Kent Politics Show Special: Election 2024 (07:34-08:16)
Watch back KMTV's live coverage of the UK's 2024 General Election results.
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00:00Good morning. And happy breakfast time. You might be tucking into your bacon and eggs
00:11at this moment in time. And if you are, if you've had the extreme pleasure of being able
00:15to get some sleep overnight, then what you have missed so far is that Labour have won
00:19the general election. They've won 11 seats in Kent, including unseating Damien Green
00:25from Ashford, including winning Dartford, Gravesham, all three Medway seats. It's been
00:31a very, very big night. And it's also been a very big night for us at KMTV. I was observing
00:39earlier on to Matt Ramsden, the senior editor at the Kent Messenger Group, that there aren't
00:44many news organisations that take on the challenge of being live all through the night. It's
00:49a great privilege to be involved in coverage like this. And it's part of KMTV's mission
00:55that you've been capturing in a documentary behind the scenes while we've been on air
01:00and in all of the build-up. Tell us a little bit more about that.
01:02That's true. So Isabel Miller, who is our head producer for KMTV Creative, has been
01:07developing this documentary, just really capturing everything that has gone into the production
01:14of tonight. The, you know, the booking of the guests, the organising everybody to be
01:21at all of the counts, the amazing set that we have produced by our graphics producer,
01:26Roger Andrews, who's done the set, who's also done all the rolling graphics on screen this
01:32evening. You know, pulling all of that resource together. I'm going to say limited resource
01:38as well, because local television, local media, the challenges that those face are well documented.
01:46But also we rely so heavily on students as well. And this is out of term time. And we've
01:53been really fortunate. You were saying earlier on about what was the experience like in the
01:58count for me. And that was, you know, it was talking about as, like you said, it's a privilege.
02:04But it's an incredible opportunity for the students and the young reporters at the other
02:1017 counts that we, or the other 17 constituencies, all across the county, and our studio here,
02:18our studio at the University of Kent at Medway, to be at the forefront of a quite historic
02:27event as well.
02:30And we've seen on camera tonight, reporting live from counts, people that were still undergraduate
02:34students who are still waiting to graduate. This wonderful graphic was made by someone
02:38who graduated very recently from the University of Kent. It is, it's really something quite
02:43remarkable, isn't it?
02:44Yeah, it's a huge achievement. And when we did this five years ago, it was the same.
02:50But the scale that we've done on this occasion, and the production value is something else,
02:57in my very humble opinion. And the students, whether they're year in production students,
03:05whether they're Centre for Journalism students, BBC apprentices that also train at Centre
03:12for Journalism, they've all had a part to play in that, and a really crucial part. We
03:17could not have done this without them. And obviously, our full time team at KMTV as well.
03:24What's that documentary going to be used for? Obviously, we can, we'll sit around, we'll
03:28watch it, we'll feel very proud of ourselves. But what value does it have beyond that?
03:31I think it, especially for the local, you know, we keep coming to this point of hyperlocal
03:36serving our local audience, we've got a very, we've got, you know, as we've seen tonight,
03:42there is a range of communities across the county that we seek to reflect and represent
03:48and make sure that their views and opinions resonate. And this documentary is a way of
03:54showcasing that. It's a way of showcasing what you can do with a group of determined
04:02creatives, journalists, to serve that community and show them, you know, bring them those
04:13really important stories, as they're coming through live, you know, pre record and live,
04:20both different challenges, but to do it live at all those counts, and the technicalities
04:24that go into that is quite extraordinary. And that's, as I was saying, an experience
04:30for everyone involved to really take away. And for those young students who are aspiring
04:36to go into the industry, great thing for their CVs.
04:39It brings up opportunities. And for people from non typical media backgrounds, we've
04:43got the ITM, we won't give them too much of a plug, but the person who was doing this
04:46for ITV tonight, obviously, one of our former KMTV journalists now working for a national
04:52audience as well. So yeah, I mean, it's there's a huge benefit there. Something that really
04:57is quite special for Kent.
04:58Yeah, absolutely. And I think it's also just to plug another aspect tonight that's really
05:05exciting that will be going on behind the scenes at the University of Kent at Medway
05:11studio is news nuggets. So this is a scheme that we're looking to, to educate young people
05:21about local democracy, about local issues, public affairs, and primary school students
05:28as well. And so we have a couple of news nuggets from Medway schools being shown around now
05:34behind the scenes, seeing what is going on and what goes into you know, how the sausage
05:40gets made in media, but also a dangerous thing to reveal very often is there been one important
05:46thing to do for children around Medway? Well, we'll look forward to seeing that documentary.
