Rochester and Strood voters weigh in on economy issues

KentOnline / KMTV

New data from the Office of National Statistics shows the economy flatlined during April, raising concerns about what it will mean for the election in Medway's seats.

Transcript

00:00Earlier today, new data from the Office of National Statistics revealed there was zero

00:05growth in the UK economy in April.

00:08Now some are worried what the future could mean for the economy of Rochester and Strewd,

00:13a Labour target seat going into this election.

00:17Boarded up shops, empty lots and big businesses taking up the high street. That is what Chatham

00:22High Street looks like here in Rochester and Strewd. There's sometimes been a big debate

00:26amongst the candidates going into this election. Many voters I've spoken to today feel a bit

00:32disillusioned with the whole voting process. They won't be voting either way. They don't

00:36feel enough has been done to tackle this issue right here. But what do the ones that do want

00:41to speak to me say?

00:42Chatham's dead now, isn't it? You'll find that most people now go shopping in Gillingham.

00:48Yeah, I've noticed that there are some businesses that are having to shut down and that's not

00:55their fault because they're not gaining enough income.

00:58Back in the day it used to be thriving with a lot more shops, a lot more people, but now

01:02it's not anymore. It's because there's hardly any shops anymore for people to come and shop

01:06in. I mean you see along here there used to be every shop that used to be open, but there's

01:10not anymore.

01:11Meanwhile, the Conservative candidates and former MP Kelly Tolhurst wants to reimagine

01:17the high streets within the constituency.

01:20The reality of it is the Golden Mile that was once the Rochester to Chatham High Street

01:27is in this 2024 is probably not sustainable. Therefore, that is why it is really important

01:35that we come up with proper visionary regeneration plans for our town centres that meet the needs

01:42of people who are currently using those facilities.

01:48With such concerns about flatlining economic growth, the Green candidate for the seat

01:52says there needs to be a completely different approach to keeping the high street afloat.

01:59We can see that we can have an economy growing whilst we can still have poverty growing and

02:06food banks increasing, homelessness increasing. A growth in the economy doesn't necessarily

02:11translate into reducing inequality and tackling poverty. So I think we really need to consider

02:17how we look at our economy. So we're not just looking at GDP, but what is a successful

02:21economy?

02:22The Liberal Democrat candidate says more needs to be done to protect our high streets.

02:27This has been happening over many, many years. I once had an office on Chatham High Street.

02:32I've seen it decline since then. It is that the government favours big capital rather

02:39than small business. Lib Dems, for example, would abolish business rates and have a tax

02:45tax.

02:46While the polls might peg the seat at a two horse race, local candidates in Rochester

02:54and Strew could face the cost of voters, disillusioned by vanishing high streets and vanishing jobs.

03:02All of the leads are sat for KMTV in Chatham. And for a full list of candidates, just go

03:08to Kent Online.

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