The anthem, the loophole and the American subtitles
Plus missing KCC documents reappear, another Tunbridge Wells water failure, a £7m sewage fine and a fight over ancient woodland near Maidstone
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, 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. 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 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, 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 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 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 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 abandoned God Save the King altogether and instead displayed lyrics from The Star-Spangled Banner.
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.
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 hours before the legal deadline to provide them.
➡️ KCC leader Linden Kemkaran and her Reform cabinet spent the weekend at the 'deeply odd, deeply scary' CPAC GB conference.
🌹 Andy Burnham chose Gravesend as his first visit after becoming leader of the Labour Party last week.
🗳️ Helen Grant, the Conservative MP for Maidstone and Malling, will stand down 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.
💩 Southern Water has been fined £7m for illegally dumping sewage at Margate and Broadstairs.
🪵 Campaigners have vowed to fight on 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.
🏨 An empty shopping parade in Ashford is set to be demolished and replaced by a hotel.
🚗 Plans have been submitted for a £77m North Thanet Link Road.
🚌 Fastrack buses will have additional buses and increased frequency around Dartford, Ebbsfleet, and Gravesend.
🚶 The Guardian has gone on a nice walk from Canterbury to Dover.
🍻 Wetherspoon in Folkestone has reopened following a £550,000 refurb.
🏖️ The Metro had a lovely weekend in Folkestone.
🐻 Dartford has a new bear hunt.
🎈 Bluewater has a massive new inflatable obstacle course.
🎥 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. 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 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 will question the Police and Crime Commissioner on Tuesday.
- Folkestone & Hythe: Planning and Licensing Committee will meet on Tuesday to decide the fate of a solar farm in Lydd.
- Kent: Cabinet will meet to adopt a new DOLGE Strategy on Wednesday.
- Canterbury: Planning Committee 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 comes together on Wednesday to debate solar farms, the constitution, project funding, and more.
- Maidstone: Cabinet will discuss Lockmeadow improvements, council finances, catapults, and lots more on Wednesday.
- Swale: Council meets to discuss the Local Plan and community governance on Wednesday.
- Thanet: Cabinet will meet to discuss council finances, funding, and regeneration on Wednesday.
- Dartford: Cabinet will discuss public space protection orders, vehicles in Dartford town centre, funding, and more on Thursday.
- Tonbridge & Malling: Planning Committee will decide on 66 new homes in Wateringbury on Thursday.
New planning applications:
- Dover: Conversion of former Halifax in Deal into a banking hub.
- Thanet: Change of use of ferry arrival and departure lounge for use by Sea Cadets.
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.
Events this week
⛵ Until 24 Jul - Ramsgate Week // 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 // Selection of some of the playwright's most recognisable works. Various locations, Canterbury. Tickets £13.50 per play.
🎸 24 - 25 Jul - Blue Reef Festival // 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 // Parade, live performances, food, drink, and community stalls beside the sea. Leas Bandstand, Folkestone. Free.
🚣 Sat 25 Jul - Maidstone River Festival // Raft racing, visiting boats, live performances, market stalls, and fireworks. River Medway, Maidstone. Free.
🎸 Sat 25 Jul - OMD // Synth-pop legends joined by Thompson Twins' Tom Bailey and Peter Hook. Dreamland, Margate. Tickets £58.25.
🎸 Sun 26 Jul - The Proclaimers // They would walk 500 miles to play in Kent. Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury. Tickets from £44.
Footnotes
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