Tag: politics

Liberal Democrats Win Tunbridge Wells as Conservatives Hold Tonbridge

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The new MP for Tunbridge Wells is the Liberal Democrat, Mike Martin, who told journalists that an “earthquake” has hit politics after he comfortably defeated the Conservatives by around 10,000 votes. 

The constituency of Tunbridge Wells has been Conservative since it was created in 1974, having been combined with Tonbridge before that.

Tunbridge Wells becomes the Liberal Democrat’s first ever seat in Kent.

Mike Martin crop

Mr Martin (above) said: “We are standing in the aftermath of a political earthquake. Tunbridge Wells has had a Conservative member of parliament for 114 years – but no more.

“This earthquake, epicentre Tunbridge Wells, reverberates across the country.”

Neil Mahapatra came second for the Conservatives.  He had only been selected to run in the seat a month before the election, due to the sudden decision of Greg Clark to step down.

This is the full result from Tunbridge Wells for July 2024 (compared with 2019 result)

   

Votes

Share

Change share

Mike Martin

LibDem

23,661

43.6

15.3

Neil Mahapatra

Con

14,974

27.6

-27.5

John Gager

Reform

6,484

12.0

11.9

Hugo Giles Pound

Labour

6,178

11.4

-3.4

John Hurst

Green

2,344

4.3

4.3

Hassan Kassem

Indep

609

1.1

0.3

This is how the vote in Tunbridge Wells was announced.

Meanwhile, In Tonbridge, the Conservative Tom Tugendhat saw his vote share drop from 65% to 41%, but he still retained a majority of more than 10,000.

Tom Tugendhat told journalists at the count: “I’m very pleased to be able to work with the people of Tonbridge for the coming parliamentary term, and I am really privileged to be doing that. So I am very very grateful for the trust placed in me”.

Tom Tugendhat refused to comment on a possible bid for the leadership of the Conservative Party but continued: “This has been a very very difficult night for the Conservative Party. This has clearly been one of those moments where we really do need to stop and rethink where we are going”. 

Tom Tugendhat concluded: “This is a moment where we have failed to deliver. And sadly, we have quite obviously we’ve lost the trust and confidence of the British public and that is a really big wake up moment.”

There is more reaction from the Lib Dems and Greens in Tonbridge on the West Kent Radio page:

https://www.westkentradio.co.uk/news/election-24/liberal-democrats-take-tunbridge-wells/

This is the full result from Tonbridge in July 2024 (compared with 2019):

   

Votes

Share

Change share

Tom Tugendhat

Con

20,517

40.8

-24.0

Lewis Bailey

Labour

9,351

18.6

3.5

Anna Cope

Green

7,596

15.1

7.2

Teresa Hansford

Reform

7,548

15.0

15.0

John Woollcombe

LibDem

4,234

8.4

-3.9

Tim Shaw

IndAK

926

1.8

1.8

Ian Grattidge

SDP

156

0.3

0.3

Here are the full remarks of the new Lib Dem MP for Tunbridge Wells, Mike Martin, following the count:

“ We are standing in the aftermath of a political earthquake. Tunbridge Wells has had a Conservative Member of Parliament for 114 years, but no more.
And this earthquake – epicentre Tunbridge Wells – reverberates across the country. We look at the results: the Conservative Party have returned their worst result possibly ever. And the Liberal Party have returned their best result in over 100 years.
The people of Tunbridge Wells can help us understand what has happened. For the last two years I have been talking to you on your doorstep and you’ve told me that you want honest, moderate, pragmatic government.You’ve told me you want politicians who solve problems and who serve their country rather than themselves.
There’s a lot for me to live up to in that long list of desires but I pledge to you now that I will do what is right for the country and what is right for you, the people of Tunbridge Wells.
I want to finish by saying we have a difficult decade in front of us. And we have had difficult decades before and we have come out better for them, and we will do so again.”

Greg Clark Departs as Tunbridge Wells MP

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Local Conservative Party members will choose a new candidate for Tunbridge Wells after Greg Clark announced last week that he would be stepping down after 19 years as the town’s MP.

On Tuesday evening the LBC presenter Iain Dale said he was leaving his show to attempt to be selected to run for the Conservatives. He ran once before for the Tory party in Norfolk and lost.

Then on Friday (31st) morning Iain Dale announced on LBC that he had given up his bid to become one of the 3 candidates to go before local members. 

That followed the discovery of comments about Tunbridge Wells that Iain Dale made in one of his own podcasts two years ago that he “never liked the place” and “would happily live somewhere else”. He has lived in the area since 1997.

