Kent Politics Show Special: Election 2024 (04:41-05:18)
Watch back KMTV's live coverage of the UK's 2024 General Election results.
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00:00Welcome back to the KMTV studio. Lots of news to dissect. Joining me now we have Dr. Julian
00:12Spinks, KMTV's health expert, local Medway GP. So right to talk about that result that
00:17just come in there and Dr. Susan Kenyon joining me, politics lecturer. Lots to unpick. We'll
00:25start with that Gillingham and Raynham result. Surprised Julian? Not particularly because
00:32there's been an inkling that it was heading towards Labour's way. What interests me is
00:37really if you add together reform and conservative, you've got a majority. And so very definitely
00:45looks like a split in the right. In the common theme throughout the season. It has. But Raymond
00:53Chistie, he's been the local MP for some time and so it's going to be interesting to
00:58see. I think it was a very nice speech by Ms Khan talking about her local roots and
01:05so on, having a local politician. And that's something we were discussing Susan, I'll bring
01:09you in here, how important having a local MP, having your local MP, is actually a local
01:16person, grew up in the area, knows the area. How much of a difference do you think that
01:21makes to getting a result like this? Yeah, it certainly seems that it makes a difference
01:25on the doorstep, doesn't it, when you talk to people about having a local MP rather than
01:29someone who's come from elsewhere. It takes a lot of courage to represent your own constituency
01:35where you've grown up. There's the fact that you know the constituency and people very
01:39well but also it takes a lot of courage to identify things that are perhaps not going
01:43quite right and to have the confidence to put yourself out there. Particularly I think
01:47we're going to reflect on Rosie Duffield in just a moment, in the climate that we have
01:51at the moment where politicians can feel slightly under threat. I wonder how much that you feel
01:57safer or more at threat if you've grown up in an area. I'd be interested in the future
02:03as we go forward analysing these results to find out how much of a difference that does
02:07make. Definitely, and we were discussing the turnout as well, 57%. It's about sort of this
02:12average we've been seeing, low 60s, high 50s, but that's actually a lot lower than actually
02:17the Canterbury result, which we'll move on for the turnout for that because that really
02:20surprised us. They're not students in Canterbury turning out for Rosie Duffield, but that percentage,
02:26did that surprise you? It did. I think turnout across the country has been quite low and
02:31the fact that it is quite low has surprised me. I think there was a feeling that this
02:34was a change election and people were quite keen to persuade, quite keen to show that
02:40they wanted a change, so I've been quite surprised that the turnout has been around two thirds.
02:46This is quite surprisingly high perhaps because the students aren't there. I think students
02:50tend to make up about a quarter of the electorate in Canterbury, so perhaps they're voting elsewhere
02:56in their hometowns. But yeah, that's a surprising turnout. Canterbury does tend to have a higher
03:03turnout in the South East relative to the other constituencies as well. I think it was
03:07about 75% last time as well. So yeah, quite a high turnout there. I think we've gone live
03:14on our screens now to Dover. Seems to be some rumblings on the stage there, so I know
03:20they're back off again. It's that case of someone walking up onto the stage, you think
03:23you're going and we're not sure if we are. We'll just carry on talking about that Canterbury
03:30result for a moment. I saw there that those numbers between Conservative and Reform, that
03:35wouldn't have totaled up in the same way. That's a different situation there. There
03:39it didn't matter. I'm very sorry, it didn't matter? Well does it in Chatham and Ellesford?
03:43We're going to go back to Chatham and Ellesford now. We think that result's coming in.
03:46OK, here we go. Much of the same. Dover's about to come through as well, right on the
03:57other side of the county, but sticking with Medway now. We've had one of those results,
04:02Gillingham and Raynham going to red, going to Neshaba Khan. And we're expecting all three
04:08to go red, and we should have the next Dover might come in sooner. We're going to hopefully
04:19bring up both of the counts live for you on the screen now, in a minute's time. OK, here
04:30we go. Oh, and me too. There we go. OK, we can see both of them then. We're having this
04:37debate of people walking up onto the stage, what announcements are being made, but lots
04:43of chatter in Medway. As expected actually, these results coming in a bit earlier in Medway
04:48than we thought. We thought about 5am, one at 6am, and the 6am one's Chatham and Ellesford,
04:54but that is coming in a lot sooner than we thought actually. And here we're down in Dover
05:00again. I don't think we have any sound coming from Dover.
