Brexit, a job for Andy Blaszkowicz

Candidates in the local Folkestone & Hythe District Council elections on May 2nd, each experienced a “Brexit” moment with a voter on a doorstep, just ask them. The Leader of the Council – former double glazing salesman – David Monk, blamed Brexit for the Conservatives doing badly in the local elections.

The B word on the occasions it raised its head played a part in the local election result, but was NOT the whole reason why the local Tories received a hammering locally, or in the EU elections. They lost locally because they failed to listen to the people of the district. They lost in the EU elections because they failed to carry out the will of the people regarding the referendum result of Thursday 23 June 2016.

Now with votes cast and counted in the European Elections for the Folkestone & Hythe District it is clear that both the Tories and Labour took a hammering, and UKIP has all but disappeared.

And this is how you voted:

The Elections cost the Council £193,187. The number of people eligible to vote was 84,430. The number of Ballot Papers issued was 32,609 and the turnout locally was 38.62%.

It is evident the district remains pro Brexit, as the The Brexit party received 48.35% of the vote locally.

Now prior to the initial Brexit leave date 29th March at 11pm, our Council and particularly Andy Blaszkowicz, Assistant Director at Folkestone & Hythe District Council at the Parish Councils’ Joint Committee on Thursday, 14th March, 2019 7.00 pm, gave a presentation to the committee based around contingency planning  for Brexit which was to have taken place on 29 March 2019 in the event of a no-deal. This meeting was not webcasted. He pointed out the critical services required for the District in the event of a no deal.

Emergency services were discussed and Mr Blaszkowicz advised that this is being managed as part of the Kent Resilience Forum adding that there was military involvement. All emergency services would have their own service and business continuity plans. 

Traffic management plans needed to work initially and all information from the District would be fed into the Kent Resilience Forum and ultimately into COBRA.

So Mr Blaszkowicz (pictured) and his team have spent quite a bit of time preparing for various Brexit scenario’s. He has plans for all of them across the district. This will no doubt continue as we are no closer to leaving the EU two months on from the first deadline. Such planning pulls staff away from there day to day jobs and ultimately costs the Council money. Dr Priest the Head of Paid Services at the Council did manage to secure in excess of £135,000 to help pay for the bill.

Our district is still a divided one regarding Brexit. It is an itch which needs to be scratched, one way or the other. Until it happens, neither our district, or this country we call home, will feel settled or united. The people of our district and U.K. as a whole deserve better than a Tory led government. If they can’t deliver they should go, or get Andy Blaszkowicz in, because he really does seem to know what he is doing about Brexit, unlike our Prime Minister.

The Shepwayvox Team

Dissent is NOT  a Crime