Don't Vote For Thanet’s Laziest County Councillor

Cllr Lesley Game

Trying, in the forthcoming May election, to become the  Kent County Councillor for Cliftonville for the third time, Conservative Candidate  Lesley Game’s  record at Maidstone is hardly an impressive one. In fact it would be fair to say that she is one the laziest county councillors in all of Kent and most definitely  the laziest  of Thanet’s seven county councillors.

According to data  I have obtained from KCC Lesley Game’s attendance at county council meetings for the twelve month period 16 April 2024 to 16 April 2025 is the fourth worst out of the council’s 81 elected councillors.

During this period Councillor Game should have attended 36 meetings, but only attended fifteen. Three  of those attendances were virtual by computer link. This means that her attendance at the meetings she was scheduled to be at for the one year period was  a paltry 41%. Only three other councillors had attendance records worse than hers!

When compared with  her six colleague county councillors from Thanet her appalling attendance record becomes even more apparent.  Whilst they all have attendance rates  ranging from 68-100%, wannabe third  time councillor  Game flounders at the bottom of the table with an embarrassing 41%.

But despite her shocking record councillor Game will be generously rewarded for being lazy and will receive an allowance of  £20,252 for this financial year.  Sadly attendance, or lack of attendance,  at meetings  does not impact on how much a councillor is paid.

Attendance at meetings and contributing to debate and decision making is one of the key jobs of an elected councillor. To skip that responsibility is to let down those people you were elected to represent. This is extra important when you are a councillor who represents an area with   high levels of poverty and deprivation such as Cliftonville.

But meeting attendance is not the only measure of a councillor’s performance.  Being active in the area you were elected to represent,  being easily available to constituents and working with residents, community groups, local businesses, schools and the police etc. is just as important as going to meetings in  Maidstone. Yet even here Lesley Game’s record is said to be poor.

Many people have told me that she is nowhere to been seen, doesn’t get involved in community issues and is hard to contact.  This was, I am told, most notable when Northdown Road traders were recently having serious anti-social behavior problems which were impacting on their businesses.

Even members of the Conservative Party have said to me off the record that Councillor Game is not known for being an active hands on councillor. If this is so then why did they choose her to be the candidate in the forthcoming  KCC Cliftonville division election on May 1?

To knowingly select an election candidate with such a poor track record as a councillor  to represent an area with serious social and economic problems is nothing short of an insult to the Cliftonville community who deserve much better.

In the interest of fairness I must point out however that people have said to me that Councillor Game has had a bout of poor health. If this is so then I wish her well.

Nevertheless an elected politician unlike an  ordinary person, has a  duty,  under the Seven Principles of Public Life, to be open and honest with their constituents  about any issues which might impact on their ability to  their job. This would include a period of illness.

I have searched Councillor Game’s social media over the past year and can find no reference to her having a serious illness. If she was ill and unable to function as councillor then the Conservative Party should have made a public  statement about her absence with advice of who would be covering her constituency work. It did not.

Furthermore, if she has had bad health the question, as brutal as might be seem, it must be asked whether she is fit enough to stand for another term of office, which if carried our properly and diligently would be a very demanding.

Finally, I declare an interest in this matter. I am standing as an Independent candidate in the forthcoming KCC Cliftonville Division election.

I believe in honest politics,  putting people first, and working hard to serve the interests of the community I am elected to represent.

The Conservative Party candidate in the Cliftonville KCC  election has a track record which would suggest otherwise

Published by Independent Candidate For Cliftonville Division Eelection 1 May 2025 Ian Driver 45 Sea View Road CT101BX