Tories hold Whitstable

Mike Harrison and Mark Dance held onto their seats in Whitstable

They secured two seats in Herne Bay – and Whitstable is next on the list for members of the UK Independence Party. The group ousted the two sitting Tories in Herne Bay in the Kent County Council elections and came second in Whitstable.

As town Tories Mark Dance and Mike Harrison admitted they had feared for their seats, Ukip's soon-to-be chairman, Jim Gascoyne, said the party had big plans. He said:

"We came second in Whitstable so that is next for us, then right on to Westminster. The route to Parliament is along the Kent coast and then up the Thanet Way. It is wonderful to have two county councillors in Herne Bay to join the rest around Kent. The march to Westminster really starts here."

Councillors Dance and Harrison held on to their seats, with 2,732 and 2,666 votes respectively, beating Ukip's Mike Bull and Howard Farmer into second place with 2,476 and 2,435 votes.

Labour candidates Christopher Cornell and Rita O'Brien polled 1,813 and 1,781 votes, while Green Party candidates Pat Marsh and Jolyon Trimingham polled 566 and 600 respectively. The Liberal Democrats received the fewest votes, with 529 for Jonathan Dearth and 343 for Kevin McNamara. Mr Dance said:

"It has been a harrowing day. But we as a Whitstable team have done what we have always done and what we will continue to do. We don't change direction because there is an election."

He said when Mr Farmer came second in the Seasalter by-election they were concerned about the KCC result. Mr Dance added:

"We had no idea how it would go. But we are delighted to have won and to retain control of the council."

Mr Harrison said:

"It has been a super fight. There was a real risk that the council's £2 billion budget would have been in the hands of people who did not know what they were doing. We have all been given a lesson, we must never be complacent, and Mark and I are not."

Mr Farmer said he was pleased with the amount of votes they achieved. He said:

"Both their candidates admitted to me they were scared. They poured resources into the seat which we were not able to do but I think we did very well and I'm grateful to everyone who voted or helped with the campaign."

Mr Bull added:

"I am disappointed because of course we would have liked to have won. But this has brought us to the forefront of people's minds and next time there is an election we hope to build on this. We were hoping for a council seat here and that would have been a stepping stone to Parliament. But UKIP is now a household name and we have to be pleased with that."

Overall, the Tories retained their majority on the council, the composition of which is now: Conservative 45 (-29), Ukip 17 (+17), Labour 13 (+11), Lib Dem 7 (no change), Green 1 (+1), Residents Association 1 (+1), Independent 0 (-1).

thisiskent 10th May 2013

Public interest, secret debate

Ladies and Gentlemen, meet the Locality Board, sounding the death knell for local democracy.

It's made up of the Canterbury City Council Executive and the 9 Kent County Council members who represent constituencies in the Canterbury District. It meets behind closed doors, and "Minutes (including a record of attendance and any conflicts of interest) will not be widely circulated".

I'll be examining the Locality Board more closely in another post.

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Service discussed behind closed doors

The fate of the district's youth centres remains a mystery, after councillors met in private to discuss the issue. A £1 million cut in funding for youth services means there could be only one Kent County Council-funded youth club left in Canterbury, Whitstable and Herne Bay. Faversham Youth Club is also under threat.

The newly formed Canterbury Locality Board, which is made up of Canterbury county councillors and members of the ruling Tory executive of the city council, met behind closed doors on Tuesday, March 24 to debate the issue.

Liberal Democrat councillors fear that the secret meeting was used to rubber-stamp controversial plans to keep Whitstable Youth Club open instead of the city’s Riverside Centre, as originally expected. Lib Dem parliamentary spokesman James Flanagan said:

"Decisions like this should be taken in public so that the people taking them are fully accountable. Closing youth clubs can only lead to more young people ending up hanging around on street corners and getting into trouble. For councillors to hide their actions from the public is an absolute disgrace."

A final decision will be made by Kent County Council, and city council bosses said the locality board members had no powers other than to give their views. Canterbury City Council spokesman Rob Davies said:

"The meeting last week discussed the future of KCC’s youth service in the Canterbury district, and city council members were happy to have the opportunity to discuss how that service operates in the months ahead. However, the decision about youth services is one for KCC to take and any queries about its decision-making process should be directed to County Hall."

County councillor Mark Dance insisted that clubs would not close, although they could be funded differently.

"There will be no closures of any of the youth centres in the Canterbury district. However, further details are still in negotiation and will be revealed at the end of the month by cabinet member Councillor Mike Hill."

The board’s discussions will be revealed when the minutes are published of the city council's Scrutiny Committee, which meets on Wednesday, 25th April. Kent County Council will meet on 27th April to debate the issue.