Kent Politics Show Special: Election 2024 (06:17-07:07)
Watch back KMTV's live coverage of the UK's 2024 General Election results.
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00:00Okay, welcome back to the KMTV studio. I'm joined by Jason Rainbird from Flowbird and
00:22Chris Deasy, our Kemp Film Club producer. We're switching up, we're having plenty of
00:26different discussions. I know you've been talking about films that are to do with the
00:30election and election films. We've been discussing that in the lead up to it. But Jason, I'll
00:36bring you in. Thank you very much for joining us at 20 past six in the morning. I'm so surprised
00:42every time I look at the clock and I need to stop doing that. Okay, just your reaction
00:47from the results, the exit poll. We're creeping up, we're starting to look like that exit
00:52poll could be on its way. Labour at 396. What's your reaction to what's unfolded?
00:58I mean, let's be honest. I don't think anyone's really surprised, are they? I mean, I think
01:01even before we went into the election and the polls came out, I think everyone was kind
01:05of expecting this. I think a change is really, really required. You know, we've looked at
01:10the last 14 years and we thought, okay, it's not going according to plan. So let's see
01:15what happens now.
01:16If the writing was on the walls, why did Rishi Sunak, the big question, we've asked it a
01:20few times to a few different pundits we've had on the show this evening. Why did he call
01:25that general election on the 22nd of May? Why was that the time where he thought this
01:29is right?
01:30The rumour, the rumour I've heard if I'm allowed to say, I don't know, is he's off to America
01:36to get his children educated and therefore he needed to call it so he could get to America
01:41as quick as he could. Who knows? I don't know whether that's true or not.
01:45Well, after seeing you on Kent tonight earlier, I did go to the cinema, which feels like it
01:50could have been a year ago, and I saw a conspiracy theory film. And I was thinking actually about
01:54the moon landings.
01:55It was going to tie in at some point.
01:57And about the moon landings. And I'm looking now and I'm thinking, well, actually, the
01:59way that tonight has sort of played out, this could almost be a Hollywood film. Maybe the
02:04script is being written.
02:05I feel like you could relate any political, any situation on Kent tonight to a film. You've
02:11seen and done them all. But some of those, we're talking about that, the exit poll and
02:17the exit poll for Kent actually was wrong in its prediction for Tembridge Wells. And
02:22I know you were there. I watched your reaction live with Rob. You sort of arms up. We sort
02:29of knew we'd seen the campaigning going on there. But still, it's when the exit poll
02:34doesn't predict it, I suppose, and the first one to see that in Kent.
02:37It wasn't even close. It was 8,000. And it was called for the Tories yesterday. And just
02:44as Jeremy Hunt was expected to lose his seat in Surrey, and he held on to that with a very
02:50small majority, and Penny Mordaunt with a 700 or so loss, the majority against her was
02:59very slender.
03:00So, again, you see, and Reform expected to get, was it, 13 or 14 at one point, and they're
03:04down to four. So, you're right. So, although, generally, the trend is accurate, individual
03:08seats have surprised us. And it's the Herne Bay and Sandwich, I don't think that's been
03:11called yet. And that's a sort of a new constituency. But with Roger Gale, who's a veteran MP of
03:16over 40 years, that is the one to watch, I think, because it's been a new constituency
03:20carved out of different areas. Herne Bay and Sandwich are not obvious alignments. That
03:26will be curious to see whether it's a conservative party.
03:28And they're making us wait, best to last, if what you're saying is correct. There was
03:32a cascade of them, they just kept coming. And now we're waiting for that final one.
03:36We've got plenty more hours to digest all the information and talk about it as well.
03:42What was your takeaway from that result we just discussed in terms of...
03:46I think it's very interesting. I think it's interesting with the polls. It would be interesting
03:51to see the exit polls, how accurate they generally are. I like, once again, it's the change.
03:57I like the change. I think we need to move ahead. We think we need to make different
04:00decisions now as to what's coming up. I don't know.
04:05The criticism of Labour was quite clearly from the conservative side was that you don't
04:11know what you're going to get with the Labour government, the manifesto, it's all sunshine
04:15and rainbows until hard decisions have to be made. So is this the right change?
04:21Yes. I think it is the right change. I think we need a... the landslide is a really good
04:27way that's happening. I have my own political views as to whether I think it's right or
04:32not. But I think we have to literally do a 180 degree turn and go, OK, it's not working
04:40what we're doing. We need to look at this. I'm pleased with some of the results that
04:44have come in. It's interesting from running a local business as to what's going to happen
04:49next. There are lots of concerns as a sort of a local businessman as to some of the legislation
04:55that may change, etc. So we've got to be prepared for that. But yeah, I think from
04:59our perspective, it's going to be business as usual.
05:01There'll be a lot of people watching this as they're waking up, ready to head to work,
05:05to head to their local businesses, tuning in now to catch up on what's unfolded over
05:09the night. So if you can give sort of a picture from a local business perspective, if you
05:14can go into a bit of detail. I mean, we have time.
05:19I think I look at our business and I employ 16 people. So we are very standard. I think
05:27we are the core economy within the UK is that sort of what I call the 10 to 20 employees.
05:34We are the lifeblood of the economy within the thing. So I'm optimistic that no government
05:40is going to come along and start sort of hitting us hard. I think obviously the wealthier people
05:46will get hit harder. But for us, I think it's got to be, you know, we survived Brexit,
05:53we survived COVID, we survived the wars, etc. You know, I'm not saying it makes it sound
05:58really bad that we're going to survive a Labour government, but I think it is got to be business
06:02as usual. And I think, you know, the country's got to go, OK, there are going to be fundamental
06:06changes to what happens. But the reality of it is we can't do anything about it. We've
06:11got to live with it. We've got to work with it. And we've got to make it work for us.
