Paul Francis on Politics

Paul Francis On Politics

News, views, gossip and analysis on Kent's political scene, from County Hall to Westminster.

Welcome to my blog. As the Kent Messenger's political editor, I keep an eye on the county's corridors of power.

Let me know what you think - you can add your comments or views at the end of each blog entry. Or you can email me at pfrancis@thekmgroup.co.uk

February 9

LIKE most parts of the public sector, Kent Police is feeling the pinch as it strives to square the circle of maintaining services at current levels with less money. So, where do "Lean techniques" fit in?

Plus: KCC leaks inquiry underway at County Hall

February 4

DOES out-going KCC chief executive Peter Gilroy deserve the £200,000 windfall payment he stands to collect on the day that he leaves his job in a couple of months? KCC certainly thinks so but what will be the verdict in the court of public opinion?

February 2

It's been a long-ish while coming but a decision on whether Kent County Council is to continue with its internet TV channel Kent TV will be made in the next week or so. But what will we know about it?

Plus: Why free care might come at a cost to KCC

February 1

An aspirational wish-list which will gather dust or a vision grounded in reality that will change the landscape of Kent over the next 30 years? And does anyone know who will pay for all its goodies? Some thoughts on "21st Century Kent" KCC's grand 30-year-plan .

Plus: Why was Maidstone overlooked?

January 27

County Hall Tories have been taking advice about using new technology to help during the forthcoming general election campaign. But will they follow it?

And just how should councils deal with Freedom of Information requests?

January 25

HAVE Conservative backbench county councillors been nobbled and told not to ask any awkward questions about KCC’s budget and its planned council tax increase - 1.86 per cent or 2.57 per cent if asylum money owed doesn't come through?

January 22

The widespread disruption caused by the prolonged wintry weather has claimed another casualty - a decision by KCC on whether to continue with its controversial internet TV channel Kent TV.

Plus: More on the Kent grammar schools wrangle over places.

January 20

IT was hailed as a "commonsense" solution that would do much to assuage anxious parents worried about whether they could get a place at over-subscribed grammar schools in west Kent. But is it running into problems already?

January 18

What’s the difference between a chief executive and a group managing director? In the case of Kent County Council, it could be a small matter of some £55,000.

Plus: Row over councillors and a certain Swedish model...

January 14

THEY are two Conservative big beasts and they don’t appear to be getting on terribly well, judging by letters exchanged between KCC leader Paul Carter and Mayor of London Boris Johnson. No wonder - they are at odds over Boris' plans for a £40billion airport in the Thames.

Plus: Why KCC has been ordered to release details of Operation Stack lorry park sites

January 12

Are secondary school academies all they are cracked up to be? It's a question a lot of people have asked of the Government's flagship education policy and now the leader of Kent County Council - which has enthusiastically embraced the concept - has expressed doubts.

January 11

KENT County Council has already admitted that it did not do as good a job on treating pavements and footways during the current cold snap as it perhaps should have done.

But what precisely were its obligations anyway?

Plus: How Facebook group is putting pressure on KCC and more on chief officers' salaries and remuneration

January 6

THERE’S a fair amount of unsuppressed seething among Kent’s Labour MPs at Geoff Hoon and Patricia Hewitt intervention today calling for a secret ballot on Gordon Brown’s leadership.

Plus: Omens for Kent TV and KCC to spend less on spin

January 5 2010

IT was a rather an odd press conference at County Hall today where the ruling Conservative administration laid out its spending plans for the year.

Odd because in some ways it was all very dull – other than a bit of sabre rattling over asylum money, which I will come to.

December 23

The blog is taking a short break over Xmas but will be back early in the New Year. Happy Christmas to all readers and fellow Kent bloggers.

Paul

Oh, and here are the answers to yesterday's quotes of the year quiz.

December 22

How well do you know Kent politics? Are you an assiduous follower of the county's political scene and its key movers and shakers? Why not test your knowledge in our special "quotes of the year" quiz?

