A slightly unusual Local Authority today as, using the wonders of technology, we bring you a full recording of our Battle for Gun Wharf local election debate, held at MidKent College last Wednesday.
Our very own Steven Keevil moderated the debate, putting questions submitted by attendees to both Conservative Medway Council Leader Alan Jarrett and Labour Leader of the Opposition Vince Maple.
This is a full recording of the entire debate, so settle in with a cup of tea, and listen to what each candidate thinks on the big issues facing Medway.
Time stamps for finding individual answers:
2:48 - Candidate introductions
9:19 - What do the leaders think of the current state of democracy in Medway?
13:16 - How can you get across to voters that local elections are important?
18:45 - Medway is in serious financial difficulty, how can we revive the local economy?
23:09 - How has leaving the European Union benefitted the Medway economy?
29:32 - How we increase the number of young people studying technical qualifications and apprenticeships?
32:53 - How can we increase support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities?
36:12 - How can we support people who homeschool their children?
41:58 - What should the council do to address the climate crisis?
45:44 - Covid highlighted the importance of parks within walking distance, what can we do to improve their quality?
49:38 - What can be done to ensure that all newbuilds have some kind of renewable energy system fitted as part of the planning stage?
55:11 - How can we clean up houses that are vacant and put residents in them?
59:16 - What can we do to provide more social housing with affordable rent?
1:05:35 - How can we improve the bus service?
1:09:22 - What can we do to increase the inclusion of disabled residents in Medway?
1:12:49 - Given the multiple failed city status bids and associated costs, should the council pursue a future bid, and if successful, what tangible benefits to residents would there be?
1:16:47 - Everyone has priorities for service improvements, what isn’t a priority?
1:22:40 - Closing statements
Footnotes
We’d like to do more of this sort of thing! We’re currently crowdfunding to get a programme of live events off the ground, as well as some other things that will help us improve Local Authority. We hit our initial goal but would love to do more, so if you like what we do and would like to support us in exchange for some awesome rewards, take a look here.
No music was listened to during the creation of this edition, just the sweet, sweet tones of Vince Maple and Alan Jarrett.
Listen: The Battle for Gun Wharf