Cllr Spalding and the anti-trans tweet
Plus a cheap way to visit Chatham Dockyard, some furious backpedalling at Medway CAB, and more
Councillors saying thoughtless things on social media is a tale as old as time, and so it was this week when independent councillor Chris Spalding decided to Have Some Opinions about Trans Day of Visibility being the same day as Easter Sunday. Further down, we also have news on a way to visit Chatham Dockyard for a lot less money than usual, some furious backpedalling at Medway CAB after last week’s drama, and most horrifyingly of all, I’ve done a guest appearance on a podcast.
It turns out that a bank holiday weekend isn’t hugely conducive to large amounts of news, so it’s a slightly shorter edition than usual today, but we’ve got some good stuff lined up for the rest of the week. Thanks to those that said nice things about the first part of our Billy Childish interview over the weekend. It’s one of the things I’m proudest we’ve been able to put out, and if you’d like to access the full thing and receive the second part this weekend, please hit the big orange button below to join our hundreds of paid supporters in keeping us going.
Cllr Spalding and the anti-trans tweet
If there’s one thing the internet likes to yell at each other about, it’s whether trans people are entitled to the same basic rights as everyone else. Worse than that, there is a certain type of person who is offended by the mere reference to anything trans, even if it doesn’t affect them in the slightest.
So it was that the inevitable culture war battles launched on Sunday when Easter happened to clash with Trans Day of Visibility.
Most normal people probably wouldn’t give a second thought to this. Even if you noted both were on the same day, you’d likely understand the quirk of a calendar that sees one event remain fixed on March 31 while the other bounces around based on the whims of the moon.
Of course, social media isn’t a place for normal people, so there was outrage when the Labour Party tweeted about Trans Day of Visibility as well as Easter Sunday because god knows it’s only possible to celebrate one thing in a day.
Step forward Medway independent councillor Chris Spalding, who, after an initial, slightly snarky comment about it being Easter Sunday, decided to descend into the pit of bigotry by referring to Trans Day of Visibility as ‘the day for blokes in dresses’.
Yes, seriously.
While Cllr Spalding did fairly quickly remove the tweet, as well as removing his name and face from his Twitter account when we approached him for comment on the situation, he emphasised that “a few people (single figures) took offence” to the tweet, though it is unclear how he reached this figure. He went on to reiterate that “I personally believe certain days should remain autonomous, and if an awareness day coincides, then the latter should move.”
He went on to claim he was the only one taken to task locally (this is untrue, as other locals were challenged on the issue), asking, “Can those in the public domain not have opinions and voice them?”
In a wide-ranging statement, Cllr Spalding went on to call his choice of words “very poor indeed” and blamed a number of issues for his post:
Hindsight is a wonderful thing and the wording used to make a point was, on reflection, by my own standards, very poor indeed. It was not the sort of thing people would expect from me. Somebody who knows me very well spotted this and rang to ask if I was alright. The answer was “no”. The last few days have been very challenging including a serious lack of sleep, and recent weeks personally very tough for me with recurrence of mental health issues from various ‘triggers’ and ongoing issues.
Some of these have led to rumours I may resign from Medway Council. I do not intend at this juncture to comment on my future as a Councillor save to say a prevalent specific issue remains unresolved.
There were better words I could have used to make the point, but I will not apologise for holding certain beliefs.
Of course, anyone is entitled to have their view on whether Trans Day of Visibility should be on the same day as Easter Sunday or even whether the day itself is a good idea.
However, immediately descending into this kind of derogatory language is disappointing. This kind of casual bigotry has no place anywhere, least of all from an elected representative, and establishes exactly why things like Trans Day of Visibility need to exist in the first place.
Chatham Dockyard marks 40 years
This year marks 40 years since Chatham Dockyard closed as a working dockyard, and that impact can still be felt in our towns. Four decades on, the site is still being redeveloped, and the core part of the former dockyard has repositioned itself as a tourist attraction, filming location, and an educational hub.
To mark the anniversary, Chatham Historic Dockyard are offering discounted tickets for local residents through the month of April. While the attraction isn’t cheap to visit usually, this offer makes it a slightly more reasonable £19.20 for an adult ticket. More usefully for local residents, a ticket grants access to return for an entire year, making the value rather better for local residents.
You’ll need to bring some form of photographic ID that proves you live in ME1, ME2, ME3, ME4, ME5, ME7, ME8, or ME9 7 (take that ME6), and the ticket will exclude special event days, but it’s still a pretty good deal as the site does contain lots to explore. It’s also a great opportunity to take in the 200 years of the RNLI exhibition that is currently on display for visitors.