05:52In the meantime, back to the election, of course, we've had some really big results
05:57here. And they have included some big scalps in Canada, we can hear now from one of them
06:03Raymond Chisholm, a former leadership candidate for the Conservative Party who lost his Gillingham
06:08and Raynham seat today, we can hear from him now.
06:11The people have spoken today, and I respect that. Of course, I'm hugely disappointed and
06:15I'm disappointed for my brilliant local team, who've done a terrific job. But the reality
06:19is, when you have a national swing, we saw it in 97. You know, we can run the most brilliant
06:25campaigns which we have done, but a brilliant local agent, Martin Potter and the team, but
06:30the national trends and national trends and, you know, and I think it's hasn't gone our
06:35way. But we'll go back, we'll regroup, we'll come back, and we'll win.
06:43I would love to come on your show next week, and after some reflection, and go through
06:47that. Tonight, I just wanted to say, well, I think there's a number of things which we
06:51could have done differently. But I think there's a time and a place for that. Tonight is important
06:56to congratulate my successor. I think it's, Richard Sunak won't be there long to look
07:03at the direction of his party. I think the fact is, my message to the Conservative Party
07:07is this, come together. You know, be an inclusive party. You know, it's go out there, let's
07:13go out there, let's regain trust in British politics. And I know if we do that, hold Labour
07:19to account, we can win. Well, look, I think at one stage, I was looking at leadership
07:23myself in 2022. No, that was 2022. But look, what I would say is, leadership need to better
07:28engage with their members of Parliament across the board. And I think lessons need to be
07:32learned. I think there is a real issue and a point that needs to be looked at where the
07:37leadership of parties need to better engage with their members of Parliament, you know,
07:43and their councillors. Members of Parliament connect with the public, so when you're developing
07:46policy, and I've raised that with the Prime Minister on the floor of the House, you know,
07:50it's engage with your members of Parliament when you're shaping policy. So do you think
07:53you weren't listened to? Well, I think that, you know, the leadership could have better
07:57engaged with their members of Parliament, who across the board, across the board, better
08:02engaged with their members of Parliament across the board who are connected to the public
08:05in shaping policy. And I think if we, if the leadership had done that, we may be in a different
08:09position today. What about the impact of reform? And where do you want to see the party? Well,
08:13I think the look, I think the question on that on reform, it's it's let's deal with
08:17it head on. The fact is, you know, many of those reform voters, you know, who voted for
08:21a reform and wanted tough legislation on illegal migration, you know, then have thrown
08:27the baby out the bathwater because by voting reform in areas like Gillingham and other
08:31seats in North Kent, they've allowed Labour in, a Labour government which will scrap the
08:36Rwanda scheme, you know, which would have been a key deterrent. So many of those reform
08:41voters who wanted tough legislation on illegal migration, they now have a Labour government
08:47which will do completely the opposite. But does the party, does the Conservative Party
08:50need to listen to those reform voters? Well, look, I would say the point I raised earlier,
08:54we need to go out there and engage and listen across the board. To the reformer and move
08:58in that direction. Look, I'm somebody who's been in the centre ground of politics all
09:02my life and I'm not going to simply nudge and move to different directions, you know,
09:07with regards to, you know, political trends. The fact is, you know, an inclusive... I would
09:13say an inclusive, I think there's many talents within the Conservative Party, but I'm not
09:17going to speculate on that tonight. I think, let me come on your show next week and we'll
09:20have a good conversation on that. But I think the Conservative Party is best served, centre
09:24ground Conservative Party. We've won it before with David Cameron in 2010, we've won it in
09:282015 and I think that's where we need to be. But we need to go out there, we need to engage,
09:34we need to listen and we need to learn lessons, the leadership at the top, in terms of how
09:38we better engage with our members of Parliament in terms of shaping, delivering policy. And
09:43that's my message to the Prime Minister. Many good colleagues, many good colleagues
09:47across the country, I've worked with them for 14 years, have lost their seats. Not because
09:51they weren't doing a great job, they were great members of Parliament. But I think the
09:54leadership needs to now urgently, quickly, swiftly ask those questions, is with regards
09:59to why did they not better engage with their members of Parliament who would have been
10:03able to guide them on how we shape policy and better engage with our electorate on the
10:09ground. I'm disappointed. I'm disappointed. I've always been straight on my media interviews,
10:19let me put it this way. I think with the Prime Minister, I voted for him twice in the leadership.