06:17And I was saying to a lady the other day, I was chatting to her and I said, look, you
06:20know, as a business owner, you know, I'm kind of I'm the middle ground person. You know,
06:25I'm not rich, I'm not poor, you know, but it's my team that I want to look after and
06:30I want to make sure that they're OK and that they're strong. So we will we will just carry
06:34on as normal and deal with the things as they turn up at our doorstep, because there's lots
06:40of rumours about some of the things that they're going to bring in. Some of them are
06:44slightly concerning, if I'm honest with you. Like what? Things like the increase in the
06:49minimum wage, some of the HR regulations that are maybe coming in as well. So it'll be interesting
06:55to see what happens and what the results of that will be. You know, I'm an employee as
07:02well as a sort of a business owner, so it will affect me personally and it will affect
07:06me from a company perspective as well.
07:08Jess, you mentioned some some huge fundamental once in a lifetime events that have happened
07:14over the past just few years. We've we've we've been seeing the wars that have broken
07:19out, of course, and the impact that's had on us here. The pandemic, of course, is a
07:24huge one to mention and this cost of living that's sort of unravelled since. Do you think,
07:29Chris, a Labour government at the time would have handled that better? They haven't had
07:33to face that challenge that the Conservatives did. And I know everybody talks about this
07:3714 years of of struggle, but it's been in those last few where it's been really tricky
07:42and any government would struggle. So would Labour do it better? We'll never really know.
07:46Well, actually, you can even just looking at the Conservatives, if Theresa May had still
07:50been prime minister, it's unthinkable that Partygate would have happened. And of course,
07:54she left office and she often had a reputation for being perhaps a bit too serious. But actually,
07:58she perhaps could have been if she'd been prime minister during lockdown. I don't think
08:03that the problems that had beset the Conservatives would have happened in the same way. So in
08:06answer to your question, Labour would have done it very differently. I think, you know,
08:10Boris Johnson, an interesting figure, because there's always that sort of shot of him when
08:14he was mayor of London dangling off the, you know, whatever he was he was doing. We don't
08:18even need to show that. We all picture that. If it had been a good period, if after his
08:25election in 2019, Britain was going through, you know, a more needed, a more comical sort
08:30of phase, then he was the right person for it. But in terms of what has happened over
08:34the last few years, not least with Brexit, there is that sort of sense that, yeah, there
08:39needs to be a change. And I think the country has clearly made a decision. But they made
08:43that decision years ago. And I think the Conservatives, in the way that they actually made their concession
08:48yesterday or so it appeared, extraordinary. Whether that was, we were talking earlier
08:52with Rob, whether that's some sort of voter suppression. But it's unthinkable, you know,
08:57that a party would actually concede before, apart from the postal vote. I voted by post
09:02a few days ago. But the main votes hadn't even been called. So, but it clearly backfired
09:06on them. Unless the plan all along was, let's go, they said second half of the year. Fourth
09:11of July is as early as you can go. And he, you know, he won't be staying in Parliament.
09:16I like Cameron. I don't think he'll be here for five years.
09:18Yeah, no, I agree.
09:19And Jason, that same sort of question to you. Do you think that the Labour government would
09:23have dealt with those big issues better? We will never know the answer to that. We
09:27can't compare that. But we have to understand the Conservatives at that time, any parliament
09:32will dealt a huge blow that was unprecedented.
09:35I think, I mean, COVID was a really interesting situation, because obviously, it's something
09:39that's never happened before. And I think, you know, any government is literally working
09:44its way through the process. I think my honest view is the fact that I'm not sure Labour
09:51would have coped with it as well. I think that it took a high degree of fiscal management.
09:56And I think from that perspective, I don't know is the honest answer. I mean, all these
10:00things are here. And I think, you know, we, I think we, I don't know, you just look at
10:06it and go, you know, that it was the right person, right time. I mean, you know, we had,
10:11it's really interesting. I read a book about, you know, leaders being the right person at
10:15the right time. And I think that, you know, maybe Boris was the right person to drive
10:19it through. You know, they talk about the kind of the Churchill approach through the
10:22war. He was good during the war, because that's what we needed. But after the war, maybe not
10:27so good. And I think, you know, we needed a strong person to drive us through. We all
10:32look back and look at the decisions in hindsight and say, yeah, that wasn't a good idea. And
10:35that was a good idea, etc. But we all face the same situation. You just don't know at
10:39the time. We survived, we got out of it, you know, and obviously, there were certain issues
10:45that came out as a result of that that weren't particularly good. But I think, yeah, I'm
10:49pleased at the way that it came out in the end.
10:51Yeah. And that talk about leaders, that's been a huge part of it is that we've been
10:55discussing whether you're voting for your local MP and what they're going to give you.
10:59You're voting for the party, you're voting for the leader. And there seems to be someone
11:02mentioned earlier, this switch to sort of more American politics, where you're looking
11:06at this leader and what they're going to offer. And that is a real figurehead. I suppose this
11:12is reflected in films, in TV. And we're going to bring that in here. Big characters, they
11:18make great films. I imagine Sarah Davey would make a great action film or something. You
11:24know, characters like that. And, you know, we saw that huge, we had those results on
11:28the screen a moment ago, that huge majority there in Tambridge Wells. And Davey visited
11:36once, Oliver got to go on the course with him. And we should have put it in our episode
11:40of Invictus Sport, to be honest. It was quite an impressive feat. But those big characters
11:45seem to have worked there, but nowhere else in Kent?
