Have politics around Brexit affected how we might vote on May 2nd? BBC South East News Political Editor, Helen Catt invited myself and district council candidates to a round table discussion. Gathered on the terrace of Ramsgate’s Wetherspoon’s pub, the group, representing the mainstream parties were open about the challenges in the forthcoming local elections. […]
Category: Opinion
NHS satisfaction survey shows historic low
A damning NHS satisfaction report has been published this month by The Kings Fund and Nuffield Trust. The public and those that work in the organisation are feeling the least satisfied in many years. I was interviewed by Ian Collins on BBC Radio Kent about this latest shocking report. Joining me as a guest on the […]
Ambulance service crisis
I was very pleased to be able to contribute to the important Ambulance Service debate on Radio Kent this Morning. Adding my voice and Labour’s perspective along with Charlie Elphicke, Conservative MP for Dover. The Ambulance service is an extremely important part of our NHS. However, like a great of deal of the NHS, it […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Striking NHS staff in Margate highlight privatisation threat
NHS estates staff at Margate’s QEQM Hospital have completed five days of industrial action over plans to transfer their jobs to a new subsidiary. Such a strike by NHS staff is a rarity. Picket lines were in place for five days from September 24 in Margate and Kent and Canterbury Hospital, plus William Harvey in […]