Reform councillor opposes Lenham Heath housing development
A newly-elected county councillor has publicly backed opponents of one of the biggest proposed house building schemes in Kent.Plans for 5,000 new homes on Lenham Heath were approved by Maidstone Borough Council last year, when it was run by the Conservatives.Now the new Reform UK councillor for the area, Sarah Emberson, has spoken in support of the pressure group Save Our Heath Lands (SOHL) that is campaigning against the development. The government has pledged to build 1.5m homes across the UK and relax planning laws in an attempt to tackle the housing crisis.
'I want to protect the countryside'
Renting or buying a home is a struggle for many in Kent and there is a shortage of affordable housing in parts of the county. The Heath Lands development is set to be built in stages, but would also include local amenities, schooling and a railway station. There are questions over how the rail station will be funded, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
Ms Emberson, who lives in nearby Ashford, said: "I want to protect the countryside. I brought up my family here because I wanted them to enjoy green spaces and the quality of life.She said she wanted to preserve the "county way of life... like a lot of people do.""We're only guardians of the countryside. This not our land – but when it's gone it's gone."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
16 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Watch: Minister jeered for claiming most Channel migrants are children and women
A Cabinet minister was jeered by a BBC Question Time audience after claiming that most Channel migrants are 'children, babies and women'. Darren Jones, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said: 'The majority of the people in these boats are children, babies and women', adding that he felt it was a 'controversial' thing to say. But statistics for the year to March 31 last year from the Migration Observatory showed 75 per cent of those arriving in Britain in small boats were adult men. Separate Home Office data showed that 83.6 per cent of arrivals over the year to this March were men, with 12.5 per cent women and the rest of undetermined gender at the time of the release. When he was jeered, Mr Jones rebutted: 'You're told not to challenge the audience on Question Time – but I'm going to. 'Let me tell you, when you're there on the site seeing these dinghies put together by these organised criminal gangs, which are clearly not safe, and when you see that the majority of the people in these boats are children, babies and women.' Zia Yusuf, the head of Reform UK's 'Doge' cost-saving unit, interrupted Mr Jones to say: 'No, they're not. No, they're not.' The audience applauded when he added: 'North of 90 per cent of them are adult men.' Mr Jones said: 'I'm saying that this is controversial for a reason. Let me tell you the story. 'When there are babies and children, put into that position by human-trafficking gangs, who are coming across in the Channel with skin burns from the oil from those boats mixing with the salt sea water, I would ask any of you to look at those babies and children and say, 'go back to where you came from'. 'It's right that we take a humanitarian response for those people who are put in those positions, and as the Government's policy states, dealing with the criminal gangs who are exploiting vulnerable children to use that route, and then tackling the people who should not be using it, and making sure that they're not staying in this country. 'You can do both of those things without politicising it.' 'The focus is tackling these vile gangs' Downing Street failed to provide any evidence to back up Mr Jones' comments. No 10 said Sir Keir Starmer had confidence in the Chief Secretary to the Treasury. Asked to provide evidence, the Prime Minister's official spokesman said: 'The Government is absolutely focused on tackling these vile smuggling gangs that risk lives in the Channel.' Asked again, he said: 'The focus of the Government is tackling these vile gangs that deal in human misery. That is why our joint work with the French is vital to tackle these gangs.' When it was suggested to him that Mr Jones was effectively gaslighting the nation with his remark, the spokesman said: 'Again, our focus is on tackling the gangs.' Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said Mr Jones 'is completely out of touch with reality', adding: 'Since 2018, 73 per cent of small boat arrivals have been single adult men. Yet Labour MPs like Jones still push the fairytale that these boats are full of women and babies. It's a dangerous distortion of the truth.' The UN's International Organisation for Migration estimates that a record 82 migrants, including 14 children, died in attempts to cross the Channel last year. But officials believe this is an underestimate, with dozens more reported missing over recent months. At least 12 have died so far this year. Some 14,812 migrants have crossed the Channel so far this year in more than 260 boats, a record high for the first six months of any year since boats started arriving in 2018. Last month, Sir Keir Starmer came under fire after using a speech to declare that the UK risks becoming an 'island of strangers' unless it introduces stricter immigration controls. Several of his own backbenchers, including veteran MP Diane Abbott, expressed outrage at the remarks, for which the Prime Minister appeared to express regret this week. Downing Street set out an immigration white paper last month, which Sir Keir said would see his Government 'take back control of our borders' and bring net migration down. It was seen as a move to combat the rise of Nigel Farage and Reform, which had sweeping gains at local elections last month.
