Catch up on the latest political news from across Kent with Sofia Akin joined by Conservative Councillor Sean Holden from KCC and Liberal Democrat Nicholas Chan from Medway.
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00:02 - Hello and welcome to the Kent Politics Show
00:23 live on KMTV.
00:25 I'm Sophia Akin and coming up on tonight's show,
00:28 potholes, we're all sick of driving over them.
00:31 Well, this week, councils across the country
00:33 have declared which roads they'll be repairing
00:35 due to a rise in potholes.
00:37 And how could new EU entry/exit checks
00:40 coming in impact Kent's economy?
00:43 And could Kent see its first Lib Dem MP?
00:46 Well, according to a new major poll, it could happen.
00:49 But first, if you had to take a guess,
00:51 how many potholes would you say are in your local area?
00:54 Well, Medway Council estimates it's home to 2,000 of them,
00:57 but some think there are even more than that.
00:59 Council bosses have written to the Minister for Roads
01:02 asking for 50 million pounds to fix the roads
01:05 on top of millions they already have
01:07 from the Department for Transport.
01:08 And under Kent County Council,
01:10 it's believed there are even more.
01:12 It comes as the Department for Transport
01:13 has dished out some extra cash to local authorities
01:16 across the country to invest back into roads,
01:19 which it got from scrapping the northern leg of the HS2.
01:23 Residents in Medway think the estimation
01:24 of 2,000 potholes isn't accurate.
01:27 I think there's probably 2,000 in this stretch of road,
01:29 to be honest.
01:30 There's no way that the council could fill them all in,
01:32 to be honest.
01:33 Every road, and they're throwing stones in them,
01:36 and they're coming out and all down the sides of the roads,
01:39 and they're flicking up, and they're dangerous.
01:41 I've seen potholes marked with white paint.
01:44 The white paint's washed away, and nothing's been done.
01:48 Down there, we have this in the middle,
01:50 so most of the time, you try to avoid it,
01:53 so that you don't get the bottom of your car
01:55 a little bit dented.
01:57 Well, joining me on today's show is Conservative Councillor
01:59 Sean Holden from Kent County Council,
02:01 and Medway Liberal Democrat Nicholas Chan.
02:03 Welcome to you both.
02:04 Thanks for joining us today.
02:06 So, Nicholas, I wanted to start with you,
02:07 as we heard from some Medway residents there
02:09 about the state of the roads.
02:11 11 roads that Medway has announced it will be resurfacing
02:14 with this reallocated funding from the scrapping of the HS2
02:18 northern leg of the project,
02:20 but none of those roads are in Medway.
02:23 Are you disappointed to see this?
02:24 You mean in Ringnam, I suppose.
02:25 Sorry, yeah.
02:26 Yeah, it would be very strange if it's not in Medway.
02:28 There are 11 in Medway, none in Ringnam.
02:29 That's what I meant.
02:30 Yeah, yeah.
02:31 So, the Liberal Democrats really want a fairer deal
02:36 for every resident in Medway.
02:38 Definitely, if you drive along, like everyone,
02:41 like me, myself, along Chatham,
02:44 all the way up to Juningham, especially on the A2,
02:46 the potholes are simply just,
02:48 the roads simply just need repaving.
02:52 But it is very odd that Ringnam hasn't been
02:55 in this announcement itself,
02:57 and that really needs some fixing.
02:59 It's a great start, though, isn't it,
03:00 that they've started to think about
03:03 where they might place this money,
03:04 and they're now asking the government for 50 million.
03:07 So, they're trying to kind of, I guess,
03:09 get around to all of the 2,000 potholes
03:11 that they think are in Medway.
03:12 Are you kind of pleased to see they're lobbying
03:14 the government for that extra bit of money?
03:16 Well, every single bit of money from Westminster helps.
03:20 There is a strong shot for all of Westminster money
03:23 going to local councils.
03:25 So, every bit helps, but it is about
03:28 distributing it fairly across Medway.
03:31 Sean, it's not a problem unique to Medway, or Kent, in fact.
03:34 It's something I'm sure everyone
03:35 across the country is talking about.
