In massive ego news, the excellent @kentcurrent.news wanted to interview me. Go have a read! www.kentcurrent.news/i-was-radica...

You should all read this from @kentcurrent.news, and not just because it's about me. A bit of a cover-up seems to have occurred at Reform-controlled Kent County Council. 1/ bsky.app/profile/kent...

An Information Commissioner ruling raises questions about transparency at Kent County Council. It centres on cancelled meetings after last year’s elections, and KCC's searches for records explaining what happened. We look at the ruling and what it says about accountability at County Hall.

New interview: Laura Lexx talks to us about studying stand-up at Kent, taking comedy seriously, the exhausting pressure to go viral, touring Australia, and the imaginary Jürgen Klopp relationship that changed her life during covid.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service is preparing its biggest reshaping of fire cover in more than a decade. Five on-call stations could close, with wider changes proposed across the county. Plus Margate town council plans, Thanet storm overflows, Eurotunnel legal threats, A249 delays and custard pies.

Good balanced reporting from @kentcurrent.news on a subject that too often attracts easy answers, nostalgia and criticism. A thoughtful look at how Kent's town centres are evolving: www.kentcurrent.news/kents-town-c... #HighStreets #TownCentre #Regeneration #Placemaking #HighStreetPositives

What replaces retail when retail isn’t enough anymore? Across Kent, town centres are being pushed to find new roles as shopping habits change. We look at how councils are responding, and whether housing, culture, leisure and public services can fill the gap.

A new report into South East Water’s winter outages found fewer than one in ten affected customers were satisfied with the company’s response, and half now keep bottled water at home in case supplies fail again. Plus Broadstairs disorder, Folkestone jet skis, Amazon robots in Dartford, and more.

George Matuska works across Kent and Medway’s NHS system as a senior lead on learning disability, autism and ADHD. He talks to us about diagnosis, workforce challenges, the proposed National Autism Strategy, and what better support should look like.

The M20 was not built to be a waiting room for the border. Operation Brock was introduced as a temporary solution to disruption at Dover and Eurotunnel. Years later, it has become part of how Kent functions. We look at how that happened, and why nobody has found a better answer.

Kent’s housing market is splitting in two. House prices are falling in much of the county. Rents are rising everywhere. Plus the latest water disruption, an AI data centre proposal in Canterbury, planning news, local politics, and more.

The heat was forecast, and South East Water says it planned for high demand. Still, by Friday, 17,665 properties across Kent were experiencing no water, low pressure, or intermittent supplies. How many times can Kent’s water system fail the same test?

We’ve launched a Kent Current WhatsApp channel because journalism now apparently has to exist inside every app on earth. We’ll mostly use it to share new stories and occasional major Kent developments. No promises beyond that. Could work. Could be weird. Follow along:

Homes across Kent were left without water or low pressure during the hottest May bank holiday weekend on record, with South East Water blaming high demand, technical failures and wider network pressure. Plus Dover gridlock, Dreamland scrutiny, Miller Heights residents face long wait, and more.

If you live in the South East and you're not following or subscribed to the @kentcurrent.news you're missing out. Excellent reporting with the full story.

East Kent Hospitals is facing leadership turmoil, national intervention, financial pressure and serious questions over transparency. We look at what has gone wrong at the trust, plus prayers and less scrutiny at County Hall, and a very good video about one very broken road.

Ed is at County Hall for today's full council meeting.

Ahead of his Faversham warm-up shows, Mark Thomas talks to us about 40 years of stand-up, how protest became part of his work, why small arts centres matter, and what comedy can do when the world feels like it is getting worse.

Residents have been forced out of a 122 flat block in Maidstone after a basement flood damaged electrical systems. But the warning signs go back years, through fire safety concerns, recurring water ingress, and the converted office block now sits at the centre of a larger accountability question.

Kent County Council has roads, SEND, social care, building maintenance and reorganisation to deal with. Naturally, Reform councillors have found time for prayers and the national anthem, while backing less time for opposition leaders to respond to the administration.

Dartford MP Jim Dickson represents one of Kent’s fastest-growing places, with the crossing, the Swanscombe Hole and Ebbsfleet all sitting in the background. In our latest interview, he talks Dartford traffic, the Lower Thames Crossing, jumping spiders, Reform at KCC, and Morgan McSweeney.

South East Water’s chief executive is stepping down after months of water failures across Kent and Sussex. We look at what led to his resignation, the political fallout, a BBC deep dive into life on Sheppey, patriotic singalongs at County Hall, sewage schemes, planning, property and more.

In case you missed it: Tunbridge Wells strengthened its Lib Dem council last week. The party gained three seats, Reform stood everywhere and won nowhere, Labour had a grim day, and a borough once painted blue now looks increasingly orange.

Ed is live from Kent's only election count today, in Tunbridge Wells.

In our latest interview, broadcaster Gavin Esler talks national security, Iran, British politics, Brexit, Newsnight, working with Mark Kermode, and his time as Chancellor of the University of Kent. He also explains why he thinks Britain keeps doing stupid things.