10:25Despite members of Parliament when they vote for different inducements for ministerial
10:29positions, I didn't. I asked the Prime Minister two things. I said, Prime Minister, I want
10:33you to do two things. He said, what's that? I said, appoint every minister on merit. Appoint
10:39I think we all know it's meritocracy and politics across the board. It's different factors come
10:45into account. I would say to the new leader, to the leader of the Labour Party, now incoming
10:49Prime Minister, ministers across the board should be appointed to merit. That best serves
10:53our country across the board. And then also inclusivity. You know, bring people together
10:58across the board in the common national interest. And I think the Prime Minister, you know,
11:02and that's somebody who supported him, you know, on two leadership contests. I think
11:06the conversations I had with him, I think he needs to reflect on those, to see if he
11:10could have done things differently to help win more seats, like Gillian Marenda. So it's
11:15always good to be with a big seat. Thank you.
11:19I would like to invite the returning officer, the High Sheriff of Kent, Dr Jill Farger,
11:25and the candidates for the Chatham and Aylesford constituency to join me on stage, please.
11:34Just offer you a quick question. One question.
11:38You said you wanted to trend the buck here in Gillingham and Redways. If you had done
11:43things differently, if you had responded to constituencies, made your constituencies see
11:47scene, because I spoke to everyone in the constituency, grandparents, parents, who say
11:51you haven't replied to them, you haven't made them feel seen. If you'd been more than a
11:54social media politician, could this have gone differently?
11:56Well, I think you should have been with me in Wigmore this evening when I spoke to people
12:00on the doorsteps out on Wigmore Road, and they said they very much appreciated all the
12:04great work I did for my constituency. And I think the same question I say to you, rather
12:09than looking at what some people may say on social media, go out there and speak to real
12:13people on the doorsteps. So I spoke to them, I did, and they very much appreciated my work.
12:18So nice to see you.
12:25I think for me, if you ask me, proudest achievements across the board, we've had over £31 million
12:32of investment in our local health services, £6.5 million for the ambulance facility,
12:37a mother and baby unit for perinatural mental health care. Across the board we've seen investment
12:42in our public services, we've seen 18 schools rated good in the local area, great education.
12:48So we've seen, across the board, investment and we've seen support for public services
12:54in Gillingham and Raynham. Thank you very much.
12:56Thank you.
13:00Nice to see you.
13:02Thank you.
13:04Cheers.
13:10Raymond Chishty there, just moments after losing his seat in Gillingham and Raynham.
13:14Joining me as well now is Gabriel Morris, local democracy reporter, who's been covering
13:19the counts in Maidstone and Faversham and Mid Kent today. Gabriel, your snap verdict
13:24on what it was like being there on those results.
13:27Very long. It was a long haul. Results expected to be in by 4.30. They didn't come in until
13:32about quarter to seven this morning, maybe about 6.30. That's all because of delays.
13:40The M2 closure, that was part of the reason it was delayed. Some of the results coming
13:45from the Swells side.
13:47You've got a huge constituency there.
13:49I didn't realise this before tonight, lots of the results get validated at different
13:54counts. So in Maidstone, they were validating counts for the Weald and they had to go in
13:59the back of a lorry or back of a van down to Ashford and some of our results were coming
14:04from the Sheppey camp and they had to come across. M2 was closed and they got lost. I
14:09think they had to go via Canterbury to get to us.
14:11We had 16 Tunbridge polling stations were counted here as well. So it's all the learning
14:17experience, isn't it?
14:18It was. And that delayed everything. Then they had recounts. Then there was an issue,
14:23I think they lost some ballot papers for a bit, then they found them again. So that all
14:27happened. And it was having an arring. We started the night. Conservatives were hopeful,
14:33hopefully optimistic with that exit poll that they were going to have both seats. Then they
14:38started hearing rumours, when they were looking at being counted, that actually Labour had
14:43just done it. And that was kind of the working theory up until the last 20 minutes. And then
14:48the results came through and the Conservatives did do it, I think in both seats by about
14:521,500 votes.
14:54And we're talking about big, big majorities being really sliced down. I mean, those seats
14:59are now officially marginals.
15:01Exactly, yeah.
15:02It's quite surprising, isn't it?
15:04Helen Wakeley has been very clear. She's blamed Reform UK for her loss in that big majority.
15:11She says she'll work to try and improve that going into 2029. Housing is a big issue there.