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
Badenoch calls for 'electoral defeat' of SNP at Tory conference
She told delegates: 'The SNP has presided over falling standards in education, healthcare and shocking levels of drug deaths. 'This is not a party that Scotland needs so we need to bring about their electoral defeat because the Scottish people deserve better.' Their conference in Edinburgh comes after they placed fourth in the recent Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election won by Scottish Labour. Coming behind Reform UK, SNP and Labour, their vote share dropped by almost 12% in comparison to the Scottish Parliament election results in 2021. The Scottish Conservatives have also faced mounting defections with 15 of their councillors moving to Nigel Farage's Reform UK. It is understood their party currently has around 6,500 members. READ MORE: Scottish Tories face 'existential crisis' from Reform rise What's on at the Scottish Conservative conference? Today, Ms Badenoch and the Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay insisted their party was "under new management" and said they will focus on restoring trust to Scottish politics and beyond. The UK Conservative leader said: 'Keir Starmer says he was right to cut winter fuel payments, and also right to restore them. He just can't bring himself to say, 'I got it wrong'. 'When politicians refuse to hold their hands up, even when their mistakes are glaringly obvious, people lose trust. 'So, we will do things differently because we know that the public lost trust in politicians who can never admit when they're wrong. "People are fed up with hearing big promises that will never be delivered. They're frustrated by the lack of focus on what matters most in their everyday lives. Ms Badenoch added: 'Scotland needs Conservatives now more than ever." The UK Conservative leader also hit out at what she described as the "cosy left-wing consensus" dominating Scottish politics. She told delegates: "We have seen Scotland decline under the rule of left-wing parties that stokes division and the politics of envy." Mentioning the SNP fifteen times in her speech, the UK Conservative leader said John Swinney's party "remain obsessed with breaking up our country" through Independence as she said the Conservatives would never see "more devolution" as the answer to problems facing Scots. Ms Badenoch also said her party will stand by Scotland's defence industry as she told the Scottish Conservative conference that Labour should have set out a 'clear plan' on how to get to spending 3% of GDP on defence. The Tory leader said: 'I want you to know that our party will always be ready to protect Scotland's place in the United Kingdom, especially when it comes to defence.' She said Russell Findlay would 'put forward a different way of doing things' in next year's Holyrood elections. Ms Badenoch concluded her speech by saying: 'Let's be honest about where we went wrong in the past. But let's be optimistic about what we can put right in the future. 'The Conservative & Unionist Party is ready to fight for a common-sense future for Scotland and an even stronger United Kingdom.'
The National
2 hours ago
- The National
Reform UK claim 11,000 Scottish members in challenge to Labour
On Friday, Reform UK said it had hit the 'hugely significant' milestone and challenged other parties to reveal their membership numbers. The SNP had 58,940 members as of December 31, 2024, meaning they are still by far Scotland's largest party. Scottish Labour numbers are not routinely published, but in 2021 the Daily Record reported that they had 16,467. READ MORE: SNP slam UK Government as £2.5 billion GB Energy funding raid revealed Reform UK said that they believed Labour's Scottish membership had dropped and they were now only 1000-odd people behind. Farage's party called on Scottish Labour, and all other parties, to publish their membership figures 'in the interest of transparency'. Scottish Labour said they would not give a running update but a spokesperson confirmed they had more members than the 11,000 claimed by Reform. In April 2023, the Greens said they had 7646 members – but reported a 'surge' in membership the following year without giving details. In September 2024, the Scottish Tory leadership election revealed that the party had 6941 members. At the time, reports said this meant the Alba Party had more members, with their accounts reporting 7507.
