Isle of Thanet Gazette online readers and Facebook users may have picked up a story released late Friday evening “Tory PPC: East Kent Authority should replace Thanet council”. I am disappointed and not a little annoyed at this misrepresentation. I conducted a long interview with The Gazette on Friday, with detailed discussions about issues that are at the heart of my campaign – Manston airport, Ramsgate Harbour and seafront, Discovery Park, Sandwich traffic, jobs, High Speed rail, EU referendum, government and private investment and ensuring that Thanet benefits fully from growth in the economy. At the end of the interview, discussions turned to TDC with the journalist offering, given the public’s perception of TDC, whether an East Kent Unitary would be the panacea. I replied this could be one of a range of options for the future for serious discussion. My annoyance rests with the online piece giving the impression that this is somehow a centrepiece flagship policy of mine. Let me be clear – calling for an East Kent unitary is not one of my manifesto aims. What I do want is a respected and efficient local authority that offers good services and value for money. You will not be surprised that I consider that a Conservative run authority is best placed to deliver just that. It will be for residents in Thanet and future Councillors to decide whether the community would be better served by changes to local government, whether by a new unitary, a re-invigorated district council, added powers to Town Councils within the current framework, or simply sharing services to ensure greater efficiency and value for money with other local authorities. I obviously have views on these subjects as you do. Quite simply: these are matters for us all to decide.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 16:06:23 +0000
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