Kent Morning Briefing
Friday, 13 November 2026
12 stories · 4-minute read
1642: At the Battle of Turnham Green, Royalist forces withdrew and failed to take London, a turning point in the First English Civil War.
On this day in history
The day in Kent · Maidstone Borough Council takes top honours for financial soundness and most-improved score in the Kent Council Scorecard, but its complaints handling remains a weak spot residents should watch. Elsewhere, two people have been charged with fraud and money laundering after more than £1 million in income from an east Kent supported-living firm allegedly went undeclared. It is a busy morning for accountability stories across the county.
The day ahead in Kent
Weather
Today: Clear morning, high 7°C, low 0°C.
Tomorrow: Clear morning, high 9°C, low -2°C.
Travel
Roads (1 incident): M25 — M25 Clockwise Jct 28 to Jct 29 carriageway closure.
Rail: All Kent services running to schedule.
As of 03:00 from National Highways + National Rail.
Coastal tides
Dover: High 00:53 (6.37m) · Low 07:50 (1.50m) · High 13:05 (6.14m) · Low 20:02 (1.61m)
Margate: High 01:37 (4.54m) · Low 08:04 (0.87m) · High 14:07 (4.45m) · Low 20:02 (1.11m)
Tides via tidetimes.co.uk.
5 things to know
- Tonbridge and Malling secures 12 modular homes at Blue Bell Hill for homeless families
- Eight arrested as Kent shops searched in crackdown on illicit tobacco and hidden compartments
- Kent Community Speedwatch volunteers log 550-plus hours, flag nearly 1,000 vehicles
- Great Chart residents consulted on traffic-calming give-way scheme after speeding concerns
- UK economy grows 0.7% in Q3 2026, with services and production both expanding
£1 million
allegedly undeclared income from an east Kent supported-living firm over four years
Kent number of the day
Top Kent Stories
- Kent Council Scorecard: how Maidstone Borough Council scored, and what it means for Maidstone
Published 05:00 BST
Why it matters · Scorecard reveals Maidstone’s financial strength but flags poor complaints handling for residents. - Two charged with fraud and money laundering linked to east Kent supported-living firm
Published 08:52 BST
Why it matters · East Kent fraud case involves over £1m allegedly hidden from authorities over four years. - Twelve modular homes planned at Blue Bell Hill for homeless families
Published 20:51 BST
Why it matters · £4m modular housing scheme offers direct relief to homeless families in Tonbridge and Malling. - Eight arrested as Kent shops searched in crackdown on illicit tobacco and hidden compartments
Published 20:51 BST
Why it matters · Kent Police and partners visited 70 high street businesses in October, arresting eight people. - UK economy grows 0.7% in third quarter of 2026, ONS estimates
Published 10:16 BST
Why it matters · UK economic growth affects Kent businesses, jobs and council funding outlooks.
Play today’s Kent Daily Quiz
Five questions from yesterday’s Kent Local News stories. One go a day; keep your streak.
Also on KLN Games: Kentle, Where in Kent?, the Kent mini crossword, Headline builder; chess, draughts and the Royal Game of Ur against the computer; and three Kent history games: Dover Castle 1216, the Siege of Rochester 1215 and the Medway Raid 1667; and for a laugh, Never Trust Your Hamster: Hammy has escaped and is running for the Sunday roast. New this week: Quick Sums, timed mental maths for grown-ups: eight games, and every wrong answer costs you five seconds. All games →
Crime & Justice
- Eight arrested as Kent shops searched in crackdown on illicit tobacco and hidden compartments
Published 20:51 BST
Kent Police and partners visited 70 high street businesses in October as part of Operation Machinize, arresting eight people and seizing an estimated £28,472 of illicit cigarettes. - Kent Police appeal for witnesses after man suffers facial injuries in Canterbury
Published 18:51 BST
Kent Police appeal for witnesses after man suffers facial injuries in Canterbury Kent Police is seeking witnesses and footage following a reported assault in Canterbury in which a man sustained… - Two arrested after suspected cannabis found at Sittingbourne property
Published 18:50 BST
Two arrested after suspected cannabis found at Sittingbourne property Kent Police say officers spotted jars believed to contain drugs being moved through a window before arresting two people on…
Business & Economy
- FCA proposes letting pension providers use performance-linked fees outside charge cap
Published 20:51 BST
The Financial Conduct Authority is consulting on allowing workplace pension providers to use certain performance-linked fees beyond the current 0.75 per cent default-fund charge cap, where doing so… - UK underlying trade deficit widens to £10.4bn in Quarter 3 2026
Published 10:39 BST
Imports rose by £7.4bn over the quarter while exports rose by £1.2bn, the Office for National Statistics said. - UK economy grows 0.7% in third quarter of 2026, ONS estimates
Published 10:16 BST
Services and production both expanded between July and September, though construction contracted for the period despite a late recovery in September. The UK economy grew by 0.7 per cent in the third…
Kent Sport
- Preview: Colchester vs Gillingham — League Two, Regular Season – 15
Published 08:02 BST
Gillingham travel to Colchester on Saturday 14 November. Form, H2H, prediction. - Preview: Dover vs Burgess Hill Town — FA Trophy
Published 08:01 BST
Dover Athletic host Burgess Hill Town on Saturday 14 November. Form, H2H, prediction. - Preview: Brentwood Town vs Ramsgate — Non League Premier – Isthmian, Regular Season – 18
Published 08:01 BST
Ramsgate travel to Brentwood Town on Saturday 14 November. Form, H2H, prediction.
Financial markets
Bank of England (last 7 days):
Markets via Yahoo Finance; ONS + BoE via official feeds.
What’s on today
No public events scheduled today.
Coming up tomorrow
- 19:30 · CODA – A Tribute To Led Zeppelin — Ashford
“Kent is known as the ‘Garden of England’ partly because hops grown in the county were once so vital to British brewing that Londoners would travel down each autumn to help with the harvest.”
Kent fact of the day