For our weekend interview, we sat down with Antony Hook, leader of the opposition at Kent County Council. The former MEP talks about the Reform administration in Kent, flags on lampposts, Brexit's impact on Kent, and lots more.

🌍 Kent councillors decide there is no climate emergency ➡️ Medway school u-turns on Reform essay contest 🗣️ More from KCC this week 🗞️ News in brief, and more

Wrote a guest piece for the excellent @kentcurrent.news about why it’s so important that the county builds more!

Delighted to welcome @jamesomalley.co.uk to the Kent Current, who has bravely written about how Kent needs to massively accelerate housebuilding.

I learn from the excellent @kentcurrent.news that Reform-controlled Kent County Council are to debate a motion that would blatantly breach the law on political impartiality. I wonder what the Monitoring Officer is going to do about it? open.substack.com/pub/kentcurr...

🎓 Universities of Kent and Greenwich are to merge - is it the 'trailblazing' formation they sell it as, or a takeover by another name? ➡️ Reform councillors defects to 2015 🗣️ What's going on at KCC this week? 🗞️ News in brief, and more

In his latest sketch for the Kent Current, former KM Political Editor Paul Francis ponders the impact of Reform on Kent's old political certainties.

Another one falls in Kent. Cllr Amelia Randall, elected as a Reform councillor for Birchington in May, has defected to... UKIP. Cllr Randall was posting in support of Reform on X on Thursday. It is unclear what happened between then and now to send her to 2015.

I think this is only the 2nd time I've been interviewed and it was fun. I talked to @stevenkeevil.bsky.social about growing up in the suburbs, going from music writing to books & podcasting, nerdy stuff about process, OGWN, Origin Story, why I could never go into politics and the importance of hope

For our big weekend interview, we sat down with @dorianlynskey.bsky.social. The writer and podcaster talks about podcasting, whether remain could have won the referendum, where hope can be found, and lots more.

📣 Kent's tourism megaphone suddenly switched off 🏘️ KCC set to sell off five sites for housing 💷 Latest donations to Kent MPs 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 A questionable descent 🗞️ News in brief, and more

🕯️ Remembering the Maidstone Witches 🚀 We continue our chat with Dan Abnett 🎟️ Our weekly events guide 🗞️ News in brief, and more

🚓 Kent Police rebrand lawbreaking as freedom of speech - as flags appear across the county, the force made it clear this week that they won't enforce the law 🗣️ What's happening at KCC this week? 🗞️ News in brief, and more

Thank you to everyone who has chosen to support our work by becoming a paid subscriber. We have no other way to fund this project, so every subscriber makes a huge difference. If you believe that journalism in Kent can be better, why don't you join them? www.kentcurrent.news/subscribe

For our latest big interview, we sit down with Tim Aker, former Member of the European Parliament and Development Manager for the Federation of Small Businesses in Kent. We talk to him about his electoral journey, going from MEP to FSB, his book, and more.

This week on the Kent Current, I sat down with former MEP Dr Tim Aker. We talked about his role with the Federation Small Business, his doctoral thesis on Margaret Thatcher and his book, The First Brexiteer. www.kentcurrent.news/p/you-get-a-...

It's a whole new week, and there's still been no response from Reform locally or nationally as to how five of their Kent councillors came to be smiling for photos alongside a man wearing a neo-Nazi flag.

Thanks to @josiah.writes.news and @bylinetimes.bsky.social for picking up our recent story and adding further context.

Great scoop from Kent Current www.kentcurrent.news/p/kent-refor...

➡️ Five Kent Reform councillors have been pictured smiling alongside a neo-Nazi activist at a 'stop the boats' protest in Maidstone on Saturday

"Ahead of publication, we asked each of the Reform councillors pictured how they came to be photographed alongside a man displaying overt neo-Nazi symbolism. None responded." Excellent work from the Kent Current that deserves pickup from the national press.

Absolutely extraordinary story from @edjennings.bsky.social on who Kent's new Reform councillors are hanging out with:

➡️ Five Kent Reform councillors have been pictured smiling alongside a neo-Nazi activist at a 'stop the boats' protest in Maidstone on Saturday

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📍 Map wars intensify in Kent reorganisation 📣 Slogan blurs council neutrality line ➡️ What's going on at KCC this week? 🗣️ Awful person has a point 🗞️ News in brief, and more

Was a personal highlight this weekend on @kentcurrent.news after I had the pleasure to interview @davemckean.bsky.social creator of the great graphic novel Cages and a film favourite Mirromask. www.kentcurrent.news/p/i-was-inte...