03:38 Kent has 74 roads set to be repaired
03:41 due to this reallocated funding,
03:43 and they get quite a bit more money,
03:45 because, of course, it's a lot larger than Medway.
03:49 How do you feel to kind of know
03:51 that there are these roads being repaired
03:53 in Kent? Does it feel like kind of
03:55 a step in the right direction?
03:58 It is a step in the right direction,
03:59 and one of the things that's pleased me is that
04:02 the government has finally cancelled HS2,
04:04 and that's the source of the money,
04:05 because I always thought that was a huge white elephant.
04:09 But we have a backlog of between
04:13 £600 and £1 billion worth of repairs,
04:17 which we need on the roads in Kent.
04:19 It's got 5,500 miles of roads,
04:23 and I'm not going to pretend for one minute
04:25 that we're making real headway against the potholes,
04:28 because everyone can just look out of their window
04:29 and see that there's still a major problem.
04:32 It's good that the government's recognising it.
04:34 One of the things I think we could do with changing
04:38 is that Kent gets the same allocation per mile of road
04:45 in terms of maintenance that, say, Cumbria does,
04:49 but we have 11,000 lorries a day coming through Kent.
04:53 We have a much higher usage,
04:55 and we should be getting a different breakdown
04:58 and share of money available nationally,
05:01 rather than the disparity we have at the moment
05:03 where a completely rural and quiet county,
05:08 like in the north, the east and northwest,
05:12 might be getting the same money per mile of road as Kent is.
05:15 So we're still pressing the government for more of that,
05:18 and it's been a priority for the county council for years now.
05:23 We've been having what we call the pothole blitz,
05:26 but the backlog and the weather and the continual rain
05:32 is a problem that prevents people from being repaired,
05:35 and then when it's wet and it freezes,
05:38 then that's when you get more damage to the road.
05:41 I think it's a national problem.
05:43 Kent has a peculiarly big share of it,
05:48 and I think that that's a matter
05:49 that the national government should be addressing
05:51 because it's not fair to have all that loaded
05:54 onto Kent council taxpayers or Kent road users
05:57 who don't get the improvements that we should be getting.
06:00 Well, you said it's a priority to Kent, and I'm sure it is,
06:04 but KCC was actually unable to meet
06:06 some of its targets last year
06:07 when it came to dealing with potholes,
06:09 actually showing that the percentage of potholes
06:11 repaired within 28 days had dropped below KCC's targets.
06:15 And what you're mentioning there about the worsening weather,
06:17 of course, will come into that,
06:19 but how do residents know now
06:22 that this extra money you're getting
06:24 is actually going to be used in the right place
06:25 and the fixing of the potholes
06:28 isn't just going to be delayed again
06:30 if there's so many more potholes to fix?
06:33 It is going in the right place, and we have put in...
06:36 But how do they know it's not going to be delayed?
06:40 It's not going to be delayed because it is a priority.
06:43 The elected members of the county council
06:45 are instructing our officials
06:46 that this is a priority.
06:48 This is the number one thing that residents talk about to us,
06:52 and we are very conscious of that.
06:54 And we've had the pothole blitz.
06:58 We've increased the amount of money spent on road repairs,
07:01 but the problem, as I say, is vast,
07:03 with at least a £600 million deficit,
07:09 maybe as high as £1 billion.
07:11 Well, that's simply not achievable
07:13 out of a county council which has a budget
07:17 for everything of £1.4 billion.
07:19 So we are giving it a priority.
07:21 We are doing as much as we can.
07:23 The weather interferes with it,
07:24 but I'm not making that an excuse.
07:26 And it's good that the government money has come.
07:29 We need more.
07:30 The alternative to that,
07:31 but I have to say to residents,
07:34 is that if we wanted to fix the roads entirely,
07:37 we would have to double council tax,
07:39 and we don't want to do that.
07:41 Well, I just want to stick with you for one more moment,
07:44 because I just wanted to ask you something extra.
07:46 You welcome the government's decision
07:48 to crack down on the utility companies
07:49 that were overrunning in their roadworks.
07:51 It's something I've also spoken to you about.