The news comes on top of Chatham Historic Dockyard being awarded £2.3m from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to restore the Commissioner’s House. The money will be spent to repair and preserve the building, as well as update electrical and mechanical services, making the building more energy efficient and improving public access.
If you’d like to see the Commissioner’s House before that happens, it’ll remain open until November this year, before closing until Summer 2026 to allow the work to be completed.
Don’t forget to book your ticket for our upcoming Kent Police and Crime Commissioner debate All announced candidates have confirmed they will participate in the debate, where they will answer your questions on crime, public safety, the role of the commissioner, and more. For reasons, we can’t reveal the location just yet, but it’ll take place in Medway on April 17. Tickets are free, but booking is essential. When booking a ticket, you can submit a question for the panel, and we’ll be asking as many of them on the night as possible. We hope you’ll be able to join us.
Furious backpedalling news
Following the weird statements and counterstatements from Citizens Advice Medway (CAB) and Medway Council over funding from the charity being withdrawn last week, a further update from Medway CAB this week suggested some furious backpedalling was underway.
After the previous statement and sign put up in the window of the organisation seemed to lay the blame firmly at the feet of Medway Council, the latest update from Chief Executive Dan McDonald was rather more conciliatory.
The statement (and gramatical trainwreck) posted on Facebook sets out the updated situation.
Coincidentally, Dan McDonald is also a Medway Labour councillor within the ruling administration, which presumably makes it a little easier to see both sides.
The statement goes on to pledge that the charity will ‘keep our doors open’, in rather stark contrast to the locked doors that greeted customers attempting to use the service last week, and to keep an eye on social media for future updates.
While it is good to know that Medway CAB will soon to be resuming services to assist those in Medway most in need, this whole episode does inevitably raise questions about the structures and processes within the organisation that led to these kinds of messy communications.
We’re still eager to go deeper into this story. If you have any information on the relationship between Medway Council and Medway CAB from the perspective of either organisation, please get in touch via hello@localauthority.news.
I’m on a podcast
I was both delighted and horrified to appear on my first podcast this week, after
and invited me onto their rather excellent show to discuss all things local news.It was part of a short series they have done on local issues, and features myself blathering on along with the rather more coherent Kate Knowles from
and Michael MacLeod from . The episode below features a little bit of our conversation, and apparently the full length chat might be released in the near future.I’m unable to listen to this myself as the idea of hearing my own voice prattling on is enough to break me into a sweat, but if for some reason you want to have a listen, you can hear the episode below:
In brief
🍻 The Coopers Arms in Rochester has been named Medway Pub of the Year by judges from the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA).
📋 Ofsted have inspected Medway’s SEND (special educational needs and/or disabilities) provision for young people and deemed that “the local area partnership’s arrangements lead to inconsistent experiences and outcomes” and that “the local area partnership must work jointly to make improvements”.
⚽ The new Managing Director of Gillingham Football Club plans to go all Moneyball with signings this year. The plan is to use data and analytics to find the best options rather than old school scouting methods.
🌎 Record breaking explorer George Meeghan, from Rainham, recently passed away. His family is now pushing for a memorial plaque somewhere in the town.
More Authority
Our paid supporters receive extra editions of Local Authority every week. This week, they received the first half of our two-part interview with legendary local artist Billy Childish.
“I don't identify really as Billy Childish”
In our first Sunday interview that couldn’t be contained to only one part, we talked to legendary Medway artist, writer, musician, and poet Billy Childish. Steven met Billy in his studio at Chatham Dockyard, speaking to him whilst he painted. In this first part, they talk about the name Billy Childish, other names he uses, his family’s connection to the Medway Towns, getting an honorary doctorate, and how everything you’ve heard is probably true.
Footnotes
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Music that soundtracked the creation of this edition: Utopia Now! by Rosie Tucker, Melodrama by Lorde, and Canines by Shrag.
Wow on the "blokes in dresses" comment from Spalding. My ghast has been flabbered!
Does he not know there are just as many, to use his own analogy, "chicks in trousers" too. What a totally shit thing to say. Does he believe that's all Trans is about. A dress code. A total lack of understanding. No wonder the Trans community is where it is with spiteful disingenuous people spouting such crap.
I am Ed's Mum. I am not Trans. I don't know anyone that is. But this was disgraceful, this just shows what Trans people have to put up with on a daily basis. We are all Human beings, and have a right to live our lives the way we want. If it isn't harming anyone else, what's the problem? What is he afraid of? That he might catch it?
Just, wow!
I knew George M in his Green Party days - a nice guy.
Re Mr Spalding's comments - as I have humanist leanings, can I object to the use of the term 'Easter' (as that is a Christian festival)?