- 11/07/2025
Catch up on all the latest political news from across Kent with Bartholomew Hall
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00:00Hello and welcome to the Kent Politics Show live on KMTV.
00:28I'm Bartholomew Hall. Today we'll be hearing from Reform UK leader Nigel Farage as he sits
00:34down with our local democracy reporter Olly Leader to discuss the Party in Blue's views
00:39for Kent County Council. Plus, a month after the ban on disposable vapes, we'll hear from
00:44officials in Medway as the towns see more than 22,000 illegal devices seized. All that
00:51and plenty more on the way today. But first, a man from Folkestone says he hasn't heard
00:56from his mum and stepdad in six months after they were detained and charged with spying
01:02in Iran. Lindsay and Craig Foreman were on a motorbike touring trip of the world when they
01:07were arrested in January and charged with espionage, which the family denies. The UK Foreign Office
01:13is working directly with the Iranian authorities, but Joe and his siblings say their parents
01:18were just tourists talking to locals and enjoying different cultures. Abby Hook has more.
01:24Here we are in the depths of the Armenian countryside.
01:31What was a bucket list trip of dreams that quickly turned into a nightmare when they were detained
01:38by Iranian authorities and charged with espionage. Described as adventurers by their family, Lindsay
01:47and Craig Foreman were travelling across the world on motorbikes, documenting their travels
01:52on social media. This was their last post on the 28th of December last year.
01:59Lots and lots of cats. So there is our little cabin with our cats in the river.
02:05Since then, since January, they've been working with the Foreign Office to get them home.
02:10It was panic. It was daunting. It was not knowing what was going to happen.
02:17You take your emotions as a family. You've got to amplify it by a hundredfold, right? They're
02:23in a country. They must have some notion as to what's going on. I don't know how much notion
02:28they know or what they know, but they must have an understanding that, you know, the countries
02:33were at war.
02:34It's unimaginable. You know, I honestly can't think what that must be like. It's hard to put
02:41yourself in those shoes because you can try and have an understanding, but unless you're actually
02:44living, being there through it, yeah, it's a tough one to think about. Try not to think about it too
02:51much because, you know, I don't think that helps. But obviously it adds that urgency because
02:58they can't be having a pleasant time.
03:00A spokesman for Iran's judiciary said in February the couple had entered the country under the
03:06guise of tourists and gathered information in several parts of the country. The UK Foreign
03:13Office does advise against all travel to Iran, saying British nationals are at significant
03:19risk of arrest, questioning or detention. It adds that even just having a British passport
03:26can be reason enough for the Iranian authorities to detain you.
03:31They did everything possible. They had the visa. They were allowed into the country. They
03:35had a guide. They stayed on main roads. They followed every single bit of advice they could.
03:40And whilst they were there, they did nothing but commend the country. They couldn't believe
03:43how beautiful it was, how nice the people were.
03:46But as of today, the UK has been warned of a rising and unpredictable threat from Iran.
03:51Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee says the government must do more to counter
03:56the national security threat here. For families like Lindsay and Craig's, all they can do is
04:03hope for a safe return. And soon.
04:07Abbey Hook for KMTV.
04:12Earlier this week, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage visited the council for a landmark visit.
04:17Our reporter Olly Leder sat down with him.
04:20So Nigel, obviously you've been touring around all the different councils of the UK. You've hit
04:25Kent at last, but you're not a Kent councillor nor a Kent MP. So I'm curious, why are you here
04:32today? What are you hoping to achieve by being here?
04:34I'm a National Party leader. We've won some councils. We've spectacularly won Kent. I mean,
04:41it was the most extraordinary political change the county's ever seen in its politics. Why am I here?
04:47Well, very simply, to encourage them, to show them they won't be forgotten, to say that I'm
04:53here, head office is here to help if they need us, and also to find out how they're getting
04:59on, to see how the project's going. So yeah, no, no, I'm a very, very hands-on leader.
05:06So how are they getting on? We've just had an open cabinet meeting here. We've heard about
05:11Doge announcements which are set for Thursday. Do you think it's been a successful first
05:16month of leadership at KCC?
05:18Do you know, I said, when I was here in the county on May the 2nd, at the Hot Farm, we had our little
05:25celebration, I said to all of you, judge us after a year. You know, judge us after a year. All I would
05:34say is I think our leader Lyndon's speech on Thursday is going to include some very, very sensible cost
05:41savings. You know, slimmer government, and that's what we promised people, vote for us and we'll try
05:47and make sure your council tax money doesn't get wasted. But we've also been discussing some very
05:53positive things. You know, thoughts about Manston, where to go in the future with that.