11:48No. And I think Ed Davey may have pulled a blinder, actually, because it looked like
11:54he was being squeezed at the beginning. And people thought, well, he's not taking himself
11:58very seriously. You know, he's doing, you know, he famously was in the water and he
12:03threw himself in because he knew it was good publicity. But actually, he's predicted to
12:08get 56 or 60 or so MPs, you know, in line with what Charles Kennedy got in 2005. So,
12:16actually, those sort of approaches, unthinkable. I mean, could you imagine Margaret Thatcher
12:20do, you know, even, I'll tell you what, when Tony Blair was elected in 97, he was going
12:24head to head, he was playing football with Kevin Keegan. And I remember at the time thinking,
12:28gosh, you know, there'll be people thinking, how can a serious prime minister do something
12:32like that? It was Margaret Thatcher, famously interviewed by Wogan. And she said that she
12:35goes to the opera to unwind. And you look back now and think, well, now, you know, Rishi
12:40Sunak being asked what sort of sandwiches he eats and that sort of thing. You know,
12:44how human, how down to earth are you? Well, I think that the plates, the tectonic plates
12:48have changed. You know, John Major and the famous, was it the cricket and warm beer?
12:53You know, that was his pitch in 1992. Again, something has shifted. And Boris, yeah, interestingly,
12:59if it hadn't been for Brexit and it hadn't been for Partygate, he would have been a very
13:04different sort of prime minister, I suspect. Yeah, I think so. It's the right person at
13:09the right time. And I think that's, you know, let's hope that summer comes along and let's
13:12hope that he does what he says he's going to do. Because, you know, I've read through
13:16the manifestos. I had an old boss who was really interesting. He said that the big writing
13:20giveth and the small writing taketh away. And I'm always a little bit concerned of,
13:25you know, these are the big headlines, these are the big things that are coming out. But
13:28what's the underlying stuff that's coming through? And I think if he delivers on what
13:33he's promising, you know, I'm not being funny, but absolutely fantastic. I've got a great
13:38feeling that people will get into politics with great ideas and then realise actually
13:41a lot of these things are not actually achievable. And we will find that out in time. But yeah,
13:46they've got enough of a majority to make a difference. Let's hope they make the right
13:50difference for the people, the population and everyone else around us, I'd say. Because
13:54there's some big things, big decisions to be made over the next, you know, coming years.
13:58Talking about right people at the right time, I hope, I imagine, sorry, I'm losing my words.
14:04I imagine reform, we're hoping for some of that as well. We saw, it seemed to be the
14:09picture, second, third places, you add it up with the Conservative. We can't assume
14:15all votes were ex-Conservative. But if we look at it that way, they would total higher
14:19than the Labour across Kent. And that seemed to be the picture. What do you take away from
14:27that? Seeing that exit poll come out, 13, what was your, I suppose, at that moment,
14:34it was a long time ago, but what was your response to that? I'm not sure once again
14:40whether the reform, I mean, I've spoken to a number of friends and colleagues, etc, about
14:44the reform process. And obviously, they, you know, they have a political process, or political
14:48stance. I'm not sure whether it was a tactical vote, or whether it was a genuine requirement
14:55for some of the things that they're bringing in. I'm always obviously slightly worried
14:59when, you know, being funny, when a far-right party is literally starting to take some ground,
15:05because that's always slightly worrying. But I think, you know, there are people out there
15:09that need that. And, you know, it's one of the things, one of the things I'm a massive
15:12believer in is the whole concept of proportional representation, you know, that concept of
15:16we need to be represented. And if there are a group of people out there that, you know,
15:21they want that as a percentage, then that needs to represent it in government as well.
15:26So I don't see that coming forward. But, you know, I would like to be able to say that
15:31that would be a really good way forwards for us. And then they would have, they would have
15:35seats, they would have more seats, which would be very interesting.
15:38You said the far-right then, then coming to power, and we just look over the, over the
15:43channel, climate and all of that unravelling there. Just, just briefly, your views on that.
15:50If we take it overseas for a moment.
15:53Okay. It's interesting. I have people who I know in France. And it's, once again, I
16:01think that it can be a, it can be a political stance of going, we don't want that anymore.
16:09We're going in the other direction. And let's go in an extreme direction. And the reality
16:13of it is, is it happens and then people look back and go, actually, that wasn't a good
16:17idea. So I think, you know, and obviously what's happened over there will be interesting
16:24for all of us to see that they will start to take more power because you look back over
16:28decades, and I'm talking quite a few years ago when, you know, the far-right came into
16:34more power and sort of the implications that that had.
16:37So I'm hoping that it's kind of a protest vote, like a toddler having a tantrum and
16:43going, okay, you've had to say, yes, we understand. Let's now, let's go back more to sort of a
16:48more of a central position, because I think it can have long-term devastating effects
16:52for us and, and Europe as well. So I'm hoping it's just a, it will blow over.
17:00And I think just before we head back over to Medway Park, I wanted to ask you both just
17:03lastly about the campaigning and we've said the lack thereof for the Conservatives and
17:09if that was a disappointment to some of the Conservative councillors we had join us tonight
17:14and party leaders. Do you think that campaigns have a huge impact on the outcome or for this
17:21election in particular, people had their hearts set, the writing was on the wall, we knew.
17:26Or if the Conservative Party had campaigned harder, come to Kent, would there be a difference
17:30here in the county?
