Kent Tonight - Thursday 20th June 2024
Catch up on all the latest news across your county with Gabriel Morris.
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00:00Hello there and welcome to Ken Tonight live here on KNTV.
00:28I'm Gabriel Morris and here are your top stories on Thursday the 20th of June.
00:33Healthy debate, NHS frustration and City of Orwen and Sheppey ahead of election.
00:38Yeah, so getting a doctor's appointment at the moment, the wait time is five weeks so
00:43you're either cured or you're dead so it's really bad.
00:47Canterbury constituents meet candidates but Labour hopeful missing amidst safety concerns.
00:53You can always increase security but you've got to face your constituents.
00:58In a way the debate was a little about the person that wasn't actually here.
01:03And it's coming to Rochester.
01:06England fans take to Kent pubs as Southgate side kick off against Denmark.
01:23In a fortnight Kent will decide who will represent them in Parliament and some voters in Sittingbourne
01:28and Sheerness say the NHS is crucial to winning their vote.
01:32So how will candidates be tackling issues of health and wealth?
01:35Our reporter Oliver Leed at the SACS has been finding out.
01:38Two weeks today voters across Kent will be going to the polls and here in Sittingbourne
01:44infrastructure and health services are at the top of the agenda.
01:48Yeah, so getting a doctor's appointment at the moment, the wait time is five weeks so
01:52you're either cured or you're dead so it's really bad.
01:56The main thing is getting an appointment with the GP because, to be honest, we all like
02:01to see the GP occasionally and have a chat about our health.
02:05Yeah, people need a doctor straight.
02:07Why shouldn't they be able to see a doctor the same day or at the very least the day after?
02:13Now Sittingbourne in Sheppey has been in Conservative control since 2010 but before that it was
02:19actually a Labour seat under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown meaning there is a residual left-wing
02:26vote here.
02:27But it's also a historically Brexit voting seat and Reform are doing quite well in the
02:32polls here coming in at third place.
02:36With only two weeks to go until polling day, while the parties are promising to fix both
02:41infrastructure and the NHS, could be vital for winning over voters.
02:47Loads of the problems and challenges the NHS faces, actually the solutions to them are
02:52outside of the NHS.
02:53So while we need to make sure that we bolster the NHS workforce and make sure that we've
02:58got the clinicians we need to deliver services in the future and while we need to make sure
03:03that we clear the backlog for operations and procedures that we are determined to fix in
03:09our first term, at the same time it's everything to do with good jobs, affordable housing,
03:15it's access to green spaces, it's access to opportunity.
03:19Actually these are things that start to really improve people's health.
03:22We also need to utilise other health professionals here, so obviously nurses, nurse practitioners
03:29and pharmacists.
03:30I've been speaking to a load of different local pharmacists and they've been really
03:34really happy with the government giving them additional powers to see people because a
03:39lot of people they just need to see a health professional to tell them what's wrong, prescribe
03:44them antibiotics but my number one priority and concern would be how to attract more GPs
03:49to the area.
03:50What we want to do is all NHS frontline workers won't be paying income taxes for the first
04:00three years of a reformed UK government.
04:02We believe by doing this we can give incentives to have people continue working within the
04:06NHS and to give it the fun and to retain the people there, retain doctors and encourage
04:13people to get into the NHS to better lower the waiting list.
04:18We need to look at how, for example, mental health is dealt with.
04:23We have issues for young people and we want to make sure that there is support in every
04:28school for people and also to make mental health on the same level as physical health.
04:34So a large number of items that need addressing and need addressing quickly.
04:39With clear frustration from voters on the high street and feelings of being forgotten,
04:44it won't be long until voters here get the chance to make their voices heard.
04:47Oliver Leeders of SACTS for KNTV in Sittingbourne and for a full list of candidates just go
04:53to Kent Online.
04:57Well we really are starting to feel that general election momentum now and keeping
05:01with that Parliamentary hopefuls were debating in Canterbury last night on key issues such
05:06as health and the economy.
