Kevin McKenna MP

@kevinmckenna.co.uk

8467 Followers 1726 Following

Labour MP for Sittingbourne & Sheppey and former nurse. For help & support please email kevin.mckenna.mp@parliament.uk with your name and address. Promoted by Lee Griffiths on behalf of Kevin McKenna, both at 29 Park Rd, Sittingbourne, Kent ME10 1DR.

Smoked cod in a paprika sauce with steamed vegetables and mini roasted new potatoes, served in a grey ceramic bowl on a pale wooden block table

Kevin McKenna MP in a big purple puffa jacket and beanie hat, on the quayside at Tromsø

Barbecued pork ribs and corn on the cob, served on melamine plates fresh off the grill

Kevin McKenna MP in military fatigues in northern Norway, in a snow and ice covered field, 200km north of the Arctic Circle in Feb 2026, with some military vehicles and ice covered mountains in the background

Kevin McKenna MP in the Churchill Room in the Palace of Westminster, holding a Help for Heroes banner saying “I support stronger protection for every veteran and their family”

Image of Kevin's statement which reads as follows:

Keir Starmer has today announced his resignation as Prime Minister, and I would like to thank Keir for his service to the country and to our party. He and his family have sacrificed so much for Keir to achieve all the things he has as our leader.

Keir led the Labour Party to a landslide victory at the last general election, just four years after we had suffered a crushing defeat. His government has, over the last two years, passed landmark bills on workers' rights, on renters' rights and on Great British Railways, as well as delivering Pride in Place, free breakfast clubs and rebalancing the focus of government towards the most overlooked communities. Keir himself has represented the United Kingdom on the world stage with aptitude and dignity during a time of global instability.

The decision to resign will have been difficult for Keir to make but it was the right decision for the country. As I said in my statement after the local elections in early May, we now need a leader and Prime Minister who is capable of accelerating the pace of change so that Labour can deliver on all the commitments we made to the country at the general election.

This is why I believe Andy Burnham is the right person to lead us now and seize this moment for real change. Andy has not just experience of being in government but a deep understanding of the challenges facing the country, and how to fix them, honed during his time as Mayor of Greater Manchester.

I know that transition periods can be unsettling, but my focus, as always, remains on working hard for my constituents in Sittingbourne and Sheppey, standing up for them and making sure they are never overlooked, whoever is Prime Minister.

Signed: Kevin McKenna MP, Sittingbourne and Sheppey

My brother, Dad and Mum, outside The Ferry House on Harty island, a sub-island of the Isle of Sheppey. They are all dressed up in warm coats as it was freezing that day in March 2025, despite the bright blue, slightly cloudy sky behind them

My Dad Wally, on the Isle of Sheppey on the 26th May 2024, as we raced around the constituency in a hurry, taking campaign photos after the snap general election was called

A photo of a crowd of people at the Columbia Road Day of the Dead festival in Bethnal Green, London. So appropriate in multiple ways for this post

In the middle is an old man with white hair, holding up an SLR camera. He is Wally McKenna, my Dad

Photo of Kevin McKenna MP, with his husband Lee and his Dad Wally, stood in front of the Pyramide du Louvre in Paris. It is clearly a cold day because they are all wearing warm, padded coats, but also sunglasses on the two McKennas for some reason

Poster celebrating Queenborough Independence Day, today Saturday 20th June 2026

A picture of a curving ribbon in red, white and blue stripes like the Netherlands flag, over an orange background, with text saying “Happy Queenborough Independence Day!”

Poster for Queenborough Independence Day, on Saturday 20th June 2026

Listing the following events:
12pm to 2pm Matilduo performing at The Queen Phillipa
2:30pm The Heroes followed by DJ Wils at The Rose Inn
All day DJ Joshua with The Riflemen from 3pm at The Flying Dutchman
4pm to 6pm Mick Kenton at Queenborough Yacht Club
5pm Ska Struck, with BRFM broadcasting all day, at The Admirals Arm

I am proud to support Lauren Edwards MP as she brings the Assisted Dying Bill before the House of Commons once again.
I have backed reform on assisted dying since Kim Leadbeater MP first introduced this Bill in 2024. My view has remained consistent: terminally ill adults should have the choice to die with dignity, supported by strong safeguards and proper oversight.

