KENT WATCH " a strong organisation that knows where it is going!"

So says Paul Carter Conservative Leader of KCC, as he muses on Kent Council's coming year, in fact so confident is he,  as a new year dawns he himself is off on some motor rally throughout January, and of course, as we all know, Paul Carter also decided, from what can be gleaned from the murky and secretive world of the council, that at great cost to the public, it no longer to needs a senior professional officer to head up the organisation.

The word anarchy springs to my mind, but then I haven't just said goodbye to many, many thousands of pounds, by removing, a previously valued manager of the council, mid contract for reasons. which haven't been explained or discussed adequately.

As I see it,      it's (KCC) like a ship with no one at the helm and no flippin rudder til sometime in February. 

Read the briefing for yourself, what I found interesting, are those things that are not really mentioned such as, how did KCC children services become so run down and in such a dire state by the start of last year, also the controversial removal of Katherine Kerswell, was it really a cost saving exercise or something else, anyhow perhaps the most revealing thing about Cllr Paul Carter, is this comment referring I guess obliquely the Katherine Kerswell issue "On another note, my New Year’s resolution for next year must be to improve our relationship with the local press.  It has felt in recent weeks that some stories have been particularly biased against KCC.

Well here is news for Cllr Carter he might also wish to improve his relationship with his own Conservative backbench colleagues some of whom I understand were a bit miffed to have, had the run around, on the Kerswell issue, particularly egregious, since he'd suggested during a leadership challenge that he'd consult members outside his cabinet colleagues more.

An interesting and more educated analysis of Paul Carters briefing is available just here, from Kent Messengers Political Editor Paul Francis, in which Cllr Carters suggestion of media bias is addressed, to round this up, lets hope Kent does not experience any crisis during January because it seems, there is nobody with the clear authority to take charge of the council till February.

I hope this year Kent County Conservatives learn to live with a democratic society which allows for a free press and objects to political parties manipulating local authority media resources to their advantage.