15:18There's big developments, both in Maidstone and Malling in Aldington. And also you've
15:23obviously got Lennon Heath in the Faversham and Mid Kent seats. And that's going to be
15:28a big issue. I was talking earlier to Helen Grant, the now MP for Maidstone and Malling.
15:35She says she's going to be on the opposition benches, ensuring that all the fields around
15:41Maidstone don't get concreted over, in her words.
15:44Could be an interesting time for Helen Grant. She was once upon a time a frontbench minister.
15:48She was sports minister with a thinned out Tory ranks. Maybe there'll be a place for
15:52her back on the frontbenches again on the opposition side of the House.
15:56Well, there's going to be fewer MPs for the Conservatives to choose from. We don't know
16:01what the pitch is going to look like. So yeah, she could definitely make her way down there.
16:05Helen Wakeley has obviously got ministerial experience as well in the shadow. Although,
16:10I'm sorry, in the last government, although maybe she'll want a bit of a break and a bit
16:15of a breather, because both Helens were very tired. They told me it's been a very long
16:20six weeks. They've been working hard. And they are one of the only Conservative MPs
16:25left in the country after last night's votes.
16:28Yes, absolutely. And I think we are able to hear now from, I think it's Kelly Tolhurst,
16:33who also spoke to us after her defeat. We've got Kelly Tolhurst coming up now.
16:39I mean, obviously, no one wants to lose. But the constituency has spoken. And we've now
16:47got a Labour MP. And I hope that they work really hard to represent my constituents,
16:52or my former constituents.
16:55Still win at heart, they are. How much did the reform vote make, per you, tonight?
16:59Well, obviously, what we've seen here tonight is that actually, the push to reform had a
17:05major impact on the Labour result in Rochester and Shrews. And obviously, that's disappointing.
17:11So I would say that, you know, that's been a massive impact. And my view would be, you
17:18know, is it really a vote for Labour? Or was it a vote for, you know, two other parties
17:22that combined were significantly more in the result?
17:26You spoke very passionately about a load of local issues.
17:29Yeah.
17:30There's obviously going to be three local councillors by-elections. You were a councillor
17:33before, and you're an MP. Is that something that you'd be interested in doing, entering
17:36politics again for your local council?
17:38I, obviously, as I said in my speech, you know, I'm from this constituency. I've lived
17:43here all my life, and I've got no intention of going anywhere. But, you know, I won't
17:47be making any promises tonight. But one thing I've had promised is that, you know, I've
17:51always stood up for my, this area, before I was an MP, before I was a councillor, and
17:57I will always stand up for my area. So whatever that form that might take, who knows? But,
18:03you know, the things that I campaigned on, the things I care about, are the things I
18:07campaigned and care about, not being the MP. So we'll see for the future. But I'll definitely
18:12be having something to say on a lot of the big issues that are affecting my home.
18:16And you obviously had James Beverley come down and had a visit with him during the campaign,
18:20but no visit from Rishi Sunak. He didn't come down to Kent at all. Do you think that was,
18:25did you feel let down by him as well? You know, Labour have really put Medway especially
18:30central to their campaigning.
18:32Well, I was running my own campaign, and we had a great team locally, and I knew what
18:38I wanted to talk to constituents about, and ultimately, you know, it was my name on the
18:43ballot paper. So it was for me to get out there and do what I needed to do, and talk
18:47to people, which I think I did. You know, I'm pleased with how the campaign went. You
18:53know, everyone was happy. You know, lots of, you know, lots of good responses out there,
18:58and lots of people that were actually very concerned about the potential of a big Labour
19:03majority. So it's going to be really interesting to see how that news tomorrow sticks with
19:07everyone.
19:08Was that a deliberate strategy? Did you say to the EPHQ, don't send anyone down, I want
19:13to campaign on a local...
19:15No, no, no. So I have, I lost a by-election in 2014 against UKIP, and for the last, oh
19:21sorry, for the last four election campaigns, including this one, I run my own campaign.
19:27You know, I'm standing on a Conservative ticket, but, you know, I'm the local.
19:32Who the hell was having Rishi Sunak come and visit?
19:34To be honest with you, it wasn't something that I really sort of thought about, because
19:37ultimately, you know, local people want to see what you're talking about, you know, as
19:41a local candidate, and that's why I was focused on getting my message out, the things that
19:46I wanted to campaign on. And they're things that I believe in, and only because I've lost
19:51doesn't mean to say I don't believe in those issues.
