Kentish Express Ashford & District
And brickbats
party’s spirits.
Still, there were some positives.
At a conference, he cited the party’s success in winning a local by-election.
That would be the groundbreaking victory… in a Ramsgate town council by-election.
Things can only get better. The Political Limpet Award
Despite defections and a messy U-turn on Manston Airport, the Ukip-led Thanet council confounded expectations by clinging on to power.
It lost its working majority in 2015 but regained control in August 2016, winning two by-elections to restore order.
How long for is anyone’s guess. The Money to Burn Award
The former Manston airfield has been on standby as an emergency lorry park for Operation Stack since September 2015 – but has not been used once for that reason. The cost to the taxpayer to keep it ticking over? A mere £3.5 million. The Political Acronym Award
What else but ‘Jams’ which entered the political lexicon after new PM Theresa May pledged to help the people who were “just about managing”. Although so far there’s not been much jam today and not much promise of jam tomorrow. The PR Stunt That Got Derailed
Railway bosses at Southeastern hoped to get some exposure for a new ticketless “tap and go” scheme and must have been delighted to get the rail minister Paul Maynard to launch it. The problem? The event came in the midst of another set of strikes by Southern staff.
The result? Mr Maynard was subjected to a round of media interviews demanding to know what the government was doing to end the dispute.