Wednesday 25 March 2009

Is Carter-nomics failing Kent?

Paul Carter Leads Kent County Council and works with all the other public bodies and agencies on the public's behalf as funded from Westminster and Council tax.

In the run-up to the County elections here's a selection of policies to date:

40% public sector economy
KCC the County’s largest employer
No inward investment of any size
Failure to reform defunct councils like Thanet and Dover
KCC bonuses and pay rises
Thames Gateway: stalled
No reform of KCC structures
Margate centre: burned down
Turner: 10 years for work to begin
Pleasurama: derelict
Infratil: breaching all safety guidelines and polluting a UNESCO Bay
Thor mercury poisoning
China Gateway failure
Manston cargo airport: failure, water pollution and public endangerment
Lydd airport: see Manston
Rochester airport: see Lydd
Boris Island airport: see Rochester
Cliffe airport: see Boris Island
SaveWye-Imperial: failed
Margate: burned down
Sericol: 500 tonnes chemical water pollution
Pfizer: cutbacks
Glaxo: closure
Grupo Antolin: closure
Margate unemployment: 12%!

And a 4% council tax increases (plus separate 5% Police and District increases) for a £2 Billion council only spending £15-20M directly for each of the 12 Districts.

With inflation at 0%.

Surely as the electoral season draws to a close for June’s County election Paul will detail how he proposes to reform the County?

A County with a 40% public sector economy, some of the worst deprivation in Europe for decades and stagnant democracy.

Or have the election manifestos and policies been and gone?

And the council tax increase was the one and only policy?

Surely Carter must be sharpening the axe to clear out the Old Guard, lead reform at County Hall and regenerate the economy?

As MP I will encourage him to do so by raising Kent issues and funding in Parliament.

Or is Carter-nomics dead? And we now just have a knee-jerk reaction to anything Boris says or that originates as national poolicy.

With the above track record perhaps that's the best we can hope for?

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