17:32What I think is that it's individual seats that were target seats, 50 or so in the country
17:38where Labour really knew that they had to win in order to form a government. Because
17:44in 2017, Labour got 40% of the vote and obviously didn't win that election. They've got less
17:51than that tonight and a whopping big, you know, landslide. So I think it's targeted.
17:57So you know, there are people who may have voted Lib Dem, but in areas where Lib Dems
18:00were not going to win and people may have voted, you know, it's a strategic thing. Particular
18:05seats are targeted. It's not a uniform thing across the country. If it was more uniform,
18:09you wouldn't see the results. PR is an interesting answer to that question, because it depends
18:14on which form of PR you use, it would have a huge bearing on the fact. And that's why
18:18you had 13, was it 13 predicted for reform earlier this evening? But you know, there
18:22was one MP, it was in Barnsley, there was 99% sure that reform were going to win and
18:27Labour won with a majority of 7,000. So it's the individual targeting that matters. You
18:31can't look at the country as a whole and say, therefore, on the basis of that swing, that
18:36you have a certain outcome. And it also shows we put so much into the exit polls and all
18:40the politicians say, just an exit poll, we'll wait, we'll wait. And then actually, still
18:45now, even with all the technology, we rely on it more. And I was sitting here earlier
18:48and saying, it seems like when we do elections now, the more modern day, we're not shocked,
18:54we're not surprised because we have the technology, we can see these exit polls. But really, we
18:59still had a few shocks in there. And I think politics will never fail to surprise us, no
19:04matter how much we put behind it. Just lastly, on that campaign front. I think honestly,
19:09no, I don't think it would have made any difference. I think 14 years, I mean, let's not go back
19:1414 years, even if we went back, say, the last four or five years, I think the writing's
19:18on the wall. I mean, if I look back to kind of the Brexiting campaign, which was massive,
19:22you know, that was a situation where this is a brand new thing. You know, there was
19:25a story to be told. I don't think Conservative could have come out and told a story and said,
19:30oh, yes, I know that all this has happened. Don't worry about it, we'll be okay. I don't
19:35think it would have made any difference. Personally, I think people had already made up their minds.
19:39I think that's basically what happened. So they could have wasted a lot of money on campaigning
19:44and gone, oh, that was a waste of time. So yeah, no, I don't think the decision was made.
19:49I think the only thing that's really happened, obviously, you know, Labour have come in,
19:54Liberal Democrats have obviously got a much larger share of the vote. So I think it was
20:00not necessarily a tactical vote on that basis as well, and obviously reform as well. So
20:03I think it was the Conservatives were almost like, no, sorry, mate, you've had your go
20:08and you didn't live up to the mark. So we're going to do something else. So yeah.
20:12It's a very, very interesting discussion, one that will be unfolding over the next couple
20:17of days and weeks for sure. There'll be much more to it. But it's very interesting to speak
20:20to you both from a small business perspective, from someone that studies films and studies
20:24people. Very in tune with that. It's nice to get that reaction as well. Both of you.
20:29Thank you very much. I think we're going to head over to Medway Park now. Rob's there.
20:34Rob, how's it looking over there? You still going strong? Coffee, snacks?
20:39Yeah, it's been a long night, hasn't it? But we're still holding strong. The energy of
20:45the evening keeping us all going here. Obviously, the three results in Medway are all resolved
20:50now. So it's getting very quiet here at Medway Park. The actual counting floor is emptying
20:56out. There's a small huddle of very bleary-eyed journalists sitting in the cafe downstairs
21:00filing their final comment. I thought you were talking about our newsroom there.
21:03But we're still here going on. And Oliver's still in hand-baked sandwich.
21:06I imagine it's very similar. Waiting for that last result to come in.
21:09Absolutely, absolutely. And that one last result could be very significant, couldn't
21:17it, Abi? I mean, the exit polls said that Labour would win 11 Kent seats, which was
21:23already far more than Tony Blair managed in 1997. Almost an unthinkable number of Kent
21:30seats. And yet, we're still waiting to hear whether that might even be higher than 11.
21:33It could be 12. And that would be something really quite historic for Kent.
21:38Very interesting indeed, Rob. Who have you got there as your guests for the three and
21:45a half hours we've got left, if I'm about right?
21:48Yes, we're just over two-thirds of the way through this epic night of coverage. And with
21:54me are two of the night's big survivors. Cameron Tucker, you've been following him, if you've
21:59been with us all night, running around the counting floor, expending enormous amounts
22:04of energy. He's going to tell us a little bit about that in a moment. And Matt Ramsden,
22:09senior editor for North and West Kent and editor of Kent Online, who stood in as a presenter
22:15for us tonight, but also here to offer his thoughts on how the election is going.
22:20But Cameron, I want to start with you, because we've seen three big results in Medway tonight.
22:26You were down on the floor. What was the energy like as we got there? I mean, it was three
22:30back-to-back results, wasn't it? How did it feel to be down there?
22:33Well, you talk about blurry-eyed journalists. There's definitely going to be an adrenaline
22:36crash, I think, in the coming hours. It was a hothouse down there. There was lots of chatter
22:42on when the election was going to come through. We thought, actually, it would be a lot later
22:46than it ended up being. And then all of a sudden, all three counts at once. And with
22:50that, it was a clean sweep for Labour as well, back to prior to 2010, that, as I've said
22:57a number of times across the evening, that blue wall now becoming a red wall back again
23:02in Medway. And really, the story was similar across all three counts. Labour in a gold
23:07medal position, if you will, with all the Conservatives in silver, and Reform there
23:13in third across all three of Medway's counts. So, Nausicaa Bakan finishing with 37.8% share
23:22of the vote for Gillingham and Raynham. Tris Osborne getting 33.5% of the vote share for
23:30Chatham and Aylesford. And in Rochester and Strood, it was Lauren Edwards with 36.2% share
23:37of the vote. Now, we spoke to, obviously, all three of those winning candidates back
23:43to back. I say candidates, now MPs they are, of course. So, I spoke to them all back to
23:48back. They're all echoing that message of change that has been...
