As a member of Kent & Medway Fire and Rescue Authority, I am very pleased to see Ramsgate Fire Station open in it’s new location with state of the art facilities. On 5th February I was with the Service as a guest to witness their new base in Ramsgate and listen to how they intend […]
Category: News
Stroke unit in Thanet to be killed by Tories
Thanet’s need to retain a stroke unit for East Kent residents has been dismissed by a committee dominated by Conservative representatives. On Friday 1st of February the Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny meeting at Kent County Council in Maidstone was a disaster for our isle with locations elsewhere in Kent being nominated for specialist stroke […]
Not buoyed up by Seaborne
We received news this weekend that the Government has awarded contracts to ferry companies ahead of an impending no-deal Brexit. The total budget of £107million is to be shared between three companies as part of a plan to alleviate stress on transport networks in Kent. Yet, one of the named firms, Seaborne Freight has no […]
Newington Matters December Newsletter
Another edition of Newington Matters has been delivered to thousands of homes by Labour Party volunteers. The ward newsletter highlights issues faced by Newington residents that are being tackled by myself and other Labour councillors. We also have guest contributions from local residents on the subjects of potholes and education. Hopefully all residents in my […]
Thanet pubs serve welcome news
No doubt aided by our thriving tourism trade, the number of pubs we have on the Isle of Thanet has remained stable since 2001. Additionally, we are seeing higher growth in employment in this sector than the national average. Figures released this week by the Office for National Statistics show a sad, steady decline in the […]
IC24 is failing NHS patients
A GP out-of-hours service provider in Kent has made the news this week over safety concerns. IC24 (Integrated Care 24 Limited), based in Ashford, has the contract to provide the 111 non-emergency call service and GPs across the South East. I was extremely concerned to hear that a manager at IC24 was warning that the […]
Don’t put more pressure on NHS staff
At last additional protection at work for front line NHS staff. Shocking figures released recently show the true extent of violence against NHS staff. 10,000 members of NHS staff have reported being attacked at work. Some NHS staff are so concerned that they have taken to wearing body cameras. The BBC invited me on to Lembit […]
Options for hospital and local care services – have your say
There is a hospital and care services consultation currently taking place across Kent. Residents are being asked to let the clinical commissioning group (CCG) know which of two options they prefer. Which are basically: Option 1. Potential option 1, an estimated £160million NHS investment, to enable: a much bigger, modern, A&E at William Harvey Hospital, […]
Was the Farage factor responsible for hate crime?
I used to be a keen fan of Spitting Image. I think ITV should bring it back just for jokers like Henry Bolton, ex leader of UKIP and now a member of another minority far right wing party. He certainly made me giggle on air! You’ll have to take a listen to our hate crime […]
Life expectancy stalls as austerity and social isolation increase
Life expectancy in the U.K. is slowing down. The latest official figures show that between 2015 and 2017 life expectancy at birth remained at 79.2 years for men and 82.9 years for women, the first time that there was no improvement whatsoever from the previous data. This morning I was interviewed on BBC Radio Kent alongside […]