrot the unverified claims. Digging a little deeper, KCC doesn’t appear to have an ‘asylum budget,’ and Yusuf instead seems to be angry about money that is spent on children in the care system, which is where unaccompanied child asylum seekers end up. Something that would apply to both child asylum seekers and any other children in the care system. Mike Martin, the Liberal Democrat MP for Tunbridge Wells, responded to Yusuf by pointing this out, while referring to Reform’s efforts as a ‘clown show.’ Who knows what the party will turn up next week. --- *Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via *hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news* \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* --- #### Lower Thames Crossing edges forward The government pledged £590m toward the Lower Thames Crossing this week, in a move supposed to get the project going, even if the figure is far short of the £10bn or so that will supposedly be needed to complete it. The project, which has already cost over £1.2bn without anything being built, is a key infrastructure project for the government, which intends to build it primarily using private finance. However, there is no clear sign of that happening just yet. Still, it marks some more movement toward the project getting built, and Treasury Minister Emma Reynolds went on to LBC to excitedly talk about the project. She was eager to talk about how the project will relieve the “Dartmouth Tunnel,” which raised the eyebrow of presenter Nick Ferrari. Where will the crossing connect to? “I can’t recall.” How much will it cost? “Quite a lot of money.” There is a political art in answering questions without being too specific, but this might take things too far. As ever, where the government gives, the government taketh away. Ministers announced this week that the price of the Dartford Crossing will increase to £3.50 for cars (from £2.50 now) from September, as the current charge was “no longer sufficient” to manage demand. It is unclear how demand is supposed to be managed, given there are no alternative routes that don’t involve driving around London and no public transport options to cross between Kent and Essex, but here we are. --- #### Kent figures recognised by the crown This country's honours system is an archaic institution, and doesn’t necessarily represent a great deal. That said, multiple residents of Kent and figures within the county were on the recent Birthday Honours List. Names from across the county were recognised across a wide range of fields and disciplines, from health workers to charity fundraisers to racing team principals: **Commanders of the Order of the British Empire (CBE):** - Rosalie Brown, Co-Chief Executive Officer at COOK for services to Former Prisoner Employment (Tonbridge). **Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE):** - Avinderjit Bhatia, Chief Nurse at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust for services to the NHS and Nursing (Tunbridge Wells). - Dr Wayne Campbell, lately Academic Registrar at the University of York for services to Higher Education (Maidstone). - Peter Davies, Director and Owner at Southern Antennae Ltd for services to Charity (Broadstairs). - Richard Jackson, Founder, Gate Safe for services to the Improvement of the Safety of Automated Gates (Canterbury) - Rose-Marie Moore, Advanced Customer Support Senior Leader at the Department of Work and Pensions for services to Vulnerable People (Herne Bay). - Shaun Spiers, Executive Director at Green Alliance, for services to Environmental Policy and Sustainability (Rochester). **Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE):** - Melanie Cooper, Armed Forces Champion at the Department for Work and Pensions for services to the Armed Forces in Kent (Sandwich). - Martin Glasspool, Senior Project Adviser at the Government Office for Science for services to Science in Government (Tunbridge Wells). - Jennifer Hamilton-Woodthorpe, Lead Sponsor, London Underground Major Projects at Transport for London for services to Transport Planning and Accessibility (Canterbury). - John Hayes, Founder, The Axis Foundation for Charitable Services (Swanley). - Mary Mumvuri, Chief Nursing Officer and Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust for services to Mental Health, Learning Disabilities and Autism (Maidstone). - Andrea Scott, Border Force Senior Officer at the Home Office for services to Border Security (Ashford). - Alvin Shaw, Reading Helper and Tutor for services to Education (Maidstone). **Medallists of the Order of the British Empire (BEM):** - Eric Brown for services to the community in Romney Marsh, Kent. - Paul Dennington, Fundraiser at Prostate Cancer UK for services to Fundraising for Prostate Cancer UK (Gillingham). - Gary Hackwell, Volunteer, Duke of Edinburgh Award and Treasurer at Medway Open Award Centre for services to Young People and the community in Medway, Kent (Gillingham). - John Hill, Volunteer Manager at the Royal National Lifeboat Institution for voluntary services to Maritime Safety (Herne Bay). - Peter Homewood, Foster Carer at Bexley Fostering Service for services to Foster Care (Dartford). - Rebekah Homewood, Foster Carer at Bexley Fostering Service for services to Foster Care (Dartford). - Susanna Howard, Founder at Living Words for services to Charity, to Mental Health and to the Arts (Folkestone). - Dr Dudley Hubbard for services to St John Ambulance (Rochester). - John Meehan, Residential County Manager at Kent County Council for services to Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (Ashford). - Anne Thorpe, Member and Advisor at Heathrow Access Advisory Group for services to Accessibility at Airports for Disabled Travellers (Rochester). - Roger Valser, Team Principal at City Racing for services to Education in the Field of Engineering (Longfield). Congratulations to all on their recognition. You can read the complete list of everyone honoured from across the entire country on the [government’s website](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-kings-birthday-honours-list-2025/birthday-honours-list-2025-pm-list-transparency-data-html?ref=kentcurrent.news). --- #### In brief ⛈️ Storms hit the east of the county hard last weekend, with [two months of rain dropping in two hours](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/06/14/homes-flooded-and-roads-turn-to-rivers-after-thunderstorm/?ref=kentcurrent.news). [21 people had to be rehoused](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0eqv73d55eo?ref=kentcurrent.news) following flooding, which also hit Buckland Hospital in Dover. Dover District Council [apologised after ticketing flood-damaged cars](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dover/news/council-branded-disgusting-as-parking-wardens-target-flood-325784/?ref=kentcurrent.news#:~:text=A%20man%20fined%20by%20parking,the%20local%20council%20%E2%80%9Cvery%20disrespectful%E2%80%9D.) that had been swept along roads. Elsewhere, streets in Thanet were flooded, and a manhole cover in Margate was struck by lightning, leading to [sewage overflows on nearby beaches](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2025/06/14/huge-storm-leads-to-flooding-and-sewer-outfall-releases-in-thanet/?ref=kentcurrent.news). Residents in Sandwich are unhappy about parts of the town being flooded, something they blame on [drains already being blocked](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd9093xx4l0o?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🏗️ Plans for the [redevelopment of Folkestone Harbour have finally been given the go-ahead](https://www.bdonline.co.uk/news/a-is-for-architectures-folkestone-harbour-plans-finally-approved/5136586.article?ref=kentcurrent.news) after a previous version was refused earlier this year. The new plans include 400 homes, public spaces, and new retail outlets. 🧑‍⚕️ Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust could make [150 staff members redundant](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/people-are-really-scared-mass-job-losses-looming-for-ho-325865/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to save £36.5m. It is unclear which roles could be lost, but the NHS is famously overstaffed and not struggling at all, so it will almost certainly be fine. 🗄️ Maidstone Borough Council is [set to launch a Community Governance Review](https://maidstone.gov.uk/home/primary-services/council-and-democracy/primary-areas/your-councillors?sq%5Fcontent%5Fsrc=%2BdXJsPWh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGbWVldGluZ3MubWFpZHN0b25lLmdvdi51ayUyRmllTGlzdERvY3VtZW50cy5hc3B4JTNGQ0lkJTNENjU0JTI2TUlkJTNENTY1MCZhbGw9MQ%3D%3D&ref=kentcurrent.news), possibly leading to the creation of a Maidstone Town Council. With local government reorganisation on the way, councils across Kent are scrambling to create new entities that maintain democracy at a local level. 🚗 More than [2,000 drivers have been fined](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/thousands-of-drivers-receive-70-fines-as-bus-gate-cameras-s-325908/?ref=kentcurrent.news) after Kent County Council started enforcing bus gates in Ashford that had been in place for years. 👮 A Kent Police inspector has been [banned from policing](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sittingbourne/news/police-inspector-got-handsy-with-young-female-colleagues-a-325948/?ref=kentcurrent.news) after making unwanted sexual advances toward a colleague. Meanwhile, another officer has [resigned](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/ex-police-officer-would-have-been-sacked-after-drink-drivi-325742/?ref=kentcurrent.news) after being caught drink driving. 🏨 Planning officers at Dartford Borough Council have recommended that a scheme for a [90-bedroom hotel and 39 homes be approved](https://dartford.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s79754/2300940FUL%2052-62%20West%20Hill.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news). The plans would see two blocks built on West Hill in the town centre. 🏘️ Plans have been submitted for [60 new homes behind Swanley's former White Oak Leisure Centre](https://pa.sevenoaks.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=SRXG3BBK0LO00&ref=kentcurrent.news). The proposals include 15 houses and an apartment block of 45 flats on land previously used by the leisure centre, which currently sits empty. 🌳 Ashford Borough Council have launched a [consultation for a giant new park](https://haveyoursay.ashford.gov.uk/qpjp-masterplan?ref=kentcurrent.news) that will run to the south of the town. 🌲 Canterbury City Council have said they are ‘baffled’ after [1,200 residents signed a petition](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/council-baffled-by-petition-to-stop-trees-being-planted-in-325705/?ref=kentcurrent.news) opposing trees being planted… in an orchard. ⚒️ Shelters at the foot of cliffs in Ramsgate are set to be refurbished and opened up to various uses after a [non-profit organisation took them on](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9wgznq84ndo?ref=kentcurrent.news). ⛴️ Kent County Council are to debate a petition calling for the [Gravesend to Tilbury ferry to be reinstated](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/gravesend/news/campaign-to-bring-back-vital-ferry-service-to-be-debated-325685/?ref=kentcurrent.news) after it ceased operation last year. 💨 Trading Standards officers in Kent have [seized over 2,000 disposable vapes](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz6gx9d6nxvo?ref=kentcurrent.news) since the ban on selling them came into effect at the start of the month. More than 80 businesses have been visited as part of the ongoing operation. 📣 An artist staged a [live installation in Canterbury](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/dead-babies-display-shocks-shoppers-in-kent-high-street-325901/?ref=kentcurrent.news) on Saturday to protest the veal industry. Stephanie Lane’s work included masked people standing in lab coats holding dead babies. 🐦 Bird flu has been confirmed in a [dead seagull found at Botany Bay](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckg7rz5j27vo?ref=kentcurrent.news) near Margate. ⚽ KentOnline has been investigating the amount of [violence involved with Kent football](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/brawls-referees-attacked-and-sideline-punch-ups-is-violen-325759/?ref=kentcurrent.news) at all levels. 🧢 Herne Bay is apparently being overrun by ‘[wannabe gangsters](https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/kent-town-residents-living-fear-10263332?ref=kentcurrent.news).’ 🎥 A new festival of creative professionals and designers will [take place at the Ashford Cinema next week](https://www.wearecrash.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news). The lineup features Industrial Light & Magic and Nikolaos Finizio, who worked on Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. --- #### More Currents In our midweek feature, we examined the [identity of Dartford](https://www.kentcurrent.news/more-than-a-crossing/), a place that sits on the edge of both Kent and London, but doesn’t fully align with either. As the town is growing faster than anywhere else in Kent, what does the future look like for it? [More than a crossingFor most people, Dartford is little more than a traffic update. There’s the bridge, the tunnel, the daily grind of tailbacks, and that moment of dread when your satnav flashes red as you approach the crossing. For the millions who sit in those queues each year, Dartford is somewhere you pass through, not somewhere you go.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f8d4a4c7f-19fc-4e7c-87d7-4ed0b87571a5_567x567-16.png)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fffc7289c-cacd-47fc-aad4-d6b81a5ba5d4_3504x2050-jpeg.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/more-than-a-crossing/) *Our midweek reads and full interviews are only available to our* [*paid supporters*](#/portal/signup)*. Those lovely people are the only funding we have to keep this project going, so if you’re enjoying our work,* [*please consider supporting us for as little as £1.15 per week*](#/portal/signup)*.* [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup) --- #### Footnotes *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews) *and* [*BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* *If you enjoy the Kent Current, please share it with your friends, family, associates, and even your enemies. We have no meaningful marketing budget, so we rely on word of mouth from our readers to find new readers.* ### More than a crossing URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/more-than-a-crossing/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:55:54.000Z For most people, Dartford is little more than a traffic update. There’s the bridge, the tunnel, the daily grind of tailbacks, and that moment of dread when your satnav flashes red as you approach the crossing. For the millions who sit in those queues each year, Dartford is somewhere you pass through, not somewhere you go. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fffc7289c-cacd-47fc-aad4-d6b81a5ba5d4_3504x2050-jpeg-2.jpg) The Dartford Crossing. Look around the town itself, and you find a place constantly wrestling with the idea of what it should be. Is Dartford really Kent, or is it just the last bit of London that the tube never quite got to? Is it a historic market town, a dormitory for city workers, or something else? _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### “I might well be interested in putting my name forward” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-might-well-be-interested-in-putting/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:55:55.000Z *Matthew Scott is currently serving his third term as Kent Police and Crime Commissioner. We caught up with him to discuss crime rates across Kent, the recent election results for the Conservatives, and whether he is eyeing the job of Mayor of Kent…* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f633a1240-899c-40da-84af-55d9c464da7d_1512x1134-png-1.jpg) Kent Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Scott. **Politics has become even more confrontational and divisive. Have you had to change anything about your approach to the role to remain apolitical?** No, not personally. I've always said I'll work with anybody who wants to achieve the same goals. My goals are quite clear: to cut crime, support victims and build trust. I'll work with anybody who wants to do that. In the last couple of years, we've got the new Labour council in Medway, got a new Labour government, we've now got a Reform county council. Pretty much all three things which were Conservative before are now different. But that doesn't change the way in which I operate. I've already had an initial engagement with the new leader of Kent County Council, and we're going to get together and have a chat about a few things. It's not going to change very much. The only time that I will push back is when someone is being overtly political and it's unnecessary. In fact, I think we are in a pretty good place in that respect. **For the first time since you've been Police and Crime Commissioner, you have a Labour Home Secretary. Has that changed your relationship with the Home Office at all?** Not especially, no. The government's priorities around its safer streets mission, there's nothing in there you would say, ‘That's not right.’ They're talking about knife crime, domestic abuse, violence against women and girls, anti-social behaviour. They were things that the Home Office were already focused on. I think the only real challenge we've had has been, again, the continuation of funding. The Home Secretary promised to compensate fully for the rises in National Insurance, and they didn't. That was a really early test of the relationship between us, so was disappointing, but we'll carry on making the case in the comprehensive spending review to do that. Over the last nine years, whilst the political leadership of the Home Office has changed, the relationships that my team and I built up with Home Office officials is really positive. I'm still involved at the national level on the Police Efficiencies and Collaboration Programme, which is at our Home Office Board. There hasn't been too much by way of change really, but we'll see where it goes. **You are now one of the more high-profile people in Kent within the Conservative Party. What are your thoughts regarding the recent KCC election and what it means for the party?** It was a big result. It was a surprising one. I don't think anyone was under the illusion that we were necessarily going to win a majority, but I think the scale of the defeat was something of a surprise. As Conservatives, we have to learn the lessons of what happened last year. Not all of them are of Kent Conservatives’ making. A lot of it was we were being punished again for what happened under a Conservative government. We had 14 years in which we got a lot of things right. In the first term, when we increased the tax personal allowance, when we introduced free schools, the educational achievements that we delivered, bringing back the 20,000 police officers. It wasn't all bad, but there were lots of things in which people had lost trust in us, on immigration, on the constant infighting within the parliamentary party, the changes of leaders. We have to acknowledge that people had had enough, and unfortunately, a lot of county councillors paid the price for that. That, coupled with the rise of Reform, meant that a lot of good people who didn't deserve to lose their seats. Lots of really hardworking county councillors, as is tragically the case at these local elections, lose their seats because of what's happened nationally. We'll wait and see what happens with the actual administration. If they want to work with me to cut crime and support victims, I will work with them. There's no point in being standoffish about it. Also, the experience that I've got will help them as they come to get to grips with something quite significant, where a lot of their new councillors don't have experience of local government. We have to rebuild again as community activists in our local areas, but our policy renewal teams need to understand what it is our country wants and what the country needs. **If there was a future PCC election and Reform stood, do you think that that trend would continue? Could Conservatives win that election?** I think they could. Yes, the General Election was tough. The KCC elections were tougher. We may or may not have district and Medway elections in 2027\. A lot depends now on local government reorganisation as to what is going to happen next. There is now a lot of pressure on Reform to show that they can do what they say they're going to do and what they actually are going to deliver for their residents. I don't think it's an open and shut case that that means that we will lose again in 2027 or in 2028 or in 2029\. I think they need to be held to account for what it is they're going to deliver. As Conservatives, we're working really hard to understand why it is we did lose in 2024 and in 2025\. But we're out there already knocking on doors, talking to residents, understanding what we can do for local communities. That's where I think the party has some work to do and where the rebuild is going to come from. We have to rebuild again as community activists in our local areas, but our policy renewal teams need to understand what it is our country wants and what the country needs. I hope to play a full part in that process. **As you mentioned, there is local government reorganisation and regional mayors, with the role of PCC phased out and replaced by that regional mayor. Is that a good idea?** We should have a look at it. I'm not opposed to it. I think that when it comes to electoral reform and constituency boundaries, people often look at what benefits them rather than the greater good. People tend to pick electoral systems based on what suits them, not the greater good. I think all parties are guilty of that. But I think we should look at it. I think that we need to look at what is actually happening in those areas that have these powers already, the West Midlands and Manchester, and learn from their experiences. I think a lot of people think that this mayoral role that they're creating is some kind of really executive level, like the Mayor of London who could just do what they want to do. It's actually not, you have a Combined Authority that you have to work with to get your policies and your plans through. I think that's going to be a challenge, particularly in the current political climate, for someone to come in and be able to be that person who can work with people of different parties and different authorities to actually deliver for our county. I'm not opposed to the idea of the mayor. What I will say is that I don't know what the timetable looks like now for Kent, given the government's decision not to proceed with the mayoralties here, whether or not the government will invite a next round of mayoralties to apply in 2026 for a 2027 election. But we also don't know presently what's happening with the six that they are going ahead with. I'm up for a conversation about all of these things. It's got to be a model that the residents support, that gives them proper access to democracy and one that's going to deliver for them. **Did you understand the rationale why Kent wasn't chosen for a regional mayor?** I don't think we really know the true reason why Kent was not picked. They invited a lot more applications than they actually agreed to. I think the thinking was that they were going to approve ten, but instead only went for six. I don't know whether that was because of the capacity of the government to be able to deliver that many at pace, whether they believed that different areas were ready, or if it was too big a change to do all at once. I don't think we really know the true reason for it, but we are where we are. The elections proceeded. We have Kent County Council now for at least another three years. We'll see what happens next. But local government reorganisation is happening anyway. This top-down reorganisation of councils is a positive thing in respect to that you'll have some services which have been done 13 or 14 times will now only be done three, maybe four times. Some of the strategic partnerships will be done in a different way too. That's still happening, and we'll keep an eye on what that means for policing and criminal justice, but there is still more to come for our local authorities. **When Kent was being considered for a mayor, were you considering running for the role?** I was thinking about it. I was interested. Obviously, it never came to materialise. Whilst the White Paper set out some of what the powers of a potential mayoralty could be, at that point there wasn't a decision. Yeah, of course, if it's something that they propose again in the future, I might well be interested in putting my name forward, particularly if it retains the PCC powers. But we'll see what happens next. Obviously, local government reorganisation is the priority now for Kent. We'll see whether that comes with a mayoralty in the future. **You spoke in the past about the challenges facing Kent Police, both in terms of budgets and funding per head of population and the consequences that has for police numbers. Have things improved? Are they looking like they might improve?** They were always going to be challenging, but I think if anything, they've got worse over the last 12 months. The funding settlement in December was short of what we needed. We knew that was likely to be the case. However, some of the changes that the government made around National Insurance have made things harder because again, it's another funding stream which didn't quite match what we needed. We're about £300,000 short on that, and they've moved around a few funding streams, such as neighbourhood policing in order to try and support forces. I think overall, we are slightly worse off. The pay settlement wasn't fully funded. National Insurance wasn't fully funded despite their promises. We've now got the difficult job of trying to balance the books with a slightly more difficult situation than we were already in. I think we'll be able to do that without too much of an impact on frontline services. We'll maintain our police officer numbers this year and we'll still invest in more neighbourhood policing. But there are challenges in the wider system as well. It's not just the National Insurance rises and the pay not being met, we've still got challenges in our court system and the wider justice system, which are meaning the victims could go without justice for longer. The biggest challenge we have is our Crown Court backlog. Let's be clear about that insufficient capacity. We have to do everything we can together locally in the absence of any real national action plan to try and do what we can for victims. **The nature of job titles can sometimes confuse rather than clarify what happens. What powers do you have over the court system?** I chair an organisation called the Criminal Justice Board, which brings together the police, the Crown Prosecution Service, the court service, probation, reducing re-offending. All of those different organisations try and work together to make the system work well. We can hold each other to account, but actually, we can challenge each other and work better together. We've used it to really focus on those areas of wider performance that could make the system work better for victims because I think with a lot of these things, agencies have a tendency just to talk about themselves and what they need. We've got to remember that everything we're doing is about victims, it's about witnesses, and it's also about suspects, who having been accused of a crime and are charged and are a suspect, deserve their day in court too, whatever the outcome. The biggest challenge we have is our Crown Court backlog. Let's be clear about that insufficient capacity. We have to do everything we can together locally in the absence of any real national action plan to try and do what we can for victims. **In the last election, you came second to Labour in Medway despite a comfortable win in the rest of Kent. Does that tell us anything about the difference between Medway and Kent?** I didn't lose by a lot in Medway. **It was close, I'll give you that.** It was close. But I think it was part of the trend. Labour had won the council elections in Medway, and also they won the parliamentary seats last year as well. There are times when you won't win everything. In the 2021 elections, I did the clean sweep everywhere. You pick up from different areas how things have changed across the county, but what we couldn't obviously foresee was I didn't have a Reform opponent at that election. It was probably harder to see quite a scale of what was coming in subsequent elections because, at that point, we didn't know they were happening. We went from a PCC election, I was having my first holiday in a long time when I got the message through saying there was going to be a General Election. There are challenges to all of that. Medway might have voted Labour, it doesn't mean I don't pay any attention to it. In fact, I'd probably spend a lot more time in Medway with the challenges that the area has. We try and strike the right balance. **The number of people in Kent who voted in 2024 was almost 50% of those who voted in 2021\. Does that invalidate the role at all?** No, I don't think so. Everyone was given the opportunity to have their say, and turnouts fluctuate at different elections. We wouldn't say a councillor's role is invalid because they got the same turnout at the council by-election. Much the same as that we wouldn't say that the KCC results are invalid because they didn't achieve 50% of the turnout. Democracy is priceless. We should cherish it. We give people the opportunity to say what they want. We also give the people the opportunity to not take part. I obviously remain committed to continuing to promote the role, to make sure that people understand what it is PCCs do. But there is also an opportunity with local government. I've argued that we should have the PCC elections at the same time as other elections. It will help boost turnout, and it will help people be more engaged, and it will reduce the cost of running the elections. They chose not to do that. That's fair enough. But I think with local government reorganisation coming, they should look at having the PCC or the mayoralty, whichever one it is they take forward, on the same day as council elections. That way, you can make it more of a thing, a democracy day if you will, where you bring out all your by-elections, all your council elections, your mayoralties and PCCs all at the same time, not dissimilar to the idea of midterms in America, but that way you make a big deal of it, and more people will take part. **When we spoke before, the Inspectorate of Constabulary rated Kent Police as outstanding when it came to recording data. On the** [**website**](https://hmicfrs.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/police-forces/kent/?ref=kentcurrent.news) **now, it says Kent Police is not outstanding in any area. Why has Kent got worse at recording data?** Well, it technically hasn't because they didn't inspect us on it this time. They moved around the categories that they were inspecting, and they chose not to do crime data integrity this time. We technically lose our outstanding even though behind the scenes, I'm still pushing the Chief and pushing the force to make sure that what they are still doing, if it were inspected, still would have achieved that grading, and it would. The inspections, quite rightly, change every single time. They will look at a particular set of criteria every two years. We've just had a notification of what that framework will look like next time. They'll look at different things to what they looked at last time. It's very hard to compare like with like anyway. I think the key thing is that in both inspections, the inspector said that we were not good enough at responding to crime or investigating crime. The two basics that people want the police to do. I'm confident that had we been inspected on those two criteria again, we would be much better now. I'm absolutely confident of that. That won't be the case because they'll be assessing us on different criteria again next time. I think it's right to move things around because if it becomes predictable, then forces will do what's measured, not what is needed. The HMIC reports are important. I know they frustrate PCCs and chief constables when they come out and they are negative, but actually, they're much like Ofsted reports. If you don't have that rigorous independent inspection, how do you know what quality of education your child is getting? In the same vein, with policing, how do you really know what quality of policing you're getting if you don't see that independent verification of it? I think there's still some way to go. I think our areas for improvement could be ticked off should they wish to come back and have a look at them. We'll see what happens when the next inspection happens. We're due for another one this year. In some months leading up to that inspection, 55% of 101 calls in one month would not be answered. That's shocking. It's terrifying, actually. **You mentioned areas for improvement. It states that Kent Police requires improvement in responding to the public and investigating crime. These seem fairly fundamental parts of the job. What is happening to improve that?** The response to crime was heavily influenced by the fact that they were not answering the phone quick enough. Our control room data for the time they did the inspection was dreadful. It really was. In some months leading up to that inspection, 55% of 101 calls in one month would not be answered. That's shocking. It's terrifying, actually. All those opportunities missed for investigation. We have improved our call handling. It's now one of the best in the country. Our 999 call handling is typically in the top three in the country. Response has improved because we've looked at how we triage our response calls and making sure that we're following up, but also in introducing things like rapid video response so we can talk to people who need an immediate response, then sending a car around if that's what they want to do. In terms of investigations, when you look at some of our performance now on rape and sexual offences, on domestic violence and on burglary, our solve rates are increasing quite a lot. Our burglary solve rate, for example, is double the national average. That doesn't just happen. That requires proactive investment in your CID and your detectives in order to deliver that. I think that we have made some really good progress in the last two years. This year we'll find out whether that has been sustained. The data says it's good. It's better, but there is still some way to go. **The Spectator has written about how the crime rate in Canterbury is nearly 50% higher than the national average. Why are things so bad in Canterbury?** I think you've got a mixture of issues with regards to Canterbury. Obviously, you have high visitors from outside of the county. You have obviously the mass tourist appeal of what happens in Canterbury city centre, and obviously what you have happening on the coast at Whitstable and at Herne Bay. But what we have got is a really good response locally. We've got a team there which is really well led, who are absolutely on top of dealing with those issues. We've had a safer streets programme there, which we ran with the city council, which invested in CCTV, street lighting, tackling violence against women and girls, and it is also one of our hotspot areas for extra patrols. It's looking at things like that. From looking from the outside in, that is quite concerning. I acknowledge that absolutely. What I would say is that the district is a safe place to live, work, and visit. We encourage tourism, we encourage business, but we've got a really good team of beat officers now providing the visible reassurance that I think people in the city and surrounding towns and villages would want. **Statistically, where is the least safe place in Kent, and what, if anything, is being done about it?** In terms of crime rates, you'd probably look to Thanet and Medway, just in terms of volume, but also the harm. Those areas benefit from greater amounts of police resources than maybe similar-sized districts. Our resource allocation is based on not just population and what taxes people pay, it's based on crime, it's based on need and other demands. We have more beat officers in those areas out on the streets. They are in our hotspot areas for extra patrols which take place in the nighttime economy. My violence reduction unit are working across the whole county, but specifically in those areas to provide diversionary activities for young people and focus deterrents in order to stop them from getting involved in crime and anti-social behaviour. Overall, across the whole county, we've seen some really good progress. Following Knife Crime Awareness Week, we've seen a 17% drop in knife crime in Kent. We were one of the top five in the country for the reduction in knife crime over the last year. That's not something that every county can say. We've had a 19% reduction in serious violence as well. The combination of all of those things means that we are making Kent safer. We are bringing down those crime rates, and over the last four years, we've seen crime fall by nearly 11%. **What do you do to unwind?** At the moment, more running. I've got back into the running again. Last year, I ran the London Marathon. I'm one of those marathon runners who tells you I've run a marathon, pretty much like all of them. **What was your time?** My time was four hours, 40 minutes. I was very happy with that. My goal was to get under five hours. I was rather foolishly perhaps doing that at the same time as trying to win a Kent Police and Crime Commissioner election, but both were successful. I got injured a couple of months after. I sprained my ankle really badly, and I've only in the last couple of months been able to get back out again. It's been that and my music, really. **Within PCCs, within your colleagues, is there an unpopular opinion that you have?** *(pause)* I think you’ve got me stumped there, actually. **Is there anything you disagree on, or you find yourself either ahead of the curve or behind?** In terms of PCCs, we do occasionally take slightly different policy positions. Some of us are more in favour of criminalisation and strong penalties on drugs. I actually think we need to still be tougher on it. I know that that's not the popular view in the world, in the public at the moment, but through the work that I do and the work I do with my colleagues and some of the academic research that we're seeing now, I think that decriminalisation, i.e. police looking the other way and not enforcing the law, or by legalisation, I genuinely think would be a massive public health mistake. I am very worried about the longer-term health impacts of cannabis and cocaine. We're seeing more overlaps between the use of drugs and driving, for example. A lot more of our driving prosecutions now do involve drug taking, and that's a worry. It's not just about what your view is on cannabis or otherwise. Actually, there are bigger problems which we are seeing. A lot of our murders, for example, are linked to drugs still. A lot of cases of violence are linked to drugs and alcohol. I think if we were to move towards a place of decriminalisation, I think we would remove the disincentive for people to become involved. That isn't just the only solution, though. We do still need to extend the treatment paths, the rehabilitation paths, because there are some people who are using it occasionally. There are lots of people who are using it habitually and need to try and break that cycle in a joined-up way. We have to enforce, but we also have to rehabilitate as well. **You're now a podcaster. What led to the** [**Rebuild**](https://linktr.ee/wearerebuild?ref=kentcurrent.news) **podcast?** There were a few episodes in the aftermath of the PCC elections and then subsequently, the General Election. As a group of PCCs, Conservative Group PCCs, last year, in what was a very bad year for us, we were the most electorally successful group. We returned 19 PCCs nationally. We did lose some fantastic colleagues, but we think we should be learning from those lessons about how PCCs, particularly the Conservatives ones, won some very, very narrow battles. My colleague in Warwickshire and Thames Valley, Matthew Barber, who is on the podcast, won by less than a thousand votes across three counties. But we're quite a representative bunch as well. So, as someone who is a parent of young children, not only do I bring experience of policing, but I've obviously experienced the NHS, and I'm currently experiencing the schools and the childcare system. It's bringing together people with those different experiences to try and lead the policy fight back in a different way. The party has moved in certain directions. The talk about immigration, for example, stopping the boats, etc etc, is one bit. But there's an awful lot more that we need to do to understand and rebuild as a party and rebuild for our country. We lost our way, particularly on tax and our reliance on asking PCCs to increase council tax to balance the bills. We didn't do enough on the personal allowance after doing that fantastic work to get up to 12 and a half thousand pounds. We then just stopped. We want to start a positive conversation about how we would rebuild on a party on those areas where in government we made some successes, but also where we learned from our mistakes as well. We are usually weekly, mainly on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Rebuildukonline/?ref=kentcurrent.news) or wherever you get your podcasts. We've had a bit of a hiatus because of the election results and looking to get back started again. **With the podcast being about the rebuild of the party, polling figures show the situation is getting worse, not better. Are there positives?** At the moment, we need to be focusing on all sorts of different things. There's lots of things that we could be focusing on at the moment, but what I think we need to understand now is to reassert our values as a party, for me, which is about freedom, about fairness, and about opportunity, that we were the party of law and order and the party of low tax. One of the criticisms of the party in recent years is that we're not anymore. I think we need to reclaim that ground because those were elements of strength. The Conservative Party historically were the ones who the public called upon to balance the books, and we need to do that again. Once we reset those principles, then we can start a policy platform which looks at having something meaningful that connects with the public. There have already been some examples of that already. Laura Trott, the Shadow Education Secretary, like me, is a big supporter of the smartphone-free childhood movement, which seeks to delay the purchase of mobile phones, particularly internet-enabled phones, for children that restricts access to social media. We've pushed the government a number of times to introduce legal guidance for schools which banned smartphones in the classroom and Labour won't do it. There are areas where you've really good shadow ministers like Laura, like Robert Jenrick and his campaigning on justice and Chris Philp on home affairs, where we're starting to build that platform. We need those things which matter to people, but we also make a difference in the context of the economic climate that we are currently in. I think it reads badly at the moment, but I definitely think there is a way back for us if we can reassert our values that we are the party of freedom and fairness and opportunity. Of lower tax, of law and order, of justice. If we can get back to those, I'm confident we can be back. **On the podcast during the Conservative leadership elections, you spoke quite openly about that process. How are you feeling about Kemi as being the leader to take the Conservatives into the next General Election?** I'm positive about it. I was… I didn't get the choice I wanted at the election. I backed Tom Tugendhat until he was eliminated. I'd have loved to have seen James Cleverley on the final ballot, but we had Kemi and we had Robert, both of which were strong choices. I did vote for Kemi in the end. I think she needs to be given the time to build that platform rather than take a short-termist approach of just saying what people want to hear. We need to understand more about what it is we will deliver. Because the economic climate, is still challenging. Some of the things that we might want to do, like reducing tax, might take time. We need to understand that. Reform have just come out with a policy that says they'll cut income tax by making you not pay anything on the first £20,000\. It's great in theory. Economically, at the moment, really difficult to deliver because the loss of revenue for public services would be massive. We've got to make sure we get the balance right. But we should be in those areas. I think she should be given time to set out what that platform looks like. To get rid of her now would be too short-termist. It's like the new manager bounce in football. When teams get rid of a manager, and they expect a new manager bounce to get a few points. If getting rid of a party leader was really a good thing, we'd be doing it every month. **Well, there was a period where…** Yeah, we did. Now, there's trust. --- #### Footnotes *This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.* ### Port of Ramsgate revival stalls again URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/port-of-ramsgate-revival-stalls-again/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:55:59.000Z *In our post-Brexit world where the Port of Dover is under immense strain, how is another port a bit further around the coast able to just sit empty, despite the government, local council, and even the Port of Dover wanting it to start running again? As plans for the Port of Ramsgate fall through once again, we look at why things can’t seem to get moving. Plus, a Reform councillor is suspended from the party after barely a month in the job, KCC meetings continue to be cancelled, news in brief, and lots more.* --- #### Port of Ramsgate revival stalls again Ramsgate’s port has long promised a revival that never quite arrives. Once a key link between Kent and mainland Europe, it now stands largely unused as a symbol of the many bold schemes and missed opportunities that have marked Britain’s post-Brexit coastal ambitions. Another attempt to bring back cross-Channel ferries to Ramsgate has floundered despite government funding, interest from the Port of Dover, and a bout of optimism that the port could get back on its feet again. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f01269b29-866e-4ea0-ba9d-b15162ab1d16_2500x1406-jpeg-1.jpg) Ramsgate’s heyday as a commercial port faded over the past two decades. The final regular ferry service to Ostend sputtered out in 2013 when TransEuropa Ferries went under with little ceremony. Once busy with lorries and holidaymakers, the port’s roll-on, roll-off berths fell silent. Since then, the harbour has watched a carousel of schemes to bring back ferry operations, most of them quietly abandoned or loudly overpromised. Reading some of the headlines after Brexit, you’d have thought alternative ports like Ramsgate were about to enjoy a golden age. Ministers warned that Dover couldn’t do it alone, and ‘supply chain resilience’ became the phrase of the moment. Famously, the government handed out a multi-million-pound contract for emergency Brexit ferries to Seaborne Freight, a company that neglected the detail of actually owning any ships. More recently, Thanet District Council decided to try again, launching a formal tender to return ferries to the port. For a fleeting moment, it seemed possible. The Port of Dover expressed genuine interest in operating the venture, weighing up Ramsgate’s proximity to Europe, decent road links, and potential for sharing resources. Doug Bannister, the Port of Dover’s Chief Executive, clearly saw the upsides in a [letter](https://democracy.thanet.gov.uk/documents/s91863/Annex%202.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) to the Chief Executive at Thanet: “As the next nearest port to the Continent, Ramsgate offers a strong advantage in efficient shipping connections with the UK’s largest trading partner, the EU.” He talked up “unmatched resilience” and “a very efficient resourcing model” that could benefit both ports. This doesn’t appear to be empty talk. Dover’s management seemed to see real potential for Ramsgate and believed there was room in the market. But enthusiasm ran aground on hard numbers. Bannister wrote, “In short, the capital investment that we felt was required compared to the immediately available market held more risk than we could accept at that point.” Even with £7.6m of Levelling Up funding earmarked for Ramsgate’s revival, the upgrades and dredging needed to make the port commercially viable were simply too much for Dover to swallow. At the same time, Dover has been busy preparing for the EU’s new Entry/Exit System and reorganising its own border controls. “We have made the decision to concentrate our efforts on successfully delivering these key projects at this time,” Bannister explained. As the months rolled by and no operator could be enticed, Thanet District Council faced a familiar dilemma: Spend the government’s levelling up funding that had been allocated to the port or lose it entirely. With no ferries on the horizon, the council has chosen to [redirect the money](https://democracy.thanet.gov.uk/documents/s91862/Report.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) to other regeneration projects across the district. Meanwhile, Ramsgate soldiers on as a working harbour, just not the one promised by so many grand visions. The marina is busy, and the wind farm support vessels come and go, but the docks mostly sit empty. For every round of renewed optimism, there’s a practical reminder that commercial ferry operations are still a distant hope. Ramsgate is a reminder that bold government plans, like the ones proposed for a post-Brexit world, rarely survive their collision with real economics and industry caution. Dover, for all the dire warnings about bottlenecks, remains the top dog for Channel crossings, while Ramsgate’s future seems permanently under review. There is no shortage of optimism or ambition, but finding someone willing to risk millions on a true revival has proved harder than ever. Maybe one day, the right mix of cash, crisis, and sheer bloody-mindedness will put Ramsgate back on the cross-Channel map. For now, Ramsgate waits for a ship that may never come in. --- *Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via *hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news* \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* --- #### Kent’s Reform administration loses councillor after just 39 days A cynical political observer, or someone who remembers the UKIP opposition years of Kent County Council, may well have asked how long it would be before Reform lost their first councillor. Politicians in startup right-wing parties often seem to find it difficult to stay together, but even a cynic might have been surprised by exactly how quickly KCC’s Reform group found itself losing one of their own. ![May be an image of 1 person and beard](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f57579f09-6b08-443d-abdc-67c2c3860b62_640x533-jpeg.jpg) Cllr Daniel Taylor Indeed, it took just 39 days from the local elections for the first one to fall, with Cliftonville councillor Daniel Taylor finding himself sitting as an independent after being suspended from the party. For those playing at home, that’s ten days less than Liz Truss managed to last as Prime Minister. What is unclear at the moment is exactly why Cllr Taylor has been suspended from the party, with a Reform spokesperson [telling the BBC’s Michael Keohan](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0eq3dxe28go?ref=kentcurrent.news) that it was “following a matter that is now with the police.” This contrasts with a spokesperson from the East Thanet branch of Reform, covering Cllr Taylor’s division, who [told the Isle of Thanet News](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2025/06/10/call-for-by-election-for-cliftonville-following-cllr-daniel-taylors-exit-from-county-council-reform-group/?ref=kentcurrent.news) that the suspension was ‘news to them.’ We approached Cllr Taylor for comment on his suspension, but received no response. --- #### There’s still not much getting done at KCC Last week, we wrote about a number of Kent County Council overview and scrutiny committee meetings being cancelled or postponed. At the time, a spokesperson for KCC told us that “consideration” was being given to “deferring business to relevant July meetings” when there were no time-sensitive issues on the agenda. Happily, it turns out there was nothing time sensitive at any committee meeting in June, because every single one, from health to crime to governance to environment and transport to children’s services have all been cancelled or postponed. As a result, it will now be at least two months after the local elections before any kind of scrutiny of decision making processes can be taken. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fddd9e726-9ab5-4a52-95e5-4bd76ce5d251_1823x1085.png) Kent County Council meeting calendar for June. In more getting things done news: - New KCC leader Linden Kemkaran has written to the government to [request a minimum four month extension](https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/kents-reform-county-council-leader-10249817?ref=kentcurrent.news) to the deadline for local government reorganisation proposals, saying the existing November deadline would be “almost impossible to meet.” - Cllr Kemkaran also got into a spat with Dover and Deal Labour MP Mike Tapp, who accused Reform in Kent of using “[populist rhetoric](https://x.com/MikeTappTweets/status/1931417344930185681?ref=kentcurrent.news).” Kemkaran fought back against that claim by again using the language of “[invasion](https://x.com/LeaderofKCC/status/1932005476062974101?ref=kentcurrent.news)” when talking about migrant boat crossings. - Cllr Kemkaran went on the Telegraph podcast and argued that migrants to the UK should [learn English with Duolingo](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DKhmAkcIj3O/?ref=kentcurrent.news) rather than council-funded lessons. - Reports also surfaced that Cllr Kemkaran is away on holiday at the moment, with East Thanet Labour MP Polly Billington claiming “[KCC is in chaos](https://bsky.app/profile/josiah.writes.news/post/3lrb3ys4t422o?ref=kentcurrent.news).” - Speaking to the Times, Nathaniel Fried, one of the Reform DOGE team sent into KCC before resigning days later, discovered that the council is struggling along with IT systems “[nearly as old](https://bsky.app/profile/henrymance.ft.com/post/3lqyqcurse22i?ref=kentcurrent.news)” as him. - The Conservatives have written to the Information Commissioner, requesting they investigate Reform’s DOGE project, calling it a “[cyber-security disaster waiting to happen](https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/kent-county-council-nigel-farage-reform-uk-england-tories-b1232627.html?ref=kentcurrent.news).” - In response to claims about the performance of the Reform administration at KCC, Deputy Leader Brian Collins has been dispatched on the media round [to reassure everyone](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2xjj0x5pno?ref=kentcurrent.news) that they were “very calm,” “very collected,” and “focused.” --- #### In brief 🚢 Campaigners are worried that ships are [travelling dangerously close](https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/exclusive/ss-richard-montgomery-wreck-security-risk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to the wreck of the SS Montogomery in the Thames Estuary. The sunken vessel sits two kilometres north of Sheerness and is loaded with 14,000 tonnes of explosives. 🚄 Eurostar has pledged to operate new international rail services to Geneva and Frankfurt but stopped short of offering any Kent services. Ashford MP Sojan Joseph [called the move “short-sighted.](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/this-move-is-short-sighted-they-need-to-return-to-kent-325570/?ref=kentcurrent.news)” 🏘️ Canterbury City Council will hold a special planning committee next week to [decide on a 120 home development north of Sturry](https://democracy.canterbury.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=553&MId=13909&ref=kentcurrent.news). While previous plans for the same site were rejected in 2018, officers recommend that the plans be approved this time. 🏡 Across the border in Ashford, the borough’s planning committee will [decide on three significant developments](https://ashford.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=139&MId=4952&ref=kentcurrent.news) next week. Officers recommend that one development of 55 homes near Tenterden be rejected but that 121 new homes in Tenterden be approved, alongside 180 new homes in Willesborough. 🏗️ Meanwhile, Folkestone & Hythe District Council will decide whether or not to approve plans for a [revised Folkestone Harbour scheme](https://folkestone-hythe.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s51716/Plots%20FGH%20-%20FINAL.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) after initial plans were dramatically thrown out earlier this year. The new plans tweak the number of car parking spaces for visitors, the housing mix to include more 3-bedroom homes and the designs for apartments and shops around the former railway station. 🌳 The University of Kent is proposing to build 2,000 new homes on land it owns north of its Canterbury campus. Anti-housing campaigners have [proposed the land becoming a park](https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/campaigners-want-2000-home-kent-10251170?ref=kentcurrent.news) instead, and no doubt the financially struggling university will do that instead. 🍷 Swale Borough Council’s licensing committee will decide next week whether to [grant an alcohol licence to Ours](https://services.swale.gov.uk/meetings/documents/s30752/Report%20-%20Ours%20Cafe.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news), a new town centre cafe. The committee will assess the application because it is supposedly contentious, with one person opposing the licence and 42 writing in support of it. 👎 Maidstone Borough Council has been considering buying a drone to tackle antisocial behaviour but has [decided it’s a bad idea](https://maidstone.gov.uk/home/primary-services/council-and-democracy/primary-areas/your-councillors?sq%5Fcontent%5Fsrc=%2BdXJsPWh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGbWVldGluZ3MubWFpZHN0b25lLmdvdi51ayUyRmRvY3VtZW50cyUyRnM5OTU5MCUyRlRoZSUyMFBvdGVudGlhbCUyMFVzZSUyMG9mJTIwRHJvbmVzJTIwYnklMjB0aGUlMjBDb21tdW5pdHklMjBQcm90ZWN0aW9uJTIwVGVhbSUyMGZvciUyME9mZi1Sb2FkJTIwQmlrZSUyMEFTQi5wZGYmYWxsPTE%3D&ref=kentcurrent.news) after discovering it will cost up to £37,500 in the first year and that Kent Police wouldn’t use it even if the council bought it for them. 👷 Meanwhile, Maidstone Borough Council will spend up to [£7.7m to upgrade its offices](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/council-offices-in-appalling-state-to-get-7-7m-eco-friend-325603/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to make them more environmentally friendly. The move comes as Maidstone Borough Council is set to be abolished in the next few years. ☀️ Sevenoaks District Council is considering leasing a former landfill site to [South East Water for a solar farm](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0k3l3dyy47o?ref=kentcurrent.news). The energy produced would power a nearby water treatment plant and, happily, generate income for the council for 32 years. 🚲 Efforts by Canterbury City Council to create a bike rental scheme in the city centre have [failed after no operator came forward](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/bid-to-bring-boris-bikes-scheme-to-kent-but-council-can-325324/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to run it. 🛍️ Kent’s largest indoor market will [open later this month](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/folkestone/news/excitement-building-as-opening-day-draws-near-for-kent-s-lar-325622/?ref=kentcurrent.news), as the Petticoat Lane Emporium opens in the former Wilko in Folkestone. The 17,000 sq ft space has already recruited 80 traders and has room for 120 more. 📖 Author David Whitehouse has written about [his new book in the Observer](https://observer.co.uk/news/first-person/article/she-helped-me-navigate-my-grief-david-whitehouse-on-loss--and-a-vanishing-woman?ref=kentcurrent.news), where he explores the mystery of Margate woman who disappeared without a trace. The Telegraph gives the [“genius” book five stars](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/non-fiction/review-saltwater-mansions-david-whitehouse/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🚛 National Highways have released some [new images of what the Lower Thames Crossing](https://nationalhighways.co.uk/our-roads/lower-thames-crossing/news-and-media/setting-new-standards-for-greener-roads/?ref=kentcurrent.news) will look like. If everything runs to schedule, you’ll be able to compare them with reality in 2031. --- #### More Currents Creative regeneration has transformed Margate and Folkestone, but is everyone feeling the benefits? That’s the question we explored in our midweek [deep dive into art-led regeneration projects in Kent](https://www.kentcurrent.news/is-art-really-saving-kents-struggling/). [Is art really saving Kent's struggling towns?If you’d said in the early 2000s that Margate would become a weekend destination for Londoners or that Folkestone would be talked about as one of the UK’s most vibrant small towns, you would have sounded hopelessly optimistic. For decades, once the seaside boom had busted, these places were famous for their empty hotels, discount shops, and a slow decline marked by shuttered amusements and a constant drip of negative headlines. Local and national coverage at the time regularly described the decline of Kent’s seaside resorts, painting a picture of places struggling to find a future as traditional industries and holidaymakers disappeared.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f8d4a4c7f-19fc-4e7c-87d7-4ed0b87571a5_567x567-17.png)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f7d23db4d-2bc3-4399-9264-4b549791311e_6000x4002-jpeg.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/is-art-really-saving-kents-struggling/) Our next big interview is coming up on Saturday with Kent’s Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Scott. We discuss crime rates across Kent, recent election results for his party, and whether he is eyeing a run to be Mayor of Kent. Our deep dives and full interviews are only available to our [paid supporters](#/portal/signup). Those lovely people are the only funding we have to keep this project going, so if you’re enjoying our work, [please consider supporting us for as little as £1.15 per week](#/portal/signup). [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup) --- #### Footnotes *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews) *and* [*BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* *If you enjoy the Kent Current, please share it with your friends, family, associates, and even your enemies. We have no meaningful marketing budget, so we rely on word of mouth from our readers to find new readers.* ### Is art really saving Kent's struggling towns? URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/is-art-really-saving-kents-struggling/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:56:03.000Z If you’d said in the early 2000s that Margate would become a weekend destination for Londoners or that Folkestone would be talked about as one of the UK’s most vibrant small towns, you would have sounded hopelessly optimistic. For decades, once the seaside boom had busted, these places were famous for their empty hotels, discount shops, and a slow decline marked by shuttered amusements and a constant drip of negative headlines. Local and national coverage at the time regularly described the decline of Kent’s seaside resorts, painting a picture of places struggling to find a future as traditional industries and holidaymakers disappeared. The situation, as far as many were concerned, was chronic. Industry and tourism had gone, with domestic holidaymakers flying to Spain, and the best many towns could hope for was the odd coach trip, a film crew looking for faded grandeur, or the next government regeneration scheme that often came with high hopes and vanished a year later. For local councils with limited budgets and rising social care needs, they began to look toward culture as a response to decline. Arts-led regeneration offered a vision where galleries and artists might do what factories and funfairs could not. Folkestone became the most high-profile test case, largely thanks to Roger De Haan, the former Saga head, who set up [Creative Folkestone](https://www.creativefolkestone.org.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) and spent tens of millions buying up and restoring decaying buildings. What they did was simple on the surface but radical in practice: Fill the town’s old centre with artists, creative businesses, and independent shops by offering affordable rents and practical support. The results are obvious if you visit today. The streets around Tontine Street and the Old High Street are home to galleries, studios, coffee shops, and the Quarterhouse performance venue. Little of this existed two decades ago, but they are arguably what the town is now known for. Front and centre is the Folkestone Triennial, an international arts festival launched in 2008, with the last edition in 2021 bringing 220,000 visitors to the town. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f7d23db4d-2bc3-4399-9264-4b549791311e_6000x4002-jpeg-2.jpg) Folkestone Harbour. All of this has changed how Folkestone feels and how it is seen from the outside. Once a byword for decline, in 2024, [The Times named it](https://www.thetimes.com/article/folkestone-kent-england-best-place-to-live-uk-2024-57f8gnr7q?ref=kentcurrent.news) the ‘best place to live in the southeast.’ Creative Folkestone reported a 98% occupancy rate across their properties, even before the pandemic and the influx of new creatives that brought to the town. But if you take a step back from the galleries and coffee shops, the picture is more complicated. The east and north of the town remain among the most deprived parts of Kent. Most new jobs created are in hospitality, retail, and the service sector. Despite the creative sector’s growth, most residents in these neighbourhoods still earn below the national average. Browsing local community groups, some local residents complain that while the town centre feels livelier, rising rents have made it harder to get by in some parts of the town. The growth of short-term lets and demand from newcomers mean much of the town is now out of reach for the people who lived in Folkestone when its prospects looked much bleaker. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### East Thanet MP reiterates push toward clean energy URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/east-thanet-mp-reiterates-push-toward/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:56:06.000Z *Climate change has become an increasingly fraught political issue in recent years, but one Kent MP is eager to stress how important it is to stop the damage from going too far. Further down, we speak to the team behind the award-winning Canterbury Ales microbrewery, meet a collective of mixed-media artists, consume fish and chips, look at the most interesting events around the county, and more.* --- #### East Thanet MP reiterates push toward clean energy *Polly Billington is the Labour MP for East Thanet with a keen interest in environmentalism. With some political and media voices calling for an end to net zero targets, we caught up with her to discuss whether or not this was a good idea…* Polly Billington has been a lifelong campaigner and environmentalist with a clear focus on climate change. “Increasingly, the language has been around net zero,” Polly tells me, “which felt to me like when we were first talking about it, saying we are going to have to get to zero emissions”. This is in order, Polly explains, to be able to tackle climate change and reduce the risks of runaway climate change, “which would be catastrophic for everybody, not just for nature, but also for our economy.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f6a3789d8-632f-4023-aff0-626f6e24baac_5860x3068-png-1.jpg) Net zero has become part of the language in the culture war, epitomising something that people have decided they're against or for. “The basics of this is that we've got a situation where we're putting dangerous chemicals into the atmosphere and have been since the industrial revolution,” says Polly. This has significantly impacted the climate in ways that began barely noticeable with things “like insects, and before you know it, you've got excessive floods and extreme heat.” This has direct impacts on the economy, “particularly on the people who are the poorest, people who can't afford insurance,” who then end up stuck when there are floods or unable to deal with overheating in the summer. “It's much harder to keep your homes both dry and cool, as well as comfy.” Meanwhile, big companies are spending a lot of money on making their own assets much more resilient and investing in avoiding climate change “because they've done the risk assessments. They can see what the consequences are for their financial prospects.” The environment is fundamental to the health and wellbeing of all human beings. Some people have more access to it than others “if you only preserve it for the wealthy.” The focus is on changing “our economy quite considerably. We could do it in big clunky ways that can be terrible on communities.” Polly wants the focus to be a way that allows people to get a better job and have a better life than they have now. “If we do this properly, it can be better than it was before and head off climate catastrophe, which could be economically devastating for everybody, particularly the poorest.” If average temperatures continue to rise, Polly is very clear that “fundamentally, we've got a big scientific problem. We've got a big responsibility. We can sort this out and make things better if we do it right. I can't really see what the downside is to be doing this properly.” A common response is to ask what the point is when countries like China and India are large carbon emitters. Polly doesn’t agree. “That is the council of despair that nothing can be done.” Polly has worked on climate change internationally, noting that “some of those fast-growing developing countries are swerving around dependence on fossil fuels because different technologies are developing instead.” She cites equatorial countries that have got guaranteed hours of sunshine every day all year round. “That is a pretty reliable form of energy.” Responding on China in particular, Polly highlights that “we're importing solar technology from the Chinese because they've been refining it for 15 years. They're really good at it.” Rather than be distracted, Polly wants there to be a focus on making sure that we get the right supply chains “to be able to make the kit ourselves here, creating decent jobs and that we're not buying equipment that's been made by slave labour.” Polly highlights that she is not a scientist and “I'm not expecting everybody to be a climate scientist, but I do respect people who know what they're talking about.” The scientific consensus says that climate change is caused by human activity, “particularly the use of fossil fuels, which has created a massive buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which is creating a warming planet and having desperately adverse effects on our climate, weather patterns and the natural balance of things.” Polly is adamant this is not just correlation but clear causation. Polly would leave fossil fuels in the ground “because getting it out is having such desperately adverse consequences for everybody. We need to find new sources of energy and renewables in particular, as well as nuclear.” She notes that powering the economy is an important part of her government’s growth agenda. “We've built our economy on this intensive energy use.” Polly’s mother grew up in a colliery village, and her grandmother was delighted that she had two girls because “that meant that she wasn't going to have a child going down the pit”. The pit could be a dangerous place: Those who didn’t die or had a serious accident often ended with serious conditions like COPD. “I just think if you've got ways of being able to power your communities, which is using the gentle and valuable resources of the sun and the wind, as well as our proven technologies such as nuclear, we should be using those rather than going down the path of fracking,” an extracting practice which is dirty, polluting, and dangerous. We inevitably talk about whether there is any aspect that gives Polly hope for the future. It is easy to be gloomy with the data shows the climate is still warming. “What I do know is the ingenuity of humanity can be harnessed when we agree to do amazing and extraordinary things.” She highlights parts of nature being effectively restored and work done to agree on the basic fundamental principles of how we should conduct ourselves as a nation. “We don't always do it, but that's because human nature is not only amazing and ingenious and great, but it's also frail. You've got to keep on going on and be eternally vigilant and be eternally optimistic.” For Polly, the difference between optimists and pessimists “are that optimists know it could be worse.” Polly highlights the enormous work completed over the past few decades in terms of decarbonising our economy here. “That does mean that we need to make sure that we support other places in decarbonising their economies and reap the economic benefits of that development here.” --- #### Award-winning and Kentish Canterbury Ales [*Canterbury Ales*](https://canterburyales.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *is an award-winning microbrewery producing eight beers based on the characters in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. We caught up with owners Vanessa Kent and Martin Guy to talk about what got Martin brewing…* Canterbury Ales is a traditional microbrewery producing real ales with modern ingredients. They produce a full range of traditional British ales, everything from a pale ale to a stout. “Wherever possible, we use the best ingredients, whether they come from local farms or from anywhere around the world,” says Martin. They started brewing 15 years ago and went commercial in January 2011. They originally lived in London before moving to Kent to live near Vanessa’s family. Martin was looking to set up a brewery and found that he could afford premises, something that wasn’t an option in London. As well as being affordable, they found ideal premises with great transport links and a good cluster of “nice country pubs and good quality farm shops that we can deal with,” says Vanessa. They split the work based on skillset and interests, with Martin focusing on recipe formulation, logistics, and managing the brewery, or as he describes it, “anything to do with the beer side.” Vanessa works part-time and covers the sales side of things and “supposedly the marketing,” Vanessa says, suggesting the social media could be better. Martin started off as a homebrewer “back in the 1980s because there was no decent beer out in the world.” Martin and his mates would have competitions to see who could brew something that was “vaguely drinkable.” Martin was also into historical reenactment and started reenacting the Tudor period at Kentwell Hall in Suffolk, where he became the master brewer. “I was brewing ales on an open fire, in open vessels.” It was a good way for Martin to learn how things worked, both with homebrewing and historical brewing. He added to this by completing courses on commercial brewing. ![Discover Kentish Beers & Ales You'll Love | Canterbury Ales](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f2af59b22-312b-420e-9b17-b1410778a68c_1920x1005-jpeg.jpg) They have gone on to win awards, the most recent was being placed by CAMRA in the southeast region for champion beer of Britain. They also received a bronze for their Miller's Ale. The Society of Independent Brewers declared their Merchant’s Ale the best beer in southeast England, “which is not bad for a 4 % stamp.” They have even won an award for their beer mat collection. “We were very proud of that one.” Sand Creative designed the beer mats around the theme of the beers being based on characters from the Canterbury Tales. Each beer mat featured the face of the character with the name of the beer and then their branding on the other side. Whilst Martin was continuing to develop the beer, “making sure that it suited the local taste and that people would enjoy drinking it,” Vanessa was focused on getting the name out there, with the toughest challenge being finding pubs that would take the beer. “At the time, a lot of the pubs around here were just stuck with the usual brands,” says Vanessa. “There was a handful of microbreweries. It was quite newish, there was six or seven in Kent. Now there’s over fifty.” Part of what made their project achievable was a tax break brought in during the early 2000s for microbreweries, which enabled them to compete with the larger breweries. “They've got economies of scale. We get a little tax break,” says Vanessa, with Martin adding that “the fact that taste has changed and there's access to really good ingredients now.” Martin’s advice for somebody considering setting up their own micro-brewery is to “do your research first.” He highlights that it has become very competitive. “It's a tough market,” he notes. He advises fully testing your beers first to “make sure that there's something that people are going to like. Consistency is key. Make sure that your customers are always going to get a good quality beer. It's very easy to brew bland beer, but nobody wants to drink it. Anyone can brew beer, it's actually a very simple process, but brewing the same beer time after time is the goal.” --- #### Filaments art collective to reveal new exhibition [*Filaments*](https://www.instagram.com/filaments.art/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *is a mixed-media art collective. We spoke with Ruth and Rosie from the group about their upcoming show at the Halpern Gallery in Chatham as part of Medway Open Studios…* Filaments is comprised of Elizabeth Burman, who paints collages and stitches, Karen Crosby, who uses cameraless photography, Rosie James, a textile artist who draws with a sewing machine, Ruth Payne, who is multidisciplinary, and Linda Simon, who uses pattern making data in her textiles. They should also not be mistaken for the punk band Filaments, though Ruth wouldn’t object if they were. Most of the group are from the surrounding area of Maidstone and would repeatedly meet at art events. They decided to work together when an art exhibition opportunity appeared at St Mary’s church in Burham. They decided to do the exhibition during nighttime in Winter. The called the event ‘Filaments.’ Hosted over two nights, it was a mixture of light and thread. They enjoyed the experience, worked well together, and the show was so popular that they were immediately asked to host another exhibition. Since then, they have continued to meet, bounce off ideas, have a laugh and develop projects for exhibitions. They continue to work on individual work and collaborate on group pieces. At last year’s Medway Open Studios, they didn’t have a venue, so they took their art onto the streets with ‘[Off Her Trolley’](https://www.instagram.com/p/C9j%5F0kLsgeW/?ref=kentcurrent.news). This involved them all dressed up as tea ladies with a variety of old-fashioned trolleys, walking from Rochester High Street to Sun Pier House. They were invited to exhibit at the Halpern by the gallery manager Genevieve Tullberg, who had seen their Burham exhibits and their work on the LV21 lightship. As part of Medway Open Studios, they are presenting a two-week exhibition at the Halpern Gallery, ‘All for One and One for All’. The first week, they are doing a curated show of their individual works that work together as a whole because they enjoy working well together and will include new work and pieces that have not been shown for some time. The second week will be something different, as the collective will rehang halfway through, providing another immersive installation which is more of a collaboration. They then button up so as not to reveal more at this time other than to say that the exhibition will respond to the physical properties of the gallery. In the first week, there will be pieces to purchase as well as some purely for the exhibition itself. However, if somebody wants to make a large offer, they are open to discussions… *The Filaments Art Collective exhibition at the Halpern Gallery in Chatham will run 3 - 16 July, and is free to visit.* --- #### Out to Lunch: Folkestone’s Fish Shack On Folkestone’s impressively revitalised harbour pier, which is worth a visit in its own right, is a food court called The Good’s Yard. It offers a big screen, street food, and a partially covered seating area. Nepalese Street food is on offer, alongside smash burgers, pizzas, and loaded baked potatoes. Having walked this far, with a strong wind blowing in the sea air, it seemed only appropriate to have fish and chips. The Fish Shack had a pleasingly restrained menu, with the main offering of cod and chips. Being a fan of small plates, I ordered a pot of whitebait, a pot of butterfly prawns, and a portion of skin on fries, with a pot of tartar sauce and a Diet Coke. You are given a pager whilst they reassuringly cook your food fresh. Less reassuring is the noise the unrelenting pager makes when your food is ready. Once you receive your food, a name game begins: How much will a nearby seagull terrorise you for your food, and how brave will you be should this modern dinosaur come for your food? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f265f798d-cfb7-447d-ada3-0e88e5a34935_1456x762-webp.jpg) The whitebait was well cooked, tasty, and, if anything, overly generous with its portion size. Apparently, there is such a thing as too much whitebait. The crispy fries were a delight, with a Cajun seasoning. The butterfly prawns were immense, the Fish Shack worth visiting for those alone. I enjoyed sitting in the strong wind, eating my prawns, and watching the seagull steal somebody else’s cod goujon… --- #### Kent events 🏳️‍🌈 Sat 7 Jun - [**Pride Canterbury**](https://pridecanterbury.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // City centre celebration of LGBT+ community with parade, stalls, entertainment, and food. Westgate Gardens, Canterbury. Free. 👨🏻‍🚀 Sun 8 Jun - [**Chris Hadfield: A Journey Into The Cosmos**](https://marlowetheatre.com/shows/chris-hadfield-a-journey-into-the-cosmos/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Astronaut shares stories about his trips to space and explore the universe. Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury. Tickets from £44. 🎸 Thu 12 Jun - [**Gruff Rhys**](https://www.twforum.co.uk/events/2025-06-12-gruff-rhys-the-forum?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Former Super Furry Animals frontman plays solo show. Forum, Tunbridge Wells. Tickets £27.50. 🎤 Sat 14 Jun - [**Matt Forde**](https://thealex.org.uk/event/matt-forde-end-of-an-era-tour/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Political comedian sets his sights on a new government of targets. The Alex, Faversham. Tickets £22.50. 🎸 Thu 19 Jun - [**Arxx**](https://www.ramsgatemusichall.com/tc-events/arxx/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Loud and fast powerpop duo. Ramsgate Music Hall. Tickets £16.50. --- #### Footnotes *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews) *and* [*BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* *If you enjoy Local Authority, please share it with your friends, family, associates, and enemies. We have no meaningful marketing budget, so we rely on word of mouth from our readers to find new readers.* ### Musk style politics comes to Kent URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/musk-style-politics-comes-to-kent/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:56:08.000Z *It’s a lazy cliche to say that a week is a long time in politics, but it’s possibly never been more true than the past week of shenanigans at County Hall. We have the details of a wild week that saw Reform ‘auditors’ arrive at KCC on Monday and the team falling apart by Thursday. Meanwhile, some of the most basic democratic functions aren’t getting done. We get into all of it below.* **Editor’s note:* Welcome to all of the new subscribers that have joined us this week. We’re attempting to do a new type of local journalism for Kent, and we’re thrilled that you’ve decided to join us. We can only do it with the support of the readers who generously choose to fund our work though, so* [*please consider becoming a paid supporter*](#/portal/signup) *if you aren’t already. Thanks!* [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup) --- #### Musk style politics comes to Kent (and immediately falls apart) On Sunday night, Reform Chairman Zia Yusuf [tweeted](https://x.com/ZiaYusufUK/status/1929248578951618591?ref=kentcurrent.news) that Reform had formed their DOGE team and that they would “arrive at Kent Council tomorrow.” The post included a letter sent to officers at Kent County Council that would border on comical if it wasn’t so serious. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2ff1cd9b32-34de-4d36-9742-44f3122a5916_2500x1406-jpeg-1.jpg) The letter, sent on Reform headed paper and signed by Yusuf, Nigel Farage, and KCC leader Linden Kemkaran, requested that officers hand over data on ‘council-held documents, reports, and records,’ ‘relevant finance, procurement, audit, and contract data,’ ‘internal investigations or whistleblowing reports,’ and more. The letter went on to argue that the team was ‘acting under the authority of the council’ (they aren’t) and threatened council officers, who would be seen as acting with ‘gross misconduct’ if they ‘resist this request.’ To be clear, this was a letter from a political party asking a council to hand over potentially sensitive internal data. There are zero grounds from a legal standpoint for them to receive access to any data that wasn’t publicly available in the first place. However, a threatening letter is apparently more sexy than putting in Freedom of Information requests. DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) is styled after the American entity of the same name that saw Elon Musk and a team of tech bros tear through Washington, shutting down federal spending that they deemed wasteful. There was little imagination on display from Reform’s version of this, keeping the same very American name, even when looking at the finances of a county council, which is hardly the government. Still, presumably, they are so attached to mimicking Musk that the name was a crucial part of their identity. Yusuf’s tweet didn’t name who was part of the Reform DOGE team. It just said they were “world class software engineers, data analysts and forensic auditors, working for free.” On Monday morning, the circus rolled into town, with Yusuf arriving at County Hall with the DOGE team to begin their audit of council spending. So, who were these world class software engineers, data analysts and forensic auditors? In the end, Yusuf was accompanied only by a tech bro called Nathaniel Fried and infamous (and litigious) UKIP and Brexit bankroller Arron Banks. We asked Kent County Council whether they would comply with the request from Reform to hand over the requested information. A KCC spokesperson told us, “We look forward to continuing to work collaboratively and professionally with the new administration here at KCC, including the DOGE team.” They went on to say that “KCC has always been committed to transparency and accountability, and has been consistently praised by external auditors for the accuracy of its accounts and the prudent management of public funds,” further noting that “Much of our information including full budget, external contracts register, and auditor’s reports is already in the public domain for anyone to scrutinise and review.” We also asked KCC how they would be able to comply with the request for potentially sensitive data while also ensuring the protection of data and individuals being shared, particularly given the explicit request for whistleblower reports. They told us that “Kent County Council is aware and mindful of its statutory duties in relation to data and we ensure that we comply with these duties at all times.” We also asked KCC whether they would hand over such data to other political parties that requested it, for evidence that DOGE was ‘acting under the authority of the council,’ and whether KCC would appoint a liaison officer to coordinate with the Reform DOGE team as they requested. Kent County Council did not answer any of these questions. We further requested that KCC provide a list of names of the full DOGE team, as we believe this would be in the public interest if they were being granted access to council documents. They declined to provide this, suggesting we should put that to Reform directly. We put the request to Reform directly, but they did not respond. Following this, we approached the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, asking whether it was permissible for a council to hand over data to a third party acting on behalf of a political party, whether they have issued any guidance to local councils on this issue, and whether they have had any direct communication with Kent County Council on the issue. They told us that it is common for councils to bring in external support to review services and identify savings or efficiencies. So that’s okay. Taking more of a position on the issue was Rich Lehmann, leader of the Green group at Kent County Council, who told us when we asked whether KCC should be complying with the requests from Reform’s DOGE team: > *“KCC should be co-operating with the requests of the doge where they are compliant with the relevant laws and regulations, but they should definitely not be co-operating if asked to go beyond those boundaries.* > > *Sadly the wording of the letter which was tweeted on Sunday night was sufficiently vague that it's difficult to know whether what was being asked was beyond what is legal, but on the surface it did appear to me to be asking for access to information beyond that which is generally shared with elected councillors, and certainly beyond what would be shared with unelected members of the public, such as Zia Yusuf, Arron Banks and Nathaniel Fried.”* We also asked the opposition Liberal Democrat group and the Conservative group the same question but received no response. It is unclear exactly how much access the Reform DOGE team have been giving to KCC data. One person with knowledge of the situation told us anonymously that officers were effectively handing them data that was already publicly available anyway, but we have been unable to corroborate this. It is also unclear exactly what kind of smoking gun the DOGE team were expecting to find in the first place. Council accounts are heavily audited and almost entirely in the public domain, so it would be difficult to find anything within them that had already been extensively examined and discussed. That doesn’t mean they didn’t try to come up with something though. Yusuf took to X to announce that they had [found £2.8m in financial irregularities](https://x.com/ZiaYusufUK/status/1930258322017427849?ref=kentcurrent.news), something that Local Democracy Reporter Simon Finlay [reported in May last year](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/care-provider-paid-63k-to-look-after-someone-who-had-died-306901/?ref=kentcurrent.news). He proceeded to up the ante by [claiming](https://x.com/ZiaYusufUK/status/1930354435999576124?ref=kentcurrent.news) that KCC had tendered a contract worth £350m for recruitment services, which does sound very bad. Of course, the [reality is rather different](https://x.com/i%5Firatus/status/1930498466171568209?ref=kentcurrent.news) as the tender was for a framework open to all public bodies in the UK, meaning the KCC spend would be significantly lower than the headline figure. Reform were eager to point out that the DOGE process at Kent County Council would take some time, but it is unclear this evening whether the tank is already empty. In the last few hours, Yusuf announced that he was [quitting his role as Chairman](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq54p9epdg6o?ref=kentcurrent.news), and DOGE bro Nathaniel Fried said he would [join him in exiting](https://x.com/nattyfried/status/1930671744865477103?ref=kentcurrent.news) at the same time. As a result, the Reform DOGE team, less than a week after being formed, seemingly consists of (again, incredibly litigious) upstanding citizen Arron Banks and some unidentified tech types. It’s hard to imagine they will be troubling County Hall again anytime soon. --- #### Meanwhile… Amongst all of the DOGE drama, there is still little sign of any actual governing from the new Reform administration at County Hall. As we reported last week, committee meetings where councillors scrutinise and make decisions continue to be cancelled, with nine scheduled meetings for June already being postponed or cancelled. These include committees related to health, environment and transport, children’s services, and, ironically, governance. A Kent County Council spokesperson told us that “a number of meetings were squeezed into June due to the election and induction period preventing them from being held in May (as would be the case in a non-election year). Because there are no time sensitive issues due at these June meetings, consideration is being given to deferring business to relevant July meetings to make best use of Member and Officer time.” Green group leader Rich Lehmann had a different take on what was going on with the lack of meetings, telling us, “My understanding is that a far greater number of Reform councillors were elected than expected, and that they are not able to find enough councillors to fill the far larger number of committee places they've been allocated compared to what they were expecting.” In the meantime, other basic democratic functions appear to be falling by the wayside. Councils are legally obligated to publish a Register of Members’ Interests within 28 days of an election. It has been 35 days since the local elections in Kent, with no sign of any register being published. This seems like a somewhat unfortunate oversight for a council now being run by an administration of councillors who seem so enthusiastic about transparency and accountability. Maybe they’ll get something published next week… --- *Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via *hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news* \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* --- #### Nominative determinism of the week Incredible scenes from the [Register of Members’ Financial Interests](https://members.parliament.uk/members/commons/interests/publications?ref=kentcurrent.news) this week, which logs all of the income, gifts, and donations received by MPs, where Tonbridge Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat has received a donation of £38,000 from… Michael Tory. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f19524547-c685-4e88-8832-6b23cc05d190_1272x296.png) --- #### In brief 🏥 Hospitals in Kent will receive [nearly £22m to carry out repair and upgrade works](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cyvm1673j1eo?ref=kentcurrent.news). East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust will receive £13.2m, Medway NHS Foundation Trust will get £4.8m, Maidstone Hospital £3.5m, while mental health facilities in Dover and Maidstone will share £400,000. 🐦 The government’s new Planning and Infrastructure Bill could make building on protected nature sites easier, with [Lodge Hill in Medway highlighted as particularly at risk](https://www.localauthority.news/p/nightingales-may-face-a-fresh-battle?ref=kentcurrent.news). The Guardian [came for a wander around the woods](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jun/04/england-nightingale-sanctuary-at-risk-from-planning-bill?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🥀 [Two Folkestone Labour councillors have quit the party](https://folkestonedispatch.substack.com/i/164627735/news-in-brief), with one blaming “recent rhetoric on immigration” for their departure. 🏭 Plans have been submitted for a [£120m waste-to-hydrogen plant](https://www.bdaily.co.uk/articles/2025/06/03/plans-submitted-for-kent-hydrogen-plant?ref=kentcurrent.news) at Manston, near Ramsgate. 💷 A transport campaign group believes tolls at the Dartford Crossing will [need to increase to £8.10](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/29/drivers-tolls-could-triple-at-planned-lower-thames-crossing-say-campaigners?ref=kentcurrent.news) if the Lower Thames Crossing is to be viably built using private finance. 🏗️ Sevenoaks District Council is seeking a development partner to deliver a [£125m regeneration project](https://www.constructionenquirer.com/2025/06/02/125m-sevenoaks-regeneration-plan-advances/?ref=kentcurrent.news) for the town centre. 🏘️ Tunbridge Wells Borough Council could [build 100 homes on Market Square](https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/shopping-centre-regeneration-plan-kent-10232247?ref=kentcurrent.news) as part of regeneration plans for the Royal Victoria Place shopping centre. 🍔 Dover District Council are [recommending that a new McDonald’s on the A20 near the entrance to the Port of Dover be approved](https://moderngov.dover.gov.uk/documents/s62159/McDonalds%20Report.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news). The designers clearly expect it to be busy, including an incredibly long drive-through lane in the plans. 🚫 Folkestone and Hythe District Council continue to clamp down on live music in the town, [rejecting an application to reopen a former town centre venue](https://folkestonedispatch.substack.com/p/plans-to-revive-the-former-harp-club) after nearby residents objected. 🌲 [A new National Nature Reserve has launched in Kent](https://kentdowns.org.uk/our-projects/nkwd/?ref=kentcurrent.news). The awkwardly named North Kent Woods and Downs National Nature Reserve will extend from Shorne Woods to Wrotham Water. 🐣 [39 curlew chicks have been born at Elmley Nature Reserve](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8d1rnqqll4o?ref=kentcurrent.news) on the Isle of Sheppey as part of an initiative to protect them from local extinction. 🍺 Two Kent brands have come together, with brewer and pub chain Shepherd Neame [signing a deal to stock Kent Crisps](https://www.shepherdneame.co.uk/news/independent-businesses-shepherd-neame-and-kent-crisps-announce-delicious-new-partnership?ref=kentcurrent.news) in venues across the southeast. 📺 [A new Channel 4 documentary about the Port of Dover](https://www.channel4.com/programmes/dover-247-britains-busiest-port/on-demand/77219-001?ref=kentcurrent.news) started this week. 🏹 Could you be a [descendant of a 1525 uprising](https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/english-heritage-kent-tunbridge-wells-thomas-cromwell-english-b1231109.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) near Tunbridge Wells? If so, English Heritage would love to hear from you. 📰 It’s been a big week for media outlets looking at our county: - The Telegraph [visited Ebbsfleet and branded it a “disaster”](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/property/ebbsfleet-ultimate-commuter-town-never-was/?ref=kentcurrent.news) before heading down to [Ramsgate to spend time in Wetherspoons](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/britains-biggest-wetherspoons/?ref=kentcurrent.news). - Christie’s auction house decided to look at what [art-led regeneration has done for Margate](https://www.christies.com/en/stories/margate-art-city-guide-e1deb1629f1b4e2cb5d028d88a1c5d53?ref=kentcurrent.news). - Cosmopolitan got [very excited about Deal](https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/lifestyle/travel/a64890032/deal-travel-guide/?ref=kentcurrent.news). --- #### More Currents Our wonderful [paid supporters](#/portal/signup) received two extra editions of the *Kent Current* this week. On Tuesday, [we explored some of the stranger place names in Kent](https://www.kentcurrent.news/between-ham-and-sandwich/) and looked at what they can tell us not only about the past but our present as well. [Between Ham and SandwichKent is a county rich in history and character, but some of its most curious mysteries aren’t found in its castles or churches. They're displayed openly on road signs and maps, captured in place names that provoke a second glance and, often, an involuntary laugh. These unusual names tell stories about Kent’s past that can be equally strange, amusing, human, and revealing.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f8d4a4c7f-19fc-4e7c-87d7-4ed0b87571a5_567x567-18.png)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f584b0e7c-c082-4eab-9ac4-4c277f671ece_960x503-jpeg.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/between-ham-and-sandwich/) Over the weekend, Steven [interviewed prolific artist, musician, and poet Sexton Ming](https://www.kentcurrent.news/people-creating-inspires-me-to-create/), who was a founder of both the Medway Poets and the Stuckist art movement. [“People creating inspires me to create”Sexton Ming is an artist, musician and poet. In the late 70s, he co-founded The Medway Poets, and in the late 90s, he was momentarily a Stuckist. Steven chatted with him about where he got that name, his brief time in the Stuckists, what he’s working on now, and lots more.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f8d4a4c7f-19fc-4e7c-87d7-4ed0b87571a5_567x567-19.png)Kent CurrentSteven Keevil![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f3ee505c4-6f4c-485c-9f04-288642ccf6ed_1440x754-jpeg.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/people-creating-inspires-me-to-create/) The *Kent Current* has no corporate overlords, advertising, or millionaires backing our work. We can only do this because some of our readers choose to support us by [taking out a paid subscription](#/portal/signup). If you enjoy these dispatches, please consider doing the same so we can build a sustainable model of truly independent journalism for Kent. [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup) --- #### Footnotes *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews) *and* [*BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* *If you enjoy the Kent Current, please share it with your friends, family, associates, and even your enemies. We have no meaningful marketing budget, so we rely on word of mouth from our readers to find new readers.* ### Between Ham and Sandwich URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/between-ham-and-sandwich/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:56:09.000Z Kent is a county rich in history and character, but some of its most curious mysteries aren’t found in its castles or churches. They're displayed openly on road signs and maps, captured in place names that provoke a second glance and, often, an involuntary laugh. These unusual names tell stories about Kent’s past that can be equally strange, amusing, human, and revealing. As ever in Kent, curiosity often begins with lunch. Ham and Sandwich, two entirely separate places, sit quietly in the east Kent landscape. Their pairing is accidental, but that hasn’t stopped people from treating it like a comedy duo. Just a couple of miles south of Sandwich, Ham derives from the Old English ‘hamm,’ meaning land hemmed in by water. Sandwich, a historic port town, comes from ‘sand wic,’ a sandy collection of buildings. Together, they form a punchline and are immortalised on a road sign that has become something of a minor tourist attraction. Such is the appeal of Ham Sandwich that no one even pays attention to poor Finglesham. ![File:Ham Sandwich sign - geograph.org.uk - 1983152.jpg](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f584b0e7c-c082-4eab-9ac4-4c277f671ece_960x503-jpeg-2.jpg) It’s easy to laugh. That’s the first reaction, usually. But these aren’t parody towns. No one named them to make a point. Their histories are long, local, and layered. Even the funniest-sounding names point to something that once made sense to someone. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### “People creating inspires me to create” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/people-creating-inspires-me-to-create/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:56:10.000Z [*Sexton Ming*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexton%5FMing?ref=kentcurrent.news) *is an artist, musician and poet. In the late 70s, he co-founded The Medway Poets, and in the late 90s, he was momentarily a Stuckist. Steven chatted with him about where he got that name, his brief time in the Stuckists, what he’s working on now, and lots more.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f3ee505c4-6f4c-485c-9f04-288642ccf6ed_1440x754-jpeg-2.jpg) Sexton Ming. Photo: Jeff Pitcher. **Sexton Ming is an unusual name. What is its origin?** It came about in the old punk rock days. Everyone was giving themselves a pseudonym, like Phil Sick, that kind of thing. I just came up with Sexton from Sexton Blake and Ming from Ming the Merciless, Flash Gordon. You've got good and bad. Yin and yang. **Do you go by Sexton Ming all the time, or is that only for artistic purposes?** It's what people are comfortable with. I don't mind them referring to me with my real name or Sexton, whatever people are comfortable with. **What is your birth name, if you don't mind me asking?** Well, on my birth certificate is Anthony Stewart Waghorne. But of course, Anthony is shorted to Tony, and that's shorted to Tone, so people either call me Sexton or Tone. **Do you have a link to Medway’s famous** [**Waghorn**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas%5FFletcher%5FWaghorn?ref=kentcurrent.news)**?** Has he got an E on the end of it? **He doesn't, no.** No, he's not part of the Waghorne clan. I think the Waghorne clan with the E on the end, we've got a bit of pikey in us. **You have, over time, been an artist, a poet, a musician. Is there one of those which takes priority?** Yeah, it would have to be music. I'm very passionate about music. **What instruments do you play?** Well, in the past, I've played drums. I don't think I could do that now because of my health. But basically, guitar, bass. I can muck around on keyboards. I can't play the piano, but I can play accompanying sounds. **Do you remember all the bands you've been in over the years?** When I was at school, I was in the original Aunties Vegetable. And then Scruffy Crew. And then the Gruff Men. What was after the Gruff Men? Oh, and then the second version of Auntie Vegetable with Bruce Brand, Allan Crockford, Jamie Taylor, and Ian Smith on drums. I think it was the Diamond Gussets. Oh, well, you know, doing a solo album. Then the Diamond Gussets. And then, I'll tell you what I am doing now. On Bandcamp, if you type in [Sexton Ming's Porridge Van](https://sextonmingsporridgevan.bandcamp.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news), there'll be over 100 albums. You can download for free. I do that with a guy, Jason Williams. I think we started just before lockdown. We call it schiz rock. We both got baggage *(laughs)*. **You're playing guitar on that?** Yeah. A lot of it is original soundtrack soundscapes. **You once released an album called Ban the Mindreader. Could you explain what that title was about?** Yeah, that was another band I was in. I don’t know if it’s still there, I haven’t been to Medway for years. Where the new Rochester station is, it used to be a car park, and you used to have a flea market every Saturday or something. There was this one wall that partitioned it off. There was this graffiti that said, ‘Ban the Mindreader, it causes headaches or nosebleeds.’ There was another one, I think, near Gillingham, a similar thing, Ban the Mindreader. We really liked the name. The music was nothing to do with that. We just called it Ban the Mindreader. **How did you come to be a member of the** [**Medway Poets**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The%5FMedway%5FPoets?ref=kentcurrent.news)**?** When I left school, I went to this writer's group at Gravesend Adult Education College. It was just full of old ladies writing Mills and Boone type stories and how they got published in Cosmopolitan and blah, blah, blah. One time, I turned up, and there were all these pamphlets, different writers groups and all that. I found this one, and it said, Our Crowd, publications like Uncle Nasty's Pork Pies, Gazonda. I thought, they sound so weird, they're on my wavelength. I wrote to Rob Earl, Out Crowd we were originally called. He sent in my poems, and eventually we changed the name to the Medway Poets. That's how I met Billy *(Childish)* and everyone. Just that chance of turning up that week and finding this little pamphlet. **How would you describe your poetry?** Again, I'd say schiz looking back. There's a great T-shirt actually. It says, ‘Be quiet, a schizophrenic is talking, listen and learn.’ Because we can see. It's hard, I think it is important, the schizophrenic’s opinion. I'm not really interested in the established poets **Did your poetry influence lyrics in the music, or are they very separate?** Well, my favourite poets actually are lyricists like Don Van Vliet, Captain Beefheart, Kevin Coyne. I see lyrics as poems, really. I'm not really interested in the established poets if you know what I mean. There's this one lyric by Phil Mayer, The Prefects: ‘As silver tears, they weave and lace, sad patterns upon her face.’ I mean, that is poetry. Lyrics are lyricists are my favourite poets. I’ve forgotten what the question was. **It was just about that connection between poetry and lyrics in the work that you do.** Yeah, because I think one of my poems was Watch Explosion. The meter was influenced by a track by Public Image. I can hear the melody… I don’t know… I'll shut up *(laughs)*. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### East Kent might actually be able to build things again URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/east-kent-might-actually-be-able/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:56:11.000Z *Thanks for reading the Kent Current! It’s great that you’ve decided to join us, and we hope you had a lovely Kent Day earlier this week, however you chose to celebrate. Today, we have news that things might finally be able to be built in east Kent again following the creation of a nutrient credit system in the area, so we’ve been learning what that all means. Further down, we have yet more news about flags, a curious trend at Kent County Council, news in brief, and more.* --- #### East Kent might actually be able to build things again Since 2020, councils in east Kent have been forced to sit on thousands of stalled housing applications after Natural England ruled that new development across swathes of Canterbury, Ashford, and parts of Folkestone couldn’t go ahead. The culprit was Stodmarsh National Nature Reserve, an area of wetlands east of Canterbury, where excess nitrogen and phosphorus from sewage and agriculture were degrading the ecosystem. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fe4133372-6071-4dda-a469-973a8c2743d1_2500x1406-jpeg-1.jpg) Fast forward to 2025, and one of the country’s most notorious planning logjams may finally be shifting. Developers may once again be granted permission to build in parts of Kent, thanks to a nutrient credit system operating through a joint venture between Ashford Borough Council and Canterbury City Council that allows the environmental impact of new homes to be offset against mitigation projects elsewhere in the river catchment. It’s technical, bureaucratic, and long overdue, but it might just work. The scheme is being delivered through Stour Environmental Credits Ltd, a company co-owned by the two councils. Developers will pay for credits based on the nitrogen and phosphorus their projects are expected to produce. The money will then be spent on schemes that reduce pollution elsewhere, like converting farmland into wetlands or upgrading septic tanks. It’s a potential breakthrough five years in the making. In October 2020, Natural England’s advice on Stodmarsh halted new developments across large parts of east Kent overnight. Suddenly, planning applications in Ashford, Canterbury, and other catchment areas were judged not just on local need or design quality but on the chemical consequences of every flushed toilet. With no offsetting mechanism in place, most developments were simply frozen. By 2022, more than 20 major projects across the area had stalled. These issues didn’t just impact housing developments, with a £30m mixed-use redevelopment in the centre of Canterbury also falling foul of the rules. In the meantime, water quality hasn’t improved. In fact, reports after the rules were put in place blamed worsening river pollution on failing wastewater infrastructure, blocked drains, and outdated treatment works. Along the way, efforts have been made to get things moving again, from lobbying the government for help or proposing site-specific sewage treatment works, which controversially led to the approval of 6,000 homes at the Chilmington Green development near Ashford. Now, with legal and financial mechanisms in place, Ashford and Canterbury are preparing to start using the nutrient credit system to get building underway once again. The implications are significant. In Ashford alone, around 7,000 homes have been stalled due to the problem. But the challenge now becomes one of balance. The Stodmarsh protections were put in place because the site is part of a legally protected habitat network, and its deterioration is serious. Any credible solution must be environmentally sound and not just a paperwork exercise. The new credit scheme is designed to meet that standard with legal agreements for measurable reductions and oversight, but the nature of local government means it will take some time to judge its effectiveness. The need for housing across Kent is still urgent. Kent’s population is growing, and the county is under pressure to deliver tens of thousands of homes by the end of the decade. Local Plans in Ashford, Canterbury, and beyond depend on unlocking strategic sites not just for homes but for infrastructure like schools, roads, and health provision. The new system doesn’t necessarily solve every problem. Credits are finite, and not every site will be viable. But for the first time since 2020, developers may have a clear route to approval, and councils have a working process that will allow them to start meeting their housing need in a way that maintains the natural environment. It’s a compromise between growth and protection, and other areas across the country will be looking to see how well it works. After being stuck for five years, east Kent’s housing pipeline may finally start flowing again. The test now is whether this new model can deliver the new homes and infrastructure that the county needs while also protecting an already delicate area of the natural environment. --- *Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via *hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news* \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…* --- #### Look, we know you’re bored of hearing about flags Somehow, with everything else going on, flags have become one of the big issues in local politics. This was most notable last week, with the new Reform administration at Kent County Council pledging to remove the Ukrainian flag from the council chamber and refuse to fly any pride flags on or in KCC buildings. So it is perhaps somewhat surprising to see a [planning application submitted](https://pa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=SVVYHKTYLIZ00&ref=kentcurrent.news) by Kent County Council shortly after the local elections requesting permission to fly, among others, the EU flag, the Progress Pride flag, the Romany flag, and the Windrush flag on County Hall in Maidstone. Taking aside the slightly weird scenario where Kent County Council has to seek planning permission from Maidstone Borough Council to fly flags on Kent County Council’s headquarters, the timing of the application is curious. The application was submitted on Wednesday 7 May, less than a week after Reform won control of the county. We can safely assume that the new Reform administration were not behind the application given the time frame and, well, Reform themselves, so who at KCC was behind the request to raise the flags above County Hall? The full application does include a number of more Reform-friendly flags, like ones marking VJ Day or Armed Forces Day, but it is hard to imagine Reform will be eager to fly the EU flag anytime soon. We asked Kent County Council about the timing of the application and whether or not they will continue with the application given the county’s new administration, but we received no response. *If you have any insight on why KCC made the request days after Reform took control, particularly if you’re a mischievous officer seeing what they can get away with, we’d love to hear from you.* --- #### The shape of things to come? With a new administration in place at County Hall, you might expect that they might be eager to hit the ground running and start putting all their meaningful policy pledges into action. That doesn’t appear to be what is happening at Kent County Council though. After winning the election on 1 May, one full meeting of the county council [met last week](https://www.kentcurrent.news/reform-plants-its-flag-at-county/), but meetings in the coming weeks are very sparse. In fact, all KCC committee meetings outside of appointments at Personnel Committee have either been [cancelled or postponed](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/mgCalendarMonthView.aspx?M=5&CID=0&OT=&C=-1&MR=0&DL=0&D=1&ACT=Later&DD=2025&ref=kentcurrent.news) for the next several weeks. - 4 June - Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee - cancelled - 4 June - Kent and Medway Police and Crime Panel - postponed - 11 June - Planning Applications Committee - cancelled - 12 June - Governance and Audit Committee - cancelled - 17 June - Regulation Committee - cancelled As it stands, the first regular committee meeting expected to take place is Environment & Transport Cabinet Committee, scheduled for 24 June. However, there is a chance that someone just hasn’t got around to cancelling that either. At last week’s KCC meeting, new council leader Linden Kemkaran promised to create a new Department of Local Government Efficiency (DOLGE) to try and tacke wasteful spending within the organisation. Perhaps this ‘streamlining’ of meetings is all part of that process. After all, it’s hard to waste money if you don’t have to make any decisions on how to spend it. --- #### In brief 🏗️ A 1,600-home development on the edge of Birchington [looks set to go ahead](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2025/05/22/secretary-of-state-confirms-1600-home-development-in-birchington-will-not-be-called-in-by-government/?ref=kentcurrent.news) after the government refused to call-in and examine Thanet District Council’s approval of the scheme. 🚗 [Nearly 80,000 speeding tickets were issued in Kent](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg9nvp231ko?ref=kentcurrent.news) last year, with the M25 at Swanley catching the most number of motorists. 🚒 Kent Fire and Rescue have been [fighting a fire at a scrap metal yard in Northfleet for three days](https://www.kent.fire-uk.org/incident/gravesham/close-windows-and-doors-and-around-gravesend-town-centre-due-heavy-smoke?ref=kentcurrent.news). Residents in the area were advised to keep doors and windows shut as firefighters tried to control the 5,000-tonne metal fire. 🗄️ According to Home Office data, just over [1,000 asylum seekers are receiving support in Kent](https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/interactive-map-shows-number-asylum-10210395?ref=kentcurrent.news). This figure is lower than across much of the UK. 👩🏾‍⚕️ A nurse working at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford has [described experiencing constant racial abuse](https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/kent-nurse-says-suffers-constant-10216768?ref=kentcurrent.news) on the job. One incident earlier this month also saw her physically attacked during a racist tirade. 🚐 Travellers have won the right to stay on Medway Council land [following a judgement from Canterbury County Court](https://www.localauthority.news/p/travellers-win-right-to-remain-on?ref=kentcurrent.news). The court ruled that removing them from the site they originally had permission to use would breach their human rights in a case that could have implications for other councils across the country. 🏘️ Spending on temporary accommodation in Folkestone and Hythe has increased [by 148% over the past year](https://folkestonedispatch.substack.com/p/council-spending-on-temporary-housing). It is a pattern likely replicated across the county as more households face homelessness. 🏗️ Plans for up to 100 new homes south of Faversham [have been submitted](https://pa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=SUEO5KTYFUC00&ref=kentcurrent.news) to Swale Borough Council. The plans also include extra care accommodation, commercial space, and a drive-through restaurant on land adjacent to the town's new Aldi and Premier Inn. 🇵🇸 A women’s football cup final being held at Maidstone United’s Gallagher Stadium was abandoned after the [Kent club objected to fans waving Palestinian flags](https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/women-cup-final-abandoned-palestine-flags-clapton-fc-dulwich-hamlet-b1229862.html?ref=kentcurrent.news). After fans refused to take them down, both teams walked away from the fixture rather than play the game behind closed doors. 💣 A wartime [bomb was detonated on Minster Leas beach](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sheerness/news/video-shows-moment-wartime-bomb-detonated-by-army-on-beach-324923/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Sheppey after being found in a nearby garden shed. “I was actually quite excited. It's not every day something like this occurs,” one local resident told KentOnline. 🦟 [Kent is the ‘perfect place’ for new mosquito species to establish themselves](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c7871g7e6nvo?ref=kentcurrent.news) in the UK. Another climate change bonus. ⛴️ Uber Boat is operating a [Kent to London leisure service](https://www.thamesclippers.com/whats-on-and-offers/gravesend-and-tilbury-leisure-trips?ref=kentcurrent.news) on seven dates through the summer. Return journeys from Gravesend to London Bridge cost £25.70. 🎲 The Isle of Thanet News has been [meeting the area’s game-loving nerds](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2025/05/27/exploring-thanets-game-loving-nerd-community/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🐚 An artist is spending [hundreds of hours restoring part of Margate’s Shell Grotto](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwyjjd04l3wo?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🎨 Great British Life thinks there is an [‘exciting resurgence’ happening in Dover](https://www.greatbritishlife.co.uk/magazines/kent/25100328.visit-dover-arts-culture-scene/?ref=kentcurrent.news), highlighting the blossoming arts and culture scene of the town. 🚂 Deal Town Council wants to [introduce a seafront ‘land train’](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/deal/news/kent-s-first-seaside-land-train-would-turn-town-into-premie-324901/?ref=kentcurrent.news) between the town and Walmer, saying it would turn the area into a “premier tourist destination.” Sure. 🚫 Premier tourist destination latest: Walmer Town Council has [closed a multi-use games area in the town](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/deal/news/sports-court-shut-permanently-after-neighbours-noise-compla-324795/?ref=kentcurrent.news) due to the rather contradictory reasons of ‘regular complaints of noise’ and ‘lack of use. --- #### Footnotes *The Kent Current is only free thanks to the readers who choose to support it by becoming a paid subscriber. If you value what we’re trying to do here and you haven’t already done so, please consider upgrading to become a paid supporter of our work so we can keep this thing going.* [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup) *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews) *and* [*BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* *If you enjoy the Kent Current, please share it with your friends, family, associates, and even your enemies. We have no meaningful marketing budget, so we rely on word of mouth from our readers to find new readers.* ### The return of the beautiful tabletop game URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-return-of-the-beautiful-tabletop/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:56:20.000Z *If you grew up in the 70s or 80s, there’s a good chance you have encountered Subbuteo. The tabletop football game was created in Kent and was all the rage at some point, and while its popularity may have peaked, it still has a dedicated following. After the Subbuteo World Cup returned to Tunbridge Wells, the game is seeing a resurgence in Kent, so we’ve been finding out more.* *Further down, we learn about the Kent magazine keeping Kent history alive, a Maidstone fish and chip outlet that keeps winning awards, our guide to the best upcoming Kent events, and lots more.* --- #### The return of the beautiful tabletop game *Subbuteo, the tabletop football game, was created by Peter Adolph in Tunbridge Wells. Following the company's sale, the game's production left Kent in 1982\. Eventually, there was no longer even a club for the game in the town. However, last year, the Subbuteo World Cup returned the beautiful game to Tunbridge Wells, and now there is once again a club in Tunbridge Wells. We spoke to the English Subbuteo Association’s Alan Lee to learn more.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f8d2eb3b9-5abc-42b3-9d8e-c4fd42c866a0_7360x4912-jpeg-1.jpg) Subbuteo was created in 1946 by Peter Adolph in Langton Green, just outside Tunbridge Wells. “It was a game played by, they estimate, about seven million people back in the late 70s, and early 80s,” says Alan Lee, Chairman of the English Subbuteo Association. The tabletop football game is similar to the regular game, only at scale, and “basically you get three flicks with any one player,” Alan says. However, you must use your index finger or your middle finger to flick the player against the ball, as using your thumb is a foul or ‘an illegal flick.’ The pitch is also slightly different to a standard football pitch in that it has a ‘shooting area.’ “There's an extra line just outside the 18-yard box,” Alan tells me. I start to have flashbacks of a 10-year-old me, both hurting my fingers flicking the players or being upset that I had accidentally knelt on a player. “Yeah, a common memory is of fights with siblings because it was hard to get the game on the kitchen table.” The players in the 80s could be quite brittle, but modern players can be more robust. Alan tells me there are splinter groups of the game. “You've got collectors of the old vintage teams. A lot of these will sell for maybe a thousand pounds.” There is a big market for collectors and for stadium builders as well. “I wasn't lucky enough to be able to afford the grandstands and all the accessories back then.” The ESA promote both the vintage game competitions and the modern sports side of the game, which is played through the Federation of International Sports Table Football. A modern team usually has “a very professional type of figure”, with a flatter base than the older models and made with better materials, “which can withstand the intense game”. The ESA facilitates the playing of the game and competitions, as well as encouraging collections and stadium building. There are currently 50 clubs across England, “which is a massive growth since covid,” including a club in Twydall, Gillingham. The ESA run the English championships, six events hosted by different clubs. They also run the English entry into an international Grand Prix, which features 200 players from all over Europe. They also host international opens, “which are development tournaments for the FISTF World Tour,” played in 26 countries worldwide, including Japan, Singapore, Brazil, the US, and Canada. Peter Adolph sold Subbuteo to Waddingtons in the late 70s, who moved the factory out of Tunbridge Wells in the 80s, and interest in the game declined over time. “I was staggered that there wasn't a club in Tunbridge Wells. You couldn't buy Subbuteo in any shop in Tunbridge Wells”. That changed last year when the ESA hosted the Subbuteo World Cup, and they contacted Tunbridge Wells Borough Council to host the tournament. “They have become partners with us now. They have been superb in terms of giving us space and support.” Having successfully hosted the World Club, the Langton Green Subbuteo Club launched in April. It runs at the Amelia Scott Centre and meets monthly on a Saturday afternoon. “If you play the game in public, people just come up to you and tell you their Subbuteo story.” Alan himself got to the final of the English Championships in the 80s, where he lost 1-0\. He has gone on to captain the England Subbuteo team in the modern game, though he notes that he doesn’t get to play as much anymore as “organising the World Cup was almost a full-time job.” *You can find out more about the English Subbuteo Association on* [*their website*](https://www.englishsubbuteoassociation.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, which has* [*details of the two Kent clubs*](https://www.englishsubbuteoassociation.com/items-1?ref=kentcurrent.news) *mentioned above.* --- #### The magazine keeping Kent’s history alive *Bygone Kent is a local history magazine which has been informing and entertaining readers since 1979\. Taken over by Christine and Stephen Rayner in 2013, they were highly commended in the Kent Magazine of the Year category at the 2024 Kent Press Broadcast Awards. We caught up with them to find out more about their work.