Promising change: 2023 Local Elections

Some of our candidates for the 2023 local elections.

The local elections taking place on on 4th May present a real opportunity for change in Shepway. We are standing candidates in 29 council seats across town and district councils. That’s a new record for us!

For the first time ever, we are standing 17 candidates in district council seats. If all 17 of our candidates are elected, we will control the council. We also welcome the prospect of working together in a potential coalition with parties that are aligned with our values to bring a positive change for our district.

  • Green jobs that offer a secure future
  • Support for our high streets and other local businesses
  • A council that listens, with a citizens’ assembly and new democratic committee system 
  • A council that acts for every corner of our district

Whether or not you consider nuclear energy ‘clean’ (and we do not) the reality is that Dungeness’s power stations do not have a future and it would not be safe to develop replacement new nuclear facilities there, as the government itself acknowledged. But whether it is generating other sources of energy or making homes more energy efficient there are lots of opportunities to create green jobs – sustainable in every way. We will work to attract investment in and training for such jobs, and lobby for government support.

  • Insulation in council housing to reduce energy bills
  • An action plan to help homeless people all year round

As well as building as many new council homes as possible, we will work to improve existing housing stock, including making it more energy efficient by adding insulation and replacing doors and windows. We want to encourage new co-operative ownership housing schemes to prevent affordable house prices from rising faster than average incomes, and do more to ensure that those renting from private landlords are not exploited. We want to provide help for homeless people whenever it is needed , not just when temperatures drop in winter.

  • More biodiversity on council land and net zero carbon council buildings
  • Improved recycling rates, less waste and more reuse
  • Continued opposition to development on Princes Parade
  • Ambitious environmental standards for Otterpool

Net zero means not adding to the amount of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, responsible for warming the atmosphere. This can be done by reducing emissions, for example by using solar panels or heat pumps so less oil, gas and coal is burned to heat homes and by insulating homes to prevent heat escaping, and by removing an equivalent amount of carbon, including by planting trees. We want to rewild Princes Parade, where a huge variety of plant and animal species have previously thrived.



  • A review of where, when and how a new leisure centre can be provided
  • Partnership with community groups to support vulnerable people and those hit by the cost-of-living crisis
  • Active travel schemes that make walking and cycling safer and more enjoyable

Active travel includes walking, cycling and wheeling (using wheelchairs, mobility scooters and rollators). The government says half of all journeys in English towns and cities should be walked by 2030 so we need to act now. Conservatives refused to consider building a new leisure centre at Martello Lakes instead of Princes Parade – had they done so it could have been completed by now – but we will explore this and all options to provide residents with the accessible and high-quality facility they deserve.