19:54For the future of the party, should he retire?
19:55Yeah, where does the party go?
19:57You know, we wait to see. Obviously, I'm not now an MP, so I'll be assessing that.
20:04Is that his fault?
20:06Sorry Charlotte.
20:08Who would you like to see as the leader now?
20:10Who? I mean, who's won? Who's there? Who's left? Who knows? I mean, ultimately, that's
20:18something for tomorrow, not for tonight. But you know, I'm very proud to be a Conservative
20:23party.
20:24Do you blame the Prime Minister?
20:26You know, I blame a number of different things. But you know, obviously, what we saw here
20:30tonight, it was really clear that actually, you know, the rise in reform had a massive
20:36impact in the Medway seats and the results tonight.
20:40Does the party need to move towards reform?
20:43Well, at the moment, I can't answer that question, because obviously, we're having to look at
20:47it from a national perspective. But ultimately, you know, people express, you know, unhappiness
20:54with us. And, you know, that's been reflected in the result.
20:58And the timing of the election? Are you happy with that?
21:01Election? Is there any other good time for an election? You know, we could have had an
21:07election, I mean, some people thought it was going to be in May. So, you know, election
21:12now, election then, who knows? Ultimately, this is the result today. And we move forward
21:18from that. And you know, I'm, as I say, I'm a proud member of the Conservative party.
21:22I'm proud to stand, I've been proud to stand on a Conservative ticket for the last nine
21:27years. And...
21:29So you wouldn't, you wouldn't go to reform?
21:31Oh, absolutely not.
21:32Can I just ask you a question?
21:33That's it really, I want to go.
21:34Can I just ask you about the Dockyard?
21:35Oh, yeah.
21:36Yeah, I just want to ask about the Dockyard. Just in terms of Labour, obviously, they kind
21:40of, the Labour council, flipped back on that, they went back on their word.
21:43Yeah.
21:44Do you, are you worried about the future of the Dockyard? Are you worried about the fact
21:47that Mashabh Khan's now an MP and it's a Labour kind of landscape? Are you worried that it's,
21:52it's going to end up not the Dockyard?
21:54Yeah, absolutely, I'm worried. And so are the people that work there and the messages
21:59of support that I've had from not just my, well, my former constituency, but from other
22:05people, the other constituencies within Medway. You know, people are concerned about what
22:09the council have been planning. And also, I think one of the things that particularly
22:13is that throughout the campaign, the Labour Party and the candidates stayed silent on
22:17the fact of the Chatham Docks. You know, we do hear a lot about, you know, they're for
22:22the working people, but actually when they had an opportunity to back working people
22:26and save jobs, they zeroly failed to do that. So, yeah, I am concerned and there is a lot
22:31of local people who are concerned about that too.
22:33Kelly Tolhurst, one of quite a number of Conservative MPs, former Conservative MPs,
22:43now looking for new jobs, looking for new roles. And of course, possibly most prominently
22:47among those, Rishi Sunak himself, likely to be looking for something new. What do we think?
22:53He's just arrived in London. We're expecting to see footage of him quite soon going to
22:57Buckingham Palace, tendering the government's resignation to the King. But what about him
23:02himself? What do we think will be next? Well, we've seen his flight from North Yorkshire
23:07landing at Northolt just a few moments ago, making his way back to 10 Downing Street.
23:14Lots of speculation that he'll be taking another flight across the Atlantic, new job, possibly
23:20in the US. He's had apparently lots of ambitions for Silicon Valley related work. We're going
23:29to have to see what's going to come clear this morning. We're going to have speeches
23:35from 10 Downing Street related to that. In terms of new jobs here in Kent, it was quite
23:41revealing, that interview with Kelly Tolhurst, where I put to her, there's going to be three
23:46by-elections now for those three Medway seats. Would she be tempted to go back and be a councillor?
23:54And there wasn't a no. And there was a lot of passion, and especially in her conceding
24:02speech, concession speech, where she was talking about those local issues that she is really
24:08passionate about. So I don't think that is off the cards. Her returning to politics,
24:13not front line in Westminster, but maybe front line down at Gunwulf.