Go on - you know it makes sense>>

December 21

WHETHER you consider it money well spent or not probably depends on whether you consider it a priority at a time when we are about to see a fairly painful squeeze on public sector spending.

But KCC has a new website - and it has cost £277,000 so far...

December 15

IT’S not exactly what KCC would have wanted to hear just before Christmas.The administrators of the Icelandic bank Glitnir are querying the priority status of UK councils. And if they decide they are not entitled to that status, there could be potentially far-reaching implications.

December 11

RATHER like the cat that got the cream, Kent County Council has been rather pleased with itself this week after being rated again as one of the country’s best-performing authorities.

It has every right to be celebrating the news but has it got rather over-excited?

December 9

Tens of thousands of new homes will be built in Kent and Medway between now and 2026. Library image THERE may be a touch of hyperbole in the comment from KCC leader Paul Carter that “it is a great day for Kent and its residents.”

But there’s no denying that the county has fared particularly well in a new initiative designed to give people an indication of their “quality of life” based on how well public services are performing.

But how easy is it to access all this data on the Government's Oneplace website?

Plus: The public sector pay crackdown virility contest

Peter Gilroy December 4

IT’S been a while – well getting on three months – since KCC chief executive Peter Gilroy announced he would be leaving the job next May.

But as yet, there has been no official news about any plans to replace him. But the wheels are slowly in motion - we think.

December 3

Here’s a teaser. Why would it be good for KCC if it took longer to recoup some of the £47million stuck in Icelandic banks?

Plus: Why one councillor thinks KCC should be taking more risks and what has happened to Kent's ambition for a leading "fuel-from-food crops" centre?

December 1

Some people would probably consider it a relief to be asked to leave a meeting of a council committee called the Governance and Audit Trading Activities Sub Group.

November 27

SO, where is KCC in its efforts to recoup the £50million it had tied up in Icelandic banks?A little has come back - £3million – and we gather another £2million, give or take a few pounds – is due about now.

Plus: Just where are KCC's "thought cafes"?

November 26

AS re-organisations go, KCC’s efforts to complete a shake-up of its highways department must be one of the longest on record having been going on since 2006. Now it has suffered another setback.

November 24

WHEN auditors gave Kent County Council a clean bill of health over its commercial trading activities and concluded that it was not competing unfairly against businesses through its various companies, a number of recommendations were made.

November 23

IT seems Kent TV did not have the X-Factor when it came to the battle to secure a coveted award EU award that it had been shortlisted for.

But will it have any bearing on the decision whether to continue with the initiative?

Plus: How Ten Alps is bidding for new TV work and how one authority has abandoned plans for its own £300,000 newspaper.

November 19

The Kent Partnership bills itself as "is the countywide local strategic partnership made up of representatives from the private, public, voluntary and community sectors."

And believe me, it’s a big partnership – as I saw this week when some 200 delegates crammed into a rather warm room in Maidstone.

Plus: Labour MPs gang up on Kent TV

November 17

SO, what did those 36 people lucky enough to be consulted about what they thought of Kent TV actually have to say for themselves?

I wish I could tell you but sadly I can't because of something called a "safe haven."

Plus: Kent and Inner Mongolia - what's the link? And is KCC edging away from lorry park plan?

November 16

KCC leader Paul Carter was refreshingly – and intriguingly - candid about his feelings about Kent TV when he addressed a backbench committee on Friday.

It struck me as quite clear that the ruling Conservative administration is genuinely undecided about whether to continue with the scheme after next March.

November 12

I’ve often heard people complain that Gordon Brown is rather robotic and lacks the kind of charisma and charm that Tony Blair was able to turn on like a tap.

I’ve also heard it said that when you meet him in person and when he engages with the public in more intimate surroundings, he’s the opposite.

November 11

In the context of its £1.5billion budget, KCC’s warning that it is facing a £200million shortfall in its finances over three years may not seem much.