07:54 Finding those utility companies that aren't sticking
07:57 to the length of time that it's due to take
08:00 to do the roadworks could actually generate £100 million,
08:04 which could go back into fixing those roads.
08:07 So are you continuing to kind of lobby for that,
08:09 and are you kind of continuing to hope
08:11 that actually Kent's roadworks are going to be
08:14 the amount of time that they're due to be in for?
08:17 Well, no, I don't think that.
08:19 I didn't start this campaign to cut down on the roadworks,
08:22 which have trebled since 2019 from 4,000 to 5,000 a year.
08:26 But it's making sure they're done
08:27 at the right amount of time.
08:28 To make money.
08:29 It's making sure, yeah.
08:30 Yeah, I didn't do it to make money.
08:31 It's not.
08:32 Yeah, but the government has done it
08:33 to generate £100 million, so that's what I'm saying.
08:35 It's a good-
08:36 Well, I don't know where they got that figure from,
08:37 and I don't know how that would be worked out.
08:40 The purpose behind that is to say
08:42 we're sick to death of the roadworks.
08:44 We're sick to death of seeing roadworks
08:46 with nobody working at them.
08:47 We're sick to death of roads being closed
08:49 long after the work is finished.
08:51 And we've actually introduced four new inspectors
08:56 to look at how the roadworks are being run.
08:59 And we want to increase the number of fines,
09:01 or the amount of fines, that we can levy
09:03 on people who don't behave properly.
09:06 The utility companies in particular.
09:08 But we have to go to the government to say
09:11 the fines are not high enough.
09:12 We need them to be much, much higher.
09:14 But not to raise money, but as a deterrent for people
09:17 to stop them from blocking off roads
09:19 that don't need to be blocked off.
09:21 This is not a money-making campaign.
09:23 Just want to bring Nicholas back.
09:25 Yeah, I just want to bring Nicholas back in, of course.
09:28 I wanted to ask you about that figure
09:29 that there are 2,000 potholes in Medway.
09:31 We heard from those residents saying
09:33 that they think there are a lot more than that.
09:34 Do you yourself think that?
09:36 And are you confident that Medway Council
09:39 is going to get this money that it's asked
09:42 the Department for Transport for, this £50 million?
09:45 Well, I'm sure there was some scrutiny
09:46 into the number of potholes.
09:48 And that was not the main...
09:50 The number is not the main deal.
09:52 The problem is that Medway Conservatives
09:54 has been taking away 31% of the road budget years on
10:01 before the new council administration has come in.
10:05 So I wasn't too confident about the previous administration.
10:08 I do give some hope to the new administration
10:10 that under more scrutiny,
10:13 that those funds will be put into proper use.
10:17 But then again, I come back to why is Reignham
10:20 not part of the deal?
10:22 Why is it not a fair deal across the whole Medway?
10:25 Have you asked this to Vince Maple?
10:27 Have you asked him?
10:28 This would definitely be asked over the week
10:30 by Medway Liberal Democrats.
10:32 Well, let's...
10:33 Vince Maple's not here, so let's hear from him.
10:34 We have got a clip from him when I asked him
10:36 about this letter that he's written to Guy Opperman.
10:39 Residents in Medway have been saying to us
10:42 that the state of roads in Medway
10:44 are at a position where they feel unsafe.
10:46 That's something we're reacting to as best as we can.
10:49 And if he turns around and says, "I can't afford that,"
10:51 what are you going to do?
10:52 Because clearly the council also can't afford
10:54 to fix all those potholes.
10:55 Look, we will do whatever we can
10:57 within the budget we currently have.
10:58 We'll continue to lobby.
10:59 It doesn't give us a positive outcome.
11:02 We don't have long now to our break,
11:04 but the government's facing financial pressures of its own.
11:07 How likely is it that they're going to cough up
11:09 this extra money when they've already given Medway
11:11 three and a half million, as well as that extra 400,000?
11:14 How likely are they going to give that money to Medway?
11:17 Well, it is about a fair distribution right now.
11:20 I haven't seen a fair distribution of the pot of money
11:24 coming in to fix the road.
11:26 So this is...
11:27 But are you confident that they would give that money as well?