05:31OK, while we're waiting for this, this is the Dover result there. While we're waiting
05:35to see what's coming there, this is the beauty of it. We're flicking to and from all the
05:40different accounts, trying to give you the update right the very second it comes out.
05:45But we'll go back to what we were talking a bit more about the turnout, Susan, and the
05:50amount of people coming to the polls, putting in those. Why do you think there was that
05:5410% difference, 57% turnout, Gillingham and Raynham, 67% in Canterbury? What could that
06:00be down to? Because we've said it's not the students.
06:03It's very different demographics across Kent, isn't it? Kent is an amazing county. We have
06:07such different demographics right across in terms of what all the different kinds of ways
06:12you can think about, really urban and rural and wealthy and not so wealthy, older and
06:17younger. So it's a very, very diverse constituency. Perhaps education.
06:22I think we're going to Chatham and Aylesford now.
06:25...for Chatham and Aylesford. I would like to invite the returning officer, the High
06:31Sheriff of Kent, Dr Jill Farger, and the candidates for the Chatham and Aylesford constituency
06:39to join me on the stage, please.
06:52I, Dr Jill Farger, High Sheriff of Kent, being the returning officer for the parliamentary
07:12constituency of Chatham and Aylesford, hereby give notice that the number of votes given
07:20for each candidate in the general election on the 4th of July, 2024, was as follows.
07:30Yu Hin Nick Chen, known as Nicholas Chen, Liberal Democrats for a Fair Deal, 2,175.
07:47Nathan Andrew Gamester, the Conservative Party candidate, 11,691.
08:05Thomas Mallon, Reform UK, 9,989. Adedotun Adeshola Ogundemiran, Christian People's
08:23Alliance, 316. Tristan John Osborne, Labour Party, 13,000.
08:49Stephen Malcolm Tanner, known as Steve Tanner, Social Democratic Party, 141.
09:11Matthew John Ballantyne, known as Matt Ballantyne, Workers' Party of Britain, 340.
09:24Kimberly Anne Winterbottom, known as Kim Winterbottom, the Green Party, 2,504.
09:38And declare that Tristan John Osborne, the Labour Party, has been elected as the Member
09:44of Parliament for the constituency of Chatham and Aylesford.
10:10The number of rejected votes rejected and not counted by me at this election was, for
10:17want of official mark, one, for voting for more than one candidate, 30, for writing or
10:26marks by which the voter could be identified, two, for being unmarked.
10:44There was 164 spoilt ballot papers and the turnout was 62%.
10:52I do hereby declare that Sojan Joseph is to be elected as the Member of Parliament for the Aylesford constituency.
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12:52I want to echo everything that's been said, when the tide turns sometimes you get caught
12:53in the back wash.
12:54I also want to personally acknowledge and thank all candidates on this stage this evening.
12:59You engaged respectfully and politely and allowed residents to see the best of our democratic
13:04tradition.
13:07I am so proud of our community, and I will do everything to ensure we deliver for all
13:16our communities, across the villages and into our urban centres, and to realise the potential
13:22and opportunity of every child, adult, family and community. I will be accessible, hard-working
13:29and diligent for our residents, just as my predecessors, Jonathan Shaw and Tracy Crouch,
13:35have bequeathed. For everyone in Chatham and Aylesford, those who voted Labour, those who
13:41made a different choice, or even stayed at home, I pledge to be your voice, taking over
13:47the baton from both Tracy Crouch and Jonathan Shaw before her. Just lastly, I want to take
13:54this moment to thank my family, who has been an anchor of support, as well as my friends,
14:00who have been there through times good, and sometimes struggling in the rain as well.
14:05Thank you to my agent and former MP Jonathan Shaw, and my perfectly formed campaign team,
14:13Labour Party staff and the entire Labour family, both experienced and fledgling,
14:19who helped build an incredibly positive campaign. I could name names, but you all
14:24did a wonderful job and we had great fun doing it, so thank you for that. To you,
14:30the people of Chatham and Aylesford, you have put your trust in me and I promise to work
14:37every single day in your interests. Let's get to work together. Thank you.
15:00Labour have now won the election. They're past the post. Wow, what an evening. We've had all
15:17those votes come through thick and fast before 5am here for us in Kent, but Labour are through.
15:23Julian? Yes, I think actually the exit poll seems to be turning out to be quite accurate,
15:29to be honest. And yes, at one point I was watching the television and watching these
15:33results flick in so quickly, they were having difficulty keeping up with it. And it is a very
15:39big change for Kent, the number of Labour candidates. We only had Rosie Duffield before,
15:45now all over Kent is changing. My own constituency, which is Chatham and Aylesford,
15:52switched over and we had all those years with Tracey Crouch, who was an excellent local
15:56MP. And it's an interesting constituency because you've got the urban areas of Chatham.