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2ff3976c74-a461-4907-a800-d639e4e500c6_1992x1402-png.jpg) Bygone Kent is a magazine entirely devoted to Kent history, started in 1979 by Hamish Mackay Miller, a Rainham printer and publisher. He “was approached by various history-based writers,” says Christine. “He had a publishing company, and they were approaching him to say, ‘Could we have somewhere where we could publish our work?’” Hamish could see the appeal in the publication, and in October 1979, 10,000 copies were printed of the first edition. “That probably tells a tale about why there are still a lot of old copies around,” notes Christine, who is clear that the print run is nowhere near 10,000 today. Christine and Stephen Rayner, who both have a long history of local journalism, bought the magazine in 2013\. The Rayners, as well as three other professional journalists, work on the magazine without pay. “That's what surprises some people, because it's a glorified hobby project, but we feel it's important. Any money that we take, we plough back into it to keep it going.” The magazine has followers as far afield as Australia and America who have links with Kent. “We are telling stories which are vital to be held in the public eye, we feel.” As well as journalists, they have contributions from the oral historian and anthropologist Dr Chris de Coulon Berthoud, who [recently spoke to our Medway-focused sister title](https://www.localauthority.news/p/you-make-it-sound-so-romantic?ref=kentcurrent.news), *Local Authority*. Chris came onto the team as “a marvellous researcher and innovative person.” Sadly, the team lost a member a year ago, “a very good friend of ours called John Coulter, an absolute stalwart, our fact checker, our terrier of facts.” Stephen’s first connection with the magazine was when he was a reporter on the Chatham News, which is also where he first met fellow reporter, Christine. Stephen interviewed the editor of Bygone Kent when it was launched in 1979\. “I went back to the office and said what a great idea it was, and no one paid any attention to me at all. They thought I was absolutely crazy.” It is at this time that I have a flash-forward and wonder, as a journalist named Steven interviewing the current owners of the magazine, will I one day be approached to purchase it? When Bygone Kent celebrated its 40th anniversary, Stephen and Christine interviewed the founder, Hamish. “He is clearly somebody who had a vision, that history had a niche, and he wanted to assist history writers in passing on the information they had.” The magazine is quite different now from when it launched. Then it was “more intense, less interested in presentation,” says Christine. Stephen is a sub-editor with the Sunday Times and is more focused on how something looks. “The original features were usually theses,” says Stephen, “with postcard shaped pictures slapped on the page by the printer. It wasn’t properly designed at all.” Despite being dull to look at, Stephen acknowledges that people did still buy them. “In fact, we still sell articles from it,” providing digital copies as a small source of income. “Income is not great,” Stephen admits, but “we don't lose money very often, we break even.” It's fair to say that Bygone Kent owes its two directors money. The income they do receive is through subscriptions. “We can’t get any advertising,” laughs Stephen. Their plan is to create a Community Interest Company and broaden the company's remit to publish local writers. They also want to continue teaching journalism. Christine lectured at the Centre for Journalism at the University of Kent until its closure. “I teach practical journalism and have done for five years there,” she says. “Both of us are very passionate about the continuation of good quality journalism.” Christine and Stephen have a century’s worth of journalism experience between them, and both feel they still have something to share about the state of journalism in the future. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f44e56c71-61a6-4b88-b05c-f5cff744fd7a_1982x1408-png.jpg) Christine and Stephen agreed to buy Bygone Kent as a hobby project and work Andrew Rootes, an experienced journalist and historian who is Bygone Kent’s editor. “I worked with him on the KM,” says Stephen. “We soon realised we had similar interests.” Andrew is an expert on Higham, where he was brought up, Canterbury, and above all, Dickens. “We always used to joke about it with another guy called Crispin Whiting, saying wouldn't it be nice when we retired to have a hobby something like ‘Bygone Kent’. So there was a little bit of kismet.” The Rayners had never written for Bygone Kent before they took it over. “I'm not even sure I'd ever bought a copy because we always used to get a free copy at the office. I always used to read it. I had a big, big collection of them.” They admit to not knowing what is going into each edition until fairly late in the day. The magazine has a long production cycle, and are always pleased to welcome contributors. “At the moment, we're half empty,” says Stephen. “Stephen starts panicking,” interjects Christine. “He always does until we can find a cover image and see the pages begin to fill.” Readers and contributors will send them stories out of the blue, “Kent is so rich in history. We will never run out of stories.” *You can find out more about Bygone Kent on* [*their website*](https://bygonekent.org.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, where you can also subscribe or learn how to contribute to the magazine.* --- #### Maidstone fish and chips keeps winning awards [*Lewis’s Fish and Grill*](https://lewisfishandgrill.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *in Maidstone is an award-winning family-run business. We spoke to owner Gavin Lewis about managing a takeaway in a cost-of-living crisis, the work they do in the community, and being up for a Just Eat award.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f4937ad4a-2b8d-4b0a-9bbd-bf3a2a77b54b_2048x1536-heic.jpg) Gavin Lewis (second from left) and his team. Gavin describes his business as a new style of takeaway. “I would say gone are the days of the greasy fish and chips.” Lewis’s cooks in high-quality oil and at high temperatures, and they use a light thin tempura batter for the fish “just to make sure that the fish is nice and crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.” They also have a grill serving peri-peri chicken, which is baked in the oven before being chargrilled. Based on Loose Road in Maidstone, they provide a click-and-collect service and delivery to the surrounding area. “We've got a couple of benches outside in case you fancy it straight away, which is obviously the best way to have fish and chips.” This is the seventh year of Lewis's Fish and Grill. They won Best National Newcomer at the Fish and Chip Awards, which is very much a thing, in 2020\. They have been rated one of the best in the UK ever since. This year they are a finalist in the Just Eat Awards in the [Innovation Category](https://awards.just-eat.co.uk/vote/innovation-award?fbclid=IwY2xjawKc8eVleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETB2ZnlBOERUT0pTWTlKNmF5AR59ckVI6CkLg9tPOEXLaNEdyvXXFH0wwSjybFJflm8AuRTp3YqVh6bu5FIG2A%5Faem%5FujB%5Fn4aUOn4QennLqh8Asg&ref=kentcurrent.news). Business hasn’t been easy. Gavin has worked in the fish and chip trade for 30 years, but the covid pandemic hit shortly after he launched his own shop. “We've seemed to have gone from one crisis to another.” They have also been hit by a potato crisis from poor potato harvests caused by drought and now the cost-of-living economic crisis. “A large part of our demographic, who would have had fish and chips as part of a weekly or a fortnightly menu, are now moving more towards a monthly visit instead.” Gavin sees this as part of a recalibration of how the meal should be perceived. “The thing about fish and chips is that we've always been seen as cheap.” However, that has been built around margins that are “super tight” compared to other takeaway options like Chinese food or pizza. “Fish is one of the last hunted and caught products that we have on the planet. Our fish comes from the North Atlantic where fishermen risk their lives to get it.” Whilst the increase in prices has been challenging for the business and his customers, Gavin thinks this is how it should be and should have been for a long time. When external forces are affecting your two main ingredients, there is not a lot of control there. Lewis’s uses between 30 and 40 bags of potatoes and 100 kilos of fish, predominantly cod, each week. Whilst there are some other fish like pollock that are coming through because of the cost, “in the south, we are pretty sold on Cod. I think that that is going to be really hard to kind of break away from.” Gavin sees that an important part of what they do is giving back to the community. In addition to providing paid employment, they also support local work experience opportunities and pay for a fully-stocked book vending machine at a nearby school. The giving back even extends internationally when Gavin makes an annual trip to the Faroe Islands as part of the International Fish Fryers. “A lot of our fish comes from the North Atlantic, comes from the Faroe Islands, and Winston Churchill was a great fan of the Faroe Islands. The Faroese played quite a big part in helping to maintain a food supply to the UK during the Second World War.” Gavin and other international fish fryers are part of an event where they fry fish and chips for the whole island. “That can be around 10,000 portions in a day. It's great fun, but it's hard work.” --- #### Out to Lunch: Lewis’s Fish and Chips *Seeing as we were there, it made sense to sample the food at the same time…* Lewis’s can be found on the corner of a busy one-way route in Maidstone. This can be a slight challenge if you are travelling by bus, as was this writer. For normals who are driving, it’s a simple system, and there’s parking. Some crazy people even order a delivery. Lewis’s is clean, open, and welcoming. It also provides benches outside where you can sit, eat, and watch the one-way traffic go by. I ordered a large cod and chips, along with a side order of onion rings and a vanilla milkshake. Having previously discussed the challenges regarding the costs of fish and chips, it seemed reasonably priced. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f2a123882-23f5-4c14-9bee-e35a1eeec964-heic.jpg) The onion rings are some of the nicest I have eaten, not just in the history of food reviews for this and our sister publication [*Local Authority*](https://www.localauthority.news/?ref=kentcurrent.news), but ever. I wouldn’t say you should go somewhere just for the onion rings, but it is a strong plus point, as was the delicious vanilla milkshake. But of course, the reason that you should travel to Lewis’s Fish and Grill is, thankfully, the fish and chips. In a world where the cost of fish and chips has increased, some takeaways seem to overcompensate by over-portioning chips. This leads to, in the best case, chips being wasted and ending up in the bin, or the worst case, becoming overstuffed by starch and carbs. The portion size here was proportionate, providing the right amount of well-cooked chips. All of which is a preamble to the fish. The batter is crisp and tasty, and the fish is also well-portioned and melts in the mouth. When fish and chips taste this good, it’s easy to see why it wins awards. --- #### Upcoming Kent events 🍻 Sat 24 May - [**Kent Craft Beer Festival**](https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/kent-craft-beer-festival-tickets-1345277724889?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Craft beers from breweries across the UK, alongside live music and street food. Hatch, Gravesend. Tickets from £10. 🥘 24 - 26 May - [**Chatham Maritime Food and Drink Festival**](https://www.cmtrust.co.uk/play/food-and-drink-festival/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Local food and drink, with entertainment and dragon boat racing on the Sunday. Chatham Maritime, Chatham. Free. 🤼 Sat 31 May - [**UKPW Get Decked**](https://www.fatsoma.com/e/99dq0ybd/ukpw-live-wrestling-in-chatham-s-historic-dockyard-break-stuff?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Kent’s premiere professional wrestling organisation put on their biggest show yet. Chatham Historic Dockyard, Chatham. Tickets from £12. 🎤 Sat 31 May - [**Brian Bilston & Henry Normal**](https://revelationashford.co.uk/events/brian-bilston-henry-normal/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Two people reading some poems. Revelation St Mary, Ashford. Tickets from £23. 🏎️ 31 May - 1 Jun - [**Masters Historic Festival**](https://www.brandshatch.co.uk/2025/june/masters-historic-festival?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Two days of classic motorsport action on the legendary Grand Prix circuit. Brands Hatch, West Kingsdown. Tickets from £27. --- #### Footnotes *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews) *and* [*BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* *If you enjoy Local Authority, please share it with your friends, family, associates, and enemies. We have no meaningful marketing budget, so we rely on word of mouth from our readers to find new readers.* ### Reform plants its flag at County Hall URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/reform-plants-its-flag-at-county/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:56:23.000Z *Since Reform swept to power in Kent three weeks ago, we’ve been waiting to find out what the party might actually look like when running a council. Today, we got the first example of that at their first full council meeting, and we’ve got the details below. Further down, we have good news for people who think international trains should stop at international stations, a wild planning dispute from Tunbridge Wells, news in brief, and more.* --- #### Reform plants its flag at County Hall If there was one overriding message from today’s first full meeting of Kent County Council since Reform swept to power on May 1, their newly elected leader, Linden Kemkaran, made it clear: Her party is going to do things differently to what came before. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fb7d4c357-a2f8-405f-b633-966eb6cbc0d9_2500x1406-jpeg-1.jpg) “We are here to unite, not divide,” Kemkaran told the chamber shortly after her administration confirmed that pride flags are now banned from KCC buildings. Welcome to the new Kent. Reform holds a commanding majority at KCC, with 57 of the council’s 81 seats. The Liberal Democrats, now the main opposition, have 12 seats. The Conservatives, Greens, and Labour hold five, five, and two seats, leaving them little power within this new reality. Cllr Kemkaran introduced her full cabinet as the meeting concluded: - Deputy Leader: Brian Collins (Ashford Rural East) - Adult Social Care: Diane Morton (Gravesham Rural) - Environment: David Wimble (Romney Marsh) - Integrated Children’s Services: Christine Palmer (Swale) - Community & Regulatory: Paul Webb (Sittingbourne South) - Education & Skills: Beverley Fordham (Dartford West) - Highways & Transport: Bill Barrett (Ashford Rural South) - Department of Local Government Efficiency: Matthew Fraser Moat (Northfleet & Gravesend West) - Economic Development & Coastal Regeneration: Paul King (Dover West) The annual meeting opened with the election of Richard Palmer as Chair of the Council and Peter Evans as Vice Chair. This allowed Reform councillor Isabella Kemp to offer up the administration’s apparent slogan - “We’re here to make Kent great again” - which landed somewhere between political mission statement and Trumpian cosplay. Kemkaran’s leader’s report continued the theatrical tone. She declared the country as “broken,” said housing in Kent should be “primarily for local people,” argued the need to “ween ourselves off importing labour from abroad,” and promised to only proceed with net zero initiatives that offer “tangible benefits.” But the day’s fiercest debates were not about housing, climate or social care, but instead about flags. Lib Dem councillor Mike Sole asked if the pride flag, flown last year at County Hall, would be permitted again. Cllr Palmer replied that it would not, clarifying that only the Union flag, the flag of St George, the Kent flag, royal standards, and armed forces flags would be flown. “There should not be a hierarchy of flags,” Palmer said while constructing one at the same time. Kemkaran backed this position, stating that the council should not promote “special interest” flags for any one group. She also used the term “invasion” in reference to Channel boat crossings, arguing that the meaning of the Kent flag (‘unconquered’) was being made a mockery of. Labour Group leader (of two) Cllr Alister Brady focused on practical matters, asking Cllr Kemkaran whether Reform would reverse the previous administration’s budget decisions. While she confirmed a budget review will get underway, she stopped short of promising any immediate changes. She also introduced a new Cabinet post for the Department of Local Government Efficiency (DOLGE), headed by Matthew Fraser Moat, who will take on the role fulfilled by Elon Musk in the US. This new role will supposedly audit and examine every aspect of council operations. The immediate headline saving was a 5% cut in councillor allowances, which Kemkaran says will save over £100,000 to be redirected to Member Community Grants, a sort of austerity with a populist spin. Vague responses by Cllr Kemkaran met many questions on actions KCC would take under Reform’s administration. On bus cuts near Tunbridge Wells? No firm commitments. On the Road of Remembrance landslip in Folkestone? Engineers are “costing it.” On renewable energy? If it’s cheap, maybe. When asked about potential 20mph zones near schools, she said Reform UK didn’t believe in “one-size-fits-all” and would listen to what residents wanted. On renewable energy, the message was that anything offering clear financial or practical benefits might survive—but don’t expect wind turbines to enjoy a friendly breeze at County Hall. One thing that became clear was that future local government reorganisation and devolution is potentially going to face more resistance from KCC. Cllr Kemkaran made her scepticism clear, saying, “I’m not entirely convinced it’s the right thing for Kent,” and raised concerns that the conversion to multiple unitary authorities would “remove our unique identity.” Lib Dem opposition leader Cllr Antony Hook reiterated his party’s opposition to the proposed “Mayor of Kent” plan, calling it “too much power for one individual.” Cllr Lehmann, in the most Green way possible, said his own group had “varied views” on the upcoming changes but that those affected by them should make the decisions. It will take some time to see whether Reform can deliver any meaningful changes for residents beyond slogans and symbolism. One thing is clear though: We are in for a very different kind of local politics under their stewardship. --- #### Ebbsfleet to get international trains again… eventually Last month, [we looked at the absurd scenario](https://www.kentcurrent.news/can-international-rail-return-to/) where Kent has two ‘international’ railway stations with no international trains and the gradual changes that might result in services returning to the county. This week, [Uber announced that it had signed a deal](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g779l5v40o?ref=kentcurrent.news) to use its branding on a new international rail operation with Gemini Trains. The initial routes from the company would see trains running from London to Paris and Brussels, but most importantly for a Kent-based news outlet, they will also stop at Ebbsfleet International. But not Ashford. Small steps and all that. None of this is going to change anything overnight, either. The company anticipates starting services in 2029, and challenges still remain in getting new operators running on the Channel Tunnel route. Services at Ebbsfleet carry additional logistical issues too, and the more elaborate border control facilities introduced at St Pancras will need to be replicated there. Still, there is at least a chance that at least one of our international stations might actually be able to live up to its name by the end of the decade. --- #### Cheeky planning application ruined by pandemic and Google Maps An absolutely wild planning report from Tunbridge Wells, where an application over a 1.5m strip of land being used by a restaurant as an outdoor seating area has resulted in a lengthy document involving Google Maps, the pandemic, pedantry, and accusations of image doctoring. The argument centres around Sankey’s in the Pantiles area of the town centre, who have supposedly been using a larger area for outdoor seating than they have permission for. However, they have submitted a planning application for the additional land they have encroached onto to make it lawful as they have been getting away with it for ten years, and if you manage that continuously, the law says whatever breach you’ve committed should be deemed acceptable. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fd22f9e64-1365-456e-a7df-e08dd41bab3d_4000x2250-jpeg.jpg) The Pantiles in Tunbridge Wells. Au contraire, says Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, noting that the outdoor seating couldn’t possibly have been used continuously for ten years because the 2020 lockdown meant the area outside the restaurant was cleared. To back up their case, their report includes Google satellite imagery and a bunch of other photos comparing old images of the restaurant to manholes on the pavement. It’s the kind of dorky, impressive work that only a disgruntled planning officer could put together. The argument also features a number of supporting characters, with the Pantiles Residents Association (PRA) seemingly so incensed about the 1.5m overreach that they sent in a ton of photos, maps, and screenshots from YouTube videos to make their case against Sankey’s. In response, the restaurant accuses them of manipulating and editing the photos, which only irritates the PRA further. Spicy stuff. Ultimately, despite all of the evidence in play, the case seems likely to hinge on whether the ‘continuous’ ten-year period counts if it runs through a pandemic where everything was shut down and put away. Tunbridge Wells’ Planning Committee will hand down their judgement on the matter at a [meeting next week](https://democracy.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=377&MId=5886&ref=kentcurrent.news). In the meantime, you can read the [full 15-page report](https://democracy.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/documents/s77346/Old%20Fish%20Market%2025%2000361%20FINAL.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) (one for every 10cm of land being argued about) here. --- #### In brief 🚛 The government is considering [selling off the Sevington border check facility](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/may/22/government-considers-sale-of-brexit-border-checkpoint-in-kent-reports?ref=kentcurrent.news). Created in 2021 as part of a Brexit panic, the vast facility saw a large area on the edge of Ashford concreted over to hold up to 1,300 lorries waiting to cross the channel. In light of the recent UK-EU deal, the facility is unlikely to be needed going forward, leaving a giant lorry park up for grabs, with the government eyeing Eurotunnel or the Port of Dover as potential new owners. ⛴️ Speaking of the Port of Dover, they had a bit of a good news, bad scenario this week. The port was [very happy about the new UK-EU deal](https://www.portofdover.com/news/the-short-straits-uk-eu-post-brexit-deal-statement/?ref=kentcurrent.news), while also warning that there [isn’t enough funding to stop foot-and-mouth disease](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz0dr5lk2eno?ref=kentcurrent.news) from getting into the country. 🌳 The Conservatives have [lost majority control of Sevenoaks District Council](https://www.lgcplus.com/politics/governance-and-structure/conservatives-lose-control-of-district-as-nine-quit-20-05-2025/?ref=kentcurrent.news) after nine councillors resigned from the party to sit as a new West Kent Independents group. The move follows infighting over cabinet roles and leaves the Conservative administration with just 24 of the district’s 54 seats. 🧑‍⚕️ The Care Quality Commission has judged that [adult social care in Kent needs to improve](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c6267xg92dgo?ref=kentcurrent.news), highlighting ‘stark differences’ and ‘health inequalities’ across the county. 🔍 The Planning Inspectorate is [set to begin a four-week enquiry into a £40m development in Northfleet](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/gravesend/news/planning-inquiry-begins-into-controversial-40m-waterfront-324609/?ref=kentcurrent.news). The plans were called in by the government despite Gravesham Borough Council approving them, and most remarkably for a large development, letters of support outweighed letters of opposition nearly ten to one. 💰 [Medway Council has issued over £2m in fines](https://www.localauthority.news/p/medway-council-issues-over-2m-in?ref=kentcurrent.news) during the first year of enforcing Moving Traffic Offences and School Street restrictions in just 14 locations. Data obtained by our Medway-focused sister title [*Local Authority*](https://www.localauthority.news/?ref=kentcurrent.news) found nearly 35,000 fines were issued in the first year of the schemes. 💣 A Met Police instructor committed gross misconduct when he [drunkenly threw a petrol bomb at a training centre in Gravesend](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg5edd873po?ref=kentcurrent.news). The instructor proceeded to try to put it out himself rather than call the fire brigade, using 150 fire extinguishers in the process. For his part, he claimed he had "no recollection of personally ever throwing a petrol bomb." 🎓 The University of Greenwich is [looking to cut 319 jobs](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/medway/news/new-blow-for-campus-as-university-looks-to-slash-hundreds-of-324614/?ref=kentcurrent.news), a quarter of its workforce, with many jobs set to go at Medway's Faculty of Engineering and Science. The University and College Union responded by calling the institution a ‘[rogue employer](https://www.ucu.org.uk/article/14019/Rogue-employer-University-of-Greenwich-could-axe-over-300-staff?ref=kentcurrent.news).’ 🚄 Southeastern has completed [refreshing the interiors of its high-speed Javelin trains](https://newsroom.southeasternrailway.co.uk/news/highspeed-fleet-upgrade-on-the-right-track?ref=kentcurrent.news). The project's next stage will see passenger information improved and a new, more boring, external livery. 🎚️ Folkestone music venue [The Music Workshop is under threat after being served a noise abatement notice](https://folkestonedispatch.substack.com/p/town-centre-venue-seeks-community) from Folkestone & Hythe District Council. 🍟 Swale Borough Council officers recommend approving a [new McDonald’s near Canterbury](https://services.swale.gov.uk/meetings/documents/s30544/2.1.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news). The fast food outlet wants to take over the former Travelodge at Gate Services, but the final decision will be down to the council’s planning committee tonight. 🍅 Thanet Earth, the UK’s largest glasshouse complex, [has begun constructing a seventh building](https://www.hortidaily.com/article/9733735/thanet-earth-begins-construction-of-seventh-glasshouse/?ref=kentcurrent.news). The 6.5 additional hectares of space will allow them to grow 150m more tomatoes yearly. 🚰 Ground investigations are set to begin as [the first stage of building a new reservoir near Canterbury](https://www.geplus.co.uk/news/ground-investigations-set-to-begin-for-kents-proposed-broad-oak-reservoir-21-05-2025/?ref=kentcurrent.news). Southern Water is spearheading the Broad Oak scheme, which will be able to yield 22m litres of water each day. 🪲 Alan Titchmarsh wants you to [look out for a beetle](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyggj34kvro?ref=kentcurrent.news) that has been found in Kent after 50 years and has the potential to ruin potato crops. ⚽ Ashford Utd’s Gary Lockyer has become the [top scorer in this season’s FA Cup](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy4kl05e48lo?ref=kentcurrent.news) despite the eighth-tier side being eliminated in the tournament's third round. 🏨 ‘cene magazine has been[ exploring the delightfully vintage Walpole Bay Hotel](https://cenemagazine.co.uk/features/romantically-vintage-the-walpole-bay-hotel?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Margate. 🏖️ Tabloids have been having a fun week discovering Kent’s seaside towns. The Mirror is [very excited about ‘hidden gem’ Broadstairs](https://www.mirror.co.uk/travel/uk-ireland/hidden-gem-british-town-once-35269146?ref=kentcurrent.news), the Daily Express have [found the ‘forgotten’ (by who is unclear) Margate](https://www.express.co.uk/travel/uk/2055615/seaside-town-margate-resurgence?ref=kentcurrent.news), while the Standard [thinks people should visit Folkestone](https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/travel/folkstone-kent-guide-summer-staycation-tattinger-b1228213.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) before it becomes ‘too Margate.’ --- #### More Currents Earlier this week, we examined the current state of local government reorganisation in Kent, which will ultimately see the demise of 14 existing Kent councils, including KCC. Local leaders have six months to work out exactly what they think the future should look like, but agreement might be further away than ever. [Six months to redraw KentIf the great reorganisation of local government in Kent was supposed to be a tidy, technocratic affair involving spreadsheets, strategic planning, and polite agreement at committee meetings, it’s safe to say that ship has sailed, hit an iceberg, and is now drifting somewhere off Sheerness.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f8d4a4c7f-19fc-4e7c-87d7-4ed0b87571a5_567x567-20.png)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f07d7a5a6-0eb3-418d-980c-65eeed6f9509_4000x2250-jpeg.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/six-months-to-redraw-kent/) [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup) --- #### Footnotes *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews) *and* [*BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* *If you enjoy the Kent Current, please share it with your friends, family, associates, and even your enemies. We have no meaningful marketing budget, so we rely on word of mouth from our readers to find new readers.* ### Six months to redraw Kent URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/six-months-to-redraw-kent/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:56:24.000Z If the great reorganisation of local government in Kent was supposed to be a tidy, technocratic affair involving spreadsheets, strategic planning, and polite agreement at committee meetings, it’s safe to say that ship has sailed, hit an iceberg, and is now drifting somewhere off Sheerness. What started as a reasonably hopeful process of voluntary reform as part of a broader effort to gain more powers has become more complicated by baffling moves from the government and a new administration at Kent County Council. After some initial agreement that reorganisation and devolution were inevitable, we are now left with competing visions and a government that already seems bored with the process. Following a [joint submission from all 14 Kent councils](https://www.medway.gov.uk/news/article/1865/councils%5Foutline%5Finterim%5Fproposals%5Ffor%5Flocal%5Fgovernment%5Freorganisation%5Fin%5Fkent%5Fand%5Fmedway?ref=kentcurrent.news) on their progress towards reorganisation, Whitehall replied this week with a letter that, based on the response from Kent’s councils, was so diplomatic and devoid of substance it might as well have been printed in beige. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f07d7a5a6-0eb3-418d-980c-65eeed6f9509_4000x2250-jpeg-2.jpg) County Hall in Maidstone. Photo: stock.adobe.com #### What’s the plan? In the early stages of this saga, Kent’s 14 local authorities, a mix of a county council (Kent), a unitary authority (Medway), and 12 districts, did something quite rare in British politics: They agreed on something. Namely, that the current two-tier system of governance is no longer fit for purpose. Admittedly, they were rather strong-armed into their own abolition by the government threatening to force it through regardless. Still, they did manage to come together and begin working out what needed to happen next. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### “A lot of the stuff I do is below the radar” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/a-lot-of-the-stuff-i-do-is-below/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:56:25.000Z *Tristan Osborne was elected as the Labour MP for Chatham and Aylesford in 2024\. Having unsuccessfully run for parliament in 2015, he had served as a Medway Council councillor and cabinet portfolio holder before standing down in 2024\. We met him at the Mood Lift Cafe in Snodland to discuss the differences between those parliamentary campaigns, Reform’s recent election successes, whether he can unwind, and much more.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f52f016f5-cab5-4159-ba8f-3902dfd732da_3000x1571-jpeg-1.jpg) Chatham and Aylesford MP Tristan Osborne **Running for Parliament is something you did before. You've worked on it, and harboured that ambition for a long time. How does it feel now you’re there?** I'm here, and I'm smiling, so you can probably read that energy. I am really proud. If look at my career, the police, teaching, helping people is something I'm personally motivated by. This job gives you that opportunity to help people. Going into the office every day, speaking to my constituency team, how many cases have we done, how many people have we helped? I can't help everyone. I can't right every wrong sometimes. There are things which are frustrating in the job. The job is also incredibly multifaceted, much more than I'd ever envisioned before. It's almost like three jobs in one. Having to go to Parliament and be a parliamentarian and speaking and the events around that, and then being a constituency MP, which is being almost like a super councillor, making sure you're working with local people and teams and residents groups. Then you've got the pressures of decisions when policies come down, which impact different people in a good way sometimes and other times, people don't like the policy position. You're there as a lightning rod for either people's happiness or discontent, and that can be... I had experienced it as a councillor, but it's nowhere near the same level of engagement that I have at the moment. Fundamentally, people have the same concerns. **Chatham and Aylesford is a fairly unusual constituency in that it goes across a boundary, with one area within Medway and another under Kent County Council, urban and rural. Have you noticed the difference in terms of the people that live there?** No, fundamentally people have the same concerns. If I speak to a parent in Sondland, they want their kids to go to a good school. They want to have roads they can drive on which are not potholes. They want a GP service that they can access when they need. They want to have an economy which is growing, so they can have more money in their pockets. All of these things are just shared. It doesn't matter what ethnicity you are, what class you are, what background you come from, what you're doing right now. All of those issues, a good home life, stability in the economy, these are all shared priorities. There is a bit of a postcode difference in terms of the services which are being delivered. Over in this part of the constituency, I get fewer issues raised with Maidstone Hospital than I do with Medway Hospital. If you look at their CQC *(Care Quality Commission)* rates, you might see why. Maidstone Hospital is doing very well, quite successfully run, has a number of innovative IT systems and ways of working which I've been to visit. Medway has been struggling, a widely known position of their CQC report. Over here we have real issues with nuisance bikes and nuisance vehicles. That is shared with other parts of the constituency. But whereas Kent Police in Medway seem to have been doing a lot of work on that, over here, they have needed a bit of reminding that some of these problems are manifest. I think that's probably unique as a Medway MP because I've got to deal with two heads of police, two heads of NHS, two leaders of councils, two chief executives. I've almost got to have double the relationships, which is great, but also very tiring. **As well as being an MP, do you have any additional paid roles?** No. There was a very brief interregnum period between me being a teacher and an MP, which I declared. For two weeks, there was a salary overlap, where my salary at my former school had to be paid for me for July. I also had a period where schools allow you to have holiday periods, and they backdate a lot of that to the summer period. There was a period where I was still getting a teacher's salary, but that has now wound down for obvious reasons. But I have no other paid roles. I'm not a consultant for anyone, and I'm very proud to say that that's never going to happen, either. I've worked in public affairs previously, and I'm well aware that is a slippery slope. Keir has been really clear that you shouldn't have a second job. I agree with him entirely on that. **Do you miss teaching?** I do. You probably get a sense of that when you look at [my Twitter](https://x.com/trisosbornemp?ref=kentcurrent.news) and my social media presence. Part of what I want to do is to work with young people. I’ve had interviews with student journalists. I met the Sea Cadets yesterday as part of the VE Day events because they're the future of the armed forces. For me working with young people is still really important. I can't do it as much anymore, what I can do is promote their successes. You'll get that theme from me as an MP that young people and education still remain a core element of me. It just looks different because I can't be in the classroom anymore. I won't lose that because education is critical for society. If we can create a population of educated people that are happy in their work, society will work better. There'll be more people doing jobs that they enjoy and generally speaking, educated societies are more productive and tolerant. If I don't get re-elected into this job next time, I might even go back into it. **Did you have any conversation with (former Chatham and Aylesford MP) Tracey Couch after the election?** Yeah, Tracey's been wonderful. We disagreed with each other politically on a number of areas. I stood against her once. I remember she won, which was for me at the time… look, that's democracy. She's been very positive. I know that there's been some work behind the scenes with her and Labour MPs on the Football Governance Bill, which we have taken and delivered in Parliament just last week. She did a very clean handover, and all of her former staffers have been very courteous with me. It was a very friendly transition. She's a resident of mine now, she has the power of the pulpit, and I hope she uses that as well. **Following your election, there was a by-election for your former council seat in Rochester, which Reform won. Why didn’t that go well?** It went well in the sense that for a local by-election, there was high turnout. I'll always look at the light first before I look at the end result. More people participated. That's really good because it shows the electorate were engaged. The result wasn't what I was hoping for. Obviously, I was looking to get two great Labour candidates selected. The result was maybe a canary in the coal mine for what we've seen across Kent and elsewhere in the country. The same frustrations were coming up on the doorstep around the pace of change, people not perceiving the improvements in their lives, the cost-of-living issues that still persist, the access to GP surgeries, the concerns around migration, which were genuine among people. You take the hit for that because you're in charge, and the result was not a move to the Conservatives. That is actually the story of both cycle elections in Kent, where there’s no Kemi Badenoch recovery here. In fact, the complete opposite. The Tories are retrenching significantly, and both Medway by-elections have the same message. Some people's perceptions about some of the tough decisions we've made have gone down badly. Maybe we can learn some lessons from the communication of that. **Is there anything we can learn from the KCC result about the future of Medway and Kent, or is it too soon?** Lessons obviously need to be learnt. Medway, had the election been on the same day, I suspect would have seen a very similar result. That's not an unreasonable supposition because if you look at all the councils across the country, wherever they are, Reform have done well in particular areas with particular demographics and areas where there are demographics similar to in Medway: the age profile, the education profile, Reform have done well in those areas. There are absolute lessons, and the lessons for Labour are very clear. We have got to start delivering on that agenda for change and I'm just as frustrated as everyone else. We are passing laws in Parliament. I want to get that Section 59 legislation live, so I can confiscate these damn nuisance bikes and vehicles that are causing a blight on people's lives. It just takes time. The law processes in this country are deliberately designed so that everyone gets a say. Bad laws get scrutinised and ripped apart. The process takes months to go through bills and everything else. The public gets frustrated, they just want to see things change quicker. We've got to improve our NHS. We've started, but we're nowhere near where we need to be. We've got to grow the economy. The economy is critical. We've had two massive trade deals this week. I know the right wing have split over whether they love it or they loathe it. That's their problem, but I think this is great news for our country. It shows you we're open to the world and willing to say, ‘biggest emerging market, growing economy, we want a piece of that action, thank you.’ What is not to like about that? And the USA, traditional partner, we’ve got big tariff reductions on goods such as steel and car manufacturing, big businesses in this country. It's great some of the stuff we're doing, but we're not doing it quick enough. Some people's perceptions about some of the tough decisions we've made have gone down badly. Maybe we can learn some lessons from the communication of that. **When you look at Britain's place in the world and what is going on geopolitically, should we be re-evaluating the post-Brexit European relationship?** Look, I voted for remain. To this day, I believe in stronger international partnerships with our biggest trading partner, and I say this as an ex-geography teacher as well. We are part of the European continent. We have shared history with Europe that goes back for thousands of years. You can't extricate ourselves from relationships with our biggest trading partners, and we share the same issues that they did because we share that physical geographical boundary. We do need to look at how we can smooth trade and relationships with our European partners. We have been very antagonistic since Brexit, and what has it delivered us? Tepid growth, anger and a feeling that they're an enemy. They're not an enemy. These people are NATO allies. They serve with us in conflicts around the world. They work with us on peace initiatives at the UN Security Council. We have shared problems and there needs to be shared solutions. I've [written a letter with a number of other colleagues](https://x.com/TrisOsborneMP/status/1915368271513079928?ref=kentcurrent.news), saying that we need to look at our trading relationship with Europe and try and remove some of those frictions to make it easier for our businesses to trade, make it easier for musicians to go and celebrate their successes abroad like they used to. I don't see a negative in that. I understand some people will see that as contentious. I don't. **One of the inevitable responses to these elections has been whether Labour was better off turning right or turning left. There's been talk of ‘**[**Blue Labour**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue%5FLabour?ref=kentcurrent.news)**.’ Is this a term that you recognise?** The party is a very healthy broad tent. When people start saying, ‘We purge these people, and you purge those people,’ it's all just a monotone voice. I think you're getting a sense now that that's absolutely rubbish. There are a diversity of views in the Labour movement. Each of them will come from different perspectives with different stakeholder groups. That’s healthy, that's good for democracy, all parties should have that plurality of views. I'm not worried about people articulating their views. I think that's a good thing. I don't think it's simply an argument of left versus right. I think it is issue-related. I don't think it's simply saying, ‘Well, we need to stop looking at how we get people into work’ on things that we're considering at the moment around PIP. It's not simply about that. It's not simply ignoring the fact that migration is a topic that has been raised on the doorstep. The same issues are shared between residents of Chatham and Snodland: Growing the economy, having people in stable jobs, low mortgages and economic stability around prices. It's having good schools, it's having safer communities with more police and real visibility around people who are victims and are getting justice. People are going to play games with this agenda, but the reality is we've known climate change has been an issue for 30-40 years. We had to borrow £60bn to subsidise the oil and gas sector only three years ago because of geopolitical instability. We do need to make that transition. Many other countries in the world are already doing it, and it's good for us to have energy security. Fundamentally, we're on the right page. The pace of change is not where the public are happy with, and that would include migration. They're not feeling that we have a grip of that at the moment, and I think we do need, in a professional way, to have a system which works for those who are seeking to be refugees because they are ultimately people where they're being persecuted so they're very vulnerable. They're human beings, and always be treated like that, but also say the system we have at the moment is not fair. It's not working for them if they have to sit for two years on a waiting list before their asylum process can be claimed. The public perception of that isn't acceptable either, that these people are housed in particular situations and we need to get our system right so people are genuinely right to have those views. These people have that concern, and that is a genuine public concern, and we need to acknowledge that. It's a conversation which I need to have with colleagues all of the time. Yet this is a genuine concern of very reasonable people, not just people you don't like. I think the public needs to have that, and I think they're willing to have that conversation, but there should be no red lines on areas to talk about. **Is there also an issue of successive governments failing to tell a positive story of immigration and the positive responses that immigrants have made to all communities?** I agree with you entirely. The largest proportion of the immigration into this country is legal. It's people coming to work and they contribute to our society. Ethnic minorities are very entrepreneurial. They tend to be younger people, so they're not using the health service ostensibly. They go on to set up businesses which go on to employ people. This is great news. We've great examples of that in Medway, where we've got lots of different restaurants and retail businesses that are springing up with very entrepreneurial people. A lot of the NHS is staffed by people whom we brought in from abroad. A lot of teachers come from abroad as well. There's a really positive narrative here around what people from different diverse backgrounds and where they come from helping our communities. Where people have a concern, and this is where the entire debate has become slightly toxified, is the illegal migration, the perception that people are coming in. The service that is supposed to be reviewing their status and saying whether they're refugees or not, is not functioning. Then we seem to be getting a number of people that are illegally crossing, which is complete exploitation, as is people smuggling, and it needs to stop. If we don't deal with that, the public will continue to say the system isn't working, and they might vote for alternatives as a result. That will be their decision-making. **You stood for Chatham and Aylesford in 2015\. Was there a significant difference between those campaigns? How do you compare them?** I can answer that in three ways. Organisationally, ironically, the 2015 campaign was far more organised because I was a target candidate. I was part of what was called the 106 group of candidates. I was given an organiser. I had three years running time. I could put my name out there, build those relationships. By the way, the same relationships I was able to build now come from that period, luckily for me. I had all of that running time to get to know the public. I know this sounds weird, but walking the roads, getting to see every street and then getting to understand this street has these views, and this area has that view. Whereas this time, I was dropped in six weeks beforehand. I had expressed an interest to be the candidate months before, but I think the party's processes were slightly slower in non-target seats because we weren't considered a party priority at that point. From a messaging perspective, it was that the elections were chalk and cheese. This time, knocking on the same doors, it was very clear the public were sick and tired of the Tories. The result was the result. It was manifest on the doorstep, votes were coming to us, a lot of Tories were sitting at home, some were going Reform. It was a really clear element that the Truss economic calamity had had an impact on people's mindsets and they were willing to give us a chance. Whereas in 2015, I warned, and I got recorded as saying this by a journalist without permission, that if Miliband was losing the economic argument, we were at risk of having a Conservative government unless we really focused on that and the result in 2015 was, guess what, a Conservative majority government based on the economy. Also, this time I think the plan for change is completely deliverable and one thing I'm really excited about in power now is we're actually interested to deliver that, whereas in 2013-14, it was still at the end of the financial crash period. There was a lot of instability in Europe as well around the Greek Eurozone crisis. I think we're in a better position now to deliver on that. I'm older and more mature as well, less involved in spats than I used to be when I was in my twenties. You might say that's not good copy for you. I might say that's great copy for me, because I don't get any copies. **Do you feel that whilst Labour had a great night, given your result was fairly marginal, if Tracey had stood again, do think that would have made a difference?** It absolutely made a difference, and we call it the incumbency effect. That isn't unique to Tracey, that is the same when anyone has a positive track record, and Tracy did have a positive track record. She's very well-liked by the community. She delivered for lots of people, and her personality was effusive. There's no doubt about it that she would have had an incumbency effect. Now, what that would have looked like, I don't know. Would that have been sufficient to get over the line? I can't prove or disagree, but definitely there would have been an incumbency effect for Tracey. I'm reliably told by my parents that I need to take a holiday all of the time, which is basically code for you're tired and knackered **Being a parliamentarian is fairly all-encompassing. What do you do to unwind?** Some of this is actually in the public domain because I'm on some all-party parliamentary groups. I am a big fan of computer gaming. I always have been. I tend to prefer gaming which is positive. I don't like shooting games or death games. I like to build things, be that [Civilization VII](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilization%5FVII?ref=kentcurrent.news) at the moment, which I'm playing. It's all about, some might say, being a politician in charge of a country's economy and working out how to grow it. [Cities Skylines II](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cities:%5FSkylines%5FII?ref=kentcurrent.news) is another game I'm playing. In my APPG for gaming. I'm trying to promote the sector. You'll find a lot of my questions, written questions, about the games industry, encouraging sector development. The reason why is because the UK has been one of the centres for computer gaming for decades. We created these games in the 80s. All these big-ticket IP games, through the Amstrad system and Acorn and all of these different platforms. We've got a proud history of game creation and some of the biggest games in the world, GTA, FIFA, Football Manager, these are multi-billion-pound enterprises, and they are about the future as well. That's the reason why I visited [Dovetail Games](https://dovetailgames.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news). I'm interested in the oceans and nature. As a geography teacher, I'm passionate about the world around me. The oceans, in particular, fascinate me because they're not being talked about, yet they make up two-thirds of the Earth. We have very scant knowledge of them. I know David Attenborough amazingly has just done a fantastic film. I haven't seen it yet because I haven't been to the cinema. He is hopefully going to shine a torch on the importance of the ocean and also the damage that we're doing. I want people to be aware of some of the fishing practices that we are doing, decimating ecosystems. If this was happening on land, people would be flabbergasted and aghast. I'm doing a lot of work with the oceans. Wine drinking. You might say, ‘That sounds a bit like a jolly.’ It is not. It's about the sector. Kent, Sussex and Surrey are the centre of what is becoming a very successful enterprise. I've got a number of vineries in my constituency, and they are growth areas. The British wine sector has grown by almost 120% in five years. It's not just sparkling wine. It's white wine, and it's red wines as well. These are businesses which are the very cutting edge of something which could be very exciting because of the climate changing and becoming warmer, we are being able to grow grapes now and become a player. Now I'm not saying we're going to be the next France because they have state subsidies, but having a growing wine industry, it's important that, as a rural enterprise, it also protects green spaces and land. Many of these vineries are extremely well run, and they do look after the natural environment around them. They act as ecotourism, people come to their restaurants, they spend money there, that goes into looking after the locality and the environment around the area. I'd be really keen, because Kent is a centre for this, to try and promote our sector nationally and to get some of our wines being drunk in embassies around the world should be the go-to. Restaurants as well, in my view, should have English wines and consider English wines to be on their wine list. It’s not just about me going and enjoying a Pinot Noir. I'm very careful with these events to not accept free bottles of wine or anything like that. I don't do that. I go along, and we discuss their business and how I can promote that economy. And I work cross party on this, with Conservatives, with Liberals, with others too. We are very keen to ensure the sector gets the opportunity it deserves. **I asked what you did to unwind, and you listed work-related activity.** Sorry, yeah, right. **I understand the connection to your work.** That's the advantage of being in my job. **Are you unwinding?** Probably not. I'm reliably told by my parents that I need to take a holiday all of the time, which is basically code for you're tired and knackered. I know I need to do that. I'm not great at unwinding. I'm not going to lie, I find it tricky. That isn't me just giving the cliché, ‘I love to work, and I work to live.’ I do need to find a better work-life balance on that. I do enjoy films. I go to the gym occasionally. Being a teacher was intense, but it forced you to unwind at other parts of the year because you weren't in the classroom. The summer holidays, for instance, you literally had nothing to do because you'd just done the exams, whereas this job is a bit intense. There's not a single day, the exception of maybe Christmas Day, where you're not dealing with an emergency issue or someone contacting you. I have a fantastic team around me who take a lot of the casework off me. I thank my team every day. **Chatham High Street has been recognised as being in trouble for a long time now. Are you part of any initiatives to improve the high street?** Chatham High Street, just on a technicality, is actually in the Rochester and Strood constituency. I know the boundaries and to this day think they are quite weird. I've got Thomas Aveling School and Rochester Airport in my constituency, even though Thomas Aveling School is quintessentially Rochester, and Chatham High Street and the Dockyard are actually in Rochester and Stood. But most people in their day-to-day lives do not give a hoot about where boundaries are from a parliamentary perspective, so long as you are within the periphery. My office is in Chatham Dockyard for instance, because it is a quintessential Chatham address, and in my view, it's a very sensible place to be for security as well. Chatham High Street does have issues. Loads of positive things are happening there though. Lots of capital investment, the Paddock's been opened, got the James Williams Centre opening as well, which will transfer people into a modern setting for the NHS. We've got the new business hub up there, which I think is proving to be a real success in getting people into that space and co-working practices which are happening. We've got lots of the urban regeneration around the former Staples unit, and those properties are selling well. We've got the Brook Theatre renovation, we've got St John's Church improvements. **Given none of it is actually in your area, do you have any high streets in your area?** Other than this one *(Snodland)*, which is not the same type of high street, I would say in terms of scale, no. I am a very suburban seat. However, Lauren *(Edwards, MP for Rochester and Strood)* and me do have a very good relationship, and she's very happy for me to talk about Chatham High Street mainly because 80 to 90 % of the people who go there are probably my residents because Rochester residents will go to Rochester, Strood residents will go to Strood. I shouldn't be afraid to talk about Medway Maritime Hospital, which is technically not in Chatham and Aylesford. I should be able to talk about the High Street. **An area you speak out often about ties into your previous Medway Council cabinet member position about community safety and enforcement. I don't see as much action on your background in teaching and education. Is that a conscious choice?** That's interesting. I'm on the APPG for schools. I suppose it's because the challenges at the moment in my constituency are around social behaviour and crime. I suppose you'll see me more on the ground talking about that. That being said, I have met all the schools in my area. We're doing a School Streets campaign. I've been very open about my support for those. I've met all of the headteachers, but some of these schools don't want these private conversations I've had with them to spill out into the public domain. When I have conversations with them, they want me to make their case, but they don't necessarily want the fanfare of that in the public domain, and you have to respect that. A lot of the stuff I do is below the radar. Because of house building expanding in Lidsing and Gibraltar Farm, there is going to have to be a conversation about another secondary school at some point in Medway. The numbers clearly show that in that part of my constituency we have a problem in terms of where future provision will be. I will be talking about new provision very shortly around that secondary school for that particular part of my constituency, and I'm also doing a lot of work on SEN and SEND transport as casework, but you are correct. I did speak on the Schools Bill, but most ofthe work I've been articulating nationally is around antisocial behaviour, is around the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which I sat on the Bill Committee. That bill actually has this element of schools within it too, because obviously, it's kids that we're trying to stop access to vape. I will say that I am still doing lots of work with education but not necessarily as visible as some of the other issues. **You mentioned your relationship with social media has changed, from your younger days.** It certainly has. It's a diplomatic way of saying it. **When you heard that a** [**story was breaking about a Medway MP's former social media use**](https://www.localauthority.news/p/new-mp-has-offensive-tweets-outed?ref=kentcurrent.news)**, were you surprised it wasn't you?** Look, I love the job that you do. I used to be a Medway blogger ten years ago. ‘Musings from Medway’, top 20 in the politics, for instance. I have done that job, and I celebrate everything you do, even when it’s about me. I accept that that happens. That is what is healthy in a democracy, even if I might be on the negative end of it. The tweets that were sent, Lauren has apologised for. She has owned up to them. She was a lot younger when she did that, and those views were made in a different context, she wasn't an MP etc. I accept that on face value that she's made an error of judgement. That isn't to say I haven't done silly things on social media. I have. I have got in trouble sometimes on Facebook for expressing views as well in different ways. I'm not anyone who can cast the first stone. We're in an age of social media now. I have to be more careful, but I still think it's really important to engage people on social media. **Even on X?** Yes, I do actually, because that's where people are. I accept that the owner doesn't agree with me. I might not agree with the owner of Audi on some issues, it doesn't mean I don't drive an Audi. You could choose to boycott things if you want to, and I fully respect people who make that call and their reasons, or you could accept that there are lots of people there and on Instagram or other forums. It's just another way of engaging people, whether or not I agree with the owner or not is kind of immaterial, but that's a judgment that I've made personally. Twitter is still an excellent medium, and I will remain on it unless things change markedly. But I am concerned about its drift, and I am worried that the owner is sometimes allowing debates which veer into fake news and other types of tropes. I routinely block people who are abusive. In my view, if you don't agree with someone or don't like what they say or they're nasty, just block them. There is a function for that. You don't need to give your reasons, just do it. **In Chatham you are neighboured by two Labour MPs, former council colleagues with a good working relationship. In the Aylesford area, you're neighboured by two Conservative MPs. Do you have a working relationship with them?** I do. Helen Grant *(MP for Maidstone and Malling)* and me are working on the blue badges campaign at the moment. I visited her constituency last week to talk at the Invicta Valley Park School Speaking Competition. Again, education linked. Former colleagues of mine at Strood Academy now work there. I visited Maidstone Hospital about a month ago to look at their new innovation with technology. They're putting microchips on hands now, they've got a flow system which is inspiring and could revolutionise A&E movements and flow in hospitals which I'm really excited about. Tom *(Tugendhat, MP for Tonbridge)* and Helen have been very professional in my engagement. I've not had a single issue with them at all, and I think because they're more experienced than me, they know that just having positive relationships with colleagues gets you a lot further, and I think there's a level of respect as well on issues. Historically I might have fallen out with some people, and usually, it's philosophical differences of view, not based on personality. **In a world in which debate does descend into abuse, as a member of the LGBT community, what are your feelings regarding the recent ruling around the trans community?** I am a member of LGBT community, and I'm getting a lot of correspondence on this from, as you would say, people with who I've had former professional relationships and the trans community, who are a very strong voice in Medway. I've worked as a councillor to get the pride flag on Rochester Castle, which I was very pleased about, and seeing Pride as a very successful private sector funded event. Of course, people have been messaging me about that. The Supreme Court is an independent organisation. We have to respect its jurisdiction. Sometimes, people agree with them, and they don't agree with them. Our job now is to say, you were given that decision, you've looked at all the elements of the law, you are professional individuals who've got years of qualification, you have now come to that conclusion. The next stage is we need the Equality and Human Rights Commission to come out with the guidance so that we know how to implement that. But I noticed two days ago in the House of Commons, there was a vote around whether data should be biological sex or should data accept the fact that people might transition over the course of their lives. The Tories said no, there has to be biological sex at birth. We've said no, Gender Recognition Certificate means that you can change, and your data is stored according to your GRC. Because it's not a biological safe space, so therefore it should be based on your identity. There are lots of elements of Labour in government acting in the interest of the trans community. We will ban trans conversion therapy, that is in our manifesto, and I am making sure that we're going to deliver on that and working with colleagues behind the scenes to ensure that that's pursued with vigour, but we also have to accept that we don't win all the fights immediately as well. I'll finish on this, one of the comments I made to an individual was about equal marriage, and I said you didn't win your fight on equal marriage in the first legislative change. We had to introduce civil partnerships first. That took 10 years, debates had to happen in the public. You had to bring people with you, not antagonise people, not labelling them, accusing them being bigots, to have that conversation with the public over a protracted period of time, bring them with you on the argument and then eventually you'll win. Politics sometimes isn't about the quick win, progressively changing viewpoints over time in a reasonable way and I'm a big believer in reasonableness. I think that the trans community absolutely needs to continue to advocate strongly. They need to hold my feet to the fire and every other MP’s feet to the fire. I understand their disappointment, but now the fight begins, and they need to go out there and make their case, and they need to articulate that in a civil society, and then we'll see what happens. My worry is if civil society and some of the right-wing nationalists start to close down these conversations with this idea of gender ideology and things like that, which I'm beginning to see coming through in parts of Europe with far-right groups. We're seeing in this country the banning of flags. That is not healthy in a plural society where we're measured in a liberal democracy by how we treat our minorities. I will always defend minorities, even if they're not my own, to my dying breath because a society that doesn't do that ends up in a very dark place in my view. --- #### Footnotes *This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.