Speaking live to LBC on Friday morning, Iain Dale explained his past dissatisfaction with life in Tunbridge Wells by saying the main road from Pembury (where he lives) to the town had suffered constant traffic delays due to roadworks. A friend had also been mugged in the town.

Greg Clark’s decision not to compete in the July 4th General Election came as a surprise.

Greg Clark

In his departure letter, Greg Clark said that he thought the time was now right to “hand the baton” to someone else, but gave no specific reason for his decision.

His letter continued: “To stand at the election involves a five-year commitment.” That statement was also true, though, in December 2022, when Greg Clark told me in a radio interview that he “absolutely” wanted to stay on and stand for election once again.

The local Conservative Party is now desperately trying to find a suitable alternative candidate before the nomination cut off date of Friday 7th June.

Conservative Central Office will send a list of 3 approved candidates to the local Conservative Association and a secret ballot of all local members at a special meeting will choose who will stand.

The Liberal Democrats were given a boost by the recent local council elections, which saw the party take overall control of Tunbridge Wells Borough.

The Liberal Democrat candidate to be the next Tunbridge Wells MP, Mike Martin (pictured below), said the decision of Greg Clark to step down reflects what we are seeing across the country.Mike Martin crop

Mike Martin continued: “The people who are most surprised by the election being called seem to be the Tory MPs and it is notable I think that Michael Gove, John Redwood – and now Greg Clark – are standing down in seats where the Liberal Democrats are the challengers to the Conservatives.”

Meanwhile, Labour’s parliamentary candidate Hugo Pound (pictured below) said he understood Greg Clark’s decision, stating: “He clearly is a much more moderate One Nation Tory than many of the others who have been in government – and who would be in government – if they were to win the next election.”

Hugo

Hugo Pound said he hoped the Conservatives would now not bring in a candidate from outside the area, continuing: “What I would much rather see is another local candidate, like myself, who has lived here – in my case for 30 years..brought my children up here.  I think that is a better representation for Tunbridge Wells and what is needed now.”

There is more reaction on my Youtube channel:

The decision of the LBC presenter Iain Dale to throw his hat in the ring comes nine years after he lost as a Conservative General election candidate in the North Norfolk consituency.

Talking live on air on Tuesday 28th May, Iain Dale (pictured below) told his listeners: “You know how much politics means to me. And if you’ve listened for any length of time, you know I’ve always had two ambitions in life. One was to be a radio presenter and the other was to be an MP.

Iain Dale

“Last time I tried, the electorate fought back, in quite a major way it has to be said. But now I am putting my hat in the ring again to be a candidate at the General Election.

“Whatever the result, I feel I can play a role in restoring trust and honesty in politics. There are no guarantees I will be selected, let alone elected, but I know that I would forever kick myself if I didn’t at least have a go.

“Even if you don’t share my politics, I hope at least that’s something you can respect.

“Now, under broadcast rules I could technically carry on presenting this show until Friday but I’m going to step aside now. It just feels the right thing to do.

“I want to thank everyone at LBC and Global for their support, friendship and love and for their understanding…

“Most of all, whoever you are, wherever you are in the world, however often you listen, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your loyalty, your calls, your messages and friendship over the last 15 years. This is the best job I have ever had.

“This won’t, I hope, be the last you hear of me on LBC, but for now that’s it. Thank you and goodbye.”

Iain joined LBC in 2010 and has presented four LBC General Election Night Shows, two American Presidential Election shows, the station’s Scottish and Brexit referendum night shows, as well as the station’s evening show.

Broadcast rules mean candidates in the General Election aren’t allowed to present radio shows.

Labour’s Hugo Pound Bids to be Tunbridge Wells MP

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The Labour Party has launched its General Election campaign in Tunbridge Wells, arguing that its plans to step up house building should include some development of Green Belt land.

Labour’s Parliamentary candidate, Hugo Pound (pictured below) said: “We stopped the sprawl of joining Tunbridge Wells to Pembury in a recent application…so we protected the Green Belt between those conurbations…but there are going to be opportunities to build within the Green Belt that are wholly appropriate and most people will not be fussed by – I believe.”

Hugo

Hugo Pound has been in charge of housing in the Borough council coalition for the past two years. He has lived in Tunbridge Wells for the past 32 years, works as a chartered psychologist and is a former governor of The Judd School and Skinners Kent Academy.

Labour’s plan to impose 20% VAT on fees paid by parents to private schools is aimed at raising new funds for state schools, but the policy may well be unpopular with some Tunbridge Wells voters.

