Following Labour’s motion in April which enabled the council to seek legal advice in regards to the activity of Uber in Medway, this subsequent motion will mean the council will work with the MLTDA take forward the findings within the legal advice.  

Cllr Dan McDonald, Medway Labour & Co-op Spokesperson for Licensing said, ‘I put this motion forward because Uber are operating illegally in Medway. 

‘This isn’t about taking away consumer choice; Uber is proactively choosing not to play by the rules, and it’s our job to protect those who do by creating a level playing field. 

‘I was absolutely delighted with the cross-party support last night at full council, and this would not have been achievable without the hard work of the MLTDA and council officers. 

‘The work on this starts immediately, we will be speaking to partners and other councils to figure out the next steps.’

Cllr Harinder Mahil, Medway Labour & Co-op Councillor for Chatham Central said, ‘As someone who has grown up in the Punjabi community, and therefore almost by default the taxi community, this motion is very important to me. Many of the residents of my ward are taxi drivers and rely on their profession for their livelihood. 

‘However, it’s important to understand what this motion is about and what it isn’t about. Oddly enough, this motion isn’t really about Uber. In reality this motion is about fairness; there is a gap in the interpretation of current legislation that is being exploited, meaning that the rules aren’t being applied equally to everyone. This is inherently unfair. 

‘Some people are saying that Uber is the future and that legislation isn’t keeping up with technology, but it’s not about technology. It is about whether private hire should make any reference to the authority that they operate in; or not. 

‘For my part I think it’s untenable to have one group of drivers that do and stick to the rules, and another that don’t.’