Hustings hustle
Hustings hustle
Recapping our three events, plus our weekly events guide, we review the Greedy Banker, news in brief, and more
In a seven day period, we put on three General Election hustings in Medway, inviting candidates from all parties to take part and answer questions from voters. Nearly all candidates participated, and we welcomed 550 residents across the three events. Rewarding, yet utterly exhausting, work.
We’re not going to lie to you. Today’s edition is a little thinner than usual as we attempt to pull ourselves back from an absurdly busy week. That said, we still have recaps of the three events (with recordings of two of them!), our weekly events guide, a review of the Greedy Banker in Rainham, our news in brief section, and more. We’ve got a jam-packed schedule coming up over the next few weeks, so we’ll be back to full power from Sunday
Hustings hustle
We’re a bit tired.
As many of you will know, putting this publication together isn’t our day job. Both myself and Steven have regular, full-time employment. This is something we do on the side of that. With a bit of luck, one day, it might be our primary job, but we’re still some way away from that point.
Putting out four editions of Local Authority each week (two solely for our wonderful paid supporters) takes up a fair bit of time, but this week, even that hasn’t been enough. At the start of the General Election campaign, and following our success of doing the same for local and Police and Crime Commissioner elections, we decided to hold General Election hustings. Not just one either, but three: One for each of Medway’s parliamentary constituencies.
Hustings have a reputation for being low-turnout events where twenty people gather in a musty community centre to hear candidates make their pitch. We wanted to do better than that and put on something that met the scale of the decision in front of the electorate.
Despite the lack of lead time and a scramble to find suitable venues, we’d like to think we did what we set out to do.
Over the course of seven days, we held three hustings across Medway. 18 candidates from 8 parties and one independent took part. 550 residents came along to listen, and 150 questions were submitted.
Of course, it would be remiss not to acknowledge the elephant (not) in the room: The Conservatives choosing not to take part in any of them. We knew this would likely be a risk when we began this process, but we did everything we could to encourage them to join us. Sadly, all three chose not to take part. While this is unfortunate, we took at least some solace in knowing that it wasn’t about us in particular. They simply weren’t interested in talking to residents at any such event, also skipping similar hustings held by KMTV and St. Mark’s Church in Gillingham.
Beyond the Conservatives, though, we’re grateful that candidates from Labour, Lib Dems, Greens, Reform, SDP, CPA, and independents all took part, listening and answering attendees’ questions.
Before we proceed, a brief technical note: We did intend to record all three hustings and release them for download here, but unfortunately, due to a mixup at the Rochester and Strood event, we have no recording from that event.
Our first event was the Gillingham and Rainham hustings at St. Margaret’s Church in Rainham, a church with a more elaborate tech setup than most gig venues. As a result, it’s also the only hustings we were able to stream live straight to our Facebook page, and you can watch it back there if you’d like to see how things unfolded instead of just hearing them.
With Rehman Chishti choosing not to participate and Reform’s Rizvi Rawoof forgetting to turn up, it was a relatively low-key affair with a lot more consensus than a debate between six political candidates has any right to have. Topics included Gillingham High Street, homelessness, education, climate change, NHS waiting times, culture, and more.
Over in Chatham and Aylesford, we pitched up at Lordswood Leisure Centre, accidentally booking a room with strong wedding venue vibes. Once again, things were reasonably civil and good-natured, with issues including NHS privatisation, climate change, homelessness, anti-social behaviour, public trust in politicians, education, and more.
Then there was Rochester. Rochester Baptist Church was the location for our Rochester and Strood hustings, and it was, to put it mildly, a lively affair. Candidates exchanged views, and the audience was happy to express their opinions, whether positively or negatively. Questions included the economy, Brexit, health, the environment, housing, and more.
Much of the more passionate moments involved Reform candidate Daniel Dabin, who spoke strongly about his position and faced direct conflicts with the audience and some of the other candidates. At one point, Labour candidate Lauren Edwards dropped a reference to Dabin losing an employment tribunal over an unpaid member of staff, which Labour were quick to capitalise on via social media. Dabin wasn’t the only one courting controversy, though, with Heritage Party candidate Peter Burch being heckled for referring to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a ‘minor border skirmish’ before asserting that Russia is a democratic country.