In his recorded interview, Hugo Pound, said that “penalising parents and grandparents for VAT – for me – doesn’t sit comfortably” and he suggested he thought private schools which offered facilities like swimming pools to the community should retain their charitable status and so not pay VAT.

However, since the interview was first released Hugo Pound has said on social media: “My idea of requiring private schools to make their facilities accessible in order to retain their charitable status is a non-starter, apparently; turning on and off charitable status is legally near-impossible which is why it’s not part of the plan!”

He continued: “So I retreat from that position and fall back to the proposal that the only way forward to ensure a better distribution of resource and funding is to charge VAT on private school fees – my worry being that many schools’ facilities will still be inaccessible to all.”

The launch event last Wednesday was held at the Old Auction House and attended by a mix of invited guests – many of whom were not traditional Labour Party supporters.

You can see Hugo Pound’s full interview with local journalist Martin Webber on YouTube:

Hugo Pound said: “Tunbridge Wells deserves a Labour MP. Greg Clark has been here since 2005 and …has done some good things locally, but he does not represent the values of most people who now live in Tunbridge Wells”.

Asked about the challenge to Greg Clark from the Liberal Democrat candidate, Mike Martin, Hugo Pound pointed to some polling estimates from Electoral Calculus that suggested that Labour might currently be in second place to the Conservatives in Tunbridge Wells, although Hugo accepted that this prediction might not have involved actual polling locally.

https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/fcgi-bin/calcwork23.py?seat=Tunbridge%20Wells

Hugo 3

At the launch event, Hugo Pound, was introduced by his cousin, Stephen Pound (pictured right above), who was Labour MP for Ealing North for 22 years.  Also speaking was Georgina Stewart (above) who said she had voted Conservative all her life, but was now switching to Labour.

Hugo Pound said: “The national mood is that people want a Labour government… and for Tunbridge Wells to have anyone other than a Labour MP would be a huge disappointment, because if you are the MP of the party in Power you..have levers that you can pull, you are definitely involved in the decision making process.  If you are a Conservative or Lib Dem – this time round -you are not going to be.”

Hear What Local Politicians Really Think!

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Tunbridge Wells Borough Council elections take place on Thursday – and the podcast “West Kent Talking” has just been released containing frank interviews with leaders of the key parties to help voters make their choice.

The Liberal Democrats currently have effective control of most council decisions thanks to a coalition deal with the Tunbridge Wells Alliance Party and Labour.

The Lib Dems say their aim at this election is to win an overall majority to govern without the need for a coalition. But the result is highly unpredictable as all the ward boundaries have changed since last year’s vote.

IMG_3316

It remains to be seen if Liberal Democrat support will be affected by the council’s decision to start charging for parking in Dunorlan Park, imposing sharp increases in general parking charges,  and for persisting with imposing fines on tens of thousands of confused motorists in the Town Centre.

If you want to hear the voices of representatives of all the key parties, then you can download the podcast West Kent Talking on the Apple phones podcast app, Spotify and Amazon. Here are the links:

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/west-kent-talking/id1653188192?i=1000653139523

Nick Pope of the Tunbridge Wells Alliance Party (pictured below) told me that being part of the Liberal Democrat-led coalition for the past two years has enabled the Alliance to “be in the room” when decisions were made.

Nick Pope crop

But Nick Pope says the coalition “has been uncomfortable for us at times” and he couldn’t say whether the party would go into a similar partnership again.

Nick Pope also said he was “very uncomfortable” with the huge number of fines being levied on confused motorists driving past the war memorial by the Town Hall.  He said he thought the council should have acted faster to sort out the issue.

Many people from outside the area have said they won’t return to the town after having drifted into the restricted area and being fined.  Nick Pope agreed that “it’s not good for Tunbridge Wells.”

Town Hall signs

Between 80 and 100 fines a day are still being issued to people who didn’t react fast enough to the blue signs shown above.  A year ago a thousand fines every day were being levied.

The total raised through fines is now £ 1.5 million, which is a huge sum compared to the £ 9 million raised in council tax.  An estimated 50,000 fines have been issued, which is roughly the same number as the total number of drivers in the whole Borough.

Nick Pope from the Alliance hopes to keep his current 20% of seats, telling West Kent Radio: “We are a local party. We’re not influenced by any national parties. We try to work for our local communities.”

Meanwhile, the man who led the Alliance a year ago, David Hayward (pictured below) is now running a new party, “Independents for Tunbridge Wells”.

Cllr Hayward v2

David Hayward said he was telling voters: “We are genuine independents.  You – the residents – are our boss. Nobody else.” The party has 17 candidates and is competing in all but one of the new wards.

