The newly-elected Kent County Councillor for the Cliftonville division says his campaign was about ‘giving hope.’
Green Party’s Cllr Rob Yates took 38.8% of the ballot – equating to 2068 votes – with Reform UK’s Marc Rattigan coming in second with 33.1% – 1767 votes.
Conservative Charlie Leys polled 15.2% with 811 votes and Labour’s Joanne Bright trailed in fourth at 10.4% – 557 votes.
The result means a Green gain from Reform.
Cllr Yates said: “To see the Cliftonville community come together in this election has been incredible.
“They have started to believe. The zebra crossing (installed at Hartsdown) was a small thing but lots of residents saw the fight against KCC to get it and if you provide results you can give hope. I think that’s what residents need and that’s what our campaign has been about.”
He added: “KCC has been run by Reform for a year and they have done a terrible job.
“Residents want empathy, they want hope and they want compassion in their politics rather than division.
“We are better than the politics of division that other parties push.”
A celebration rally at Margate Steps from 7pm this evening will see Cllr Yates joined by Green leader Zack Polanski. It is the second trip to the isle in a week for Mr Polanski who also came to Margate on Wednesday evening in a bid to boost the polls.
Reforms Marc Rattigan told the LDRS that “It’s quite shocking, especially with their national policies of open borders and legalising drugs but democracy is democracy. That’s what the people of Cliftonville wanted and that’s what they’ve now got.
“The Labour vote dropped from 1200 to 500, so Greens mopped that up, our vote dropped from 1900 to 1700, we dropped a slight bit…this was a protest vote.”
KCC leader Linden Kemkaran (Reform) said: “Naturally the result is not what we wanted but we are proud that we ran a clean and positive campaign throughout.”
The poll was triggered after the jailing of former councillor Daniel Taylor for controlling behaviour towards his wife.
Taylor had won the election in May 2025 with 40% of the vote and was part of the Reform landslide that saw the party take 57 of the 81 seats at KCC. He was suspended after his arrest and expelled when he was convicted.
The election of Cllr Yates brings Green Party members at KCC to five. There are 47 Reform UK, 12 Liberal Democrat, 5 Conservative, 2 Labour (including Labour and Co-operative Party) and 10 Independent.
Seven Independent Members have formed the Restore Britain Kent Political Group.
“Residents want empathy, they want hope and they want compassion in their politics rather than division. We are better than the politics of division that other parties push.”
Wonderful stuff – we can all sign up to that can’t we. Except ….
Division is exactly what they are about, they are actively using it to get votes, particularly from the Muslim community.
After the Golders Green ambulances were torched Greens suggested “false flag” theories blaming Jewish people for the arson. Together with Holocaust denial and world control tropes, Greens have described Jews as “an abomination to this planet” and claimed Jews “murder, bomb and starve” children. Whatever you may think of the Israeli war on terrorism, these are your uninvolved friends and neighbours they are talking about.
Zack Polanski’s own family has said they’ll be forced to leave the UK if he becomes Prime Minister: One said “He’s currently the leader of the future Islamic party of Britain, that’s what the Green Party is fast becoming.” Another family member added: “he’s cosying up to people whose ideology is the complete antithesis of everything that he’s supposed to stand for. It’s like he’s a chicken, telling us to vote for KFC.”
The Green party are actively weaponizing division while claiming the opposite. Gaslighting on a large scale. There’s an old saying: “Even as the forest got smaller and smaller, the trees kept voting for the axe. For the axe was clever, and had convinced the trees that because its handle was made of wood it was one of them.” If they ever get power it’s not the trees that could get the axe, it’s Christian Britain.
Deep breath. And relax, John.
Your axe metaphor in the context of ‘Christian Britain’ was fabulous. Just ask Mary Queen of Scots. Or Henry VIII
God help us if Roman Polanski gets in we’ll have a country of big breasted women via hypnoses and Number 10 downing Street will become a crack den.
I look forward to the first bit.
Perish the thought Greta.
This is all without foundation at best, and simple lies at worst.
The Greens oppose Israeli’s genocid and war crimes. It’s Israels leaders who continue to conflate their state with being Jewish.
And it is so odd that bringing such a diverse group into a single party is seen as divisive.
So, please let me see the sources for all these so called quotes of yours.
What !!!! I thought this election was for cliftonville ? Is he mp for gaza now ?
WHAT ? WAS THIS ELECTION FOR CLIFTONVILLE
OR GAZA
If that’s the way the country is going Lord help us.
Big loss for reform, labour lost half its votes
Which is normal recently, we are in a political earthquake, where in this election labour/tory vote combined was less than a quarter of the total vote. Polly Billington is set to lose her seat to reform or greens.
Whats with the 1970’s porn star moustache.
Well that’s taken political debate to a whole new level
Haha!
John that suit that someone bought you, must be getting a bit tight around the nether regions and causing you to hallucinate due to shortage of breath.
I have never heard such drivel in all my life, all over a bye election.
Look the tories are unelectable because of the great economic and social damage they did in 14 years of clown car politics.Labour are getting stick, because as yet no one can see what they are there for, but they have time to get off their backsides and fix a few things like the housing crisis, transport,energy, and water. Reform are condemned by their own policies and actions and their age based support is getting smaller by the day.