Some Rochester and Strood hustings attendees posted their thoughts on the evening on social media. Dan Brent, a local entrepreneur, posted a detailed rundown of how he thought each candidate performed, offering an astute analysis of the evening.
Hustings are an important part of the democratic process, and they have often felt a little old-fashioned and an afterthought in recent years. We’re proud to have revitalised them a bit, leading to packed rooms of candidates and voters together. For voters, it’s a good way to hear candidates speak in detail about issues as opposed to receiving a leaflet through the door or seeing a small clip on social media.
Local Authority will continue to hold hustings for any elections Medway faces, but there’s a good chance it’ll be 2027 before we get to do this again in any meaningful way. Given how much we need the sleep right now, maybe that’s for the best.
In brief
🏥 Medway Hospital has broken rules on placing patients of the opposite sex in the same wards as each other nearly 1,000 times since the start of the year. This is more than any other hospital in Kent, and yet somehow, the sky didn’t fall in as a result.
🚄 Rail replacement buses will be operating between Gravesend and Gillingham this weekend while the line is closed for planned engineering works.
🎙️ The first episode of new Medway podcast We Did It Medway is out now. It features the story of the Medway suffragists and interviews with Rochester and Strood candidates Kelly Tolhurst and Lauren Edwards.
Out to Lunch: The Greedy Banker in Rainham
In which Steven Keevil assesses the lunch options available in our towns. This week, he’s been down to The Greedy Banker in Rainham…
The Greedy Banker is at a crossroads in Rainham, near St Margaret’s Church, the location of our recent Gillingham and Rainham election hustings. The large building is surprisingly narrow when you enter, but it has a welcoming and vibrant atmosphere, though there is arguably one too many TVs. The venue offers a QR code to access its menu on your phone, but you do need to order at the bar.
As is becoming a trend, I ordered from the sides menu and got a portion of fries with curry salt, buttermilk onion rings with a herb dip, and beef nik naks with a barbeque dip, alongside the obligatory Diet Coke. A couple of early observations found a couple of things lacking. There is no coleslaw on the menu, and not even a green salad, nor do they do not serve soft drinks in pints. They do make an excellent bacon jam, but this is not served separately.
That said, the food is a flavour sensation. The fries are crisp, and the curry salt is an excellent addition. I am not sure what they are doing to the buttermilk at the Greedy Banker, but the onion rings may be the best in Medway. If you wrongly think there are better onion rings, then please let me know where. As good as the chips and onion rings are, they are not the best thing. The beef nik naks are a revelation made up of tasty pieces of beef in another excellent coating, cut and cooked to look just like Nik Naks. I already want them again.
Events this week
🍺 Explore the history of Rochester through its current and long-gone pubs with a Dry Pub Crawl tomorrow (Sat 22 Jun). Tour starts at the Guildhall Museum. Free, but charity donations welcomed.
💐 Ari Aster’s phenomenal folk horror Midsommar will screen at the Odeon in Chatham on Monday (24 Jun). The closest thing you’ll come to seeing an anxiety attack portrayed on screen for two and a half hours. Tickets £15.05.
🤣 Funny Women are putting on a comedy show for parents with young children or anyone else who wants to attend. Taking place at Rochester Community Hub on Tuesday (25 Jun), a number of comics will provide lunchtime laughs. Free, but booking required.
🎤 The next Big Trouble poetry night is on Thursday (27 Jun) at the Rams Micropub 12 Degrees in Rochester. This edition features headline performances from Carmina Masoliver and Annaliese Broughton, as well as the usual open mic. Tickets £7.
More Authority
Yesterday, we published a General Election analysis by Medway Elects founder Alan Collins Rosell. He looked at the candidates standing across Medway and assessed their chances. Using polling data, he discovered that we are facing a mixed picture across the board, with Medway truly being a battleground in this election.
This weekend, we have the final in our interview series with General Election candidates as we sit down with the three contenders standing in Medway: Kim Winterbottom, Kate Belmonte, and Cat Jamieson.
Footnotes
Music that soundtracked the creation of this edition: Tigers Blood by Waxahatchee, Physical Release by Her Parents, and Death Club by Slime City.