Throughout each month I am posting links to media coverage where I have had active involvement in the story or have provided comment and a Labour Party perspective. As an elected County councillor I am often asked to provide local input on national stories and the socialist perspective on local issues.
Parkway given the green light
My opposition to the building of this station in a field near Cliffsend has been well covered over recent times. I’m not alone, as all Thanet county councillors called for the plans to be scrapped.
The station will be unstaffed, will require road transport to reach it and, despite the twisted publicity, will actually add to rail journey times to London from Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate.
We need longer-term support
After Rishi Sunak announced the Government’s new Job Support Scheme, I was asked onto BBC Radio Kent to provide a Labour Party view of how well the measures may work.
Amongst my concerns are that we are being lead by a government that is lurching from idea to idea, none of which appears to be fully thought through. The plans and schemes that are put in place are all very short term, when compared with our neighbours in continental Europe.
We need stability provided by longer-term planning and support. The fear of not knowing what lies ahead is economically debilitating so Government has a responsibility to provide stability and reassurance.
Tory U-turn is a win for common sense
Although the Conservatives at County Hall refuse to acknowledge it as a U-turn, the cut in the councillors’ basic allowance after the unpopular hike a few months ago, is just that.
I was the first to refuse the original ‘pay rise’, at the time citing it as a bad move during a crisis where so many people are struggling. Unfortunately, that crisis looks like it will continue for some time and this ‘saving’ is only part of the stringent cuts due in KCC spending.
HOSC calls for accountability at EKH Trust
Sitting on the KCC Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee (HOSC), I was one of the councillors mentioned in this Kent Online story. There’s no undoing the tragedies that have occurred in Kent maternity wards, but investigations will uncover the failings and the hospitals trust needs to be held to account.
Failing Grayling’s shipping co sinks
I suppose this draws a line under another chapter in governmental incompetence. Companies going into liquidation is never good news for the workers or the other organisations left with unpaid bills.
As county councillor for Ramsgate I continue to work with others to forge a secure and prosperous future for our port. It has so much prospect and could be key to the economic regeneration of our town.
Government must not leave care homes to struggle with COVID
Boris Johnson’s government is creating an atmosphere of confusion and fear by failing to provide clear and concise guidance to care homes. The lack of Westminster leadership is having a direct effect on the lives of some of our most vulnerable.
In this article in The Isle of Thanet News I suggest the Government puts full support in place for care home managers, staff and residents, with unambiguous guidance to provide reassurance and confidence for all.