Eight more months of this to go

The state of each of the parties are we move toward local elections, and keep reading for an incredible TikTok from an alternative Chatham

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Medway is facing local elections next year, at a time of great political uncertainty, both locally and nationally. As such, on the first Wednesday of the month, I send out a newsletter to paid supporters setting out where we are, and where we appear to be heading. Join me as I try to unpack what is going on in our local politics.

We’re now eight months away from local elections in Medway. Elections that offer the biggest shake-up in our local politics for two decades. New boundaries, more councillors, the leader of the council standing down. Nothing is certain in these elections, and it’s hard to predict who will be in charge of our towns after next May.

This month has been relatively quiet following the drama of the previous months, but there’s still lots going on, both publicly and behind the scenes as we hurtle towards these incredibly important elections.

The administration

Much like the way our national government effectively ceased functioning over the summer, we’re currently watching the long, drawn-out decline of the Conservative administration in Medway.

That isn’t to say they won’t still win the election next year, but even in that scenario, any administration will look very different to the one that we’ve had for the past few years.

Leader of the council Alan Jarrett has already signalled his intent to stand down from both the leadership and as a councillor. So whoever wins next May, the Conservative group will be under new leadership. And with the warring factions within the group, it’s hard to tell who will take that role.

This is one of the strangest things about this election. Cllr Jarrett has indicated that he intends to stay in the post right up until the election when he will then immediately stand down. So he’ll be out campaigning for the electorate to elect his party but not him, leaving voters with no idea who will actually be in charge if his party wins.