In response to our invitation to all the County Council candidates for the forthcoming election on June 4th 2009 Brendon Chilton has contributed the following election address. We urge the other two candidates to provide us with their copy so that the people of Wye can compare and contrast befor casting their votes.
“I am pleased to have been selected as the Labour candidate for the Ashford Rural East division, which includes the pleasant village of Wye.
Since I was selected as the Labour candidate for the division, I have sought to find out what the local issues are across the division, and how the current administration is responding to those issues. As my opposite number, Mr Wickham (Cons) has pointed out, the obvious issue in Wye, is what to do with the college site. I believe one of the most important points which must be considered in any plans for the site, is that it should not in any way, damage the special character of Wye but at the same time it should ensure that Wye benefits from development as much as possible. The residents of Wye must have the opportunity to be consulted at every stage.
I’m sure most of you will know by now, that I live in South Ashford, I do not regard this to be a hindrance. I know that a councillor should understandbhis/her division, and spend a lot of time in the area, meeting people, talking to residents, and listening to concerns. I intend to do just that if I am elected to serve on Kent County Council. I will be a hard working councillor, and will make sure I spend more time in the division, listening to the people that count- the residents, rather than in Session House, listening to the worn out and tired Tory administration that are in office at the moment.
National politics has been seriously damaged in the past few weeks, over excessive expenses claims, made by many politicians, from all political parties, and it has jolted local residents confidence in our system, and has brought politics into disrepute. The expenses system at local government level, are different to the national system, as we are all aware. However, I promise now, to the residents of Wye, that any and every expenses claim I may make, however small, however large, will be published monthly, on the Kent Labour Party website. I expect that the main expenses I will incur will be for transport to and from county hall, as I will use public transport as frequently as possible, because I also believe that representatives should use public transport to ensure carbon emissions are low.
Another major debate occurring in the division, is over the proposed Lorry Park at Aldington. I would like to say, that I oppose completely, the tarmacking of the English countryside to accommodate freight because of our European friends decide to strike every other week. There is clear a division within the Kent Conservative Party, at County Hall they support a Lorry Park, at the Borough Council they oppose it. How is this leadership? How is this providing a clear direction for Kent? The problems we face with Operation Stack, are not Kent problems or British problems, they are European problems.
We must therefore, work collectively with the authorities of Europe to find a sensible conclusion to this problem, and I would campaign to do just that.
I believe we must ask ourselves, what is the future for Wye? There are
serious challenges facing the village, from employment, development of the college site, the rail network and transport issues, and rural issues which the current Tory administration have not responded to. After nearly one hundred years governing the county, clearly complacency has become the norm, and so issues affecting small rural communities like Wye, are being ignored by this Tory administration. It is time for change! It is time for the residents of Wye to have an effective voice in the County Council! I would therefore, urge all residents of Wye, to Vote Chilton, for Change, on June 4th!”