* ### Is it possible to character assassinate a city? URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/is-it-possible-to-character-assassinate/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:56:27.000Z *A recent profile of Canterbury in the Spectator characterises the city as a lawless dystopia in decline, but just how true are the claims put forward in the piece? Further down, as Reform selects their leader to run KCC, the hard work for the party is about to begin, plus news in brief, and more.* --- #### Is it possible to character assassinate a city? That’s a question the Spectator set out to answer last week with a [scathing assessment of the state of Canterbury](https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/what-happened-to-canterbury/?ref=kentcurrent.news), but just how true are the assertations within? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f4fb50f44-59fa-43db-ad04-af53ad3da269_2500x1406-jpeg-1.jpg) Reading the article, it’s easy to wonder if writer Lloyd Evans even had the right place. The image he paints is of a lawless no-go zone where police daren’t enter, decaying buildings, and a town centre overrun by low quality shops and vagrants. There are many places in Kent with problems, but it’s hard to imagine a world where Canterbury would be identified from his list of gripes. Indeed, it’s only really clear that he does indeed mean the city when he identifies the look of Canterbury Cathedral as being part of the problem. The piece suggests that footfall to the city centre is down because daytrippers and ‘lucrative French students’ no longer visit since Eurostar stopped serving Kent. Now, we’re very much on board with [returning international rail to Kent](https://www.kentcurrent.news/can-international-rail-return-to/), but there’s little evidence that this is true. Footfall to Canterbury returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2024 of around [8 million annual visitors](https://www.canterburybid.co.uk/city-centre-performance/?ref=kentcurrent.news), so even if the French students have stopped coming, plenty of others are in their place. That isn’t to say there are no warning signs for the city though. Footfall in the first three months of 2025 was down 15.1% on last year, even as the UK average saw modest increases. One place it might be worth looking for that missing footfall is from the area’s largest educational establishment, the University of Kent. Student numbers at the institution have fallen from around 14,300 in 2019/20 to 11,200 by 2022/23\. This comes as the university significantly restructures its course offer as it makes significant layoffs in an effort to get its finances under control. Perhaps the strangest claim in the piece is that Canterbury supposedly has a crime rate 50% higher than the national average. We’ve spent some time scouring data and can’t find anything that backs this claim up. Even within Kent, crime rates in Canterbury are [lower than the average](https://www.police.uk/pu/your-area/kent-police/performance/compare-your-area/?tc=ZA79&ref=kentcurrent.news), with Maidstone, Swale, Medway, Dartford, Gravesham, and Thanet all having notably higher figures. Kent Police records roughly 86 crimes for every 1,000 city residents, which is in line with the figure for England and only marginally above the UK number of 84. The feature goes on like this, with one spurious claim or half-truth after another. Yes, the city centre has a few shops selling tat, but what town centre doesn’t at this point? There are obviously run-down and abandoned shopfronts, but only 8% of units in Canterbury are vacant, well below the national average. Perhaps the strangest claim put forward is that some of the stonework of Canterbury Cathedral looks ‘sad and haggard.’ Most of us would aspire to only look sad and haggard after nearly 1,000 years. There’s a loose effort to tie the writer’s perception of Canterbury into the recent local elections, where Reform swept through areas that might often be considered ‘left behind’ places. However, this is not always universally true. It’s even less relevant here though, with Canterbury being the only place in the county that continued to return Labour councillors. Canterbury is one of the places holding up strongest against the Reform insurgency. The city council is controlled by a Labour-Lib Dem coalition, with a small number of Conservatives and Greens in opposition. The city even had three by-elections just two months ago, where there was little sign of any Reform breakthrough. Instead, the voters decide to elect Labour, Conservative, and Green councillors while overlooking the new old kids on the block. The writer’s grand finale is a conversation with a homeless man named Ginger. Rather than ponder the issues that resulted in the man being homeless or what should be done about people struggling without accommodation, the encounter is used as a cheap gag that ends with Evans giving the man enough money to buy a litre of alcohol because ‘it will do him good.’ It’s a cheap, smug way to conclude a piece that could easily be characterised using the same terms. Canterbury isn’t without faults, but it deserves better than being cast as a backdrop for a tired narrative of national decline. The version of the city being put forward in the Spectator says more about that publication and its author than anything in the piece itself. --- *Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via *hello AT kentcurrent DOT news* \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance.* --- #### The serious work now begins for Reform Last week, we reported that Reform had chosen Linden Kemkaran as their leader following their victory in 57 of the county’s 81 council seats. In turn, Kemkaran is set to become the council's leader [next Thursday at the first full council meeting](https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=113&MId=9527&ref=kentcurrent.news) since the election. Kemkaran has been enthusiastically talking to the media since she was chosen for the role, giving hints about exactly what might be coming as a new party takes control of Kent for the first time in decades. She has pledged to stop flying the Ukrainian flag at County Hall. She wants to find ways to cut costs for the council, [telling reporters](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c7v757r571po?ref=kentcurrent.news) that she “loved” the idea of an Elon Musk-style Department of Government Efficiency, despite the fact those efforts only resulted in additional costs in the US. Likely, Kemkaran and Reform will very quickly butt up against some of the inevitable realities of local government, particularly the lack of financial wiggle room given the vast majority of council budgets are spent on statutory services like adult social care and children’s services. Given her party’s national rhetoric, Kemkaran told BBC South East Today that she would try to ‘lessen the impact of illegal immigration on the residents of Kent.’ When challenged, she could offer no clarity on what that might look like beyond vague suggestions of trying to push back against migrants being housed in hotels in the county, which is not seemingly in the gift of the council to control. All of which speaks to the constraints that Reform will now find themselves operating in as council leaders. It’s one thing to shout about issues when you aren’t tasked with any meaningful power to fix them. Still, when you’re suddenly in control of vast budgets to fill in potholes, subsidise buses, and look after children in care, it’s very different from campaign pledges to stop migrant boats. The Times found early signs of this conflict when [visiting Kent last week and speaking to residents](https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/kent-reform-local-elections-immigration-zn25nhjmq?ref=kentcurrent.news) who voted for Reform almost entirely based on immigration. This is leading to some rather rapid about turns, with new Romney Marsh Reform councillor David Wimble having to point out that he and his council can do nothing to stop the boats, despite fellow Reform candidates in his district standing on a pledge of, er, [stopping the boats](https://bsky.app/profile/sundersays.bsky.social/post/3logpmwa5gs2i?ref=kentcurrent.news). Former Swale Independents county councillor Mike Baldock summed it up on the recent Kent Politics Podcast, where he suggested that winning such a commanding majority on the county council could end up being the worst thing for their popularity in the long term. Time will tell, but by next week, we should have a clearer idea of exactly what the new Reform administration in Kent will look like. It’s going to be an interesting few years. --- #### In brief 🔵 Following their drop from 62 seats to five in the recent county election, the Kent Conservative Group has named Malling West councillor [Harry Rayner their new leader](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/tonbridge/news/tory-group-pick-new-leader-at-kent-county-council-324280/?ref=kentcurrent.news). Elsewhere, the Conservative Group at Thanet District Council has chosen to [replace their leader and deputy](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2025/05/14/thanet-tory-leader-and-deputy-assigned-to-back-benches-as-group-votes-in-new-leadership/?ref=kentcurrent.news) for the coming year. 🏗️ PMG Regeneration has [submitted a planning application](https://publicaccess.dartford.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=SV4JO6BQFTS00&ref=kentcurrent.news) to Dartford Borough Council to build up to 400 homes on a former landfill in Greenhithe. 🏨 Former offices above Mallus Indian restaurant on Maidstone High Street could be [converted into a 36-room hotel](https://pa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=SUI43JTYIA700&ref=kentcurrent.news). 🚧 Junction improvements on the A249 between Kemsley and Iwade will [now extend until September this year](https://www.highwaysmagazine.co.uk/Complex-construction-delays-A249-Grovehurst-Road-improvement-scheme-in-Kent/14508?ref=kentcurrent.news). The works were initially supposed to conclude at the end of 2024. 🚗 Kent County Council is proposing to [take over the enforcement of moving traffic offences in Tunbridge Wells](https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/views-wanted-on-plans-to-enforce-moving-traffic-offences-in-tunbridge-wells?ref=kentcurrent.news), which would see the authority add further cameras and signage to a restricted area in the town centre. 🪳 Hygiene inspectors found [cockroaches at the fancy Abode hotel in Canterbury](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/cockroaches-at-luxury-kent-hotel-for-at-least-a-year-insp-324202/?ref=kentcurrent.news), establishing that they had been active on the premises for at least a year. 🥚 Headcorn company Barradale Eggs has been [found guilty of re-packing a batch of eggs](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/egg-packers-prosecuted-for-switching-best-before-dates?ref=kentcurrent.news) to extend the best before date and was fined a whopping £466 as a result. 🎤 Convicted domestic abuser and rapper Dizzee Rascal advertised a free gig on the Margate Steps last week, which [went about as well as you’d expect](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2025/05/09/plug-pulled-on-unscheduled-dizzee-rascal-pull-up-gig-in-margate/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🎸 LA rock band [Haim have been added to the Summer Series](https://www.dreamland.co.uk/event/haim/?ref=kentcurrent.news) of music events at Dreamland in Margate, playing a one-off UK show at the amusement park. ⚽ [Whitstable Town have won the FA Vase](https://www.thefa.com/news/2025/may/11/isuzu-fa-vase-final-afc-whyteleafe-whitstable-town-report-20251105?ref=kentcurrent.news), defeating AFC Whyteleafe 2-1 in a Wembley final. 🛟 The Folkestone Dispatch has been [meeting the volunteers of the Folkestone Rescue charity](https://folkestonedispatch.substack.com/p/folkestone-rescue-the-volunteers). 🏛️ Dover’s town hall has opened to the public for the first time in 800 years [following a £10.5m refurbishment](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9vgnx3lg91o?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🐦‍⬛ Red-billed choughs, a type of crow extinct in Kent for two centuries, have [been spotted in the wild around Thanet](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyqg9j71eqo?ref=kentcurrent.news) following a successful reintroduction project. 🦫 Beavers could be [introduced to the River Stour near Canterbury](https://www.greatbritishlife.co.uk/magazines/kent/25100373.beavers-introduced-blean-near-canterbury/?ref=kentcurrent.news). --- #### More Currents In our Monday edition for paid supporters, our columnist [Zahra Barri volunteered at a farm animal rescue charity](https://www.kentcurrent.news/mucking-in-at-foal-farm/) on the Kent/London border. It’s easy to become overwhelmed by the state of everything happening in the world, so Zahra is trying to see what differences we can make on a smaller, local level. Just beware of the goats. [Mucking in at Foal FarmEditor’s note: It’s quite easy to look at the big issues of the world and feel a sense of despair about everything. Just how much of a difference can one person make? Our columnist Zahra Barri is putting that to the test by trying to tackle the issues closer to home. She’s heading out and about in Kent, volunteering with the small but essential organisations doing good work across the county. Today, in her first![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f8d4a4c7f-19fc-4e7c-87d7-4ed0b87571a5_567x567-21.png)Kent CurrentZahra Barri![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f3d146483-ba3d-4f6a-a286-dfdbd4c8f0a5_810x608-jpeg.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/mucking-in-at-foal-farm/) On Saturday, our next big interview is with Tristan Osborne, one of several Kent Labour MPs swept into power last year, perhaps somewhat unexpectedly. It’s a fascinating and wide-ranging discussion with a new MP getting used to the role. The whole conversation will be exclusive to our paid supporters, so [please consider supporting our work](#/portal/signup) to gain access to it and all of our journalism. [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup) --- #### Footnotes *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews) *and* [*BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* *If you enjoy the Kent Current, please share it with your friends, family, associates, and even your enemies. We have no meaningful marketing budget, so we rely on word of mouth from our readers to find new readers.* ### Mucking in at Foal Farm URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/mucking-in-at-foal-farm/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:56:28.000Z **Editor’s note:* It’s quite easy to look at the big issues of the world and feel a sense of despair about everything. Just how much of a difference can one person make? Our columnist Zahra Barri is putting that to the test by trying to tackle the issues closer to home. She’s heading out and about in Kent, volunteering with the small but essential organisations doing good work across the county. Today, in her first *Volunteer Kent* column, she’s been to Foal Farm Animal Rescue on the Kent/London border to pitch in and learn about their work…* --- You might have already read my previous column, [*Volunteer Medway*](https://www.localauthority.news/p/volunteer-medway?ref=kentcurrent.news) on, where I report on community projects. Born out of my frustration at feeling powerless to the global atrocities, I hope to show that volunteering in small, localised ways embodies both the idiom and ideology that ‘charity begins… in Kent!’ ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f3d146483-ba3d-4f6a-a286-dfdbd4c8f0a5_810x608-jpeg-2.jpg) Zahra delivers snack time at Foal Farm Animal Rescue. This edition, I volunteered at [Foal Farm Animal Rescue](https://www.foalfarm.org.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) because I’m a sucker for anything doe-eyed and floppy-haired (why I love the Super Furry Animals). My day on the farm consisted of tending to two pigs (Pablo and Picasso), a flock of sheep, a parade of ponies, a cloister of cows and a gathering of goats, aka the Large Animals Department (also the name of the Super Furry Animals tribute band). I helped clean their living quarters, or ‘mucking out’ as they call it in the business, because it involves a lot of MUCK. I also fed them a rainbow of veggies, biscuits and polos, of whom most of them were happy to exchange for cuddles and cooing. This was with the exception of the aptly named Nudge. Nudge was a goat who thought he was the G.O.A.T (greatest of all time) and so possessed a bad boy attitude, which saw him systematically headbutting me in the shins in lieu of affection. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f17291084-a163-4b90-8488-90c8acda8720_809x1006-jpeg.jpg) Zahra with Nudge. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Ragged optimism in Margate URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/ragged-optimism-in-margate/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:56:34.000Z *Optimism can be in short supply these days, but one Margate man has made a point of delivering it to readers every single week. We’ve been finding out more. Further down, we meet a photorealist painter whose elaborate technique is gaining plaudits. We also hear new music from Kent’s Hunter, review Frederic Bistro in Maidstone, look at the best upcoming Kent events, and lots more.* --- #### Ragged Optimism in Margate [*Dan Thompson*](https://danthompsonstudio.substack.com/) *was behind the* [*Empty Shops Network*](https://emptyshops.wordpress.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *and wrote* [*Pop Up Business for Dummies*](https://www.dummies.com/article/business-careers-money/business/small-business/start-ups/just-what-is-a-pop-up-business-173088/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *as part of efforts to regenerate our town centres. Following a turbulent time in which he was evicted from his home, we caught up with him back in Margate and discovered that, despite it all, he was feeling optimistic.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f13642d13-26b5-44d3-95b0-d3960f1f7e2b_1600x1066-jpeg-1.jpg) Dan Thompson Dan is walking around Margate as we talk. He is conducting a couple of history walks in May, and one of them has a slightly different route, and he wants to make sure he gets it right. Dan is an artist and writer with a significant interest in the local history of Margate and the surrounding area. “If we understand places better, we can imagine a better future for them and have a better life,” he tells me. With this focus, a lot of Dan’s work is around working with communities, giving them the skills and the knowledge to make their place better. Dan has led Margate history walks for years. “Margate is a fascinating place. It has all these odd things going on, strange little stories and quirks that nobody knows about.” Dan has found that taking people on a walk is a good way to introduce them to the town, show them a different side, and tell them different stories. One of the upcoming walks involves the real locations used in the BBC Drama series ‘[The Dream Lands](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The%5FDream%5FLands?ref=kentcurrent.news),’ set in Margate and based on the Book series by Rosa Rankin-Gee. “I'm going to pass the filming while it's going on as well.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f5a3306a2-46ee-4905-a46e-b8439144277c_1456x762-webp.jpg) Dan leading one of his Margate tours His other walk centres on Margate’s music past, tying into an annual music festival that happens in the town every year. “I do one for them every year that takes in David Bowie's first band being here, the Rolling Stones, the Beatles. All sorts of stuff that happened here.” Each walk has a slightly different theme and flavour but helps you to see a different side of Margate. If you are interested in joining Dan on a walk, your best chance is to check out [his website](https://danthompson.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news), though, “I can't guarantee I'll always put stuff on there because, like all of us, I'm a bit rubbish at managing the website all the time.” Dan also writes a Substack newsletter called ‘[The Ragged Optimist](https://danthompsonstudio.substack.com/),’ and he will often post about events there as well. His weekly Substack focuses on good news every week. “Ten pieces of good news every week, guaranteed.” He looks UK-wide at “rewilding, architecture, co-housing, and all sorts of things.” Dan believes there is a significant focus on the negative and how bad things are, but “there's lots of things going right as well,” and “we've got a chance to turn this shit around and make the world better.” Dan also writes a monthly newsletter about seaside towns and their regeneration. He decided to launch his newsletter after having a really horrible year. “I was evicted from my house. My partner and children were evicted from their house. Everything felt like it was going wrong.” Dan felt he needed to do something to bring back the hope and optimism he was missing. “It was a very deliberate act” to find ten stories of joy, hope and optimism. He finds that putting it together each week “rewires my brain,” and he is now looking at things differently, finding it easier to see those hopeful stories. A year in, it has completely changed “the way that I see the world and the way that I feel about the world.” I ask Dan to give me an example of unexpected good news. Without missing a beat, he announces that “every week there's something about beavers.” Dan is really excited about beavers returning to the UK, and every week there are new stories about new beavers being released or something else beaver-related. Dan is also interested in co-housing. “There's lots of new models of how we're going to house people.” Dan also covers green architecture, heritage, and “all sorts of interesting events around nature and the climate crisis that are worth looking at.” All of this positivity is available for free. “Ragged Optimist is completely free because I just want to spread the good news.” The guided walks are also free, “but people can make a donation or tip if they want to.” Dan’s monthly newsletter about seaside towns and regeneration is for paying subscribers, “because why shouldn't I be paid for the work I do sometimes?” Which seems absolutely fair enough. I ask for an example of something he has written about in the monthly seaside newsletter, which covers culture-led regeneration and how arts and culture are helping seaside towns. Dan has covered the history of Turner Contemporary in Margate and a cinema in Worthing that he was involved in saving. It looks at what lessons we can learn and the broader themes that come from that. “Looking close lets you look at what all seaside towns have in common.” A principal focus for Dan has always been Margate, known for seaside kitsch, buckets and spades, and the Dreamland amusement park, but Dan is quick to highlight how much more there is to it. “Actually, the Isle of Thanet, where Margate is, is one of the richest prehistoric landscapes in the UK. We have more ancient burial mounds and prehistoric sites in Thanet than at Stonehenge.” Dan loves the idea of dark, hidden history buried beneath the kitsch, of ancient ritual sites “that nobody's quite sure what they're there for.” --- #### The photorealist painter [Chris James](http://www.christopherljames.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news) grew up in Kent and graduated with a degree in fine art from the former Kent Institute of Art and Design in Maidstone. After graduation, he started working in china restoration. “I was restoring vases, figurines, pots and things like that,” he tells me. A number of James’ clients were Chinese pottery dealers, and he had to research how they painted the pottery to ensure it was mended correctly. Through this, Chris discovered the Chinese bird and flower painting tradition, “which we didn't have in the West.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fc83ed5c3-75be-44c5-b398-7df654f027bf_1456x1092-webp.jpg) Chris James As Chris’ interest developed, he started doing small paintings himself. “I've always been a bit of a twitcher as well, out the back of Teynham, there's Swale marshes, and I would go out bird watching.” It was this combination of fine art degree, Chinese restoration and bird watching that led to his paintings of little birds, and then some got exhibited. Then some of them started to sell. “I thought, oh, this is interesting.” Whilst Chris learnt painting at school and on his degree, it was the techniques he used in restoration that led to this new career. “It was very fine work, and it was very detailed.” Chris’ technique includes using washes as well. “I use very detailed fine brushes and then do a semi-transparent wash,” before going back and adding detail and more washes of colour. “It's a technique of layer upon layer upon layer. Unfortunately, it takes bloody ages.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f5d4069cd-eaf8-432e-84a7-a7de34b37671_3095x2448-heic.jpg) ‘Sparrow’ Chris acknowledges that this technique, which adds more and more detai,l “was an obsession really,” as he focused on capturing every feather and getting the colours right. “It's all a philosophy. How I do it is wanting to spend as much time and effort and focus,” and then hoping that the viewer will reciprocate the time he dedicated to it. “I think it's kind of rude not to in a way, if you rushed a painting and think a viewer would spend any time with it.” Chris feels he has to put this effort in to earn more than a fleeting glance from a viewer. He started developing this technique slowly, noting, “I painted a goldfinch early on and that captured things.” When he found people liked the work, he started dedicating more time to it. “It's a bit of a rod for my own back really, because now that's become my thing.” After he managed to sell a few, exhibit more and receive private commissions, Chris stopped his original restoration work and focused on painting full-time. “I just preferred it. I'd been doing the restoration a while, and to be quite honest with you, there's quite smelly chemicals involved, and it was starting to do my head in a bit.” Chris’ first exhibition was at the Towner Gallery in Eastbourne when his partner, Ruth, submitted his work to an open exhibition. “She entered me and didn't tell me about it,” he recalls. Chris is now a Rye Society of Artists member, alongside other professional artists and Royal Academy members. They have a spring exhibition at the Rye Art Gallery and are planning a summer exhibition in August. A highlight for Chris exhibiting was having paintings selected for the Royal Academy. “Each year, they have the summer exhibition and thousands of people enter. Over the years, I've had five paintings in there.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f83ec1a25-5e41-4536-b242-07659ea2b02d_4032x3024-heic.jpg) ‘Daisies’ Chris’ painting has developed into botanical art, and he is exhibiting with the Society of Botanical Artists in the Mall Galleries in London. He uses the same process of photorealism and carefully painting, washing, and layering. He has also done commissions of people’s dogs and has painted other animals, including “a squirrel and a hedgehog.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2faa55eca2-f160-492f-9d96-d92076178406_2224x1797-heic.jpg) ‘Hedgehog’ Chris' most difficult painting was a big area of weeds. “I think it was a symptom of lockdown. It was that period when we could only do a little bit of exercise, and it had dandelions and forget me nots and a few things like that. I thought, ‘I'm going do that.’ And once I got into it, I realised, ‘Oh bugger, it is quite difficult.’ But I did it. That got into the Royal Academy. It came out quite well, but it was quite complex”. --- #### New Kent music: Raw Beginnings by Hunter **by Stephen Morris** Chris Hunter’s *Raw Beginnings* is far from raw in sound, tracing its lineage through the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Dave Gilmour and Dire Straits. There’s a strong taste of country rock here that gives the album a timeless quality; it could have been recorded at any point from the late 80s onwards. Stand out track ‘Vero Beach,’ so named after a city in Florida, has an anthemic quality to it, with lyrics documenting the battle between what is and what could be. It’s possibly the only song you’ll ever hear featuring a reference to doing your tax returns. Elsewhere, ‘Good to Feel the Feeling Fade’ slows the pace and brings the volume down into a soulful ballad spelling out the relief of coming to terms with a broken heart – although the comparison to “a drowning man slipping under the waves” suggests a level of ambiguity that implies this fading feeling may not so good after all. See Pink Floyd’s ‘Comfortably Numb’ for further details. *Raw Beginnings* touches on many of the standard tropes of rock: regret for the past, dissatisfaction with the present, a yearning for a better future. It’s a solid collection of songs, with Hunter impressively responsible for every note, every beat, and every vocal heard on the album. *Raw Beginnings by Hunter is* [*now available from Prestige Elite Records*](https://prestige-elite.com/perl-store/Raw-Beginnings-Hunter-p747226058?ref=kentcurrent.news) *and will be available shortly on Spotify and other streaming services.* --- #### Out to Lunch: Frederic Bistro in Maidstone Tucked away down a side street in the centre of Maidstone is [Frederic Bistro](https://www.fredericbistro.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news). There are a number of doors, and not all of them open. It is a lottery that this writer did not win. This stylish French bistro includes a deli counter and a range of wines to buy, but as the title suggests, I was there for lunch. The bistro was encouragingly busy, and while I was seated quickly, it became apparent that my chair was in a walkway. I ordered a steak baguette, which the menu informed me was cooked pink and came with chimichurri sauce and fries. The baguette was on the more expensive side, and for an extra charge, I ordered the optional extra of salad and more fries. As the baguette itself already came with fries, rather than serve double fries or charge me less for the salad, they served an extra-large salad, which was… a choice. A choice I wasn’t consulted on, which was… fine. The steak baguette was absolutely delicious. The chimichurri was great, but I have to ask if a French bistro could consider a French sauce that goes with steak. The French fries were great, and I could have eaten more. The salad was made to a really high standard, complemented with a pesto sauce, but there was a lot, and I could have eaten less. Overall, quantity mixups aside, Frederic Bistro is a stylish venue that serves good quality food, and is definitely worth checking out. --- #### Upcoming Kent events 🎸 Fri 16 May - [**Jeffrey Lewis & the Voltage**](https://dice.fm/event/7dn8lb-jeffrey-lewis-and-the-voltage-16th-may-where-else-margate-tickets?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Legendary indie-folker Lewis brings his unique blend of music and art to Kent, supported by David Cronenberg’s Wife and the Awkward Silences. Where Else?, Margate. Tickets £25. 🍷 16 - 17 May - [**Canterbury Wine Festival**](https://www.westgatehall.org/canterbury-wine-festival/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Meet wine producers from across Kent, with 70 different wines available to taste. Westgate Hall, Canterbury. Tickets from £45. 🚜 17 - 18 May - [**Faversham Festival of Transport**](https://favershamtowncouncil.gov.uk/community/faversham-festival-of-transport/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Classic cars, bikes, buses, and steam engines on display through the centre of Faversham. Free. 🎤 Thu 22 May - [**An Evening With David Baddiel**](https://wegottickets.com/event/653431?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Comedian and author holds an in conversation event, followed by an audience Q&A. St. Mary’s Art Centre, Sandwich. Tickets £22. --- #### Footnotes *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews) *and* [*BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* *If you enjoy Local Authority, please share it with your friends, family, associates, and enemies. We have no meaningful marketing budget, so we rely on word of mouth from our readers to find new readers.* ### A town separated by spiders URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/a-town-separated-by-spiders/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:56:36.000Z *It’s often said that Britain struggles to get anything done, and that’s noticeable around a developing new town in north Kent that has been split apart by a type of spider. We’ve got details below. Further down, we have news of the new leader of Kent County Council, an exclusionary decision by Network Rail in Ashford, news in brief, and more.* --- #### A town separated by spiders Ebbsfleet in 2025 is very much a town of two places. There’s the one that most people in Kent probably know: A giant, formerly international railway station surrounded by empty car parks in the middle of nowhere. Then there’s the 4,500 ‘town’ tucked away a short distance away, which is easy to miss unless you have a specific reason to go there. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fc85027a6-5746-4658-b9d3-e1ca5fd434f3_2500x1406-jpeg-1.jpg) Ebbsfleet is, on paper, a model for what a new town should be. Built mainly on brownfield land, with good rail and bus connectivity, near a major road, Bluewater right next door, yet still retaining a relatively quiet residential development of homes, schools, Co-ops, and green spaces. When complete, its population is supposed to triple, with the existing ‘town’ essentially forming the suburbs and the area around the station set to become Ebbsfleet Central, a thriving centre with hundreds of thousands of metres of employment space and swathes of commercial space for supermarkets, bars, restaurants, and cafes. The east side of the central zone gained planning permission last year, and [procurement contracts are now going out to tender](https://www.constructionnews.co.uk/civils/procurement-set-to-begin-for-ebbsfleet-central-infrastructure-06-05-2025/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to get the buildings, infrastructure, and utilities the site needs. When complete, this area will substantially differ from its current form, providing a proper town centre for the tens of thousands of residents eventually living there. At least, that was the plan. If Natural England has their way, the town centre and the suburbs will never link up with each other, forcing any journey between the two to require, optimistically, a walk through a woodland path and down a quiet road next to an empty car park and a landfill, or more realistically, a car or bus journey. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fbf72b5bb-00e2-44af-a233-95e8a2b186f5_1841x1077-jpeg.jpg) How Ebbsfleet will look under current plans, with its town centre and suburbs disconnected from each other. At this point, you might be assuming that there must be something pretty important worth protecting in between the two places for Natural England to block one of the country’s flagship urban developments. Given the site is largely brownfield, with much of it covered in tarmac, it isn’t the beauty of the natural environment. Instead, it is a species of protected spider that has moved nearby. Nearby is crucial here, as most of the population is north of the site discussed here, on the Swanscombe peninsula. There is another colony further south, with few found in between, the area that was originally to be part of Ebbsfleet Central. However, the area has still been deemed a Site of Special Scientific Interest, presumably so the spiders can travel from one zone to another. More bizarrely, the breed of spider in question, the ‘distinguished jumping spider,’ isn’t regarded as endangered in this country, nor was it even found in the UK before 2003\. It is in the Czech Republic, Norway, and parts of Belgium, but it isn’t here, even though it is only found in certain parts of the southeast. Natural England has no way of considering context, though, and is obliged to protect the area, [regardless of the social or economic consequences](https://www.politicshome.com/thehouse/article/spiders-ate-ebbsfleet?ref=kentcurrent.news). Prime Minister Keir Starmer has [regularly cited the Ebbsfleet situation](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4ge02r6jg6o?ref=kentcurrent.news) as an example of onerous regulations slowing down development. Still, little has changed to get the designation removed or development moving forward. His public comments on the issue have even led to the [Kent Wildlife Trust fact-checking him](https://www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk/news/conservation-charities-step-set-record-straight-after-pm-wrongly-claims-spiders-stopped-15000?ref=kentcurrent.news) that the spiders haven’t stopped Ebbsfleet from happening, which is technically true. Ebbsfleet will continue to grow around the spider zone, but a big chunk in the middle of it, which was set to be used for employment and open spaces as well as housing, will remain missing for the foreseeable future unless the government changes how these things work. --- #### New leader announced This evening, 57 figures entered a room to select who will lead them for the foreseeable future. It was no doubt a difficult decision, with a number of competing factions, beliefs, and egos all jockeying for position, but by the end of the day, one of them was chosen. No, we’re not talking about the papal conclave, but instead, all of Reform’s newly elected councillors met at County Hall tonight to decide who will lead them and Kent County Council. It is unclear at the moment whether KCC’s building is equipped to release white smoke over Maidstone. ![profile photo of Linden Mary Kemkaran](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fefe33ebe-4bbc-4db8-a731-b92c0b74138b_300x300-jpeg.jpg) New KCC leader Linden Kemkaran. Regardless, the group chose Linden Kemkaran, newly minted councillor for Maidstone South East. She is, of course, a former Conservative candidate, but this is her first time holding elected office. Her previous election campaign ended up with her [being featured in the Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/dec/09/tory-candidate-linden-kemkaran-shared-tweet-claiming-muslims-play-race-card?ref=kentcurrent.news) for sharing tweets about Muslims having a ‘nasty culture’ and ‘3rd world ways.’ In more recent years, Kemkaran has been a regular contributor to outlets like The Spectator and the Daily Mail, where she has [suggested she should pretend to be trans](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-12400841/Testosterone-HRT-transform-life-pretend-Im-transgender-GP-prescribe-it.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) to get access to medical care, rallied against ‘[woke madness](https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/parents-its-not-too-late-to-save-the-next-generation-from-this-woke-madness/?ref=kentcurrent.news),’ argued [for a ban on smartphones in schools](https://www.spectator.com.au/2023/10/a-school-phone-ban-is-long-overdue/?ref=kentcurrent.news), and argued [against a ban on smartphones in schools](https://conservativehome.com/2024/02/05/linden-kemkaran-why-urgent-government-intervention-is-needed-on-children-and-smartphones-but-not-a-ban/?ref=kentcurrent.news). At this point, it is unclear what the whole leadership team will look like and how the other candidates pushing for the top job will take the news. Maxine Fothergill of Sevenoaks Rural North [put herself forward for the role as part of a job share](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq5w52q484qo?ref=kentcurrent.news) with Romney Marsh councillor David Wimble. Wimble was one of the first out of the gates in an exercise of expectation management following Reform’s big win last week. [He appeared on BBC Politics South East](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj9ekx3mz4yo?ref=kentcurrent.news) to point out that some voters were asking him when Reform were going to ‘stop the boats,’ something he was eager to clarify was beyond the power of KCC. However, that did not stop Reform candidates in his own district from [campaigning on a promise of stopping the boats](https://bsky.app/profile/sundersays.bsky.social/post/3logpmwa5gs2i?ref=kentcurrent.news). Reform faces a challenging task in managing a financially struggling council. Most of their group have no previous political experience, and now they are responsible for social care, education, roads, public health, and lots more. It’s going to be a very steep learning curve. --- *Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via *hello AT kentcurrent DOT news* \- We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance.* --- #### Network Rail decides inclusivity is too expensive When is inclusion not worth bothering with? When it costs too much money, apparently. That’s the position from Network Rail, who are in the process of replacing two pedestrian level crossings near Ashford. They previously planned to replace the crossings with a ramped bridge but have now deemed that too costly, so they will replace them with a stepped one instead. As a result, what was a flat pedestrian crossing will now be rendered inaccessible to those with wheelchairs, mobility aids, pushchairs, or cyclists, who will now face a detour of around 1.5 miles to reach the same point on the other side of the tracks everyone else will be able to manage in a couple of minutes. A previous design was approved by Ashford Borough Council in 2023, which included fully accessible ramped accesses on both sides. Admittedly, the bridge's footprint was [very large as a result](https://ashfordboroughcouncil.my.site.com/pr/s/planning-application/a0h8d000000ZfcDAAS/2201041as?c%5F%5Fr=Arcus%5FBE%5FPublic%5FRegister&ref=kentcurrent.news), and many residents next to the bridge objected to the plans at the time, often citing the construction traffic that would be required through residential streets. More recently, Network Rail has [submitted a new application](https://ashfordboroughcouncil.my.site.com/pr/s/planning-application/a0hTw0000024GUrIAM/not20250708?c%5F%5Fr=Arcus%5FBE%5FPublic%5FRegister&ref=kentcurrent.news) for a stepped bridge that takes up a much smaller footprint and, perhaps more crucially for them, saves them money: *‘Following a review of funding allocated to the project, it was established that the approved footbridge was not deliverable due to costs.’* Network Rail goes on to argue that an inclusive crossing is not necessary at the site because the existing level crossings, despite being level, aren’t particularly accessible. They are on rural footpaths with inclines and stiles, meaning those travelling on foot can only really reach them. This may be true, but it’s also somewhat disingenuous. Both sides of the rail line are undergoing extensive development, with planning permission granted for hundreds of homes, a primary school, shops, a gym, a bowling green and lots more. So while part of the area might be rural in nature today, it isn’t likely to be for much longer. Once the developments are complete, residents on foot will be able to cross over the line with ease, while anyone else faces a half an hour detour. Or, more likely, they’ll jump in the car instead, precisely what this kind of crossing is supposed to reduce in the first place. --- #### In brief 🏘️ Canterbury City Council officers are recommending [councillors to approve a 300 home development in Littlebourne](https://democracy.canterbury.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=553&MId=13908&ref=kentcurrent.news). The council previously refused a 115 home development on the same site in 2021. ⛳ Campaigners in Snodland are fighting against a 150 home development, conference centre, and football pitches on an abandoned golf course. [They claim the site is dangerous](https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/plans-150-homes-conference-centre-10158703?ref=kentcurrent.news) because it’s near a landfill, despite no evidence of this being the case. 🏛️ The Community Governance Reviews are coming thick and fast with the impending abolition of Kent’s district councils. This time, Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council are looking at [setting up a Tonbridge Town Council](https://democracy.tmbc.gov.uk//ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=126&MId=5728&ref=kentcurrent.news). 🗣️ A Thanet Conservative councillor quit the group after being suspended for supporting an independent candidate in a by-election. Cliftonville East councillor Barry Manners gave [scathing comments about his former group](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2025/05/06/cliftonville-east-councillor-quits-thanet-conservative-group-following-suspension-for-backing-independent-councillor-in-by-election/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to the Isle of Thanet News. 🌹 A little further around the coast, Labour has [kicked out their Deputy Leader of Dover District Council](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dover/news/deputy-council-leader-expelled-from-labour-over-social-media-323659/?ref=kentcurrent.news). Cllr Jamie Pout says MP Mike Tapp reported him to the party for using social media to support rival candidates, something he strongly denies. Another Labour councillor in Dover, Stacey Blair, has resigned in solidarity. 🏥 East Kent Hospitals have [paid almost £5m in compensation](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/worst-in-england-medication-blunders-cost-kent-hospitals-323896/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to patients over medical negligence claims since 2019\. This means the group, which includes the Kent and Canterbury Hospital, William Harvey in Ashford, and QEQM in Margate, has paid out more than any other NHS trust in the country. 🚑 Former Thanet South MP and Medway councillor Craig Mackinlay has [spoken about his near-fatal battle with sepsis](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/it-s-more-common-than-a-heart-attack-and-more-deadly-than-a-323912/?ref=kentcurrent.news). Macklinay lost both of his arms and legs after he contracted the condition in 2023. 🛬 A World War 2 spitfire crashlanded in a field near Hythe. The owner described the incident as a ‘precautionary landing,’ which is one way to describe a plane falling out of the sky. 🎓 The University of Kent has been [shortlisted for University of the Year](https://www.fenews.co.uk/higher-education/university-of-kent-shortlisted-for-university-of-the-year-at-national-employability-awards/?ref=kentcurrent.news) at the National Employability Awards. The recognition comes as staff at the institution continue to strike over job cuts and the abolition of courses. 🏪 KentOnline has been to speak to [traders in Herne Bay who are unhappy about everything](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/herne-bay/news/kent-town-centre-can-be-revived-but-barbers-vape-stores-323783/?ref=kentcurrent.news). They cite lack of footfall from high car parking charges, too many empty shops, and the wrong kinds of shops opening in said empty shops. 🏬 Not to be outdone, the Daily Mail are outraged that Canterbury is ‘[losing its heritage](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14662965/High-Street-Canterbury-identity-vape-shops-candy.html?ref=kentcurrent.news).’ This seems to be primarily because their reporter visited and found six (6) phone and vape shops in the city. 🫁 Kent Trading Standards has recorded more incidents of [vapes being sold to children in Kent](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd7v9z71x4vo?ref=kentcurrent.news) than any other part of the UK. According to data from the BBC, Kent had nearly twice the number of incidents as the second-placed area. 🛍️ Next is set to become one of the anchor tenants at Bluewater as the [retailer takes over the former House of Fraser](https://retail-focus.co.uk/next-to-triple-its-footprint-at-bluewater-with-a-new-store-opening-in-2026/?ref=kentcurrent.news) unit in the centre. The move will see the store triple in size from its current location within the complex. 🏗️ The Forum shopping centre in Sittingbourne is set to transform with [new shops, cafes, and flats built on the roof](https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9j25x2?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🎡 Ashford Designer Outlet wants to [install a ferris wheel in their car park](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgp012exmvo?ref=kentcurrent.news). The wheel would operate for up to six months of the year. ⚽ Maidstone United have [made it to the promotion finals](https://maidstoneunited.co.uk/2025/05/05/key-promotion-final-details-confirmed/?ref=kentcurrent.news) for National League North and South and will play Scunthorpe on 18 May to decide who is elevated to the National League. ⚽ Elsewhere, [Dover Athletic defeated Dartford](https://doverathletic.com/news/report-dartford-0-2-dover-athletic/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in the Isthmian League Premier Division playoff final, meaning they will be promoted to the National League South. 🪖 Saga Magazine has been [exploring the Ramsgate Tunnels](https://www.saga.co.uk/magazine/life/tunnel-rats-of-ramsgate?ref=kentcurrent.news) with people who originally worked there during World War 2. --- #### More Currents Every May Day, Morris dancers and pagan curious residents gather in Kent at dawn for Jack in the Green festivities. Steven Keevil set his alarm for 4am to go along and find out more. [Invented traditionsSince 1983, people have met at 5am on Blue Bell Hill on the first of May for the ‘Jack in the Green’ tradition. Steven went along to find out what happens at the picnic spot, how traditional all this is, and a Shooter’s sandwich.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f8d4a4c7f-19fc-4e7c-87d7-4ed0b87571a5_567x567-22.png)Kent CurrentSteven Keevil![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fe3a504a5-0ec1-4c64-8f8d-cb178e03731c_1456x762-webp.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/invented-traditions/) This was the first of our features exclusively for our paid supporters, something that will become more common in the coming weeks. If you value what we’re trying to do here and want to get access to all of our work, please consider supporting us with a [paid subscription](#/portal/signup). [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup) --- #### Footnotes *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews) *and* [*BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* *If you enjoy the Kent Current, please share it with your friends, family, associates, and even your enemies. We have no meaningful marketing budget, so we rely on word of mouth from our readers to find new readers.* ### Invented traditions URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/invented-traditions/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:56:38.000Z *Since 1983, people have met at 5am on Blue Bell Hill on the first of May for the ‘Jack in the Green’ tradition. Steven went along to find out what happens at the picnic spot, how traditional all this is, and a Shooter’s sandwich.* It is 4am and I am awake. I am so paranoid about oversleeping that I wake up before the alarm goes off. I prepared my outfit the night before so as to provide minimal disturbance to the rest of the house. As I stand dressed and ready to leave the bedroom, the cat and dog wait expectantly for feeding until the dog, sensing that it is still early, goes back to sleep in his bed. I decide against making myself anything to eat and drink and choose to order a taxi now so that when it takes 30 minutes to arrive, I would still be on time to meet my lift to Blue Bell Hill between Maidstone and Medway. However, I am ‘in luck,’ and two minutes later, the taxi is outside the house before I am ready to leave. I am going to the home of local historian [Chris de Coulon-Berthoud](https://www.localauthority.news/p/the-1940s-were-not-that-great-for?ref=kentcurrent.news) and his wife, legend of the Medway Music scene, [Kyra De Coninck](https://www.localauthority.news/p/you-make-it-sound-so-romantic?ref=kentcurrent.news). The pair have been going to the raising of Jack in the Green at Blue Bell Hill for a number of years. I have been enticed to do this by the promise that it might be something interesting to write about and by a Shooter’s sandwich, although I don’t know what that is. Being driven through Medway in the early morning dark is a unique experience. Unusually for these streets, there is no traffic congestion, so thanks to my enthusiastically prompt driver, I arrive at my destination early. There is glorious bird song as I arrive. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2faa465cf8-65e3-4b73-9692-fa72dc84fa7c_1456x762-webp.jpg) We are going to the raising of the Jack in the Green at Blue Bell Hill, which is a May Day morning tradition and ties into Sweeps, Rochester's May Day Festival. Chris explains, “Jack in the Green is an avatar of Spring.” Chris isn’t quite ready to be interviewed on the topic this early in the morning before gamely going on to explain that “it's an evocation of the spirit of Spring and the changing of the seasons.” There are songs and dances to the Jack to wake him up as dawn rises over the Medway Valley. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### A new dawn for Kent URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/a-new-dawn-for-kent/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:56:40.000Z Reform have swept to control of Kent County Council in an election result that can only be described as unprecedented. After 28 years in control of the county, the Conservatives saw themselves reduced to a small rump of seats. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fa190bbff-1083-4188-bc0e-50ccc503179f_1934x1194.png) Following yesterday’s election results, the political makeup of Kent County Council is: ➡️ Reform: 57 (+57) 🔶 Lib Dems: 12 (+6) 🌳 Conservative: 5 (-57) 🟢 Green: 5 (+1) 🌹 Labour: 2 (-5) While there was an expectation that Reform would do well in this election and gain a sizeable number of seats, no one quite predicted how much of the county they would take. Least of all Reform themselves, who expected a strong showing, with an outside chance that they could just about take control of the council. In the end, two-thirds of all seats across the county fell to the insurgent party. Most of these gains came at the expense of the Conservatives, the long-time rulers of Kent, who saw themselves effectively wiped off of Kent’s electoral map. Kent County Council Leader Roger Gough saw himself lose his seat alongside every single Conservative Cabinet member who stood for re-election. For much of the day, it looked like the party could be eliminated from the council entirely, but a clutch of seats, mainly in Tonbridge and Malling, allowed the party to retain some presence on the council. The Lib Dems were the other big winners of the day, even if their gains pale in comparison to Reform. The party managed to double their representation on KCC to 12, leaving them firmly as the opposition to the new Reform administration. They had a particularly strong showing around Tunbridge Wells, where they won every seat in and around the town. The Greens faced one of the most nailbiting counts, their fifth seat (which allows them to be an official group) only being won on the final ward declared, where they only won by a single vote. While the party may not have made significant gains, they will be happy not to have moved backwards. It was a miserable day for Labour, who were reduced from an already small number of seats in the county to just two in Canterbury city centre. Seats they held in Thanet, Folkestone, Gravesham, and Dartford were all swept away in the turquoise wave. Now that Reform have won Kent and several other councils across the country, the question now becomes just what they can do with power. Most of their campaign literature in the county focused on national issues, so exactly what they intend to do in Kent is unclear. Running any level of local government is now incredibly challenging, with finances being incredibly tight and the vast majority of money being spent of statutory services like adult social care and children’s services. Recent announcements from the party can give us some idea of where we might be heading though. The party has promised US DOGE style spending reviews, aiming to cut ‘waste’, but they have yet to be able to put any of this into action, so who knows where things might end up. Speeches from Nigel Farage yesterday following wins in other parts of the country suggested a targeting of work around climate change and diversity and equality initiatives. The party has also pledged to push back against asylum seekers being housed in any Reform-controlled areas, though it is unclear how they could have any power that would enable them to do that. The election of Reform also throws into doubt the future of devolution and local government reorganisation in the county. While Conservative-controlled KCC and Labour-controlled Medway Council were aligned on the aims of devolution, Reform have expressed concerns about the process and finding agreement across the county is likely to be more difficult than ever. Another challenge facing the party, particularly in Kent, is that few of their newly elected councillors have any experience in local government, let alone in control of a large county council. Their rapid growth means the party doesn’t have any form of ‘administration in waiting’ and will need to sort out who will lead them and take on the portfolios needed to run a county council. A handful of their councillors were former Conservative councillors. Still, the vast majority haven’t held any form of elected office before, so there is likely to be a steep learning curve ahead. *Kent County Council have a* [*full map and detailed results from the election available here*](https://www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-council/how-the-council-works/kent-county-council-elections/election-results?ref=kentcurrent.news)*. In next week's briefing edition, we’ll have more on the election and its aftershocks and will cover Reform’s efforts to form and lead a Kent administration over the coming weeks.* ### It’s election day in Kent URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/its-election-day-in-kent/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:56:42.000Z *Following one of the shortest local election campaigns in recent memory, voters in Kent will vote today to decide who will represent them on Kent County Council for the next four years. Unusually, no one seems to know what is about to happen. We look at the state of things below. Further down, we have news on some futile endeavours some councils are going through ahead of reorganisation, news in brief, some practical information about today’s election, and some details on how we’re going to cover the results. Let’s get to it.* **Editor’s note:* We believe local journalism can be entertaining and informative and not the kind of ad-infested clickbait that so many outlets have now adopted. We’ve been overwhelmed by the response to our first month, and we’re only just getting started. Obviously, these early weeks have been dominated by the KCC election, but we have some big Kent stories in the pipeline that we can’t wait to share with you.* *However, the *Kent Current* can only exist if enough readers are willing to support it. We’ve been blown away by how many of you have so far, but we need more to take the leap if we are to make this project sustainable. If you support what we’re trying to do here, please consider becoming one of our paid supporters. Paid supporters receive all of our journalism, features, and interviews, ensuring we can keep this thing going. It’s also the last few days to take advantage of our introductory offer of* [*25% off your first year*](#/portal/signup)*. Please consider joining us if you believe in a better way of doing local news for Kent.* [Get 25% off for 1 year](#/portal/signup) --- #### It’s election day in Kent Kent goes to the polls today to elect what is likely to be the final Kent County Council, and if one thing is certain, it’s that no one really knows what is going to happen. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fce1e8767-c965-4b0a-9667-7f8ddd9ea73e_2500x1406-jpeg-1.jpg) Activists within each of the main parties are bullish about their chances in some areas of the county, but there is no consensus on exactly what will happen today. This puts us in unprecedented waters for a county that the Conservatives have firmly controlled for most of the past 50 years. The biggest unknown is the level of threat that Reform poses in the county. History suggests this should be a strong area for the party. The recent past saw UKIP become the official opposition in the county in 2013 before they fell apart four years later. Still, Reform seems to be slightly better organised and polling better than that party ever did. The Guardian, visiting Ramsgate this week with Nigel Farage, [raised the spectre of the ‘silent Reform voter’](https://www.theguardian.com/news/ng-interactive/2025/apr/26/in-kent-the-silent-reform-voter-may-give-nigel-farage-his-greatest-victory?ref=kentcurrent.news) who might sway the election toward the party. It is clear that the party is throwing everything they have at the county, and by everything, we mean the party leader. Farage has taken time out from ~~representing the people of Clacton~~ ~~hosting shows on GB News~~ recording thousands of Cameo videos to tour the county this week, popping up in [Dover](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dover/news/nigel-farage-on-campaign-trail-in-kent-announces-minister-f-323347/?ref=kentcurrent.news) and [Sittingbourne](https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9igcvc?ref=kentcurrent.news) as well as the aforementioned [Ramsgate](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2025/04/26/reform-uk-leader-nigel-farage-makes-whistle-stop-visit-to-ramsgate/?ref=kentcurrent.news). Assuming the party performs well in today’s election, it seems likely that we’ll see him back again by the end of the week. Farage hasn’t been the only party leader in the county this week, with Green co-leader Carla Denyer [campaigning in Dartford this week](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg9332lpp0o?ref=kentcurrent.news), where the party is increasingly optimistic that they can make in-roads. The party currently holds five councillors on KCC and is aiming to double that figure. The Lib Dems are optimistic about their chances, particularly in some of the middle-class heartlands that the Conservatives could previously take for granted. Party leader Ed Davey visited Tunbridge Wells today and, in a very Ed Davey move, [signed some ‘magic spatulas of victory’](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/ed-davey-tunbridge-wells-conservatives-lib-dem-kemi-badenoch-b2742466.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) for good measure. How successful they will prove remains to be seen, but the party is eager to be at the head of any left-leaning coalition that can be formed following the election. The big unknown is exactly how well the Conservatives and Labour can perform, with the electoral mood seemingly against both. Labour only holds five seats on KCC, so it’s hard to see how much worse things could get for them, but anything is possible. The Conservatives have the most to lose, holding 55 of the council’s 81 seats, and no one knows how many they are likely to be left with once the votes are counted. KentOnline Local Democracy Reporter Simon Finlay has put together a list of [12 seats that are worth watching](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/kent-county-council-elections-the-12-seats-to-watch-323415/?ref=kentcurrent.news), which includes some interesting (even bold!) choices, which only goes to show just how unpredictable this election might be. Stick with us for what could be quite a dramatic season finale for Kent County Council. Further down, you’ll find full details on today’s election and how our coverage is going to work over the next couple of days. Strap in. --- #### Exercises in futility If you ever think your job is pointless, spare a thought for officers at Canterbury City Council and the Local Government Boundary Commission for England, who have just spent two years redrawing the electoral map of Canterbury just in time for the council to cease existing. With local government reorganisation on the cards, all existing district councils in Kent will likely cease to exist in the next couple of years, meaning that two years of work will have been done for nothing. In a [report](https://democracy.canterbury.gov.uk/documents/s129716/Review%20of%20ward%20boundaries.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) set to be put to Canterbury’s full council next week, officers noted that the new boundaries that have been developed were set to be introduced in the 2027 elections, the same time that local government reorganisation is set to roll out: > “If local government reorganisation proceeds as planned, it is unlikely that the recommendations will be implemented. However, at this point in time we continue to plan for all eventualities.” The plans would have seen a significant shakeup of Canterbury’s ward map, with an increase from 39 to 40 councillors, the city having 24 wards instead of the 21 existing ones, and changing the boundaries of 15 existing wards. Canterbury isn’t the only area moving forward with potentially fruitless endeavours. Medway Council are embarking on a [£22m project to repair and refurbish their Gun Wharf headquarters](https://democracy.medway.gov.uk/mgconvert2pdf.aspx?id=79535&ref=kentcurrent.news), including building a brand new council chamber for a council that likely won’t exist by the time it’s completed. A cynic could suggest the outlay helps position them as the centre of a new North Kent unitary authority that is likely to follow, but it’s a rather expensive gamble. Ironically, the efforts to simplify local government by merging the county and district council operations into one is leading some areas to consider introducing new local representation. Parish councils exist, primarily in rural areas, to manage the affairs of small communities, and with local councils potentially moving further away, towns around Kent are considering whether they need to form new town councils to fill the gap. Ashford Borough Council are considering carrying out a Community Governance Review on whether an Ashford Town Council should be created. A [report](https://ashford.