In this week’s Kent Politics Podcast our reporters discuss the rising costs of special educational needs in Kent and a police misconduct hearing.

They also discuss three Medway grammar schools becoming mixed-sex, as well as taking a look at national news such as new Tory leader Kemi Badenoch’s first Prime Minister’s questions.

They’re also joined by Cllr Mark Hood who represents the Green Party at KCC, who tells us about the state of local government and what issues will determine the local elections next year.

He also talks about the possibility of a “rainbow alliance” of opposition parties, should the Tory party not retain their majority of seats at County Hall.

Our reporters talk about the new leader of the opposition Kemi Badenoch’s first outing at Prime Minister’s Questions and whether she’s likely to prove effective at taking on Sir Keir Starmer.

They also talk about how the election of Donald Trump back into the White House will affect the UK and what things to look out for under the new administration.

The weekly podcast, which launched earlier this year, brings together local democracy reporters, Simon Finlay, Robert Boddy, Dan Esson

Simon covers Kent County Council while Robert reports on Medway Council and Dan specialises in borough and district councils.

And the KM senior news editor Nikki White takes us through the latest developments in Westminster.

You can listen to the podcast at IM Listening, or download it from Apple Podcasts, Spotify and TuneIn – just search for Kent Politics Podcast.

Readers can also keep up-to-date with the latest political news on our dedicated Kent Politics page.

New episodes are available each Friday.