05:09However Labour hopeful Rosie Duffield who has served as the MP in the city since 2017
05:14didn't attend.
05:15Well she posted to social media last week stating for security reasons she didn't feel
05:19safe to go.
05:20Well what did her constituents make of this?
05:22Well I was there last night finding out.
05:27It's a chance for constituents to meet their Parliamentary candidates but at this Canterbury
05:32hostings the Labour hopeful missing.
05:35Rosie Duffield says she's not attending any due to safety concerns citing previous death
05:40threats.
05:41The former Labour MP has attracted controversy over their views on trans women arguing there
05:46should be protected spaces where those born male are not allowed to go and it didn't take
05:51long for a constituent to ask a question on this.
05:55I think we should address the question that is partly the reason she isn't here and that
06:00is what do the candidates think is a woman?
06:05Adult human female.
06:08I really don't need to go into the detail of it I mean that's about all I have to say.
06:14What I think about first before anything else is about those young people who need our help
06:22and that is as a teacher, as a former teacher and I think just as a human that's where we
06:28should be starting.
06:29For me the broader discussion about women's rights we should absolutely be having it but
06:35we shouldn't be having it at the exclusion of trans rights.
06:38There are two sexes and two genders and it's a dangerous safeguarding issue to confuse
06:47children otherwise.
06:49The Liberal Democrat and the clues in the name, you know, have the best life you can
06:54be.
06:55I can't imagine as a young person if you're in a body that you don't recognise yourself
06:59how difficult and uncomfortable that may be.
07:02Rosie Duffield didn't want to comment on this.
07:06And there we go two hours of lively debate, lots of issues brought up, housing consistently
07:11brought up throughout the questions even when it wasn't related and Rosie Duffield the former
07:15Labour MP here in Canterbury, she got a few mentions but what do the constituents make?
07:22I originally thought I was going to vote Labour.
07:25A big thing for me about not voting Labour now is the fact that she didn't come tonight.
07:29You can always increase security but you've got to face your constituents.
07:34In a way the debate was a little about the person that wasn't actually here.
07:39You know people can twist things so easily and I think it's the opportunity that we've
07:43had tonight to hear from candidates directly, I think that was a missed opportunity.
07:49We were allowed to ask her two questions earlier on a video call like all of the sixth form
07:54students but yeah it's sad that everyone else here wasn't able to do that.
07:58Yeah she came with answers that were very good, very real and I think that the people
08:03who weren't here, weren't there to see that have really missed out.
08:07With two weeks to polling day constituents will now be making up their mind about who
08:11to vote for and the Labour candidate says she's holding a recorded Q&A next week.
08:16Gabriel Morris in Canterbury.
08:20And of course a full list of candidates is available on Kent Online and that's the same
08:24for all the constituencies in Kent.
08:27Now it's nearly half time for Kent tonight and of course for England's second game of
08:32the Euros against Denmark.
08:34Thousands will be watching on from across the county and one of those is our reporter
08:39Abby Hook, well she's lucky, she's over in Rochester.
08:43Abby I'm trying to make out a score on the telly, I can't quite make it out, it's a little
08:47bit blurry.
08:48Tell us what is the score, how are we doing?
08:49Well Gabriel you've actually joined me for a slightly dancing experience here at the
08:50Johnny Nines.
08:51You should be disturbed, Denmark have just equalised.
08:52It's one on the video for the 30th and 70th minute of the game.
08:53You can see the room is packed and Tom actually out the back has a huge amount of fans watching.
08:54It's too loud to go live from there and actually not enough signal.
10:10It certainly looks busy in there, hopefully we can get another goal in before the end
10:33of this half or maybe in the second half.
10:36When I left to come and do the programme we were 1-0.
10:39So hopefully we can regain that lead.
10:41Well it is nearly time to take a break now, coming up after that we'll hear more about
10:47what's making for headlines in Kent's newspapers, online and radio, including a story about
10:54a man in Maidstone who has been fined more than £1,000 after being found guilty of fly
11:00tipping.