24:17Chatham Docks is a big issue. We know Labour's stance isn't exactly clear locally on what
24:25they want to do with Chatham Docks. They used to be a lot more on the Save the Chatham Docks
24:30campaign. Now they are more in favour of that direction towards having that regeneration
24:37there, but potentially up to 800 jobs being lost there. Kelly Tolhurst, Conservative,
24:43Graham Collie in the same seat, he was campaigning there, and even the Greens were all campaigning
24:49to save Chatham Docks. So now a Labour councillor, a Labour MP as well, it does seem that that
24:55campaign is moving in one direction. And there was a lot of cheers when she mentioned Chatham
25:00Docks and her fight to save those jobs at Chatham Docks when she mentioned that. So
25:06that obviously very revealing about the constituency. Was it enough to prevent her from going into
25:11post? Obviously not. Obviously not. And in terms of Rishi Sunak, he said that he'd stay
25:16as an MP, but it's a difficult position for him to hold for another five years as what
25:21is very soon to be an ex-leader of the Conservative Party. I don't think anyone's really expecting
25:26him to stay, are they? Well, it's most likely. I don't think he, as far as we're aware of,
25:31I don't think he's resigned as Conservative leader quite yet, but we'd probably expect
25:36to see that coming. That's usually the trend. A leader who loses a party would usually
25:42happen, although there's no guarantee he may choose to step on. But I think that would
25:46be a pretty untenable situation for him to carry on. Then there's the question of do
25:51you carry on being an MP, which could mean a by-election for his Richmond seat, I think
25:56it is, very shortly. If I was going to put money on it, I think he'll stay for a little
26:01bit to see a new leader come into place. Then maybe in a year's time we might see him disappearing.
26:08What will be incredibly fascinating as well will be to see in the new-look Conservatives
26:15how much they put Medway at the forefront of their new plan to rebuild. As we've said
26:22a number of times, Medway very much central to Labour's vision, Labour's plans. They've
26:29targeted it in the local elections, they've won considerably, they've targeted it here
26:34in the general election, and they've sweeped all three seats. Will the Conservatives look
26:40to win those back in five years' time? We're going to have to wait and see.
26:46Another MP who has stood down, didn't lose today because they'd already decided they
26:51wouldn't stand, is Tracey Crouch. You've been speaking to her. What do you get a sense of?
26:57She was very frustrated at the timing of the election, wasn't she? Did she talk to you about that?
27:01She didn't talk about the timing of the election. I think she's been very open and on the record
27:07about several plans that she wanted through, her football bill being key with that, and
27:15Nathan Gamester, who was going to be running in her seat, said that he would push that
27:20through if he got elected. So there seemed to be, I would judge, she's very frustrated
27:31is the perfect way of putting it. She felt, again, we're talking about scripts and party
27:36lines, she did say she thinks it was more a vote for reform rather than a vote for Labour.
27:43She said that Tris Osborne, who's now taken over from her seat, is going to be shocked
27:50by the entree that he is going to be picking up. And to be fair to him, it's pretty big
27:57shoes to fill. She's served in many positions in government, has been very outspoken, had
28:03lots of achievements in the constituency as well. So he's going to have to do a lot to
28:11live up to that hype. And with Tracey Crouch as well, I think she did feel it was, like
28:23I said, reform rather than anything else. But she was ready to go and she said she was
28:29happy with what she's done, but she was ready to go.
28:31We're going to hear from her quite soon. But before we do, you tried to take a bit of a
28:35step back, very difficult to do in a situation where we've been on air since 10 o'clock and
28:40everything seems to come at you all at once. But taking a bit of a step back and looking
28:43at some of the more notable developments, some of the trends that have happened over
28:48now, what's caught your eye?
28:49There's been loads, and I think there's a lot of national stories that also relate to
28:55us here in the county. As we've obviously seen, Conservatives have their worst electoral
29:00performance in modern times. We've seen that across the county. The Commons will have more
29:06female MPs than ever before. We've seen here in Medway, two of the three female, several
29:13other female MPs taking over. Obviously the two Hellens where you were covering, Gabriel.
29:20Lib Dem leader said Davey saying it's the best electoral performance for a century.
29:26Tunbridge Wells, it's ever since I joined KMTV and when I was first based in that constituency,
29:33it has been going that way. Again, hyperlocal issues being at the centre of that. Now Lib
29:41Dems taking over that seat in one of the biggest stories of the night for us here. Reform UK
29:47and the Greens, also very pleased with their performances. As I said here in Medway, Reform
29:55third in all of those counts, doing very well in the vote share across the county.
