With a big swing from the Tories, Jenni Hawkins has won the Kent County Council (KCC) by-election for the Green Party. The by-election was prompted by the resignation of a disgraced Conservative county councillor who stood down when revealed to have been a member of a fascist organisation. Jenni beat the Conservatives into second place and saw off a bid from their former councillor to regain Hythe-West as an independent.
The Green Party polled 1568 votes, with the Tories at 1081. Labour and the two independents were a distant third, fourth and fifth.
Says Jenni: “This win is a victory for honesty and integrity. Voters should be able to trust their councillors and they rightly rejected a man whose repugnant views they were shocked to discover and the Conservatives who happily endorsed him in 2021. They expect their councillors to listen to and work hard on their behalf, not like the Conservatives who have wasted millions of pounds by refusing to listen to reason on the development of Hythe’s seafront at Princes Parade.”
As part of the group controlling Hythe Town Council since 2019, Jenni has helped make the town safer through Hythe being the first council in the UK to introduce the Community Hub model, to take pressure off GP surgeries; greener by planting or donating 2,500 trees; and an even better place for families by replacing play equipment in several local parks.
She has worked as a nurse, in education and in employment and promises to be a voice for all those needing support, whether that is families and vulnerable individuals struggling through the cost of living crisis or businesses facing rising costs.
Says Jenni: “I am so grateful to everyone who put their trust in me. You rightly rejected the Conservatives’ scaremongering and weren’t persuaded by their focus on national issues rather than the local ones they should be addressing. I am really looking forward to giving the people of Hythe, Lympne and Dymchurch a voice at the county council. Thank you too to all those who have campaigned for me: it has been the most amazing team effort with Green Party members travelling from elsewhere in Kent and from London to lend their support, including Co-Leader Carla Denyer and Green peer Baroness Jenny Jones.”
Hythe West was previously held by one of Jenni’s fellow Hythe town councillors Martin Whybrow. Until he stood down after eight years on the council, Martin was Kent’s only Green county councillor but Jenni will join four others at County Hall. This result goes a small way towards addressing the democratic deficit at KCC: at the 2021 elections the Conservatives gained 61 councillors (76% of the 81 seats) with just 49% of the vote, whilst the Greens took 14% of the vote but only returned four councillors (5% of the seats).
Says Councillor Lesley Whybrow, Leader of the six-strong Green group on Folkestone & Hythe District Council: “I am really excited by this result and the springboard it gives us to win seats in May’s local elections. I couldn’t be more thrilled that people in this area now have Green Party representatives at their town, district and county councils and we want to continue to build on that success. Voters can see how hard Green councillors work for them once elected and the real and dramatic difference it makes having a Green voice speaking up for our communities.”
