Medway gears up for by-elections

If Labour lose the three by-election seats, their majority on the council could be slashed.  Farwa Naseer reports.

Transcript

00:00Voters in Rochester East and Warren Wood in Gillingham South will be heading to the polls

00:04on February 6th, after three councillors resigned their seats following their election to Parliament.

00:11Labour's grip on the council will be tested as they fight to retain their stronghold in

00:15Medway.

00:16I'm not thinking about losing these three by-elections, I'm thinking about winning them.

00:20We're having good conversations, people who have voted Labour throughout their lives have

00:24voted Labour and interestingly, even one or two people who didn't vote Labour in July

00:29are saying actually they're going to be supporting us this time.

00:31Of course, by-elections are fairly unique and the fact that we've got two wards and

00:37three seats up for grabs is a fairly unique situation for Medway.

00:42But we're working hard, we're having positive conversations and as I say, we've got three

00:46great candidates.

00:47Labour took control for the first time in 20 years back in 2023, winning 33 of 59 seats.

00:55If Labour wins all three of the seats up for grabs, their majority will remain at seven.

01:00But if they lose all three, their majority could be reduced just to one, with the opposition

01:05parties holding 29 seats combined.

01:08Rizvi Raouf is the Reform UK candidate standing in Gillingham South.

01:13He came third in the general election and believes that he will be elected in February

01:17to amplify those that have shown support for Reform UK.

01:20Well, in the parliament election, I was third, in fact, I took so many votes from the Conservatives

01:28and the member of the Conservative Party who was running for 14 years, he lost this time

01:35because most of the votes came to me from him and I got 8,972 votes.

01:41And this time, I am sure Reform can win the seat in Gillingham South.

01:47Councillor George Perfect, leader of the Conservative opposition, says people in Medway are disappointed

01:53at the decisions made by the Labour Party.

01:55It's about sending a very clear message to the administration and to the Labour government

02:00in Westminster that people are unhappy with the decisions that are being taken nationally,

02:04winter fuel, the family farm tax, all things that people when we were out on the doorstep

02:09were talking to me about.

02:10And indeed here in Medway, whether it be taking away free swimming, whether it be the decisions

02:14that are being taken in terms of hiking up car parking charges by 120%, people are very

02:21unhappy with the changes that Labour are bringing locally and nationally.

02:25And by electing three Conservatives, you're able to send a very clear message to the Labour

02:29Party that voters won't be taken for granted in these two seats.

02:34As the campaigns heat up, the political landscape could change dramatically in Medway.

02:39The question remains, will Labour hold on to their hard-earned majority or will an opposition

02:43party come in and seize the chance to shift the balance of the council?

02:48Farwen Asir for KMTV.

02:50The full list of the candidates up for election is available on Kent Online.