Kent Lib Dems

02/09/2026

Delighted the Red Ensign is once again flying at County Hall today mark Merchant Navy Day tomorrow.

My thanks to the Kent County Council Chairman Jeremy Eustace for supporting this.

01/09/2026

Bring back the Red Ensign to County Hall! 🚢🇬🇧

This Thursday, 3rd September, is Merchant Navy Day. I have, on behalf of Kent Lib Dems, formally requested that Kent County Council flies the official flag of the British Merchant Navy to honour our past and present seafarers.

We believe Kent—as the Gateway to the UK—has a distinct civic duty to visibly champion the civilian workers who keep our country running.

It hasn't been flown at County Hall since Reform took power there in May 2025.

Seafarers are the unsung heroes of our economy. They transport over 90% of the UK’s imports, including half of our food and fuel. Crews frequently endure dangerous environments and long periods away from their families to keep supply chains moving through Kent ports like Dover, Folkestone, Sheerness, and Ramsgate. We must ensure operators using our ports adhere to high standards of fair pay, safe working conditions, and job security.

Raising the flag is a simple but powerful gesture of respect. Alongside doing so this Thursday, we are calling on KCC to commit to in future:

a. An annual flag-raising ceremony bringing together local maritime charities, trade unions representing Kent seafarers, and maritime employers.

b. Promoting maritime careers to young people through KCC's education teams, utilising excellent local assets like the National Maritime Training Centre at Gravesend.

Hundreds of councils across the UK already officially recognise Merchant Navy Day ashore. It is time for Kent County Council to step up and give our civilian seafarers the recognition they so thoroughly deserve.

01/09/2026

01/09/2026

💷Immediately fund teacher pay awards
⏰Properly enforce legally mandated working hours
🏠New guidance on flexible working
🔺Introduce reasonable limits on overtime

The government must listen and introduce our emergency package of 'back to school' measures before it is too late.

29/08/2026

Over the past week, you may have seen coverage of a decision made at Swale to ask a taxi firm to remove poppies and stickers from their cabs. The ability to challenge this decision, or a policy's unintended outcome, is completely within the gift of councillors and the wheels are very much turning on this.

What I have found repulsive is the abuse being directed at council staff by members of the public.You can disagree with the policy, you can call the outcome ridiculous if you think it is and you can also campaign for it to change. Threatening and abusing people whose job is to apply policies agreed by elected councillors isn’t acceptable. Nobody working in public service should have to put up with that.

None of this means the poppy doesn't matter. I will still buy one every November and attend our remembrance day services. I will also fight for veterans and members of our community who chose to serve, to receive the services and support they need all year round

Remembrance has to sit alongside continuing the work of building the kind of country those that sacrificed their lives hoped would exist when the fighting was over.

If politicians from across Swale can come together with this much passion over a sticker on a taxi, imagine what we could achieve if we brought that same energy to making sure 1 in 3 children aren't growing up in poverty or families aren't being forced to use foodbanks or to tackling the 10 year life expectancy difference between our richer and poorer areas.

28/08/2026

16/06/2026

Congratulations to Kent residents recognised in the King's Birthday Honours

Order of the British Empire
Dame Commander (DBE)
Dame Anna Taylor DBE – Services to Reforming the Food System
Commander (CBE)
Thomas Attwood CBE – Services to Education
Rebecca Bench CBE – Services to Space
Andrew Start CBE – Services to Defence
Officer (OBE)
Helen Adam OBE – Services to Families, Children and Young People
Dean Ames OBE – Services to Public Safety
Elizabeth Butler OBE – Voluntary Service to Veterans and to Public Service
Steve Elderkin OBE – Services to the Environment and to Transport
Ian Joseph OBE – Services to the Voluntary Sector
Andrew Ransom OBE – Services to the Business Support Services Sector
Member (MBE)
Alexandra Clements MBE – For Charitable Service
Mark Downs MBE – Services to Biology
Ian Drysdale MBE – Services to Policing
Kyle Gordon MBE – Services to Transport Policing
Ian Lovett MBE – Services to Cricket and to Charity
Helene Martin Gee MBE – Services to Women in Enterprise
Winston Michael MBE – Services to Inclusivity and Sport in Kent
Stefania Passamonte MBE – Services to Music
Matthew Pavitt MBE – Services to Maritime Safety
Jeremy Penn MBE – Services to Young People
Pamela Rawling MBE – Services to Early Years and for Sustainable Development
Shekeila Scarlett MBE – Services to Education
Susan Sharp MBE – Services to Accessibility in Transport
Neerasha Singh MBE – Services to Early Years Education
Wilhelmina Smallman MBE – Services to Social Justice and to Women's Safety
Pauline Smith MBE – Services to Education, Skills and Employability
Diana Springall MBE – Services to Arts and Crafts
Medallist (BEM)
Sally Chesters BEM – Services to the Community in Hythe, Kent
Leslie Coe BEM – Services to Maritime Safety
Martin Cuthbert BEM – Services to the Community in the London Borough of Bexley
Cynthia Davis BEM – For Political Service
Warren Dunkley BEM – Services to Mental Health Support
Lawrence McVeigh BEM – Services to the Community in Medway, Kent
Bernard Pinner BEM – Services to the Air Cadets and to International Missionary Work
Martyn Steers BEM – Voluntary Services to Community First Aid

King's Police Medal
Tim Smith KPM – Chief Constable, Kent Police
Unnamed Officer

03/06/2026

03/06/2026

🚨 WE SAY NO TO NHS IVF CUTS & NO TO CRUEL REFORM REMARKS 🚨

​Reform UK's Bridget Porter’s remarks at Kent County Council are utterly outrageous.

The Reform Party should denounce them immediately and remove the whip, or the public will rightly assume these views represent the party as a whole.

​Having children is a profound life experience. It is heartbreaking for couples who struggle to conceive naturally, which is exactly why NHS support like IVF is so vital.

​Yet, Kent County Council was forced to challenge NHS bosses over devastating cuts to local IVF services. The Integrated Care Board is:
❌ Stopping ALL IVF for women over 38.
❌ Halving the service for women under 37.

​This risks turning IVF into a luxury based on your ability to pay. We strongly object to these cruel cuts and have formally asked the Secretary of State to call this decision in for review.

​As we fight to protect this vital care, the last thing Kent needs is Reform councillors attacking IVF patients and callously suggesting that parenthood is a privilege some do not deserve.
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09/05/2026

Happy Europe Day.

As Churchill said, "we have remade the fabric of Europe".

That work goes on, and must continue to go on.

The sooner our country resumes full engagement in that vital work, the better.