Election fund pains unite parties

To say Labour has a little local difficulty over allegations that one of its county council candidates sold goods donated for charities for election fundraising purposes is to put it mildly.

The local Thanet Labour party has tried to draw a line under the episode by saying it is satisfied by the account given by candidate Karen Constantine over a pub table sale of goods that were provided by the high street chain Lush for charities.

They were sold to help raise funds for the party’s election campaign.

While an apology from Cllr Constantine has been accepted by the local party, it has failed to do enough to satisfy the Kent county party, which has decided it needs to investigate the matter. Watch this space.

Meanwhile, the investigation into allegations concerning the election expenses run up by the Conservatives in the general election battle in South Thanet is finally being wrapped up.

Well, it will be within one or two months according to the chief constable of Kent, who was pressed on the matter by police and crime commissioner Matthew Scott. Why is the date important? The authorities have until June to decide whether there is sufficient evidence to refer the matter to the Crown Prosecution Service, who would decide on whether to bring charges.

County education chiefs are preparing to open another flank in Kent County Council’s commercial trading activities.

Put simply, they are to set up an education services company, offering support services not just to Kent schools but those outside the county.

This decision to enter the education market might be risky, but there are reassuring words from a report setting out the scheme:

“By creating a company, there is an opportunity to develop an innovative new business to allow us to deliver a sustainable service to schools, as well as extend our reach into the market, increasing trading opportunities and – by doing so – extending our ability to support young people in Kent.” Sounds like a plan. Or, as the public sector likes to put it, “a robust plan”.

The Conservatives at County Hall are losing 13 of their sitting councillors as the KCC election draws closer.

Among them is the veteran Alex King, a former deputy leader who is calling time on a 28-year stint.

Indeed, the long service of others mean five of the 16 have collectively clocked up 116 years.

There will be no escape from the grammar school debate in Kent as prime minister Theresa May continues with her mission to create a new generation of selective schools.

Ending the ban on new grammars will serve another political purpose.

It will be a policy that the Conservative party can unite around while trickier issues – such as whether there should be a soft or hard Brexit – might be more difficult for the leader to foster a consensus.

Follow Paul on Twitter at @ Paulonpolitics for the latest political news.

An editing error resulted in a paragraph in Paul’s column being repeated last week. We apologise for the confusion.