11:01We'll also catch up with Kent Film Club's Chris Decius, we always do on a Thursday to
11:06discuss some of the latest films, some news around that and also what he's got coming
11:11up on his film club today.
11:13Plus we'll have another look at the weather for the coming days as we head into the weekend.
11:18Is it going to get hot in Oslo?
11:20I hope it does indeed for this weekend.
11:23And of course we'll have much more and we'll keep you updated on that England score as
11:27well.
11:28We'll be back after this very short break.
14:58Hello there and welcome back to Kentonite live on KMTV.
15:18Now this morning a body has been found at a Whitstable beach.
15:21Passers-by reportedly saw emergency services arriving at the seafront and setting up a
15:26tent on the beach to cover the scene.
15:28The beach was also cordoned off.
15:30However, this has since been cleared this afternoon.
15:32A police spokesman said the death has not currently been treated as suspicious.
15:36There's more information on this story on Kentonline.
15:40Now shocking footage has been released showing a dog attacking a Shetland pony while the
15:45rider was still mounted.
15:47The Gillingham local Shannon Edwards was riding down a bridle path with a friend after her
15:53two children when the attack happened.
15:55The footage shows the dog jumping and biting at a panicked pony which luckily left the
16:00attack with only a few superficial injuries.
16:03Recording the incident, she said that the dog had been safely on a lead only 30 seconds
16:08before, highlighting the importance of keeping dogs on leads whilst on bridle paths.
16:13Kent police say they have attended the scene and an investigation is currently underway.
16:18Well it's now time for your pick of the papers.
16:22Taking a look at what's making the headlines in Kent's newspapers, online and radio.
16:26Earlier I was joined by Alex Scafie to find out why a Dartford animal charity is trying
16:32to raise £100,000 and a dessert restaurant being turned into housing in Maidstone.
16:39Alex, what's your first story for us today?
16:41So the Eagle Heights Wildlife Foundation are looking to raise £100,000 after rain caused
16:47a leak in their teen room.
16:49So the director of the foundation are saying that it's unlikely they'll be able to continue
16:55operations if this leak isn't fixed.
16:57Currently it's not looking like a safety issue, there's no danger to anyone, but if it continues
17:02to be not fixed then it may become an issue in future.
17:07The foundation is one of the largest sanctuaries for birds of prey in the UK so hopefully it
17:13continues operating.
17:14What an amazing animal, so I haven't actually seen one ever before but maybe I'll have to
17:17go and pay a visit down to that sanctuary.
17:19Alex, what's your second story you have for us?
17:22So in Maidstone, in Herne Bay more specifically, a fly tipper has been asked to pay upwards
17:29of £1,000 after it was discovered he was fly tipping on Whitstable Road.
17:36So this guy's name is Alexandru Sava, he's from Maidstone and it was discovered that
17:41it was him who was fly tipping during these two incidents last year between May and June
17:48because letters with his name and address were found in the garbage.
17:53So he was ordered to pay £440 in fines by the court and various legal costs ended up
18:01having it be £1,000.
18:03And finally, Alex Creams, what's going on with this place?
18:08So unfortunately this Creams has been closed for the past couple of years but a housing
18:15associate are looking to turn it into a place that will have 20 rooms of private accommodation
18:22and a new Creams will actually be on the bottom floor of this new place in the corner, a much
18:28smaller place than the original.
18:30According to the people, the Villani Corporation who put forward the plans, they say that the
18:36original Creams shut down because there was far too much space and too little customer base
18:41but hopefully they think that this smaller Creams should fare much better.
18:45Thank you Alex for bringing us those details on those three stories.
18:50Alex Skaefde.
18:51Now don't forget you can keep up to date with all your latest stories across Kent by logging
18:55on to our website kntv.co.uk.
18:58There you'll find all our reports including this one about local animal charity champions
19:02who helped push microchipping legislation over the line.
