Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Westgate power grab
On general election day, candidates will also be battling for council seats
The Gazette last week talked of the inevitability of a victory for Conservative candidate Sir Julian Brazier at the general election. Indeed, the bookmakers concur – offering odds on of 1/100.
But Canterbury’s other poll on June 8 sees a by-election for one of the two city council seats in the central Canterbury ward of Westgate.
It was prompted by the resignation of John Brazier, son of Sir Julian, who surprisingly beat the sitting Lib Dem councillor Ida Linfield at the 2015 council election.
Michael Dixey retained the other seat for the Lib Dems, but the party had every right to rue their loss, with the Westgate ward solidly yellow despite years of overall Conservative control of the council.
Hoping to erase the blue streaks on the election map for the Lib Dems is Dan Prevett, a 31-year-old customer services and conflict resolution worker. He lives in Whitehall Gardens, St Dunstan’s.
Addressing fears over pollution and congestion generated by large housing developments across Canterbury is a priority for Dan.
“Both the city and county councils need to rethink their approach,” he says. “Otherwise congestion and pollution across Canterbury will get worse. We have seen what happens when plans are not properly thought through, such as in the Westgate traffic trial. The Lib Dems opposed that scheme and we will continue to challenge the Local Plan.”
Dan also wants to ensure residents have a good say on licensing matters.
With 30 of the council’s 39 seats held by Conservatives, a Lib Dem victory would have no effect on the overall balance of the council.
It would, however, mean that the Conservatives would lose control of the Canterbury Area Member Panel, made up solely of councillors from the five city wards.
Determined to stop Mr Prevett for the Conservatives is the youngest of the four candidates – Luke Whiddett. A win for him will come as a belated birthday present as he turns 21 the day after the election.
Luke, of Sandhurst Close on the Hales Place Estate, grew up in Herne Bay and is two years into a physics degree at the University of Kent, where he is chairman of its Conservative Association.
He said: “When people think of a Conservative councillor, they might think of someone older. But I think this is a good opportunity to bring a fresh face and vitality to the city council.
“I would like to be able to improve relations between students and residents by acting as a conduit, and to be able to work alongside council colleagues and residents to make Canterbury an even better place to live.
“I’m a local boy with a real interest in politics and local government and I would love to represent the people of Westgate ward.”
A giant of a man, Labour’s Simon Warley is the tallest candidate standing.
The 45-year-old is a lawyer working in employee rights. If elected, he pledges to hold free monthly workers’ surgeries for Westgate ward residents.
Simon is also promising to dedicate himself to tackling a range of issues familiar to Canterbury residents: “Lowering pollution levels in Canterbury is vitally important for the health of our city,” he says.
“I will pledge to fight for better car parking facilities outside the city centre to reduce congestion as well as battling for increased funds to repair potholes and fix faulty street lights.”
As a seasoned party activist, Simon – who lives in Cliff Avenue, Herne Bay – has also campaigned against the reduction of local services and says Canterbury “needs Labour representation”.
Also making the future of the Kent and Canterbury Hospital a central plank of his election strategy is Green Party candidate Henry Stanton, 42, who lives at Richdore Road in Waltham.
This will be his third election in five weeks. He came fourth in Canterbury City North division at the Kent County Council elections a fortnight ago and is also the Greens’ general election candidate.
Henry, a computer science teacher at Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School in Faversham, said: “The people of Westgate are crying out for a fresh voice on Canterbury City Council. With our campaigns on air pollution, homelessness and cycle paths – and being part of the campaign against the closure of our urgent care centre at the Kent and Canterbury Hospital – we are asking Westgate to vote for us because we are working on the issues that really matter.
The Greens were the only party apart from the Conservatives to increase their share of seats in last week’s local elections.
Votes will be counted at the same time as the general election ones, which is expected to boost the turnout. The result is by no means a foregone conclusion. It is, as they say in sport, all left to play for.