Our readers from across the county give their weekly take on the biggest issues impacting Kent and beyond.

Some letters refer to past correspondence which can be found by clicking here. Join the debate by emailing letters@thekmgroup.co.uk

Eurostar must return services to Kent

I am pleased to see that the local councils which have Eurostar International stations in their areas are putting pressure on Eurostar to reopen the stations.

I can understand, to a certain extent, the reasons why they were closed during and following the pandemic but the time has now come to get these stations up and running again.

I was the chair of planning at Gravesham when the high speed railway was announced and we were very excited when it was confirmed that an international station would be built at Ebbsfleet (the station site straddles Gravesham and Dartford boroughs). We saw this as a catalyst for growth and prosperity in our area of north Kent. Indeed this was one of the reasons why the 'Disneyland' project was planned for the area.

During the construction period we worked very closely with local amenity groups and the contractors to ensure that the new railway would not have a detrimental effect on residents' everyday lives. In relation to this a group of us visited various locations in France to see for ourselves the mitigation measures that were taken to minimise the noise levels, etc. We were pleased to see that similar mitigation measures were repeated on this side of the channel too.

We had regular meetings with Glenda Jackson, the Under Secretary of State for Transport, who listened very attentively to our concerns and acted on them. As a result the disruption to local residents of these major works were minimal.

Ebbsfleet International station was well used as people from a wide area found it more convenient to use as opposed to travelling into London to use St Pancras. Paris and Brussels were just a couple of hours away. When Ebbsfleet was closed it made the trip across to the continent much less attractive with the added inconvenience of travelling to London, not to mention the extra cost and added time.

At the time of construction I, my planning committee and council officers put a lot of time and effort into accommodating as much as possible the smooth operation of this major project. Now, with the continued closure of Ebbsfleet International station it would seem that all that time and effort has been thrown back in our faces by Eurostar. It is a kick in the teeth. We need Ebbsfleet station to open NOW, not a probably, perhaps or maybe sometime after 2004.

John Loughlin

Government action needed over trains

Surely when the new rail link through Kent was built one of its terms and conditions was to run trains that stopped in Kent – ie: Ebbsfleet and Ashford - otherwise what is the point of Eurostar trains running through our county?

If Eurostar refuse to do this then the franchise should be awarded to a company that will, sadly this will require action from our government. As in so many things they are missing in action but we live in hope.

Barry Symonds

No quick fix for problems with NHS

Colin Bullen’s letter titled ‘Arrogant NHS bosses are failing patients’ was a missed opportunity to make suggestions as to how NHS management might be reformed.

Instead, we were treated to a feast of generalised accusations in which he said that 95% of managers - I checked, there are 35,000 of them in NHS England - should be sacked from their jobs. That would leave just 2,775 to manage the 1.5 million full and part-time staff. In addition, the 16,000 professionals who work in Human Resources should all be fired, every one of them. Apparently, they are all ‘woke fanatics’ who ‘cause division and conflict implementing their own prejudices against normal, decent people’.

The one point in his letter which made any sense was when he mentioned the recent case of the baby killer, Lucy Letby and said that managers had threatened clinical staff and made them apologise to her rather than investigate properly. He rightly said that ‘only rarely is anyone held accountable for such failures’.

He might have usefully gone on to say that the BMA has called for senior managers to be held accountable to a regulatory body similar to the General Medical Council, which has the power to strike off doctors if they are found to have harmed patients.

When it comes to better protection for whistle-blowers the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association has said that there should be a registered organisation where they should be registered and that it should be a criminal offence if those who speak out face recrimination. Major changes like this can only be sanctioned by the government in Westminster.

With the increasing likelihood that Labour will assume power after the next general election, it is worth noting that Wes Streeting, the Shadow Health Minister, has promised for the NHS a new professional regulatory system, plus training for managers and strengthened accountability.

There are no easy fixes for the multiple problems which confront the NHS, but I am optimistic that the spirit of change and improvement is finally in the air.

John Cooper

Hospital admin staff have a vital role

Having worked for many years as a medical secretary and then Medical Staffing Officer within the NHS, I would like to point out to Mr Bullen that HR/admin depts are not a waste of space.

The HR department works hard to aid the timely and suitable recruitment of medical staff and others within the NHS. Checking that staff are suitably qualified and capable for their employment, working on complex rota systems, engaging with the GMC, GPs and other medical staff inside and outside the organisation. Listening to staff concerns, supplying a listening ear, and support where needed. Checking important Visa requirements are met, and qualifications checked.

Bearing in mind that some medically qualified people are sometimes not the best administrators, it is a vital support role that is necessary and many HR staff are honourable caring individuals who want to support staff and patients within the NHS.

