“I wanted to actually do something worthwhile”

What Steven asked Cllr Eddie Peake, Labour Group Whip and councillor for Wayfield and Weeds Wood

As part of our ongoing series of interviews with Medway’s current councillors, Steven met Eddie Peake at Bridgewood Manor Hotel, where they discussed what brought him to Medway, why he lost everything in Portugal, his love of Elvis and whether Labour members who don’t support the Local Plan should lose the whip.

Cllr Eddie Peake

Which ward are you the councillor for?
Wayfield and Weeds Wood.
Why that ward?
It's a very... I'm... Oh God, how do you ask for things like this? I touch base with it as in it's an area not dissimilar to the area I lived in when I lived in Ilford in Essex. Relatively speaking, it’s working class and ordinary people. I'm comfortable with people like that. I've stood there before in different boundaries, I've got to know the area. I know the area a little bit anyway because I sing with Walderslade Sings, in the church on King George Road. I identify with it. When it came out as one to put myself forward to, I didn't hesitate.
Do you live in the ward?
I don't, no. I live in Chatham, but I don't actually live actually in that ward.
This was the third time you stood for election in Medway?
It is because it was Rainham South before, and before that was in Walderslade.
When you stood in Rainham, was that as a paper candidate?
I felt that it was, in theory it wasn't, I don't know how much to say about that.
Why do you think you won this time?
There's been a shift nationally, because no matter how much we care about local issues, and they are what generally matter to me the most, it would be ignorant to assume that the national situation doesn't have a big effect. It clearly did. For the first time in my lifetime, and I've been involved in politics for about 50 years, it was the right-wing vote split rather than the left-wing vote. When you study this, because I did do a degree in PPE (Philosophy, Politics and Economics), middle-aged, and you study the science of voting.
One of the big factors about why the Conservatives have always been in power for so long? They would make all sorts of claims. It's often more basic than
that. Quite often, the perceived so-called left, the alternative vote, has been split, and it's the first time that the right-wing vote has been split. That is a major fact. That is backed up by how many votes Reform got.

How would you describe the role of Group Whip? What does that entail?
Cracking a whip in discipline. I am officially part of the leadership, so it's a leadership role. There is a supporting role as well for people when there's issues and stuff like that. I mostly get to hear things that are private and confidential, and because we are human beings and people have things happening in their life which obviously has an impact, health or whatever. To me, I see it as hopefully galvanising this work together, because one of my approaches to life is I very much believe in teamwork. I'm very quick to say I very much believe in individual responsibility as well, because quite often this is misunderstood. I want to be there, as somebody that people can come to, to gain support from, and to work as a group, to get us to come together, and hopefully everybody does it voluntarily and buys into it because they want to. But obviously, it's a supportive role to leadership as well.
By the time this interview appears, the council would have voted on the Local Plan. How will that vote go?
I don't know. Seriously I have so many things I go on about, I'm not saying this is media's fault, but I understand in the media you want an answer to that question, then a politician will appear to fob it off, but I literally do not know. I'm hoping it will go through. I'm not being pre-determined. Hope is the wrong word. I have expectations that it would go through, but we don't know how everybody's going to vote. I can second guess how they might do that, but is that useful at all? Do I really want to be held on record for just guessing?

The group and Vince (Maple) as leader has made getting a Local Plan a major part of the administration’s role. If any member of the Labour group doesn't support the Local Plan, should they lose the whip?
Oh, that's right on the knuckle. I actually don’t know. I had a conversation with Vince on Friday when I asked him about his opinion about something. I did say to him, ‘When I ask you, don't think I don't have my own opinion. I do, but I also recognise my relative lack of experience as a whip, because it's been less than a year, and my relative lack of experience of Medway.’ I've lived here for, gosh, about ten years or so. You've got people that are almost born and bred, that have been involved in politics for so long, and the Labour group here, they can be different in different places. I've experienced this. When I defer to the experience and knowledge of the leadership, I'm recognising that has been a worthwhile thing to do because I'm not one of those people who knows it all already.
A question like that, I would literally go to the leadership and ask their opinion. To me, these things are never, ever automatic. Nor do I see any benefit to being strident about it. Okay, so I know that's a fob off, but I do try to believe in honesty. I am honestly saying I'm fobbing you off.