23:52There was a script tonight.
23:53There was a script. And they kept to it.
23:56Every single time we've heard an acceptance speech tonight, the words, you voted for change.
24:01Clearly, a co-ordinate. This has come out from central Labour. Did we learn anything
24:05beyond that?
24:07Well, I think, and I think Matt's probably a better person to talk to about this, but
24:11all of the candidates talking about change really relating to hyperlocal issues. And
24:15I think across the major broadcasters, it's been about the personalities. And that's really
24:22been where the narrative is.
24:23I'll stop you there just for a second, sorry, Cameron, because Gabriel Morris in Maidstone
24:28has been speaking to Helen Waitley, who's just won Favresham and Midkent. I think we
24:33can hear from him now.
24:34Yeah, Rob, what time is it now? It's around about 6.45. My alarm to wake up in the morning
24:44has gone up. So hopefully, you're doing well there. But a count has just come through.
24:48About two hours later than we expected, both Helen Grant from Maidstone in the morning
24:54and Helen Waitley both come through back to back. We didn't actually expect them to come
24:58through so quickly after each other. In fact, many of us weren't actually ready for Favresham
25:03and Midkent to come through straight after Maidstone and morning. But what I can tell
25:08you, it was very close in both of the counts between Conservatives and Labour. For Maidstone
25:14and morning, just 1,600 between Helen Grant and Maureen Cleetor for the Labour Party.
25:20And in Favresham and Midkent, just 1,500 results. Now, I was speaking to Helen Waitley, who's
25:26going to be the Favresham and Midkent MP once more, to ask her why has her majority dropped
25:33and what does she need to do about it? She blamed reform for her results tonight.
25:39I mean, one of the big issues that came up from people who chose to vote reform rather
25:42than Conservative was clearly immigration. That was something significant at the election
25:47and people told me they basically wanted to vote for Farage. I don't think that reform
25:51has the right answer. I don't think they have a plan. But there was a protest vote that
25:56went on as part of this election. You're going to be on the opposition benches
26:01now for the next five years. What's that going to mean now for you? What will you be campaigning,
26:06the Labour government, to be doing? Well, clearly, I'm worried, as I said on
26:10the campaign trail, that Labour is likely to put up taxes, won't control public spending
26:15and actually won't be very good at controlling immigration, which is what so many people
26:18told me they were concerned about. I don't think it's the right answer for the country.
26:23I will stick up for a rest and supplementation campaign on things that I've said I'll campaign
26:26on and do my very best for people, whether they voted for me or not.
26:30Has Rishi Sunak failed? I wouldn't say so. And it's actually something
26:34I heard on the doorstep from people was that they didn't feel that, you know, how they
26:37were voting or they were going to leave Conservatives that wasn't to do with Rishi Sunak. Some people
26:42said they would vote Conservative because of Rishi. But, you know, it's been an incredibly
26:46hard time. We've had the pandemic, clearly had war in Ukraine, and we've had challenges
26:51as a party. There's no question about that. So I wouldn't I wouldn't put the blame on
26:55him at all. Actually, I actually think he's done a good job as our leader.
26:59Well, it was a lengthy night here. They're packing up behind me. You see the lecterns
27:05being packed up there. That's it for these two seats. But both MPs, both Conservative
27:12MPs will now be sitting on the opposition benches. I was speaking to Helen Grant, who's
27:17going to be the next MP returning for Maidstone in the morning. She says that housing is going
27:23to be one of the biggest issues here. And she's worried about what Labour might do with
27:29planning reforms, particularly in Allington. That's in between Maidstone and Aylesford,
27:36where that gap between the two greenfields are starting to be built on. She says that
27:40is going to be one of her key priorities as she goes forward. So we'll be following that
27:45with her closely during the next five years of her next parliamentary term as she sits
27:50on the opposition benches for the first time. So these two seats haven't changed, but their
27:56majorities have decreased. Reform UK have done very well here. They are hopeful for
28:03a win here next time around.
28:05Well, Cameron, we were talking about those midway results and a similar pattern with
28:12reform coming and clearly taking votes off of Conservative candidates here. Were they
28:18similarly nervous about Nigel Farage's rise here?
28:22Absolutely. And Kelly Tolhurst actually spoke in quite some depth about this. And I think
28:27she's obviously got experience with the far right in her constituency, with UKIP obviously
28:33back in 2014, holding that seat for some time. Both her and also Tracey Crouch, the outgoing
28:41Chairman Ellsford, both said that it was really they felt more the votes going to reform rather
28:47than a Labour victory. And also we got to speak to Roman Shishti as well, very, very
28:56briefly as obviously elusive as ever. And he was talking about what he was proud of
29:03having achieved for his constituency. But interestingly, when I put the question to
29:08him and also Kelly Tolhurst, that there's obviously now going to be three by-elections
29:13for Medway Council, the three incoming Labour MPs, but currently Medway councillors, and
29:21put that question to Roman Shishti and Kelly Tolhurst of whether they would stand, whether
29:25they would be leaving the political sphere. Neither of them denied it. And Kelly Tolhurst
29:31actually going to quite some depth about issues like Chatham Docks and Red Roots and really
29:36passionate about those issues. So candidates polishing up their CVs. Exactly. We've got
29:42a an update from Canterbury where Olly Leader de Sacks has been talking to the candidates
29:49there. Dawn at Westgate Hall with one count down and another to go. There have been two
29:55counts here in the Cathedral City, one for Canterbury, the other for Herne Bay and Sandwich.
