Guy A. Forster-Pearce

Today I interviewed @MattBoughton93 for @WestKentRadio Read his take on the shake up to local government here: westkentradio.co.uk/news/west-kent…

Europe didn’t become peaceful and prosperous by chance. In the last 100 years alone, this continent has endured total war, genocide, dictatorships, and division behind walls and barbed wire. Cities were destroyed. Economies collapsed. Entire generations were lost. The freedom and prosperity you enjoy today were not inevitable. They are the result of deliberate choices: cooperation instead of revenge, institutions instead of force, law instead of power. Peace in Europe is not “normal.” It is one of the most fragile and precious achievements of modern history, one that survives only if each generation chooses to protect it.

Beautifully clear demonstration of the very high cost of HS2, amid unusually easy terrain and with proven technology. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/ac…

Build a home your kids desire to be around forever. We’ve been led to believe that success as a parent is training your kids up so that at 18 they run off to some university thousands of miles of away. From that point on your access to them and your future grandkids is a cross country trip 2-3x a year if you’re lucky. Families are stronger across the board (financially, mentally, physically, spiritually) when we live closer together. The key is making sure your kids feel that connection so they want to be around you long after they need you.

In any other major city in Europe the streets of Soho would obviously be pedestrianised and businesses/visitors on a glorious day like today could enjoy al fresco dining. But thanks to Westminster Council and the way we give outsized power to absurd local complaints, not here!

In my opinion, more than 75% of every urban planning, architecture, and landscape architecture program today should focus on “SPRAWL REPAIR”. The work is endless. And virtually nobody is teaching it.

The result is in for Rochester East & Warren Wood ward - Reform UK candidates David Ian Finch and John Melvyn Vye have been elected for the ward.

Rochester East and Warren Wood Reform UK win both 802 and 870 votes to Labour’s 781 and 717

This photograph was taken two days ago at the FBI Academy in Quantico and submitted to the NYT under the condition of anonymity. If a picture is usually worth a thousand words, this one is worth millions.

Do you have any questions for our senior managers? Our Meet the Manager sessions offer you the chance to speak directly to them! Next week we are holding a session at #Sevenoaks on the 3rd of February between 7:30 & 9:00.

🔴 Live Coverage of Southport Sentencing 🧵 Today, Axel Rudakubana - the teenager that has pled guilty to the Southport Massacre - will be sentenced in Liverpool Crown Court. The public can expect to hear: • The public will see Rudakubana en-masse for th first time • Mitigating and aggravating factors in Rudakubana's case • Impact statements from victims and their families • The judge's ruling and Rudakubana's sentencing This is expected to take several hours but I will be covering events from start to finish on this thread 👇

Today’s monologue from Times Radio at lunch time: Donald Trump has hit the ground running with a blizzard of executive actions issued within hours of taking office. Just as Roman Emperors used to keep the mob happy by killing Christians in the Colosseum so Trump, uniquely for a US president, entertained his adoring supporters in an arena with the public signing of orders:  Declaring a national emergency at the border with Mexico;  Slashing regulations inhibiting drilling for fossil fuels; Pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement (again); Freezing the hiring of federal workers; And rolling back the diversity, equity and inclusion culture that has come to dominate the American workplace, replaced with a simple merit mandate.  Oh, and it’s official, there are only two genders: male and female.  The more unsavoury side of American democracy was on full display yesterday. No sooner had Joe Biden marked his last minutes in office by pardoning various family members for, as yet, crimes unknown, than Trump pardoned 1,500 supporters who took part in the January 6 2021 attack on Capitol Hill.  America split with Britain almost 250 years ago because it wanted to escape the monarchical powers of George III. But when it comes to pardons, US presidents have powers that even George III could only dream of. Among the beneficiaries of Trump’s clemency were leaders of violent far-right groups, including the so called Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, who had been found guilty of seditious conspiracy and other offenses in connection with the Capitol attack. So much for the Republicans being the party of law and order.  The British government must have watched yesterday’s inauguration with mounting apprehension. For within much of what Trump had to say there’s a world of pain for Keir Starmer and his ministers.  China is already opening roughly one new coal-fired station a week and now, the world’s second biggest emitter of CO2, America, is effectively pulling out of climate change targets. So what exactly is the point of Britain’s multi-billion pound net zero strategy, since we account for less than 1% of emissions?  Despite the ramping up of renewables our electricity is the most expensive in the world. So why would any of these IT giants - who sat through yesterday’s inauguration - open energy-gobbling data centres in the UK when energy is so much cheaper in the US.  The UK is spending only 2.3% of its GDP on defence and vague about when it might reach 2.5%. Does Labour really think Trump will be satisfied with that? If America does start to hit the drug cartels inside Mexico, a sovereign nation, will the British government just stay shtum? Ditto the rounding up and deportation of millions of illegal immigrants. Does Labour, dominated by human rights lawyers, just look the other way.  Or what to say if Trump really does forcibly take back the Panama Canal? Can Labour just remain silent? And if it does speak out, can it expect favourable treatment when it comes to tariffs on British exports to America, much less the comprehensive free trade deal Starmer is now said to be suddenly keen on? For now, the British government seems oblivious to all this.  Foreign secretary David Lammy is trying to ingratiate himself with Trump in the most nauseating of kowtows. A man he recently called a “KKK and Nazi sympathiser” he now deems to be “gracious and generous”.   Keir Starmer is being less hypocritical. But his efforts to flatter Trump are characteristically clunky.  The King has sent the US president his congratulations, said to emphasise our special relationship. We’ll see if that survives the first round of Trump tariffs.  Trump will lap up all the praise coming out of London. He knows most of it is false. And it will make no difference when he has to decide between British interests and putting America first. I doubt the British government knows what’s about to hit it.

Minister describes our findings as 'incredibly concerning' as number of child sex abuse cases linked to popular dating app has led MPs and police to demanding tougher age restrictions 🔴 Exclusive by Billy Stockwell 🔗 trib.al/ebic04A

Vince also makes clear perhaps towards KCC that any extension should not allow some cllrs to have posts for 7 years without facing the electorate!

NEW The leader of Medway Council @vincemaple has written to the Minister of State Jim McMahon to ask that local elections due in Medway in 2027 are delayed by a year to allow unitary councils to come through in 2028.

Tulip Saddiq has resigned : Here’s her letter in full to the PM

Labour's radical shake up local govt is "deeply regrettable," says Conservative leader of Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council, Matt Boughton. @MattBoughton93 He told West Kent Radio that the new authorities would be more "remote" from communities. See: westkentradio.co.uk/news/west-kent…

NEW: Treasury minister Tulip Siddiq has resigned from the government. She says in resignation letter to PM she was becoming a “distraction” standards adviser Laurie Magnus said Siddiq did not breach the ministerial code…BUT does say “Given the nature of Ms Siddiq’s ministerial responsibilities, which include the promotion of the UK financial services sector and the inherent probity of its regulatory framework as a core component of the UK economy and its growth, it is regrettable that she was not more alert to the potential reputational risks - both to her and the Government - arising from her close family’s association with Bangladesh. I would not advise that this shortcoming should be taken as a breach of the Ministerial Code, but you will want to consider her ongoing responsibilities in the light of this.” So Magnus left Starmer with little choice…

The letter has gone to Government requesting the inclusion of #Kent and #Medway on the #Devolution Priority Programme More here: loom.ly/VjuqqaQ @RogerGough2 @vincemaple @medway_council