One week to go

We look at the state of the campaign, the potential winners and losers, and the colourful characters standing in the county

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.

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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.

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 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’, and proposing setting up a voluntary ‘Home Guard’ 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 in North, who campaigned for a Labour government 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. In South, the party offers Kieran Mishchuk, who was elected to Swale Borough Council last year, aged 18. If you want to feel really old, he describes his political journey 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 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 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’ Blanford, standing for the Heritage Party, who went on about covid vaccines at a recent hustings before being called a racist. 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. 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.

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 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, 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 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.

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 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, 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, seemingly because it wasn’t far-right enough.

Andy Weatherhead is another candidate in the district with a Hope Not Hate entry. 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 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. He was elected as an independent in 2019 and immediately made a deal with the Conservatives and UKIP. He switched to Reform last year and has had to withdraw leaflets he published that included the KCC logo, a big electoral no-no. Wimble also publishes The Looker, 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 is a combination of praising Jesus and threatening to deport Frank Bruno. Maidstone South East features some colourful candidates, with Lawrence Rustem, once described as ‘the new face of the BNP’ 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 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. On Sheppey, regular GB News commentator and vaccine injury campaigner Maxwell Harrison will hope to win, while Mike Whiting will try to retain his seat as an independent after being suspended from the Conservatives 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 has an entire section dedicated to his dog, Tansy.

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 says her ‘psychic abilities have grown as the years have gone by.’ It also emerged last year 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 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 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.

Phew.

What’s happening in your district? Let us know confidentially via hello AT kentcurrent DOT news

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In brief

🌊 Southern Water has pled guilty to charges of unpermitted waste discharges around Thanet. 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. 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. 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, 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.

🚧 KentOnline has breathlessly reported that the Dartford Crossing will ‘close fully’ 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.

🏊 Canterbury City Council is recruiting lifeguards 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, launched this week with a look at the fight to keep live music venues in the town open.

🍷 The Kent wine industry has called for the return of Eurostar services to the county.

🐝 The first Asian hornet nest of the year has been found in Langley, near Maidstone.

🏪 A cycling shop and a nursery are set to open at Lockmeadow in Maidstone as the complex pivots away from entertainment offerings.

🚲 An inventor has tested his bicycle that works on water in the lake at Mote Park in Maidstone. He had to be rescued back to the bank, but says he will try again.

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More Current

Don’t forget to catch up with our recent culture briefing, 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.

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.

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Footnotes

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