30:01Rosie Duffield is duly elected.
30:11The Canterbury count came later than expected, with Rosie Duffield being announced as the
30:16winner just before half four this morning, increasing her majority to around 9,000. With
30:24Duffield being one of a slew of new Labour MPs in Kent, what will her role be in the
30:30next Parliament? No idea yet. I might be causing trouble from the back benches or I might be
30:34kind of promoted, who knows. But it's really amazing to have some neighbours and I guess
30:40we'll all work together and put Kent first. Thank goodness Kent is going to get some real
30:45representation at the last. All eyes will be on the Herne Bay and Sandwich count now
30:51that the Canterbury count is over. It's being labelled too close to call by some here at
30:57Westgate Hall. We will bring you the results as they happen here on KMTV. The results expected
31:05in the next hour don't go anywhere.
31:13Matt, the big picture then of this election, both nationally and across Kent, we've got
31:1911 seats so far for Labour in Kent, could be 12. First Lib Dem seat here. Lib Dems have
31:25taken more seats in this generation generally than they have since the 1920s. What are your
31:30big takeaways from this? Yeah, amazing night. The pollsters said there's going to be a political
31:35earthquake and so there was. It's interesting that I think the first exit poll suggested
31:42that the Conservatives would hold on to Turnbridge Wells and that proved to be wrong, so that's
31:46quite an interesting thing. But here in Medway it's been fascinating, Cameron, the changing
31:52of the guard really. You know, you've had a couple of MPs who've been there for so long
31:57and then, like that, they're gone and the new people are starting. And yeah, Suitmore
32:02and Sheppey, fascinating, three-way race and I think there's a recount as well involved
32:07in there. So yeah, fascinating, all the local stuff fascinating. But across the country,
32:14it's just been really, really interesting. Cabinet ministers losing the jobs, left, right
32:18and centre. Sunak won't be long for this political world, I don't think, as well.
32:24So yeah, fascinating evening. Well, I wanted to ask you, obviously as a newspaper editor,
32:30this election has been conducted largely on social media. Probably the first election
32:36where TikTok has really played a very big role in getting information out and engaging
32:41audiences. But we've seen some big moments. We saw the sun going to Labour right at the
32:45last minute. Do you think newspapers had much influence of what we've seen here?
32:50I mean, you've got to remember that newspapers also do all the TikToking and the Instagramming
32:55and all the social stuff as well. You know, we've diversified over the years. It's not
32:59just prints that we're doing. The sun's endorsement, as you know, was a massive thing back in the
33:05day. And it's just not what it was anymore.
33:08What did you make of the timing of it? I mean, literally the day before the election, squeezing
33:13it out, the front page was clever because they didn't really back Sakhir Starmer. They
33:18just had time for a new manager. It was a football pun.
33:20It was a really weak front page. It's clear their heart wasn't in it. But they've just
33:26accepted hundreds of thousands of pounds in advertising revenue from the Labour Party.
33:33So it's going to be very difficult to then take all that money, have their adverts across
33:37all their websites, and then say, oh, no, vote Tory. It's quite a difficult position
33:42they've found themselves in.
33:45Big news just coming in. Liz Truss is lost.
33:48You're joking?
33:49Liz Truss is out.
33:50OK. That is big news.
33:52Big news. And that adds to a list, a growing list, of those big beasts of the Conservative
33:57Party, including here in Kent, Damien Green gone, of course.
34:00I can't remember a former prime minister ever losing.
34:05They normally step down before it can happen to them, don't they?
34:08Well, you can't blame the people of her constituency, really. I mean, she was an absolute disaster.
34:16And yeah, now she's gone.
34:18I was going to say, for the local newspaper men around there, there's going to be plenty
34:21of letters-based puns to play with, I think, now as a result of that.
34:25I would imagine so, yes. The Daily Star will be having some fun with it as well, I'm sure.
34:29But yes, so I guess the question for both of you, as journalists covering this area,
34:34it's been the election of change, but what do you think the people of Kent are going
34:39to want to see from Keir Starmer now?
34:41They've put their faith in him in big numbers, as we've seen here.
34:45How does he repay it?
34:47I think it's pretty clear from, especially with Medway Labour and Vince Maple, the council
34:53leader, saying at the top of the programme that Sakhir's been here five times since he'd
34:57been in post.
34:58We go all the way back to even the time of Jeremy Corbyn and the launch of the EU manifesto
35:04that took place just a stone's throw away from our studio at the University of Kent
35:10and Medway campus.
35:11So it's obviously something that they feel is very, very important to them.
35:16Sakhir saying at the launch of the Medway campaign, sorry, at the Labour campaign at
35:22Priestfield, that he has very close personal ties with Kent, he lived close to the Surrey-Kent
35:29border and has fond memories of coming over into the county.
35:32So obviously it's a personal thing for him, but it's clear from what we've seen in this
35:38election and in previous ones, it's a bit of a bellwether, what happens here and the
35:43issues from all the candidates we're talking about were very hyperlocal and that is what
35:51is going to be the interesting thing for these three new MPs is going to Westminster and
35:56truly representing those hyperlocal issues and their constituents, which is what we're
36:02all here to talk about.
