1 week Ago By [email protected] (KentOnline reporter)
On this week’s episode of the Kent Politics Podcast, our reporters discuss a council selling off properties to balance the books, concerns over scam emails, and further delays to checks in Dover. They also discuss the comments from Transport Secretary Louise Haigh which ruffled some feathers when she called P&O a “rogue operator” and backed a boycott because of their fire and rehire move in 2022. The parent company of P&O, DP World, said it was cancelling £1 billion in investment to the UK, but later - after the Prime Minister said the comments didn’t represent the government’s stance - it was reinstated.
We talk about P&O’s relevance to Kent’s economy, why Ms Haigh made the comments, and what the response from Number 10 tells us. We’re also joined by special guest Anthony Hook, the Lib Dem group leader at Kent County Council, who tells us about his stint in the EU parliament, his 22-year political career, and how his party would run KCC differently. This week, our reporters talk about the further delay to the implementation of the entry-exit system at the port of Dover and the contributions from Kent politicians at the House of Lords.
They discuss how the new checks, which were originally due to come into effect in 2022 but have been pushed back several times because both sides have said they’re not prepared for the new protocols. They also talk how Maidstone is one of the most concerned places in the UK about online fraudsters and what is being done to help people avoid being scammed while on the web. And they talk about Medway Council’s plans to sell off a number of properties in order to reduce the authority’s maintenance spend.
These buildings include a 13th-century manor, a golf club, and a shopping centre, and our reporters discuss how the list was decided upon and what might happen next. The weekly podcast, which launched earlier this year, brings together local democracy reporters, Simon Finlay, Robert Boddy, and Dan Esson. Simon covers Kent County Council while Robert reports on Medway Council and Dan specialises in borough and district councils.
You can listen to the podcast at IM Listening, or download it from Apple Podcasts, Spotify and TuneIn – just search for Kent Politics Podcast. Readers can also keep up-to-date with the latest political news on our dedicated Kent Politics page. New episodes are available each Friday.
.
