One of the county’s MPs has warned against “aggressive rhetoric” around the issue of people seeking asylum.
Tristan Osborne says although there is a “narrative” that the situation is out of control, the government is making progress.
Appearing on the Kent Politics Podcast, the Chatham and Aylesford representative was speaking about this week’s important High Court ruling.
Epping Forest Council in Essex successfully sought to temporarily stop a hotel from housing asylum seekers permanently, sparking fears that other councils would follow a similar legal route.
KCC leader Cllr Linden Kemkaran waded into the issue, urging local authorities to consider this move.
However, Mr Osborne (Lab) says work is being done and it is important the government keeps improving the system to speed up the time it takes to process asylum claims.
He said net migration is down 50% from the situation Labour inherited from the Conservatives, and there are now 36,000 asylum seekers being kept in hotels as opposed to a previous high of 52,000.
Speaking about his first year at Westminster, he explains how as a backbencher he actually has less power than when he was a Medway Council cabinet member.
He also talks about his involvement in the KentOnline Blue Badge Battle campaign which aims to make the system fairer for people with time-limited conditions.
The team also discuss Medway’s proposals for local government reorganisation and issues with staffing costs at Thanet District Council.
The weekly podcast brings together Simon Finlay, Robert Boddy, and Dan Esson, of the Local Democracy Reporting Service, and senior news editor Nikki White.
Simon covers Kent County Council, while Robert reports on Medway Council and Dan specialises in borough and district councils.
You can listen to the podcast at IM Listening, or download it from Apple Podcasts, Spotify and TuneIn – just search for Kent Politics Podcast.
Readers can also keep up-to-date with the latest political news on our dedicated Kent Politics page on KentOnline or sign up for our weekly politics newsletter.