36:03What do you think those issues will be, Matt, I mean, there are going to be certain things
36:06that the people of Kent are really going to want to see from this country.
36:09Yeah, I mean, it's not just the people of Kent, it's the nationwide picture.
36:13The thing I've heard time and time and time again in the last year is nothing works anymore.
36:19That's what people say, you know, you try and get a doctor's appointment, you try and
36:23go to the hospital, the public services just don't work, you know, there's a sense of malaise
36:28almost, a sense that we've lost our way and I think they need to come in and instil a
36:34bit of hope and a bit of investment in trying to get the public services back up and running
36:39because I think, especially the NHS, that's a major thing, the cost of living, ironically,
36:46the cost of living is probably going to come under control as inflation falls and in a
36:51year's time that would be looking a lot better, but yeah, I think the public sector needs
36:56a lot of help.
36:59I was just going to add as well, how long do you think the honeymoon period is going
37:03to be for those?
37:04I was thinking exactly the same thing.
37:05Because the Medway council, you know, they've been in there for over a year now, they're
37:11getting a lot of stick from the opposition about not having changed things, Medway Labour
37:17saying they've not had the time to do that, what's going to be the, you know, what's going
37:21to be the leniency that these three MPs from Medway are going to get given?
37:25That's the big question.
37:26And the narrative from the Conservatives throughout this election was that you should fear the
37:30Labour Party, that they've got things up their sleeve, they're not willing to tell you, they're
37:33going to tax you, that it's going to be difficult for Keir Starmer if that turns out to be in
37:38any way true and it's going to be difficult for him to do some of the things he says he
37:42wants to do without making people pay for it.
37:44Yeah, I mean, I can't think of a worse inheritance that someone's taken on when they first came
37:49into office.
37:50You look at Blair and he actually inherited quite a decent economy and he was able to
37:55do quite a lot and Starmer's not in the same boat.
37:58The honeymoon period is a good point.
38:00I suspect people are giving the benefit of the doubt for quite a while because he's just
38:05starting off and he's starting with a huge amount of problems to sort out.
38:10Also you've got to remember there's going to be an absolute situation where the Tories
38:17are fighting for that leadership and are they going to go to the right, are they going to
38:20go to the left, Farage is going to get involved, Reform is going to get involved.
38:24So a lot of the media attention in the coming weeks and months is going to be a lot on that
38:28and what the opposition is doing.
38:30So I think Starmer will crack on and just see what he can do.
38:34He won't have many cheerleaders in the media, will he?
38:36Because as we've just discussed, The Sun's very lukewarm support.
38:40They were very recently calling him Sir Softy.
38:43The Mail isn't going to cut him any slack.
38:45A lot of the newspapers are going to be looking for things to criticise Keir Starmer for.
38:50Starmer's a lot like Gordon Brown from what I understand in that he comes across as stilted
38:55and isn't a fantastic media performer like Tony Blair was for instance.
39:01But what MPs used to tell me about Blair and Brown is Blair in front of a TV camera or
39:08audience was incredible.
39:09One on one he was lousy.
39:11Whereas Gordon Brown was fantastic, very personable, remembered your kids' names, remembered details
39:16about stuff.
39:17But no-one ever saw that side of him.
39:20So I think Starmer may have fallen into that category.
39:22But it doesn't make him a bad person, because he can't do the media stuff so well.
39:27We're hearing that there's, oh no, we're being asked to carry on for a little bit longer.
39:36So obviously we're packing up here now.
39:39What happens next?
39:40And what have they told you, these MPs, about what their first priorities are now that they're
39:44taking office?
39:46Well it comes back to that point of change.
39:49Lauren Edwards, I put to her that she used to work for the Bank of England, she knows
39:57finances.
39:58Do you think she's going to manoeuvre herself into a junior ministerial position?
40:03I don't know, but what I think is really interesting is I think caution has been really the key
40:09tactic from Labour throughout.
40:11They've not really put their head above the parapet for too much.
40:15There has been scrutiny over the costings of their various pledges, and I put that to
40:22her.
40:23I said, now that there's a very clear mandate, do you think that there are going to be more
40:28radical pledges that are going to come out of the woodwork that have been hidden away
40:33during the campaign period?
40:36And she was very diplomatic in her answer about that.
40:38So I hate to use the journalism cliché.
40:43It does remain to be seen.
40:46It was interesting because as you say, Lauren was saying, I've got this finance background
40:52and clearly trying to show her expertise.
40:55Tristan Osborne, one of the first things he said to you was, I used to be a teacher.
40:58Do you think that they are starting to think, this is a new government that needs to be
41:02built, lots of junior ministerial positions going round.
41:05These are a group of quite experienced politicians going in.
41:09They've been around Medway Council for a long time.
41:12They're respected locally.
41:13Do you think that they might end up being faces, that we might be seeing a new generation
41:17of big beasts?
41:18It will be very interesting.
41:19And this is definitely something that I think we all here have thought is that, will there
41:22be a cabinet?
41:23Will there be ministerial positions?
41:27And to be honest, those do change.
41:31We have seen shadow cabinets go in and completely overhauled in the past.
41:36Herne Bay and Sandwich apparently getting close now.
41:38We're not going to head over there just yet, but we'll keep an eye on it.
41:41We're on tenterhooks.
41:42We're on tenterhooks.
41:43Not yet.
41:44But it's, yeah, I wouldn't want to speculate.
