Manston and the dead of Thanet

While the politicians bicker and rake over the ashes of their policies, the civil servants are slowly getting to grips with the dead of Thanet.

The highest lung cancer rate in Kent.

The most polluted water in the South East.

Massive pollution scandals such as Infratil and Thor mercury.

And now the beginnings of a policy from TDC:

NI 120 The all-age all cause mortality rate

1,650
(estimate)
TBA *
TBA*
TBA

Of course this figure is “made-up” rather than estimated as it doesn’t contain any reference to NHS data or coroners reports.

Looks too low to me.

Yet in Thanet we die 11 years earlier from the usual Kent death rate of 81 years: a 14% shortfall. Even upwards of 30% given that only 4% of UK deaths are before the age of 45.

So it’s clear that for the last 5 years and longer absolutely nothing has been done to reverse the death rate.

And in fact policies such as removing noise and air monitors, expanding the airport and sitting on their hands have actually increased the death rate.

A death rate on a par with parts of the Third World such as Iraq or Kazakhstan: an 11 year early death in Thanet compared to the rest of Kent.

An utter scandal.

And the Gang of Four stay silent.

Removing noise and air monitors form a town is of course a criminal offence in endangering the public.

Removing them from a school. A tower block. From 2006 onwards.

And not replacing them.

From an airport slated for expansion.

KCC Cabinet know.

KCC councillors know.

Thanet’s MP’s know.

Kent’s MP’s know.

Parliament knows.

TDC’s councillors know.

TDC’s civil servants know.

Best move slowly though.

Doesn’t look good on the CV or the ballot paper all these early deaths.

Talk about replacing monitors at some point. Maybe shift them to where the people aren’t.

No monitors. No data. No problem.

Or quickly introduce them and claim everything’s better now and whoops what a mistake, well I never.

Removed from 2006? Oh dear. Broken radar too? Crikey. Water pollution. Golly gosh.

What have our councillors and civil servants been doing?

They couldn’t run a bath let alone a few small towns.

Thanet may well be the worst-run council in Britain: because of the people running it.

Bumbling and bullshotting through every non-policy possible.

So stupid they’ve allowed the pollution of their own water and air.

What have our councillors and MP’s been doing?

Lung cancer. Nothing.

Early death rate. Nothing.

Derelict buildings. Nothing.

Billions of County tax and public salary scrutiny. Nothing.

Consultations on night flights – perhaps next we need a consultation on whether water is wet.

The Gang of Four: Messrs Samuel, White, Latchford and Ezekiel are a busted flush.

Merely hanging on to power and their pay cheques for no purpose.

Utter fools and incompetents.

Gale and Ladyman and Sandys are silent: better to say nothing and hope it all blows away.

Sweep it under the carpet. Nothing to say. Nothing to do.

And all of it on the public purse and time.

8 more months to an election: best not resign, hold on and claim the Parliamentary pension.

8 months of nothing: no scrutiny of SEEDA funding, no scrutiny of Locate in Kent, no scrutiny of the Environment Agency, no scrutiny of KCC funding, no scrutiny of the Kent Property Developers Group, no scrutiny of the CAA, no scrutiny of the Local Government Ombudsman, no scrutiny of Infratil’s staff health and safety, no scrutiny under EIR of the airport flight logs and radar.

The reality is TDC can't gain funding - because they're too incompetent. Why would Government or anyone else give them extra funds to spray up the wall?

But a good place to dump Kent's dirty industries.

And councillors and civil servants so foolish they think that's growth.

Drink deep of the water.

And don’t ask if there’s a place crash.

Everything’s fine. And even if it’s not, nothing could be done. Impossible.

We certainly need a public consultation: on the performance of our councillors and civil servants.

Cleaning up pollution.

Reversing the early death rate.

Reducing cancer.

Regeneration activity beyond the failures of Infratil.

If the civil servants can’t regenerate the area, and the councillors can’t ensure they’re doing so then the public need to replace them.

Because the dead of Thanet are silent.

Failed. Failed. Failed.

Change for Kent. Change for Thanet.