But when is a cut not a cut? And will it all mean zero increase on your council tax bills?

Plus: Is KCC's Operation Stack lorry park hitting the buffers?

November 6

RUMOURS are gathering that KCC is facing what is diplomatically being termed a “challenging” budget next year and I hear that in order to balance the books, some fairly radical but necessarily painful pruning is in the offing.

November 5

Unless I’ve missed something, Kent County Council seems to have been rather modest about the possibility that Kent TV, its controversial internet TV station, is up for an award.

November 4

It's bite the bullet time for MPs who appear, on the whole, to be resigned to the fact that proposals to tighten up on their expenses and allowances will have to be accepted pretty much in their entirety. Will it clean up the House?

November 3

HAS County Hall found a solution to the problem of having too few grammar school places compared to the numbers who want them?

And if it has, who will be the winners and losers?

October 23

IT is not only parents awaiting 11-plus results who may have been a touch anxious this week.I imagine there may have been a few furrowed brows at County Hall as officers and politicians pour over a letter from the Audit Commission, delivering its verdict on the council’s performance.

October 21

I must admit to harbouring some reservations about whether Kent County Council would ever see any of the money it had spent on the first version of the Turner Centre, sunk after costs spiralled out of control.

Plus: What will stop Boris Island?

October 19

HOW likely is it that Kent County Council will continue with its controversial internet TV station Kent TV?

And what does the Campaign for Real Ale have to do with it all?

October 14

Why are our politicians ignoring the Court of Public Opinion? Just when you think the expenses scandal can't reach new depths, it does. So why are MPs digging their heels in over Sir Thomas Legg?

Plus: KCC returns to the money markets but won't be going to Iceland

October 12

IT can’t be much fun being an MP.

But I’ve not got that much sympathy for them over the expenses scandal that just never seems to go away, even if good ones are tarnished by the antics of the minority of unscrupulous ones who have exploited the system

October 9

THERE is always something unsettling about the word 'review'. And I suspect there may be something unsettling about Kent County Council’s review of its children’s centres programme,

Plus: Why politicians need to come clean about Ashford's shared space

October 7

COULD George Osborne decide how much Kent County Council’s next chief executive should be paid? It is probably unlikely given that the general election won’t be until May and any appointment to the top job at County Hall will be made before that.

PLUS: The Guardian on Kent's National Challenge schools and the Tory plan to halt expansion of speed cameras....

October 5

For all his undoubtedly entertaining and outspoken comments and YouTube success, is the Kent Conservative MEP Daniel Hannan really the tenth most influential right winger in the country? A maverick, certainly and a very bright one too.

October 2

What has happened to the millions of pounds that Kent councils deposited in Icelandic banks? One year on, the answer: not much - at least in terms of the money that has been recovered.

September 29

Does it matter that The Sun has decided to back the Conservatives at the next election? It's undoubtedly stirred up a lot of discussion and Gordon Brown has been a touch tetchy about the subject.

September 28

Was Andrew Marr right to quiz Gordon Brown over rumours that he was taking anti-depressants or had more problems with his sight? (As opposed to his political vision).

And will Balls head down to Kent to speak to Carter?

September 23

There's no concealing the fury at County Hall over a decision by Ed Balls, the education secretary, to tell KCC it was sending in "expert advisers" to lift classroom standards at its poorly-performing secondary schools.

September 22

Exactly how has Kent County Council managed through Kent TV to make publicity savings of £1million this year? At last, some details about where the squeeze has been made have been disclosed

September 21

It was standing room only at an event at County Hall today to mark the news that Kent is to be used as a pre-Olympics base by Judo players from Ukraine and Belarus.

September 18

It's a good job. What ambitious local government careerist with an eye on rising up the public sector ladder wouldn't be interested in taking charge of the country's largest county council? And of course there's the prospect of a six-figure salary, too.

