When intimidation replaces debate

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.

The council’s official livestream 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 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 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 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 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 he was “disgusted” by the vandalism and disruption, adding “this is not political debate.” Medway Council leader Vince Maple said criminal damage to a council building was “never acceptable.” Conservative councillor Tara Noe, who voted against the motion, said 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 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 called 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.

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 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 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 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 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 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 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 into the situation.

Political pressure has intensified. The chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee has requested 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 has written to the Environment Secretary 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 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 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 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 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, with asylum seekers housed there being moved to alternative accommodation.

📣 UKIP are planning to hold an anti-migrant march in Dover 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

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