By Local Democracy Reporter Daniel Esson
Many spent the warm and bright Kentish evening of June 20 watching England draw with Denmark at the Euros.
A lucky few of us however were packed into general election hustings to watch aspiring parliamentarians put their case to the people – well, some of the people – of East Thanet.
The event was held at Olby’s in Margate – a charming “soul cafe” near the Turner Contemporary.
The constituency has been dismembered and reassembled in the most recent boundary review. The Isle of Thanet used to be two constituencies – North and South. However, it’s now East Thanet (comprising mostly Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate) and Herne Bay and Sandwich (taking in part of Margate, Birchington and Westgate).
Former South Thanet MP Craig Mackinlay returned to parliament in May following a shock battle with sepsis which saw him undergo the amputation of his arms and legs.
However, on the day of his comeback the election was called, and days later he announced that given his current health, he felt it would be impossible to campaign. As such, the Tories put up Helen Harrison for the seat.
Labour’s Polly Billington is the favourite to win the constituency on July 4 under the most recent research from YouGov and the poll of polls, Electoral Calculus.
On a neighbouring street, I saw a picture advertising the apparent candidacy of one Rick Astley for the seat – pledging to never “give you up, let you down or desert you”.
Despite being hosted in the downstairs concert room of the restaurant, there was no impromptu gig from the man himself, though many more explicitly political forces were well represented.
There are eight candidates in East Thanet, but not all were present.
Paul Webb, of Reform, was in attendance, as was Steve Roberts, of the Greens, the aforementioned Polly Billington, of Labour, and the independents Paul Holton and Grahame Birchall.
The Conservative candidate, Helen Harrison, fresh from her October defeat in the Wellingborough by-election in Northamptonshire, was not in attendance.
Nor was Liberal Democrat man Jai Singh, or the third independent for the seat, Mo Shafaei, though all were invited.
Asked why Ms Harrison did not attend, a spokesman for the East Thanet Conservatives Association said: “Helen is attending hustings in Ramsgate, Broadstairs and Margate over the next two weeks so residents in all three towns can hear from her directly. Helen’s been knocking on doors and speaking to voters every day since she was selected as our candidate.”
Mr Singh said he was unable to attend due to a prior family commitment.
The event was hosted by Social Enterprise Kent CIC, and was focused on the parties’ positions on the voluntary sector, and community and social enterprises.
Hosted by Jo Verney of the Future Economics Alliance – which stresses the importance of the voluntary sector – this event was subdued and civilised, especially by the standards of local politics.
Most questions had a focus on the voluntary and charity sector, for which all candidates expressed their praise.
In a recurring theme, local Green candidate Mr Roberts (pictured) early on in the night argued for how Green policy will benefit local charities and volunteer organisations.
The Green Party will scrap VAT on “cultural activities”, he stated. “That lowers the price of everything from music tickets to tickets here at Olbys. That makes it more viable, makes it more accessible for everybody.”
He also stressed the Greens’ plans for a wealth tax. However, this provided an early opportunity for Labour’s Ms Billington to come out swinging.
“We need to be realistic about things like this – if you vote for a wealth tax that won’t happen because the Greens won’t get in, you will get a Tory government,” she said.
Reform’s Mr Webb stressed that charities and voluntary organisations are “taxed to death for everything they do” and the only way to support local charities is “to lower taxes for everybody from the working person to businesses”.
Local independent Mr Holton also praised the role of charities in the UK’s ailing economy, arguing “they prop up against a lot of the failings and misgivings of our government for the past 14 years now”.
The emotive issue of local poverty and foodbank usage was also raised, with the Greens’ Mr Roberts saying: “Foodbanks are a disgrace, honestly we should be ashamed of ourselves as a society.”
Mr Webb argued the solution to poverty was not more state support, but lower taxes: “It’s quite simple really, we need to give people the opportunity to keep the money they earn.”
He added his support to his party’s policy of raising the income tax payment threshold to £20,000.
Low tax arguments were a staple of his throughout the night; he later said: “Pretty much everyone’s talked about giving money back to people, how about we just don’t take it from them in the first place?”