30:04The House will also welcome the most independent MPs since 1950. Not something that we're seeing
30:11here in the county, but a very interesting takeaway. Lots of interesting takeaways, and
30:16I think many that we're going to be looking at over the coming weeks as we obviously go
30:23in and look at what that first period under a secure government will look like. There's
30:30that famous saying, the first 100 days, what will be achieved? Absolutely, and it's one
30:34of the kind of strange patterns of the night really. We're talking about a thumping majority
30:38for Labour tonight, but at the same time, a position where we're not really looking
30:43at a two party race anymore. Reform have had a very influential part of it tonight. As
30:50you said, Liberal Democrats performing better than they have done in a century, and they're
30:54going to have a big voice in Parliament. Do you think, Gabriel, that we're going to see
30:59actually some frustration from some of these smaller parties that they've attracted a lot
31:03of support, and our system doesn't necessarily reward them for it? I think I was speaking
31:09actually to, when I was at Maidstone morning count earlier, candidates and party members
31:15from the Green Party, from Reform UK. I'll start with the Green Party first. Actually,
31:21I think they'll be pleased with these four seats. It's actually a bit of a shock. That
31:25would be a bit of a shock for them. It's more than the exit poll predicted. The exit poll
31:30only predicted two seats, and they've doubled the exit poll. They've had a, Robbie might
31:35be able to tell me this, I think a Green MP for about the past 10 years in the Brighton
31:40In Brighton, that's the only seat they've had. So they've, in their eyes, would have
31:45done tremendously well, and they will say they've got that momentum. Stuart Jeffrey,
31:49the leader of Maidstone Borough Council now, he's a Green Party member, Green Party candidate
31:55for Maidstone as well. And you can see that momentum growing in areas, and maybe come
32:00to 2029, if that continues, that number could increase. And these smaller issues in Parliament
32:07obviously is going to have some sort of influence. It's going to influence probably some greater
32:13Green policy. Then you've also got Reform, whose one of their biggest policies is on
32:18immigration. Now, the exit poll had them at 13. So far, they've only got four seats.
32:24There are only, I think, five or six seats left to declare. I don't quite know which
32:29seats there are and what way are predicted to be. So we'll have to stay tuned for that.
32:34But I think some of these seats will be the rural seats, which will take some time to
32:38come through, probably a couple down in Cornwall. I can't say. That's a map. But we can obviously
32:44have Nigel Farage now in Parliament. He obviously likes to have his views heard. And I think
32:51we will hear him quite a lot in Parliament, campaigning and trying to influence Labour
32:58to have a harder stance on immigration. And maybe that momentum could continue and they
33:05could see more seats. I mean, in Juningham and Rainham, they had around about 9,000,
33:108,000 votes, a lot more than I think many people expected in that constituency. And
33:18obviously, where I was today, it's Anne Whitacombe's former stomping ground. She's now a prominent
33:22member of Reform. And I was speaking there to the Reform candidates. And he actually
33:30thinks that Maidstone could see an increase and Faversham as well could see an increase
33:34in Reform voters come to the next election. But obviously, at the moment, the whole Reform
33:40UK, the idea of the party is because of the Conservative Party. They're against it. And
33:46if the Conservative Party changes, how well would a Reform party deal with that?
33:50OK, well, we can hear now from Tracy Crouch, who stood down from the Chatham and Aylesford
33:56seat before this election. We can hear what she had to say after the results were announced
34:00today.
34:01I mean, obviously, it's very disappointing, but also not necessarily the most surprising
34:07of outcomes. I think I'm disappointed for Chatham and Aylesford, not least because I
34:14don't actually think Labour won the seat. I think Reform won the seat for them. If you
34:18look at the scale of the Reform vote, I've seen some of the data coming back from the
34:22polling stations. It was very much previous Conservative voters in strong Tory wards that
34:28have voted Reform rather than going out and supporting the Labour Party. But as a consequence
34:33of that, they have woken up this morning with a Labour MP, and a Labour MP who stands for
34:38everything that is very different to what Reform voters want. So it is what it is, and
34:44that is democracy, but I think people may well end up regretting their decision.
34:48And that's obviously the technicalities of the voting this evening, but obviously there's
34:53Boris Johnson, there's trust, there's particularly, there's a whole litany of reasons. From, I
34:58imagine, going out on the doorstep with Nathan, what has been the reasons that the constituents
35:05here didn't vote for the Conservatives?
