I’m back in Thanet, having returned from Leeds where I spent two days helping to formulate Labour Party policy on homes, communities, the future of work, and more. It’s a very clear that Labour’s commitment is that homes must built. The commitment in our manifesto is 100,000 homes built per year at genuinely affordable […]
News and opinion
Thanet District Council performance figures show UKIP failure
Figures from Thanet District Council show a decline in performance which is having a negative impact on people’s lives. At a meeting of the Council’s Corporate Performance Review Working Party this week, subjects including litter and homelessness were discussed. The state of our streets and the rates at which issues such as homelessness are being […]
Labour would ban live animal exports from Ramsgate
Labour today launches radical action on Animal Welfare that would look at introducing a ban on the live export of animals for slaughter. My party’s 50 point draft policy document, ‘Animal Welfare For The Many, Not The Few’, will go out for public consultation and proposes appointing an Animal Welfare Commissioner to ensure Government policy […]
Will Paul Carter support Thanet stroke service option?
NHS stroke services in Thanet are under threat of closure as part of restructuring in Kent. Provision of a Hyper Acute Stroke Unit (HASU) at William Harvey Hospital in Ashford is proposed, along with two other HASUs in the county. This would leave stroke victims on our isle with over an hour to travel in […]
Karen Constantine: District & County Council Report, February 2018
A very busy start to 2018 There are many pressing issues at the moment – the failure of TDC to pass the local plan, real concerns and frustration about litter, rubbish and dog mess (I think it’s driving everyone mad) and the constant threat of cuts to our services. The really central and dominating issue […]
Gender pay gap was top of my agenda in 2004
Equal pay is a stubborn problem As the influential magazine ‘personnel today’ turns 30 years old, I’m reminded of my own input and fight to achieve equal pay for women workers, along with many others. I was the first national union officer to lead the change on closing the pay gap by calling for compulsory […]
Distain at KCC breastfeeding decision
Why, when figures for breastfeeding in the UK are the worst in the world are we cutting the breastfeeding support budget by £400,000, and reducing the service across Kent that is there to support breastfeeding mums. We know that the rate for breastfeeding in Kent is lower than the national average and is falling. It […]
Seeing Red: Aftermath of the Local Plan vote
As an elected Labour County Councillor for Ramsgate I am privileged to have a column in The Isle of Thanet News.
QEQM stroke services demo draws great response
The demonstration organised by Save Our NHS in Kent (SONiK) on February 3rd was a great success. Much media coverage before and after the event has raised the profile of the campaign to save the stroke service at Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital (QEQM). I’ve posted some of this below. Currently in consultation, the […]
Craig Mackinlay backs plans to close NHS stroke service in Margate
I have been on BBC Radio Kent this morning ahead of today’s demonstration at Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital (QEQM). Once again, Craig Mackinlay accuses us of making political milage out of a threat to NHS services. This is political! The austerity measures of Craig’s government are putting people’s lives at risk. Closing the […]