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s30671/Community%20Governance%20Review%20of%20Ashford%20Boroughs%20Urban%20area%20including%20unparished%20area.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) being presented to the Selection and Constitutional Review Committee next week argues that a new town council could potentially give residents a greater say on matters in the town: > “Putting in place the most local tier of decision making could give residents more ownership and control of services delivered on their behalf. As well as taking on responsibility for some local services, parish and town councils have a strong 7 voice in planning issues, separate to the statutory planning authority. A more localised council could give residents a bigger say and there would be an additional tier of councillors to represent residents, focusing on more immediate local issues” The report accepts that this may not be the ideal time to conduct such a review and that a similar effort in Whitstable last year found residents were largely against creating an extra layer of local democracy. As such, an alternative path is offered that would see any future authority that absorbs Ashford being required to review whether the town needs additional representation after the reorganisation has taken place. There’s no such differing in Tunbridge Wells, where Tunbridge Wells Borough Council are going all out to have a review on whether the town needs a town council done and dusted by next year. The review covers the urban core of the town that does not currently have a parish council, and it seems clear from the [report](https://democracy.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/documents/s77012/Community%20Governance%20Review%20of%20Unparished%20Areas.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) that it is likely that some kind of new arrangements are set to be introduced. There are over 200 parish and town councils across Kent. With the possibility of new powers and resources being passed to them following any future local government reorganisation, perhaps we should be expecting more of these reviews in the near future. How many might be successful is another matter entirely. --- #### In brief 🌹 [Labour regained overall control of Medway Council](https://www.localauthority.news/p/labour-regains-overall-control-of?ref=kentcurrent.news) last week after two councillors suspended for over a year were readmitted to the party. 🪧 [200 anti-immigration protestors descended on Dover](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c87pqnn803yo?ref=kentcurrent.news) over the weekend. Counter-protestors met them, but Kent Police say the event passed without incident. ✉️ [Councillors in Tonbridge and Malling say they have felt intimidated](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/malling/news/hand-delivered-letters-against-development-plans-close-to-h-323429/?ref=kentcurrent.news) by residents visiting their homes to post objections to a housing development in East Malling. 🚄 Eurostar has proposed competing operators on cross-Channel rail routes [upgrade facilities in Kent to increase capacity](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/eurostar-voices-concerns-as-it-calls-on-rivals-to-invest-in-323505/?ref=kentcurrent.news). Depots in Ashford, Folkestone, and Gravesend are among those suggested. 🏗️ [Sevenoaks town centre is set to be redeveloped as part of a £120m project](https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/once-generation-120m-kent-town-10130022?ref=kentcurrent.news). The plans would see a new leisure centre, cultural and market hall, public spaces, access to Knole Park, and homes built on the east side of the town. 🏘️ A request for a screening opinion has been [submitted to Gravesham Borough Council for two developments totalling 470 homes](https://plan.gravesham.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=SV4JP8HP07L00&ref=kentcurrent.news) in Meopham. 🏡 [Plans have been submitted for 35 new homes on the edge of Sandwich](https://publicaccess.dover.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=SV4JE0FZKYK00&ref=kentcurrent.news). The proposals are for farmland to the east of the town. 🐅 [Wingham Wildlife Park near Canterbury has applied to build an extension to its facilities](https://publicaccess.dover.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=SQE9UYFZHG000&ref=kentcurrent.news). The plans include new buildings to serve as pygmy hippo and tiger enclosures. 🎭 Planning permission is being sought to [convert the former county court in Gravesend](https://plan.gravesham.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=ST8A5QHPIWU00&ref=kentcurrent.news) into a performing arts theatre, cafe, and community hub. ⛴️ Design and engineering firm Arup has assembled a [2050 Masterplan for the Port of Dover](https://www.arup.com/en-us/projects/port-of-dover-2050-masterplan-framework/?ref=kentcurrent.news). The plan integrates all of the port’s operations with an intent to increase trade value by 20%. 🗣️ [Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield has called for an apology from the Prime Minister](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y4z44pv74o?ref=kentcurrent.news) after she quit the party over disagreements with the party leadership over her views on gender. 🏳️‍⚧️ Apropos of nothing, the [Crab Museum in Margate came out swinging](https://www.thepinknews.com/2025/04/23/crab-museum-supreme-court-ruling-statement/?ref=kentcurrent.news) following the UK Supreme Court’s ruling on the definition of a woman. 🧑‍⚖️ [A prison officer in Kent was subjected to ‘extreme racial abuse’ by colleagues](https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/apr/27/black-former-prison-officer-racist-abuse-hmp-swaleside-kent?ref=kentcurrent.news). An employment tribunal ruled in favour of the officer following his dismissal from the role at HMP Swaleside on Sheppey. 💣 Five Met Police officers are facing a misconduct hearing after [launching petrol bombs at a training facility in Gravesend](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj3x65rykr5o?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🚂 [Vandals have caused £30,000 of damage to the Spa Valley Railway](https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/vandals-cause-30k-damage-spa-10133850?ref=kentcurrent.news). Graffiti was sprayed across heritage carriages over original paintwork that can’t be replaced. 🏨 Small hotel owners in Canterbury are concerned that Airbnb and temporary university accommodation are [squeezing them out](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/airbnbs-and-unis-renting-rooms-to-tourists-are-stealing-our-323426/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🍛 An Indian restaurant owner in Canterbury has claimed the flagship [Riverside development is like a ‘ghost town,’](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/we-were-sold-a-dream-spent-1m-but-it-s-like-a-ghost-tow-323432/?ref=kentcurrent.news) leading to him moving his business into the city centre. 📽️ [The Ashford Cinema will remain open for at least another 18 months](https://www.ashford.gov.uk/news/latest-news/celebrating-one-year-of-the-ashford-cinema/?ref=kentcurrent.news). The venue was taken over by Ashford Borough Council a year ago after the original operator, Picturehouse, pulled out. 🐴 [‘cene magazine has been meeting folklore enthusiasts in Kent](https://cenemagazine.co.uk/features/esoteric-isle-the-lore-of-the-land-kent-folklore?ref=kentcurrent.news) who uphold the county's traditions. ⚽ [The New York Times have been writing about the final day of the Isthmian Premier League](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6314841/2025/04/28/isthmian-premier-league-title-race/?ref=kentcurrent.news) for some reason, which features Dartford FC’s final day battle for promotion. 🌊 The National Piers Society has [named Herne Bay Pier the third best in the country](https://piers.org.uk/pier-of-the-year-2025/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🐄 [Elmley Nature Reserve on Sheppey is trying to improve access](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx25vvgyz30o?ref=kentcurrent.news) with a new guide, group visits, and free lifts from the nearby Swale rail station. ⛲ [The Canterbury penis fountain was unveiled this week](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/the-design-has-got-us-a-lot-of-publicity-150k-public-dri-323592/?ref=kentcurrent.news). --- #### Election notes Polling stations across Kent are now open and will remain so until 10pm. If you have received your polling card, you should know where you need to go to cast your ballot. If you are registered to vote but haven’t received your polling card, you do not need it to vote. Go to your polling station, confirm your name and address, and you will be allowed to vote, so long as you have an [accepted form of photo ID](https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am-a/voter/voter-id/accepted-forms-photo-id?ref=kentcurrent.news). All voters will need to bring a form of photo ID in this election regardless. If you do not know where your polling station is located, you can visit [the Where Do I Vote? website](https://wheredoivote.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news), enter your postcode, and they will, for lack of a better term, tell you where to go. If you have a postal vote but did not remember to return it in time, you can drop it off at your polling station until the polls close at 10pm. You do not need a photo ID to do this, but you must fill out a form when doing so. If you were due to vote in a polling station today but can not make it due to a work or medical emergency or have lost your ID, you can contact your local council to arrange an emergency proxy vote. You can do this until 5pm today. You may find people outside your polling station asking to see your polling card. These people are activists for political parties, and you absolutely do not have to engage with them. Polling stations will close at 10pm, which brings us to… #### Our coverage We will be at County Hall tomorrow, getting the results from across the county as they come in. We’ll be running live coverage through the day on our [subscriber chat](https://substack.com/chat/4137617?ref=kentcurrent.news) for our [paid supporters](#/portal/signup), so please join us there. If you’d like to join us throughout the day and aren’t currently one of our lovely paid supporters, you can [upgrade your subscription and get 25% off your first year](#/portal/signup). [Get 25% off for 1 year](#/portal/signup) After that, we’ll be back on Saturday with a special election results edition for everyone, analysing the new political reality for Kent, before resuming our regular schedule next week. As a bit of a palette cleanser, our Monday feature for paid supporters will very much not be politics-related. --- #### More Current Over the weekend, [we sat down with Paul Francis](https://www.kentcurrent.news/im-now-operating-as-a-freelancer/), long-time political editor for the KM Group of newspapers in Kent. He recently left the organisation and reflected on his move to freelance journalism, reporting on Margaret Thatcher in Finchley, the KCC elections, and much more. [“I'm now operating as a freelancer in the wild west of local government”Paul Francis’ ‘Paul on Politics’ has been a significant part of Kent politics reporting this century. After a long and tenured career, he has now left the Kent Messenger and recently started his own Substack newsletter. We spoke to Paul about what led to that change, reporting on Margaret Thatcher in Finchley, and what he thinks will happen in Kent at t…![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f8d4a4c7f-19fc-4e7c-87d7-4ed0b87571a5_567x567-23.png)Kent CurrentSteven Keevil![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f95df706d-4a16-4e1e-94ac-43605bd2f155_3133x2140-jpeg.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/im-now-operating-as-a-freelancer/) --- #### Footnotes *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews) *and* [*BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* *If you enjoy the Kent Current, please share it with your friends, family, associates, and even your enemies. We have no meaningful marketing budget, so we rely on word of mouth from our readers to find new readers.* ### “I'm now operating as a freelancer in the wild west of local government” URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/im-now-operating-as-a-freelancer/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:56:43.000Z *Paul Francis’ ‘Paul on Politics’ has been a significant part of Kent politics reporting this century. After a long and tenured career, he has now left the Kent Messenger and recently started* [*his own Substack newsletter*](https://www.paulonpolitics.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news)*. We spoke to Paul about what led to that change, reporting on Margaret Thatcher in Finchley, and what he thinks will happen in Kent at the upcoming local elections.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f95df706d-4a16-4e1e-94ac-43605bd2f155_3133x2140-jpeg-2.jpg) Paul Francis **Why have you launched Paul On Politics on Substack?** Well, after several years working for the KM Group, I was ‘let go’ as you say, recently and felt that it was disappointing to have to give up a job I really liked. I wanted to keep my hand in really. I wasn't ready to sever the work link completely and felt I could still make some interesting contributions. I investigated the Substack option, which is also in its infancy in some ways and decided that was quite a good platform for me in this position as a freelance journalist. **Is there a paywall on your Substack, or is it all free to read?** I haven't reached those heady heights yet of paywalls. It's one step at a time for me at the moment, getting used to the way Substack operates. It's not as intuitive a platform as some others. I find it slightly complicated. The other thing is that as a freelancer now, I can pick and choose what I think are the interesting topics which don't sometimes get the oxygen of publicity that they ought to, and it's also offered me an opportunity to maybe do some reporting in a different style. I quite like parliamentary sketch writing and I'm going to try my hand at that. There'll have to be some kind of applause from the platform to find out whether anyone's enjoyed it or not. A combination of factors have led me to where I am now. I'm still really at the early stages of working in a very different fashion to the way I used to when the news desks would be asking for you to trot out 500 words on this, that or the other. It's a different environment. This seems to be quite an interesting app and quite an interesting new platform. I've become a little less enthused by Twitter, or X as we should now call it, over the years. I know it's a cliche, but it's the keyboard warrior’s aspect of it, which I don't particularly like, and the kind of disinformation that is often found on there. Whether this new platform will work for me, I'm going to weigh that up, and we'll see how it goes. I'd certainly like to think there's an opening there which perhaps is not filled by other media. **You mentioned there about being able to write about things you wouldn't typically have done before. Can you give an example?** I've [added something on the travel bus scheme](https://www.paulonpolitics.co.uk/p/sketch-councillors-back-increase?ref=kentcurrent.news) that councillors routinely have to agree to an increase in the kids travel pass, and they all expressed dismay about the idea and then go and vote for it anyway. That's one thing I've looked at. I think the other thing is that there's more room for analysing data, I think, which is one thing which I felt I could have done perhaps better in the past. When the Freedom of Information Act came onto the statute books, it kind of converged with the new FOI legislation and the new rules on transparency. That's good in some ways and not in others because there's such an avalanche of data that pours down through your emails and on council agendas and other reports that it's quite difficult picking that stuff out, but again, I’ve perhaps got more time now to consider some those issues. I’m not doing down the KM at all. I know the environment in which they're operating is tricky, but it was just a little bit disappointing. **To clarify, when you say your time coming to an end at the Kent Messenger, that wasn't your choice?** It wasn't my ideal choice, but I was only presented with one choice. I’m not doing down the KM at all. I know the environment in which they're operating is tricky, but it was just a little bit disappointing. So yeah, for the record, I'm now operating as a freelancer in the wild west of local government. Where you target your enemies *(laughs)*. I don't mean that. It's a way of continuing my involvement in covering politics, which I remain hugely interested and engaged by, notwithstanding the antics of some politicians. **Will you be covering the upcoming Kent local elections?** I hope to in some shape or form or fashion. In fact, the last time I covered it on the day was when Kent County Council, their results machinery collapsed. They had commissioned some company to do it all for them, and the company failed miserably in its attempts to provide a rolling results service. I think I was the only reporter at County Hall doing the general, “This is where we stand as things are,” et cetera. That was great for my Twitter followers but not altogether ideal. I think it's going to be a very interesting election, just because of these new kids on the block or the old kids on the block in the form of Reform UK. Some people see a possible parallel with the incursion of UKIP back in 2013, when they actually came perilously close to winning a working majority or being in a position to form an administration. They didn't. They fell short by one, I think it was, but it was a very close call. I think some in that new incarnation of the Reform UK Party and others who don't support the mainstream party see an opportunity to make some kind of difference. **Do you think that the Conservatives will lose control?** I think there's a chance of that happening. I’m inclined to think that it's not quite as certain as some people would like to think that it is. There are around 80 councillors on the authority, and for a newish party to establish a foothold and become a presence is not going to happen overnight. The timing might not be good for Reform. They're beginning to have to address some of the issues and questions, not just around their programme of policies, etc. But in my view, not being able to define a mission statement which adequately captures all that they're about. With UKIP, it was a party which campaigned mainly on migration and asylum seekers and getting out of Europe. Once you get representation in parliament, you're operating in a different ballpark, and I think that's an issue for Reform. They have got policies, but it's across a very wide area and not terribly detailed in definitive proposals. **In the run-up to this election, we’ve had people going independent and we've had a councillor join Reform. We also had a** [**councillor join the Heritage Party**](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/tunbridge-wells/news/conservative-county-councillor-launches-attack-on-party-as-s-321424/?ref=kentcurrent.news)**.** I saw that. I had never heard of the Heritage Party. **Are you aware of the councillor individually?** I've got no idea who the person is, I must say. It's interesting. Kent always gets a bit of attention because it's so large an authority, and this is why I retain an interest in politics. Some very big national issues are on Kent's doorstep or actually in Kent's house. Obviously, with the migration factor and Operation Stack, Brexit, very controversial. Kent's got a lot of issues that its politicians have got to get across and deal with. **With the election itself, for people who are used to the visual of the count occurring and being declared in a hall, with KCC, the counts occur at the borough level?** That's right, yeah. Each of the 12 district and boroughs in Kent, they will have separate individual counts for the elected councillors in their area. Canterbury will have five or six counts, Folkestone a similar number maybe. It will be the individual local district councils, in the form of the second-tier authorities, which actually do the count as it were, and then relay the results to County Hall, where there's a ‘Media Hub.’ You can't get anywhere without a hub these days. **As a reporter covering that at County Hall, are you alone in the room because all the councillors are in their individual districts?** Yeah, it's quite odd in some ways because, as you say, candidates usually pitch up at their own individual councils. County Hall won't have that many politicians there as the results come in, but they sometimes have activists to keep an eye on things. What tends to happen is when the count is finished, you will see councillors coming up to County Hall to celebrate or commiserate, as the case may be. Not everyone does that, of course. There was drama as I say, the year that UKIP almost grabbed control. As I said at the beginning, I'm not 100 % sure that they've got the wherewithal to make a significant mark on the results. I might well be proved wrong. My guess is, or my best bet, would be for the Conservatives to retain control, but possibly without any kind of outright administration. **It is an interesting election in that regard. If the Conservatives don’t have the support to retain, and Reform can’t take control, who does that leave?** Well, it makes it very difficult to predict. The makeup of the county council is now very different to what it had been for decades rolling on a century in terms of the big parties. It's only been run by the opposition, LibDem and Labour parties in the mid-90s, if my memory serves me well. It's been under Conservative control for years. But slowly, the Green Party has made inroads into not just Kent County Council, but a lot of the other district and borough councils. All those little groupings together could add up to being the factor which tips it one way or the other. My guess is, or my best bet, would be for the Conservatives to retain control, but possibly without any kind of outright administration. It could be a bit like having a national government with the various parties deciding on whether to form a loose arrangement or a hard and fast administration. I think the other thing that's quite interesting about the big timing is that Reform UK are quite new, and I think they're beginning to portray some of the symptoms of parties that have been around a much longer period of time. Nigel Farage has always said, ‘We're the people's party, we're not like the others, we do things differently.” Well, some people might look at what's been going on within the party and this row between Nigel Farage and another MP. They're showing some tensions, which won't necessarily cost them seats particularly but might curb the overall vote that they get. It's difficult once you're in parliament, and it's not that they shouldn't be in parliament. You operate in a different manner in some ways. They are, if you look at them on the benches at PMQ, it's a picture that tells you that they are part of the political establishment. Once you get a foothold in parliament and become an official party, it seems to trigger a different way of working. **How would you say political reporting has changed during your career?** Well, I guess the big change has been the emergence of social media and citizen reporting, which you guys are doing in a very good, positive way. I think that has added to the 24-hour news agenda that everyone seems to lock into. There's much more instantaneous reporting of news than there was when I started working in newspapers 30 years ago. You just didn't have the same amount of information coming in. And you didn't have the demands that journalists have now to get instant quotes, reaction stories and so forth.That is the hallmark of journalism in the new century. So that's been a big change. I think sometimes there's a case that social media gets in the way of more considered reporting post the event or the debate or whatever has triggered political interest. I'm not saying it happens all the time, of course, but we consume it, so they provide it. That has been, for me, one of the major changes, alongside reporters perhaps having to immerse themselves in other media. They won't just write something for their paper or online. They might do some audio clips, get some video and that kind of stuff. That has shifted the landscape in a significant way. It's interesting that the BBC, it's the morning coverage, what's top of the online platform is five or six videos before you get to the written story. I think that's just indicative of the way political reporting happens these days. **What advice would you have for a new news operation looking to start covering Kent County Council?** Oh god, I can't. I don't think I can answer that. I think this doesn't apply to Kent County Council in itself. But they used to, if you were a news reporter and in the office, nthe ews editor would ask you, ‘Why are you in the office? Why aren't you out there getting stories?’ Today, that's turned on its head because you're not in the office. In some cases, they asked the same question: ‘Why are you in the office?’ Because the view traditionally was to get stories, you have to go out, make contacts, speak to people directly. I think those are all still pertinent things that have to be considered in the round. But it feels more these days that if reporters are not in the office, they're not necessarily working. I've been at the end of this myself. Of course it does get covered, but maybe in a different way. **What's the most shocking or surprising story you've covered in your time covering Kent?** I think the emergence of UKIP, when they launched their electoral offensive. The fact that a fringe party could come close to taking a Conservative stronghold, beating them or perhaps being in a position to form an administration. That sent a shockwave through the Conservative ranks because they'd previously been able to dismiss some of these smaller parties as one hit wonders. And here was a party headed by a very charismatic leader. A shockwave for the Conservatives, a shockwave for Labour. And the fact that it was Kent, with direct experience of these issues around migration and asylum seekers, and the boats coming over, although in 2013 there weren't so many migrant boats coming around. There was the whole issue of the costs to the authority. I would put that as one of the one of the more interesting events that I've covered in the county council. **Let's go back to the beginning. Where were you born?** Oh blimey, I was born in Birmingham, but I was brought up in Bristol. **What brought you to Kent?** It was a job, basically. I began my career working on local newspapers in North London. I don't know whether I'm pre-empting a question for you, but the paper I was working on covered Margaret Thatcher's constituency of Finchley. We, as the local paper, often got a beat on stuff from her or from the Prime Minister's office, about visits, talks on local issues, and stuff like that. It was a very interesting period. **Did you get to meet or interview Margaret Thatcher yourself?** I did on a couple of occasions. They tended to still want to keep her out of the direct lines in that fashion. We used to get access to things like Christmas fairs that she'd be attending. And the national press pack would be hovering outside. We, as the fortunate local media, were able to get a shadow visit in a way which the national media weren't and were left at the door. But yeah, my time at that particular newspaper group coincided with her demise, as it were. So we had a hugely interesting and significant story, in which local newspapers had something that we were fortunate in having ringside seat. **How would you describe her? What was she like at that local level?** She was adored by the constituency faithful. They were horrified when she got removed by her cabinet colleagues. I remember that Christmas fair, because I was a reporter on duty this weekend, where she was due to go to the Christmas fair of her local constituency association, and eat cake with the party faithful. And she still went to that event despite the fact that she was having to fend off the leadership challenge. **What jobs did your parents do growing up?** My dad was a civil servant. He was actually a customs officer, but not in Kent, in Harwich, and my mum was a special needs teacher. She spent a long career teaching children with particular problems. **Did you enjoy school?** I don't think about school very much. I went to Bristol Grammar School, and it was okay. It was a boy’s school, when there were many more boys’ and girls’ schools. I was fortunate because I was actually quite good at sports, and that brought me into an environment whereI could make friends easily. That maybe took some of the hardship of a fairly academic schooling. **Did you stay on for sixth form?** Yeah, I did my A-levels there. I did French, English and Latin. It tells you everything that the school was quite keen on Latin. **Where did you go for university?** Well, oddly enough, I went to a college called Nonington College, which you may know down in East Kent, in Canterbury, where I did a degree in the totally worthless subject of Human Movement Studies. Which is basically PE, but with an academic side to it. I think it was devised by the university authorities as an attempt to try and keep the college open, which it did. It had been a teacher training college where PE teachers went for a year and did their training courses. But because the government didn't want any more teachers at that time, it kind of pulled the rug from under its feet. It was affiliated to the University of Kent. **Having studied three languages at A level, you didn't study language at university?** I'm not sure I've got an answer to that. I think I chose to do it because of my enjoyment in sports and taking part in sports. It’s quite odd that my brother went to the same college, and my mother went to the same college as me. There's a family link in that regard. But yeah, not the most challenging or academically centred college. I think largely as a legacy of being a teacher training college, they had fantastic resources, an indoor swimming pool, running track, a tennis court. It was a bit like a country club. I think that's what made it so enjoyable. **How are your languages now? Are you still good with the Latin and French?** Yeah, like a lot of people. I go on holidays in France and resurrect rudimentary skills in French for two weeks and then come back and forget it all again. French isn't too bad. I've learned a bit of Italian on my own. But you know what it's like if don't use it. You lose the ability, but you can easily pick it up again. **What was your first full-time job?** Well, post-university, I went and did an MA at Leeds University in the same subject. Then I kind of knocked around on the dole for a little while and lived in London, not in any gainful employment. Then I managed to get a job on a government training scheme which was all about getting more people to take up sport and physical exercise and I did that for a couple of years before I decided I wanted to try my hand at journalism. **What made you come to that decision?** To be honest with you, I didn't know what I wanted to do, and it was a time when the economic environment wasn't too healthy. There was quite a lot of unemployment around. I'd always been good at writing at school and college. I started writing reviews of bands for a magazine in Bristol called ‘Venue,’ which is a bit like ‘Time Out’ magazine in London. I lived there for a while and wrote about music and bands and decided eventually that if I was going to pursue a career in journalism, I'd better get some relevant qualifications. I, like a lot of journalists, did my training with the NCTJ *(National Council for the Training of Journalists),* and that was a year. I did a fast-track course in Portsmouth, which took you through the exams and all the stuff you do on the NCTJ. I did that. I took out a loan to fund my way through that. Then it was case of applying for jobs that came up and I was fortunate that I was taken on by this newspaper group in North London. It wasn't heavily resourced. As a fledgling reporter, you were thrown in at the deep end a lot of the time and got to cover big stories in a way which maybe I wouldn't have done in a bigger newspaper.I loved it straight away. **Why did you make the decision to come and do reporting in Kent?** Well, you could blame Mrs Thatcher for this, but she obviously triggered my interest in politics. Kent had a daily paper at that particular time called Kent Today and they wanted a political correspondent/editor. I applied and they made the mistake of appointing me. **What advice would you have for a young person thinking of becoming a politics reporter?** Cover politics till the lights go out. I think what you need in politics is good contacts, the ability to spot an angle on a story. Be resourceful in the way you work in terms of speaking to people. Sometimes journalists or would-be journalists lack confidence in speaking to people. I've never quite understood that because they’re the people you hold to account for decisions they've made. Be prepared to speak to people. Go to council meetings, recognise the importance of democracy in action and reporting on democracy in action too. The idea of sitting at a parish council planning meeting until 11 o'clock at night might not be the most alluring, attractive part of the job. It shows dedication, and if you can get stories out of a meeting that no one else has got, that adds to the grounding of a good career. I've had people accuse me of being an undercover agent for one of the parties. **Have you ever been a member of a political party?** No, I've not actually, and I've never wanted to be a member of a political party, which I think is important in the role that I've had. That hasn't stopped me being accused of being a member of every single party under the sun, from people who read too much into stories. I've had people accuse me of being an undercover agent for one of the parties. I'm satisfied that I can say that I've been, fair and accurate. **Do you play any musical instruments?** No, I’m musically tone deaf, but I do like music. I'm working for a friend at a vinyl record shop near where I live. I used to do some DJing back in the day. **What do you do to unwind?** I fall asleep in front of the telly, waking up at four o'clock in the morning to find out what was making the headlines.I do a lot of cycling. In the summer I swim a lot in the sea. **Even now?** No, not now. I'm too much of a lightweight to swim in the sea now. **I meant with the condition of the water.** Yeah, interesting, fair point there. I swim at a placewhere Environment Agency checks have always found the water quality to be within acceptable limits. It's down near Camber Sands. It's interesting that's become a political issue. I remember when the groups like the Surfers Against Sewage, who were seen as a slightly wacky group, campaigning over what they saw as a genuine issue around water quality, but no one seemed to take them seriously. Then suddenly, the water companies have been asked awkward questions, and there's been more incidents which clearly relate to a lack of, or a failure of, their mission on behalf of water companies, which have a monopoly, don't they? They've got the gig, and that means less pressure on them, although that's obviously changed now. That is the kind of issue which has recently got some traction with local councils and local council elections. It's entered the parliamentary stream, if you like, as an issue. **Who is the most famous person you are one degree of separation from?** I'm trying to think who. It doesn't have to be in your family? **Well, if it's someone in your family that's famous, that's fine.** I haven't got anyone famous. I have to say probably Nigel Farage or one of his representatives because Kent is regarded by them as a fertile territory for them to make gains. If it wasn't him, one of his press guys would probably ring me up reasonably quickly. I've interviewed most of the Prime Ministers in my time, and I think the one who wouldn't personally pick up the phone or answer a call but would probably arrange for a response would be Tony Blair. Labour also regarded Kent as an important electoral territory. I remember when I joined the KM, when John Major was having his leadership crisis in 1995, and Tony Blair and the Shadow Cabinet were much more accessible at that time in opposition. Of course, things change when they're in office. The PR stuff was very well-honed under Tony Blair, as you'd expect it to be. I remember that John Major survived in 1995, and then two years later, it was Blair. Covering the election night in 1997, I was working in the Medway office by Luton Arches along with one other guy. We had reporters at the count, but we were just not prepared for such a shockwave. Most people expected the Labour Party to form the government, but they didn't quite expect it to be such a landslide. We did put out a daily edition in the morning with the Kent results. Kent results saw about half of its Conservative MPs ousted. That was arguably one of the other interesting stories that I've covered in my time. **Who has been the best Prime Minister of your lifetime?** Depends on what you mean by best. **What do you mean by best?** Depending on how you define it, Tony Blair would probably be my pick as... I’m trying to avoid the word best because it implies that I'm supportive of it. I think obviously, the backlash over Iraq has tainted his time as Prime Minister, but he never wavered from his view on that. Had it not been for that, his reputation would probably be much higher. He was a consummate politician and had extremely good advisors around him. Acute political antennae. A bit like Bill Clinton, he could walk into a room and suddenly be everyone's friend within about 10 minutes. Blair had that attraction if you like. He managed to confect, which is an irony, an image as an ordinary bloke. He wants to be seen as an ordinary bloke because that would enhance his prospects. Although he was an ordinary bloke who went to a fee-paying public school, how ordinary that is is open to question. The Tories have had a miserable run of leaders. I viewed Cameron as a bit like Blair but not quite as good. But again, a very accessible guy when he was making visits to the county. I think if I was forced into choosing, it would probably be Blair. **Where do you like to go for dinner in Kent?** Fish and Chips at [the Pilot](https://thepilotdungeness.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Dungeness. **What are your thoughts on local government devolution?** Well, what I can't quite understand from the government's perspective is why Kent was omitted from the priority programme when it had the support of a Labour-run authority in Medway and a Conservative county council. I think that's raised lots of questions which are currently not being well answered by the government. The government says it was concerned about the disparity in numbers in terms of the population of Medway and the population of Kent and felt that that disparity wouldn't necessarily work to Kent's favour but hasn't really produced any evidence to that end. That is going to be a fundamental issue for local governments in the next two, three years because, alongside devolution, there's the prospect of wide-ranging government reorganisation of 12 councils in Kent. That's going to leave a lot of blood on the carpet of various town halls. No doubt that there won't be any unanimity or consensus around favoured solutions. Someone's going to lose out. **What improvements have there been in Kent in your time here?** I was thinking about this before our talk. I was thinking if I get asked ‘What are the biggest things that have affected Kent in your time?’ For good, as it were, I don't think I'd be able to do it, be perfectly frank. Kent has got some fantastic opportunities but has also got some very difficult challenges. I think this is why the argument around devolution has taken on, although it's kind of meaningless to a lot of people who are more concerned about their pay packet and their job prospects. Kent is at the centre of some of these really challenging issues like traffic, roads… Where else in the country do you have to close a motorway because there's maybe some French striking? I was watching an Alan Sugar interview last night on telly, and he said that Brexit had been a disaster and if there was one priority he would advocate for the economy, it was to get back into Europe. I'm not saying that I support or don't support that, but if you think about it, when Operation Stack is instigated, we all know the consequences, and it always leads to calls for more money to deal with it. It's symptomatic in some ways of Kent's challenges and difficulties. Would you be a holidaymaker who comes to Kent knowing that maybe you'll get stuck or whatever and not be able to travel to where you want to? Would you take up a job somewhere where you might have to drive a lot, and that poses difficulties for you, or could do. If you remember when Brexit was passed in a practical sense, there were massive queues at Dover, but it wasn't anything to do with Brexit, but to do with covid and Macron refusing to allow lorries through if they hadn't had a vaccination. I think Brexit has been a challenge. I don't think you could honestly say that Kent has improved massively as a result of Brexit. The jury's out on that one. --- #### Footnotes *This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.* ### One week to go URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/one-week-to-go/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:56:45.000Z *We’re hanging up our usual briefing format this week and focusing on one big issue. That issue is, of course, the imminent Kent County Council elections. With one week to go, we’re checking in with the state of the campaign, who the winners and losers might be, and looking at some of the more colourful characters standing in the county. Below all that, you’ll also find our usual news in brief snippets and more.* --- #### One week to go We are now just seven days away from Kent County Council elections, likely the last one that will ever be held under the existing county structure. These elections nearly didn’t happen as the county pushed for devolution, but when the government rejected that, elections were back on the cards. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f4bf2c82f-3444-4e10-9682-b2521d718347_2500x1406-jpeg-1.jpg) So, with one week to go, we’ll cast our eyes across the county, looking at the big races, pondering which significant county figures might be under threat, and looking at some of the more colourful characters standing. **Ashford** (current: 5 Con, 1 Green, 1 Reform) Ashford is home to some of the more lively races across the county, with the Conservatives, Labour, Reform, and the Greens all jockeying for seats in different parts of the borough. Former Ashford Borough Council Leader and sitting KCC councillor Paul Bartlett is under threat in Ashford Central, one of many areas a party like Reform expects to thrive. There’s also a chance Labour could be in the mix here, but their candidate, [Diccon Spain’s crowdfunding](https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/diccon-spain-for-ashford-central?ref=kentcurrent.news) for the campaign has raised £370 in a month from 9 donors, suggesting he hasn’t set the electorate alight just yet. Elsewhere, Green councillor Steve Campkin is engaged in a battle in Ashford East with Reform candidate Dean Burns, who has accused Green supporters and liberals of vandalising his posters. He’s now posting regular updates on his Facebook page with CCTV footage trying to identify who is behind it. Ashford Rural East councillor Clair Bell has made way (or fled to a more winnable division, depending on how you look at things) for the returning Jo Gideon. Gideon is a former Ashford Conservative councillor who left when she was elected MP for Stoke-on-Trent in 2019 but stood down in 2024 due to what she described as ‘party bullying.’ Happily, that bullying hasn’t stopped her from standing again for the party a year later. Whether or not her local name recognition will be enough to regain what now looks like a challenging seat remains to be seen. One of the strangest moves sees Dirk Ross, one of the few existing Reform councillors on KCC, moving from his ward in Ashford South, which looks eminently winnable for the party. Instead, he has chosen to stand in Canterbury North, which contains the University of Kent, not an area that feels like fertile ground for the party. His former seat looks set to be a battle between Reform and Labour, where the latter is putting up Brendan Chilton, who is at the Brexity end of the party. Chilton has regularly courted controversy with his comments, describing covid lockdowns as a ‘[state sponsored recession](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/lockdown-is-a-state-sponsored-recession-237267/?ref=kentcurrent.news)’, and proposing setting up a voluntary ‘[Home Guard](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/home-guard-asylum-seeker-tweet-mocked-by-dads-army-fans-252198/?ref=kentcurrent.news)’ against migrant border crossings. **Canterbury (current: 5 Con, 2 Lab, 1 LDem)** Labour KCC leader Alister Brady is not likely to face a significant challenge in his re-election efforts in Canterbury City North, and the party should be able to hold on to Canterbury City South. Interestingly, Reform have selected two of their youngest candidates in these divisions, putting up ‘British chap’ [George Spence](https://x.com/georgehmspence?ref=kentcurrent.news) in North, who [campaigned for a Labour government](https://x.com/GeorgeHMSpence/status/1808933675557605725?ref=kentcurrent.news) in last year’s General Election, and even spoke at Labour’s party conference, something he still has [pinned to the top of his X profile](https://x.com/GeorgeHMSpence/status/1838929546113880181?ref=kentcurrent.news). In South, the party offers Kieran Mishchuk, who was [elected to Swale Borough Council](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sittingbourne/news/reform-uk-candidate-wins-council-seat-aged-18-317836/?ref=kentcurrent.news) last year, aged 18\. If you want to feel really old, he [describes his political journey](https://thenewreformer.uk/2025/02/09/interview-cllr-kieran-mishchuk-my-main-priority-is-community/?ref=kentcurrent.news) as starting when he became aware of Brexit and Trump dominating the news at age 9. Reform has other interesting characters standing in the district. Colin Spooner will attempt to win Canterbury South, following his [departure from the Conservatives](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/council-leaders-bonkers-traffic-zone-plan-will-bring-down-282443/?ref=kentcurrent.news) for opposing council traffic plans and efforts to win a seat on Canterbury City Council as an independent. So now he’ll have a go under the Reform banner. Mark Mulvihill will attempt to win Herne Village and Sturry and is so well known within his party that they [spelt his name wrong](https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/24411456.brighton-reform-uk-candidates-name-wrong-flyers/?ref=kentcurrent.news) on his leaflets during last year’s General Election. In Whitstable West, the party will put forward Babychan Thomas, who stood in the area for UKIP back in 2015. Whitstable West also features Gary ‘[DJ Lucci](https://www.djlucci.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news)’ Blanford, standing for the Heritage Party, who went on about covid vaccines at a recent hustings before [being called a racist](https://x.com/heritage%5Fp42105/status/1912982638358339874?ref=kentcurrent.news). Other noteworthy candidates include Lawrence Coomber in Herne Bay East, a student activist who is bravely (or foolishly) standing on a [boldly pro-housebuilding platform](https://whocanivotefor.co.uk/person/104875/lawrence-coomber?ref=kentcurrent.news). KCC Conservative councillor Neil Baker will try to hang on in Whitstable East and Herne Bay West, and we have nothing much to say about him beyond the fact he has a frankly delightful [Instagram account](https://www.instagram.com/neilbakerct/?ref=kentcurrent.news). **Dartford** (current: 4 Con, 1 Lab, 1 Reform) This is the sort of district where Reform expects to make significant inroads. Indeed, the area delivered KCC’s first Reform councillor last year, with Thomas Mallon taking Swanscombe and Greenhithe in a by-election last year. The party is putting forward two former UKIP candidates, Ryan Waters and Ben Fryer, in the area, a pattern that repeats a lot across the county. Dartford North East sees a former Labour councillor, Laura Edie, now standing for the Green Party, attempting to take a seat from her old party. Elsewhere, Dartford Borough Council Leader Jeremy Kite is perhaps aware of the threat his Conservatives face, [telling the Kent Politics Podcast](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dartford/news/people-are-totally-fed-up-with-the-political-class-303825/?ref=kentcurrent.news) last year that ‘people are totally fed up of the political class.’ **Dover** (current: 6 Con, 1 Ind) Much of Dover looks set to be a three-way battle between the Conservatives, Labour, and Reform. Long-time Conservative councillor Nigel Collor, who has represented the area for 28 years, suddenly found himself [removed from the party this year](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dover/news/dumped-and-hurt-tory-councillor-vows-to-stand-as-indie-322363/?ref=kentcurrent.news), believing he was deselected due to his age and long-term illness. He is standing as an independent in Dover Town, but it is unclear whether he has the name recognition to hang on to his seat. Dover Town is the kind of ward where Reform hopes to make gains, with former independent candidate James Defriend leading the charge for the party in the area. Defriend is an interesting character who [drove to Poland](https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/ashford-carpet-shop-owner-drives-6781343?ref=kentcurrent.news) to deliver supplies to Ukraine in 2022\. However, this week, he found himself in a spot of bother when he tried to use campaign funds to help victims of a recent fire in Dover, which would be illegal, leading to a [very rapid apology](https://www.facebook.com/drvape.dover/posts/pfbid02B6v5n2KAr7poKJDnNA4aeFUZpUQgnjfsvDrqG49MLJHDB4LxWDCLXfN2MH4Btpw9l). **Folkestone and Hythe** (current: 4 Con, 1 Lab, 1 Green) Folkestone East features one of this election's more colourful candidate lists, with the voters having the choice of seven candidates. Reform will be eager to take the seat from Labour, so their professional vetting process has chosen Mary Lawes, whose [Facebook profile](https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100006026208558) includes lovely photos of her dogs and conspiracy theories about chemtrails and climate change. The division also features Steve Laws, who has an [entire page dedicated to him on Hope Not Hate](https://hopenothate.org.uk/case-files-steve-laws/?ref=kentcurrent.news), which always bodes well. They describe him as a ‘notorious ethnonationalist “influencer”’ and of having close ties with fascist organisations. He is standing for the Homeland Party, or at least he was until [he quit earlier this week](https://searchlightmagazine.com/2025/04/crisis-in-homeland-party-as-leading-figure-quits/?ref=kentcurrent.news), seemingly because it wasn’t far-right enough. Andy Weatherhead is another candidate in the district with a [Hope Not Hate entry](https://hopenothate.org.uk/2022/11/15/exposed-tory-county-councillor-was-key-member-of-fascist-group/?ref=kentcurrent.news). He was elected to represent Hythe West as a Conservative but was forced to resign after his links to a fascist group were revealed. Such things are no longer a long-term impediment to politics though, so he’s standing again as an independent. Reform candidate John Baker [told KentOnline that he isn’t a Nazi](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/standing-for-reform-does-not-mean-im-a-nazi-vandals-are-323320/?ref=kentcurrent.news) after anti-Nazi stickers were placed over his campaign posters. Down in Romney Marsh, David Wimble will be hoping to take the district for the party, who has had quite the political journey. He stood as an independent in 2017 but still [signed the nomination papers of his Conservative rival](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/romney-marsh/news/election-candidate-in-row-over-129848/?ref=kentcurrent.news). He was elected as an independent in 2019 and [immediately made a deal](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/romney-marsh/news/independent-councillor-defends-alliance-with-tories-204279/?ref=kentcurrent.news) with the Conservatives and UKIP. He switched to Reform last year and has had to [withdraw leaflets he published](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/reform-uk-election-rule-breach-leaflet-reported-to-police-322925/?ref=kentcurrent.news) that included the KCC logo, a big electoral no-no. Wimble also publishes [The Looker](https://www.thelooker.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news), a community newspaper for Romney Marsh, which coincidentally seems to be very enthusiastic about Reform. On the other end of the spectrum, Folkestone also features Kent’s only two Socialist Party candidates. Max Hess and Andy Thomas have been regulars of Folkestone elections for over a decade, usually coming last, but they keep at it anyway. **Gravesham** (current: 4 Con, 1 Lab) There’s not much to say about Gravesham. Reform will expect to gain here, Labour will hope to hold on, and Jordan Meade, KCC councillor for Gravesham East, has fled to the more electorally friendly Gravesham Rural if you want an idea of how things might be going for his party. **Maidstone** (current: 7 Con, 2 LDem) Maidstone is a slightly odd district, dominated by Conservative county councillors, while the district council is led by the Greens and the Lib Dems. Maidstone Borough Council leader Stuart Jeffery hopes to win in Maidstone Central for the Greens, even if that means taking down one of the Lib Dems. One of the more interesting battles looks set for Maidstone Rural North, where Conservative former (and future?) Kent County Council leader Paul Carter is locked in an unpredictable battle with almost every other party. Could he be one of the big beasts of KCC to lose his seat? In a bad night for the Tories, it definitely seems possible. Elsewhere in the borough, the second of two Homeland Party candidates sees Simon Bennett standing in Maidstone Rural East. [His X account](https://x.com/benne74847?ref=kentcurrent.news) is a combination of praising Jesus and [threatening to deport Frank Bruno](https://x.com/benne74847/status/1915110296819257547?ref=kentcurrent.news). Maidstone South East features some colourful candidates, with Lawrence Rustem, once described as ‘[the new face of the BNP](https://www.theguardian.com/society/2004/oct/13/guardiansocietysupplement1?ref=kentcurrent.news)’ standing for the British Democrats. Reform’s professional vetting also comes through in this division, where their candidate is Linden Kemkaran, who [shared unpleasant tweets about Muslims](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/dec/09/tory-candidate-linden-kemkaran-shared-tweet-claiming-muslims-play-race-card?ref=kentcurrent.news) when standing as a Conservative candidate. Perhaps as a safety measure, all her social media accounts appear to have been deactivated this time. **Sevenoaks** (5 Con, 1 LDem) Not much to say in Sevenoaks, as being Sevenoaks, it’s pretty much a straight fight between the Conservatives and the Lib Dems. KCC leader Roger Gough will be hoping to hang on to his seat in Sevenoaks North and Darent Valley. **Swale** (current: 3 Con, 1 LDem, 1 Green, 1 Swale Independents, 1 Ind) Another area where Reform will expect to make inroads, their candidates here include Chris and Richard Palmer, who were both elected to Swale Borough Council as Swale Independents but [defected earlier in the year](https://www.sfmradio.com/node/14807?ref=kentcurrent.news). On Sheppey, regular GB News commentator and vaccine injury campaigner [Maxwell Harrison](https://x.com/maxsh2022?ref=kentcurrent.news) will hope to win, while Mike Whiting will try to retain his seat as an independent after being [suspended from the Conservatives](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy6z195y85vo?ref=kentcurrent.news) following a drink driving conviction. Elsewhere, Green KCC leader Rich Lehmann will expect to hold his Swale East seat, and Lib Dem KCC leader Antony Hook will expect the same in Faversham. Tom Lee is the Swale Independents candidate for Sittingbourne South, and we’re only mentioning that fact because [his website](https://www.tomlee.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) has an entire section dedicated to [his dog, Tansy](https://www.tomlee.co.uk/my-dog-tansy?ref=kentcurrent.news). **Thanet** (current: 4 Con, 3 Ind) It’s becoming a trope at this point, but Reform will be expecting to do well here, and one of their candidates should know. Birchington Rural candidate Amelia Randall’s [website](https://about.me/ameliarandall?ref=kentcurrent.news) says her ‘psychic abilities have grown as the years have gone by.’ It also [emerged last year](https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/weirdest-reform-uk-candidates-backed-33059450?ref=kentcurrent.news) that she used to sell spells on Facebook and psychic readings on her now-deleted OnlyFans. In other districts, two independents will be hoping to return to the council. Barry Lewis in Margate was [deselected by Labour last year](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/labour-dumps-councillor-over-concerning-remarks-and-electi-316241/?ref=kentcurrent.news) over ‘concerning’ comments but will try to hold on as an independent. Further along the coast, Ramsgate councillor Trevor Shonk has [defected from the Conservatives to Reform](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/former-tory-county-councillor-defects-to-reform-uk-321371/?ref=kentcurrent.news) after opposing the ruling party’s housing policy. **Tonbridge and Malling** (current: 4 Con, 2 Green, 1 LDem) We’ve really tried, but there’s not much going on here. **Tunbridge Wells** (current: 4 Con, 1 Heritage, 1 vacant) Tunbridge Wells looks to essentially be a straight fight between the Conservatives and Lib Dems, with perhaps the odd intervention from the ~~Judean’s People Front and the People’s Front of Judea~~ [Tunbridge Wells Alliance and Tunbridge Wells Independents](https://www.timeslocalnews.co.uk/local-news/ex-alliance-leader-quits-party-to-form-new-independent-group/?ref=kentcurrent.news). Phew. *What’s happening in your district? Let us know confidentially via *hello AT kentcurrent DOT news** --- #### In brief 🌊 Southern Water has [pled guilty to charges of unpermitted waste discharges around Thanet](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2025/04/23/southern-water-pleads-guilty-to-charges-of-unpermitted-discharges-from-thanet-wastewater-sites-during-2019-2021/?ref=kentcurrent.news). The plea relates to incidents between 2019 and 2021. 🏰 Sevenoaks District Council officers recommend that the Development Management Committee [refuse planning permission for extensive renovations at Hever Castle](https://cds.sevenoaks.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=122&MId=3328&J=1&ref=kentcurrent.news). The plans would have seen restoration of part of the Astor Wing to provide additional accommodation, a new spa, replacement of a restaurant, and more. 🏗️ Conversely, planning officers in Tunbridge Wells are recommending [plans to demolish the former AXA offices in the town are approved](https://democracy.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/documents/s76965/24%2001150%20AXA%2030th%20April%20addendum.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news). The proposals would see the site redeveloped with 38 new houses and six flats. 🧓 [Age UK is to close their Meadowside Day Centre in Dartford](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dartford/news/day-centre-for-elderly-to-close-due-to-financial-losses-323244/?ref=kentcurrent.news), blaming financial pressures and low usage of services. Services will instead move to their Gravesend site, with transport provided between the two locations. 🚒 42 households have had to be rapidly rehoused after a [flat fire in Dover led to the entire block being evacuated](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz954q0ddnjo?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🚧 KentOnline has [breathlessly reported that the Dartford Crossing will ‘close fully’](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dartford/news/dartford-crossing-route-set-for-full-closure-323181/?ref=kentcurrent.news) for painting. ‘Close fully’ in this context means keeping the crossing open in both directions throughout the work. 🎙️ Former Swale Borough Council Leader [Roger Truelove is on the latest edition of the Kent Politics Podcast](https://www.kmfm.co.uk/on-air/podcasts/the-kent-politics-podcast/episode/ep63-investigation-reveals-20m-of-unspent-funds-premier-inn-homes-latest-and-special-labours-roger-truelove/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🏊 [Canterbury City Council is recruiting lifeguards](https://news.canterbury.gov.uk/news/main-item/come-and-join-our-beach-lifeguards-team/?ref=kentcurrent.news) for its Herne Bay and Tankerton beaches. The opportunity gives you the chance to save people’s lives for 41p more than minimum wage. 📰 New Folkestone local news outlet, the [Folkestone Dispatch](https://folkestonedispatch.substack.com/), launched this week with a [look at the fight to keep live music venues in the town open](https://folkestonedispatch.substack.com/p/live-music-venues-are-struggling). 🍷 The Kent wine industry has [called for the return of Eurostar services to the county](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2kvz2p57e4o?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🐝 The first Asian hornet nest of the year [has been found in Langley](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/uk-s-first-asian-hornet-nest-discovered-in-kent-323168/?ref=kentcurrent.news), near Maidstone. 🏪 A cycling shop and a nursery are set to [open at Lockmeadow in Maidstone](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/nursery-and-bike-shop-to-open-at-entertainment-complex-due-t-322937/?ref=kentcurrent.news) as the complex pivots away from entertainment offerings. 🚲 An inventor has tested his [bicycle that works on water](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/inventor-tests-out-new-waterbike-323230/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in the lake at Mote Park in Maidstone. He had to be rescued back to the bank, but says he will try again. --- #### More Current Don’t forget to catch up with our [recent culture briefing](https://www.kentcurrent.news/adventures-in-doodleland/), where we met Sam Cox, a man who has turned his entire house, inside and out, into one giant doodle artwork. We also spoke to Kent writer and journalist James O’Malley about his new podcast, went to Macknade for lunch, highlighted upcoming events in the county, and more. [Adventures in doodlelandMany artists claim they live and breathe their work, but Sam Cox takes that a step further. Under his Mr Doodle moniker, he has turned his entire house near Tenterden, inside and out, into a bold representation of his work. We’ve been finding out more about his work.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f8d4a4c7f-19fc-4e7c-87d7-4ed0b87571a5_567x567-24.png)Kent CurrentSteven Keevil![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f525f5bf4-855f-4f3c-b885-6f41b010cd05_1456x972-webp.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/adventures-in-doodleland/) On Saturday, we’ll sit down with Paul Francis, former Political Editor of the Kent Messenger Group. We’ll talk about his decades of covering politics in Kent, his departure from the KM, his thoughts on the upcoming election, and more. [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup) --- #### Footnotes *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews) *and* [*BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* *If you enjoy the Kent Current, please share it with your friends, family, associates, and enemies. We have no meaningful marketing budget, so we rely on word of mouth from our readers to find new readers.* ### Adventures in doodleland URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/adventures-in-doodleland/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:56:48.000Z *Many artists claim they live and breathe their work, but Sam Cox takes that a step further. Under his Mr Doodle moniker, he has turned his entire house near Tenterden, inside and out, into a bold representation of his work. We’ve been finding out more about his work. Further down, we’ve spoken to Kent writer and journalist James O’Malley about his new podcast and have been to Macknade in Faversham for lunch. Beyond that, we’ve got our pick of upcoming events in Kent, news in brief, and more.* **Editor’s note:* Our regular news briefings are published in the middle of the week. This is our first weekend briefing edition focusing more on arts and culture across the county. We won’t be putting out one of these every week (at least for now), with our weekend slot alternating between these and our regular interview features.* --- #### Adventures in doodleland *Sam Cox, aka* [*Mr Doodle*](https://mrdoodle.