35:08Well, I have been on the campaign trail non-stop, actually, and much of it wasn't necessarily
35:13about personality politics, it was about things like the immigration issue, it was
35:18about this whole stopping the votes thing. People feel very angry about that, and I completely
35:23understand that. But the Conservative Party, during its time in office, has tried to tackle
35:28that issue, and it's been thwarted, often by the Labour Party, and of course by our
35:33court system. So I do think that people will sit there and reflect, you know, in a few
35:38months' time, maybe even a few years' time, and see that things that they thought that
35:41they were going to try and get through their vote tonight, is the complete opposite of
35:44what the outcome will be.
35:45And a couple more questions, just about your own, on secret to an end, big shoes to Frankfurt
35:52for Tristan, what words would you say to the incumbent, the new incumbent?
35:58So I wish Tristan all the best as the local MP, I mean I was very proud to represent Chatham
36:02and Aylesford for 14 years, I felt very humbled and very privileged to do so. You know, it
36:07is an honour, it is one that is bestowed on people, it's a huge responsibility. I think
36:12he's got, you know, a shock coming to the system as to how, what the volume of work
36:17is. But, you know, I wish him all the best, and I hope that he does a good job.
36:23And what are you going to miss most, or are you proudest of, of your time in office?
36:26I'm going to really miss the people. I think that, you know, I've loved being out on the
36:31streets, you know, I've loved sort of kind of talking to people, I've loved supporting
36:35people, you know, but, you know, we're, we are where we are.
36:44Well Cameron, it is essentially all over bar the shouting now, isn't it? Six seats left
36:48to declare, in the whole country. So people will be wondering what happens next. Rishi
36:55Sunak, as we know, is back in London. Can you talk us through what we're likely to expect,
37:00what we see later today?
37:01Well, what we can see on our screens from the national coverage is he has arrived at
37:06the Conservative Party HQ. He, what we also know is that when a party leader wins a majority
37:15they are invited by a sovereign, in this case King Charles III, to visit him and to form
37:22a new government. But first of all, the outgoing Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, I imagine after
37:28his trip to the Conservative Party HQ, no doubt to thank everybody for all their hard
37:33work, to say it's not been the night that they were hoping for. Once those pleasantries
37:39have happened, he will head to Buckingham Palace to tender his resignation. After that,
37:46the incoming Prime Minister, so Keir Starmer, making his way from his constituency, shorter
37:52journey obviously than Rishi Sunak coming down from the north of England, he will have
37:59an audience with the King and ask him to, if he can form a government. All the while
38:08there are teams of staff, of aides, who are working on this transition plan. It's not
38:19a reactive moment. They will have been considering this. We know that the private secretaries
38:28who are a key part of the civil service, they will have already been talking to members
38:35of the Labour Party for quite some time, as well as the other parties as well. All the
38:40parties have this discussion of whether they will take over, what their first day will
38:46look like, and getting straight into it. So it will be two-footed right into governing
38:55at that point, putting the Cabinet together as well. We've obviously heard a lot about
39:02the various Shadow Cabinet members. We've had lots of them come to Kent as well over
39:06the six weeks of the campaign. But some of those members of the Shadow Cabinet haven't
39:14won their seats today, and that's going to be really interesting to see. Already a reshuffle,
39:18and will some of those really kind of concreted positions, if you will, of people that we've
39:26seen put in front of the media, doing interviews, will they be moved around? And we were talking
39:35earlier on as well, speculating about any of the new Kent Labour members of Parliament,
39:45whether they might get some interesting positions. We've heard about Lauren Edwards, former
39:50Bank of England worker. Could she get a position? We don't know. That is all going to be part
39:56of the reshuffle that Sir Keir Starmer and his team will be working on this morning and
40:01over the coming days.
40:03One of the things we do know is that Keir Starmer said that he was going to push back
40:08the summer recess of Parliament. He wants to give himself time to start getting an agenda
40:12together, start making the change that we've heard so much about. Is there any indication
40:17at this point about what the priorities in those first hundred days that you've mentioned
40:21might be?
40:22Well, it's obviously been a lot on change. And what I also must say about the technicalities
40:29of what goes on are that MPs are due to be sworn in five days after the election has
40:34taken place. So that will be this coming Tuesday. This will be done. And it's also done in order
40:42of seniority and the Commons will elect its new Speaker as well. In terms of policy, I
40:52think the big one that a lot of people are going to be looking at is the private schools
40:59VAT pledge. That was hugely popular and we'll see how quickly that is put in place.
41:08Excellent. Thank you very much for that, Cam. We are, I think, ready to go back to Abby
41:15in the KMTV studio who has some new guests. Abby, how are things going over there?
41:21Good.