Egg shells on road to council unity

TO say that five east Kent councils contemplating a merger to form a “super council” are rather sensitive about the scheme is something of an understatement.

A joint statement issued by the five was so cautiously worded you had a struggle to find out what was happening – if anything at all was.

We are told that these are “early discussions” and the councils would be “exploring options” and they were seeking endorsement for a “statement of intent” before doing anything formal.

There’s an awful lot of eggshells on the road ahead, clearly – especially given that some involved see this as a step towards Kent being split into unitaries.

GIVEN the ramifications of this bid for devolution, you would think that the councils involved would want to explain more directly why they were considering the idea.

But no. A press statement made it perfectly clear that no one, absolutely no one, would be made available for interview.

That’s democracy for you. We elect these politicians in the expectation that they will publicly account for their actions – not to pull down the shutters and not explain why they are doing something.

It seems that the worst aspects of political spin has infiltrated our local councils.

HOME Secretary Theresa May looks like being a shoe-in for the leadership of the Conservative Party, and if she does take the crown then it will owe something to her Kent colleagues.

At the last count, nine of the county’s MPs are backing her for the top role. But it is worth noting that the final decision rests with party members, who – as the result of the EU referendum proved – are not always in step with their parliamentary representatives.

WHATEVER you think of him, Nigel Farage can rightly claim that he is stepping aside as leader of Ukip having delivered on his main pledge, namely to secure a referendum and deliver a Brexit.

But will he cut his ties with politics completely? It’s hard to imagine that he will now sit back on his laurels and go into retirement.

Still, it seems highly unlikely that he will have another tilt at becoming an MP. Having tried seven times – the last time in South Thanet – he says that another stab “is not on his bucket list”.

Maybe we will see him do one of those tours that other politicians – such as Ann Widdecombe – have tried.

“An Audience With Nigel” coming to a theatre soon. Book early. FOLLOW Paul on Twitter @PaulOnPolitics