David Hayward said his party is the only one still voting against the current Local Plan for housing.

Labour is one of the parties in the current ruling coalition. The leader of the Labour group, Hugo Pound, (pictured below) said successes for the coalition in the past two years include bringing the finances back into balance, taking full control of the RVP shopping centre and delivering a £100,000 annual fund to charities across the Borough.

Hugo Pound

Hugo Pound says the new Local Plan will be in place later this year “to ensure there are the right sorts of houses all over the Borough – many of which we hope to be affordable – and some of which will be for social rent.”

But Hugo Pound admitted that: “The developers at the moment have the upper hand.” And he said the council had no plots of land left available to use to build affordable council housing itself.

Hugo Pound says of the coalition: “It has been a genuine coalition of thought and action. I think the Labour group brings both heart and head to those discussions and decisions.”

Tom Dawlings (below) who’s leader of the Conservative group calls the record of the coalition “quite disappointing”.  He said they should have acted faster to rent out unused space in the Town Hall, which was a project the Conservatives had set up.

Cllr Dawlings 2

Tom Dawlings criticised the coalition’s increases in council parking fees, arguing the charges deterred people from coming to Tunbridge Wells at a time when businesses were struggling after covid.

Tom Dawlings also said the signs for motorists outside the Town Hall were confusing and argued the council should have acted faster.  He said: “It shouldn’t have taken £ 1.5 million in fines to decide the thing needed a review.”

The Chair of the Tunbridge Wells Green Party, Geoff Mason, (below) said the party was hoping to win its first seat on the Borough Council, following its success last year when it increased its vote share to 8%.

Geoff Mason

Geoff Mason said the Greens had been campaigning against the plan to build a new town on Green Belt land in Tudeley and it was “great news” when the council finally dropped the scheme in the past year.

Geoff Mason says other Green councils in control of towns like Norwich had been building new council houses to provide affordable sustainable homes, rather than leaving development to the private sector.

Surprisingly, the Liberal Democrats declined the opportunity to give a fresh interview.  The leader of the Liberal Democrats and the current leader of the council, Ben Chapelard, (below) had previously given several interviews to West Kent Talking.

Ben Chapelard

Speaking last May about the fines for motorists driving past the war memorial, Ben Chapelard said: “We believe it is the right thing to do. We think it (the signage) is clear. We are trying to improve the air quality in that pedestrian part of town.”

In a statement to West Kent Radio and the West Kent Talking podcast, Ben Chapelard said:

“The Lib Dems are campaigning hard in these local elections to win majority control of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council. This is a change election. People are tired of the out-of-touch and incompetent Conservatives. They want to see change both nationally and here in Tunbridge Wells.”

The Liberal Democrat manifesto promises to:

  • Freeze car parking charges for 12 months;
  • Rejuvenate the town centre and improve the RVP;
  • Fight for the right infrastructure for development and more affordable homes;
  • Plant a tree for every resident;
  • Create new youth hubs across the borough.

The current make up of the council is
Liberal Democrats 17, Conservatives 11, Tunbridge Wells Alliance Party 9, Labour 7, Independents for Tunbridge Wells 2, Independents 2. (Total = 48)

All the new 39 seats are being contested this time.  Most residents get 3 votes in each ward. The candidate with the most votes gets a longer term before having to face re-election.

In the new Southborough and Bidborough ward there are 12 candidates. Residents have 3 votes.
3 LABOUR (Penny Breedon, John Francis, Alain Lewis)
3 CONSERVATIVE (Sarah Bridges, Peter Oakford, Alexander Puffette)
1 INDEPENDENTS FOR TUNBRIDDGE WELLS (Len Colangelo)
3 LIBERAL DEMOCRAT (Mark Ellis, Brendon Le Page, Joe Opara)
1 TUNBRIDGE WELLS ALLIANCE (Jonathan Farina)
1 GREEN (Mark McBennett)

In the new High Brooms ward, there are 6 candidates. Residents have 1 vote.
GREEN (Paul Froome), LABOUR (Dianne Hill), LIBERAL DEMOCRAT (Steve Humphreys), INDEPENDENTS FOR TUNBRIDGE WELLS (David Kain), CONSERVATIVE (Freddie Mobbs), REFORM UK (Rick Williams)

The reason that High Brooms residents only have one vote is that the area returns one, rather than 3 councillors because its population size is just a third of the other ward areas in the Borough.

All the candidates in each ward are available here:

https://tunbridgewells.gov.uk/council/voting-and-elections/elections/may-2024/statements-of-persons-nominated?root_node_selection=463806&search_page_463734_submit_button=View+statement