Tessera

Kent Current@kentcurrent.news · 3w ago

If you've woken up thinking 'I wish I could read 3,000 words on the process of local government reorganisation in Kent', then oh boy do I have the post for you.

Every council in Kent and Medway is being abolished. In April 2028, four new authorities will take responsibility for bins, roads, planning, schools, social care, and more. That will affect who makes decisions about your area and how much council tax you pay. The map is settled. Little else is.

Jon Patience @smoulderstoat.bsky.social · 3w ago

Good evening from my second council meeting of the day - Medway Council where fire cuts, mayoral arrangements, councillor pay, and petitions, will be discussed. Given I’ve been working since 7am and already did one meeting, will I make it through this one? Stay and find out!

Medway councillors gathering at the St George’s Centre.

One of the things about Kent, of course, is that the major roads and railways all run north to south, so communication in that authority will be absolutely fine. Oh no, hang on a minute.

Rhys Griffiths @rhysdgriffiths.bsky.social · 3w ago

Absolutely stunned by this. How on earth has Folkestone been severed from east Kent? Dungeness and Sheppey? Wild, indeed

Ed Jennings@edjennings.bsky.social · 3w ago

Breaking: Kent and Medway will be carved up into four unitary authorities, including a wild MidKent Council that spans from Sheppey to Romney Marsh.

Kent map showing the four new unitary authorities.

Breaking: Kent and Medway will be carved up into four unitary authorities, including a wild MidKent Council that spans from Sheppey to Romney Marsh.

Good morning from today’s Kent County Council meeting, which is starting with a recitation of the Lords Prayer following a rule change at the last meeting. Greens, some Lib Dems, and some Tories have remained seated.

KCC councillors during the Lords Prayer.

KentOnline@kentonline.co.uk · 3w ago

One of my most non-liberal opinions is that buskers using amplifiers in town centres should be fired into the sun.

Many visitors have praised buskers for the music they bring... More here: www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/n...

Kent Current@kentcurrent.news · last mo.

Shout out to @dailymail.co.uk for their 'exclusive' on this story that we broke, er, 11 days ago.

A Daily Mail 'exclusive' version of our AI data centre story.

A field near Dartford was too rural for battery storage, apparently. Now the same developer is proposing a huge AI data centre campus in the same broad stretch of north Kent. We look at power, land, AI, local planning, and Britain’s need for very large sheds full of machines.

Local Authority@localauthority.news · last mo.

Some personal news.

A nice way to end the week. Ed received a Highly Commended for Story of the Year at the Kent Press & Broadcast Awards for his reporting on a Rochester school offering a Nigel Farage t-shirt as an essay contest prize, which started in Medway before becoming a national story.

Ed, awkwardly receiving an award from a nice man from Stagecoach.

Absolutely no idea why people don't engage with local democracy when public reports are this clear and accessible.

An impenetrable council report. It reads:

Subject: REVIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION 2026 - PLANNING
DELEGATIONS
Meeting and Date: Governance Committee – 25 June 2026
Council – 8 July 2026
Report of: Monitoring Officer
Classification: Unrestricted
Purpose of the report: Article 15 of the Constitution imposes a duty on the Governance
Committee and the Council's Statutory Officers (the Head of Paid
Service, the Monitoring Officer and the Section 151 Officer) to
conduct regular reviews of the Constitution.
Article 15, paragraph 15.02(a) stipulates that amendments to the
Constitution will only be approved by Council (or its committees)
after consideration of the proposal by the Governance
Committee.
Article 15, paragraph 15.02 (d) enables proposed changes to the
Constitution relating to the amendment of the title of an officer to
be approved by the Monitoring Officer or Deputy Monitoring
Officer.
Part 3, Section 6, Sub section A Paragraph 12 of the Constitution
allows for the Scheme of Officer Delegations (Part 3, Section 6)
to be amended from time to time by the Council or the Leader of
the Council as appropriate.
Recommendation:
Governance
Committee:
Council:
That it be recommended to Council that the proposed changes in
the report, as set out in Appendix 1, and specifically those
changes relating to Part 3, Responsibility for Functions, Section
1 (Responsibility for Local Choice Functions), Section 2
(Responsibility for Council Functions) and Section 6, Sub Section
C (Scheme of Officer Delegations) that relate to Council functions
be approved and incorporated into the Council’s Constitution,
issue no. 28A.
That the proposed changes in the Review of the Constitution
2026 – Planning Delegations, as set out in Appendix 1, and
specifically those changes relating to Part 3, Responsibility for
Functions, Section 1 (Responsibility for Local Choice Functions),
Section 2 (Responsibility for Council Functions) and Section 6,
Sub Section C (Scheme of Officer Delegations) that relate …

Sure, I could be working this morning, but it's far more important that I track the Goodyear Blimp as it zig-zags across Kent.