We're lucky to have journalists trying different models of providing local news in Kent and Medway. This article is definitely worth a read. If you haven't subscribed to @localauthority.news, @kentcurrent.news or @folkestonedispatch.substack.com yet, take a look. pressgazette.co.uk/publishers/r...

For our latest big interview, we sat down with legendary comic creator, artist, musician, and filmmaker Dave McKean. We talk about why he doesn't do superhero comics, why he stopped working with Neil Gaiman, filming Michael Sheen in Port Talbot, and lots more.

🎤 Rural festival brings poetry and music together 📰 Satirising Faversham 🚽 Third toilet visits Rochester 🦋 Kent author kickstarts new book 🎟️ Upcoming Kent events, and more

For our big weekend interview, we sat down with the new Reform leader of Kent County Council, Linden Kemkaran. In it, we talk about her experiences as the child of the Windrush generation, why she joined and left the Conservative Party, Brexit, her cabinet changes, and lots more.

For our weekend interview, we sat down with Rosie Brown and Ed Perry, brother and sister co-CEOs of Kent's frozen food powerhouse, COOK. They discuss how they came to be at COOK, taking action to protect people and the planet, and why the turkey laab is at risk.

Sounds like Reform's control of Kent County Council is going about as well as you might expect.

🗣️ Culture wars and cost-cutting set the tone at yesterday's KCC meeting. ➡️ What else has the council been up to this week? 🎾 The fightback against padel begins 🗞️ News in brief, and more

We’re here at Kent County Council for today’s full council meeting. On the agenda today: Setting councillor allowances, questions for the leader, and a couple of motions.

We’re mentioned in this!

📘 KCC leadership claim they got a trans reference book removed from the children's section in Kent libraries, but is everything all it seems? ➡️ What else has been happening at KCC this week? 💧 Kent's water supply creaks in the heat 🗞️ News in brief, and more

Kent comedian Harriet Kemsley recently had a breakout performance on Amazon's Last One Laughing. We talk to her about her career as a stand-up, her experiences on the show, her prolific podcasting, and lots more.

✈️ Can Manston flights get off the ground again? 🗣️ Kent MPs rebel on welfare reforms ➡️ The latest happenings at KCC 🗞️ News in brief, and more

🏛️ Nearly two months after Reform took control of KCC, there are still no meetings, legal paperwork is not published, but the outlandish spending claims continue. Plus: 🏗️ Lower Thames Crossing edges forward 🎖️ Kent residents honoured 🗞️ News in brief, and more

For our latest big Kent interview, we sat down with Kent Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Scott. We discuss crime rates across Kent, the recent election results for the Conservatives, and whether he is eyeing the job of Mayor of Kent…

⛴️ Port of Ramsgate revival stalls again ➡️ Reform councillor suspended from party ⛔ All KCC scrutiny committees for June cancelled 🗞️ News in brief, and more

Creative regeneration has transformed Folkestone and Margate, but is everyone in the towns feeling the benefits?

🔋 East Thanet MP reiterates push toward clean energy 🍺 Award-winning Canterbury ales 🧵 New Filaments exhibition in Medway 🐟 Folkestone fish and chips 🎟️ Upcoming Kent events

📉 Musk style politics comes to Kent (and immediately falls apart) 🏛️ Basic democratic functions falling by the wayside 📛 Some excellent nominative determinism 🗞️ News in brief, and more

Subscribe to Kent Current - it’s going to be vitally important to support local journalism like this, especially now Kent County Council is Reform’s first serious attempt at governing.

Setting up the Kent Current was a bit of a punt for us. We're familiar with local news, but covering an entire county was a daunting prospect. We're still learning and figuring out what this thing looks like, but we've been so grateful for the response so far.

A Kent County Council spokesperson confirmed to me today that they will work with Reform's DOGE team of auditors who arrived at County Hall yesterday. "We look forward to continuing to work collaboratively and professionally with the new administration here at KCC, including the DOGE team."

For our latest big interview, we talked to Sexton Ming, prolific artist, musician, and poet. Sexton was a founding member of the Medway Poets and the Stuckists, and has had a remarkable career, so it was fascinating to go through some of it with him.

🏗️ Thousands of stalled houses may finally be able to get underway in east Kent following five years of limbo caused by water pollution 🇪🇺 A curious plans for flags at County Hall 🗣️ Multiple KCC meetings cancelled or postponed 🗞️ News in brief, and more