Pollsters are undecided about whether Labour or the Conservatives are polling better in Herne Bay and Sandwich
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00:00Outspoken and long-standing, Sir Roger Gale has been on the front line of Kent politics
00:05since 1983. Now the 80-year-old Conservative candidate is fighting his ninth election battle
00:13in the county, this time for the newly formed Herne Bay and Sandwich Seat. But with some
00:19polls pinning the constituency as a toss-up between the Conservatives and Labour, Gale
00:25is laying out his pitch for undecided voters.
00:29I think the voters in Herne Bay and Sandwich have a very clear choice. Somebody who they
00:36know can do the job, is committed to the things that they want to be committed to, in terms
00:42of Manston Airport, in terms of protecting the rural environment, in terms of protecting
00:47the future for their children and their grandchildren. Or the alternative which is very untried and
00:54represents a party that has no clear aims other than to obtain power.
00:59Down the road in Minster, Labour candidate Helen Whitehead is out canvassing. The deputy
01:05leader of Thanet District Council has had quite a storied career herself, putting her
01:10public sector knowledge at the forefront on the campaign trail.
01:14I've been a deputy headteacher, FEN related. I've worked for the NHS. I've worked for most
01:23public services. So I have an excellent understanding of where we are facing issues and how much
01:30we need change across those systems. I think from that perspective, it's essential to have
01:37a new voice because we have had an extended period of continual decline in our public
01:43services and I'm someone who has worked within them, seen that and knows how to change it.
01:48Meanwhile, out on the high street in Birhington-on-Sea, voters are beginning to make up their minds.
01:55I probably would have voted reform but I'm frightened if I vote for reform that there
02:02won't be enough people doing it and Labour will sneak in and that's my biggest worry.
02:08But with everything that's been going on over the last 12 years, I couldn't possibly vote
02:14for the Tories again. I have voted for them in the past, but I couldn't possibly do that now.
02:19I'm leading Conservative, yeah, because I think things are getting better. Things are
02:26getting better. Inflation is back down.
02:28Conservative.
02:29Conservative. Obviously, Roger Gale has been the MP here for quite some time.
02:33Yeah, because I like Roger Gale. I think he's done a lot of good and I don't want Labour
02:40getting too many seats.
02:42With such a big constituency encompassing so many different views, it remains unclear
02:47which direction the seat could go come polling day.
02:50I'm Oliver Leader-the-Sax for KMTV in Herne Bay and Sandwich.
02:55And for a full list of candidates in all of Kent's seats, just go to Kent Online.
03:01Here in Herne Bay and Sandwich, it's Thea Barrett for the Green Party, Angie Cohen for
03:06the Liberal Democrats, Roger Gale for the Conservative and Unionist Party, Amelia Randall
03:11for Reform UK and Helen Whitehead for the Labour Party.