11:29 Is what I'm asking.
11:31 Do you think the government will kind of give
11:32 that extra bit of money to Medway?
11:34 Well, historically, the Westminster government
11:37 and the Conservatives has not been giving
11:39 the proper amount of funding that Medway needs.
11:43 Well, just a reminder, yeah, they've given the 3.5 million.
11:45 It's time for our break now.
11:46 We will continue plenty more discussions
11:49 straight after the break.
11:50 I'll see you in a few minutes.
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15:02 - Hello and welcome back to the Kent Politics Show
15:10 live on KMTV.
15:12 Now the leader of the Liberal Democrats this week
15:14 has said the Conservatives have let down the people of Kent
15:17 with the new EU entry exit checks
15:19 set to come in later this year.
15:21 The proposals would see those wishing to enter the EU
15:24 having to register their fingerprints
15:26 and a photograph alongside their passport,
15:28 but with this comes fears it could cause delays
15:32 of up to 14 hours.
15:34 Sir Ed Davey paid a visit to Tunbridge Wells on Tuesday
15:37 and says we desperately need to rebuild relationships
15:40 with the EU.
15:41 - I think the Conservatives have let down people in Kent
15:44 with their shocking, awful Brexit trade agreement.
15:49 It's not working for Kent, it's not working for businesses,
15:52 it's putting up prices in our supermarkets
15:54 for ordinary people.
15:56 It's been a real failure.
15:58 And what Liberal Democrats have said
15:59 is we do need to rebuild those relationships,
16:02 that trust with our European neighbours.
16:04 We need a new trade deal.
16:06 It will take some time, it can't be done overnight,
16:09 but the damage that's being done
16:11 by the Conservatives' botched Brexit deal
16:13 has to be repaired.
16:14 - Would you scrap those checks if you were to sort of get in?
16:18 Would you scrap those new checks that come in?
16:20 - It would be a real key aim to reduce all the extra costs
16:23 and bureaucracy that the Conservatives' botched Brexit deal
16:27 has imposed on people,
16:29 and particularly businesses who are struggling.
16:31 Our economy isn't growing.
16:33 We need to find ways to reduce the red tape
16:36 that the Conservatives have imposed on our businesses.
16:40 - Still with me today is Conservative councillor Sean Holden
16:42 from Kent County Council
16:43 and Medway Liberal Democrat Nicholas Chan.
16:46 Thanks to you both for joining us once again.
16:48 Sean, I wanted to start with you.
16:49 Some bold words from the leader of the Liberal Democrats there
16:52 saying the Conservatives' botched Brexit deal,
16:55 saying that they've ruined our relationship with the EU.
16:59 What do you have to come back to say about that?
17:02 - Well, that's a complete misrepresentation.
17:05 Our economy has been growing faster than Germany, France,
17:08 or Italy, as a matter of fact.
17:10 Germany is currently in recession.
17:12 So that's a misrepresentation.
17:14 The Conservatives didn't put in place the new EES,
17:19 the exit entry system for the European Union.
17:22 The European Union's putting that in place.
17:24 And I think it's part of probably a French-inspired attempt
17:28 to punish Britain for having, daring to carry out Brexit.
17:33 He's wrong in saying that Brexit has failed.
17:35 Brexit has not failed.
17:37 We have increased our trade with the European Union
17:39 or our exports to the European Union
17:41 and ideally as well,
17:43 reduced the imports from the European Union.
17:45 We had a massive £100 billion trade deficit
17:49 with the European Union.
17:50 So that was not great news.
17:52 And Ed Davey, as a politician, has no credibility.
17:57 If the Liberal Democrats want to come in Kent
17:59 and start saying, "We're the guys," it's not with him.
18:03 He has no credibility as a politician
18:05 because he was the minister in the coalition
18:07 responsible for fobbing off the postmasters
18:10 and postmistresses in that horrendous scandal.
18:13 He failed utterly as a minister.
18:16 - He isn't here to defend himself, of course.
18:20 But, Nicholas, you're a Liberal Democrat.
18:23 - Well, he has defended himself about that.
18:24 Well, he hasn't defended himself about that.