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *is a successful Kent-based artist who has decorated his home in a unique style. Unconventionally, we submitted our questions and received a response via a series of voice notes.* I ask if this is a Banksy-esque attempt to hide his true self, but surprisingly, rather than a distorted voice, I hear a clear, happy response. “It's the way that I find easier to answer interviews. It's quicker than typing it all out, which would hide my identity more.” Sam isn’t trying to hide like Banksy, though he points out, “I love Banksy and his work.” To be fair, Sam with his bright ginger hair and loud doodle suit would be an extreme case of hiding in plain sight. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f525f5bf4-855f-4f3c-b885-6f41b010cd05_1456x972-webp-2.jpg) Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle Sam gained the nickname Mr Doodle around university, where he had doodled around campus in toilet cubicles and the studio. One day he drew on his clothes and “my tutor saw me. He took a photo of me and put it onto Instagram. The caption read, ‘Sam Cox, the doodle man, about to start his day's work in doodling.’” Sam initially had the monicker The Doodle Man, before changing it in March 2017\. “That's where it came from in the real sense, but…” Mr Doodle is a character who fell from Doodleland and landed in Sam Cox's head, took him over in a sense and has an ambition to doodle the entire world. Graffiti spaghetti is a term that Sam uses to describe Mr Doodle’s work, which is influenced by graffiti and street art aesthetics. The work spoke to him as a teenager, attracting his eye as an aspiring artist at the time. “I wanted my work to have a similar feeling but still feel like my own thing.” Sam would mimic lines or shapes you might find in flat graffiti, old school New York subway artwork and the work of Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol. He was inspired by characters he saw painted on trains and books that he would read, as well as the work of Angel ‘LA II’ Ortiz. “Artists in that world helped me develop what I do visually. I call what I do graffiti spaghetti because lots of the drawings overlap and intertwine and folds in the same way that spaghetti does”. Sam lives in a mansion near Tenterden with his wife, son and dog. Sam insists they are happy in their home that is covered in Mr Doodle's work. The walls, the floor, the ceiling and the furniture. The Guardian described it as like ‘[stepping inside a migraine](https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2022/oct/04/like-stepping-inside-a-migraine-the-house-that-is-covered-in-doodles?ref=kentcurrent.news)’, “People think that it isn't really a liveable space, but we actually really like it”. Sam enjoys showing visitors around the place. “It's been a dream project of mine since I was a little kid, and I'm just really happy to be living in it.” Sam clearly has a supportive wife, wearing doodle designed clothing. She even has her own project in the garden. “It also features parts of my work, but it's a very different concept to the house and that's really her outlet.” Sam encourages his son to doodle on the walls as well. He points out there is a lot of fun to be had in a house like that. “It's nice to see him grow up happy in a doodle environment.” Sam ponders what his son’s views on doodling and art in general will be when he grows up, but says he thinks “the doodles and the house encourage him.” Sam himself finds the house a constant source of inspiration for future projects. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f57280c92-d641-4988-8480-4b0913e69403_4000x6000-heic.jpg) Sam Cox outside of his house. The house became an obsessional thought in Sam’s head since he was a teenager, when his graphics teacher, Morgan Davies, opened his mind to taking those doodles onto bits of furniture, bits of my parents' furniture, onto walls and floors. He drew over his entire room, everything you could kind of think of, and then inside items like the chest of drawers. “I really loved going to sleep and waking up in that doodle space.” That, as Sam puts it, “naturally led to the thought of, ‘I'd love to do a house like this one day.’” Naturally. At 15, it seems like a far-fetched dream to doodle a house. “It could have been a flat,” he concedes. When the opportunity arose, made possible through selling artwork and “things going well,” he bought a house that was completely white on the outside. “It's a great canvas.” Sam insists that it wasn't a throwaway concept. “I planned it all, each room, how it will be doodled, the animation that went alongside it.” Sam is sat in his living room whilst recording his voice note replies, and reflecting on the doodles throughout the room. They took two years to finish and he reflects on “how much joy that project brought me to do. I just really wanted to show the world how much I love to do this.” Sam has a happy compulsion to share his love of doodling and show people “it's okay to be different.” Sam understands that people might not want to live in the house, or understand the ideas behind it, “but I think it's cool that we can do things as humans sometimes that aren't always normal.” Fortunately for Sam and family, they have “extremely kind and friendly neighbours.” Sam put’s this down to the fact that whilst the house might be loud, they are not a noisy family. “We don’t have parties here.” They try to be friendly to the people around them, which is reciprocated. “We got really lucky with where we live, that the people around us are happy to be supportive of what I want to do.” The house is not secluded but is surrounded by greenery, so “it's not as loud from the street as you might imagine. It's almost as quiet as it possibly could be, this doodle house.” In the summer of 2023 Sam was approached by the Kent and East Sussex Railway about the possibility of a mural within a train station. Sam thought that it would be great if the piece were on a train itself. “With it being a railway, it just makes sense in our minds.” Sam pushed that idea to the railway over the period of about a year before they were given authorisation. “It's not something that happens often at the railway. We decided to have the train wrapped”. One side of the carriage was black, and one side was white. The plan was for Mr Doodle to doodle over the white side and Dr Scribble to scribble over the black side. I ask who Dr Scribble is. “Dr Scribble is Mr Doodle's arch nemesis,” Sam explains. Say no more. Kent and East Sussex Railway [embraced the work](https://kesr.org.uk/the-doodle-train/?ref=kentcurrent.news), and the Heritage Railway Association highly commended the carriage. “Whilst it was a controversial thing at first, it ended up being really well received. And my son likes trains, he enjoyed the day too, so it was great.” What advice would Sam have for a young person doodling in a notebook? In short, “Have fun.” But if you want a longer answer, “Find what you love, what do you love about doodling?” Sam expands on this this advising not to think about what you are doodling, but do you love doodling? Are you enjoying the process? What makes you want to doodle? “It took me years to think less when I draw and not worry about what I'm drawing.” Sam says it takes to build confidence, to let the work come out. Even if it isn’t very good at first, “If you like the process, just keep at it, don't worry too much about what others think.” --- #### In brief 🔭 A seafront telescope which is almost 100 years old has become the latest artefact to go on display at the free to enter [Walpole Bay Hotel museum](https://www.walpolebayhotel.co.uk/museum/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Cliftonville. 🌼 Two Kent gardens have been shortlisted in the Historic Houses Garden of the Year Awards. Hole Park Gardens in Cranbrook and Penshurst Place and Gardens in Tonbridge will now face a [public vote to decide the winner](https://www.historichouses.org/vote-goya/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🚶 Great British Life magazine have been for a [bluebell walk around Challock](https://www.greatbritishlife.co.uk/magazines/kent/25054154.kent-circular-walk-bluebells-kings-wood-challock/?ref=kentcurrent.news). --- #### James O’Malley has an abundance agenda *Kent-based writer and journalist* [*James O’Malley*](https://takes.jamesomalley.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *has a new podcast called* [*The Abundance Agenda*](https://www.abundancepod.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news)*, with his longtime friend Martin Robbins. We caught up with James, a friend of this organ, via Zoom, to talk about what it’s all about.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f96061df6-62be-4502-9d4f-56f42b41fea4_3000x3000-heic.jpg) For James the focus of the Abundance Agenda is the premise that they have been “radicalised by the malaise that Britain has found itself in over the past several years.” James and Martin draw together several strands of thinking, but broadly the podcast is about the “rejection of a scarcity mindset.” James takes a moment to gather his thoughts. It turns out that this is the first time he has had to verbalise the intentions of the podcast. “We have the solutions, the ability and the talent to build a better country, and a better world.” What James believes is lacking is the political will to do it. When you consider the issues facing the country after years of underfunding and stagnation, he seems to have a point. It is very closely aligned with the YIMBY movement, ‘Yes In My Backyard’, “the idea that the best way to tackle the housing crisis is if you have more houses, that lowers the cost of housing for everyone.” Another example James gives is tackling climate change, and the idea that do so we need to live more miserable lives. “It radicalised me because I care about climate change, but at the same time, a lot of the mainstream thinking on the policy solutions are we need to do less, we need to travel less, we need to consume less, and people need to live less luxuriously.” James highlights that in the West, maybe rich people can go on fewer foreign holidays, but if we are to tackle climate change, we need to recognise that poorer people are struggling. For James the solution is nuclear energy, which has the potential to reduce the cost of living, through reducing energy bills, whilst producing excess energy, “which we could do other clever things with.” James is using the podcast to talk about these big ideas with Martin. They are both millennials, and things their parents took for granted are no longer accessible. “I said on the first episode of our podcast, the reason that housing radicalised me is because me and my partner Liz bought a house a few years ago in Kent. That was an expensive thing for us to do.” James and his partner are professional people, with reasonably well-paid jobs, “and if we're struggling to buy a house and save up the money for a deposit, then what does that mean for everyone else?” The Abundance Agenda is trying to advocate for a mindset shift. It is building upon currents that seem to be developing within politics. “You can see these ideas emerging, I think it's coalescing into almost a new ideology or a new approach, cross-party as well,” with left wing writers like Aaron Bastani and those on the right like Tom Harwood, who are on board with abundance. “It feels like there's a time for something new.” The plan is to keep this as a weekly podcast, and they have big ambitions and big plans for show. Future conversations on the podcast are planned around medical research, funding, and more. “I think about how you can approach things in a different way and get really good results.” *You can subscribe to the* [*Abundance Agenda*](https://www.abundancepod.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *wherever you get your podcasts.* --- #### Out to Lunch: Macknade in Faversham [Macknade Food Hall](https://macknade.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news) is exceptional place to shop in Faversham, but we are not there to shop, we are there to lunch. Food shopping is a bonus. As you enter the centuries-old establishment, their decision to invest in new electric car power points should be a bold forward-thinking move. However, seeing a wall of Tesla logos as you drive in gives off a different vibe in the current world situation. Entering through the Food Hall, you get to spy all of your future purchases as make you way to the café area, which is clearly popular. You eye a small table, and are poised should another table become available, either in the main area, or another down and to the side. Suddenly, you discover there is a whole other seating area available upstairs, which they open up. They probably haven’t done this just for you, but it still feels special nevertheless. Whilst you have to order at the counter, they thankfully deliver the food up the stairs for you. I have ordered the Kentish Ploughman’s Platter, as the Ploughman’s platter of Kent is presumably only available on the west side of the Medway. Winterdale Shaw cheddar, gammon ham, celery, apple, pickled onions, slaw, Karly’s Kitchen chutney, and sourdough bread.All for a reasonable price point as platters go. Karly certainly makes a great chutney, which goes well with the cheese and ham. Good sourdough bread, and whilst I am not usually a celery eater, I enjoy it as part of this ensemble lunch. As I write this review, I want more of their pickled onions. Macknade is a great place for lunch, to eat, to chat and for an expensive shopping spree afterwards. --- #### Kent events 🎸 Sat 19 Apr - [**My Life Story + The Pastel Waves**](https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/kent/the-oast-community-centre-rainham/my-life-story-live-at-rainham-platform-3-club/e-pqqypr?ref=kentcurrent.news) // The Britpop band come and play in Rainham. Oast Community Centre, Rainham. Tickets £22.50. Until 20 Apr - [**Broadstairs Food Festival**](https://broadstairsfoodfestival.org.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Stalls offering all kinds of exciting food and drink options. Victoria Gardens, Broadstairs. Free. 🎸 Thu 24 Apr - [**King Creosote**](https://www.twforum.co.uk/events/2025-04-24-king-creosote-the-forum?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Prolific Scottish DIY singer-songwriter. Forum, Tunbridge Wells. Tickets £30. 🎤 Sat 26 Apr - [**Live at the Marlowe**](https://marlowetheatre.com/shows/live-at-the-marlowe-42/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Simon Amstell headlines popular live comedy night. Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury. Tickets from £17. 🎹 1 - 5 May - [**Rainham Piano Festival**](https://rainhamchurch.co.uk/arts/?ref=kentcurrent.news) // Internationally acclaimed jazz and classical pianists play Rainham, headed by Curtis Stigers. St Margaret’s Church, Rainham. Tickets from £15. --- #### Footnotes *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews) *and* [*BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* *If you enjoy Kent Current, please share it with your friends, family, associates, and enemies. We have no meaningful marketing budget, so we rely on word of mouth from our readers to find new readers.* ### Can international rail return to Kent? URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/can-international-rail-return-to/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:56:50.000Z *Back in the heady days of 2019, you could get on a train in Kent that raced you through the Channel Tunnel and into mainland Europe. We know, it almost feels hard to believe now, as our international stations sit chronically underused. Now, with access to the route opening up to other operators, could international rail services return to our county? We look at the prospects below. Further down, we have news of a number of things happening in Canterbury from a third effort to improve the Westgate Towers area to a phallic-shaped fountain. Those stories, news in brief, and lots more, below.* --- #### Can international rail return to Kent? It’s been five years Eurostar trains stopped in Kent, and we seem no closer to them returning. However, could recent changes to make competition on the Channel Tunnel route result in international travel returning to the county once again? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f257ea1f3-96cd-4c15-b277-f8b761a2fdea_2500x1406-jpeg-1.jpg) Kent is home to two stations with the ‘International’ suffix, namely Ashford and Ebbsfleet, though neither have lived up to their name since the start of the pandemic. As the world shut down, so did international services from those stations, yet with almost everything back to normal, there’s been no return of cross-Channel services that stop in Kent. This has inevitably had knock-on effects on Kent's economy and undermines the principle of the supposedly international stations in the county. These stations cost around £180m to develop for international rail, and are now used purely for domestic services. As .a result, our ‘international’ stations are hugely underused, with Ashford having less passengers than Tonbridge with around 3.5m each year. At the other end of the county, the vast six-platform complex at Ebbsfleet is used by roughly the same number of passengers as a station like Rochester. This means that journey times from Kent to Brussels have tripled from 90 minutes to four and a half hours, and created an absurd scenario where a passenger from Ashford has to travel on the same high speed tracks up to London, only to turn around and come back again to go through the Channel Tunnel. Perhaps most gallingly, it also means the cost is [roughly 50% higher](https://www.cityam.com/eurostar-kent-closures-trigger-surge-in-costs-and-travel-time-to-brussels/?ref=kentcurrent.news) given the ludicrous rail fares between Kent and London. Perhaps the worst part of this is that there seems to be little that can be done to change things. The government wants the services to return to Kent, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer [voicing his support](https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/eurostar-ashford-brexit-damage-keir-starmer-b1203598.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) in parliament earlier this year. Local MPs want the services back. Kent County Council want them back. [District councils want them back](https://www.ashford.gov.uk/news/latest-news/5-years-is-too-long-without-eurostar-services-say-local-leaders/?ref=kentcurrent.news). Visit Kent wants them back. Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce want them back. A campaign group, [Bring Back Euro Trains](https://bringbackeurotrains.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news), wants them back. 65,000 people have [signed a petition](https://www.change.org/p/bring-back-eurostar-train-services-to-kent?ref=kentcurrent.news) calling for them to return. None of this seems to move Eurostar, the sole operator of services on the route, though. [They argue](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c15q75pylj9o?ref=kentcurrent.news) that pre-pandemic, less than 5% of passengers on cross-Channel services travelled from the Kent stations, and that while journeys from St Pancras grew 20% in the ten years to 2019, there was no growth in Kent. They have pledged to review the position again next year, but it seems unlikely they will change their mind unless they are heavily incentivised to do so. Indeed, this seems to reflect a general withdrawal of Eurostar services on both sides of the channel. In 2019, Eurostar services ran to Marseille, Lyon, Calais, and even [Disneyland Paris](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jun/23/eurostar-brexit-cross-channel-tunnel-disneyland-paris-amsterdam?ref=kentcurrent.news). Now, the only stops in France are Paris and Lille, and journeys further are limited to Brussels, Amsterdam, and Rotterdam. With Eurostar pulling back their international ambitions, the main hope for services returning to Kent seems to lie with other operators, who are [being encouraged to break Eurostar’s monopoly](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/apr/04/cross-channel-train-services-to-be-cheaper-to-run-as-operator-cuts-charges?ref=kentcurrent.news) with discounted track fees and additional benefits if they agree to serve the Kent stations. Suddenly, after three decades of a Eurostar monopoly, at least four other operators are pushing to introduce new rail services on the route, though not all of them would stop in Kent. Spanish consortium Evolyn were first out of the blocks, laying out plans in 2023 to run direct London to Paris trains on the line, intending to start services this year. However, more recent plans suggest a [start date of 2028](https://www.cityam.com/eurostar-wont-have-a-rival-for-at-least-four-years-and-brexit-is-to-blame/?ref=kentcurrent.news) is more feasible. Dutch firm [Huero is planning London to Amsterdam](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/11/19/eurostar-heuro-dutch-train-start-up-plots-rival/?ref=kentcurrent.news) services in the same time period. An operator called [Gemini wants to run services](https://www.modernrailways.com/article/new-channel-tunnel-operator-launches-open-access-bid?ref=kentcurrent.news) between London, Paris, and Brussels. German operator [Deutsche Bahn is interested in launching services](https://www.dw.com/en/channel-tunnel-deutsche-bahn-keen-on-trains-to-london/a-67973093?ref=kentcurrent.news) from London to, unsurprisingly, Germany. Perhaps the most advanced plan comes from Virgin Group, who now claim there are ‘no more major hurdles to overcome’ regarding [their entry into international rail](https://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/channel-tunnel-trains-eurostar-competition-virgin-b1219745.html?ref=kentcurrent.news). The firm is initially looking at Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam as destinations, demonstrating that getting new destinations off the ground appears risky for new entrants. So perhaps the most intriguing prospect came earlier this month, when Italian state operator Trentalia [entered the fray](https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/italys-state-railways-challenge-eurostar-with-london-paris-train-services-2025-04-08/?ref=kentcurrent.news). While their initial plan to run services between London and Paris, they are also pondering more further afield destinations like Milan and returning services to Marseille and, most relevantly to us, Ashford. None of these new services, whether they stop in Kent or not, will be easy to deliver, as the excellent Jonn Elledge [set out this week in the Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/apr/15/train-uk-to-italy-cross-channel-services?ref=kentcurrent.news). Could a direct train between Kent and Milan be on the cards? It feels unlikely, but it’s nice to dream, isn’t it? --- #### It’s all going on in Canterbury Work is set to get underway this week in Canterbury to remodel the area around Westgate Towers, which has gone very well in the past, with previous schemes in [2012](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/10-years-on-since-horrific-traffic-trial-273073/?ref=kentcurrent.news) and [2020](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2020/09/29/westgate-one-way-system-to-be-removed-after-huge-community-push/?ref=kentcurrent.news) being attempted and removed relatively quickly. No one has been able to find a solution for traffic in the area, which is perhaps unsurprising when the main route through it involves vehicles, including double decker buses, passing through a 14th century tower. On 22 April, a new 12 month £1.5m works scheme will be put in place in the area, but it still won’t save the underlying issue of unsuitable vehicles being forced through a historic building. Instead, the [plans this time](https://news.canterbury.gov.uk/news/exciting-transformation-of-citys-iconic-gateway-to-get-underway/?ref=kentcurrent.news) are a bit more modest, focusing on the area's public realm to facilitate safer movements, less car dominance, and a public space that can host events. Ironically, the project to reduce car dominance in a key corridor in the city comes as the council will formally move next week to reduce the park and ride provision from all three sites. While passenger numbers have improved over the past year, usage remains significantly below pre-pandemic levels, with Sturry Road in particular running at barely half the previous numbers. As a result, [Canterbury City Council are proposing](https://democracy.canterbury.gov.uk/documents/s129554/Cabinet%20Potential%20Service%20Reduction%5FRichard%20Moore.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) to reduce the number of buses serving the Sturry Road site from three to two, increasing the interval between buses on the site from 10 to 15 minutes. Elsewhere, the council proposes reducing the size of the buses across all three sites, with Sturry Road being reduced to only small, hopper buses, and New Dover Road and Wincheap being served only by single deckers. According to council documents, this will save roughly £126,000 per year, which doesn’t quite cover the £30,000 that the service loses each month, but it gets some way there. Elsewhere in the city, there are plans to regenerate an ‘eyesore’ square on the High Street, though we defy you to [find much difference](https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/eyesore-kent-high-street-square-10104639?ref=kentcurrent.news) in the £200,000 refurbishment beyond a piece of art on a wall and removing a wall that teenagers like to sit on. Finally, the Sun has taken great delight that the Rotary Club is installing a drinking fountain on the High Street that apparently [looks like a penis](https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/34249645/city-ruined-construction-council-canterbury-fountain/?ref=kentcurrent.news). --- #### Tell us about your election candidates *Next week, we’ll be publishing our big look at the candidates standing in Kent’s upcoming local elections. It’s been a big task, trawling through data on over 400 candidates, so it’s inevitable we might have missed something. If you have local knowledge or a story about any candidates standing in your area, you can inform us confidentially via *hello AT kentcurrent DOT news*.* --- #### In brief 🚧 Friend of the ***Kent Current*** James O’Malley has written a [brilliant piece on the Swanscombe Hole](https://takes.jamesomalley.co.uk/p/the-landslide?ref=kentcurrent.news), which has cut off one of the main roads connecting Swanscombe, Ebbsfleet, and Gravesend for two years. It’s a great piece that cuts right to the heart of why no one seems able to fix it, and is very annoying because we were also prepping our own long read on the same subject. 🏗️ Officers have recommended that [Dover District Council approve a new development of up to 430 new homes](https://moderngov.dover.gov.uk/documents/s61599/01458%20-%20Land%20South%20of%20Church%20Whitfield%20Road%20Report.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Whitfield. The move comes despite objections from Whitfield Parish Council, 34 members of the public, and concerns being raised by Kent County Council. 🏘️ [Dartford Borough Council is set to acquire the leases of 139 new homes](https://dartford.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s79189/Final%20Report%20Leasing%20Agreement%20for%20temporary%20accommodation%20Cabinet%20report.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news) for temporary accommodation. It comes as councils across the region struggle to place families requiring temporary housing amid spiralling costs in the sector. 💷 A blogger has [objected to Thanet District Council’s annual accounts](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2025/04/09/bid-for-former-thanet-council-chief-execs-severance-pay-to-be-deemed-unlawful-expenditure-lodged-with-auditors-grant-thornton/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to get a payout to its former Chief Executive ruled as ‘unlawful expenditure.’ 🚉 [Herne Bay rail station has received a £6m upgrade](https://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/herne-bay-station-accessibility-scheme-completed?ref=kentcurrent.news) to improve accessibility. The works have seen a new bridge and lifts installed at the station. ⛴️ The former [headquarters of P&O in Dover are up for sale](https://www.martinewaghorn.co.uk/property/channel-view-road-dover/?ref=kentcurrent.news). If you’ve got £4.5m, the vast complex overlooking Dover Marina could be yours. ☀️ Tonbridge MP Tom Tugendhat is [fighting to stop a solar farm development near New Ash Green](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/gravesend/news/mp-calls-on-government-to-stop-235-acre-solar-panel-farm-322883/?ref=kentcurrent.news) that would power over 17,000 homes yearly. 🌳 Kent Wildlife Trust are [trying to raise £500,000 to purchase Hoathly Farm](https://www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk/hoathly-farm-appeal?ref=kentcurrent.news) near Lamberhurst. The 613-acre site would allow the organisation to create a new wilding corridor between Kent and Sussex. 🍞 Margate bakery Speciality Breads are set to [move to a new £20m ‘bread campus’ at Manston](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2025/04/12/speciality-breads-to-open-20m-bread-campus-at-manston-with-plans-to-be-powered-by-new-solar-farm/?ref=kentcurrent.news). A new solar farm will power the complex, allowing the company to quadruple production. 🏜️ [The Guardian has written about ‘the ghostly allure of Dungerness](https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2025/apr/13/otherworldly-ghostly-allure-of-dungeness-kent?ref=kentcurrent.news).’ --- #### Letters We’re already starting to get some great responses to our pieces from readers, and we’d like to open up a platform for that discussion during these editions themselves. Our [Lower Thames Crossing feature last week](https://www.kentcurrent.news/lower-thames-crossing-the-winners/) elicited some conversation via email and in the comments section: > *Your article on winners and losers is misjudged. I do not believe that there are any winners over the decision to go ahead with the Lower Thames Crossing. Certainly not Medway. There will be a considerable increase in road traffic coming into Kent and much of this will be on the A2 and roads linked to the A2 This will make traffic through the Medway Towns even worse than it is now. The proposed development at Bluebell Hill is but a foretaste of subsequent road building that will be necessary as a result of this decision. The whole project is based on a false assumption that in 20 years time it will be a viable proposition to rely on road transport. The necessary materials, rare earths and metals do not exist in sufficient quantity. The future of transport must be on rail for freight and an integrated public transport system for people. Any other solution is simply a mirage which will make life more difficult for everyone. - *Ralph Tebbutt** > *Re Lower Thames Crossing Winners and Losers - it is easy to think of 'Medway' as miles away from the project site, but Strood is next door. The roads for the massive new interchange begin at the M2/A2 junction - Strood West ward and close to Strood North & Frindsbury. Personally I feel the pain of Gravesham more than the delight of Medway... - *Steve Dyke** We’d love to keep doing this, so if you’ve got any thoughts on what we’re publishing or want to share your views on issues in Kent, please get in touch. Paid supporters can comment on our articles, and everyone can email ***hello AT kentcurrent DOT news***. Please make it clear when emailing if you’re happy for your views to be published. --- #### More Currents With local elections looming in Kent, over the weekend we sat down with leaders of the five parties standing across the county. Each set out their priorities for the county, their thoughts on the upcoming devolution and local government reorganisation, and what success might look like for each of them on election night: [Conservative leader Roger Gough on the coming local electionEditor’s note: This is the first in a short series of interviews with the political group leaders at Kent County Council, where we meet the candidates pushing to take control of the authority in May. Today, we speak to the Conservative leader of the council, Roger Gough. We’ll hear from Rich Lehmann of the Greens and Alister Brady of the Labour Group on…![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f8d4a4c7f-19fc-4e7c-87d7-4ed0b87571a5_567x567-25.png)Kent CurrentSteven Keevil![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f8acedb3e-5f24-45cd-9e40-5f17fa6e0c86_1237x648-webp.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/conservative-leader-roger-gough-on/) [The Greens and Labour on the coming local electionEditor’s note: This is the second in a short series of interviews with the political group leaders at Kent County Council, where we meet the candidates pushing to take control of the authority in May. On Saturday, we spoke to the Conservative leader of the council, Roger Gough![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f8d4a4c7f-19fc-4e7c-87d7-4ed0b87571a5_567x567-26.png)Kent CurrentSteven Keevil![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/dde933a9-0a7d-4ecc-b966-a7ff302196f7_1456x1048-jpeg.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-greens-and-labour-on-the-coming/) [The Lib Dems and Reform on the coming local electionEditor’s note: This is the third and final edition in a short series of interviews with the political group leaders at Kent County Council, where we meet the candidates pushing to take control of the authority in May. On Saturday, we spoke to the Conservative leader of the council, Roger Gough![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f8d4a4c7f-19fc-4e7c-87d7-4ed0b87571a5_567x567-27.png)Kent CurrentSteven Keevil![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/2199b6fb-0218-4501-a0c7-a87596edfab3_1456x1048-jpeg.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-lib-dems-and-reform-on-the-coming/) Coming up later this week, in a dramatic tonal shift, will be our first arts and culture briefing edition for Kent. In it, we’ll be talking to Sam Cox, also known as Mr Doodle, about his work, which the Guardian has described as ‘stepping into a migraine’. We’ll also talk to Westminster power player and Kent resident James O’Malley about his new podcast, tackling our first food review, and much more. [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup) --- #### Footnotes *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews) *and* [*BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* *If you enjoy the Kent Current, please share it with your friends, family, associates, and enemies. We have no meaningful marketing budget, so we rely on word of mouth from our readers to find new readers.* ### The Lib Dems and Reform on the coming local election URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-lib-dems-and-reform-on-the-coming/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:56:51.000Z **Editor’s note:* This is the third and final edition in a short series of interviews with the political group leaders at Kent County Council, where we meet the candidates pushing to take control of the authority in May. On Saturday,* [*we spoke to the Conservative leader of the council, Roger Gough*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/conservative-leader-roger-gough-on/)*. Yesterday, we heard from* [*Rich Lehmann of the Greens and Alister Brady of the Labour Group*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-greens-and-labour-on-the-coming/)*. Today, we speak to Antony Hook of the Liberal Democrats and Thomas Mallon of Reform UK.* --- **Antony Hook* is the Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group. The Lib Dems are the second largest party on Kent County Council, currently holding six of the 81 seats. We discuss the priorities for his party, local government reorganisation, and their goal in this election.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f30e18187-302b-484a-8910-b4f92dc04809_1456x762-webp.jpg) Antony Hook of the Liberal Democrats. **How would you describe the Liberal Democrats?** The Liberal Democrats are a party primarily about freedom in the sense of wanting every individual to have maximum freedom to make the most of their life. In particular, our party constitution refers to freeing people from poverty, ignorance and conformity because those three forces, in particular, hold people back and stop people living their lives to the full. That means that we want policy, both at national and local level, that gets out of people's way, doesn't boss people around too much or control people too much, that lets people be free to be who they are. Equally, we want policy that brings people together to give opportunity to invest in high quality public services and health and education and social security so that fear doesn't hold people back as well. We're both a new party and an old party. We're old in the sense that our history goes practically back to the English Civil War and roots in the side that wanted to put power on parliament rather than an absolute king, right through from then to the 19th century. Then, in about 1870, the Whigs joined with the Radicals and some other groups to form the Liberal Party and the Liberal governments of Gladstone, Asquith and Lloyd George did all sorts of radical things, starting the first state education, starting the first public health work, in terms of combating sewage and cholera and then creating the first old age pensions, laying the foundations of the welfare state, before World War I and just after World War I as well. Political and democratic reform played a huge part in that all the time, extending the franchise beyond aristocrats to a wider pool of people and then eventually to all men and women, regardless of wealth. A really illustrious history. Then, in 1987, the party was effectively refreshed from a merger of the Social Democrats, who were a breakaway from Labour, which had gone very left-wing in the early 1980s. The Social Democrats and the Liberals merged into the Liberal Democrats. We're also new and quite a young party in that respect compared to Labour and the Conservatives. Now, we're a party that puts people first. I think we're less dogmatic than the other two main parties. One thing we have resisted more than the other two parties is class politics. We're not here to promote class warfare. We think that policy needs to strike a fair balance between all people, and categorising people into groups always runs the risk of people losing their individual identity. At a local level, that translates really well into being strong community champions. We invented community politics, focusing on local issues, bringing people together, not saying the council can solve every single thing. But often bringing people together, giving community power, working with communities to take control over what's happening so that people don't feel things are being done to us by the council. **What are your key focuses for the upcoming election?** Kent County Council is in really bad shape. 28 years of Conservative control has given us council tax rises year on year, about 21.5 % over the last four years, cumulatively. The idea that the Conservatives are a tax-cutting party is just wrong. But they've also given us cuts to services. In this year's budget, Kent is suffering at the same time that we have a 5% increase in council tax, a £70m cut in core public services. Now that is not all entirely due to the Conservative administration. I regard myself as a very fair-minded person. Local government across England has been screwed by central government. We are one of the most centralised countries in the western world. People typically in Kent pay their council tax, it obviously goes to their local council, their county and the district or borough council in most of Kent, but pay about 12 times that amount to central government. The resources that people are paying into the state are considerable, but the share of that that comes to local government is squeezed and squeezed and squeezed every year. It doesn't really keep pace with inflation in all of the costs that you have in delivering public services, whether that's labour costs, energy costs, materials for buildings, and so on. Central government has proportionately taken more and more. That's why actually I get pretty offended when I see from some political parties, messaging saying, ‘Government has given your local council £8m to do this or that’, which is a bit of a cheek really, because it's coming from our communities in the first place. We should have a fair system of local government finance. The local government is self-sufficient, based on money that people pay to their local government at a tax level they've chosen and pay slightly less to their national government. An example of how local democracy has been undermined by successive national governments is the fact that everyone now is 5% on the council tax each year. If you look across England, councils of whatever political control typically increase the council tax by 5%. The reason for that is if you want to do more than that, you have to have now a referendum on that council tax increase. The cost of a referendum in Kent would be two or three million pounds. But under the legislation, the council can't participate in the referendum. The council can't even make the case to the public for a bigger increase. Of course, if people are going to be asked at the ballot box, yes or no, ‘Do you want to increase your council tax by X amount?’, if the council themselves haven't made the case for why it matters, why we need it, people are going to say that you haven't proved it to me. I'm not going to support that. On the other hand, it gets worse the other way. If you increase your council tax by less than 5%, then if you say to central government, we haven't got enough cash for our social care, for children's post-educational needs, for our highways, they'll say, what are you talking about? You didn't even increase it by the 5%. You obviously don't need it. So local democracy has been hollowed out and become a bit of a shell as to what it should be in terms of meaningful debate, meaningful decisions by our community. **Should 16-year-olds have been allowed to vote in the upcoming KCC election?** Yes, Liberal Democrats have supported a vote for 16 for a long time, and that's because 16-year-olds take on many of the responsibilities of adulthood. Many 16-year-olds have jobs and will pay tax and national insurance on their own to work. They'll often have some of their own money and will pay VAT on anything they buy. You can take on quite responsible roles. You can drive at 17, you can take on quite a lot of responsibilities. We think that if you're having those responsibilities, you should have a say in how our country is developing, how our local community is developing. **Would KCC benefit from proportional representation?** Absolutely it would. At the last election in 2021, the Conservatives won 49% of the vote but about 66% of the seats. That's bonkers. That is completely bonkers and means that the chamber and the weight of opinions in the chamber does not reflect the mixture and weight of opinions in the community as a whole in Kent. All organs of government would benefit from proportional representation because it then means that the composition of the body that's being elected much more closely reflects the views, the very varied views of the community as a whole. English local government is a real aberration in this because Scotland has PR for its local government, Northern Ireland does, and Wales is moving to it. England is really odd and archaic in having first past the post. First past the post means individuals can get elected with 30-something per cent, which is not a proper mandate, in my view. In this year's election, if you look at the national opinion polls, within a range of 10%, you've got four parties, the Conservatives, Reform, Labour and the Liberal Democrats. You could end up with people winning seats with 26% potentially, which is definitely not a proper mandate. You could have a party becoming the large party, even winning a majority of the seats on quite a small percentage of the popular vote. I think that's just ludicrous. **How much should KCC support unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors?** It's something that we should be proud to do. It doesn't cost KCC very much now. In fact, because the government reimbursed KCC's costs and the government has given KCC money to refurbish a number of empty buildings that were not used and are now refurbished to use as initial reception centres for refugee children who have no adult with them. And actually, if you want to look at it in a self-interested way, that's very useful because, at some point in the future, those centres will no longer be needed for refugee children. Then KCC has a number of refurbished buildings that we can then use for something else. But I just feel deeply sorry for children with no adult with them arriving on the beaches of Kent. Can you imagine what it's like being in an inflatable craft crossing 20 miles of sea? I crossed the channel in proper sailing boats when I was younger. It takes a long time, and it's uncomfortable. To do that in a rigid inflatable would terrify me. For children, whether they're teenagers or very young children, to do it deeply upsets me. We should be grabbing those children with both hands, putting a blanket around them, giving them a hot drink. That is exactly what social workers do for King County Council. What then happens is they go to a reception centre for up to two weeks, but in actual fact, it's less. We have one in my area, in Faversham, and I understand that the children are usually there now just for a few days before they go on to somewhere more permanent in what's called the National Transfer Scheme. It is not any real cost at all to Kent County Council, and it's something we should be very proud to do. **Has KCC done enough with regard to climate change?** No. Climate change is a really serious threat to our future. That's the overwhelming scientific consensus in the world that if we don't arrest climate change, we don't stop that process or stop contributing to that process, real harm is now being caused to people already. We see that in Kent now, through the changing of Kent's climate, it is getting more challenging to grow some of the soft fruits that we've traditionally grown in Kent, and they may be grown further north in future. Our summer climate is becoming more Mediterranean. The word Mediterranean has many positive connotations for people, but that actually poses huge challenges for us. How do you provide a sufficient water supply for the very dense population that we have? How do you adjust farming? How do you maintain our sea defences as sea levels rise? Every summer now, many of the communities who live near beaches in Kent will be familiar with JCBs appearing, bringing in tons of shingle to shore up the beaches and so on, which is a very expensive cost. We haven't done enough to address climate change. We have a target of net zero by 2050, and it's absolutely essential that we keep that target, and we have a really serious plan about meeting it. That target is not just for Kent County Council, it's for the whole of Kent. KCC has a role with others in promoting a move to net zero across the whole of society in Kent. **How should Kent County Council be devolved?** My short answer is not with a mayor. I think having a mayor is a terrible idea. I think it concentrates far too much power in the hands of one individual. The problem with that is that if that individual, however attractive they look when they're elected, turns out to make bad decisions, to break their promises, to not be very good at the job, you can't get rid of them. You're stuck with them for four years. Whereas in the council model and the same with parliament at a national level, if the council leader or the Prime Minister doesn't do well, if they lose the confidence of the parliament or the council, they can be changed and replaced. But you can't do that with an elected mayor, which I think is quite a worrying prospect. The other thing that I think is really key is the better form of devolution. We desperately need devolution of some kind because Britain is over-centralised. The better model is what they've got in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which is a parliamentary or an assembly model where instead of electing one high and mighty individual, you elect a body of people who may then elect an executive from amongst themselves. The reason that’s better, first of all, the points I made already about changing the leadership if you need to, but secondly, you're taking decisions there collectively. I will say something positive about Kent County Council: It has 81 members. Right now, and I hope this will continue to be true, it has some diversity in its membership. There are people aged from their 30s to their 80s from very different educational backgrounds, professional backgrounds, social economic backgrounds. Quite a diversity of different life experiences. People are able then to inform debates with a perspective that someone else might not have had. I think through that deliberative process where it's done well and done honestly, you get a better outcome in that the group will achieve a better understanding of the problem and the solution. I think if you invest power in one person, their view would inherently be more narrow and less widely informed than with a group. Power is usually best put in the hands of a group rather than a single individual in our view. **Of the four maps released for Kent, is there a model that you favour?** No, for two reasons. First of all, the four maps that have been offered are insufficiently flexible. They have used the borough councils effectively as givens, as pieces on the board to join up in this or that combination. We need to be more flexible than that. The White Paper is very clear that there is room for more flexibility, that instead of putting all of this borough with all of that borough, you might want to put the eastern bit or the western bit of this borough with that district and so on. For instance, where I am in Swale, that's an extremely relevant issue because where I live in Faversham, people use the hospitals at Canterbury and Ashford. Many more people commute in those directions for work or shopping trips than will go west to Sittingbourne, whereas people in Sittingbourne go to Medway Maritime Hospital and commute to the west more often and have connections that way. We need this local reorganisation process to take a very wide account of how people actually live their lives and where boundaries can be drawn that really reflect the lives that people live. The second point is that should not be done by 14 men, i.e. the district borough council leaders and the Kent council leaders, in a room in private. There's an outrageous lack of transparency around this. Those meetings of the Kent council leaders still don't have published minutes and agenda, which is appalling. It needs to be a much broader process. We should involve every elected office holder in Kent in that conversation, every councillor. We must involve all of the town and parish councils. That really is essential that we do that, but also that we involve the public and not just at some late stage. Not let's cook up a plan and then stick it on a website and say, this is public consultation, tell us what you think. We need from the very early stage of the process to involve people. That could be by a constitutional convention. We have a big event at County Hall where anyone who wants to can come and be guided by some expert speakers and then maybe write down or go into small groups with others to offer different ideas and we'll see what ideas are most popular with people. That could be at County Hall, but that event could move around. One in Canterbury, one in Medway, all over the county. It's nice and accessible to people. We need a website now that is an interactive website, not just a website that says, ‘Here's a PDF, have a look at it and email us,’ but a website that allows you to create your own option and to see different data, like the population levels, the deprivation levels, the crime levels, and so on in different areas. There's been no discussion yet about how we're going to divide the assets and the debts of the 14 councils. That's got to be done in a fair way. We mustn't just say, ‘Well, this expensive building is in this town, so it will belong to this council.’ That would just be outrageous. We need discussion about how that will be done in an equitable way. The process of LGR thus far, in my view, has been extremely lacking, and it is one area where I think we need the Conservative administration out because all the points I've just made, I've made with the Conservative leader and he doesn't seem to understand or agree with any of these points, because the process is continuing in a very non-transparent, a very inflexible way and not involving the public at all at this stage. **If you could change anything about Kent politics, what would it be?** I think electoral reform, which you've mentioned, is incredibly important, and that would be transformative. For each party or group to have a number of seats based on the number of votes they get or don't get would be transformative. That would require parties then to work together and be cooperative rather than adversarial, which is the case now. Having said that, I think it's very likely that after 1st May, Kent will have no overall control of a single party, and parties will have to start working together in some combination. It's really crucial that we end Conservative control of Kent because they've been there for 28 years. Many of them think that's the way it should always be, that they're the people who should be running things. They are quite arrogant about that. They have really run out of ideas and are managing decline rather than driving us forward as a county. Kent is brilliant and can be better in so many ways. We've got beautiful coastline, we've got areas of outstanding natural beauty, and I think we should look at developing the Kent Downs potentially into a national park, like the South Downs about 15 years ago. We've got, in many places, a highly skilled population, but in many parts of Kent, a population that lacks higher education and skills. If we can bring the education and skills in all parts of Kent up, that will increase our prosperity and deal with many of the problems that we have. We've got a good connection to London, but we've also got the best connection to France anywhere in the UK. I think our European connection is something that Kent needs to make more of. I obviously opposed Brexit. Brexit has done great harm to Kent, and we need to rebuild our commercial and social and economic connections, get Eurostar back, get more cooperation with local government on the other side of the channel. Actually, I think Kent should advocate to the government that we need to join the customs union because if we don't do that, European Entry and Exit (EES) is coming in this autumn and is going to be devastating to Kent. I think that is possibly the single biggest threat facing Kent. It will mean that every person going through the channel unless they're an EU citizen, will need to be photographed, give their fingerprints. I think they do a voice print recording as well. It's very similar to what they do in the States if you go into America. But the difference is that at an American airport, you've got tons and tons of space to put a Boeing 747's worth of people through in a line to scan their fingerprints and take a picture of them without them knowing about it. The customs officers ask you some friendly questions that get you to speak to record your voice. There's no space to do that at Dover or the Channel Tunnel. We have 10,000 vehicles a day passing through Dover and the Channel Tunnel. In the tourist seasons particularly, some of those vehicles get 50 people on a coach, four or five people in a car. How long is each one going to take to do these biometric checks? Even if it's just a couple of minutes, which is ambitious, frankly, we're going to add on huge delays. The abolition of freedom of movement has been a complete disaster for Kent, clogging up our roads. We've had to spend £150 on a lorry park in Ashford. That could have been spent in many different ways to actually benefit people rather than literally concreting fields to park lorries on because there's delays at the channel. That will be small fry compared to what the chaos caused by EES will be. Now, one problem we've had is that the Conservative administration at KCC has never been willing, ever, since the Brexit process began eight years ago, to say to government, ‘This is not great. This is a problem.’ They always put Conservative loyalty ahead of telling the truth and speaking truth to power. We need an administration at Kent County Council that is prepared to say to the government, ‘Brexit is a problem, EES is a massive problem, trade restrictions are a problem.’ For instance, Kent County Council has had to vastly increase the size of Trading Standards and employ many more Trading Standards officers at the Port of Dover and Channel Tunnel to do checks on inward goods of various different kinds. That has had to be funded entirely by Kent County Council, it has not been reimbursed by the government despite us asking for it. Both Labour and Conservative governments have said, ‘Sorry Kent, that's your problem, you've got the port you deal with it, you meet the cost for that.’ We need an administration at KCC that is honest with the public and challenging the government about these issues. **Can we expect your party leader to be in Kent to support the KCC campaign?** I have to get back to you on that. Ed Davey has made a really positive impression on the public, which I'm very proud about. He has come to Kent a lot, particularly to Tunbridge Wells, which was our sensational gain in Kent at the General Election. We may see Ed Davey in Kent, but we're very much running this campaign on the local champions who our candidates are. We don't see these local elections as a proxy for the General Election or some kind of continuation of national politics by other means. We are really focused on Kent and local issues and local people. **What will success in the KCC elections look like for the Liberal Democrat group?** I think that we will considerably increase our number of seats. Kent Online recently mentioned a figure of 15 to 20\. I don't know where they got that figure from, but that is roughly where I expect our group to be, and we will have KCC members across Kent from east to west. Success will be winning a number of seats in that numerical region, and ending Conservative control of Kent and hopefully being able to put together a cross-party administration with other parties to change things for the better. --- **Thomas Mallon* is Reform UK’s first councillor on Kent County Council, winning a by-election last year to take a seat in the chamber. At the time of this interview, two sitting Conservative councillors had defected to Reform UK, but only one of them sits as a member of the group. We discuss the party, Kent devolution and reorganisation, and what success in the election looks like.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f52a4ac74-4a9e-433a-a94a-3ab42fe9a9dc_1190x623-webp.jpg) Thomas Mallon of Reform UK. **How would you describe Reform UK?** Reform UK is a party for the people by the people, mostly run by grassroots branches, obviously organised at the top by head office, but we're pretty much an up-and-coming new fledgling party. We do have a lot of experience from other parties coming over to us and people like ex-UKIP MEPs. We've got the experience, we've got the know-how. **Is there anything unique about the Kent group that you can identify?** We're definitely a bunch of characters, that's for sure, me included. A lot of the people I'm working with at the moment are all branch-based. There's some new faces, I've got new people to meet all the time. A lot of hard work goes on behind the scenes that people don't really know about when you're a branch chair, my hat goes off to every one of them. We've had a lot of defections, not only in Kent County Council, all over the county at local council level. I think people can see us as another alternative. One chap said to me, ‘I left my party, and I went independent because I had no other alternative party to go to.’ Then they've seen the rise of Reform, and they thought, ‘I like the policies, I like what they stand for, I'm going to try and join them.’ That's what a lot of people are doing now. **What are Reform’s key focuses for Kent County Council?** Well, in my local area itself, there's an issue, Galley Hill Road, where there was a landslide just about two years ago now. We're still trying to resolve that issue. We had a local town meeting about it, Kent County Council were there in attendance, Jim Dickson, the MP, was there in attendance. We were explaining to the residents how we're going to go about fixing this and how long it's going to take. The traffic there right now is really bad because it's a main arterial road running from Gravesend, Northfleet to Dartford. The traffic that builds up through the Swanscombe area is quite significant. I feel really sorry for the residents there. It's a nightmare living there right now, especially if there's an accident on the A2 or the M25, it just becomes horrific. That's one local issue we're trying to look at. If we're successful and win enough seats and take power in Kent County Council, we would then be looking at other issues that we could maybe make an impact on. We can sit down, put our heads together, nearer to time. I've got a few ideas that I want to maybe look at, but we'll have to have a cross-party consensus of what we want to do moving forward. But at this moment in time, everyone's concentrating on the local issues for the local elections. Then if we talk about Kent countywide, we can sit down and discuss that. Plus, a lot of things from Kent County Council have already been voted on for the next year coming ahead anyway, like budgeting, some of the road infrastructure works they've already been voted on. We would actually be looking at not this year but actually next year when we could make a difference. We would have 12 months to actually sit down and discuss it. **Should 16-year-olds have been allowed to vote in the KCC election?** No, I'm not a believer in 16-year-olds voting. They tried it in Scotland. It's not a great success, to be honest with you. My personal opinion of it is we've got left-wing ideologies running the education department at the moment. People leaving school at 16 or still in the education system are still gripped with that ideology of left-wing thinking. That's where the benefit comes for left-leaning parties. I'm not a big fan of that. I would prefer someone who's old enough to make their own decisions and not be taught how to vote because, at this moment in time, the schools are teaching kids what to think. We need to try and make sure that people are making big decisions on how the country's run that they're fully tooled up with the means to understand what they're actually voting for. **Would Kent County Council benefit from proportional representation?** Now if you were going to ask me that a couple of years ago, I would say absolutely yes, because you know how hard it is as a small party or a new upcoming party, we would want proportional representation. But now we've actually got elections won on the first past the post system. Proportional representation, I would still say, is a fairer way of how representations for local communities are. So yes, there's benefits to it, and obviously, there's negatives to it. **How much should KCC support unaccompanied asylum-seeking children?** I believe that comes from government funding. Kent County Council actually receive funding from the government to pay for that bill, so it doesn't actually come out directly. We can decide how it's spent and where the money goes to. I think a large chunk of it is from government. If you ask me personally, I think it should be not just Kent's responsibility. People might be ashore in Kent, but we should maybe talk to other counties and ask to maybe redistribute some young asylum seekers to other parts of the country to ease the burden on Kent because what's going to happen in a few years’ time is we're going to be devolved into unitary councils. Would that mean that the small unitary council that includes Dover would have to bear the full brunt of illegal migration? Something has to be sorted before the unitaries, because I don't think that would be fair on one small unitary council to have to the brunt of that. **How should KCC be devolved?** Well, I don't particularly have a preference myself per se. We don't even have a say in the matter of how it's divided anyway because we have so little Kent County councillors. We are not on any committees; we're not on any boundary-changing committees. We have no say in it. No matter how it's divided up, we're just going to have to play with the ball we are given. **Do you support the idea of a Kent mayor?** Not really. I actually prefer the model of Kent County Council. It's worked well so far, and my motto is if it's not broke, don't fix it. If somebody in their wisdom thinks unitary councils is the way to go forward, well, we can't stop that at this moment in time because the wheels are already in motion. You have to use the tools that you're given. **Has KCC done enough with regard to climate change?** Personally, I've seen a lot of talk in the chamber about carbon capture lowering fuels. So, I believe Kent County Council does its fair share, shall we say. Even in Gravesham, I've seen 75% is recycling, 25% now goes to landfill. If that's copied all over Kent, I believe Kent is doing a fair share. There is talk in the chamber a lot about how much carbon footprint we have. They really do take it seriously. There's a couple of Greens and a few Labours and a couple of Liberal Democrats that keep the Conservatives on their toes in KCC when it comes to things like this. It's very much spoken about. **If you could change anything about Kent politics, what would it be?** I would probably change the unitary. The breaking up of Kent. I would keep it as one big Kent. **Within the time you spent in the chamber for KCC, how have you found that experience?