Politixia
This month’s bumper edition of the Kent Politics Podcast brings together two big beasts from Labour and the Conservatives.
Naushabah Khan was a long-standing Medway councillor before she was elected MP for Gillingham and Rainham in 2024.
While Roger Gough was the long-serving leader of Kent County Council (KCC) until he lost his seat in Reform’s landslide last year.
In a wide-ranging interview, Ms Khan lifts the lid on her part in the downfall of former Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
She tells how she lost confidence in him as he failed to communicate the party’s key message and successes.
Saying he wasn’t a political animal, she began to view his premiership as an “unrecoverable wreck” which he couldn’t turn around.
Praising new PM Andy Burnham, she says he has already improved the party’s fortunes, as seen in the polls.
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Mr Gough speaks about the now-decided plan for local government organisation in the county as dictated by the government.
As reported, KCC, Medway and all the other borough, city and district councils will be abolished to make way for four new unitary authorities.
Saying that it’s good to have a decision after a long period of uncertainty, he bangs the drum for a mayoralty to be created.
He argues that it makes strategic sense to have one body representing all of the county’s interests, especially in sourcing funding for cross-council problems.
The podcast brings together local democracy reporters Simon Finlay, Dan Esson and Robert Boddy.
You can listen to the podcast here, or download it from Apple Podcasts, Spotify and TuneIn – just search for Kent Politics Podcast.
Readers can also keep up-to-date with the latest political news on our dedicated Kent Politics page on KentOnline or sign up for our weekly politics newsletter.
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