Turn Dartford Red on May 7th

The upcoming election is crucial for Dartford locally and nationally. The next Council administration and next MP will have defining impacts on Dartford's future as long standing issues come to a head over the next term. 

Coming central Government infrastructure decisions will have a huge bearing on the future of the town. Paramount Park will bring in tourism and jobs but apply increased transport pressure, the new Thames crossing looms over the town threatening yet more lorries, cars and polluted air, and South Eastern’s rail franchise is up for renewal again in 2018 with the highest rates of customer dissatisfaction in the country. Each of the decisions on these issues will affect Dartford residents’ daily lives and it is vital that Dartford has a strong voice trying to influence them.

The current MP, Gareth Johnson, has let his constituents down time and again on these vital matters. His failure to decisively push for a crossing elsewhere led to the decision being postponed until after the election. When he finally secured a debate on rail services in Kent he led with his personal concerns over the availability of Wi Fi on trains instead of discussing delays or missed stations, and failed to fact check the issues raised by constituents. The prospective Labour candidate Simon Thomson has already met the CEO of South Eastern and pushed commuter’s real concerns as a priority for the company. Even as a candidate he has been more forceful and successful in pushing the interests of Dartford than Gareth Johnson.

If Dartford’s views are to be listened to, this town needs a more effective representative than its current invisible MP but there is more than that affecting Dartford. This year the town was finally put out of its misery by Tesco as the retail giant abandoned its Lowfield Street development plans. The decade long catalogue of failure from Dartford Borough Council’s Conservative/Resident Association coalition has left a mutilated town centre boarded up with mocking signs asking for patience. Having left the town at the complete mercy of Tesco’s failing business model, the Council leadership are now speaking out to voice their anger. If only they had been this wise and this angry a decade ago when they let Dartford fall into this trap.

Following the development of Bluewater, the Town Centre was always going to need a clear plan and strong leadership to survive but the Tories and Resident’s Association have completely failed to protect the businesses, homes and people of Dartford. Dartford needs a new vision for its Town Centre now, and only Labour have offered a local manifesto of substance with their key policies for the area. More than that, only Labour are generating ideas and interest in the possibilities for Lowfield Street.

Elsewhere, the Resident’s Association members dutifully align with the Conservatives on every vote, not just failing to promote the interests of Swanscombe and Greenhithe but actively voting against those interests when their Conservative partners demand it.

Even the Conservatives’ apparent victories have come at great cost. They lauded themselves for planning to build new council houses but held off on starting the development until more stock had been sold off. Now the houses will simply replace recently lost homes and fail to deal with the increasing housing crisis which resulted in yet more tax payer money being sunk into emergency accommodation for families that have been failed by this Council.

Dartford needs a change in administration to try and fix the issues the Conservatives are all too happy to accept. The Council Leader’s braying triumphalism at a ‘job well done’ is in stark contrast to a town facing challenges that a new swimming pool and bandstand are simply not going to fix. The MP’s ‘opposition’ to the infrastructure and planning threats to Dartford have failed to have any impact on the Government he was part of.

Don’t accept more years of failure dressed up as success, don’t accept that the scarred town centre, clogged roads and delayed trains are the best this town can do. Elect the candidate that will care for this town and the councillors who will fight for this community. Vote Labour on May 7^th, for Dartford and for yourself.