18:26 He's also the leader of a party
18:29 who says that quite clearly a woman can have a penis,
18:32 which is, most people would say, is not accurate.
18:35 - Ed Davey has said in response...
18:37 - It goes to his credibility.
18:39 - He said in response to that that he was advised
18:41 not to contact the people at the time.
18:43 But, Nicholas, what do you have to say about that?
18:47 - Not a credible politician is what he is saying.
18:51 - I have the opportunity to work with Ed Davey
18:54 and everyone else in the party policy,
18:56 especially on national security,
18:58 on Brexit and the border checks.
19:01 So, we have a plan whereby we make sure
19:04 that councils get refund if they have spent any money,
19:09 let's say for Postmortem, they spent £26 million
19:12 because of Brexit, that they have to have a border facility,
19:16 which is simply not used because of unstable policy
19:20 put forth by the Conservatives.
19:21 So, I was also speaking with farmers in Cheshire and Ellsworth
19:25 and they cried out, "They want stability."
19:28 And this is not stability that we're getting
19:30 from the Conservatives.
19:31 I'm afraid that Sean and the Conservatives
19:34 are not the ones, are definitely the ones in power,
19:38 but they're not the ones who are giving the stability
19:40 that's needed by the country.
19:43 - I don't think he understands the issue here
19:49 with the entry/exit system.
19:51 It's that people will have to have their biometric identity
19:57 confirmed, take fingerprints, and that's going to increase
20:02 the time from 60 seconds to get people through the border
20:06 to five or seven minutes, which is going to cause
20:08 massive delays.
20:09 That's not the Conservatives, that's not the British government,
20:12 that's the European Union that's doing that.
20:14 - No one wants those delays at the border there.
20:17 - And Sean, are you blaming other French governments as well?
20:20 - Well, the French government also aren't here
20:21 to defend themselves, but I did want to make the point
20:24 that we heard from Ed Davey there, and I did ask him
20:28 whether he would have any kind of say in trying to reverse
20:31 those checks, as we know he was never in favour of Brexit.
20:34 But he didn't commit to saying that the Liberal Democrats
20:37 would try and reverse those checks either.
20:39 - Well, right after our spring conference, I was in Brussels
20:44 actually talking to our sister parties, because many of the
20:48 political parties in Europe are simply angry by the dysfunctional
20:53 politics in Westminster, and we have a plan working with people.
20:58 In fact, the future MP in Thambridge Wells, I'm sure Mike will
21:02 have the ability to bring in unity.
21:04 - Well, he's the candidate, he's not the MP yet.
21:07 We will talk about that in a minute.
21:09 - He will be the candidate who brings in unity, rather than dysfunctional by the Conservatives.
21:14 - OK, it segues...
21:15 - The Romanian and Bulgarian governments have tried to get a change in this.
21:19 What they've got is a concession that the EES won't apply to air arrivals
21:26 or sea arrivals, but 97% of their crossing the border into the European Union
21:31 because they're not in the Schengen area, is land transport.
21:36 So they're going to be messed up by this as well.
21:38 It's the European Union's incompetence and the European Union's bureaucracy.
21:42 - It's very risky for him to blame everyone but the Conservatives.
21:45 - Conservatives are not putting this in place.
21:47 - The EU has brought this in to try and reduce the congestion it's causing
21:51 and make it... this is all about security and trying to make sure that it's secure.
21:55 - It's going to cause congestion, massive congestion.
21:58 - Well, let's...
22:00 - And we've seen already the French border guards last year went on strike.
22:05 Then when there should have been 10 border guards for processing passports,
22:11 they sent two and they are messing us about.
22:14 That's to punish Britain that the French in particular want to do.
22:18 But it's also a problem for other countries outside the European Union.
22:23 - Let's move on.
22:24 And I just want to reiterate that they're bringing it in for security reasons.
22:28 But you mentioned before... - That's nonsense as well.
22:31 - Let's move on, Sean.
22:33 You mentioned the candidate in Tambridge Wells, Mike Martin.
22:38 Well, according to a new YouGov poll,
22:41 the Conservatives could be losing 10 of their MPs in Kent
22:44 and the Liberal Democrats could win their first seat in the county.