Water restrictions at Darent Valley Hospital have entered a second week after a supply issue that could have compromised water quality. We look at what is happening, why the taps still cannot return to normal use, and the questions hanging over the length of the disruption.

Alan Cecil already has a council seat in Kent. He’d quite like one in London too. We look at the Reform councillor’s Greenwich run. Plus KCC’s £30m system upgrade and the ferry everyone wants back but no one will fund.

Southern Water says smart gates are helping reduce storm overflows, but the broader fix still depends on years of work to stop rainwater from overwhelming the network. Plus fire station risks, toxic caterpillars, NIMBY lizards, motorbikes, and lots more from Kent.

Kent’s county cup finals week should have been about the football. Instead, two finals ended in disorder, statements and investigations. We look at what happened, plus rising complaints at County Hall and Reform drifting back into AI slop.

In our latest interview, we spoke to @oliverdouble.bsky.social, Reader in Comic and Popular Performance at the University of Kent, about the British Stand-Up Comedy Archive, Kent's relationship with comedy, and why stand-up should be taken seriously.

KCC is suddenly very keen to celebrate Turner Contemporary after Arts Council England awarded the gallery £865,000 for essential works. We look at why that lands awkwardly after February’s funding row, plus the rest of the stories from across Kent this week.

KCC has confirmed it sold Antony Gormley’s Two Stones from outside Maidstone library, but won’t say what it got, who signed it off, or what scrutiny the sale went through. Plus County Hall’s first political assistant exits early, and the Swanscombe Hole enters a funding race.

Kent Police has improved call handling and outcomes for victims, but a new inspection raises concerns about how it records and scrutinises the use of force. Plus local government reorganisation, planning, and the rest of Kent this week.

The Greens have won the Cliftonville by-election, taking a seat that Reform should have been able to hold. We look at how Rob Yates took the party from fourth place last year to victory, why Labour’s anti-Reform pitch collapsed, and what the result says about Reform’s position in Kent.

The Greens have taken a Kent County Council seat from Reform in Cliftonville.

Ed is in Thanet for the Cliftonville by-election count, a contest triggered by the jailing of former Reform Kent county councillor Daniel Taylor.

Some reflections on our first year. The Kent Current is still a small operation, but year one has confirmed that there is an appetite for journalism in Kent that goes deeper, joins the dots, and treats what happens here as worth understanding properly.

Andy Zaltzman grew up in Tunbridge Wells and still plays cricket at Penshurst. We spoke to him ahead of shows in Folkestone and Maidstone about The Bugle, Taskmaster, political comedy and a world that, by his own assessment, could do better.

Kent has spent years preparing for Europe’s new border regime. It is officially meant to begin this week, but for most cross-Channel passengers using Dover and Folkestone, the old passport stamp will still be doing the job. Plus Cliftonville votes, Medway borrows, and the rest of Kent this week.

Reform has rearranged its top team at County Hall again. We look at what the latest reshuffle says about the administration, plus the final week of the Cliftonville by-election campaign and one more addition to Kent’s Town of Culture pile-on.

What can Cliftonville tell us about Kent politics beyond Cliftonville? Former political editor Paul Francis looks at who might be gaining ground, who might be slipping, and why this by-election matters beyond one seaside division.

We spoke to Mark Hood, leader of the Green Group at KCC, about local government reorganisation, Cliftonville, Reform, and why he thinks Kent is being pushed towards the wrong kind of politics and the wrong kind of power.

Kent’s Town of Culture pile-on is well underway with at least eight towns now publicly in the running, turning the county’s contribution to the new competition into a full-blown cultural scrum. Plus Sevenoaks by-election latest, planning, council news and more.

The Conservatives have held a seat on Sevenoaks District Council, in an election triggered by the death of the sitting councillor.

Nothing was announced for Kent this week, but Whitehall still shifted the council reorganisation debate in the county. We look at what ministers’ choices elsewhere now suggest about Kent’s future, plus the latest on the Canterbury meningitis outbreak and County Hall’s newest splinter party.

We spoke to Jordan Chan ahead of the launch of Trans Pride Kent about why the event matters, what it was like growing up gay and mixed race on Sheppey, and why visibility still matters for LGBT people in places that can feel isolated.

Manston’s latest consultation is about flight paths. In reality, it revives the bigger argument about what reopening the airport would mean for people in Ramsgate, Herne Bay and beyond. We break down the plans, plus the latest on meningitis, planning, and the week in Kent.

KCC descended into chaos today after opposition parties walked out, accusing Reform of turning full council into a political stunt and making meaningful debate impossible. Reform then voted through its migration motion alone. We’ve got the full story, plus Swale security and meningitis latest.

Ed is covering today's Kent County Council meeting live 👇

New interview: We spoke to Paul Thomas, the new leader of Restore’s group at KCC, about why he has joined one of the newest and most controversial forces on Kent’s right. From leaving the Tories and Reform to mass deportation, party discipline and voter mandates, there was a lot to get into.