05:59Thoughts about Operation Brock, what we can do, now we're in charge of KCC to alleviate that. So there's
06:07some very positive stuff in the pipeline as well. It's very early days. It's very early days. You
06:12know, of course, there'll be personnel changes. All those things will happen in the first few months
06:18as we settle down. But I felt today, sitting with this group, there was a real sense of purpose.
06:26Devolution has come up quite a lot today. We even heard a potential referendum. But I'm curious about
06:31how would that work if it was to go ahead after this campaign that was being touted during the open
06:36cabinet? Would it be a government thing? Would it be a local council thing?
06:39Well, here's the thing. So local government reorganisation being pushed by the Labour Party
06:44to completely get rid of the identities, frankly, of our historic counties, to replace it with a series of
06:54unitaries, completely anonymous lines on maps, unitaries as I see it, to then superimpose a mayor
07:05over the top of it. But here's the key. No consultation. I bet you if we walked out now
07:12and stopped 100 people in the high street here in Maidstone, I bet not one had heard how things are
07:18going to change. And I just think within an historic county like Kent, people have a very strong county
07:26identity. And if you told them that KCC was to go, to be broken up into, well, we don't know, three,
07:33four or five unitaries, I think they'd ask real questions as to why that's happening. And so what
07:39I've talked about with the gang, and again, why am I here? I'm a very experienced campaigner,
07:45more than any of them. I've been doing this, well, since way before you were born.
07:50And I think we need to go out and test this. We'll put leaflets, we'll put Facebook ads up,
07:57we'll ask people to sign a petition. And if we find that the public, once they know about this,
08:03feel as I do and as the cabinet does, then we'll push on for a referendum. But devolution was in
08:08the Labour manifesto and the consultation will be happening over the summer. Is it too early to
08:13start gauging public perception on this when we don't know what the plans are? Shouldn't you be
08:17waiting until later in the year, especially given that it was in that Labour manifesto?
08:21It's pretty clear what their intentions are. It's to divide Kent into three, four or five unitaries.
08:27That is what their plan is and to abolish the existing district councils.
08:32Yeah, you know what, when you produce a manifesto this thick, I think all people
08:38ever learn about the top two or three policies. So they have, Labour do have some legitimacy
08:46by virtue of the manifesto, but there does need to be a proper consultation. And I think by us
08:51putting the pressure on now, we might get a better consultation than otherwise we would have had.
08:5798 million pounds on taxis for special educational needs, children here in Kent. There's lots of
09:05statutory obligations which keep councils like Kent County Council from balancing their books year on
09:11year. Would a reformed government consider loosening some of those statutory obligations or changing the
09:17rules around, say, S&D transport, for example, to try and save councils money? Well, number one,
09:22who is getting the contracts? Number two, what price are they charging? Number three, how long are
09:25those contracts for? Number four, does this actually give value for money for council taxpayers in Kent?
09:32Number five, surely just because a kid can't get into the local primary school, we shouldn't be sending
09:37them by taxi somewhere else. Surely that becomes back to the issue of parental responsibility.
09:44And I could go on. There are lots of things that need to be looked at here. These are ridiculous sums of money.
09:50Your party has been embroiled here at KCC in a trans book debacle over the last week or so.
09:56Why is it a debacle? Because obviously people are concerned about it, but...
09:59Yes, I'm very concerned about it. I'm very concerned about young kids being poisoned. I'm very concerned
10:05indeed. Are you not concerned about the dozen or so or at least half a dozen council meetings
10:10having postponed or cancelled? Surely your councillors should be focused more on their council duties
10:16rather than books in libraries. Well, this is a very tiny part of what we were elected to do.
10:20We were elected to... Look, we said we wouldn't fly political flags from the top of this building.
10:25You know, we said that material like this should not be put in front of young people. All we're doing
10:35is firstly carrying out what we said we do, but secondly, for this sort of thing, we have overwhelming
10:42public support. But why have there been so many meetings in that first month, which has been
10:47cancelled and postponed? Does that say something about the experience levels here at KCC?
10:52I told you, judges. Judges a year in. Most, not all, most of our councillors who walk through this door
11:00in the first week of May have not done this before. You've got to give people time
11:03to bed in and understand the wrong. It's one of your MPs had the whip removed from them over the
11:08weekend or they removed it from themselves over allegations around their business feelings.
11:12There was another KCC councillor in court last week accused of threatening to kill his wife.