16:04We're seeing Labour won in Ashford. This is Damien Green giving his concession speech there.
16:10A huge political figure here in Kent, former Deputy Prime Minister, so a shock. And we were
16:17discussing earlier with councillors from Ashford, what a shock this would be. Susan?
16:24It is. I think we had a majority of 24,000. Obviously the boundaries have changed,
16:28but 80% of the constituency is still the same. So it is a real shock to see.
16:32And he looked at the Weald and the Weald was going to be a seat that he wanted a bit more,
16:37but stuck to Ashford. That's right. It does seem as though we're heading for a Labour majority
16:42across Kent as well. And I can't remember the last time that was the case. So it really is a
16:47big surprise, isn't it? It does seem as though the country is voting for change. I'm not sure
16:52to what extent people are voting for the policies of the parties, but certainly the mood
16:57of the campaign has been a vote for change. And a huge part of what you do, politics
17:04professor, lecturer, it's looking at that overall, I suppose the campaigns behind it,
17:10the change of views, the voters' minds. It's looking at it analytically sort of overall.
17:15We've been speaking with all the various different parties,
17:17but we're going to go back to Medway now. We have the final count.
17:22Thank you.
17:37OK, we think that's a false alarm, that one. So I told you, we see someone get near the stage
17:42and we think, but it's always worth being careful with these. That will be the last,
17:48the third and final Medway result to come through. They are, as I said, right on time. This one's
17:55right on time. 5am these were expected. So you never see something come early in politics anyway.
18:02So here we go. We've got the Ashford numbers, a similar, the same turnout as in Canterbury as
18:07well. Does that surprise you? I mean, looking at those numbers with the Conservatives and Reform
18:12there, fitting that pattern we've been discussing as well, but a majority of just under 2,000 there.
18:22Yeah, I think Labour have got a job, haven't they, to persuade people that
18:26they're a positive vote rather than, as we can see, may perhaps, I may be presumptive,
18:31obviously in the future, in future weeks coming, we'll be poring over these results and really
18:35trying to understand why people have voted as they have and looking at the balance between the left,
18:40the broad left and the broad right. But looking here, it does look again as though Reform have
18:48split the right wing vote here, as they have across Kent perhaps. It'd be interesting to see
18:53if that is replicated across the country as well, where Reform are doing strongest. But perhaps we
18:58shouldn't play up Reform vote too much. We should perhaps be looking at the size of the majority
19:02that Labour do seem to be having here. So I think that is going to be the story. Obviously, we do
19:08have a substantial change in the right wing vote, perhaps a little bit of populism creeping in there,
19:14but very clear Labour majorities across Kent and across the UK as well.
19:18And why do you think, we discussed in Canterbury why the turnout perhaps is higher, why it was
19:23lower in Medway, 57% turnout in Gillingham and Raynham, for example, 67% in Ashford. Julian,
19:32is it that more people wanted to have their vote? What's the reason that we're seeing this?
19:37It's difficult to predict it, but I do wonder whether there was a greater desire to see change
19:44and because of the bigger majority Damien Green had, more people turned out, realising that if
19:49they didn't turn out, they wouldn't turn things over. And we're definitely seeing a split and
19:55it's almost a, we need somebody else, not the Conservatives. And so the people who are to a
20:00leftist side were going towards Labour and the ones who are right wing, looking for an alternative
20:05ended up with the reform. Okay, we're going to try over in Medway again. Someone is back on the
20:10stage. We are now about to make the formal declarations for Rochester and Strood.
20:15So can I invite the candidates to join me on the stage, please.
20:35I, Richard Hicks, being the returning officer for the parliamentary constituency of Rochester
20:46and Strood, hereby give notice that the number of votes given for each candidate in the general
20:52election on 4th of July, 2024 was as follows. Peter Richard Ede Birch, Heritage Party,
21:02Social Conservatism, 190. Graham David Colley, Liberal Democrats, 1,894.
21:17Daniel Dabin, Reform UK, 9,966.
21:23Lauren Ray Edwards, Labour Party, 15,403.
21:43John James Marshall Innes, known as John Innes, the Workers' Party, 245.
21:50Catriona Margaret Jamieson, known as Cat Jamieson, the Green Party, 2,427.
