Andrew Birkin (Labour)
Welcome, everyone! I have lived and worked locally for over 40 years. I am a former head of Kent’s Youth Offending Service and a former board member of the Swale Housing Association. So, I have real knowledge of how local government works and the needs of Faversham people.
For too long Faversham has been ignored by the Tory administration at KCC and local services have been lost. The Youth Centre has closed some years ago. Residential care disappeared from Kiln Court, progress on reinstating a swing bridge has been glacial and there is no urgency in making much-needed improvements to the A2 junction at Brenley Corner.
More Labour councillors on KCC will help us push up the standard of home care, stop further privatisation of community health services, sort out KCC’s failing special needs services for young people and really start to tackle the climate crisis.
If you vote me in on May 6th I will be a real champion for Faversham working alongside the Labour-led coalition at Swale to make sure we get the services from KCC that Faversham really needs.
Andy Culham (Conservative)
I am a local business owner running a plastering company in the town.
I am honoured to be chosen as your Conservative candidate in the forthcoming local elections in May.
I know only too well the commitment involved in becoming a Councillor having served on Faversham Town Council from 2011 - 2015, a time that was spent working with youth groups, setting up a surgery so residents could bring problems to my attention.
As your elected local County Councillor, I will campaign for improved services and report issues such as street lighting and better - maintained roads and pathways including antisocial behaviour.
I will be a hands-on Councillor who will act fast on a problem that's reported, and work hard to get results.
Ben A. Martin Independent
Ben A Martin became a Swale Borough Councillor in 2019 and is currently Deputy Mayor of Swale. Ben was an Independent Town councillor between 2015 and 2019 for Priory Ward, Faversham.
Never one to just point at issues in a photocall and sit back, or take credit for other people’s work, Ben resigned from the local Liberal Democrat Party to engage with Faversham people from all Wards and to get things done.
Ben passionately believes that Faversham should be represented at KCC with an Independent voice that is about Faversham, its people and its places and should not be about Political parties with their layers of bureaucracy, bullying and infighting.
The Faversham Electorate has a choice to be represented by someone who runs a business within Faversham, employs local people, educates his children here and shares local resident’s views and experiences to help rethink how Faversham is defined within KCC. This is all about Faversham and the people who live here, not egos or a Political step up a ladder.
Ben says "As your County Councillor, I will prioritise and target Highway improvements to improve connectivity across our gridlocked town and Health, as no Faversham Resident should be waiting more than two weeks for a Doctor’s appointment. I will make sure that no opportunity is missed to improve Faversham. I will fight for Faversham and will not spend my time in office seeking higher paid positions on a national level.
I have always voted for my community and refuse to ever vote to a party line. I am the Voice Of The Electorate, who has been serving my constituents well since 2015 and will speak up for Faversham."
If you are fed up with the endless photo opportunities of pointing at potholes whilst voting against the wishes of the Town and continuing to waste further public money on empty buildings within Faversham Town Centre, then VOTE for Ben A Martin as your Faversham representative at Kent County Council.
Antony Hook Liberal Democrat
Antony Hook is Faversham's elected representative on Kent County Council. He is also an elected member of the Town Council since January 2017, and was elected to the European Parliament in May 2019.
Antony was elected as County Councillor at the local elections held on 4 May 2017.
He is passionate about standing up for everyone who lives in Faversham. He believes that we live in a great town, which could be even better for everyone who lives here.
He is especially interested in:
Protecting local health services,
Making our roads safer, in particular with 20 mph speed limits to save lives,
Helping the economy grow with investment and more good local jobs,
Getting action on fixing potholes, street lights, blocked drains and other basics that cause big problems for local people affected by them,
Making sure Brexit does not harm Faversham - where farming, food and drink and other international work is hugely important.
For more information see FavLibDems.
The Faversham Eye's view on the candidates:
In his manifesto Andrew Birkin says all the right things about social care, protecting the countryside, public transport and most other areas of concern to local people down to the provision of an opening Creek Bridge. He clearly cares about the Town.
Whilst saying that new housing around the town should be properly and sensitively designed and built, he fails to directly criticise the imposition of the great number of inappropriate and largely unaffordable housing estates being built around the town by private volume housebuilders. For a Labour candidate and previous chair of the Swale Housing Association, this seems a significant omission.
One of the last remaining members of the Tory old guard, Andy Culham, who did much to damage the Town in the recent past and who is also standing in the Faversham Town election for the Priory Ward on which we have already commented.
Ben A. Martin. Possibly somewhat of a dilettante. It is difficult to be convinced of his genuine commitment to the Town rather than his own personal agenda.
Until recently our Euro MP, Antony Hook is genuinely hard working. While not entirely convinced of the Lib Dems success in improving or protecting the Town, he represents a group that is making a real effort to do good for Faversham, particularly in respect the efforts being made with the emerging Local and Neighbourhood plans. See Faversham Eye 13.
The Eye’s choice for the next Faversham Division KCC Councillor is Antony Hook