19:07The Medway charity that turned a dream into legislation.
19:11Natasha and her partner Dee started Animals Lost and Found in Kent after their cat went
19:16missing.
19:17They've played a crucial role in making microchipping cats mandatory across the UK.
19:22And the legislation came into force this week.
19:26This is where it all began for Dee and Natasha ten years ago in their mission to help rescue
19:31and protect cats right across Medway and Kent.
19:34But it's been in the last six years where they've really been pushing that all cats
19:38in the UK get microchipped.
19:40Currently about 25% aren't but they hope with this new legislation those numbers will start
19:46to change.
19:47I mean we're only a small cog in a massive part of a massive machine that's actually
19:52made this work.
19:53And when it came to how strongly we felt about the microchipping legislation and it needing
19:59to be changed to cats too.
20:02And we did get a bit of a back from it but people saying actually you can't govern this,
20:07it's not going to work and dogs are bigger than cats and you know cats are free roamers
20:11and what about the feral?
20:12If your cat is chipped it comes home, it's as simple as that.
20:16Because you don't own the animal, you own the chip.
20:19It's exactly the same really technically as a car and a log book.
20:22You own the log book not the car.
20:25And if you're not logging your pets, well you could face a fine of up to £500.
20:30National charity Cats Protection say the deterrent is working, despite record numbers of animals
20:36being rescued and microchipping being a challenge to police.
20:40This isn't about trying to fine people or make money from people, this is more about
20:44trying to encourage people and show how important it is that they have their cats microchipped.
20:50So I think when people are found to not have their cats microchipped they'll be given a
20:54notice and have 21 days to go to the vet and get their cat microchipped and this will
20:59cost between, depending where you are in the country, £20 and £30.
21:03And that money means volunteers like Natasha can check on any lost or injured cats.
21:08So you have to really go over the entire animal, right around, I always start here and I go
21:14down and then I go down the other side and I do it slowly.
21:18I go in with the mindset of there's a chip there, I need to find it, where some people
21:22just go, oh they're not checked, it's not good enough.
21:25I always try really hard and the other volunteers try really hard to make sure that that animal
21:29is scanned properly and thoroughly.
21:32Unlike dogs at eight weeks, cats must be microchipped and registered by the time they're 20 weeks
21:37old, with contact details stored and kept up to date in an approved database.
21:42And just like the paw prints in the concrete when this place was built, Natasha's push
21:47for this legislation is now cemented in the heart of what they do.
21:51Abbey Hooke for KMTV in Medway.
21:55Well, today marks the start of summer and we're finally looking forward to warmer days
21:59in Kent.
22:00Are we Dave?
22:01The summer solstice is the longest day of the year and the day with the most hours of
22:05sunlight.
22:06And what a day for it, as many will be enjoying the pub, gardens, watching England play like
22:11Abbey was earlier.
22:12But let's take a look at the full weather forecast for the coming days, hoping there'll
22:16be some warm weather on the way.
22:22We're going into tonight.
22:24It's looking clear with some clouds down the coast.
22:26Highs of 14 expected near Ashford, Dover and Folkestone.
22:29Tomorrow looks sunny with clouds continuing out the coast.
22:32Highs of 16, 17 expected across Kent into the afternoon.
22:37It looks to get cloudy as temperatures rise to highs of 21 at Dartford, Chatham and Maidstone.
22:42And this is your outlet for the weekend.
22:43Expect to get warmer despite some cloudiness.
22:45Highs at 22 on Sunday, 24 on Monday.
22:47Rain expected on Saturday.
22:51And straight after Kent tonight, we have a brand new episode of Kent Film Club, where
23:02we look at the impact certain films have had on our guests' lives.
23:06To give us an idea of what's to come and some of the latest film news, for show presenter
23:10Chris Deasey joins me.
23:12Now, Chris, thanks so much for joining us ever as always.
23:15We've been talking a lot on this programme tonight about the general election.
23:18I'm not going to ask you, I mean, are there any general election films?
