Voice of the Leader: April

Once a month we are offering the Leaders of both Medway Council and the official opposition the opportunity to talk unedited about.. well, Medway politics. Today we hear from Alan Jarrett, Leader of Medway Council and the Conservative Group.

Alan Jarrett

‘Going forward I promise that we will protect Medway from those who seek to close down facilities and services; against those who belittle Medway and its hard-working people; and against those who snub our military heritage and insult our monarchy.’

The place to start this month is surely Brexit (scream!). Between them our national politicians have brought shame on an ancient profession, by their collective refusal to honour the will of the people – in Medway 63% voted to leave.

That wasn’t to nearly leave; or sort of leave; or be asked to vote again on what was supposed to be a once in a generation vote. THAT WAS TO LEAVE!

I admit that my own party has not covered itself in glory, and the negotiations to leave have been very poorly handled. But when it comes to it the political game-playing by the Labour Party in parliament is the reason we are in yet another extension, and the reason we look almost certain to have to endure the charade of European elections!

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Autism in Medway – Awareness and Acceptance

In which Vicki Sigston looks at the state of autism support in Medway..

I was asked by the Political Medway team to write a piece in honour of Autism Awareness Month which runs throughout April.

I must admit that at first I was a bit stuck with how to approach this. I have some knowledge of ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorders) but I felt a bit disingenuous as I started to write my piece. The main reason for this is that I have no personal experience of accessing autism services and support. The very first post I wrote for the Political Medway was about period poverty, and quite right that the two male owners of the page ask a woman to write about that – so I didn’t feel I should write about this.

But while talking to friends who do have personal experience someone suggested that what might be great would be to ask some questions of those families in “the system”. Those families where there are formal diagnoses of ASD and who have used, or try to use the support in the local area.

So, thanks to the genius survey creating tool that is Survey Monkey, I put together a very short questionnaire and put out a plea on social media for people in Medway who have personal knowledge of local support to respond.

I was amazed, in a couple of days I had almost 50 responses, plus many direct messages too. Those who responded did so very openly and passionately. The questions had obviously stirred up some feelings and as I read through the responses I started to understand why. 

Medway does not get ASD support right. Hardly ever it seems.

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The giant pachyderm in the council chamber

In which we ask Steve Dyke to give us the green view, so he offers us a terrifying vision of our climate future..

‘Brexit’ seems to have dominated the news for years, so some may have forgotten that last October, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a special report on the impacts if ‘global warming’ raises the Earth’s temperature by 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. At the current rate of increase this temperature will be reached sometime between 2030 and 2052 – and then continue to rise.  Please do not be deceived by phrase ‘global warming’, which suggests something pleasant and harmless, because in reality we are in a state of climate emergency and seem headed inexorably towards a climate breakdown.

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Political Figures: Can independents win?

Once a month we are going to hand over to Alan Collins from Medway Elects who is going to dig into the Medway electoral data, and try to tell us what it all means..

This week marks Medway Elects’ fourth anniversary and, in that time, like this very blog, it has gone from strength to strength. I am incredibly grateful to everyone who has helped and supported the project – and will continue to be open to ideas for new features over the coming months and years.

But given this important milestone, it is, perhaps, fitting that this is the week I post my last article in this series, on the very blog I launched Medway Elects four years ago. If you thought Jennings’ analysis of the candidates in each of Medway’s 22 wards was long, strap in tight: you ain’t seen nothing yet…

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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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Voice of the Leader: March

Once a month we are offering the Leaders of both Medway Council and the official opposition the opportunity to talk unedited about.. well, Medway politics. Today we hear from Alan Jarrett, Leader of Medway Council and the Conservative Group.

Alan Jarrett

‘Going forward I promise that we will protect Medway from those who seek to close down facilities and services; against those who belittle Medway and its hard-working people; and against those who snub our military heritage and insult our monarchy.’

Oh my word! My last Political Medway contribution really hit a nerve with the Labour Group! This culminated in a bizarre and obsessive “Truth and Memory” speech from one of them at the Budget Council meeting in February. Apparently it’s all my fault that Labour engage in untruths and hypocrisy! I am reminded of the line from Hamlet – “The lady doth protest too much”!

Ever consistent, Labour produced its election manifesto full of half-truths. Apparently according to Cllr Mrs Murray – it is “deliverable and costed”. It appears Labour has learnt nothing since 2010 when it left that note to the incoming Conservative Chancellor “There’s no money – good luck!” Reading that manifesto left me wondering who really is the Leader of the Labour Group, for it is Cllr Mrs Murray who seems to be calling all the shots. However, more on Labour’s manifesto later.

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Entrenched views

In which Andrew Dennis ponders the effect firmly held beliefs are having on our political discourse..

The thing I think most needs to change in politics, locally and nationally, is the continued entrenchment of political philosophies, culture, tradition and views. Views that are wrapped up in a political dogma, attitude or belief that isn’t perhaps as relevant today as it might have been when a person’s views were first formed – often in their teenage years, or, in the case of Chelsea Clinton, whose parents encouraged her take part in philosophical, social and political debate around the dinner table at the age of 5, much earlier!

Entrenchment is defined in an online dictionary resource as the fact of an attitude, habit or belief becoming so firmly established that change is very difficult or unlikely. The 1980s seem to be the time, in my lifetime, when views hardened, to the right, to the left, and you were either one of us, or one of them. 

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Uncertain Starts

In which Lia Mandaracas and Alexandra Chatfield look at the impact closing Sure Start centres has had across Medway..

Part 1 / Lia Mandaracas

Sure Start, since its introduction in 1999 transformed the lives of families with under 5s. By 2009 there were over 3600 centres with most of them concentrated in disadvantaged areas. In mid-2016, Medway Council made significant savings with a staffing restructure and reduced sessions, which came with assurances that this was the only way to save the full provision. By early 2017 they proposed closing all centres in favour of four “super hubs” that would serve wide areas and 0-19 rather than 0-5. Due to public pressure they relented slightly and created the super hubs with satellite centres to run some sessions, although these centres no longer had continuity of staff or full time opening hours. I thought I would take a look at the effects on service users, the impact on the councils Key Performance Indicators, and Ofsted results compared to other parts of the country.

For background here are two speeches I gave to the council drawing on evidence from other councils to speculate on what closing Medway Sure Starts might mean.

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School’s Out

In which Vicki Sigston looks at why so many families in Medway and beyond are turning to home education..

There are many reasons why families, like my own, choose to home educate their children. Some are not a fan of our rigid national curriculum and lack of funding in music and the arts. For others it’s the freedom that home education provides in letting children learn at their own pace, in their own way. The freedom to travel without the threat of fines for missing school. The freedom to spend a whole year on a topic if that is sparking a passion. Sometimes children who are home educated have needs that our schools struggle with and home education can provide a much less stressful environment for them to learn in.

There are lots of choices that lead to the decision to not have your children in mainstream education. But it is just that, a choice, and one that families should be free to make without fear of retribution.

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