** Well, there's always little tweaks and little upgrades you can give things without actually dismantling the whole system and starting again. Even in the chamber the last time, we were discussing how we appeal amendments, how we oppose amendments. Even now, there's still little tweaks and little things that can be done. But these things take time. County council has been going on for decades and decades now, and they're still finding little things that we could tweak. It's a growing machine. It never stops growing. It's always evolving. Sometimes you have to evolve and adapt to the times. This is where Reform comes in, because we are a reformist party. That's things we can look at if we win power. **Can we expect your party leader to be appearing to support the Kent election campaign?** Yes. **What for you will success look like in the KCC elections?** Well, obviously, if we win 41 seats, that's success. If we've got overall control and majority of the council, that would be absolutely phenomenal. Whether it happens or not, I don't know. I would be very happy with maybe 30 seats because then that would make the chamber very interesting because there would be no overall control. That's when you really have to sit down and have debates about things because the whole reason about democratic debates is so people can listen to other people's points of view. Sometimes it may change someone's mind, maybe an independent or maybe someone can come up with a eureka moment of why the bill they're trying to pass is the best bill possible for the county. Then people sit back, and they think, ‘Do you know what,? They're right.’ That's what it's all about. I'm not one for counting my chickens before the eggs have hatched. I'm not going to put any great thought into how we're going to run things. I'll put thought into things if we win. Some of the councillors we've got standing have got experience in the past. They can bring that experience with them and help others who don't have as much experience. They would be welcome with open arms, no doubt. --- #### Footnotes *These interviews have been lightly edited for length and clarity.* [*You can read our previous interviews here*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/t/interviews)*.* *If you want to suggest ideas or send tips for people to interview, email* [*Steven*](mailto:steven@kentcurrent.news)*.* ### The Greens and Labour on the coming local election URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-greens-and-labour-on-the-coming/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:56:52.000Z **Editor’s note:* This is the second in a short series of interviews with the political group leaders at Kent County Council, where we meet the candidates pushing to take control of the authority in May. On Saturday,* [*we spoke to the Conservative leader of the council, Roger Gough*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/conservative-leader-roger-gough-on/)*. Today, we hear from Rich Lehmann of the Greens and Alister Brady of the Labour Group. Tomorrow, it’ll be the turn of Antony Hook of the Liberal Democrats and Thomas Mallon of Reform UK.* --- **Rich Lehmann* is the leader of the Green and Independent Group on Kent County Council, which includes independent councillors Mike Baldock and Barry Lewis. We discuss the party’s policies, upcoming devolution and reorganisation in Kent, and what the party is aiming for in May.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f9de58061-5cf7-49b7-a7c5-b31ad41a9f99_1347x705-webp.jpg) Rich Lehmann of the Green Party. **How would you describe the Green Party?** I would describe the Green Party as the only major party offering a genuine alternative to the type of politics and the view towards the economy that we've had for the past 45 years. I joined the Green Party because it was clear to me ten or so years ago that they were the only ones who had really thought through things holistically in a way that actually takes account of the effects of the choices that you make. You can't just save money in one place and not think about how it's going to affect things in another. The Green Party are unfortunately branded as solely being about climate by some electors. It is so much more than that, but if we're to address equality in any meaningful way, that has to include trying to avoid the worst effects of climate change. Locally, we are doing that in whatever way we can. It's very difficult with a very small parliamentary group to really make a mark, but we have moved from one councillor in Kent to, I think, 57 we're at now, in the last six years. That shows that people value the work that we do. You have to work so hard to get elected as a Green in Kent. That, to me, just really underlines the level of motivation that we feel to try and change things for the better and the level of commitment that we're prepared to give to this role. **What are the Green Party's key focuses for Kent County Council?** My key focus is wherever possible to work towards rebuilding communities. We've had, over the last 45 years, a decaying of communities and atomisation of towns and villages and people in general. We need to turn that trend around. Part of the reason we've got so many people attracted to fairly right-wing views at the moment is because they're disconnected from their neighbours and their communities. That's not necessarily the reason to support rebuilding communities, but it is a useful side effect of that. A key reason to do it is that it's essential for our societal mental health to have a greater understanding of the lives of our neighbours and the people around us and be more connected with the places that we live in. **Should 16-year-olds have been allowed to vote in the upcoming local election?** I feel that they should. Examples that are given are things like joining the army, and you can get a job and pay tax at 16\. If those things are true, then you should also be able to vote in elections. I was someone who didn't get a chance to vote until they were nearly 22 because one election happened just before my 18th birthday. If you've got a situation where 18-year-olds are allowed to vote, and you believe that 18 is an adult, then it's a little bit of a woolly area. Maybe the first answer was actually the better one. But I feel that a 16-year-old will, assuming a five-year parliamentary term, spend most of that term as an adult if you count 18 as being an adult. So why should they not have a say in what the outcome of that election is? **Would KCC benefit from proportional representation?** Difficult to say benefit, but I think proportional representation is objectively a far fairer system, and I would prefer to see it. As you're probably well aware, at the last county council elections, the Greens got 15% of the vote in Kent and four out of 81 councillors, so 5% of the councillors. Conservatives got just 50% of the vote and 75% of the seats. These kinds of things lead to that disengagement that people have from politics and politicians, feeling that their vote doesn't count. One of the reasons that turnout was so high in the Brexit referendum was that every single vote counted, and that's very rarely the case in other elections that we have in this country. **How much should KCC support unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors?** I believe that we should be aiding unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, but I think that the government should be funding the vast majority of that work that Kent County Council does because it's just a geographical fluke that we're nearest to the shortest crossing point from mainland Europe. Were it to be another county that was, I would think it was unfair that they were given that burden. But in terms of the actual support we give, I definitely think that we should be giving that, yes. **Has KCC done enough with regard to climate change?** That's a very good question. **I'm kind of sad I'm not including GIFs of your reactions in the article.** Yeah, yeah. I can't quantify enough as to how much they're not doing enough. I did ask a question recently, which got a response of, ‘Oh, but we're doing this, this and this.’ Yes, they are doing some good things in regard to getting solar farms built, but there are still huge areas of improvement, which we're lagging behind on. One of the key ones for me is the fact that our waste all goes to be incinerated at Allington, and that pumped out even before coal-fired power stations were closed. The waste-to-energy incinerator at Allington was generating more carbon per kilowatt hour than coal-fired power stations. Now that all the coal-fired power stations in England have been closed, it's significantly above other forms of energy production, and we need to do more to reduce the amount of waste that we send there. Admittedly, some of it does need to be sent there because putting it in landfill isn't ideal either, but the amount that we send to be recycled needs to be increased and the amount that we send to incineration needs to be greatly decreased. **How should KCC be devolved?** I would prefer not to see it devolved. It depends on how you define it devolved. Two or three years ago, we put in a motion, cross-party with the Lib Dems, calling for a Kent Assembly. What we would like to see is the powers that the government are proposing to give to mayors given to county councils. There's no reason why you couldn't have either a structure very similar to the existing county council or a newly created body if it needed to be one, given those powers and able to have the kind of spending decisions and policy decisions that mayors and the devolved governments in Northern Ireland and Scotland and Wales have given to counties. **There have been four maps released as potential reorganisation of the Kent region. Do you have a preference?** Of the four maps that have been released, I think my preference would be Swale, Ashford and Folkestone. Swale, Ashford and Maidstone was one of the four. I'd be happy with that. One of the ones that wasn't one of the four would be Swale, Ashford and Canterbury. What I would like to see ideally is the deprivation spread as evenly as possible. The problem with Maidstone going in with West Kent is that it kind of concentrates a lot of the wealth in that part of the county, whereas Maidstone joining some of the people who are at least in the middle, moves that across a little bit and equals things out. But there is certainly always going to be, unfortunately, a massive disparity in both wealth and deprivation between Sevenoaks and Thanet. There's no way of carving it up that doesn't leave that being the case. **If you could change anything about Kent politics, what would it be?** One of the key learnings for me over the last few years has been that politicians, and I did say this in the most recent full council meeting, at local level, are not necessarily any more transparent rather than the ones in House of Commons. It's been a steep learning curve in terms of just understanding that even if you ask a very straight question in a committee meeting at the council, you don't always get a straight answer. Perhaps there's a historical understanding that if you're naive enough to ask a straight question in a meeting, you won't get a straight answer. Therefore, it's fair game to do that. But I feel that it's incumbent on us as councillors, if we're in a public meeting, to give an honest answer to an honest question and not give a misleading answer. It's one thing saying, ‘No, I'm not going to answer that.’ But it's another thing to pretend that you've answered the question when you haven't, and basically, it's a very short distance between a blatantly incorrect answer that you know is incorrect, but in your head, you're letting it off the hook through some kind of loophole. That, to the listener, is very adjacent to telling a lie. I'm not suggesting that any of the councillors have told lies in public council meetings, but it's another reason why there is a lack of trust in politicians across the board. Over the years, just in the last 10, 15 years, there's been this kind of move towards politicians on TV interviews being asked straight questions, and they've clearly been briefed on how to avoid answering those questions. Even when the interviewer tries to repeat the question, they repeat their non-answer again and again to the point of embarrassment on both sides. It's understandable that that's probably one of the reasons people are fed up with politicians. **Can we expect your party leaders to be in Kent to support the local election campaign?** Zack Polanski *(Green Deputy Leader)* was in Kent last weekend. **What will success in the KCC elections look like for your group?** In 2019, we quadrupled from one to four, and there was an ambition in the back of my head that quadrupling again would be fantastic. It was very ambitious, but I'm still hoping that we can triple to 12\. I'll be very happy with that. Ten is the number that I would be happy with. I want double figures. **And is that ten straight Green or ten for the group?** Ten straight Green, definitely. There is an outside chance that the independents will get enough independents elected that they might want to form their own group. But certainly, the independents that we've worked with over the last four years, if they were to be re-elected, then we would be open to another agreement along the lines of the ones we've had. --- **Alister Brady* is Leader of the Labour Group, which is now made of five members after two members of the group became independents. We discuss the party’s priorities for KCC, devolution, and what would represent success for the party.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f4b7ae68a-aca7-482b-958e-9676676c0672_1456x762-webp.jpg) Labour’s Alister Brady. **How would you describe the Labour Party?** The Labour Party is a party that focuses on the person, the individual. Other ideologies focus on institutions and how people fit into those institutions, but the Labour Party focuses on that person, the value of that person and how we can help that person. **What are the Labour Party's key focuses for KCC?** For the last four years we've built alternative budgets. Every year, we have seen cuts to services and frontline services. We wanted to get in front of that, look at the budget on a whole, and we're lucky to have a couple of finance officers from KCC, and they come back to us in about September. Then we start working on that budget meeting with all the corporate directors, bringing our invest to save priorities. Mostly, it's seeing what can be brought in-house to make it more efficient. If things aren't able to be brought in-house, how to make that service more efficient and deliverable locally. To invest in prevention, getting in there early, helping people, universal services, helping people early, because further down the line, there'll be more complex interventions needed. The sooner you start helping with children and adults, the sooner you can start saving money in the long run but actually helping those people. For this election, we've got six overarching priority pledges. The first one is ending Tory waste. That is looking at frontline service delivery. KCC, at the moment, commission out 73% of services to the private sector. That equates to about £1.8bn worth of services. The council is just a middleman. They get money from government, and they parcel it out to these massive companies. They've created a market where the market sees there's no alternative. They can engage in profiteering because we haven't given an alternative. We can do this differently. One of the other massive asks is to look to start to fix the social care service and develop a system that puts people first. We went to the Association for Public Service Excellence to see if we can change the model of domiciliary care, how we can support people for longer in the home living happy, fruitful and better lives in their home. Because if we move them into residential care, or they move into residential care too soon, then we see them decline, and it's incredibly expensive, and people really want to be supported in the home. We asked that public service excellence group to look to see if it's possible to start moving that in-house. They were able to see that we could move a portion of that in-house because, at the moment, there's a framework model. It's making it person-centred and enriching their lives by doing that. There's an integrated care strategy that is worked up with the NHS and it's got some really good things. However, KCC, when we get a decision, looks at governance, finance, securing Kent’s future, but it doesn't look at the care strategy. We would align decision-making to see if that aligns with what that care strategy is with every decision. If it's irrelevant, then it doesn't align. However, everything should feed into that. Straight away, we put forward a motion to do that. We wanted to bring back the community wardens. These are recognisable faces in the community. We were able to fully fund bringing that back to 23, the levels of community wardens in 2023\. The Conservatives want to move that into the private sector. Community wardens really are recognisable faces that signposts where you can get help when needed, and they should be available and work with resident associations. But KCC Tories want to put that on the phone. When you look at social isolation after covid, people want to speak to people. They don't want to go on the end of the phone and tell their story again. They want to build a relationship. We would move that back to the 23 level and the government gave £23m extra to KCC to go towards adult social care. That is a drop in the ocean, and more needs to happen, but we would use that to be able to fund these initiatives. Our children's focus policy is a grade-A education in and outside of the school settings. Straight away after covid, we realised there would have been a massive issue with social isolation with children because they hadn't been in the classroom for many months due to lockdown. We proposed, and we fully costed to have an after-school play service for five to 11-year-olds. That would have been at the children's centres if the Tories didn't close the children's centres and moved them to family hubs. We would have to do them out of the family hubs, which are quite hard to get to. But at the moment, services out of the family hubs are not universal, they’re appointment only. We would make this service universal. We were able, within this alternative budget, to have youth workers in schools. You're probably surprised to hear that that doesn't really happen that often. There are dedicated teams in the family hubs, and the youth centres have been closed. I think there's 38 children's and youth centres that have been closed around Kent, but we would have dedicated teams in districts who are able to go into schools for a period of time, timetabled, so they're recognisable faces as well. The young people within secondary schools would be able to approach them because they trust them and open up, and then we can get prevention again. We're able to then speak to the children and deliver these services and preventive services and help, which is shocking that it doesn't happen. Repairing roads, obviously potholes are on everybody's minds. It's looking to fix them better and make the bus services better. There was an extra £14m from government to help on road maintenance. Now, that's commissioned out to a massive company, hundreds of millions, a big company that's not very responsive. We would look to break up that contract to then have local maintenance companies filling those potholes. They're more responsive. They know the roads. They know how to do that quicker. It’s a really clunky system. We would make that system a lot easier so people can report potholes and then you've got a responsive team to be able to then go and fix it. From government, there's an extra £5m for active travel for walking and cycling. We would use that locally, talking to residents’ association groups, bike groups, walking groups, and schools on how we can use that money to better the pathways and the routes to school. There's a government better buses bill, which has got objectives of public ownership of bus service. We're at the mercy of Arriva and Stagecoach, and we've just seen services cut. We would work with government to see how we can make that better, efficient and affordable. Another priority is securing job security and delivering better jobs. Within the 2023 Procurement Act has just been updated by this government in February. It's heavily weighted on social value, small and medium-sized enterprises and voluntary and community sector enterprises. Instead of KCC, which they do at the moment, going to the biggest company, there's your money, and then that goes out to Kent. We would look to prioritise smaller companies, local companies, so that money goes into that area. £1.8m is a lot of money that could be spent directly in Kent. Every single decision, like the integrated care strategy should have tackling the climate crisis and the biodiversity crisis written in. How is that impacting that? How are we tackling that crisis? Because it's overarching and we need to move forward on this, and decisions aren't made through that lens. I've stood up and said this quite often to anybody who would listen. There's a different way of doing things. That's why we built alternative budgets for four years to say we can do this. This is possible. **Should 16-year-olds be allowed to vote in the upcoming election?** In this election in May? Probably not. However, what I would like to see is a change to the curriculum, an increase in civic studies to get people into a place where 16-year-olds can vote. **Would KCC benefit from proportional representation?** Probably. When you look at KCC before all the defections and people moving to independents, the Conservatives had 62 members. That has created an idea vacuum. They've been in power for 27 years. That doesn't help to rejuvenate society and service delivery, and KCC is not representative of the Kent population. If it was able to do that, then possibly something down the lines of a single transferable vote system. ‘This is who I would like, but if I don't get that person, I would like this person.’ I think if you say to people, the majority of people in Kent, do you think that the Conservatives should have had 62 councillors to be able to scrutinise decision-making, they would say no. Iit means the opposition members are under so much pressure to be able to read every single word of every single decision because some of the backbenchers in the Conservative Party, how do I put this politely, are not that good at coming forward when critical thinking is involved. **How much should KCC support unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors?** To the legal requirement. You have to operate within the law. We don't set those laws, governments set those laws, and the European Court of Human Rights. I can't believe a lot of politicians think that human rights are a bad thing, but we should do it to the legal requirement. **Should we do more than the legal requirements?** Within our budgets, I don't think that's possible. We're really restrained. 14 years of austerity has seen so much money going from public services. I said last time in full council, it was the leader of the council's time to talk about all the good things they've done over the last four years, and the only good thing they could say was, ‘We haven't gone bust.’ I think KCC, at the moment, through mismanagement over the last 14 years, is just barely keeping its head above the water. We have to do our legal requirement, but if we do more, then KCC will go bust and that will just be so bad for the Kent population. **Has KCC done enough with regard to climate change?** Well, like I said, you don't have a golden thread running through decisions made, where you're looking at the climate crisis and the biodiversity crisis when open spaces are sold. From day one, in policy resources cabinet committee, I would say, why are you selling this open space? It's better for people's health, but you can also do so much more to tackle the biodiversity crisis, and they just sell it. **How should KCC be devolved?** Well, when this came to the special extraordinary meeting at KCC, we wanted to prioritise local government reorganisation over devolution and have the elections go ahead, and the Conservatives voted to not have these elections to go ahead. I think we really need to talk to town councils, parish councils, districts and residents to find out what they would think is best. I think local government reorganisation is better for service delivery. Now, there's arguments over whether there should be three or four unitaries, and there's arguments for and against. If I go knocking on a door today and ask people questions, what KCC does, what the districts do, what parishes do, people don't know. To be able to say East Kent Authority is responsible for everything and then parishes are responsible for place, the maintenance of place and fields, that is a lot easier to understand and more efficient. But the argument is three or four unitaries. **Where do you stand on how the areas should be divided up?** I know that community value and how we see our communities to not lose our identity,it should be a little bit smaller. There is an argument that three unitaries, there isn't really a community identity if it's that big. I think there's 729,000 people if that happened today of a three unitaries. Now, the level of growth within the next ten years turns that into another county council. You hear that the objective is to get rid of Kent. That's absolutely nonsense. Kent is a county. It's about how you deliver services. I think local government reorganisation and unitaries are necessary. The conversations need to happen with everybody to try and find out which is best. **Do you support the idea of a mayor for Kent?** Eventually, if it means more money for Kent. But we wanted to have the local government reorganisation conversation first, because when you see the letter that the leader of the Conservatives has just sent, he's still talking about devolution, devolution, devolution. However, let's talk about local government reorganisation and devolution because you can devolve powers from government to a mayor, get extra money and also focus on service delivery. That's the important thing. Strategy for the overarching strategy for Kent, which the mayor would be in charge of is really important, but as important, if not more, is service delivery. How do you help people? How do you help your residents? Doing that first to then moving on to devolution and a Mayoral Strategic Authority is the right thing, but get that right and then that next bit follows. **If you could change anything about Kent politics, what would it be?** Having a Labour-run Kent County Council. **Can we expect the Labour Party leader to be in Kent to support the KCC campaign?** Sure. We've got some really good Kent MPs, and I think they're at the forefront of some of the campaigns. Of course, we're the gateway to Britain from Europe, and the leadership understands how important this area is and values it. **What does success in the KCC elections look like?** Larger group. **Can you quantify that in any way for us?** No, because then that will get played. Double figures. It's very easy to say, and then the next thing is, ‘Oh, you didn't get that, you must be disappointed.’ Easily double figures. We're confident. We've got some really good candidates. It's all about being a local champion, doing something for the community, not just somebody bowling up on a piece of paper saying, ‘Oh, I love this place, please vote for me.’ It's like, what are you going to do? ‘Oh, no, they're rubbish. Vote for me.’ Have you got evidence of what you've done for the community? Are you a recognisable face? We've got some really good candidates, and we're really hopeful. --- #### Footnotes *These interviews have been lightly edited for length and clarity.* [*You can read our previous interviews here*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/t/interviews)*.* *If you want to suggest ideas or send tips for people to interview, email* [*Steven*](mailto:steven@kentcurrent.news)*.* ### Conservative leader Roger Gough on the coming local election URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/conservative-leader-roger-gough-on/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:56:52.000Z **Editor’s note:* This is the first in a short series of interviews with the political group leaders at Kent County Council, where we meet the candidates pushing to take control of the authority in May. Today, we speak to the Conservative leader of the council, Roger Gough. We’ll hear from Rich Lehmann of the Greens and Alister Brady of the Labour Group on Monday. Then, on Tuesday, it’ll be the turn of Antony Hook of the Liberal Democrats and Thomas Mallon of Reform UK.* --- **Roger Gough* is the Leader of the Conservative Group on Kent County Council, the party that controls the council with a commanding majority. With KCC elections approaching, some of the group have exited the party to move to Reform UK, independents, and even to the Heritage Party. Despite this, the Conservatives still remain the largest party by a significant number. We discuss the party, Kent devolution and reorganisation, and what success in the coming election looks like.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f8acedb3e-5f24-45cd-9e40-5f17fa6e0c86_1237x648-webp-2.jpg) Kent County Council Leader Roger Gough **How would you describe the Conservative Party?** I think the Conservative Party is a party of the centre-right, so not far-right. One that has governed the country over a long period and, I think, has tried to have a reputation as the sensible mainstream party that will ensure that we can make progress as a country, but in an orderly and sensible way. Now, I think many critics of what's happened in recent years would say that we sometimes lost our way on that nationally, and I think that contributed to our defeat last year. But for us, we in Kent County Council, I think that's exactly where we try and position ourselves as people who will ensure that you can, in many ways, get on with your life without the government getting too much in your way, but absolutely be there when you need it. **How would you describe the group at the moment?** It's a big group, and I think that's always a little bit more challenging. I've been around the county council for a while, and I think historically it's always been a little bit more difficult because you have a bigger group of people all with their own ideas, wishes to do, whatever it is that they wish to, et cetera. I think it's a little bit harder when you have that. Having said that, I think we've come through together as a group some really, really tough times in the last few years. It's been tough times in local government all around. Kent has, doubtless we will come to this, one or two issues very specifically of our own, chiefly because of our geography. It's been really hard for us to try to manage that as the ruling group. I think we have come through that well. Many of our people I've known for a long time. There are people who give great public service and inevitably, it's very varied. We had 61 individuals elected in 2021\. You've got a big variety within that. We’ve had some difficult moments, but on the whole, I think we've come through it well. Particularly recently, one or two situations where people have left the group, but it's still a very large group. I wouldn't overemphasise that. **It's been part of the commentary of the upcoming election about the number of people who are standing down. Does that number seem large to you, or do you expect that level of churn?** I think that we often historically have had quite a big churn. In fact, there was quite a big change over at the last election and has been through recent times. It is a bigger number this time. That is true. Now, partly, of course, we are still quite a big group. But also, I think there have been quite a number of people who've given quite long service and are reaching a point where they feel they wish to do something else. That, I think, has been the main factor in it. What is unfortunate at one level is that you lose some people with great experience and knowledge. You always want that balance, don't you? You want fresh insights, you want people coming in from other walks of life and bringing their experience and their ideas with them. You do lose something when you have people who are very experienced who stand down because we're a big complicated county council. Lots and lots of difficult things to get to grips with, and when people have that experience, it's an asset, but as I say, we will doubtless welcome many new members after May 1st. **What are the group's key focuses for Kent County Council?** Above all, I think it is steering the county through really difficult times and standing up for Kent regardless of who's in power nationally. Our focus has been very much on firstly ensuring that the council protects our services but meanwhile ensures that we actually have a strong financial position. That's been a huge challenge in the last few years because, and again, this is true of local government generally, you've got a lot of areas like adult social care, children's services, special educational needs, where there's been big, big pressures put on the budgets. That means it is very difficult to balance the budget and protect your services, but we feel we've done a strong job in that area. Many councils have fallen by the wayside in the last few years. We have not. I think a big priority is to ensure that those services for vulnerable people are both good and sustainable. I think we've made big progress, done very well on things like children's services. OFSTED considers them outstanding, and they have some of the lowest cost associated with children's services in the country. That's no small achievement. We are working to bring about big changes in our adult care and special educational needs, which is an area that we struggled with unquestionably, as many councils have. We've brought about a big programme of change. Again, I think that is starting to bear fruit. Getting those services, which matter a lot to many of the most vulnerable people across the county, on a sustainable basis, that's really important. I think also ensuring that we do everything we can when the occasion arises to protect Kent from some of the challenges we face, particularly because of our geography. We have had, throughout this time, the aftermath of Brexit and then the European Union bringing in its external frontier. We put in a huge amount of work to prepare for that because the risk was if that went wrong, the county, particularly in the east, would be gridlocked, and we worked really hard to prepare for that. That's still ongoing because the European Union put that back in the end. They deferred it. And of course, we receive large numbers of asylum seekers. That's not chiefly within our gift, we don't make national policy on that. The unaccompanied minors, the under-18s, come into our care. We have fought very, very hard to make sure that the Kent council tax payer is not on the hook for that, that we got a fair settlement of that from government. We ensure that these young people are placed across the country quickly, which has been essential given the numbers who have been arriving. On that, as I say, frankly, we will stand up to whichever government it is, including our own. We took a government of our own party to the High Court and won because they weren't doing enough to move those young people on from Kent. We succeeded in that. We will stand up for Kent's interests. I think it's always very important also to manage whatever pressures there are coming out of housebuilding and other forms of growth. Now, we think that the targets set by government for housing in Kent are too high, particularly in some parts of Kent. But what is most important is to ensure that where there is that, that we make sure that the developers pay as they should for the infrastructure that is needed. We are extremely robust about that. We've achieved, I think, 97 % of what we asked for over recent years, and we're willing to fight those things when they're needed. That's a few of the things that I think are really, really important. And just keeping this county as great, diverse, and beautiful as it is. **Should 16-year-olds have been allowed to vote in local elections?** I've not been particularly in favour of that. We've looked at it a number of times over the years. It's not, to be honest, an issue on which I have a particularly strong view, but I'm probably in favour of keeping it at 18. **Would Kent County Council benefit from proportional representation?** No, I don't think so. I think what will be interesting actually with the election we have coming up is that we have a multi-party contest here, we will see some very interesting outcomes, but historically, this delivers clear government, clear majorities for a particular party. It's tended to be us, but it need not always be the case. On that basis, we can govern. We will make a big effort to do so responsibly and not seek to make overuse of the big majority we've sometimes had. I think it's very important actually that we hear the voices of opposition parties of all members. We've very much tried to do that. **How much should KCC support unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors?** Well, we have a set of legal obligations. It's actually under the Children Act, enacted with something completely different in mind. It was all to do with services to children in care. But because of the way that our system works, we are required to do that. My view is we discharge our obligations. We do so in a decent and compassionate way. But it's very important to ensure that Kent does not bear the burden unfairly because of our geography. As I've said, we have ensured that the government pays for those services because this is a national problem. In some ways, it's an international problem, and we have ensured that the Kent council tax payer is not on the hook for those services, and it's very important that they're not. We've fought very hard for that. Those young people, as they arrive, many of them are moved on to other parts of the country because, again, Kent should not take a hugely disproportionate share of that pressure on our services, on our fostering and residential capacity. We've been successful in that. We were prepared to judicially review a government of our own party, take them to the High Court to ensure that that mechanism, what's called the National Transfer Scheme, works effectively. Still not as good as I'd like. Still not moving as fast as I would like, but it's moved a heck of a lot in the last few years. We have deliberately pushed for that very hard. We will discharge our obligations, but we will fight very hard to ensure that Kent does not take a disproportionate burden. Anything else in terms of asylum is ultimately a matter for national policy and its national government, which has to address that. We have to operate within the situations we find it. **Has KCC done enough with regards to climate change?** We believe that we are, and we continue to. We actually have a rather proud record in this regard. We are working to bring our estate and the emissions from our estate and operations into being neutral by 2030\. Now, we've already reduced those emissions by about half since 2019\. In fact, even before 2019\. 2019 was when we set that target. We'd already reduced it beforehand. Sometimes, by doing things that make a lot of sense for other reasons, too, like adopting LED lighting, which gave us a great deal of both savings and carbon reduction. We think that is an important area. The environmental stewardship that we have in Kent is really important too. We're just bringing forward what's called the local nature recovery strategy, or the name we've given it is Making Space for Nature, to ensure that we protect all the amazing natural resources we have in the county. We have brought out what we call Plan Bee, which has been with us about 10 years now in terms of helping pollinators, followed by Plan Tree, which is about planting one and a half million extra trees across the county and a whole range of other initiatives. The other thing which I think is pretty important is this. We know that, of course, we can do our part on this, but we are only one small part of the country, which is one small part of the world. What will happen in terms of climate change will happen on a much bigger scale or result in much bigger decisions than anything that we can take. Whilst we very much do our part, we're also developing a lot of plans for adaptation, recognising that regrettably, I think an element of climate change is baked in and certainly will happen for reasons which are not certainly of our particular making or our decision or within our scope for decision. It's working out those plans to address what the consequences of that will be for our roads, for our buildings, for our services as we look forward. **How should KCC be devolved?** I'm very keen we get the mayoral devolution which the government offered. Frankly, I was appalled, trying to find the right words for this actually, but certainly appalled and astounded that back in February, the government came to the conclusion that devolution would come to every county around the southeast, from Norfolk all the way around to Hampshire, except for Kent and Medway. There was no reason for that. Government gave a reason to do with the fact that Kent and Medway were very different sizes, but frankly, that makes no sense because, for one thing, they knew that quite some time ago, and we were working with government to strongly bring forward our devolution proposition and with a lot of encouragement, and it appeared to be going very well. If that was an issue, it didn't emerge until the last minute, and also, frankly, you could say the same about some other areas. I don't know why we didn't get it. But the reason why I've been keen on devolution and this approach is this. This is true not just of Kent but of county councils and other councils like them across the country. Because there's so much pressure on us in those big spending areas, adults, children, special educational needs, councils have not had the capacity, the money, the headspace to be able to do the really big strategic things that help shape an area in terms of infrastructure, economic development, big environmental activity, all those things. It's pretty clear that what government was offering gives at least the beginnings for having funding, powers, national voice, to be able to shape those things in a different way. That's what I wanted for Kent. It's what I still want for Kent. We had a very good proposition. I don't know why we didn't get it, but I'm keen to get it back on track, and we continue to talk to government about this, to have a clear timeline on when we're going to have a devolution. Meanwhile, of course, there is local government reorganisation that moves ahead anyway. That's a linked but slightly separate area. **Do you have a preference of the four maps that have been suggested?** I have a starting point for it all, which is that our biggest responsibility in all this is not to set up councils that will fail. There are very tough times ahead over the next few years for councils for all the reasons we've talked about. Local government reorganisation in a county like Kent is not the same as in a smaller county, where in effect you just bring everything into one organisation. That way does deliver you quite a lot of savings. In Kent, because you'll be actually breaking up, disaggregating many of the big services that we have: Adult services, children's services, those sorts of areas, you've got to watch out that you don't end up actually costing yourself money rather than saving it. Clearly, delivering that change is also really difficult because you've got to hand over all those services, which are a matter of life and death for some people and a matter of great importance for many others, in a safe way. I think that leads me towards a smaller number of unitaries rather than a larger one, but I'm open to evidence as to what best delivers those sustainable councils. As things stand at the moment, my personal view, and I must emphasise this, is that the three *(unitaries)* model works the best. But above all what drives me in this is I will not have, so long as I have anything to do with it, part of our legacy that we set up councils which failed. It's taken everything over a bit. We've got a challenge, of course. We've got to keep all the business as usual going. As usual, as I say, is really important things: It's social care for vulnerable people, it's child protection, it's keeping our highways safe and running well, and many other things besides, all of which we've got to do whilst contemplating this really big program of change. **If you could change anything about Kent politics, what would it be?** I think what I would love to see is an ability to get across to the people who we represent and the people who pay their council tax, which keeps us all in our roles, what it is we do and being able to deliver something very visible to them. Because I think the great challenge we've got is people pay council tax, it's a very visible tax, and it goes largely to fund services which are invisible to most people. Therefore, it's very hard for people to get a sense of, ‘Am I getting value for money or not?’, particularly when those services are also under such severe financial pressure. I think that's the really hard thing. In terms of how politics itself is conducted on the whole, I think we try to be courteous. There will be, sometimes, quite fierce debates, and that's absolutely as it should be. People are elected to, in this case, county council because they want to make a difference. They want to put forward what they believe to be the right thing. There'll be some sharp differences on that, and we won't always agree, and that's fine. But if we can find ways, which most of the time we do, to debate those things sensibly and with that sense of shared purpose, I think that's for the good. But overall, I don’t have a particular problem with how we try to conduct politics. I think we have a very, very big problem indeed, or almost a democratic problem of people getting a clear picture of where their money goes and what we are all actually paying for, because I think that's a really serious problem. People don't know, ‘How can we judge this?’ Can we know if we're getting good value for money? Where do we understand where that money goes?’ I think that's a huge, huge problem. If I could find a way to get that better addressed, I'd be a lot happier. **Well, we'll see what we can do.** Can I just say actually, without wishing to sound too cheesy, but doing what I think you've indicated you want to, which is to have some serious discussion about these things, I think can only help because there is a world out there as we all know of clickbait and the rest of it, and it doesn't help. It doesn't help our politics, doesn't help politics anywhere really, but it's to some extent an element of life now. Complaining about it is like complaining about the weather. But if we've got some other things that counterbalance that, I think it's brilliant. **Can we expect your party leader to be in Kent to support the election campaign?** I don't know, to be honest. I think we certainly will have members of the shadow cabinet and so on, and clearly, I'm delighted with any representative of our national party, including the leader, who comes to us. She was briefly in Kent not very long ago and was with some of our colleagues who are running for re-election. Of course, we're delighted always to have the party leader and, indeed, our colleagues from parliament and from the shadow cabinet. **As the larger party, what will success in the KCC election look like for the Conservative Group?** I don't wish, to be honest, to set myself up on a benchmark which could prove either too low or too high. Clearly, we're going to fight for a strong result. I think we all know that these are very complex and challenging political times. I just look at the national opinion polls to know that. But I think it will be a case of can we get our message across. Making any predictions is very, very hard because we had today the statements of persons nominated and certainly in my division, we've got five candidates, all from the parties that you might imagine, and you can well see situations, and there'll be some independents and so on in other places. It's quite a complicated landscape, and we know too that, not just in Kent but across the country, and in fact across the wider advanced world, there is much more questioning of and challenge to and disenchantment sometimes with political parties that have been around for a while. These are very difficult times. I think we've got to just get our message across of what it is that we have been doing, why we do it, what we offer to people in Kent in the future and beyond that. We will just have to see what comes out of those ballot boxes on the 2nd of May. --- #### Footnotes *This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.* [*You can read our previous interviews here*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/t/interviews)*.* *If you want to suggest ideas or send tips for people to interview, email* [*Steven*](mailto:steven@kentcurrent.news)*.* ### Lower Thames Crossing: The winners and losers URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/lower-thames-crossing-the-winners/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:56:54.000Z *Thanks for reading the *Kent Current*, our attempt to do local journalism differently. No ads, no clickbait, just the important and unique stories from across our county.* *The response to our first week has blown us away. We’re still finding our feet here as we build this new project, but we’ve got some big stories brewing for the coming weeks, so stick with us.* *If you’d like to reach out to us about a story you think we should be covering or just to say hi, you can reach us by email via *hello AT kentcurrent DOT news*. We’re always happy to speak off the record in the first instance.* *Let’s get to it. In this edition, we’re looking at the winners and losers of the government’s recent decision to approve the Lower Thames Crossing, which seems set to reshape the county's geography. Further down, you’ll also find details of the 425 candidates standing in the upcoming Kent County Council elections, our news in brief roundup, and more.* *Thanks again for being here.* *Ed Jennings* *Editor, the *Kent Current** --- #### Lower Thames Crossing: The winners and losers Following a planning process that took decades, [cost nearly £270m](https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/lower-thames-crossing-applications-267m-cost-highlights-complexity-of-planning-system-06-12-2022/?ref=kentcurrent.news) and a planning document that ran [395,000 pages](https://ccemagazine.com/news/the-planning-application-395000-pages-long/?ref=kentcurrent.news), the government has finally [granted permission for the Lower Thames Crossing](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/lower-thames-crossing-development-consent-decision-announced?ref=kentcurrent.news). The [Lower Thames Crossing](https://nationalhighways.co.uk/our-roads/lower-thames-crossing/?ref=kentcurrent.news) will be the largest infrastructure project in the southeast in decades, creating a new dual tunnel, six lane link between Kent and Essex to relieve pressure on the Dartford Crossing further west that will reshape the economic geography of the region. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f1b2430f2-c32c-4884-b194-8bb90c706307_2500x1406-jpeg-1.jpg) Like any new infrastructure that is proposed in the UK, the scheme has faced significant opposition while also receiving strong support from other quarters. As a result, the permission granted to the project has created an odd mix of winners and losers. **Winner: Dartford** Politics can sometimes create strange bedfellows, and nowhere is that more true than in Dartford, where nearly all of the political power players in the district wanted the Lower Thames Crossing built. The [former MP supported it](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/gravesend/news/11th-hour-crossing-plea-122278/?ref=kentcurrent.news), the [new MP supports it](https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1334291964681233), the [council supports it](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-67260403?ref=kentcurrent.news), all of which is unsurprising given the level of congestion that the roads around the town are subjected to given the overloading of the existing Dartford Crossing. **Loser: Gravesham** Things are slightly different over the border in Gravesham, which is perhaps to be expected given it’s the district where everything will be built on the Kent side of the route. Gravesham faces a substantial new junction being constructed between Medway and Gravesend, a dual carriageway through the countryside, and likely the best part of a decade of disruption from the construction. Gravesham Council have given a [rather tepid response](https://www.gravesham.gov.uk/news/article/206/government-gives-go-ahead-to-lower-thames-crossing?ref=kentcurrent.news) to the news, while the new MP for Gravesham, Lauren Sullivan, has [campaigned vocally](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/lauren-sullivan-995306242%5Fmy-statement-regarding-the-lower-thames-crossing-activity-7310348507016515584-6E39/?ref=kentcurrent.news) against the go-ahead being given. **Winner: Medway** Further east, Medway Council [claimed they were ‘delighted’](https://www.medway.gov.uk/news/article/1867/medway%5Fcouncil%5Fs%5Fstatement%5Fon%5Flower%5Fthames%5Fcrossing?ref=kentcurrent.news) by the approval and called the scheme ‘vitally important’ for the area. Their main positives primarily revolve around improved connectivity, which is unsurprising given it can currently take in excess of an hour to reach places locals can see just across the water. The project has the power to bring Kent and Essex must closer together in terms of journey times, opening up a number of new economic opportunities for both sides of the river. **Loser: Kent County Council** The stated position of KCC is to support the Lower Thames Crossing, even though they have raised concerns about environmental issues, the impact on Shorne Woods Country Park, and the knock-on effects on the existing road network. One significant change is that much more traffic will likely use the A2-M2-A229-M20 corridor, where Blue Bell Hill would almost certainly suffer from capacity issues, particularly the junctions along the route. As a result, KCC has [created a plan](https://www.kent.gov.uk/roads-and-travel/road-projects/planned-road-projects/a229-blue-bell-hill?ref=kentcurrent.news#tab-1) to improve traffic flow on Blue Bell Hill, even if it has a subsequent effect of [harming movement between the Medway Towns and Maidstone](https://www.localauthority.news/p/blue-bell-hill-might-get-an-upgrade?ref=kentcurrent.news). The only problem is that the improvements they have in mind will cost £250m, money they definitely don’t have, so they are reliant on the government paying for most of it. If they don’t, the Crossing could have a detrimental effect on the roads between Medway and Maidstone. **Possible winner: Kent County Council** Under the current government timeline for local government reorganisation, Kent County Council [likely won’t exist](https://www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-council/local-government-reorganisation-and-devolution?ref=kentcurrent.news) in a few years, so the whole thing won’t be their problem anymore. **Loser: Nearby residents** Of course, it’s easy to talk in broad strokes about this kind of project, so it’s easy to forget the direct impacts that such schemes can have on those who live nearby. The BBC [spoke to a number of residents](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3w1g3nxl9zo?ref=kentcurrent.news) being impacted by the route, mainly on the Essex side of the river. Still, the same issues are playing out for some residents around the Thong Lane area in Gravesham, who are about to have a new dual carriageway going past their houses. Campaign groups like the [Lower Thames Action Group](https://www.thamescrossingactiongroup.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news) sprang up to fight the proposals. At the same time, parish councils like Shorne [remain horrified](https://shorneparishcouncil.org/lower-thames-crossing-given-the-green-light/?ref=kentcurrent.news) by the ‘largest construction site we have ever seen in this area’ and the ‘massive spaghetti junction’ that comes with the project. **Winner: YIMBYs** It’s no secret that getting anything built in this country is difficult. It’s slow, expensive, and often, most projects are fought to the last gasp by those who oppose them. As a result, large infrastructure projects rarely get built despite the constant development of housebuilding, even where there aren’t the transport links to support them. Pro-development urbanists like friend of this publication James O’Malley have [set out compelling arguments](https://takes.jamesomalley.co.uk/p/why-even-car-hating-urbanists-should?ref=kentcurrent.news) for why projects like the Lower Thames Crossing are good, even for those who instinctively recoil from the idea of a massive new motorway. O’Malley makes the case that the LTC is primarily about increasing crossing capacity, which induces demand that represents economic growth. Even if the scheme isn’t perfect, he points out, it could be good enough. **Loser: Environment** All of that said, it’s hard to sugarcoat that a decade long construction project (let’s be honest: no one believes it will be complete by the stated 2032) to build a six lane dual carriageway will be bad for the environment. The K[ent Wildlife Trust highlight](https://www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk/blog/lower-thames-crossing?ref=kentcurrent.news) that 8 hectares of ancient woodland is due to be lost to the scheme, as well as hundreds of hectares of habitat destruction. Further, the organisation raises concerns that the project will create 6.5m tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions and points out that parts of the planned route already exceed safe levels of nitrogen dioxide. Of course, all of this positioning may now be somewhat irrelevant, given the government has approved the scheme. Time will tell whether or not the scheme will be delivered as designed, but if it does, the transport and economic geography of Kent will likely look very different a decade from now. --- #### The 425 people that want to run Kent Kent County Council elections are coming up on 1 May, with all 81 seats up for grabs in what could be an unprecedented political shift for the county. Last Friday, the full list of candidates was published, with 425 names fighting for a place on the council. The five main parties have made a valiant effort to stand candidates across the county. The Conservatives, Labour, and Reform have put up candidates in all 81 seats, while the Greens have managed 75 and the Lib Dems 73, the latter seemingly having a strong aversion to Dartford. Kent has 18 candidates representing localist parties like the Swale Independents and the Tunbridge Wells Alliance, 7 independent candidates, as well as 5 from the Heritage Party, 2 from the Socialist Party, 2 from the Homeland Party, and 1 British Democrat. You can find the full list of candidates standing across the county on the Kent County Council website by district: [Ashford](https://www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-council/how-the-council-works/kent-county-council-elections/election-notices/ashford?ref=kentcurrent.news) / [Canterbury](https://www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-council/how-the-council-works/kent-county-council-elections/election-notices/canterbury?ref=kentcurrent.news) / [Dartford](https://www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-council/how-the-council-works/kent-county-council-elections/election-notices/dartford?ref=kentcurrent.news) / [Dover](https://www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-council/how-the-council-works/kent-county-council-elections/election-notices/dover?ref=kentcurrent.news) / [Folkestone and Hythe](https://www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-council/how-the-council-works/kent-county-council-elections/election-notices/folkestone-and-hythe?ref=kentcurrent.news) / [Gravesham](https://www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-council/how-the-council-works/kent-county-council-elections/election-notices/gravesham?ref=kentcurrent.news) / [Maidstone](https://www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-council/how-the-council-works/kent-county-council-elections/election-notices/maidstone?ref=kentcurrent.news) / [Sevenoaks](https://www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-council/how-the-council-works/kent-county-council-elections/election-notices/sevenoaks?ref=kentcurrent.news) / [Swale](https://www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-council/how-the-council-works/kent-county-council-elections/election-notices/swale?ref=kentcurrent.news) / [Thanet](https://www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-council/how-the-council-works/kent-county-council-elections/election-notices/thanet?ref=kentcurrent.news) / [Tonbridge and Malling](https://www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-council/how-the-council-works/kent-county-council-elections/election-notices/tonbridge-and-malling?ref=kentcurrent.news) / [Tunbridge Wells](https://www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-council/how-the-council-works/kent-county-council-elections/election-notices/tunbridge-wells?ref=kentcurrent.news) We’re still working our way through all of the names and discovering there are some ‘characters’ amongst them, but we’ll come back with our findings on that later. *In the meantime, we’re throwing this open to you. If you’ve got any information on any of the candidates standing that you think we might be interested in, you can let us know discreetly via *hello AT kentcurrent DOT news*.* --- #### In brief 🏗️ [Further details have been submitted for a 2,500 home development west of Sittingbourne](https://pa.midkent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=dates&keyVal=RFL0S3TYG8W00&ref=kentcurrent.news). The proposals, informally known as Foxchurch, would include a commercial employment zone, doctors’ surgery, sports hub, primary school, retail, and open space. A decision on the plans is due to be made by the end of the month (though may take much longer in reality), with [Bobbing Parish Council and Swale Independents leader Mike Baldock pushing back](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sittingbourne/news/it-hurts-to-think-farmland-will-be-built-on-fear-as-plans-322605/?ref=kentcurrent.news) against the proposals. 🏘️ Thanet District Council officers have [recommended that a 1,461 home development north of Westwood Cross be deferred and delegated for approval](https://democracy.thanet.gov.uk/documents/s91001/Committee%20Report%2016th%20April%202025%20-%20OL%5FTH%5F23%5F0685.pdf?ref=kentcurrent.news). The plans include a new primary school, commercial space, green spaces, and a link road. The final decision will be made at an [extraordinary Planning Committee meeting](https://democracy.thanet.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=115&MId=7048&ref=kentcurrent.news) next week. 🧰 Dartford Borough Council has [suspended all non-emergency repairs to social housing](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dartford/news/non-emergency-social-housing-repairs-paused-as-underperfo-322569/?ref=kentcurrent.news) after their maintenance contractor went into administration. Tenants were given the news last week, with the council aiming to get services back to normal ‘as soon as possible.’ 🚌 [Double decker buses will be scrapped from Canterbury’s Park & Ride](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce3v1ppg3z3o?ref=kentcurrent.news) service to stem losses. Canterbury City Council says the service is currently losing £32,000 per month, with the largest shortfall coming from the Sturry Road site. Passenger numbers on journeys between the city centre and the car parks are still one-third below pre-pandemic figures. 🚛 [Swale has the most number of missed bin collections in Kent](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kmtv/video/swale-named-worst-in-kent-for-missing-bin-collections-62743/?ref=kentcurrent.news), with Sevenoaks having the fewest. 🏫 Kent County Council has dropped its proposed reforms to special schools [after head teachers threatened legal action](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2025/04/07/kent-county-council-drops-special-school-reforms-after-legal-threat/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🛳️ The Port of Dover has completed a [£6m upgrade that allows larger cruise ships to dock](https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/port-dover-cruise-ships-b2729305.html?ref=kentcurrent.news) at the terminal. The port already has more than 20 cruise ships call each year, and the new plans allow the largest vessels to visit Kent. 🪖 Secret wartime tunnels in Folkestone could be opened to the public after a new owner [plans to turn the complex into a heritage centre](https://www.kentlive.news/whats-on/whats-on-news/secret-bunker-kent-used-relay-10083607?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🥦 A farm shop in Romney Marsh has [installed vending machines to allow them to sell produce](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgqle8y876o?ref=kentcurrent.news) out of hours. If you’re in the area, you can obtain meat, vegetables, fresh milk, and more in a marvel of modern technology. 🎥 [The latest season of Black Mirror features an episode filmed in Kent](https://cenemagazine.co.uk/news/dystopian-series-black-mirror-shoots-in-kent-for-series-7?ref=kentcurrent.news). Episode five, ‘Eulogy’, includes filming around Whitstable and Herne Bay. The episode (and the rest of season 7) releases on Netflix tomorrow (Thu 10 Apr). ⚽ [Whitstable Town FC are heading to Wembley after reaching the final of the FA Vase](https://www.whitstabletownfc.club/news/whitstable-reach-wembley-final-2911197.html?ref=kentcurrent.news). The trophy allows lower-level non-league teams to reach a tournament final. 