Virtually all of the Ramsgate candidates (myself
included) for the forthcoming Kent County elections are already Ramsgate Town
Councillors and/ or Thanet District Councillors. If elected to Kent County Council some of these candidates
could become members of THREE different councils!
In my opinion that’s a democratic dictatorship!
It’s not healthy. It’s not a good way to encourage new people and new ideas into
local politics. Having the same people holding all the power is a recipe for potential conflicts
of interest, mismanagement and bad
practice. It also increases the possibility of corruption because there are fewer checks and balances. Not that I am suggesting for a moment that anyone fighting this seat is corrupt.
In an ideal world there would be rules to prevent people from being so-called double and treble hatters. However, in the absence of such rules, if elected to Kent County Council I will resign my seats
on Ramsgate Town Council and Thanet District Council and concentrate on the work of one Council. I ask all other
candidates in a similar position to think about doing the same.
Thanet District Councillors are paid a basic allowance of
£4,000 per year. Some get a lot more for extra responsibilities. Myself and
fellow election candidate Rick Everett for example earn an extra £8,000 each for chairing committees or being Cabinet
members. If any of us are lucky enough
to be elected to Kent County Council we will also be able to claim a minimum of £12,805 plus travel expenses for our KCC
duties. That means if you are already a Thanet Councillor it’s possible to earn
a minimum of £17,000, or in mine and Rick Everitt's cases £25,000 per year!
If elected to KCC in May I promise I will resign
from Thanet Council and concentrate on the work of one Council rather than taking
allowances from 2 Councils. I call on all other candidates in a similar
position to consider doing the same.I am fighting this election on my own against the Big Party machines. I need all the help I can get. So If you want to help me by delivering leaflets, displaying a poster, or perhaps a small donation towards my election expenses please contact me at ianddriver@yahoo.co.uk
Its amazing that there are leaders of councils in Kent who also find time to serve on KCC. They plea how busy they are and claim that being a local council leader is a full time job. Yet the leader of a council such as Dartford picks up £28k and another £20K from KCC where he also has time to take on special duties. Something has to give such as quality I am sure.
ReplyDeleteAt least in Tunbridge Well where council plans to get into bed with a privatee developer went very wrong and cost a packet, they had the good sense to unseat the "two seats" leader and deselect him.
At least local leader Clive is not attempting to add a KCC seat even though no doubt he had first pick at standing.