September 17

The news that Peter Gilory is to leave his post as chief executive of Kent County Council next May has somewhat inevitably triggered a fair degree of speculation - of the usual "was he pushed, did he jump" variety.

Peter Gilroy has announced that he is to leave Kent County Council as its chief executive next May

Read our story here

September 16

After a decidedly uneventful cabinet meeting held down in Dover earlier this week, my heart wasn't exactly racing at the prospect of covering today's Governance and Audit committee at County Hall. But guess what? It was strangely interesting.

September 15

There's been a lengthy-ish hiatus in county council business over the summer but the "new term" got underway yesterday when the Conservative cabinet headed to Dover for what is commonly called an away-day on a specially commissioned Kent Top Travel bus.

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September 11

Election nights are long, drawn out affairs when nothing at all happens for long periods. They can prove exhausting as results dribble in slowly and you still aren't sure who has won by dawn. So, should we change the timing of the count to the day?

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September 9

I see that the Government's plans to require councils to be more open and transparent about the pay and perks enjoyed by their most senior staff could be under threat - or at least risk being diluted.

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September 8

Like many, I'm ambivalent about the merits of the Government's school academy programme. Why should a school sponsored by say, a football club or car dealer, offer an enhanced education than any other school?

Nigel Farage, former leader of UKIP September 4

Can Nigel Farage really unseat John Bercow? And KCC members' interests

It's a typically eye-catching and bravura political stunt. But can UKIP leader and Kent MEP Nigel Farage really have grounds to believe that he can overturn the 18,000-plus majority of John Bercow, the Speaker of the House of Commons?

September 3:

KCC's meeting refreshment bill and Kent TV needs reform, says one of its governors

I've been to enough council meetings to know that those that suspect councillors are lavished with tables groaning with refreshments and copious amounts of drink are pretty wide of the mark.

Political blog, September 2:

KCC in clear over business activities and is there a painless way to scrap grammar schools?

There will be some relief at County Hall that a probe by auditors into its commercial enterprises has pretty much cleared the council of any wrong-doing, as our business editor Trevor Sturgess reports.

Political blog, September 2

The no-frills low cost approach to local government

Can there be such a thing as "no frills" council services? And if there can, will it happen in Kent?

Political blog, August 26

Council pay-offs under scrutiny and a trip to Medway

I see the Government is stepping up its offensive on aspects of public sector pay with an announcement that it wants the Audit Commission to examine pay-offs made to council chief executives who leave one position with a handsome "golden goodbye" only to crop up in another top position months later.

Political blog, August 25

Should we have fewer councillors? And which politician would you like on your GPS?

Have we got too many councillors in Kent? A few years ago, the then Labour secretary of state David Miliband singled out Kent as an area where there could be a case for reducing the number of local politicians.

Political blog, August 24:

Sun, sea and the Ashes

I've been away on leave for a week, enjoying the sun, swimming in the sea off the Sussex coast, scuffing my feet on rocks and shells, pretending I can surf (I can't) and tuning into Test Match Special

Political blog, August 14

MEP puts Cameron on defensive over NHS and Labour in limbo over Kent candidates selection

I don't imagine that David Cameron is terribly pleased with Dan Hannan, the Conservative MEP who has waded into the debate in America over health reforms by saying that he wouldn't wish the NHS on any country.

Political blog, August 13

Will local government in Kent end in tiers?

Is the Government preparing to resume the debate over whether Kent should be split into unitary authorities, ending the historic "two-tier" set up of counties and districts?

Political blog, August 11:

End of debate on Kent TV? Not quite. And why an Ashford councillor escaped censure after race row

I was on holiday when county councillors held yet another meeting to pour over the messy entrails of the decision to extend the contract for Kent TV for another seven months so missed all the excitement.

Kent County Council logo

Political blog, July 31

Kent TV (again) and KCC gets a refund from Iceland

It's got more twists and turns than your average Ashes series but the saga of Kent TV and the decision by KCC to award it a seven-month contract extension continues.

