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iFAQ: So, farewell then, Rehman Chishti

Following nine years of being both the MP for Gillingham and Rainham and a councillor for Rainham Central, Rehman Chishti has finally decided to stand down from his councillor role at the upcoming elections. As such, we decided to ask all other sitting Medway councillors the following question:

With Rehman Chishti standing down as a councillor for Rainham Central, what do you feel has been his biggest contribution to Medway Council?

As usual, we told all councillors that we would present their answers entirely unedited. They are published below in the order they were received:

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State of the candidates 2019

So following months of campaigns getting underway, two days ago the final list of candidates was released for our upcoming local elections in Medway. 199 candidates spread across seven different parties and a record number of independents will compete for 55 council seats on May 2. Let’s take a look at the options in each of our 22 wards.

Strap in.

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Virtual Doorstep: Four weeks to go?!

It is said that elections are won on the doorstep, and that may well be true. Being armchair activists, it’s difficult to check up on that.
Twitter and blogs however are part of our social media present and future, and if the election was decided there, how would each of the wards be looking?

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Voice of the Opposition: April

Once a month we will be offering the Leaders of both Medway Council and the official opposition the opportunity to talk unedited about.. well, Medway politics.

Today we hear from Vince Maple, leader of Medway Labour, the official opposition on Medway Council.


They often say that a week is a long time in politics – that can certainly be true, but if a week is a long time then seven years is almost a lifetime!

Seven years ago, back in 2012, was the first time I raised concerns around Fixed Odds Betting Terminals or FOBTs at overview and scrutiny.

What then followed was a long campaign which I was proud to play a part in. That campaigning has led this week to the change in law taking place, removing the ability for people to gamble £100 every 20 seconds in our high streets and town centres. It was the high stakes, quick speed of the product which led many to calling it the “crack cocaine of gambling”. I’ve heard from many individuals who have lost their home, their job, and their family as a result of these machines.

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The state of the far-right in Medway and Kent

All photos © Phil Dillon All Rights Peserved

In which Andrew Day takes a look at the far-right groups operating in our part of the country..

With anti-racist organisation Hope Not Hate’s ‘State of Hate 2019’ report stating that ‘divisions within Britain are likely to increase…and boost the far right’s populist anti-politics message’, we decided to take a look at the far-right, fascist and fascist-adjacent groups operating in Medway and Kent.

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The Medway Leaders’ Debate

We are pleased to present a head to head debate between the potential future leaders of Medway Council ahead of the local elections in May.

On April 18 at Midkent College, we’ll be asking Alan Jarrett of the Conservatives and Vince Maple of Labour a range of questions covering the important issues in Medway – housing, education, health, the environment, and so much more.

This is about the future of Medway, and we would love for you to join us.

By booking a ticket – either free or with an optional donation – you will have the ability to submit a question for the leaders. We can’t guarantee we’ll ask them all, but we will be selecting as broad a cross-section of them possible ahead of the event.

Booking a ticket also ensures entry to the event. Those without tickets will likely be able to attend on the night, space permitting, but will not be eligible to submit questions for the leaders.

Tickets are free, but you do have the option of contributing an optional donation when booking. This helps us cover the costs of putting on the event, and all donations are gratefully received.

Doors at 7pm, event start at 7.30pm, close at 9pm.

We hope to see you there!