11:18Does this say something about the sort of people that Reform UK attract?
11:22No, we've got a Labour MP at the moment accused of child abduction and child rape. The most serious
11:28charges faced by any politician since the war, all political passes, the bigger they get,
11:34they will have problems with people. But we've already seen two MPs that you've lost in the last
11:40year or so. It's not good. I'm not pretending it is good. It's far from good. I wish it wasn't the
11:44situation. All right, time for a break. We'll have plenty more politics to unpack after this.
11:58So let's do that again.
12:16.
12:22.
16:58Another one of these sort of big headline grabbers from them is that they're going to be abandoning the sale of County Hall.
17:03I mean, it doesn't scream cost saving when you think about the money that they could have got from selling that, but why is it they've gone about with this one?
17:09I think part of it is that they say they would have had to borrow something like $14 million to fund the refurbishment of another property which would have been used as KCC's offices after County Hall was to be sold.
17:22I think last we knew somebody, a buyer of some sort had offered 5 to 10 million pounds to purchase County Hall.
17:29So, in the grand scheme of things, they wouldn't have been making that much money on it in terms of KCC's budget.
17:35And additionally, a big priority is bringing the workforce back in-house and sort of getting rid of the culture of working from home.
17:43So, one of the other things they announced, which I think will save some money, apparently, is getting 500 or so staff of KCC who are based in Maidstone telling them, like, you have to work back in Sessions House now.
17:55Because basically, since the pandemic, a lot of council staff have been working from home, even if they live only around the corner from the office.
18:01Of course, sort of reversing this work from home culture is something that Nigel Farage said, that he was very keen on making sure it happened on the night that KCC was taken over by reform.
18:12This is the first of its 10 councils that is really being looked into by Doge.
18:18So, it could set a precedent now.
18:21Yeah, definitely.
18:22It's a big priority that reform has made very clear.
18:26They want people working back in the office.
18:28I think there's probably quite a degree of public support for that, because, you know, as a regular member of the public, council services are hard enough to deal with when you're, you know, bounced around with numerous phone numbers.
18:36So, it might be helpful to have loads of people working back in the office, and they might end up, and I'm sure reform administrations and other county councils are probably going to try quite similar things.
18:46The problem is that a lot of the move to working from home has been so total that a lot of councils are completely acclimated to their staff working from home.
18:53Lots of councils, especially district councils, for example, at the lower level, have sold off offices, you know, their entire, you know, their property portfolio and the space they have and how they work is structured around the majority of people working from home most of the time.
19:07And tell us what we're hearing from the other side of County Hall, because the opposition have continued to raise concerns around personal information and the safety of residents in Kent because of the level of detail that Doge is looking into.
19:20Have we heard any more from that?
19:22Not as far as I know, so opposition members, of which there are not very many now since reform's victory was so overwhelming, a concern that the Department of Government Efficiency Doge has created, which will be examining council spending for their perceived profligacy and waste.
19:42Opposition members are concerned that basically this means that unelected reform officials from outside of the county who are just appointed to this Doge team will be able to see the personal data.
19:52of KCC service users and staff.
19:56Last I knew, the county council has been quite ambiguous about whether or not what kind of information they were sharing in the letters sent, you know, confirming that Doge will be looking into this kind of thing.
20:06They used quite strident language saying, you know, they wanted full access to any data they asked for.
20:10But there's not been much new information on that front.
20:13All right, Dan. Well, thank you very much.
20:14We'll have to continue keeping a close eye and we can hear more from yourself and your other local democracy colleagues on the Kent Politics podcast up at Kent Online.
20:21Thank you very much for joining us.
20:24And if you want to hear more from Dan Essin and the rest of the local democracy reporters at Kent Online, just listen to the Kent Politics podcast.
20:31It's available at Kent Online, of course, or wherever you do get your podcasts.
20:35And, of course, you can keep up to date with all the county's latest political news, views and analysis with our Kent Politics briefing too, which drops into your inbox every Friday.
20:44Just search Kent Online, email the lights and sign up online for the one you want.
20:51Right now, on with the rest of the show.
20:54Now, more than 22,000 illegal vapes have been seized in Medway since the government ban came into force on the 1st of June.
21:02It's been a month, but councils, police and trading standards officers have been cracking down on shops still selling the now banned products.
21:10The new law aims to tackle underage sales and the environmental impact of single-use vapes, as Kristen Hawthorne reports.
21:1822,332.
21:21That's how many illegal vapes were seized from shops in Medway since the nationwide disposable vape ban, which started on June 1st.