Political blog, July 27:

Summer's here..and so are the style police

It's a tough life being a politician. Even when you're about to get away on holiday, you can't escape the attention of the press.

County Hall Political blog, July 23:

Another plot twist to Kent TV row

It's probably fair to say that KCC leader Paul Carter was not best pleased by the discussion that took place about the Kent TV contract at the council's all-party scrutiny committee earlier this week.

Political blog, July 22:

Councillors' concerns over Kent TV contract

The way in which KCC agrees contract extensions might not wet the appetite of even seasoned local government watchers. But the contract for Kent TV is rarely away from controversy.

Political blog, July 17:

Is Op Stack lorry park stuck in slow lane and Government rapped over Freedom of Information

How far away is Kent County Council from succeeding in its efforts to build a lorry park off the M20 to cope with the problems caused when Operation Stack is triggered?

Political blog, July 15

Council agenda summer blockbuster - 378 pages and 27 items

I don't imagine it'll top the best-seller summer reading chart but KCC has produced a weighty tome that must rank it as one of its largest council agendas we've ever seen. But will it be good for democracy?

Political blog, July 13

All quiet at Cabinet - and where were the opposition?

It was pretty quiet at today's meeting of KCC's re-shaped Conservative cabinet, the first since the party swept to victory on June 4. But where was everyone else?

Political blog, July 9

How the decision about Kent TV's extension was reached

Regardless of whether you think Kent TV is a good thing or a bad thing, Kent County Council has not always been deft in its handling of the controversial scheme.

Read

Political blog, July 7:

Why party leaders love quangos

Politicians love quangos. They love them because whenever they want to show their determination to curb public spending, quangos are a favoured whipping boy.

Political blog, July 6:

Turner legal tussle and Kent TV gets six months contract extension

I am not surprised that the protracted legal wrangle involving KCC and the architects responsible for the original Turner Centre in Margate has not been resolved.

Political blog, June 26:

KCC allowances - fair and modest or outrageous?

Fair, modest and sensible or insensitive and outrageous?

For the councillors gathered at County Hall to decide whether to award themselves an eight per cent "pay" hike, it largely depended on what side of the political fence you sat.

Political blog, June 23:

All over for Ann and which Kent MP claimed for a lumbar roll?

Even by the standards of the House of Commons, today's trashing of the newly-elected Speaker John Bercow in some newspapers and by some of his Coinservative colleagues - sotto voce, of course - strikes me as just a little over the top.

LIVE BLOG ON THE SPEAKER'S RACE

CLICK HERE FOR UPDATES ON HOW ANN WIDDECOMBE IS FARING

Political blog, June 22:

Can Widdy Win

It's a big day for Ann Widdecombe who could round off her political career by becoming the next Speaker of the House of Commons. With such a crowded field and all sorts of manouvering going on behind the scenes, the result is very hard to call.

Political blog, June 18:

MPs expenses out - sort of and more KCC reshuffle news

Today was supposed to be the day that you and I could, for the first time, go through our MPs' expenses claims and discover just how our elected politicians had been using public money.

Political blog, June 16:

MPs chilly over spending watchdog in Icelandic saga and Ann's "vulgar attributes"

There's been little love lost between Kent County Council and the Audit Commission over the former's £50million deposits with Icelandic banks. Now KCC may feel a little vindicated over its criticism of the public spending watchdog

Political Blog, June 11

Can Widdy win the Speaker's race?

I can't imagine that Ann Widdecombe has entered the race for the job of Speaker without calculating that she has a chance of replacing Michael Martin, albeit in an interim role.

Political Blog, June 10

Old faces back on Tory frontbench at County Hall

There will be some new faces around the cabinet table at County Hall. But it is the ones who are returning to the Conservative front bench that have proved the most eye-catching features

Political Blog, June 8:

Election aftermath and who will be at the top table at County Hall?