22:03Kelly Jane Tolhurst, the Conservative Party candidate, 12,473.
22:10Ann Declare that Lauren Ray Edwards, Labour Party, has been elected as the
22:21Member of Parliament for the constituency of Rochester and Strood.
22:41The number of rejected votes rejected and not counted by me at this election was,
22:48for want of official mark zero, for voting for more than one candidate, 18, for writing or marks
22:55by which the voter could be identified, 1, for being unmarked or voided for uncertainty, 116,
23:04giving a total of 135. I would now like to invite the newly elected Member of Parliament
23:12for Rochester and Strood, Lauren Edwards, to say a few words, followed by Kelly Tolhurst,
23:20the former Member of Parliament for Rochester and Strood. Lauren, please.
23:34Thank you to the people of Rochester and Strood for voting for me and for voting for Labour.
23:43Thank you for putting your trust in us to change this country and to get a better deal for
23:48Rochester and Strood. You have voted for change because you want a sense of hope that things can
23:55get better after the last 14 years. It won't happen overnight and it won't be easy, but I
24:02will work every day to get a better future for you and your family.
24:11It now looks likely that Labour will form the next government.
24:16Keir Starmer has changed the Labour Party and we will govern as a changed Labour Party.
24:22I decided to stand because I wanted to see truth and decency again in the House of Commons.
24:29Like Keir Starmer, I am committed to public service and I will represent the best interests
24:35of everyone in this constituency. I will be open and honest with you and I won't make empty
24:42promises. But I have huge aspirations for our community. I want to bring the investment, the
24:50jobs, the improvements to public services that we so sorely need and that I know that a Labour
24:56government will deliver. I will begin the work of delivering on my election pledges from today.
25:03It is an immense privilege to represent the community that you call home and I will not let
25:10you down. I would like to thank our returning officer and everyone who has made the election
25:24possible, whether counting votes tonight or operating the polling stations across Medway.
25:31I would like to thank all of the other candidates for putting themselves forward
25:35and Kelly Tolhurst for her service to our constituency over almost a decade.
25:46I would like to thank my brilliant campaign team of Labour volunteers, some of whom are
25:52experiencing their very first general election tonight. I would especially like to thank my
25:58agent Ian Childs for agreeing to take on the role and for being a reassuring and safe pair of hands.
26:09I would like to thank the Labour Party staff for their support and my organisers Tom Morton
26:15and especially Beth McKinley in particular for running such a great campaign and getting us over
26:21the line. I would like to thank the other constituency Labour parties who provided
26:26such valuable support during the campaign. We have shown that when we work together
26:31towards a common goal we can achieve great things. I would like to thank my fellow Medway
26:37Labour councillors and Vince Maple and Theresa Murray in particular for their advice and leadership
26:44and Tris Osborne and Neshaba Khan for their support as fellow candidates.
26:57And I'd of course like to thank Gareth Mighton most of all
27:07for being a truly supportive and understanding partner on this journey.
27:13And my family on the other side of the world put only a phone call away if I ever needed them.
27:20I recognise that there may be many people who have voted Labour for the first time.
27:25Thank you for your confidence in me and in Labour. I will work every day to deliver the
27:31change that you have voted for and get the best for Rochester and Stroud. Thank you.
27:48The people of Rochester and Stroud have spoken and I would like to thank the Presiding Officer
27:56and the police and all the Count staff for their hard work tonight. It has been
28:03the privilege of my life to represent the place where I was born and I have lived all my life
28:11and I am so proud of what we have achieved over the last nine years. Having successfully fought
28:20three elections following a nationally significant by-election which I lost in 2014.
28:28But I had never had an ambition to become a Member of Parliament.
28:32But I was driven to do it out of the love for my hometowns. I wish my successor all the very best
28:41representing this fantastic constituency and hope that she will fight for the area and the people
28:49within it by supporting the Chatham Docks campaign and making sure that the Hugh Peninsula
28:57is not wrecked by the new Government's building plans and we also get a new hospital.
29:05I would like to thank my family, particularly my mum and my late father, who without their support
29:15and patience I could not have dedicated so much of myself to this place and its people.
29:24A big thank you to my agent Stuart Tranter and my wonderful Conservative Association
29:32and all my members and my wonderful volunteers who have helped me from all quarters of the
29:39constituency who have supported me so much over the last nine years and finally to the great
29:47people of this constituency of whom it has been a real pleasure and a real privilege to serve.
29:56Thank you Rochester and Strood and good luck.