Flight Radar screenshot showing the path of the Goodyear Blimp across Kent.

Local Authority@localauthority.news · last mo.

3,000 words on a rural council by-election? The KM would never.

A rural Medway by-election has become a useful little stress test for local politics. Conservatives defending old ground. Greens chasing a first Medway Council seat. Reform seeking another breakthrough. Labour oddly quiet. Lib Dems technically involved. Five parties, one ward, lots of doorbells.

Kent Current@kentcurrent.news · last mo.

Shamefully, I haven't been to @hdiflondon.bsky.social in probably a decade, but it was great to get Ian on to @kentcurrent.news to talk about his debut novel and how he's managed to run a club night for 24 years.

Ian Watson started a club night for fun. Somehow, 24 years later, it is still going. We talk to him about How Does It Feel To Be Loved?, music journalism, Rolling Stone Australia, growing up on a boat in Sandwich, Medway garage rock, and becoming a debut science fiction novelist.

Medway Green Party 💚@medwaygreens.bsky.social · last mo.

Quite a bar chart here from the local Greens. 'It's between us and a party that has never stood in the ward, and definitely not the guys who literally hold both seats'

Only the Green Party can stop Reform in Cuxton, Halling & Riverside this summer 💚 Vote Trish on July 23rd

Martin Robbins @mjrobbins.com · last mo.

Today is ‘National Picky Bits Day’ so enjoy this extended rant on why it’s time for Britain to grow up.

On Picky Bits and National Decline

'Picky Bits' may seem like a harmless phrase, but the mentality behind it explains a lot about the position we find ourselves in.

open.substack.com

Occasionally I’m particularly struck by how others do local news as opposed to the way we do.

Front page of KentOnline for Medway - headline story is ‘New Iceland Food Warehouse to open at retail park’

Front page of Local Authority. Headline story is ‘Does Medway exist?’

Local Authority@localauthority.news · last mo.

Really enjoyed taking part in this panel, which should be obvious by whatever the hell I'm doing in this photo.

We held a panel discussion on local journalism with Christine Rayner, former editor of the East Kent Gazette, and @rhysdgriffiths.bsky.social of @folkestonedispatch.substack.com. The clearest themes were that we need real relationships with our communities and enough reader support to sustain us.

Our Indie News Week panel. From left to right: Steven Keevil, Christine Rayner, Rhys Griffiths, and Ed Jennings.

James O'Malley@jamesomalley.co.uk · 2mo ago

Delighted to have James on the Kent Current today telling the good people of Kent why they should have a nuclear reactor in their back garden.

In massive ego news, the excellent @kentcurrent.news wanted to interview me. Go have a read! www.kentcurrent.news/i-was-radica...

Dr Rashmee Roshan Lall @rashmee.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Five years ago, @localauthority.news didn’t exist. Today, thousands read it every week, and hundreds of people support it financially. For Indie News Week, I’ve written about why reader support matters and why Medway is better off with more local reporting rather than less.

Why we’re talking about money this week

If Local Authority helps you understand Medway, this is a good week to support it

localauthority.news

Shows why local #news outlets matter..,they’ve got their ear to the ground (literally!) @publicinterestnews.org.uk

Ed Jennings@edjennings.bsky.social · 2mo ago

It's very rare in politics for someone to outright come out and say they were wrong. This was one of the more remarkable conversations I've had while covering local politics.

Local Authority@localauthority.news · 2mo ago

It's very rare in politics for someone to outright come out and say they were wrong. This was one of the more remarkable conversations I've had while covering local politics.

Eight months ago, Robbie Lammas left the Conservatives for Reform. Now he says it was “a huge mistake.” We spoke to the Medway councillor about why he joined, why he left, and what he says he found inside Reform.