This week’s Kent Politics Podcast welcomes Stuart Jeffery, the leader of the Greens on Maidstone Council.

He talks about the upcoming local elections, what the Green Party has to offer, and how housing shortages could be solved.

He’s also the parliamentary candidate for the Maidstone and Malling seat, which has gone from a safe Conservative seat to more contested following boundary changes.

He also discusses the ongoing bin collection problems plaguing residents following the change of provider and what a Green Party-led council would do if they succeed on May 2.

This episode our reporters discuss possible knock-on effects of the Paris Olympics for small boat crossings this summer, the salaries of council chief executives across Kent, and the health inequalities between wards in Medway.

We also talk about the goings-on at Westminster, this week discussing the government’s vote on banning smoking for everyone born after 2009 and Liz Truss’s controversial new book.

The weekly podcast, which launched last month, 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.

Next week we’ll be joined by Matt Boughton, the leader of Tonbridge and Malling borough council.

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.

The podcast is the latest move to increase KentOnline’s political coverage ahead of a general election likely to be held later this year.

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

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