Call for district and parish councillors for May local elections

Elections Photo John Finnegan

A dedicated event will take place in March for all those interested in standing as a parish or district councillor in the upcoming May elections.

Led by an external trainer, the event is aimed at both current councillors and prospective candidates and their agents.

It will be held in the Council Chamber on Monday, March 4 from 6pm – 8pm

Attendees at the event will be able to collect nomination packs, Electoral Commission guidance for candidates and agents, and a timetable of events.

To attend email: [email protected] or phone 01843 577194

Thanet Independent Councillors group is recruiting for people to stand in election

The group, formed after 12 councillors broke away from Thanet’s UKIP party last year. Is appealing for people who want “to represent local people on local issues.”

The elections take place on May 2. Hopefuls will go head to head in the fight for 56 seats at district council.

The authority is currently led by a minority Conservative administration. It is composed of 22 Conservative; 14 Independent and UKIP Group; 12 Thanet Independent Councillors Group; 5 Labour and 2 Independents.

Call for Independents

TIC group leader Rev Stuart Piper said: “There is no place for party politics in local government We has now been officially recognised by the Electoral Commission and registered as a political party for the purposes of enabling candidates to represent local people on local issues in elections in the district of Thanet.

“For many years successive administrations have focused too much on national party interests and it has often been to the detriment of local residents. Thanet Independents has been working hard as a group of committed local representatives since January 2018 when we forced the UKIP administration to stand aside.

“We are standing for election as a determined group. We believe it is time to take tribal politics out of Thanet District Council. We will insist on open and transparent local government and not play fast and loose with our pledges to you. We will challenge the West Kent Boys Club at KCC at every opportunity on the condition of our highways and many other local issues.

“Local government funding from government is being reduced to zero by 2020/1 across the UK and it seems that areas like ours will take the biggest hits.

We have been recruiting for some time now but welcome like-minded residents to join with us. Together we can make Thanet Independent.”

North Thanet Conservative candidates

North Thanet Conservatives have also revealed their candidate list.

Members of North Thanet Conservative Association have officially given their backing to the 17 hopefuls who will stand for election in the nine wards that cover the area from St Nicholas at Wade to Margate, and inland to Monkton, Minster and Manston.

Among the candidates is 21-year-old George Kup, who co-hosts a weekly politics show on Wizard Radio, and 24-year-old Kerry Boyd, youth worker with the National Citizen Service.

Many sitting town, parish and district councillors will again be standing for election – including the youngest Thanet District Council member Reece Pugh, who is 26.

The others are Kent County Councillor Paul Messenger, also a professional musician, and district councillors Ash Ashbee, Sam Bambridge, Keith Coleman-Cooke, Simon Day, Peter Evans, Ian Gregory, Carol Messenger, Mick Tomlinson and Linda Wright. Phil Fellows is a member of Birchington Parish Council, and Matthew Scott is a member of Westgate-on-Sea Town Council.

David Hart runs a pet shop and tree surgery business, while David Wallin works as a computer consultant locally and is well-known as a Manston airport campaigner.

Robert Jones, chairman of North Thanet Conservative Association, said the candidates were already working hard meeting residents and finding out how they can help.

He said: “Our candidates are all local people who care passionately about Thanet and its wonderful communities. Because they live here, they know the issues that matter to residents and many of them have been campaigning to improve things for years.

“Together with our colleagues in South Thanet we will continue our fight to return freight traffic to Manston airport, and to support the local economy by encouraging tourism and supporting our valuable local businesses.”

The full list of candidates is below.

Birchington North: Keith Coleman-Cook and Simon Day

Birchington South: Phil Fellows, George Kup and Linda Wright

Dane Valley: Ian Gregory

Garlinge: Kerry Boyd and Peter Evans

Margate Central: Paul Messenger

Salmestone: David Wallin

Thanet Villages: Reece Pugh and David Hart

Westbrook: Ash Ashbee and Mick Tomlinson

Westgate: Samantha Bambridge, Carol Messenger and Matthew Scott

Details for candidates from all parties and independents has been requested by The Isle of Thanet News.

5 Comments

  1. Oh dear, not a load more waiting to get on the bandwagon of holding Thanet to ransom even longer. We need all those useless councillors out of the way and get some in that actually really want to help Thanet and work to improve the area rather than keep on dragging out the closed airport saga. All these years wasted on stupid attempts at resurrecting just one part of Thanet at Manston whilst ignoring the rest of it. We are looking at dirt and nothing done, no action, no enforcement, when Thanet could be a beautiful place once again with clean streets and clean beaches, tourism and growth. Take a look at other seaside towns doing well and smell the roses rather than waiting, hoping for noise and pollution with airport freight.
    I hope there are candidates who genuinely love Thanet and want to see it prosper cleanly. The Tories and Independants who broke away from UKIP are just one but the same.

    • Dear Kent Resident, not sure of your thinking on pollution, but let me explain to you about Manston, if we don’t have an Airport, we will get thousands of houses, with the houses, you will get thousands more cars, if you have thousands more cars you will get more pollution, I know what I would rather have and that is a few planes a day.

  2. If there’s ever an airport at Manston, there will be noise and pollution from planes day and night as well as there being the 17,000+ houses which the government says it wants built in Thanet. RSP’s alleged plans are not for just a “a few planes a day”, they say they want 83,000 flights annually.

  3. It’s a simple choice you can vote in a party with a majority big enough to get things done or choose to add a few independents, who have in the past backed the Party that gives them a Post that pays the most money.
    They end up running committees badly and we get all the problems of the past again.

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