Parliament has already given this issue serious and extensive consideration. The Bill has been debated at length, examined in detail and voted on several times by the House of Commons. It has received nearly 200 hours of parliamentary consideration, placing it among the most heavily scrutinised Bills in recent times.

It is therefore wrong to suggest that this legislation has not been properly considered.

Today is about more than the principle of assisted dying. It is about whether Parliament is able to complete work that it has already agreed to take forward.

The House of Lords has spent weeks examining the Bill, with more than 1,200 amendments put forward. However, despite this extensive consideration, no substantive votes have taken place on those amendments. This raises important questions about whether the parliamentary process is working as it should.

The Lords has a vital constitutional role: to scrutinise legislation, suggest improvements and help ensure that Parliament reaches the best possible outcome. That requires proper debate and, ultimately, decisions being made through votes.

Meanwhile, the House of Commons - the elected chamber - has made its position clear. MPs have repeatedly voted for this Bill to progress. Those decisions followed detailed debate and careful consideration, and they should be respected.

That is why I, alongside other MPs, believe the House of Lords must now fulfil its role by allowing the amendment process to move forward. Members should be able to debate the changes proposed and, crucially, allow votes to take place so that Parliament as a whole can reach a co…

MP Kevin McKenna standing in Westminster Hall wearing an England football shirt with the slogan for a campaign pushing for longer paternity leave in the UK, saying 2 weeks isn’t enough

A video explaining that the US government will allow the Montgomery masts to be kept in the UK.

Abbreviation of Kevin McKenna MP Statement on the Motion of Regret (EDM 240)

Yesterday the Chair and Chief Executive of the EHRC attended the Women and Equalities Select Committee, of which I am a member, to answer our questions and explain their reasoning to Parliament.

I asked what happens if this Code simply doesn’t work in practice - if it fails to survive contact with reality. The answer from the EHRC was that there would be circumstances where “people will have great difficulty working with this law and the Code may or may not help them get through it.” That is an extraordinary admission.

This guidance is not ready, not practical, and not safe to implement. It will lead to terrible situations for Trans people and their friends and families. It will not make life any safer for anyone else, it pits different service users against one another and it puts service providers in an impossible situation without adequately protecting them from the risk of litigation.

My statement on the Leadership of the Labour Party

I am deeply proud to be a Labour MP, elected in 2024 to deliver real change. Because of steps taken by this government, we are already lifting children in my constituency out of poverty, we are improving opportunities for young and working age people and restoring pride to communities like ours that have been overlooked for so long.

We have twice received clear signals from the public, including in Sittingbourne and Sheppey last year, that we have not gone fast enough in delivering change. On Monday the Prime Minister said that we must "face up to the big challenges" and I agree with him. However in his speech he did not demonstrate the vision for urgent change that my constituents need. While I have been clear within the party that things have to improve, I had hoped not to have to say anything in public while the Prime Minister considered his position, but Jess Phillips' resignation letter leaves me in a situation where I can no longer keep my views private.

The idea that this Labour government would choose not to bring forward legislation to protect children from abuse online at the very earliest possible time is abhorrent. In our manifesto we said that "children and young people face significant harm online" and that we would be "bringing forward provisions as quickly as possible". Jess Phillips' letter shows that the Prime Minister has not lived up to that commitment. I am not just disappointed by this, I am truly angry.

I believe it is now time for a new Prime Minister to lead our party and to deliver on the commitments we made to this country.

