Currently BBC South East’s Political Editor. Usually Political Correspondent for @bbcnews. Got a tip or story to share? DMs open or email: Helen.catt@bbc.co.uk
Royal Tunbridge Wells, England
Joined March 2009
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A piece from me on how the greybelt policy is panning out in Surrey: bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm4g…
Greens could be barred from holding future conferences at Brighton Centre over Zionism vote bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c6p9…
Weald of Kent’s @Katie_Lam_MP tells Conservative conference that she doesn’t think Kent should have a mayor. She says she doesn’t think it would be good for the county
As first reported by @LucyJMcDaid , Mid Sussex MP Alison Bennett has stood down from her role as Lib Dem Care and Carers spokesperson.
Kemi Badenoch also tells me she still thinks a snap election is on the cards, despite Andy Burnham publicly ruling it out last week👇
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch says she would support a police ban on face coverings following protests in Dover and Portsmouth.
More here: bbc.in/4diDNbX
Our BBC South East interview with Andy Burnham, in which he says he wants to stop all small boats but declines to say when and says Brexit hasn’t helped:
Our goal is to stop all migrant boats, says Burnham bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm9d…
Helen Catt retweeted
New EU biometric border checks at the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel may not be introduced this year - even though they were supposed to come in in October last year. The French technology still isn't ready. British travellers will have their picture and fingerprints taken.
PM Andy Burnham says he “does not find it acceptable” that the Gravesend-Tilbury ferry has been lost and promises the Gravesham Mp he will work with her to “find a way” to get the link running again
Plans to overhaul councils in Kent, Medway, East Sussex, Brighton & Hove and West Sussex are now on hold. Surrey’s new councils will still come into force in April.
Plans for a major shake-up of local government in East Sussex and Brighton are on hold, after the government launched a review in light of new legal advice.
More here: bbc.in/4xIWsWI
Rochester & Strood MP Lauren Edwards tells me she won't be put off pushing through the assisted dying bill after Andy Burnham's comments. Says she thinks it's something that she and the PM "need to have a sit down and have a chat about because I think it isn’t a binary decision.”
Helen Catt retweeted
Business and trade secretary Peter Kyle, who is MP for Hove and Portslade, has said Andy Burnham is "committed to the success of the South" despite his pledge to redistribute power across the UK.
More here: bbc.in/3ReU9uf
NEW: Man jailed after MP warned he'd be 'put in grave' at friend's funeral bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpvp…
With fresh warnings from the Port of Dover about potentially “dire” delays this summer, here’s an explanation of what the problem is ⬇️
A £40m facility built to avoid queues building up at Dover as a result of new EU entry checks will "probably" not be open in time for the summer holidays, according to the port's chief executive.
More here: bbc.in/3QvlQPj
Catch up on this week’s Politics South East on iPlayer. We discuss what Andy Burnham as PM could mean for the South East, a ban on snare traps and we dive into the heated debate over air conditioning - with Polly Billington, Damian Green and Stuart Jeffery
Housing Secretary Steve Reed says no new homes without plan for water bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn8k…
NEW: Housing Secretary Steve Reed tells BBC South East he is backing Andy Burnham. “We have a process to go through but I know everybody in the Labour Party, wherever they stand on the particular individuals involved,all of us want to see this happen in a smooth and orderly way”
Dover's £40m EU check site unlikely to open for summer bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crr8…
On businesses, Emma Hardy later suggests govt is looking at whether waste water could be used to cool data centres rather than drinking water. Emphasises could only happen in businesses that use “closed loop systems”