23:20I don't think there are, are there?
23:21I don't think there's anything to do with one.
23:23Well, no, but the election, certainly in America, films like The Candidate, Robert Redford,
23:26which is all about a political campaign, very prescient as well, that was made in 1972.
23:32And the way in which you then have, of course, later than that, we had Ronald Reagan, who
23:36was an actor who went to the White House, and Warren Beatty, who ran for the Democrat
23:40nomination at an earlier stage in, that would have been Gosh, in the run-up to 2000.
23:47And of course, Donald Trump, who has a career outside of politics.
23:50So sometimes the unexpected happens.
23:53And watching films about those unlikely political heroes, I think, is something that we can
23:59enjoy almost as a respite from the day-to-day election campaign.
24:03Now, what about escapism for the general election?
24:06Us reporters, we're out and about on the general election trail around Kent almost every day
24:10at the moment.
24:11In the evening, what movies do you think would be a good sit back, relax and watch?
24:14Well, a rom-com can often be a nice antidote to that.
24:16I mean, as I was saying, I think, to Sophia a few weeks ago, there are some films that
24:20are rom-coms with an election background.
24:23There was one, for example, made about 20 years ago during the, definitely, maybe, that
24:27was made around the time of the Bill Clinton election in 92.
24:31But I mean, at the moment, there are quite a few films.
24:33There's the post-apocalyptic, which, of course, now all of the films that are out at the moment,
24:36they would have been set before the election was called.
24:39So having a film that's post-apocalyptic at a time of a general election almost is not
24:43the sort of antidote that you're looking for.
24:45There's the bike riders coming up this weekend.
24:47But actually, Freud's Last Session, which I saw on the weekend, and it's charting the
24:52imaginary conversation between C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud at the beginning of the
24:58Second World War.
24:59Now, that is riveting viewing because Anthony Hopkins plays Freud, but 30 years ago in Shadowlands
25:04he played Lewis himself.
25:05So it's a battle between faith and doubt and the two titans of the first part of the 20th
25:10century before C.S. Lewis wrote the Narnia stories.
25:12And actually, that's a really fascinating sort of what if.
25:16Life is full of those, the sliding doors moments.
25:18What if these people had met?
25:19Because they might have done.
25:20Freud did in the last few weeks meet an oxford don, a young oxford don.
25:23It could have been C.S. Lewis and the film is predicated on that premise.
25:27Now, what movies, what films are coming out to the cinema or what's already out there
25:31that we should be going to watch over the next week?
25:33So I'm looking forward to The Exorcism, which is showing in a few cinemas around Kent tomorrow.
25:37There's been a lot of those sort of horror films, but as somebody with a religious studies
25:41hat on, I'm a glutton for those kind of films.
25:43And Russell Crowe, who's no stranger to that genre either, is playing the starring role
25:47in that.
25:48So there's the Bike Riders I'm looking forward to seeing on Sunday.
25:51And also it's really exciting, a Western that Kevin Costner has made called Horizon.
25:55I'm seeing a preview screening of that on Monday because he won an Oscar for Dances
25:58with Wolves in 1990.
26:00Well, for 1990, but the ceremony was in 91.
26:04Famously beat Martin Scorsese for Goodfellas.
26:07So it'll be interesting to see 30 years on how the Western and a revisionist Western
26:12that can be tackled by none other than Kevin Costner.
26:15And in 20 seconds, give us a tease of your show tonight.
26:17So we have Noomi Gildert, who's a KMFM presenter.
26:20In fact, she's on right this moment.
26:22And brilliant because she has a background in robotics and a PhD, but went into radio
26:28and her films include Lord of the Rings and you'll have to wait to see which one it is.
26:32Well, not long to wait because Kent Film Club, straight after Kent tonight in, I haven't
26:36got a watch on, in about three minutes' time.
26:40So we've got time for this evening.
26:42Chris Dacey's back in a few minutes' time.
26:43We're Kent Film Club.
26:44See you soon.