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 June- Schools Saved! |
Three schools in Medway received some welcome news last week. Tory Medway Council planned to close St John’s Infants in Chatham, and to merge the two Delce schools in Rochester, despite massiv...
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| May- Kerb-crawling councillor remains Tory |
The night of the election provided a number of surprises across the country, and the following five days were also marked by twists and turns, culminating in a Liberal/Conservative pact to run the cou...
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| Break for the election |
Please note- owing to the General Election, this column will be taking a break until the summer. ...
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| March- Winter Weather |
We have just endured the worst winter for 30 years, but now it’s spring, we can reflect on how difficult the conditions were in December and January.
The heavy snow, on and off for over two mont...
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| February: Council Budget |
The Tories’ budget has been, and continues to be, completely unsustainable. They claim to balance the books, but it is only because in the past few years they’ve been lucky, and received one...
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| January: Bus fares |
Several years ago, parents contacted the Labour Group concerned about the high cost of bus travel for young people going to school.
Labour Group members supported the parents and ran a high profil...
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| December: Education |
Probably the most significant issue this year in Medway has been education. Millions of pounds has been invested in local schools by the Labour Government, but there have been decisions by Medwa...
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| November: Companion Passes |
Last January, the Conservative Cabinet recommended to Council that a charge be introduced for companion bus passes. These passes, which had previously been free, allowed the carers and companion...
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| October- Boris Island |
Last week, Boris Johnson, Conservative Mayor of London, published a feasibility study into building an airport in the Thames Estuary. His report found that there were ‘no overwhelming constrai...
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| October- School Closures |
When the closure of three schools in Medway was first proposed, a timeline was set out in the consultation documents, showing how the issue would be dealt with. The Conservative administration p...
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| September- Problems Continue with Chatham's Bus Station |
There is continuing disarray surrounding the site and design of the Chatham bus station, raising fears that it may not be completed within the time necessary to qualify for Government money to build i...
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| August- Capstone Valley |
Within the last few weeks, the possibility of extensive house building around Capstone Valley has again been put onto the agenda, through the Tory Council’s renewed attempts at creating an over-arch...
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| July: Chatham Roadworks |
Work on further changes to the Chatham road system, including the demolition of the flyover, has begun. There is a temporary bus and taxi route to the High Street, but the new road for public tr...
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| June- Bad Budgeting |
Recent Cabinet papers have shown that the Council will be recording an underspend of at least £2.5 million, and I understand that the figure is in fact much higher. Until recently the Tories wh...
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| May- Opposition to Tories' Proposed School Closures |
In 2007 the Tory Cabinet considered a report about school closures, but kept secret the details. Unsurprisingly the list found its way into the public domain, and caused alarm amongst the parent...
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| April- Partnership Working |
We have seen many examples of the Tories’ inability to involve residents in decisions about services. Consultations, such the Strood Academy, the Chatham road scheme and Copperfield open space...
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| March- No to an estuary airport |
Everyone will be aware of the current proposals by the Tory Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, for a floating airport in the Thames estuary. Medway has faced a similar issue before, when there was ...
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| February- Budget |
The Tories will set Medway Council’s budget in the next few weeks, and the Administration have followed the predictable path they do every year.
As usual, the Tories claimed that Medway is recei...
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| January- Government Spending Millions in Medway |
In recent months you may have noticed several good news stories in the local press showing that, despite the economic downturn, there has been millions of pounds’ worth of investment in Medway, with...
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| December- Keep Warm, Keep Well |
On Saturday, local Labour Councillors, including myself, Jonathan Shaw MP and Teresa Murray Parliamentary Candidate for Rochester and Strood hosted a ‘Keep Warm Keep Well’ event in Chatham. ...
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