In this week’s episode of the Kent Politics Podcast the election campaign hots up and we take a look at some of the policies which are grabbing the headlines.

Our special guest this week is George Perfect, the new leader of the Conservative group on Medway Council.

He talks about how the Tories hope to hold onto the Towns’ three constituencies on July 4, his take on the recent announcement about bringing back national service, and the selection of Nathan Gamester for the Chatham and Aylesford seat*.

He also tells us how he hopes to shape the group following its defeat at last year’s local elections which saw his group lose control of Medway Council for the first time in 20 years.

This episode our reporters also discuss how businesses are seeking compensation from their council because of roadworks driving their customers away, a Kent councillor being selected to fight for parliamentary seats in Scotland, and accusations of electioneering levelled at Kent County Council.

We also talk about the reasons behind the national service announcement, Labour’s offering of votes for 16-year-olds, Nigel Farage’s appearance in Dover, and radio presenter Iain Dale’s announcement he’s running to be a candidate for Tunbridge Wells.

The weekly podcast, which launched In January, brings together local democracy reporters, Simon Finlay, Robert Boddy, Dan Esson and KM Media Group political editor Paul Francis.

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

Paul brings his weekly Westminster Watch review – highlighting what’s happening in parliament and how it affects the county.

Each week we’re joined by a special guest from Kent who answers questions about the issues facing residents.

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

New episodes are available each Friday.

In recent months we also launched bespoke sections on KentOnline highlighting Kent Politics and Medway Politics.

In June we will be launching a special general election site.

Added to all of this is the highly-respected Kent Politics Show which airs on KMTV each Friday evening.

*Also standing for Chatham and Aylesford are: Tristan Osborne (Labour); Nicholas Chan (Lib Dems); Kim Winterbottom (Greens); Thomas Mallon (Reform); and Steve Tanner (Social Democratic Party).