Mr Holton made a point that as a child his family used both foodbanks and clothing banks, adding he felt the situation in the “last 14 years has got absolutely ridiculous”.
The constituency includes Cliftonville West – one of the most deprived wards in the country.
Water pollution and environmentalism were also hot topics.
“I’m a surfer myself – the hair may be a giveaway – so I see this up close,” said Mr Webb on questions of water quality.
Mr Holton criticised the country’s water infrastructure and stresses placed upon it by “overdevelopment” in Thanet – nodding to the issue of local housebuilding, which was mentioned only in passing throughout the evening.
“The only solution to stop Southern Water from dumping raw sewage into our seas is to bring them back into public ownership,” argued Mr Roberts.
Keen not to be outflanked on eco credentials, Ms Billington said: “I’ve been an environmentalist all my life.”
Though she did not mention renationalising water firms, she slated them openly for their poor environmental record, adding: “We can take those people to court, make them face criminal charges, force them not to have their bonuses.”
Local independent candidate Mr Birchall made a point of reiterating his key policy priority numerous times, that “80% of local taxes go to Maidstone – to Kent County Council” so we should leave the clutches of county control – a ‘Thexit’ you might say.
Responding to a question on arts and culture, he said: “We have to spend more locally from the arts in our Thanet schools. The only way this will happen is for we in Thanet to take control of our schools and funding and the only way that will happen is to leave KCC.”
On another question, he stressed: “Thanet needs to be responsible for its own economic development, which is why Thanet needs to separate from Kent County Council.”
He argued for Thanet to become a mayoral authority with a directly elected mayor, with no connection to the county council – the upper tier authority in the rest of Kent.
Thanet secessionism from Kent however is a niche cause – he received applause for his criticism of the current government but it seems doubtful the Isle’s independence will be the key issue at the election.
In a summing-up statement at the end, Mr Birchall said: “My campaign is not something that’s going to end after this election, unlike some of the candidates here who are probably going to take the four years to recover.”
Given the limited success of independent candidates for Parliament around the country, the cause of Thanet secession may have a long slog ahead of it.
“I used to be a journalist for a very long time and I enjoyed it until I realised that I was reporting on injustice every day without doing anything about it, that’s why I got into this game,” said Ms Billington.
“This is not about how you feel, this is about how you wake on Friday, July 5.”
Mr Roberts from the Greens, presumably in reference to Labour’s ‘Change’ slogan, implored the room: “Now is not the time for compromise – now is the time for real change, which is why I urge you all to vote Green.”
Mr Holton (pictured) said: “I’m not here for the fame or the fortune, I don’t even want a cabinet post if I get in.”
In a similar vein, Mr Webb said: “All these professional politicians that you hear from every day of the week, they’re all telling you what they think. How about we listen to what the people want for once?
“The only way we are really going to save broken Britain is if you vote for Reform because nothing else has worked in the last 30 years.”
The main recurring theme throughout the night was contempt for the Conservative government and the state of affairs in Thanet under their reign.
Despite their differences, every candidate was met with varying degrees of praise when they slated the incumbent government, especially on the favoured topics of the economy and environment.
Mr Webb, who spent the evening attacking the Conservatives from the right, received applause when he noted the current government’s representative “couldn’t be bothered to turn up”.
He got further applause when arguing “this Tory government has absolutely wrecked pretty much everything in this country in the last 14 years”.
He did however prompt a rare heckle of “rubbish” when, on the topic of benefits and disability-related spending, he said money needs to go to ”the right people who deserve it”.
As with all such events, people who already had a political corner to fight were overrepresented.
The undecided voters of East Thanet did not seem to be in attendance.
The event may have seemed so civilised, and heckling so minimal, because nobody present was batting for the Tories.
If the Conservative candidate Helen Harrison attended perhaps the mood would have been more febrile.
Would a different audience be any less incensed by the state of the country and the county? It seems hard to believe. With the state of the national polls and the vibe in the room that night, the question doesn’t seem to be who will claim the seat, but how badly the Tories will lose.
