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.
Getting laptops and tablets to Thanet pupils
I’ve been proud to help Charlotte Cornell from Dover and Deal Labour Party by collecting and distributing laptops and tablets to local school pupils. Charlotte’s Top up to Teach scheme is helping families and children across East Kent and this article in The Isle of Thanet News shone a spotlight on her activities.
The collections are still continuing. If you have an unwanted laptop or tablet that the scheme can reformat and pass on to local schools please let me know or go to https://topuptoteach.org/
KCC must do more to curb icy road dangers
Addington Street in Ramsgate (pictured) is just one of many streets in our locality that has turned into an ice rink in the recent freeze. My phone has been busy with calls from residents fearful of the treacherous conditions.
This local press article tells how many locals have been stepping up to clear ice from roads and pavements. It also covers my call to Kent County Council to grit more of Ramsgate’s roads. Read the story here.
Labour Briefing: Brexit Lorry Chaos
I was asked by Labour Briefing to pen an article about the chaos that ensued at Manston and along the coast after the French authorities effectively closed their border in December. Folkestone and Dover terminals were blocked and traffic soon clogged residential streets.
In my piece I talk about the lack of preparedness just days before the restrictions of a full Brexit kicked in.
Coastal erosion risks
On 16th February ITV Meridian News aired a report about the deterioration of the chalk cliffs around Thanet’s coast. They asked me along to Joss Bay to provide some local perspective.
I walk along our coast most days and have seen how the elements can bring down small and large pieces of the porous chalk. This is natural erosion, but I am obviously concerned when people are at risk, as may be the case with the recent cracking heard at the chalk arch at Joss Bay.
Southern Water pump sewage into the sea AGAIN!
A day after filming with ITV News, I was back again in Joss Bay. This time the story was about Southern Water diverting sewage into the sea after a failure at the pumping station in Broadstairs. This is not the first time the firm has polluted our coastal waters and, unless they invest more in their infrastructure, it won’t be the last.
I have written more about the sewage spill here.
Mass vaccination centre opens in Thanet
In this local news piece about the opening of the vaccination centre in the old SAGA building, I wholeheartedly welcome the facility. I sincerely hope everyone offered a jab takes it up. However I also throw a note of caution about the future. The NHS is on its knees. The staff are exhausted, yet we need to look to the mountain that is yet to be climbed. Waiting lists are now longer than ever and an already underfunded and over stretched service does itself need critical care. We must ensure our NHS survives and thrives.
Read the story in The Isle of Thanet News.