30:11Okay well Susan and Julian are still here with me in the studio, a lot of results to digest there.
30:18Kelly told her speaking then and what we were just saying about that, we just watched Lauren
30:23Edwards take that Rochester and Strood seat. Kelly told her she's lived there all her life,
30:27she's worked there, you sort of saw that emotional pay to that as well and to her
30:32parents too and the family that supported her. We were talking about that like with
30:36Nisha Bhakhan who's just taken Gillingham and Raynham, someone that's lived there all their
30:40life. It clearly didn't really matter what party, that's perhaps for her something that attracted
30:45and it didn't really matter on the other side, it was more focused on that party, not the fact that
30:49it's someone that's lived there. So it makes me think something I've been talking about all night
30:53that people are voting for parties not people and I just was saying to you both then that
31:00when their speeches, their speeches seem quite emotional, quite personal but when they're out
31:05canvassing, when they're out drawing, it's about the wider picture. A lot of this talk about the
31:08national picture and what party's in power, what party are we voting for but actually
31:13now it's come down to it, it's quite personal in their speeches. Yeah that's why politics is
31:16so fascinating, we just never really know why people are voting as they are, why they behave as
31:20they are. Are they voting for a party or a party leader? Are they voting for change or a
31:26policy or the individual candidate who knocks on their door? It's absolutely fascinating
31:32to understand why people vote as they do. Another lower turnout. Yeah the turnout 1% more than
31:39Gillingham and Raynham isn't it, 58% still quite low. Yeah and something we were talking about as well
31:45is thinking about the positivity that's coming out and the civility that's coming out in the
31:51concession speeches and the acceptance speeches as well and it's notable for me that more than
31:56I think I've heard at other elections, candidates are thanking the police for keeping them safe
32:02and again reflecting back on Canterbury, Canterbury Christchurch was really proud to host the
32:06hustings of course and Rosie Duffield was unable to attend the hustings because of fear for her
32:11personal safety. Hopefully perhaps we are able to move into a more trusting, more civil
32:18political space as well, again reflecting what people have been saying in their concession and
32:23acceptance speeches and hopefully moving forward to a more civil civil society
32:29you might say, or you might not say. We're about to get back into that Tambridge Wells vote
32:35and re-watch that again and see that but Julian I'll just let you come in first then
32:40we'll play you that. Yeah well of course Rochester Street, my old GP practice is in there so I
32:45worked with Kelly Tolhurst on projects and things and she has been a good local MP and of course
32:51mustn't forget she was a Tory whip as well. She was a good local MP, why the change? Why wasn't
32:58she voted for? I think it's this idea that actually on a national basis people have decided after 14
33:05years that somebody else needs a go. I think the Conservatives have been unlucky in the sense
33:11they've had things like Covid and various economic problems and so on which has made it very difficult
33:15for them to turn things around but I think it's reached a stage where people say someone else must
33:20have a go at this and see if they can do a better job. I was going to say it's been such a turbulent
33:26five years and perhaps people are looking for stability as well. That might sound contradictory
33:30that you're making a change in order to get stability but I think that's a general message
33:36as well coming from the polling, the vox pops that you guys have been doing on your television,
33:41your radio stations as well. Yeah looking for that kind of stability, the change perhaps as well. It
33:47does seem to have been a change election rather than a policy election. Okay we're just going to
33:53go to the replay from Tambridge Wells, this isn't the live reaction but a replay from earlier. Let's
33:58watch that back now. The above election to hereby give notice that the number of votes recorded
34:05for each candidate at the said election is as follows. John George Gager, Reform UK 6,484.
34:20John Anthony Hearst, Green Party 2,344.
34:28Hassan Omar Qasim, Independent 609.
34:40Neil Mahapatra, the Conservative Party candidate, 14,974.
34:48Mike Martin, Liberal Democrats 23,661.
35:04Hugo Giles Pound, Labour Party 6,178.
35:11There were 191 ballot papers rejected, turnout was 69.1%
35:22and I do hereby declare that Mike Martin is duly elected.
35:40We are standing in the aftermath of a political earthquake.
35:51Tambridge Wells has had a Conservative Member of Parliament for 114 years but no more.
36:03Well a very interesting result there in Tambridge Wells earlier this morning I should say. We're
36:09going to go over to Medway Park now where Rob is with some guests. Rob, it's been a fascinating
36:16few minutes, it's probably been an hour or so with all those results, it feels like a few minutes
36:21and all of them turning red where you are.