As Members of Parliament, we are gravely concerned about the growing risks individuals, particularly children, face when using a range of online platforms.
In November, we were pleased to see Ofcom fulfil its statutory duty to address to produce guidance addressing how plattorms can take action against the specific and disproportionate harms affecting women and girls online. However, we are disappointed to hear that Ofcom has so far refused requests from several organisations to undertake similar guidance on the harms facing boys and men online.
While we understand that Ofcom is not compelled to produce this guidance under the Online Safety Act, we do not believe that the Act precludes Ofcom from undertaking this work.
We therefore urge Ofcom to recognise that there are specific harms that disproportionately affect boys and men online and take action to reduce the incidence of these by recognising the gendered dimension of these challenges.
Given there are several types of online content where research shows men and boys are significantly more likely to be at risk, or to face different kinds of risk to women and girls, providing parallel guidance on specific ways platforms can act to reduce the harms facing men and boys would improve overall online safety.
Men and boys appear to be more at risk, in particular, for financial harms. According to the Gambling Commission, 53% of 11-17-year-old boys see gambling adverts online each week, compared with 31% of their female peers. 70% of cryptocurrency owners are male, and organisations working with teenage boys increasingly report this to be an issue among under-18s, with FCA research showing 8% of 13-16-year-olds owning cryptocurrency. Sextortion victims are much more likely to be male (91% according to the Internet Watch Foundation) and men are slightly more likely to encounter scams and fraud overall.
In terms of the harms that are more evenly faced by men and women, we believe a gendered lens would still be useful in u…

Text reads:

““There were accounts run by the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] pretending to be Scottish and Irish and talking about Scottish and Irish politics one day and then exclusively focused the war in Iran and unabashed Iranian propaganda the next.”

Text from article about Iran using social media platforms to sow division in the West and spread propaganda. Text reads:

“It has meant flooding platforms such as X, Instagram and Bluesky with targeted postings calculated to exploit the war’s unpopularity in the US, including among supporters of Donald Trump.”

More text from the article about protesters against solar farms in Lincolnshire. This time from different protesters. It reads:

“Like the 7000 Acres group, Matthews doesn’t want to be described as a climate change denier, but he openly questions the contribution of humans to global heating: “My view is that our influence on the climate of the planet is minute.” The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which examines all available climate research in regular cycles, found that human activities have “unequivocally caused global warming”, harming people and nature across the globe. But Matthews is having none of it: “Don’t give me that nonsense. That’s 30 years old made-up stuff. That’s crazy. It’s not true. It’s scientists who have been paid for by people who want to make a lot of money out of new green energies.” “

Text from article in the Guardian about protesters against solar farms being built in Lincolnshire. A landscape in England mostly at or below sea-level, so under a clear and present threat from climate-crisis related sea-level rise.

It says:

“They are also careful not to come across as climate change deniers. But their criticism strays into that territory. Johnson questions if there is a climate emergency, even though the world’s scientists have called for rapid and deep cuts in emissions. “We don’t believe there is an emergency,” she says. “We are against the rush … we should be doing it more thoughtfully and more slowly.” “

Photo of residents objecting to solar farms being built on land near where they live, which they do not own but believe they personally own the rights to, at the expense of the actual landowners wishes, or national energy security and resilience priorities or indeed global climate threats.

Underneath the article states that they are keen not to be portrayed as Nimbys

Text from the Waste Crime Action Plan reads:

New enforcement powers: Defra and the Home Office will arm Environment Agency officers with new police-style powers to intervene earlier, bring more criminals to justice and hit organised gangs where it hurts by disrupting their finances.

Text from article in the Daily Express quoting Nigel Farage saying all mass religious observances should be banned. Text reads:

“Reform UK leader Mr Farage echoed his comments, saying the event - attended by London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan - was an "attempt to overtake, intimidate and dominate our way of life". Asked at his party's Scottish conference yesterday if he backs the banning of all mass religious observances, Mr Farage said: "Yes." “

List of countries which, if MPs can trace their ancestry to, according to some right-wing commentators, those MPs are not allowed to criticise Nick Timothy or any other right wing politician who comments on race or community cohesion. Ireland is listed, along with many others including Turkish Cypriots, Pakistan, Ghana and India

Video of interview with Chris from Raybel Charters talking about the work they’ve been doing to assess the pollution and sewage contamination in Milton Creek, Sittingbourne. He outlines some of their plans to tackle it, all of which is outlined in the link in the post

Quote from a BBC article about Sue, whose son died of meningitis. It says:

“Sue Gray, from Sheppey, has been campaigning for better preventative care since her 21-year-old son Matthew died in April 2023.
"I don't want anyone else to lose their life to something which I know can be prevented...my heart does go out to those parents [who have lost children]," she said.”