🚌 Stagecoach is offering free tickets to the first 5,000 passengers using their app. [Full details are available on their website](https://www.stagecoachbus.com/promos-and-offers/south-east/5000-free-bus-rides?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🚗 An anti-Elon Musk and Tesla billboard [has been erected in Broadstairs](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/residents-horrified-as-elon-musk-nazi-billboard-appears-322345/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 📰 The local news ecosystem in Kent has been chronically underserved for a long time, so we’re thrilled to see another new outlet entering the area. Former KM journalist Rhys Griffiths is launching the [***Folkestone Dispatch***](https://folkestonedispatch.substack.com/) to tell stories of the town. Definitely one to keep an eye on. --- #### More Currents For our first week, we published two completely different but (if we can say so ourselves) equally fascinating features. For our first big interview, [we sat down with legendary illustrator Ralph Steadman](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-dont-think-im-much-of-a-performer/) to talk about his recent career retrospective exhibition, his work with Hunter S Thompson, and lots more. [“I don't think I'm much of a performer"Ralph Steadman is a renowned cartoonist known for his collaborations with Hunter S Thompson. Having successfully exhibited his extensive collection of work at the Chatham Historic Dockyard last year, his INKling Exhibition is now touring the country. Steven caught up with Ralph and his daughter Sadie to talk about the exhibition, meeting Hunter S. Thompson, cats, and lots more.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f8d4a4c7f-19fc-4e7c-87d7-4ed0b87571a5_567x567-28.png)Kent CurrentSteven Keevil![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2ff87d000a-ba42-48f1-8f4e-b0b265e4d965_1456x762-webp.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-dont-think-im-much-of-a-performer/) Then we went [behind the scenes with United Kingdom Pro Wrestling](https://www.kentcurrent.news/an-interactive-pantomime/), Kent’s leading professional wrestling promotion. In. the process, we found out what goes into creating the storylines and big personalities that manage to engage young and old alike. [An interactive pantomimeKent based United Kingdom Pro Wrestling is the area's biggest professional wrestling promotion. What goes into creating the big personalities and stories that manage to engage young and old alike? We went along to a show to find out how it all works.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f8d4a4c7f-19fc-4e7c-87d7-4ed0b87571a5_567x567-29.png)Kent CurrentEd Jennings![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fc5301e2e-3fda-4d0c-aec7-d728b8e83023_2704x1521-jpeg.jpg)](https://www.kentcurrent.news/an-interactive-pantomime/) Coming up later this week and into next week, we have a series of interviews with each of the political groups at Kent County Council as we head toward elections in a few weeks. How are they preparing for the election, and what do they think of their chances? That series will kick off this Saturday when we talk to Roger Gough, the Conservative leader of Kent County Council. Our future interviews will be mainly exclusive to our paid supporters, so if you want to receive our future discussions with the big names of Kent, please consider [upgrading to support our work](#/portal/signup) if you haven’t already done so. [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup) --- #### Footnotes *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews) *and* [*BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* *If you enjoy the *Kent Current*, please share it with your friends, family, associates, and even your enemies. We have no meaningful marketing budget, so we rely on word of mouth from our readers to find new readers.* ### An interactive pantomime URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/an-interactive-pantomime/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:57:00.000Z A suburb of Rainham isn’t the sort of place you usually come to see large men beating each other up, but this is where I find myself on a chilly Sunday afternoon. Rows of chairs are laid out inside the Parkwood Community Centre, surrounding a wrestling ring that, at first glance, appears far too large for the room it’s sitting in. That’s because [United Kingdom Pro Wrestling](https://www.ukpwwrestling.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) (UKPW), the organisation behind today’s event, doesn’t do anything small. Owner Alex Gilbert quickly tells me that the ring they use is far bigger than most UK wrestling promotions. UKPW uses a 20ft by 20ft ring, the same size as global behemoth WWE. Alas, WWE doesn’t tend to rock up to community centres in Kent. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f2d849c14-cbf0-4f64-a2b6-cd532ec708cb_2610x1468-jpeg.jpg) Wrestler Alf Edwards lacing up his boots. Photo: Francesca Dorsa / Kent Current I’ve arrived at the venue around an hour before the show is due to kick off. As a result, I get to see wrestlers lacing up their boots, talking through their matches with each other, rehearsing promos for UKPW’s [YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/c/UKPWUnitedKingdomProWrestling?ref=kentcurrent.news) and [TV show on KMTV](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kmtv/category/kent-pro-wrestling/?ref=kentcurrent.news) that has aired for years. Alex tells me that promos are something that many wrestlers don’t enjoy doing, but it’s a necessary part of UKPW’s ongoing storylines. Most of the promos being recorded today are done in a couple of takes, even one that involves wrestler Max Gainz hoisting interviewer Clark Andrews over his shoulders for the entire segment. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f7bf8e29c-1805-431f-96c7-0550f1599579_2500x1406-jpeg.jpg) Wrestler Max Gainz records a promo with announcer Clark Andrews. Photo: Francesca Dorsa / Kent Current I ask Alex about the concept of ‘kayfabe’, a wrestling term for not giving away that the shows are staged and planned out in advance. Unlike other promoters, Alex says he is almost “too relaxed” about revealing how it all works. Gone are the days of the 1980s when people believed professional wrestling was real. The shows now operate in a more open environment: Most fans know what they see is scripted entertainment, but they are still here for the drama and excitement. Alex likens wrestling to an interactive pantomime. "You only get that at Christmas. We can do this through the year." ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fa2f75a85-ebca-4298-a02d-bfbaae2d8900_2500x1406-jpeg.jpg) Wrestlers Prince Dean and Max Gainz. Photo: Francesca Dorsa / Kent Current Parkwood Community Centre is the smallest venue UKPW uses, with a capacity of around 100\. But the shows here have built up a strong following here, and shortly after the doors open, more chairs are being laid out to accommodate the arriving fans. Alex is proud of UKPW’s local connections. He grew up nearby and points out how many of his family still live in the area. He’s proud to be putting on regular shows in an area without many other events. Rainham is joined by Canterbury, Sevenoaks, and Falconwood in southeast London as regular locations on the UKPW circuit. Running a wrestling promotion wasn’t Alex’s original plan. He started as a wrestler himself, playing a dastardly banker character called Dow Jones, within the promotion since 2008\. When the covid pandemic hit, UKPW looked likely to shut down until Alex stepped up to take on the company. "It's a very, very different world," he says, but one he finds rewarding. He now runs the promotion with his cousin Jack, who also performs as a super intelligent wrestler named Fentos, who is on the show today. As the event begins, Alex is acting as coach, booker, and spends most of the show up a ladder as camerman. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fa8ec2f91-fbab-4cc2-bae0-eb153b5f8856_2500x1406-jpeg.jpg) Alf Edwards takes on Judas Sexton. Photo: Francesca Dorsa / Kent Current The show begins with a match that pits Judas Sexton, a gruff biker-themed villain, against Alf Edwards, a powerhouse known as a "suplex merchant." It’s a hard-hitting encounter, with open-hand slaps and stiff-sounding kicks that echo across the hall. Sexton delights in antagonising the audience, barking back at hecklers and smirking through their boos. Edwards eventually picks up the win after a back-and-forth contest. As I stand at ringside, my Apple Watch vibrates to alert me that the decibel level is loud enough to be a risk to my hearing. In the second bout, Sexton returns, accompanying Razor, a brawler who faces The Nail, the local favourite on the card. The Nail, from Medway, plays a heavy metal-inspired character, stomping to the ring to pounding guitars. Razor steals the win by count-out after Sexton gets involved again, drawing more heat from the crowd. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f53091538-451d-4369-beba-6647c13707d6_2500x1406-jpeg.jpg) The Nail gets counted out. Photo: Francesca Dorsa / Kent Current After the match, Sexton and Razor drag The Nail back into the ring and beat him down, leading to a save from match one winner Alf Edwards. Inevitably, after some harsh words and threats are exchanged, it is agreed that all four will face off in a tag-team match in the main event. For Alex, this part of the show's structure matters as much as the performances. "When you're building a show, we do this thing, we call it a gee-up," he explains. "So, match one and match two is to gee-up the main event. So people have left happy, but to get the happy feeling, we have to do the beginning bit where the bad guys are winning.” The third match brings some levity. Max Gainz, a self-styled gym rat, faces flamboyant tag team champion Prince Dean. Dean enters the venue with bubbles shooting from his belt and a pair of tights that read, "Wrestle gods be with me." ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fc5301e2e-3fda-4d0c-aec7-d728b8e83023_2704x1521-jpeg-2.jpg) Prince Dean and Max Gainz. Photo: Francesca Dorsa / Kent Current Dean is clearly a fan favourite, or ‘face’ in wrestling parlance. Alex says his popularity is a testament to the hard work they have put in with the character, taking him on a year-long story to win his first title. Today's match is athletic, with Dean taking to the top rope multiple times. When Dean eventually wins, the younger members of the audience, in particular, seem delighted. The fourth match of the show features Fentos, Alex’s cousin and co-runner of the company, facing fan-favourite Smashing Mike. More lightness is on the agenda, with the Fentos challenging Mike to a push-up contest that he quickly loses. Once the match itself gets underway, Mike emerges victorious, while Fentos continues his winless streak at Parkwood, though he seems to take things in his stride. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fc0cbbfad-cb20-4ba2-b01e-39e88898e91a_2500x1406-jpeg.jpg) Smashing Mike and Fentos. Photo: Francesca Dorsa / Kent Current Between matches, there’s a relaxed atmosphere in the room. Fans and wrestlers mingle, the audience consumes a mixture of beer, soft drinks, and cups of tea, while children browse the overflowing boxes of wrestling action figures that the promotion has for sale on the merch table. Finally, it is time for the tag team main event clash featuring Alf Edwards and The Nail against Judas Sexton and Razor. It is a rematch of sorts and plays directly into the story beats established earlier in the night. As Sexton enters for the third time during the show, he carries himself so obnoxiously that audience members seem genuinely infuriated by him. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fa7e21f5c-1c86-4d7c-a200-88702c494d7b_2500x1406-jpeg.jpg) Judas Sexton and an animated crowd. Photo: Francesca Dorsa / Kent Current The villains attempt more underhanded tactics, but after a period where it feels like all hope is lost for the good guys winning, a hot tag leads to Edwards and The Nail gaining momentum. They ultimately triumph, bringing the evening to a satisfying conclusion and sending the fans home happy. For Alex, crafting this kind of emotional arc is central to what UKPW offers. "This is where I think wrestling is so good because in life, we can't control what happens, but we can here," he says. "Who doesn't want to see someone get their just desserts? Who doesn't want to see the good guys triumph?" ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fef8344fe-c18c-4125-b608-d62fb176f114_2500x1406-jpeg.jpg) Fans watching UKPW. Photo: Francesca Dorsa / Kent Current As fans exit the venue, many linger to buy merchandise or snap selfies with the wrestlers. Children rush to high-five their favourites and some chat about attending the next show. Alex is proud of the buzz that his events can create. "It's very satisfying talking people into a building, they get their experience, and then hopefully, a lot of people are going to leave today going, ‘Do you know what? I'd love to see that again.’". ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2ff9579537-18c1-49c6-88f7-21137ae04214_2500x1406-jpeg.jpg) Wrestler Fentos meets fans after the show. Photo: Francesca Dorsa / Kent Current From the attendees in Parkwood, UKPW draws a varied crowd. "You do get some people that get really into it, and you get a real mix," Alex notes. "I think it's quite a, not diverse necessarily, but it's a unique background with lots of people, different incomes.” What’s definitely notable is the wide range of ages in the crowd, with young children attending their first show right up to people in their seventies. That accessibility is part of what makes wrestling compelling, he says. "In theory, a five-year-old can understand good and bad. A 75-year-old can also understand the good and bad. And then, depending on the characters you sprinkle along, it's a soap opera with action, with a story and that live feeling." ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f9e756dc3-2539-413b-b8eb-8d2ecf5f924b_2500x1406-jpeg.jpg) UKPW owner and promoter Alex Gilbert. Photo: Francesca Dorsa / Kent Current UKPW is a rare kind of entertainment for families in Kent: Intimate, affordable, and engaging. "It's £120 for a WWE ticket," Alex says. "That's before you've gone to London, and you're sitting in the gods. But for about a tenner, you can be front row and high-five one of my wrestlers. I think it's great, and it's family entertainment." *UKPW will have multiple shows in Kent in the coming months:* *\- Bounce & Brawl at Soar Trampolining Park, Gillingham, 20 Apr* *\- Grapple in the Garden at Reuthe’s Lost Gardens, Sevenoaks, 21 Apr* *\- Break Stuff! at Chatham Historic Dockyard, Chatham, 31 May* *\- Canterbury Rampage at Westgate Hall, Canterbury, 1 Jun* *You can find more details about the above events and book tickets via the* [*UKPW website*](https://www.ukpwwrestling.co.uk/see-us-in-action?ref=kentcurrent.news)*.* ### “I don't think I'm much of a performer" URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/i-dont-think-im-much-of-a-performer/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:57:02.000Z [*Ralph Steadman*](https://www.ralphsteadman.com/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *is a renowned political cartoonist known for his collaborations with Hunter S Thompson. Having successfully exhibited his extensive collection of work at the Chatham Historic Dockyard last year, his* [*INKling Exhibition*](https://www.ralphsteadman.com/home/inkling-exhibition/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *is now touring the country. Steven caught up with Ralph and his daughter Sadie Williams, Managing Director of the Ralph Steadman Art Collection, where they talked about Ralph’s national service, meeting Hunter S. Thompson, cats, and lots more.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2ff87d000a-ba42-48f1-8f4e-b0b265e4d965_1456x762-webp-2.jpg) Ralph Steadman. Photo: [Rikard Österlund](https://www.rikard.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news). **Ralph:** Anyway, what are we talking about? **I've got some questions for you. I’m just getting myself set up.** **What is the INKling exhibition?** **Sadie:** Should I talk about that? **Ralph:** That's clever, yeah. You talk about it. **Sadie**: Basically, it was originally designed for Chatham Historic Dockyard, which is quite a big gallery. It's four different sides of dad's career. You've got literary artworks. He's illustrated lots of literary classics in his time, like Alice in Wonderland, Treasure Islands, Fahrenheit 451 and Animal Farm. I wanted to showcase those because they're so beautiful, because when they're in the books, they're quite small, but the actual originals, they're really big, they're A1\. It's a different experience. I really want people to have that, and then I've always wanted people to see more of his children's artworks. There's an entire wall of children's book illustrations which go back to 1963 with Fly Away Peter through to 2023 when he did the Ralphabet. I think it works as a mini retrospective because you can really see the change in the penmanship, and when you hit the 1980s, you see how things changed a bit in the 70s. Then you've got the Gonzovation works, the collaboration with Ceri Levy, which started in 2010 and now numbers over 300 original drawings in the entire collection. They're just so beautiful. They're all A1s and about conservation, endangered and extinct birds and animals, but they're so colourful and exuberant that they're just a lovely selection to show. And then you've got the Gonzo and [Hunter ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter%5FS.%5FThompson?ref=kentcurrent.news)[*(S Thompson)*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter%5FS.%5FThompson?ref=kentcurrent.news) wall because I knew people would want to see those pieces. I think there's seven portraits of Hunter. The exhibition space in Pinner is quite a lot smaller. We did have to make a few edits, but I wanted to put as much art on the walls as possible. It's quite an assault when you go in, it's like, ‘wow,’ but it's really cool. I'm really pleased with how it looks. They've done an absolutely fantastic job presenting it all. Then, around the back is the wow moment: There's a replica of dad's drawing desk, with all the old ink bottles. I was collecting ink bottles and old pens for months to make sure we had enough that I could dress. It's to size, that’s quite nice. You can have a picture by it. That's the selfie spot. **Ralph:** You’ve done far better than I would at explaining it. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f8b85ba04-2d63-4812-9f31-f82338def392_1504x1074-jpeg.jpg) Wool and Water from Alice Through the Looking Glass by Ralph Steadman. **I read this is your first exhibition in a decade. Why have you decided to do one now?** **Sadie:** In the UK, yeah. **Ralph:** Me? I didn't have any choice. **Sadie:** We were asked to do it. The Dockyard had the support to help us to put this together. It's such a lot of work to put an exhibition together that I obviously thought, let's see if we can find some other venues. Then a friend of Ceri Levy’s got in touch because he's the curator at the [Heath Robinson Museum](https://www.heathrobinsonmuseum.org/?ref=kentcurrent.news), and he wants an exhibition. We had this exhibition, and it could be free after September. It's just really nice to present it to new audiences, reformat it, freshen it up a bit, so we are hoping to tour it across the UK eventually. It's just finding more venues. **Do you enjoy the process of exhibition?** **Ralph:** It gets difficult when you're beyond a certain age. You can’t do much. There has been the odd unexpected meeting, and then that develops into a chat with people. That develops into a chatterbox, then you get a little more interested in what you're supposed to be doing without falling asleep on the sofa. **Is there anything when you were putting the exhibition together that you'd forgotten about that it was nice to see again?** **Ralph:** There was lots I had forgotten about. I wonder how did I come to do that? I get so enthused by doing it. Parts of me are sad that I miss doing things. It's happened to lots of artists the same way, I think. They all start off full of ambition to do this, that, and God knows what else. As I say, I started to sing as I tackled the thing that couldn't be done, and I did it. That's how I think of the things these days. Luckily Sadie's here with her enthusiasm for doing something. Going to East Ham is kind of an odd place to go. It’s quite a tough place. I mean, it's not very hard if we end up here in Kent in a large house. **Was there a particular part of the exhibition that you enjoyed seeing again?** **Ralph:** Gonzovation, I think. It's interesting. There are quite a few things early in life you forget. I mean, I did a [Percy V. Bradshaw](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy%5FBradshaw?ref=kentcurrent.news) Press Art School course once. **Sadie:** It was the first thing you did after your national service. **Ralph:** I thought it was the other way around. **Sadie:** You went to London and enrolled in East Ham Tech College. **Ralph:** Yes, that's right. Going to East Ham is kind of an odd place to go. It’s quite a tough place. I mean, it's not very hard if we end up here in Kent in a large house. **Do you remember what brought you to Kent?** **Ralph:** We got through the post from an estate agent. Saying there is this place down in Kent, are you interested? We have never thought about it. **Where would you have been living at the time?** **Ralph:** New King's Road, London. This place came through the post. Apparently, there's now a thing on the wall that says I lived at that place. **Sadie:** Apparently, it’s not real, though. A fan has put it up. **Ralph:** Oh dear. Does that mean it's been taken down again? **Sadie:** No, I think it's still there, but it's not an official plaque. It's a [guerilla, stealth one](https://openplaques.org/plaques/54695?ref=kentcurrent.news), I think. Yes, it is strange that. I did radar operating, which is a way of learning how to watch television really. That's what I sort of did in the end, and it served me well. I know how to watch television. **Ralph:** What do you do? What are you doing most of the time? **We run a local news website predominantly based in Medway. We're not trained journalists, we're just two residents who felt we could provide independent news to a good standard. I started doing these long sit-down interviews, and now we have started covering Kent.** **Ralph:** Wow. Oh, well, that's good. What would you call yourself then, as a person doing this? **I call myself the Chief Conversationalist.** **Ralph:** *(laughs)* The chatterbox. I see. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f9a61e0a5-6de1-4d9d-8580-0070169475c2_948x1266-jpeg.jpg) One of Ralph Steadman’s Gonzovation pieces. **Gonzofication, what is that?** **Sadie:** Gonzovation. **Ralph:** *(laughs)* Gonzofication, it could have been called that. Gonzovation was Hunter’s idea, “Ralph!” **Sadie:** It's a thing that has been developed. It's about being able to engage people with the issue of conservation but using humour more as a way in and art because it's such a big concern, isn't it? But if you can get people laughing about something, everybody knows that we're all absolute bastards. We're all terrible people, really. We're wrecking this planet. **Ralph:** Who's terrible? **Sadie:** We all are. All of us are terrible. We're wrecking this planet. We're told constantly how dreadful we all are. If you can engage people with humour and then talk about the issues, it's a much more sympathetic approach. **Ralph:** It's Gonzo's way of doing things. Like Hunter, the funny thing is, my name is Ralph, he used to like barking it, “Ralph!” He said to me, “I’d feel real trapped in this life, Ralph if I didn't know I could commit suicide any moment.” Which he did, of course. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fdc9cac48-11af-4617-a1ee-600a1f61dbb4_1398x994-jpeg.jpg) Hunter S Thompson by Ralph Steadman. **Do you remember when you first met Hunter?** **Ralph:** I was asked to go to the Kentucky Derby and meet an ex-Hells Angel who'd just shaved his head. So that's what I did. I met him *(Hunter)* there, and then we had to go and sit and get to know each other, chat about something or other we were doing. I was in a better condition then, I think. Ambitious. It was interesting to meet, of all people in America, an ex-Hells Angel. I think he'd only joined because he was curious. He joined them as a reporter, really. And that's quite an interesting thing. **Sadie**: You can only leave if they basically beat you within an inch of your life. They basically beat him up, and then he was allowed to leave. **Ralph:** Not very pleasant, but there we go. Interesting. Part of his life is a kind of a fairy tale. Living in Aspen, Colorado is quite an interesting area to live in a place called Owl Farm. It's an interesting sort of combination of bits and bobs, and he was in the American Air Force. I was in the RAF. **Sadie:** Both doing the national service at about the same time, either side of the Atlantic, which I do find an interesting parallel. **Ralph:** Yes, it is strange that. I did radar operating, which is a way of learning how to watch television really. That's what I sort of did in the end, and it served me well. I know how to watch television. **One of my favourites of your work is the book ‘**[**Jones of Colorado**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1063733.Jones%5FOf%5FColorado?ref=kentcurrent.news)**.’** **Sadie:** Hunter’s cat. **Ralph:** I’d forgotten about it. **It’s not the only book you've done about cats. What is it about cats that you like drawing?** **Ralph:** Their independence, I think, and they always come in and live just as they like, rent-free. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f39d8fabe-e4c7-49cb-a194-682cf162b37c_1276x898-jpeg.jpg) No Room To Swing A Cat by Ralph Steadman. **Something else you mentioned was the Ralphabet.** **Sadie:** That was a recent thing that we did because you'd never done one. I just said one day, why don't you start an alphabet? Then it was Ollie, your grandson, who said, oh, a Ralphabet, and that's what it became. We've turned it into a card game, and you can [buy it online](https://www.ralphsteadmanshop.com/products/the-ralphabet-card-game?ref=kentcurrent.news). **Ralph:** *(laughs)* And if you send it, I’ll sign it for you. **I've got some background questions for you. Where were you born?** **Ralph:** As far as I know, in Wallasey. I was born on the 15th of May 1936\. It's a long time to hang about, really. **Were you doing art when you were young?** **Ralph:** I don’t think I did. **Sadie:** You did like to build model aeroplanes? **Ralph:** Oh yes, I used to like model aeroplanes and things,. Then I got very interested in building them, making things like that. We used to get a magazine called the Aeromodeller. I don't know whether it's still done now. It was interesting to do things. I think the one thing that was good about then was that things weren't so electronic if you know what I mean. Everything was about real things, and that was quite interesting. Even when my father built me a model railway upstairs in the attic. I could go underneath, get up in the middle of it and have Hornbys going round and round. I've still got one of the trains. It still works, made out of cast iron. If they haven't gone rusty, then they're still OK. What a different time, because now we live in a fanciful world of God knows what really. It's unreal. It's a shame. **Do you play any musical instruments?** **Ralph:** I used to. I don't think I can do it. I used to play guitar. I learned with [Allan Hodgkins](https://gypsyjazzuk.wordpress.com/36-2/allan-hodgkiss-hodgkins/?ref=kentcurrent.news). Allan used to play with [Django Reinhardt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Django%5FReinhardt?ref=kentcurrent.news). That was quite something. **Did you ever perform?** **Ralph:** I think I started to try doing something like that, but it didn't go on too long. I don't think I'm much of a performer. **Sadie:** That's not true at all. **Ralph:** Why? **Sadie:** Well, you've sung in the [Rogue’s Gallery](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/jul/26/popandrock.folk?ref=kentcurrent.news) at Barbican for [Hal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hal%5FWillner?ref=kentcurrent.news), and you've been in various television things. I think you are quite a performer. I've just found on an old VHS that I had to digitalise your Hanging Garden Centres of Kent film. **Ralph:** Good lord. **Sadie:** Which I really must want to sit down and watch. That was in the 90s. TVS were commissioning short films from various local celebrities or people from the art community and one of them was you, and we spent a week filming the Hanging Garden Centres of Kent. I remember it, and I was always taking pictures at the time. I was always behind the camera, and I found a film the other day. **Ralph:** Wow, there we are. **When you've digitalised that, would that be anything you'd ever put online? Or is that purely personal?** **Sadie:** I think there's copyright issues. I did put a two-minute segment up on our socials. We did actually put a little edited bit of the opening up. But I think there are copyright issues. That's the trouble. I've got all of dad's videotapes digitalised, and I've got them all on a hard drive. But we're not allowed to show it. **Ralph:** Oh, rubbish. I’m sure there’s a way. **It doesn't sound very Gonzo.** **Ralph:** *(laughs)* **What was your official occupation?** **Ralph:** ‘Hang about’. Well, I was a cartoonist for a while. I worked for the Sunday Times. Who else did I work for? **Sadie:** You did work for the Independent for quite a while. **Ralph:** Oh yes, I did. **Sadie:** You told me when I was younger, or I used to hear you say on interviews, you decided one day never to expect a paycheque. If you just expect a paycheque, then you're safe. You're never going to really push yourself to be the thing you want to be. Which is a kind of independent spirit, really. **Ralph:** I quite liked two guys, Ken Lewis and James Pickard, they were the artists in Kemsley Newspapers. I worked there for quite a while and used to go in daily. It was so different. Everything was different. Because we didn't have phones. I don't have one now. **Sadie:** Well, we tried to get you one and you just never had it charged. The first mobile phone you ever had, you got so frustrated with it you put an pick through it. It became a sculpture called ‘[Immobile](https://www.instagram.com/steadmanart/p/C1Y6WBUOtYY/?ref=kentcurrent.news).’ **Ralph:** Where's that now? **Sadie:** It's in the cellar. **Ralph:** We could get it up and display it. **Who is the most famous person you're one degree of separation from?** **Ralph:** Johnny Depp. Tim Robbins, another one. And Walt Disney. **Have you ever been a member of a political party?** **Ralph:** No, I don't think I wanted to be, actually. I was much more interested in following them and drawing them. I didn't really belong to any political party. The idea of being a fan of Farage or someone would be absolutely bloody awful. The worst president must be Trump, the filthiest son of a bitch that ever walked God's earth. There's no such thing as God. **Who has been the best Prime Minister of your lifetime?** **Ralph:** Wilson, I think. **Sadie:** What about in America? You liked Jimmy Carter. **Ralph:** Jimmy Carter, he was a friend of mine. **Sadie:** We got Christmas cards. **Ralph:** Yeah, that's lovely. Him and Rosalynn, they both passed in the last couple of years. He got to 100\. He played president once. He was a completely unselfish man. Perhaps that's not the right kind of character for a president. The worst president must be Trump, the filthiest son of a bitch that ever walked God's earth. There's no such thing as God. That meeting with him and Zelenskyy. Treated him terribly. **What do you think Hunter would make of what's happening now?** **Ralph:** I think he'd be a little shocked by it all. He was quite an honest person. I didn't find him in any way unpleasant or devious. He was so straightforward about it, you know. I think he was an honourable kind of man. He was upset about his country getting into the hands of different two-faced people and Nixon. **If someone's reading this and they wanted to see more of your work, what book of yours would you recommend?** **Sadie:** Depends on if they want a specific thing or an anthology. If they want a retrospective, then ‘[A Life in Ink](https://www.ralphsteadman.com/news/a-life-in-ink/?ref=kentcurrent.news).’ **What advice would you have for a young person looking to become an illustrator or cartoonist today?** **Ralph:** Well, learn how to draw. Really do try and go for it and don't get so consumed by the phone, but to actually get hold of a pen and or pencil and draw and try drawing directly in ink on paper and draw something. Make mistakes as you do it, not try to avoid doing mistakes. You can't help it. There's nothing to be ashamed of. You're just earnestly trying to sense the way drawing in ink on paper is interesting and tactile. I think it's better to get to touch the paper with proper ink and a pen and try different pens and sensations that come with them. That's the point. It must sense its physicality. That's the most important part of it, really. --- #### Footnotes *This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.* [*You can read our previous interviews here*](https://www.kentcurrent.news/t/interviews)*.* *If you want to suggest ideas or send tips for people to interview, email* [*Steven*](mailto:steven@kentcurrent.news)*.* ### Kent County Council prepares for its final election URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/kent-county-council-prepares-for/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:57:03.000Z *Welcome to the very first edition of the *Kent Current*. Local news is important, but recent years have seen it in retreat, with cuts to local newsrooms, the drive to digital, and a broken advertising model pushing outlets to publish more and more content that somehow has less and less value.* *We believe there is room for more thoughtful journalism that is accessible without having to navigate around a wall of annoying adverts to read it.* *If this is your first time reading one of our publications, thank you for taking a chance on us! We’ve been publishing a local news title for the Medway Towns called* [***Local Authority***](https://www.localauthority.news/?ref=kentcurrent.news) *(it seemed like a good name at the time) for nearly four years, and we’re thrilled to launch our second title looking across our county.* *To start with, we’ll be publishing roughly three editions each week. They won’t all be the same. Some will be (like this one below) a news briefing, some will be long-read features, some will be interviews with the county’s significant figures, and some will look at arts and culture across Kent.* *Our model relies on enough readers paying to support our work, so if you believe local journalism is important and think it can be done differently, we’d ask that you consider* [*becoming one of our supporters*](#/portal/signup)*. If you pledged to support our work when you signed up, we’ll be switching on payments today. Thank you so much for your support.* *We also know this is a new venture, so we completely understand if you’d rather just read our free editions for a while to understand what we’re doing here. We’re happy to have you on board.* *If you’d like to reach out to us about a story you think we should be covering or just to say hi, you can reach us by email via *hello AT kentcurrent DOT news*. We’re always happy to speak off the record in the first instance.* *Let’s get to the first edition, where we look at Kent’s upcoming local elections, the return of Operation Brock on the M20, some of Kent’s April Fools, our news in brief roundup, and more.* *Thanks again for being here.* *Ed Jennings* *Editor, the *Kent Current** --- #### In one month, Kent elects its final county council Politics is often said to be cyclical. One party is in charge for a while, people get tired of them, another party takes over until people get tired of them too, and the first party takes control again. It’s a pattern seen everywhere, from national politics to local councils. Kent seems oddly immune to the national mood and natural swings, though. Other than an odd four years between 1993 and 1997, the Conservatives have held overall control of the county. They held it through the governments of Wilson, Callaghan, Thatcher, Blair, Brown, Cameron, and the regular rotation of Prime Ministers that followed. Making a point to buck the national trend, control was only lost during the years of Major before the Tories swept back into control of Kent at the same time as Tony Blair walked into Downing Street. Their grip on power is such that opposition parties rarely make it out of single figures within the 81-seat chamber. In the most recent 2021 local elections, the party lost five seats but still held 62, over three-quarters of the representation in the county. Kent will go to the polls in one month to elect a new county council. Could this be the election where the dominance of the Conservatives finally buckles? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fa86b79df-fc0a-421a-932b-56e4f4afeda7_2500x1406-jpeg-1.jpg) In recent weeks, we’ve spoken to several politicians and followers of Kent politics, and the conclusion is that no one seems to have any idea what will happen. There is at least some consensus: The Conservatives are in trouble. Seemingly seeing the writing on the wall, scores of their existing councillors have chosen not to stand again rather than fight and risk losing. In contrast, others have jumped ship to Reform, to sit as independents, or in one case, to join the Heritage Party. Quite how bad things are for the party won’t be clear for a month. The last time the party faced a serious insurgency was in 2013, when they lost 27 seats on the council, mainly to UKIP, who became the official opposition. However, the Tories still managed to cling on to a small majority. UKIP, being UKIP, tore itself apart in the following years, allowing the Conservatives to reclaim 23 seats in the 2017 election. So if there is a challenge to the Conservatives, where will it come from, and will it be strong enough to actually put them at risk of losing the council? And if so, who will be the main beneficiaries? Given the past events above and the national mood, Reform would seem to be the best placed to make sweeping gains, but is it as straightforward as that? The party currently has only two seats on KCC, winning its first last year and welcoming a defector from the Conservatives more recently. Another attempted to make the same move but has yet to pass Reform’s vetting processes. Internally, the party seem bullish about their chances. [KentOnline recently reported a poll by Electoral Calculus](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/poll-predicts-reform-uk-will-win-county-council-election-321848/?ref=kentcurrent.news) that would see Reform take control of the council. Party leader Nigel Farage held a rally of 900 activists in Kent on Friday and [visited Hythe, where a man called him a ‘twat.’](https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/nigel-farage-predicts-reform-uk-10070676?ref=kentcurrent.news) Farage said he was optimistic about the party’s chances in the county's coastal areas. Questions still remain about the party's professionalism in terms of candidate selection and electioneering. This week, a Reform candidate in Birchington [found themselves in hot water after posting on social media](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2025/03/31/labour-county-council-candidate-in-spat-with-reform-opponent-over-facebook-post/?ref=kentcurrent.news) about wanting to move to London and how Hertfordshire has ‘more opportunities and is better than Kent.’ Officially, the Lib Dems are currently the second largest party on Kent County Council, even though their number only consists of six. Like Reform, they also seem bullish about their chances to take seats from the Conservatives, particularly in the traditional Tory heartlands of Kent around Tunbridge Wells, as well as in Maidstone and around Canterbury. Unlike some of the more optimistic Reform activists, the Lib Dems are under no illusion that they can sweep to power in Kent with an overall majority. Still, they expect to take 15 to 20 seats, putting them in a prime position for forming a progressive coalition should the numbers add up. Elsewhere, Labour is confident that its group will reach double figures, though seeing where many opportunities exist for them to win is quite challenging. The party is likely to be bogged down fighting for the same kinds of seats that Reform is targeting, and it’s too early to know which way such a battle might go. Also aiming for double figures are the Greens, who currently hold five seats and have a grouping of six, with Mike Baldock of the Swale Independents, who they have chosen to stand against in this election. The party sees chances to make gains around Maidstone, where they hold the district council, and other parts of the county. There will be independents on ballots too, and in a world where distrust of mainstream parties is higher than ever, they may be able to pick up some wins. Existing independents Mike Baldock and Mike Whiting in Swale will be looking to hold their seats, as will former Labour councillor Barry Lewis, who was [kicked out of the party last year](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/labour-dumps-councillor-over-concerning-remarks-and-electi-316241/?ref=kentcurrent.news). Inevitably, not all parties will be able to do as well as they hope. But if each party makes gains, and the Conservatives, as expected, hold on to a core of their seats, Kent could end up with up to five parties with notable numbers of councillors. It’s difficult to see any stable coalition being negotiated from that, particularly as other parties will unlikely be particularly inclined to work with either the Conservatives or Reform. This will make the next few years of Kent politics fascinating because of the elephant looming over the chamber. This is likely to be the final set of Kent County Council elections, with the government planning to have local government reorganisation completed by 2028, which would see the 135-year-old Kent County Council abolished and replaced with three or four unitary councils across the county. Following that process, Kent is also likely to receive devolved powers and an elected mayor, something they were aiming for next year but that the government rejected earlier this year. It will be quite a ride for the 81 councillors of Kent who need to steer the county through that process. *We’d love to hear from anyone with news of the upcoming elections. If you want to share some political gossip, what’s going on in your patch of Kent, or anything else, you can email us via *hello AT kentcurrent DOT news*.* --- #### Brock return a hint of things to come? Operation Brock will return to the M20 between Maidstone and Ashford tomorrow (Thu 3 Apr) in anticipation of additional traffic travelling to the Port of Dover. The process involves sectioning off part of the motorway to provide capacity for HGVs to queue on their way to the port. This is put in place to stop a build-up of traffic more locally around Dover and Folkestone, which inevitably causes issues. It comes at a time when the implementation of the system is being used on a regular basis in anticipation of bigger periods. The decision to implement Brock is down to the Kent and Medway Resilience Forum, a partnership of agencies including Kent County Council, National Highways, and Kent Police. KMRF Strategic Lead for border disruption, Simon Jones, said: > *“If Op Brock is not in use and there are delays at the Port of Dover, this has a knock-on effect on the surrounding roads – causing unjustified disruption to local communities.* > > *“This decision is not taken lightly and is informed by data which tells us we are very likely to see increased traffic heading to Europe.* > > *“As always, we will do everything we can to enable people to get where they want to be as safely and as quickly as possible. Until more permanent solutions are found to tackle disruption on Kent’s roads, Operation Brock is the only tool we have to keep traffic moving through the county.”* The system will be in place for a number of weeks and is only likely to be stood down following the Easter period. Ashford MP Sojan Joseph told KentLive that he was “extremely disappointed” by the news, adding that: > *"Looking at the available numbers between 2017 to 2019 – before Operation Brock was first deployed, there were more road users on the M20, and we didn’t need to resort to emergency measures. The Port of Dover and Channel Tunnel must try to operate as ‘business as usual’ over potentially busy periods to avoid disruptions like this.* If only someone could figure out what happened after 2019 that slowed down border crossings, causing a backlog of traffic. There is a concern that this could only be the tip of the iceberg, with the EU set to finally implement their [Entry/Exit System (EES)](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/eu-entryexit-system?ref=kentcurrent.news) in October. This will require all non-EU nationals entering the Schengen area to provide fingerprints and have their photo taken before crossing the border once every three years. This will inevitably cause further delays at both the Port of Dover and the Channel Tunnel, though each are installing additional infrastructure in an effort to minimise the delays. Whether or not it will be enough to stop further use of Operation Brock across the middle of the county remains to be seen. --- #### Kent’s April Fools Despite living in a world of misinformation, companies and organisations spend 1 April each year putting out elaborate April Fools posts. It’s a delicate balance to get right, as the prank needs to be believable enough but obviously enough of a joke to be recognised as such. 2025 proved no exceptions, with organisations across the county creating pranks on their social media channels, some more successfully than others. Some of the more notable ones from across Kent: - [Macknade Food Hall in Faversham said that they were rebranding as Mcnades](https://www.facebook.com/macknade/posts/pfbid0mgDkgVFMTEUvzzqJq5vFtAwR11JGdEcLZAhzkL7d8Qa3AuNhyNq7eBz4WqRkr2Y6l), while it appears that their recent installation of a row of Tesla chargers in their car park is serious and not part of an elaborate joke. - [Faversham Town Council announced the ‘Faversham Riviera’ project](https://www.facebook.com/favershamtowncouncil/posts/pfbid02rb3FZphRCwajFpJhb2nAKbu925hrzfCpQKdPXi8WqD5HRfEZmqz7CpNz2wnpJE1Dl), which included the creation of a beach outside of the Guildhall and the planting of palm trees in the town centre. - Leeds Castle went all out, putting together a [whole video on the archaeological discovery of a basilisk tooth on their grounds](https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1795633604614024). - The Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway Supporters’ Association [declared they were submitting a bid to run services through the Channel Tunnel](https://www.facebook.com/groups/2249353424/user/61556304479852/). - [Folkestone Harbour Arm declared they would add more arms to the end of the structure](https://www.facebook.com/FstoneHbourArm/posts/pfbid02SNVHKK3wSyx3Xygf7PdytVxAhmiTZqMUH1nGrb4k32GK7Q3et6GFn64rmudfastBl) to create the ‘Harbour Palm.’ - [Sittingbourne-based Cook, makers of frozen foods, revealed their new selection of frozen sandwiches](https://www.facebook.com/thecookkitchen/posts/pfbid02an16A2Bsgs7ivAZSP6GMoMYq6sfjqLdTA1kvWjevnTe2m6ByErriXdM6E8wT1uSHl). - [Kent Life in Maidstone announced they would build a miniature railway](https://www.facebook.com/KentLifeFamilyFun/posts/pfbid02Hp255z2V5TMaBFBUPr1L1fKRqWQ68kn155M7RNKLzDcxjU9oXJd2BVzioAxBUVR1l) to nearby Cobtree Park, which actually sounds great. We’ll let you decide for yourselves which of these are any good. --- #### In brief ⚡ [National Grid has applied for development consent to build an onshore converter station on Minster marshes](https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2025/03/27/national-grid-submits-development-consent-application-for-proposed-sea-link-project/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Thanet. The 90,000 square metre complex would connect to underwater electricity cables that connect Kent and East Anglia. At the same time, [campaigners against the scheme argue it would be a ‘death warrant’ for protected wildlife](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/renewable-energy-project-would-be-a-death-warrant-for-kent-322076/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🚜 [An 18-month operation led by the Environment Agency is underway to clear an illegal waste site near Ashford](https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/work-kent-environment-agency-sittingbourne-isle-of-sheppey-b2725507.html?ref=kentcurrent.news). More than 30,000 tons of household and construction waste was originally dumped in Hoad’s Wood in 2023. 🗣️ [Ashford Borough Council will hold an extraordinary planning committee tonight](https://ashford.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=139&MId=4906&ref=kentcurrent.news) (Wed 2 Apr) to debate an application for 1,000 new homes, a retail centre, a primary school, a community centre, and green spaces south of the town. The council cannot decide on the decision though, as they took too long, and the applicant has now appealed to the Planning Inspectorate, who will make the ultimate decision. 🗣️ Elsewhere, [Tunbridge Wells Borough Council will hold an ordinary planning committee tonight](https://democracy.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=377&MId=5753&ref=kentcurrent.news) (Wed 2 Apr) to decide on a 120-home development to the south of the town. The application includes 40% affordable housing and £2.2m in local infrastructure and services funding. Inevitably, 223 letters of objection have been received to the plans. 🛝 Two children’s centres - in Margate and Sheerness - were saved from closure by Kent County Council, [only to have their funding cut by 88%](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/it-s-a-kick-in-the-teeth-for-everyone-shock-over-extreme-322231/?ref=kentcurrent.news). 🏗️ [Work is set to start on the Sturry Link Road next year](https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/work-on-41m-link-road-to-finally-start-next-year-despite-ch-321939/?ref=kentcurrent.news). The £41m project will provide access to hundreds of new homes around Sturry and allow traffic to bypass the level crossing in the village. 🚌 [The rollout of electric buses on the Fastrack network between Dartford and Gravesend has been delayed](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdrglrm3zgzo?ref=kentcurrent.news). The route is now expected to be fully electrified by June. ☀️ [Residents in Tunbridge Wells are outraged about solar panels being installed on a nearby Sainsbury’s](https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/furious-neighbours-say-kent-sainsburys-10067499?ref=kentcurrent.news). They claim the panels will cause glare into their properties and diminish house prices on their street, where houses sell for up to £1.3m. 🚛 [Lorry drivers have rated Folkestone Services as the best in the country](https://motortransport.co.uk/operator-news/hauliers-demand-better-facilities-as-uks-worst-service-stations-exposed/25834.article?ref=kentcurrent.news), with the location scoring a rating of 62 out of 100. 🏖️ [Margate has been named the UK’s most desirable place to move to](https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/margate-kent-coastal-seaside-town-10071162?ref=kentcurrent.news) as if it’s 2015 all over again. Elsewhere, [Canterbury has been named the most picturesque place](https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/historic-kent-city-declared-most-10056549?ref=kentcurrent.news) in the UK. 🌲 [The Guardian has written about the centenary of Bedgebury National Pinetum](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/29/tree-zoo-endangered-conifers-living-legacy-kent-pinetums-centenary-bedgebury?ref=kentcurrent.news) and the important work that the ‘tree zoo’ carries out. In a lovely bit of nominative determinism, the piece's writer is Patrick Barkham. --- #### Coming Currents Coming up this weekend, we’ll be publishing our first long-read interview. We were delighted to sit down recently with legendary illustrator and Kent resident **Ralph Steadman** to talk about his recent INKling exhibition at Chatham Historic Dockyard, his life, his extensive work with gonzo journalist Hunter S Thompson, and much more. Our interviews will be mostly exclusive to our paid supporters, so if you want to receive our future discussions with the big names of Kent, please consider [upgrading to support our work](#/portal/signup) if you haven’t already. [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup) --- #### Footnotes *Follow us on social media! We’re on* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/kentcurrentnews) *and* [*BlueSky*](https://bsky.app/profile/kentcurrent.news?ref=kentcurrent.news) *for now.* *If you enjoy the *Kent Current*, please share it with your friends, family, associates, and even your enemies. We have no meaningful marketing budget, so we rely on word of mouth from our readers to find new readers.* ### The local journalism problem URL: https://www.kentcurrent.news/the-local-journalism-problem/ Last updated: 2025-11-25T11:57:06.000Z *The Kent Current will fully launch next week, but I wanted to write now to tell you a little about who we are, what we do, and why we think it matters.* **The problem** News is something that we all take for granted. It’s something that most of us accept has to exist, but in recent years, it has become increasingly difficult to make sustainable. Newspaper sales have collapsed, broadcast news has fragmented, and online news has faced a new problem: How to fund journalism in a world where everything can be accessed online for free. As a result, news websites, particularly local ones, have become largely unreadable, usually bombarding you with ads and intrusive pop-ups. That feels like something that would achieve the opposite of the desired effect: Do I want to bother navigating around a website where the experience is so aggressively unpleasant? When I set up *Local Authority* to cover the Medway Towns in 2021, it was effectively a pandemic side project born from frustration with the state of local news in Medway. Gone are the days of multiple newspapers and in-depth reporting on the issues that matter. The one newspaper that does remain is reduced to largely regurgitating press releases or surface-level reporting. Neither Kent-wide news website offers the kind of in-depth reporting we deserve, with one [looking to make further redundancies](https://pressgazette.co.uk/publishers/regional-newspapers/reach-ceo-jim-mullen-promise-job-cuts/?ref=kentcurrent.news) from what is already a barebones operation. None of this is to criticise the journalists working for these outlets. They are doing the best they can with the limited resources they have. The existing model is broken. I have been inspired by new outlets like [The Mill](https://manchestermill.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) in Manchester, which is charting its own course and delivering high-quality local journalism on the gamble that readers would be willing to pay for it. Since then, we have seen an explosion in such publications, from Jim Waterson’s excellent [London Centric](https://www.londoncentric.media/?ref=kentcurrent.news) and Michael MacLeod’s superb [Edinburgh Minute](https://edinburghminute.substack.com/) to great work being done by the Northamptonshire-focused [NN Journal](https://www.nnjournal.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news) and [The Ink](https://theinkswindon.substack.com/) over in Swindon. All are finding new ways to serve their communities, and if the work is good enough, it can find an audience that will make it sustainable. **What we do differently** Our weekly news briefings are freely available to all via email or on the web. They contain no ads and offer a clean reading experience, particularly in your inbox. This might seem counterproductive in a world where news websites are loading themselves with more and more junk. Still, we believe presenting readers with a better experience makes them more likely to engage with our journalism. The counterbalance to this is that we place some additional content behind a paywall. Our core news reporting is free, but those willing and able to support us can go a little deeper: They receive our interviews with prominent figures, our in-depth reports, our live coverage of things like council meetings, and more. Four years on, I’m delighted that the model appears to be working. Thousands of readers receive our Medway edition in their inboxes every week, and hundreds support it by becoming paid supporters. This allows us to investigate what matters and explore issues that others aren’t covering. We pride ourselves on a quality over quantity approach. While other local news providers might breathlessly report on a road being closed for a couple of hours or a new shop opening, we prefer to lean into the bigger issues. Over the past year or so in Medway, we have broken the news on [a councillor using anonymous social media accounts to push political points](https://www.localauthority.news/p/medway-council-cabinet-member-uses?ref=kentcurrent.news), [Medway Council seeking exceptional financial powers to survive the year](https://www.localauthority.news/p/medway-council-seeks-exceptional?ref=kentcurrent.news), [plans for a new pier in Rochester](https://www.localauthority.news/p/new-pier-for-rochester-might-be-on?ref=kentcurrent.news), [Medway receiving hundreds of thousands of pounds of ‘northern’ transport funding](https://www.localauthority.news/p/medways-network-north-bonanza?ref=kentcurrent.news), [postal votes failing to turn up](https://www.localauthority.news/p/postal-votes-fail-to-deliver?ref=kentcurrent.news), [Medway Council’s plans to sell 30 sites](https://www.localauthority.news/p/medway-council-to-sell-off-temple?ref=kentcurrent.news), [how Medway’s red route cameras aren’t catching anyone](https://www.localauthority.news/p/medways-red-route-cameras-arent-catching?ref=kentcurrent.news), [revealed an ongoing dispute between Medway Council and one of our most prominent charities](https://www.localauthority.news/p/gillingham-street-angels-accuse-medway?ref=kentcurrent.news), [a literature festival being challenged by an LGBT+ group](https://www.localauthority.news/p/lgbt-group-challenges-rochester-literature?ref=kentcurrent.news), and hundreds more stories. We’ve [put ourselves in the middle of Medway’s far-right protest](https://www.localauthority.news/p/medway-on-the-edge?ref=kentcurrent.news), [examined the ‘Down from London’ myth](https://www.localauthority.news/p/the-down-from-london-myth?ref=kentcurrent.news), [met a barber doing extraordinary things for men’s mental health](https://www.localauthority.news/p/no-ordinary-barber?ref=kentcurrent.news), [looked at how polluted the River Medway is](https://www.localauthority.news/p/how-polluted-is-the-river-medway?ref=kentcurrent.news), [figured out that crime is falling](https://www.localauthority.news/p/crime-is-falling-in-medway?ref=kentcurrent.news), [asked how a prominent building in Chatham has been allowed to slowly fall apart](https://www.localauthority.news/p/spembley-continues-to-loom-large?ref=kentcurrent.news), [talked to a theatre under threat from development](https://www.localauthority.news/p/chatham-theatre-faces-threat-from?ref=kentcurrent.news), and lots more. We’ve produced in-depth interviews with figures as diverse as [legendary Medway artist and musician Billy Childish](https://www.localauthority.news/p/i-dont-identify-really-as-billy-childish?ref=kentcurrent.news), [Gillingham and Rainham MP Naushabah Khan](https://www.localauthority.news/p/we-believe-we-can-turn-the-country?ref=kentcurrent.news), [atomic archaeologist Vicky Robinson](https://www.localauthority.news/p/everyone-is-inherently-radioactive?ref=kentcurrent.news), [Medway Hospital Hero Emily Brown](https://www.localauthority.news/p/i-tend-to-ignore-negativity-it-doesnt?ref=kentcurrent.news), [Chatham Historic Dockyard Chief Executive Richard Morseley](https://www.localauthority.news/p/it-had-not-only-a-local-impact-but?ref=kentcurrent.news), [legendary Medway band The Singing Loins](https://www.localauthority.news/p/its-a-beautiful-band-to-play-with?ref=kentcurrent.news), [Kent’s first Local Democracy Reporter Caitlin Webb](https://www.localauthority.news/p/thats-the-power-of-having-someone?ref=kentcurrent.news), and loads more. In the real world, we held [hustings for each of the three Medway constituencies ahead of the General Election](https://www.localauthority.news/p/hustings-hustle?ref=kentcurrent.news), with over 500 people coming to hear the candidates debate. A few months earlier, we held [Medway’s only debate for the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner election](https://www.localauthority.news/p/listen-kent-police-and-crime-commissioner?ref=kentcurrent.news), with all candidates participating. I realise this is all self-aggrandising, but we are proud of our accomplishments. In July, we were nominated for Kent News Website of the Year at the [Kent Press and Broadcast Awards](https://www.kpbawards.co.uk/?ref=kentcurrent.news), while I won ‘highly commended’ Kent Print & Online Journalist of the Year. In September, [we were mentioned in The I newspaper](https://inews.co.uk/news/business/how-substack-is-transforming-local-news-3266812?ref=kentcurrent.news) as one of the publications transforming local news. In October, [I got to speak at Goldsmiths, University of London](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/edtea%5Fspoke-at-goldsmiths-university-of-london-activity-7252964718888325120-dBwQ/?ref=kentcurrent.news), about our work. Recently, [we went on the journalism.co.uk podcast](https://www.journalism.co.uk/podcast/what-does-it-mean-to-serve-a-local-community-with-ed-jennings-and-steven-keevil/s399/a1216079/?ref=kentcurrent.news) to talk about the launch of the *Kent Current*. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f600bdb7a-ffe3-4cb8-897b-e8a29ff2b839_2000x1125-jpeg-1.jpg) **The future** After four years of developing our model in Medway, we are eager to expand it to cover the wider county of Kent. The *Kent Current* will follow the same structure as our Medway title. To start, we’ll be publishing two to three pieces each week, with a weekly news briefing at the core, as well as additional long-reads, interviews, as well as our art and culture editions. We are launching a time when Kent is going through a period of significant change. Kent County Council elections are coming up in May, where, to be frank, no one has much idea what is going to happen. The moves toward devolution and local government reorganisation are underway, reshaping our county's political geography. Eventually, this will likely lead to the abolition of Kent County Council and the introduction of an elected mayor with strategic power across the region. eventually leading to an elected mayor with strategic power across the county. We intend to follow and report on this process as it happens and be one of the media outlets holding that eventual leader to account. But it’s about so much more. Kent is full of fascinating people doing interesting things, and we want to tell their stories. We want to paint an honest picture of life in our county, with the good, bad, and everything in between. [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup) **The awkward bit** Given the model I set out above, you can probably guess where this is going. As exciting as all of this is for us, the cold, hard reality is that doing this kind of work is difficult. We are getting this project off the ground with very little resources. This means we have no meaningful marketing budget, nor is anyone working on this being paid very much for their efforts. We have big ambitions for this project, but the reality is that it might not last very long if people aren’t willing to support it. That’s why I’m asking you to [**consider pledging to become a paid supporter of the** ](#/portal/signup)[***Kent Current***](#/portal/signup). I know this is a big ask, and if you’d rather read our free editions for a while before deciding whether to support our work, that’s completely understandable. If you do decide to pledge, you won’t be charged until we begin publishing in earnest next week. [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup) If you’d like to receive our full reporting but can’t currently pay for it, just reply to this edition and let me know, and I’ll give you access for free, no questions asked. We don’t want to exclude anyone from our journalism if the only barrier is a lack of funds. If you’d like to help us in another way, please share the *Kent Current* anywhere there are Kent residents, like local Facebook or WhatsApp groups, or tell a friend directly about it. As mentioned above, we have no real marketing budget, so any help in getting the word out helps us so much. Thank you so much for reading if you’ve made it this far. We can’t wait to get started. Ed Jennings Editor, *Kent Current* *PS. We’re working on some big Kent stories for our early editions, but if you’ve got any news, tips, or gossip you think we should know about, you can reach us via *hello AT kentcurrent DOT news*. We’re always happy to speak off the record in the first instance.* ![About - Local Authority](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/81/4a81a2ea-fb28-4a6c-89c9-b54d120a45ef/content/images/2025/11/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fb2875df2-d2be-4077-9ba5-706dbf292445_1862x1040-png.jpg) Kent Current founders Ed Jennings and Steven Keevil at one of our live events.