Alister Brady

Alister moved to Canterbury in 1989 as a young boy and the city has been his home ever since – he is now bringing up his own young family here. Frustrated at the existing political scene, he returned to higher education as a mature student in 2017 and was awarded a 1st class honours degree in Philosophy and Politics from the University of Kent. Since 2021, Alister has been proud to represent his home city at Kent County Council.

One of his main aims after becoming a county councillor has been to help local residents to be more involved in the decisions that effect their communities. Following his election in 2021, Alister soon realised his division was at a disadvantage regarding road improvements. Being unparished meant the division did not have any Highways Improvement Plans, which needed to be addressed. He started a pilot scheme working with Resident Associations to develop these plans. As a result of his efforts, the area has seen pathway improvements, pedestrian crossings implemented, cycle path improvements, and an extension to a 20mph zone. The latter was a priority of two Resident Associations who wanted to see the roads where they live become safer. Due to the success of this pilot scheme other unparished areas of Kent have replicated this process.

Alister also played a hands-on role with environmental projects for the open spaces in the area helping to plant hundreds of trees and bulbs, joined in with litter pick initiatives, and he has even donned waders on several occasions to help clear rubbish from the Stour. He convinced the city council to raise fees charged to supermarkets for the collection of abandoned shopping trolleys to further address residents’ environmental concerns.

He has worked with local schools and youth groups to help with funding for their various projects. He also played an active part with activities and projects involving local community groups.

Within the formal side of the council, Alister has shown his dedication and commitment to his role, with an exemplary committee attendance record (126 committee meetings in 4 years), surpassing the attendance record of 73 out of 81 of his fellow councillors. In that time, he has been a member of, and made valuable contributions to the:

• Children, Young People, and Education Cabinet Committee
• Adult Social Care Cabinet Committee
• Policy and Resources Cabinet Committee
• Scrutiny Committee,
• Governance and Audit Committee
• Personnel Committee
• Selection and Member Services Committee
• Standards Committee
• Regulation Committee Mental Health Guardianship Sub-Committee.
• Kent and Medway Fire and Rescue Authority (KMFRA)
• KMFRA Audit and Governance Committee

In addition to these, within Kent County Council Alister is also a member of:

• Kent Plan Bee
• Member Walking and Cycling Group
• Regulation Committee – Home to School Transport Appeals panel.
• Contract Management Review Group
• Children’s Assurance Board
• Canterbury Local Children’s Partnership Group (LCPG)
• Corporate Consultive Forum (a meeting between officers and unions)
• Action on Poverty Working Group (a community led group)
• Kent Social Enterprise Loan Fund Panel (KSELF)
• Treasury Management Group
• Play Streets Pilot group

He realised early on that decisions made in these groups would impact his residents, so he wanted to play an active part to ensure the best and most equitable outcomes for the people living in his ward.

Another part of Alister’s councillor role is to help residents through casework and he has always endeavoured to be available to help whenever he could. He has achieved hundreds of positive outcomes for his residents as part of his work.

In his limited time outside of politics, Alister likes to keep fit and goes to a gym in his division. He enjoys visiting the restaurants the city and county has to offer and makes time to be outside as much as possible with his young family.