The Greens are saying things that many believe in,and they do not support violence towards any group, at least none zi have ever met. Being against the Israeli actions towards Gaza,Beirut, or Iran does not make the Greens or anyone who thinks the same, anti semitic,or even anti zionist,and to suggest the opposite is not only a falsehood, a but is a libel.
Let me tell you John,the vast majority of people in thus country want nothing but peace and harmony towards each other, and we should be reassuring all minorities that their safety and wellbeing is secure.
Unfortunately, there are anti semites ,racists, and haters of anyone that doesn’t agree with them, but they are to be found at the extremes of the political spectrum, mainly but not exclusively on the right, and by your actions, you may well be one of them.Calm down, and persuade your party to think why it is so unpopular and how it can earn the trust of the public again.Inventing hoodoo’s and conspiracy theories will not restore your fortunes.
For someone who claimed that this election is meaningless, you have plenty to say on the matter. Any idea why Ms. Bright came fourth? Perhaps her leaflets didn’t help.
i wonder how many laguages this poor man speaks , because hes going to need to speak about twenty if he intends to ” help ” his constituents.
Why don’t you put the dog whistle away. Say what you mean. And say it in your own name?
before any one starts , i had a mispelling in my above coment
You had a mispelling in misspelling too. I wouldn’t go casting linguistic nasturtiums if I was you, mate!
We wouldn’t be having this conversation if the previous Reform candidate hadn’t been imprisoned. Perhaps Reform need to improve their selection process 😕
We’d have been having yet another by-election within months if the Tory ship jumper had got in too. They REALLY need to work on their candidate selection process!
I hope you Greens who bleat on about saving the Planet start cleaning up the industrial levels of litter and dog poo on our Isle.
Quite easily the dirtiest place I have ever lived or visited.
No dog owners must do that Davo.
Well Davo. The Green Councillors and ordinary members are frequently litter picking, repairing the shelters, caring for public garden amongst loads of community activities. They’re part of various informal groups who do this.
The Labour District Council and Town Council are the one’s who direct resources to litter.
They have done things but with central government cuts to their budgets they are strapped for cash.
Absolutely shocked so many voted reform again after how horrendous their council management has been.
Not shocked just sad.Evidently the fear and loathing over migrants overreaches everything else.
I would be interested to know however if anyone has noticed improved social care,better bus services,fewer potholes, or the substantial cuts in council tax promised by Reform at the time of the last elections?
I don’t blame or criticise voters for moving away from the mainstream of political thought, but there must be some sort of benefit for doing so, and I am dawned if I can see one.
I am happy to be convinced otherwise if someone can offer a rational explanation that doesn’t rant about Muslims,migrants, or the “wokerati”.
Congratulations to Rob Yates & his GreenParty campaign team! Congratulations to the residents of the KCC Cliftonville Division who saw through Reform’s anti-immigrant hyperbole divisive nonsense.
For the record Muslims make up only 6% of the UK population. As such they are unlikely to be taking over the country and imposing Sharia law anytime soon!
In addition, I have heard Michael Howard, former leader of the Conservative Party and a Jew, say that Israel’s mistreatment of the Palestinians is fuelling antisemiitism in this country.
There is only one race, the human race and we should learn to live together in harmony. The election of our new Green Party KCC councillor is a move in the right direction. Residents of the Cliftonville Division have rejected Reform’s divisive politics. A triumph of Hope over Hate!
Kingsgate Resident – assuming this individual remains as elected ! Not to be trusted I would suggest!
Rob Yates ? Didn’t he hand out an award to some convicted pedophile that’s now doing 28 years for vile crimes to children? Duncan bayles that was running the sundowners apparent safe haven for the a-z genders with his boyfriend who was also a convicted pedophile?
This is a total insult to all the war dead in two bloody wars . The thousands of skin and bone jews my father found in belsen . These are appeasers of islamists who came here to hate us . They even like the Iran leaders? These leaders since mahmoud ahdijinidad proclaimed the death of israel have paid proxies to kill us .kill jews. 47 yrs of death . They want our kids free access to drugs?? They want our traditional life destroyed. Let’s not vote for fools
Think you will find that Belsen & WW2 was the work of the Austrian white European lunatic & his German white European lunatics. WW1 I don’t remember having anything much to do with Muslims either. Leg me guess-you support the party of the same Nazi hate minorities rhetoric, full of woman beaters, football thugs & some of them even doing Nazi salutes?
In case you didn’t know-kids had access to drugs in common remedies-as did adults until fairly recent times. In case you didn’t realise the outlawing bought in to control drugs in the US, UK & elsewhere hasn’t worked despite 100 odd years of it & people taking unsafe drugs that could have all kinds in them, unlike the clean ones they used to get from their doctor. You can also be prescribed Heroin/Morphine by your doctor-indeed the US pharma industry, doctors & politicians hooked & killed a lot of people with Oxycontin.
How does Rob feel that uncontrolled legalised class A drugs will go down in Cliftonville, according to the Green Party policy.