Tory seeking Town Hall seat makes pothole promise

A Conservative election candidate is pinning his hopes on winning a council seat by promising to get potholes repaired.

Cllr Nasir Jamil is hoping to defend his St John’s seat on Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, an authority that has no powers over highway maintenance.

On March 24 he posted a picture on his Facebook page, which shows the councillor kneeling next to a filled-in pothole.

A sentence alongside the picture reads: ‘Want potholes to get fixed quickly? Vote Jamil [on] May 3.’

Road repairs and potholes are the responsibility of Kent County Council, rather than the borough council, which Cllr Jamil has been a member of since 2014.

He told the Times: ‘Kent County Council is responsible for filling up potholes.

‘If I am re-elected I will liaise with my [St John’s ward] colleague Cllr Peter Oakford, who is a Kent County Council member.

‘I will hold meetings with him and he will push Kent Highways.’

He added: ‘As a borough councillor, I will report potholes because that is my job.’

When asked if the poster has potential to cause confusion, or give the impression that the borough council has powers to deal with potholes, Cllr Jamil said that it ‘did not’.

Kent County Council has recently allocated a £2million spend on road repairs after damage was caused by The Beast from the East storm.

St John’s is the only ward to currently have both Conservative and Liberal Democrat representation, with Cllr Peter Lidstone filling the third seat.

Cllr Jamil’s seat is the only one of the three up for election this year. Labour’s Bjorn Simpole and Liberal Democrat candidate Mark Ellis are standing against him.

For a full list of all 16 wards standing candidates, visit www.theknow.guide and search ‘candidates’.