Go Folkestone News 11th May 2023. The District Elections and a Litter Pick
THERE IS A GO FOLKESTONE LITTER PICK OPEN TO ALL LOCAL LITTER PICKERS, INCLUDING INCREDIBLE EDIBLE, FRIENDS OF CHERITON ROAD CEMETERY, BAYLE RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION ETC. MEETING WITH COUNCIL STAFF (PROVIDING EQUIPMENT) AT THE LEAS ARCH, TO SPREAD ACROSS THE TOWN CENTRE AND THE LEAS. FRIDAY 12 MAY 2PM, PATTY KEY LEADING.
CHERITON AND MOREHALL ROYAL BRITISH LEGION ARE CEREMONIALLY OPENING THE QUEEN’S TREES, 18 NEW TREES AT CHERITON CEMETERY, THIS AFTERNOON 11th May, AT 2PM. IF YOU MISS IT, STILL GO AND ADMIRE THE BLOSSOM TREES WHICH FRIENDS OF THE CEMETERY, GO FOLKESTONE, FOLKESTONE COUNCILLORS BERRY, WALLACE ETC, FOLKESTONE INVICTA FC, THREE HILLS, AND OTHERS FINANCIALLY AND PRACTICALLY SUPPORTED.
Who will be in charge at Folkestone and Hythe District Council?
Broadmead, which encompasses Broadmead Village, and the Radnor Park area was the ward of the locally much respected Ann Berry who largely pulled together the funds for the local play park in Radnor Park in the 2010s. Ann retired after her 80th birthday, and with her much loved husband Maurice to keep an eye upon. She was a Conservative, although many knew that she started as a Go Folkestone Independent, as I did, and she had a strong personal vote. We miss her.
Like most Folkestone wards, with the possible exception of East Ward for Labour, Broadmead can go any way depending on national trends and local personalities. Although usually Conservative, the then well-known Lynne Beaumont had held it for the Liberal Democrats after the Libs had briefly held the majority, in 2000 to 2004, on Shepway District, as Folkestone and Hythe was then called. Labour chose the likeable and emollient Deputy Mayor Belinda Walker this time, rather than the resident but twice unsuccessful Laura Davidson for the Broadmead District seat. As a retired speech therapist Belinda banged the NHS drum with some conviction, a vote winner albeit not really a District matter (‘twas ever thus) and scraped the most exceptional Labour victory by 7 votes. Laura won a district seat in the more leftist Central Ward along with DFL (!) former Haringey councillor Liz Mc Shane.
At the count , where I was able to be though not standing, the Conservatives were downcast and the Greens gradually more excited. Labour went from slightly complacent triumph to what I can best describe as irritation, particularly clear with my respected old colleague and possible new Council Leader Jackie Meade, as the Greens slightly overhauled them in the District Council numbers, courtesy of clean sweeps in Cheriton (3) and in Hythe (5) .
In the end the 13 seats which the Greens hoped to get at their height of expectation during the count became 11, and Labour got 10 seats, focused on Folkestone East, Harbour and Central. The smaller parties are led by the Conservatives who picked up a late Romney Marsh seat to add to two in Lydd plus David Godfrey in Hawkinge and one in Elham Valley. Essentially, they profited from the total collapse of UKIP style candidates who had had an outpost on The Marsh. The only Folkestone seat that the Conservatives got was one town (not district) council seat in Broadmead.
The Liberal Democrats defended their Sandgate ‘castle’ with Tim Prater and Gary Fuller but were squeezed elsewhere as the Greens picked up both the eco-vote and the Nimby vote in Cheriton and elsewhere. They pushed out Roger West and Peter Gane, except on the less important town council where Greens did not stand. Let us hope the Greens don’t take this as an ok for resuscitating the old cycleway scheme in its full form. It was only 24% turnout after all. And finally, there were 2 independents wombling in New Romney who will push local issues but lean to the right.
So, who runs the District Council? Probably the Greens. They are the largest party and have a moral right to do so. The Tories will not back them completely, obviously because they disagree on most issues. They will warn against Council Tax increases to cover losses if the Prince’s Parade scheme is simply abandoned for example. But Conservatives don’t want another Labour Council in Kent for national reasons. Giving the Greens a chance may split the Folkestone and Hythe anti-Tory vote more at a general election next year, improving Damian Collin’s good chances. After all, the Greens don’t have another chance in South Kent. They could offer to go easy in Dover which is a very good Labour chance (unless the Conservatives deliver on small boats).
The Lib Dems more surprisingly are supposedly also leaning the Green way, despite being stuffed by them. I am surprised if this is true. Maybe Keir Starmer’s kind words about the Lib Dems will change minds, but Lab plus Lib, is not enough anyway. Surely Tim P will insist on a Cabinet seat (?). It looks like 11 Green plus 2 LD plus 2 Independents plus a casting vote, versus 10 Labour, with 5 Tories abstaining to give the Greens the Council but little else. In the longer term the LDs, and to a lesser extent the Conservatives, may be hoping that such tenuous power may show that the Greens putatively couldn’t run a whelk stall. It is hard work running a minority council, and some Greens were paper candidates who didn’t expect to get in and may not turn up enough to meetings. Labour certainly will be hoping that. But the Wimble Independents lean Green too, when the alternative is Labour. So, it looks as if the answer is Green.
At Folkestone Town Council, Broadmead was Davidson LAB (New), and Kieran Leig , (Damian’s assistant) CON (New); Central was Abena Akuffo-Kelly, Charles Bain-Smith (New), Liz Mc Shane (New) and Belinda Walker (All Lab); Cheriton West were Peter Gane, Roger West and John Renshaw (New) , while Cheriton East was Jane Darling ( Lab, New). East Folkestone was all Labour with Jackie Meade, Connor McConville and newies Adrian Lockwood and Lucy McGirr. Harbour is all Labour with outgoing Mayor Nicola Keen, plus the far-Left officer of the Kent Refugee Action Network Bridget Chapman and Christine Dickinson as newies. Long time independent cllr Mary Lawes got 402 votes and lost her seat by 242 votes. In Folkestone West Tim Prater was the third experienced LD to get in, but Labour are totally dominant. The mayor is expected to be Belinda Walker with Abena Akuffo-Kelly as deputy. Watch the less intense drama at Folkestone Town Hall on Tuesday next at 7pm.
Hawkinge Town is dominated by Independents, with Tory ex-leader David Monk and Stuart Peale even losing their parish seats, but Conservative David Godfrey and railway enthusiast Richard Moffatt IN. Sandgate by seeming Liberal Democrats like Guy Valentine Neale standing under no party affiliation. Hythe of course is Green ,with one independent Debbie Mc Kenna and one Lib Dem , John Stokes.
So Prince’s Parade and the beautiful Canal may remain open land, at some considerable cost to the Council in broken contracts and lost value.