Kent County Council (KCC) has written to the Government to ask for the election this May to be delayed.

Due to Local Government Reorganisation (LGR), all councils in Kent will soon be dissolved, and replaced by 3 or 4 large unitary authorities. This means that the KCC election may never take place and will therefore be cancelled rather than delayed. 

This is undemocratic and leaves current councillors in power beyond their legal term of office.

We want councillors that we have chosen to negotiate the dramatic restructuring of local government, which is being pushed through far too quickly and without public consultation.

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We call on the Government to reject the request from KCC to cancel our election because:

1. We want to live in a democracy
2. We want our right to vote
3. We want to be consulted

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We want our right to vote for councillors we trust to represent us on matters that affect our everyday lives like health, housing and roads.

Councillors at KCC who support delaying the election said we don’t need a vote this year because they are the best ones for the job and “the public don’t care who is running the council, as long as it works”.

Well that is simply not true! The truth is that we haven’t been asked. Just 39 councillors decided the elections should be cancelled for 1.8 million of us.

Cancelling our election will affect residents in Ashford, Canterbury, Dartford, Dover, Folkestone and Hythe, Gravesham, Maidstone, Medway, Sevenoaks, Swale, Thanet, Tonbridge and Malling and Tunbridge Wells.

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We implore you to stand up for democracy, stand up for us and save our votes!

Kind regards,

Residents of Kent and Medway