In the first of a two part interview and the first of RMT's Interviews of Note series, Kyle Hill chats to Tim Prater, Folkestone West’s newest county councillor about the elections, Shepway and Kent roads.

Folkestone West’s newest county councillor Tim Prater spent ten hours Monday going between introductory meetings and interviews in Maidstone, describing the experience similar to the first day of school.

Prater finally sat down at the Providence Inn in Sandgate just after 7 p.m. with his wife Season and mother-in-law Ann Rimmer, both of whom were recently elected to Sandgate’s parish council. As the Liberal Democrats’ lone county councillor from Shepway District, Prater had already made a name for himself after winning election to the Folkestone Town Council in 2006 and the district council a year later. His victory Thursday over Robert Bliss, the Conservative’s leader on the Shepway council, came by 11 votes and three recounts, erasing a 1600-vote margin from 2005.

Prater’s victory, one of two LibDem gains from the Tories, drew the Tories’ ire over the weekend.

"I’m happy to find a letter from the chair of the local Conservative Party on their Web site which claims that I had stolen the seat from the Conservatives," Prater said "I don’t believe I could have stolen that seat because it wasn’t his [Mr. Bliss’s]. I don’t believe it’s mine either. I believe it’s their [the voters’] seat. They lend it for four years on trust to the person that they think is going to do the best job for them."

Prater said that Shepway’s ranking as least improved local council in the England and front-page coverage of Conservative MP Michael Howard’s expense claims for £17,000 of gardening work factored into his win, as Conservatives experienced negative swings in Folkestone.

The state of Kent’s roads, particularly in the eastern half of the county, was the top issue residents brought to Prater’s attention, he said.

"They’re full of puddles, they’re not even in a fit state,” Prater said, adding that the current estimate has Kent crews needing almost 300 years to bring the county’s roads up to standard.

Prater said that the previous county council, which had a 37-seat Tory majority, increased funding for this year, but did not budget that increase for next year.

"Suddenly in an election year, they found a few extra pounds for it,” Prater said. “Something that we’re very clear on is ‘OK, they put more money in it this year. I want to see it next year, and the next year as well."