41:49I think, to be honest, at this point, talking to all of the candidates, it was a case of,
41:53we've got over the line, they're all off to have a little breakfast celebration, and then
41:59it's probably going to be out for the count for the rest of the weekend.
42:02And then it will be from Monday, first day on the job, putting in those action points
42:06that they've all spoken about.
42:07The other side of that, Matt, is that we've got quite a few very, very new and green Conservative
42:13MPs around Kent now.
42:16Tom Sougan hat is the one that really stands out as someone who might have ambitions within
42:22the Conservative Party.
42:23How realistic is it that we might see him?
42:25We know he's got ambitions, because he did stand for the leadership last time round and
42:29fell short.
42:30He's definitely going to put his hat in the ring.
42:32I mean, I'd bet money that he does that.
42:36There might be some Conservative MPs betting money.
42:38Yes, they do have form for it.
42:41But I just suspect the Tories are going to go to the right to try and placate that wing
42:46and try and claw back some support.
42:50Although reform have only got 13 seats, or whatever it may be at the moment, that's millions
42:55of votes they've had across the country, so the Tories are going to be so mindful of that.
43:00So I don't think Tougan Hat will meet the criteria for that Tory party, the way it's
43:04going to go.
43:05Sorry, just to say, talking of votes, what's going to be really interesting is Zakir pledged
43:10very early on about proportional representation and banging the job about that.
43:15Looking at the figures tonight, might you go back on that?
43:18First-past-the-post has worked for them very well tonight, hasn't it?
43:20Very much so.
43:21Absolutely.
43:22Your point about the Conservatives potentially moving to the right, the really interesting
43:25figure there is Katie Lamb, isn't it, in the wheel, former adviser to Boris Johnson, former
43:29adviser to Suella Braverman, a rising star, do you think?
43:33Yeah, possibly.
43:34Not this time round, but certainly one for the future.
43:37And might well find herself in a shadow role.
43:39I would think so.
43:40Over a bit of time.
43:41I would think so.
43:42I mean, it depends who the leader is and which way they want to go, but definitely one to
43:47watch.
43:48Definitely.
43:49OK.
43:50Well, so Cameron, your experience tonight, what's the one memory you have from the floor
43:55down there that you're going to take with you from this evening?
43:58The memory from the floor is the...
44:01It was just exciting.
44:03Even though we got the results at, what was it, about 4.00, 5.00 in the morning?
44:07Just before 5.00 o'clock in the morning.
44:09Just before 5.00 o'clock in the morning.
44:11So we're there already from well before 10.00 o'clock.
44:13The time just went by.
44:15It was...
44:16We had stories coming in from all across the county, all across the land.
44:20And I believe we're heading over to...
44:22We're going over to Canterbury now.
44:24Declaration of the result for the election of a Member of Parliament for Herne Bay and
44:29Sandwich.
44:30I, Tricia Marshall, being the Acting Returning Officer at the above election, do hereby give
44:37notice that the number of votes recorded for each candidate at the said election is as
44:44follows.
44:45Barrett, Thea, Green Party, 3,529.
44:52Cohen, Angie, Liberal Democrats, 2,709.
45:11Gale, Roger, The Conservative Party candidate, 17,243.
45:22Randall, Amelia, Reform UK, 10,602.
45:38Whitehead, Helen, Elizabeth, Labour Party, 14,743.
45:52The number of ballot papers rejected was 196.
45:59The electorate was 77,869.
46:04Ballot papers issued, 49,042.
46:08And the turnout was 63%.
46:12And I do hereby declare that Roger Gale is duly elected.
46:22Acting Returning Officer, ladies, gentlemen, good morning.
46:29May I first thank the returning officer and the constabulary who looked after us and kept
46:38us safe.
46:39And on behalf of all the candidates, can I thank the presiding officers at the polling
46:44station and their teams.
46:46And those of you, bless you, who've worked so hard through the night on not one but two
46:52ballots.
46:53We really do appreciate the work that you've done and the speed and the efficiency.
46:59It was a great privilege to me to be the only Member of Parliament for North Sandwich.
47:12I'm humbled by the trust that people have placed in me in Hernday and Sandwich and West
47:22Thanet.
47:23I won't let you down.
47:26But I would like to say before I go any further at all how absolutely delighted I am on behalf
47:36of the people of Sandwich and Little Stourn that we learned this morning that their former
47:43Member of Parliament, Craig McKinley, is being made a peer in the Dissolution Honours.
47:54We have a job of work to do.
47:56We're going to get on and do it.
47:59I would like to thank my, I was going to say opponents, but my friends who shared the hustings
48:06platforms with me.
48:08They were clean, they were courteous, they were constructive, and how, in my view, politics
48:14ought to be played.
48:22There are certain people on my team you'd expect me to thank, and I would wish to anyway.
48:27My agent, Debbie Hill, is now a veteran of a number of these, and she's kept us on the
48:33track legally and physically throughout all of those elections.
48:38Debbie, thank you so much.
48:41My campaign manager, George Carp, has been superbly dedicated and loyal to me personally
48:52and to the team, and has run for us a fantastic campaign.
48:58Thank you, George.
49:00And all of those others who turned out rain and shine for six weeks and made this work
49:07for us again, thank you.
49:12I've said I'm gratified I never wanted to be elected with the votes of anybody who supported
49:21Nigel Farage.
49:23I'm gratified that I've managed to achieve that.
49:27Thank you so much.
49:39And now it's back to work and get on with the job.
49:41Thank you very much indeed.
49:51Thank you.