22:48 That's according to a YouGov poll.
22:49 Of course, it's not for definite.
22:52 So, yeah, let's start with that one, Sean.
22:55 The county currently has mostly Conservative MPs with only one other party
23:00 and that's one Labour MP and 16 Tories.
23:03 Does it concern you to see that those polls are kind of suggesting
23:06 that the political map could be changing come the general election?
23:10 - Of course it concerns me and I feel very sorry for the people of Tambridge Wells
23:15 if they end up with a Liberal Democrat MP or anybody else
23:18 who ends up with a Liberal Democrat MP.
23:21 - Why do you feel sorry for them?
23:24 - Because the Liberal Democrat-run Borough Council in Tambridge Wells
23:29 has shown how ineffective and incompetent they are.
23:32 Basically, they fail to deliver on various fundamental things,
23:36 including the local plan, including getting business into the town hall
23:42 to raise much needed money.
23:44 And they find people in their anti-car rage that they bring everywhere,
23:49 the Liberal Democrats.
23:50 - We're not talking about the local elections, though,
23:52 because we know those are coming up.
23:53 We're talking about the general election.
23:55 We're talking about the general election.
23:57 - They fined 27,000 people for driving down the street by mistake.
24:00 - So you're not answering my question about the MPs.
24:02 So are you concerned then?
24:05 - Am I concerned?
24:06 - You're talking about the local elections.
24:07 - Of course I'd be concerned if we're going to lose conservative MPs,
24:10 especially if they're Liberal Democrats.
24:12 - Do you see it happening?
24:14 - Do I see it happening?
24:16 Well, the polls suggest that we are going to lose some MPs,
24:19 going to lose a lot of MPs.
24:21 I'd be silly if I didn't accept that that's the case.
24:26 - Nicholas, we've seen Ed coming to Tambridge Wells this week.
24:29 He's not really been to Kent before until this poll suggested otherwise.
24:34 Yeah, he's only suddenly caring about Kent now that potentially
24:38 there could be word that there could be an MP in Kent that's Liberal Democrat.
24:43 - Well, Mike and I share many knowledge together.
24:45 We have an interest in psychology
24:47 and we have a strong focus in national security.
24:49 So Ed Davey has been up and down the country
24:55 to every constituency that will have a strong fight
25:02 between the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives.
25:04 And definitely in Tambridge Wells,
25:06 I believe in the Tambridge Wells residents
25:09 and I believe in Mike that this is a fairer deal for the community
25:14 and a fairer deal that will bring unity,
25:17 that will bring cohesion rather than blame after blame
25:21 by blaming the Conservatives themselves.
25:23 - Does it concern you though that there would only be,
25:25 there's only at the moment predicting that there'll be one Liberal Democrat?
25:28 We know you are running in Medway yourself and Medway is set to turn all Labour.
25:33 Does that concern you to see that there might not be
25:36 more of a Liberal Democrat presence in Kent?
25:39 - Well, there will be still some time until the general election
25:41 and I'll be strongly defending my case to the people in Shetland and Medalsford.
25:47 - Okay.
25:49 - Ed Davey should resign.
25:51 He's called for 31 other politicians to resign.
25:54 He failed the sub-postmasters as a minister utterly.
25:57 He should resign as leader of the Liberal Democrats.
25:59 He has no credibility.
26:02 - Do you have anything to say?
26:04 - Well, Ed Davey, when he was as a postmaster minister,
26:08 he has to have impartiality for the legal process to go through
26:12 and the Liberal Democrats have been pushing through
26:14 so that this case, this postmaster scandal,
26:20 the victims will receive compensation.
26:22 I'm asking why the Prime Minister haven't bring the compensation bill to Parliament yet.
26:28 The Liberal Democrats are pushing for compensation and an apology to the postmaster.
26:34 - Okay, we've ran out of time, I'm afraid, Sean.
26:38 Thank you to both of you for joining us.
26:41 Appreciate it.
26:42 That's all we've got time for.
26:43 We'll be, I'll be back straight after the break with a brand new episode of Kent Tonight.
26:48 See you soon.
26:49 [Music]
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