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

The UK has stepped on the gas in the first week of dynamic Environment Minister Michael Gove's reign. The former Justice Minister and Education Minister and arch-Brexiteer and would-be PM, and Times columnist has released the UK's first Air Pollution Bill consultation of the 21st century witheld due the June 8th election and a general lack of policy and direction. If Norway will phase out pollution from the combustion engine by 2025 then France and now UK will do so by 2040. It’s perhaps not such a radical step given VW announced earlier this year - hastened no doubt by the DieselGate emissions scandal and fines - it will cease manufacturing combustion engine vehicles by 2030. And Volvo this month announced it would do so by 2019. Every car now on the road, or bought in the next decade would be scrap metal by 2040 anyway but it is a clear start to clear the logjam. Surely more could be done faster with public sector procurement on police cars etc - BMW's new Mini, ...

Dear Editor Chief Constable Simon Byrne of Cheshire Police is one of UK’s more capable police chiefs – albeit Cheshire facing no more serious crime than dodgy Botox - but his letter today in The Times from the front page article “Lazy Cops” (next to the excellent F35 expose) by the UK’s Chief Prosecutor no less, suggests cheerleading rather than rigorous scrutiny. Given the police failures on major cases such as South Yorkshire and Hillsboro and Surrey Police cowed by the Military Police over Deepcut, or the Met and Plebgate, or even Thailand’s Red Bull Boss copkiller on the run and High Court corruption under Lord Grabiner’s One Essex Court, does seem to be cause for concern. While – as a former PCC candidate in Kent - more peripheral issues such as The Times article “Blobbies on the beat” for overweight cops or Boobgate or excessive kit procurement from trousers to drones to guncops to gender-neutral baseball caps suggests a wider malaise and backoffice bloat given the rise in ...

Tim Garbutt Ramsgate Mayor 2019 and MP 2022 (or sooner) candidate said: "Clearly East Kent Council reform is long overdue with Dreamland tax havens etc and rampant civil service and councilor corruption for at least a decade. Now the latest TDC salary increases - presumably with a secret vote and certainly not included in any manifesto - and KCC councilors hurriedly approving a 15% increase instead of the recommended 1.5% increase (unless The Duffers didn't have their specs on) makes yet another mockery of East Kent governance and KCC £2BN bloat. http://iandriverthanet.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/thanet-tops-east-kent-councils-fat-cat.html http://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/kent-county-council-defends-number-of-managers-earning-more-than-100000-21377/ Salaries and pensions higher than the Prime Minster for failed councils and lack of FOI and debate are simply too old-fashioned and leave Kent in a right old state. Chris "watery" Wells the first a...

Dear Editor Three letters in the Gazette last week from Messrs Chris Wells, UKIP Leader of TDC (2 years - and c.15 years as Tory councillor),and Iris Johnson (23 years a Labour councilor and leader), and Roger Gale MP (1,000 years as MP) are the epitome of everything that is wrong with Thanet and TDC - and has been for decades. Especially on the Manston airport and Riveroak debate. When will they speak up on the East Kent aquifer under the runway and removal of Manston airport monitors and faking of pollution data by Infratil and Gloag/Stagecoach since 2004? Perhaps they're hoping to be safely tucked up in their coffin before the scandal fully merges? While Cllr Messenger, as a new duffer, states that the councillors tried unsuccessfully to persuade TDC(!) not to end the US Navy gunboat P22 mooring in TDC-owned Ramsgate harbour, suggests the clerks are running the council not elected councillors. Tim Garbutt, Ramsgate Time for Change @timg33 Misc: * ve...