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.
First we've heard about it, but will look into it.
We’ve have a full report and reaction to the election result in this afternoon’s edition.
Subscribe for free here 👇
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.
We woke up to find our content lifted without attribution and your response was to deflect onto our way of working. These are valid conversations, but we’d suggest attitude goes both ways here. Going to step away now though, given we do like what you guys do, and none of this seems productive.
Sure. And if you don’t like the way we do things, you’re very welcome to not lift our content for use on your site channels for free.
Fair question. We sometimes use it for sourcing third party links to support reporting, as in these cases.
Hi folks. Don’t have a big issue with you using our video, but can you at least credit us or link to our story please?
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.
Two young people have died as Canterbury confronts a meningitis outbreak that has already reshaped life in the city.
We pull together what is actually known so far, plus the latest from the Cliftonville by-election and the rest from across the county this week.
Swale has backed a 2,500-home Duchy of Cornwall expansion south east of Faversham. We look at what was approved, why councillors still said yes, and what this means for the town.
Plus KCC’s pot plant confusion, Reform’s council tax doublespeak, and a councillor's latest party switch.
Some notes on our upcoming interview...