Up-dated at 4pm. I gather that a cabinet reshuffle at County Hall is being planned with the possibility of some new faces in the top team. Who is waiting anxiously for a phone call?

EU flag Political Blog. June 7:

Waiting for European election results

00.09: 00.09: The BBC is reporting there is a computer failure at the count for the South East region. Could be a late night...

Results from Medway for the Euro vote are in: Con: 18,502; UKIP - 12,841; Labour - 8,745; Lib Dem - 5,460; BNP - 4,761; Green - 4,283.

So, a pretty catastophic result for Labour there.

And the result is....

5.15pm: Conservatives retain control of KCC - blue-wash on the cards. Labour opposition leader Mike Eddy ousted from deal division; Deputy opposition labour leader Derek Smyth loses his Ashford South seat.

No doubt about it: this is a disastrous election for Labour which has been reduced to a party of two from 20 seats it was defending and has seen some huge swings against it in some parts of the county - as much as 25 per cent in some dvisions.

Political blog, June 4

As voters head for polls, will Gordon head for the exit door?

I'll be covering the results of KCC election as they come in tomorrow (Friday) both on the blog and on kent online.

Political blog, June 3

£109,000: How much Met Police probe into Green affair cost you

Hard to think exactly how much worse it could get for Gordon Brown but the announcement from Hazel Blears, the Communities Secretary, that she too is quitting is another grim bit of news.

Political blog, June 2

Smith goes as the good ship Brown drifts

It may be stretching it to suggest that the Labour government is disintegrating before our very eyes but it is hard to avoid the sense that an awful lot of rats are preparing to disembark from a rapidly sinking ship and that while Gordon Brown might still be at the helm but is listing horribly in politics' choppy waters.

Political blog, June 1

Howard and Prosser: Hard done by or legitimate targets?

Both Michael Howard and the Dover MP Gwyn Prosser have joined the ranks of MPs who have come under the spotlight over their allowances claims in today's Daily Telegraph. But have they been hard done by?

Political blog, May 29

At last! We see a Kent MP's detailed expenses

I've been puzzled why Kent MPs have not moved more quickly to publish all the detailed receipts and bills associated with their expenses claims. But at last, one has seized the moment and got around to letting the public know exactly where their money has gone.

Political blog, May 27

Text alerts on Parliamentary Bills? No thanks....

I am not entirely sure that text alerts on the progress of Parliamentary Bills is exactly what is needed to re-invigorate democracy and restore power to the people.

Political blog, May 19

KCC allowances published before election

Kent County Council can sometimes be an over-secretive authority which does not always enjoy a good reputation for openness.

But it deserves a small cheer for its decision to bring forward the publication of the allowances claimed by its 84 members so people can see how much has been claimed by individuals and in total before polling day on June 4.

Political blog, May 19

ANN Widdecombe - the people's choice as Speaker

Speaker Michael Martin quits - is Ann the people's choice?

No sooner had Michael Martin said he was to quit than speculation started that the Maidstone MP Ann Widdecombe could be prepared to step in as an "interim" Speaker until the next election.

Payback time for MPs

It was no surprise to witness the audience's hostility to the panel on BBC Question TIme last night - the politicians probably should have gone on with protective bullet proof vests, given the lynch-mob atmosphere and were probably expecting it.

So, what about KCC allowances?

As the outcry over MPs' allowances continues, an obvious question arises for those interested in the forthcoming Kent County Council election.

Houses of Parliament

Political blog, May 12:

Kent MPs allowances published soon?

I'm told by one Kent MP today that it is now increasingly likely that the gory - or entirely innocuous - details of all MPs' allowances will be published sooner rather than later.

Read more

Political blog, May 11:

Swimming pools and dry rot repairs: how MPs got out of touch

I haven't met or talked to many people who aren't outraged by the revelations in the Daily Telegraph about how some of our MPs have claimed allowances.

Friday, May 01 2009

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