Julie Morrison

I totally agree with Colin Bullen. I have often said for every patient, there are four in the office.

Frank Cogger

Widening wage gap isn’t fair

I agree with many of Colin Bullen’s comments.

In the 1980s I was a personnel and training manager, having first demonstrated my ability in line management.

Everyone had a job description which detailed key tasks, measures of performance and limits of authority. This was the focus of attention when recruiting and at regular formal reviews. Pay was linked to an individual’s performance.

Incidentally, then a senior manager would perhaps earn ten times the company average. Today HR executives negotiate with trade unions percentage increases. The differential now can be as much as 50 times and the gap continues to widen, which surely just isn’t fair.

Ron Coleman

Small-mindedness of ‘good old days’

What an impressive piece of local journalism by Davina Jethwa (‘We stood up to the National Front and won’).

She highlighted the courageous actions of some of Kent's forgotten heroes and reminded us that at times it is necessary to stand and fight against dangerous people out to attack our community.

The letters page is often graced by people harking back to the "good old days" in Kent of 50 years ago. Let's not forget that those days were also filled with small minded prejudice and racism.

I for one am grateful to the likes of Balwinder Rana and the Indian Youth Federation for helping to make this county and this country a better place for current and future generations. But we mustn't allow a new breed of racist politicians to divide us. As Balwinder says "we always have to be watchful and always be united".

Mark Holmes

New age of puritanism a danger to democracy

Many people believe that the activists associated with such causes as net zero emissions, and gender transition, are benevolent, seeking to improve the quality of life. However the truth is that they represent a real danger to freedom of speech and democracy and must be resisted, something none of the main political parties appear willing to do.

For centuries political thought in the West has been largely based upon the Enlightenment, the late 17th century philosophical, intellectual and cultural movement which, stressed reason, logic, criticism and freedom of thought over dogma, blind faith and superstition. It was in sharp contrast to the age of the Puritans, who, driven by religious belief, were totally dogmatic, humourless, judgemental, and fully prepared to persecute anyone who dared to question their beliefs.

Now we face vociferous groups which, while lacking religious motivations, are distorting society, particularly in the UK and USA, in a way that the witch finders of the mid-17th century would applaud.

They admit of no possibility that they might be wrong, close down debate, and treat any opponents as heretics, to be punished by the loss of employment, reputation or worse. Aided by the cesspit of social media, which unjustly magnifies the extent to which their opinions are supported by ordinary citizens, they have succeeded in imposing their views on large swathes of the populace, using accusations of racism, homophobia, climate change denial, etc, to silence those who choose not to indulge the Thought Police.

Employees are forced to conform to the prejudices of the politically correct, who seek out and punish all those whom it believes are guilty of thoughtcrime. Cowardly public figures, particularly among the acting profession, attack those such as J. K. Rowling, who will not submit to the dictatorship of the current zeitgeist, instead choosing to defend the rights of women.

If we do not stand up to these authoritarians then we shall descend into a new dark age, where speech, and even thought, will be subject to policing by these acolytes of the modern religion of woke.

Colin Bullen

Elect someone who will stop the boats

Britain has always been a fair minded and unselfish country throughout the decades and with any disaster happening around the world, Britain is invariably the first country to send money and aid.

But, at the same time we must not forget that charity begins at home to look after our own people firstly and if we have any spare capacity, then certainly help other nations and our fellow man.

At the moment our country is struggling because of the influx to our shores of migrants who have never paid a red cent into our economy.

But when I see young families being evicted from their homes and being forced to move away to other areas where they do not know anyone, or living in tents and sleeping rough and getting no help whatsoever, and students being forced out of accommodation in order for the Home Office to fill the spaces, it makes my blood boil.

If the government is not prepared to stop the boats, then it’s time to elect someone who will.

Sid Anning

Restore kindness to immigration policy

I am writing about Robert Jenrick’s order to paint over children’s cartoon murals at UK asylum intake centres. It’s been a month since the campaign to restore the cartoons launched.

A cartoon mural could provide a moment of escape for a child during a distressing time. This was taken away from them - and we can’t ignore this. The cartoons have become symbolic of immigration policies that fail the most vulnerable in our society - and with no benefit.

The government said cartoons were “too welcoming”, then that they were not “age-appropriate”. But its own inspection reports show that young children pass through these centres. We need to set things right and show these children that we see them.

The Cartoons Not Cruelty campaign petition at Change.org is already backed by 120,000 people. We’re taking steps to get cartoons to children ourselves to help restore some kindness and care. And we’ll keep campaigning, to make sure this never happens again.

Keith Stockman