Time for Change: Campaign for an Independent Green Thanet MP and Ramsgate Mayor

Thor mercury worse than expected I do not think I’ve ever seen anything quite like this. Thor mercury: poisoning water table, workers, Margate, Africa etc etc. The Enron of toxic waste and several multi-million pound lawsuits. Closed in 1988. Several deaths. The factory in Margate (next to Hornby and BandQ) has still been storing and producing chemicals until four years ago - with the approval of the Environment Agency. And a full clean-up hasn’t even started. Today (today!) the EA are talking of starting legal action at the site. And the former Thor Health and Safety officer is working for the clean-up company who are reporting to the Environment Agency. After 20 years there is no full detail of the poisons on the site or the fire of 2 years ago nor the extent of the polluted water underground. It’s the tea and biscuits and manana approach to one of the worst polluting incidents in Britain or Africa. Coupled with nearby Sericol and 500 tonnes of polluted soil nearby and 3 years of Inf...

The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare has set the safe level of total mercury at 0.4 parts per million (ppm) for marine foods (the U.S. level is set at 1.0 ppm). Toothed whales--including porpoise, dolphin, and some whale species--are top predators in the sea life food chain and feed on smaller fish which therefore tend to accumulate higher loads of pollutants such as mercury. Between 2000 and 2002, a team of scientists led by Tetsuya Endo, a professor in the Department of Clinical Toxicology and Metabolism at the Health Sciences University of Hokkaido, purchased whale meat samples from markets across the country. The researchers measured total mercury levels and performed genetic analysis to verify the species of each sample. Their findings were published in the 15 June 2003 edition of Environmental Science & Technology. Samples of Dall's porpoise, the most commonly harvested cetacean in Japan, had an average total mercury level of 1.26 ppm, with the highest sam...

As MP I will halt the development boom of Concrete Kent in Thanet. We are overbuilding far beyond South East targets as mere property speculation for the construction industry. I will insist construction is refocused on renovating both public housing and empty properties: over 3,000 empty properties in Thanet - for years - before one brick is laid on new build. The idea of a 4th Town at Westwood Cross should also be ripped up as property and Planning overkill given vacant properties, an ageing population and a failed economy. And on prime farmland when Climate Change is a major issue and Food Security in preserving our farmland to reduce food imports. And of course major derelict brownfield sites such as Manston airport, Richboro: derelict longer than in operation, and many more. Councils are notorious for being focused on property and construction where the main parties get their kickbacks for handing out Planning permissions. Far greater scrutiny of the Planning system is required. A...

Policy #4: Pollution As MP I will end the rampant pollution in Toxic Thanet. Only now are TDC and KCC creating a detailed contaminated land schedule but still no clean-up schedule. Councillors and MP’s and Civil servants simply have no idea of the scale of the task or the deadly consequences. For years. A. Mercury poisoning Thor mercury is a notorious company responsible not only for poisoning its own workers and the water table in Margate before its closure in 1988. But then took the same factory equipment and systems to South Africa and Cato Ridge and poisoned them! One of Nelson Mandela’s first tasks on release from jail was to close Thor. A multi-million pound compensation scheme is available for workers killed or maimed by mercury exposure. Mercury like aviation fuel: kerosene, benzene etc is one of the most dangerous chemicals known to mankind. A fire at the Margate plant in 2007 suggests the clean-up is not complete (after 20 years) and MP or Police statements to simply "cl...

Thanet’s largest-ever planning application was passed almost unanimously by Thanet councillors. ChinaGate. Again with no consultation and almost total public opposition. Quite rightly ChinaGate has been quietly brushed under the carpet but isn’t it time to end ChinaGate properly? Thanet's failed council needs closure on its imcompetence na ffailure to move forward. Shouldn’t TDC recognise the errors of procedure and improve their consultation process: sadly the systems are those used by any council. Which means that, as with any organisation, it’s only as good as the people in it. As MP I will ensure closure of ChinaGate. Thanet is a failed council as evaluated by the Government itself. No wonder there are so many failed regeneration projects, widespread pollution and fake consultations. We have 48 councillors that have not only totally misjudged the will of the people but now refuse to end ChinaGate and reverse the application. And all our MP’s and candidates supported it on the f...

I understand some people, and almost all councillors and MP's, support Manston. I do not based on all the information I’ve seen. As MP I will close the airport. And, whether you support an airport or not – the simple fact is Manston cannot be expanded due to the pollution impacts. Infratil have operated the airport in the most cavalier and deliberately underhand manner. TDC and KCC have wilfully assisted them and misled the public. Airports are the largest and most complex and dangerous piece of infrastructure outside of a nuclear power station. And they cause cancer. The public of Thanet face real danger from the TDC and Infratil abuses at ManstonGate. My 2nd task with Chief Executive Bunnett is to immediately suspend all flights to and from Manston, withdraw CAA status and request Kent Police are stationed at the aircraft, terminal and gates. Matt Clarke the 27 year old Kent airport Chief Executive should have his passport witheld while he provides Police statements on the 106 br...

As MP my first job will be to create real change in Thanet – and sack the Gang of Four. Messrs Latchford, Ezekiel, Samuel and White will be dismissed as part of a Parliamentary Inquiry into TDC as a Failed Council. Not just a council that’s not particularly good - but deeply failed over months and years and decades. We have the disgusting spectacle of the water being polluted and poisoned and known to all our 58 councillors and civil servants. Root and branch reform is required. And the first task will be to sack The Gang of Four and appoint Deputy Executive John Bunnett on existing salary not the current bloated rates, to provide a report on the failures to Parliament. If he is unable or unwilling to do the job then a replacement will be sought. This report will provide the basis for “Thanet Council: 35 years of failure 1974-2009” to document the people and policies that have created such a disastrous state of affairs: Margate the town that burned down and Ramsgate the town that fell ...

It should come as no surprise to most people in the local area and Kent that Thanet: Ramsgate, Margate and Broadstairs and Villages is rated one of the worst-governed areas in Britain. As a resident and businessman I can stand the incompetence and sleaze and failure no longer. The drinking water and air have been poisoned and polluted and the politicians either "debate" it, pass the buck or stay silent. The same applies for almost any policy in our failed region. Margate used to have 2M visitors. Other UK regions still do. Ramsgate used to have fishing and pleasure fleets. Broadstairs used to have a vibrant town centre and seafront. Other UK regions still do. Failed. Failed. Failed. Time for Change. 1. I will stand against Steve Ladyman as the sitting MP: after 10 years and with a majority now of only 600 votes Steve will be defeated. 2. I will stand against Laura Sandys the parachute Tory candidate: Laura is a party official and has no local understanding or opinions. 3. I w...