The leader of Medway Council has described how he went from “utter elation” at winning control of the authority to “utter lows” within a matter of days of taking office.

Speaking on the latest episode of the Kent Politics Podcast, Cllr Vince Maple said he had mixed emotions when he looked back to last May, when Labour secured control of the council, ousting the Tory administration that had run the authority since 2003.

Speaking to hosts Simon Finlay and Robert Boddy, he described how he had gone through the gamut of emotions.

Delight at winning was quickly replaced by dismay when the council was told the government was cutting a planned investment of £170m to build new infrastructure.

He said: “We heard about the proposals to scrap £170m investment in infrastructure on what effectively was day one of the Labour administration.

“I don't get angry that often but I was over elements of that process - not for me but for the people of Medway, who time and again have said we are not against houses, we need them but we need the infrastructure to go with it. So, [I had] the whole gamut of emotions.”

Asked if he had reviewed how the council had performed since last May, he said: “I look back and think actually we have done a good job.

“Of course there are things that could have been done differently. But you are learning things every day.

“One of the things I said before the election was that in a four-year term, we will make mistakes; we are human. Sometimes those mistakes won't be of your making. A good example of that is when over Christmas, we had struggles with our waste collection; it wasn't where it should have been; we absolutely accept that; it was our responsibility.”

He said the council faced dealing with a rising number of elderly people needing support, vulnerable children and SEND children and urged the government to recognise the challenge these placed on already-stretched authorities.

And while he was not against devolution in the regions, he did not want to sign up to any deal that involved having a directly-elected mayor.

He also talks about how he hopes a Labour government will recognise the financial plight of councils and provide some stability.