Text from BBC news article about young men “looksmaxxing” which reads:

“Clavicular attributes his looks to, among other things, taking testosterone from the age of 14 and smashing his jawbone with a hammer to supposedly reshape his lower face - neither of which is recommended by health professionals.”

Text from blog article by Matt Salusbury about Kit Pedlar reads:

“On May 26th 1981, Dr Kit Pedler was found dead outside his house in Sittingbourne, Kent, by his girlfriend Cherry Gilliam. The doctor who had been so disparaging of heart surgery had dropped dead from a heart attack, aged 54. Mind Over Matter’s Episode 5, which went out the next week, was – appropriately – about out of body experiences.”

View over the Thames Estuary to Southend on Sea, From Minster Abbey Gatehouse Museum

Map showing the location of Milton Regis in Sittingbourne

A stained glass window depicting St. Seaxburh, from the Refectory of Chester Cathedral.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Refektorium_Ostfenster_4_St.Sexburg.jpg

Section from the Chilcot Inquiry operational guidance saying:

You should be concerned if the
real world is sending you the
following signals:
 The desired end-state looks increasingly
unachievable.
 There is divergence between what is
actually happening and understanding of
it at the strategic decision-making level.
 There is a gap between public rhetoric
and our ability to deliver. Does the
narrative lack credibility?
 Available resources fall short of the
ambition; and there’s no flex should
something go wrong.

The Chilcot Checklist, for how to optimally plan and execute military operations in light of learning from the Iraq War. It states:

The Chilcot Checklist
1
VISION: why do we care?
What does this mean for British interests? What are the risks of acting or doing nothing, including in the
longer term? What is different now?
2
ANALYSIS: what IS happeNINg NOw?
What are your sources of ground truth/evidence? Have assumptions been exposed to analytical tools or
external challenge?
3
SCENarIOS: what might happen next?
Have you looked at a range of options, and scenarios and consequences that could flow from these?
4
OptIONS: what should we do?
Have you designed your options collaboratively, built in challenge and presented Ministers with clear
information on risks, opportunities and costs?
5
LegaL ImpLICatIONS: how do we eNSure actION IS lawful?
What is the wider legal context? Are Ministers aware of any legal risks? What are the policy implications?
How will you ensure that any international legal basis remains sound if circumstances change?
6
POLICY AND Strategy: what does suCCeSS LOOk LIke?
Does a clear strategy, and a feasible course of action that will meet policy objectives, exist? Is the approach
supported by analysis?
7
reSOurCE: what do we need to deLIVer?
What are the resource implications of your options?
8
PLANNING AND DOING: how should we do it?
Have you planned for a range of possible contingencies? Who is accountable and responsible for what?
9
POLICY perfOrmaNCE: how wILL you mONItor performaNCe?
How will you measure and evaluate success/failure?
10
EVALuatION: IS the pOLICy workINg?
When and how will you review this policy? Has the context changed? Have UK objectives/interests
changed? Do you need to change direction?

Updates from Southeastern railways about a person tragically being hit by a train between Bromley South and Swanley, affecting routes between North Kent, including Sittingbourne, and London Victoria

Daily Mail story attacking an event promoting community dancing as a health supporting activity that can help individuals and the NHS combat a huge range of physical and mental health problems. The Daily Mail’s reputation for attacking British people’s ability to have fun in the face of adversity remains intact

Text from the article quote-posted in the original post above, saying:

“For Patrick Green, who runs The Ben Kinsella Trust, the question of who is creating the videos is less important than how video platforms such as TikTok have made them easy to spread:
"Regardless of whether they're created by somebody who is doing this for menace or for fun, why is it allowed to go on a platform which then accelerates it through an algorithm?"”

Text from article quote-posted in previous post, saying:

“Some news outlets took the threats at face value, stirring up fear and amplifying the original claims. London Centric instead sent a reporter to spend the day in Hackney watching what actually happened. We found a large police presence and a number of bored children standing around hoping to see something interesting. In the end, no violence was recorded and the children dispersed.”