With the elections now some 6 weeks behind us it‘s worth looking back on the campaign and wondering whether it added anything to life in Medway.
It was an election, in which every opposition going stood against the Conservative administration. There was a hotchpotch alliance of Labour, LibDems, Independents and even a politically motivated action group.
There were leaflets from the opposition promising to do things that they had already voted against in the council chamber, and there were opposition leaflets telling the public things that were patently untrue. Would the voters be convinced by untruths and hypocrisy?
In response we Conservatives stood on our record of improving Medway over the previous 7 years. The result was a resounding endorsement for our positive campaign, and a kick in the teeth for the opposition who chose to stoop to the sort of low levels that brings modern politics into such disrepute.
It was a resounding endorsement for the things we have promised to do over the next four years, and it seems the voters told us that they did not want the truth distorted. Instead they want a party running Medway that is actually going to get things done.
In our manifesto we promised to spend more on front-line services; we promised to fight to keep grammar schools; we promised to introduce cheap bus fares for school children, and we promised to keep our council tax the lowest in Kent.
In September we will introduce those cheap bus fares for our kids—despite Labour opposition to the idea. We will be moving most of our council staff into new headquarters in Chatham, and by doing so will release millions of pounds to invest in those front-line services we promised to improve still further.
We will be working hard with the police to improve community safety, and we will continue to increase our recycling rates. We will clamp down hard on all those who make life hard for decent Medway residents—whether that is through graffiti removal or zero-tolerance on illegal parking.