21:28This was done to mainly tackle underage sales and to help reduce the negative environmental impacts.
21:34While the council have seized hundreds of thousands of vapes from the streets of Medway, has the public opinion changed towards vaping?
21:41I think it's ridiculous. Truthfully, they've banned the one-use vapes, which I think is absolutely ridiculous.
21:52If you want to go out and buy one vape alone, just for that night, then it should be allowed.
22:01It's better for the environment, but my attitude towards it hasn't really changed. Vapes are still just as accessible.
22:07I suppose that children might have started vaping less, because most of the shops that now sell refillable ones do ask for ID.
22:13Well, I don't really know much about vapes. All I know is that vapes can be quite addictive, so if it helps reduce that, then it's a good thing.
22:20Yeah, I used to use disposable religiously, and now I've got a refillable one, and I would say it's better, to be fair.
22:29I would say it's more cost-effective, yeah.
22:32I spoke to Alex Patterson from Medway Council to find out how they felt about the number of vapes seized.
22:37I think you always hope for the best, but fear the worst when there's a change like this that comes in.
22:43Certainly, I don't think retailers could claim not to have been aware of the changes.
22:48This has been telegraphed really well in terms of the legislation and the new rules coming into force.
22:55So I think it's absolutely reasonable to challenge those retailers who have ignored that change.
23:03If that happens, then there is the opportunity to issue them with a fixed penalty notice, but also to seize that illegal stock.
23:11And I think it's really important that we do that.
23:13The whole point of a change in the rules is that it should have consequences, and I want to see these single-use disposable vapes off our streets.
23:22As it's just been more than a month since a disposable vape ban has come into place, it's clear that these are still early days for its regulation.
23:31This means that we may soon see changes like a cost increase, making the future of vaping a little cloudy.
23:37Kristen Hawthorne for KMTV, Rochester.
23:40Finally from us, a new social supermarket in North Kent aimed at tackling stigmas around food banks says demand is soaring.
23:50The Dartford Larder in the town centre offers discounted food to members on low incomes, charging just £4.50 for a certain amount of food.
23:58All volunteers there say one day they hope to be without a job, as our local democracy reporter Olly Leda has been finding out.
24:05A supermarket, but not as you know it.
24:09The Dartford Larder, supported by the Borough Council, is designed to be a stepping stone away from traditional food banks,
24:18allowing those facing food insecurity and hardship in the town to buy the essentials at affordable prices.
24:26Everybody, I think, is just a paycheck away from being in a situation where they need help.
24:32One of the real focuses of this project is providing dignity.
24:35So when people come around the shop, it's actually providing them dignity, because it is like a normal shopping experience.
24:40You grab your shopping basket, you go around the shelves, the whole shopping experience is lovely and nice.
24:45So it gives them that dignity to come through and feel, actually, it's the same.
24:49Every time you come to visit the Dartford Larder, you can only have 13 items per shop.
24:56It's all around helping people make healthy choices.
24:59Green items, such as onions, you can have as many different kinds of those as you want.
25:06Blue items, you're only allowed nine.
25:09Red items, you're only allowed four.
25:12And this is designed to not only help the shop maintain its stock, but help people get what they need to live better lives.
25:22When you go to a shop, it's more expensive to buy some fruit and vegetables than it is a 50p packet of biscuits.
25:29So we want to try and help promote that healthier eating.
25:32The Larder has only been open for a month, but already there's been more than 160 people using the service.
25:42I got involved with it in the beginning because of the fact I was unemployed, literally couldn't make ends meet.
25:47We used to go without food so that the kids could eat.
25:50So it was a bit more easier for me to understand what was needed.
25:54Do you have someone come in that's got anxiety or depression or is struggling, has been made homeless?
26:01They need someone to talk to that's not a council official.
26:03They need someone that is going to either be in the situation themselves or understand the situation.
26:10To use the service, residents in the town need to be assessed on their first visit.
26:16But for those struggling to afford their shopping, the Larder might be somewhere worth a checkout.
26:24Ollie Leder in Dartford.
26:27Well, that is all from us here at the Kent Politics Show.
26:30We'll be back next Friday with another new episode.
26:33If you want more politics, you can read Kent online or listen to the Kent Politics podcast.
26:38But don't go anywhere because after the break, we'll be bringing you a brand new Kent tonight with all the latest news from across the county.
26:44Do have a good evening. Good night.
27:03Thank you so much for joining us today.
27:05Thank you for tonight.
27:09Hello.
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