Voters won’t be fooled again


DECEMBER’S general election is set against the background of Brexit and a divided country. Doug Kempster takes an overview and offers this assessment…


POLLSTERS are warning that Britain’s third General Election in just four years is a journey into the unknown. With traditional political tribal


unity in meltdown over Brexit, and voters sickened by a seem- ingly endless diet of inaction, con- descension, spin and evasion from Westminster, those who make a living predicting the mood of the nation are almost at a loss. Most pundits agree the Decem-


ber 12 poll could be the most sig- nificant since the end of WWII. Upon it hangs not only the UK’s future relationship with the Euro- pean Union but, potentially, an- other move for Scottish independence and the end of the Westminster political system as we know it. Sir David Butler, who has 70


years’ experience at the polls, could only rejoice that he was no longer in the business of forecast- ing the outcome of elections when the latest ballot was announced. And Philip Cowley, Professor


of Politics at Queen Mary Univer- sity, London, cited


a


“youthquake”, collapse of party loyalty, broken promises and tac-


tical voting as the reasons why reading the tea leaves has become so difficult. In Maidstone and Malling, tra-


ditional true-blue heartlands, however, even the most cautious commentators predict the Con- servatives will hold power. But respected pollster Martin Baxter at Electoral Calculus anticipates three of our four MPs will get a drubbing in terms of their voter share. Maidstone and The Weald’s


Helen Grant (pictured above with supporters) could see her 34.2% of 2017 slashed to 16.3%,


Malling’s Tom Tugendhat faces a fall from 41.3% to 28.5%, and Mid Kent’s Helen Whately is pre- dicted to see a drop from 35% to 28.8%. Only Aylesford’s Tracey


Crouch is expected to buck the trend, seeing her share rise from 2017’s 23.3% to 25.3% this time round. One party insider suggests it’s no coincidence that she is widely perceived to be the local MP least likely to toe the party line. The struggle both incumbent


and would-be MPs face is gaining traction, with a politically-savvy


Candidates set out stalls


MAIDSTONE and Malling can- didates were quick to welcome news of another poll. Incumbent MPs Tracey Crouch,


Helen Grant and Tom Tugendhat all supported the move as the only way to break the parliamen- tary deadlock over Brexit. Labour had yet to declare its


candidates as Downs Mail went to press. But the Lib Dems say they will


be fielding James Willis against Mrs Grant in Maidstone and The Weald. The Brexit Party’s Peter Reeves and Green Party’s Stuart Jeffery will also contest the seat. Mr Willis told Downs Mail:


“Maidstone and the Weald is a great place to work and live, and I want to champion that, not sim- ply as a face at the odd photo op- portunity but rolling my sleeves up and getting stuck in.” In Faversham and Mid Kent, MP Helen Whately (pictured)


26 Maidstone December 2019


faces the Green Party’s Hannah Temple and Lib Dem Hannah Perkin, who will campaign for a second referendum on Brexit. Mrs Parkin said: “Thousands of young people who could not


vote in 2016 should be given the chance to decide, and we all know much more now about the serious damage leaving the EU will do to the UK economy. “A second referendum is es-


sential.” The Green Party’s April Clark


will be challenging Mr Tugend- hat’s majority in Tonbridge and Malling. She said: “Brexit has proven to


be a vast distraction, a huge waste of time, energy and money – all of which are being poured – not into trying to improve our country and the lives of its peo- ple – but to limit the damage of Brexit itself. “Instead, I am fighting this


election for our climate – the biggest emergency we are facing. Over half of voters polled said climate change would affect how they voted, rising to 74% of under -25s.”


but disillusioned electorate who, on a local level, are wrestling with congested roads, over-develop- ment, and swelling GP waiting lists. These voters can spot spin and “cleverly-worded” non-an- swers and publicity stunts at 50 paces. Political observers in both Maidstone and Malling concede that a candidate of action, who can prioritise the thoughts, fears and feelings of the average person in the street above the political machinations of the Westminster bubble, can count on success in the December election... regard- less of what pollsters predict.


RESULTS IN 2017


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