Fresh blood competes for Tunbridge Wells
Behind the facade of a sleepy spa town, and perennially disgusted complainer to the national press, the race to win the hearts and minds of Tunbridge Wells is hotting up.
Three new candidates from Labour, the Liberal Democrats, and the Conservative Party are standing, each bringing fresh enthusiasm and drive to what was considered a safe Tory seat.
“This is new, it’s an opportunity for three brand new candidates from the three main parties to stand,” says Jacqui Jedrzejewski, Labour Party candidate, local councillor, and community nurse.
After two comfortable wins, where the electorate swung towards the Conservatives in the Labour landslide victories of 1997 and 2001, Archie Norman is not standing to be the Member of Parliament for the Kent constituency this time around.
“It’s certainly a help to us,” says Laura Murphy, the Liberal Democrat candidate. “You always have a chance, you can never guarantee a place is going to be a safe seat as you never know how people are going to vote on the day.”
- Altrincham and Sale West
- Keighley
She estimates that the absence of Norman’s name from ballot papers means as many as 2,000 votes are now up for grabs.
Greg Clark, who is standing for the Conservatives, adds: “Archie Norman’s got a good record in the constituency … And quite a lot of people have supported Archie who may not consider themselves to be natural Conservatives because of his local focus.”
And those vying to replace Norman are trying to bring this local focus to their campaigns, with an inclusive, energetic and personal approach.
The first thing they are all keen to point out is that Tunbridge Wells is far from the sleepy spa town that many believe it to be.
“The demographics of Tunbridge Wells are changing. It has this image of being sleepy, but actually there are a lot of younger families coming in, a lot of young professionals coming in, of all sorts of different ethnic minorities,” notes Clark.
Murphy points out that there is also a far more edgy side to the town. “There’s a lot in Tunbridge Wells that outsiders do not realise, they see it superficially as this relatively prosperous ok town – it’s not.”
Of course, no one is claiming that Tunbridge Wells has the crime levels of Britain’s inner cities, but the fear that the rot is creeping in is something that residents, and voters, are expressing genuine concerns about.
Clark explains: “This is not the murder capital of Europe, it would be ridiculous to pretend that this isn’t anything other than a fantastic place to be. But because the quality of life is so high, people are rightly concerned that it should remain high. And in terms of the threats to the quality of life, vandalism, graffiti, car crime, disorder, these are the things that eat away at the fabric of our communities and the quality of life.
“[Graffiti] changes the feel of an area. An area that was a delightful, open, good strong community, if you’ve got graffiti everywhere there is a tangible change in how it feels. It feels more edgy, it feels a bit more threatening, and that eats away at people’s sense of quality of life.”
Murphy agrees: “19-year-olds are afraid to walk down the street at night, and 69-year-olds are scared to walk down the street at night.
“At some point you have to step in and say: ‘Enough is enough and we don’t want to slip any further,’ and it’s easier to do that early on than to let it slip.”
Each of the main parties makes its own case as to why voting for them is a step in the right direction. Clark points out that the Conservatives have plans to put 1,000 extra police officers on the streets in Kent – with around 100 more in the local area.
“100 police officers on the beat can cover a lot of ground. And if the word went out that a policeman could come round the corner, on a bike or on foot, at four in the morning I think there’d be a lot less [graffiti],” he explains.
The Lib Dems plan to “get the community galvanised”, Murphy says. To help the community help itself – to support each other, set up neighbourhood watch, to work in partnership with local agencies in their area.
But are things as bad as they are painted?
Labour’s Jedrzejewski points out that there are now more police on the streets, and with community support officers as well authorities are getting to know the culprits and root out the ringleaders.
“I think crime is being clamped down on locally,” she said.
“They’re down on these people, they know who they are, and they’re working with the parents – who have to take some responsibility for this – and going through ASBOs, which have been shown to work.”
But while crime and anti-social behaviour are areas the candidates diverge on, there is strong unity on other issues.
The Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Labour all point to transport and health care as issues that need to be addressed.
According to the latest figures, there are 18,397 households with a car and 16,315 with two or more cars in Tunbridge Wells. And when these are added to the number of visitors flowing into the area the road network is struggling.
And two roads in particular come in for criticism. The A21 and the A26. The A21 turns from a dual carriageway to a single lane road as it enters the town, leading to congestion and people streaming through villages to avoid the traffic. While frequent gridlock on the A26 has led to the area becoming an air quality management zone.
Jedrzejewski explains: “In my job I travel so much about the country, and I have an office in London, I am familiar with other areas’ transport problems. I kind of feel that Tunbridge Wells is behind the times.
“If I was elected on May 6, after a little bit of celebrating, the first thing I will be doing would be hammering on the door of Westminster and saying A21. There would be nothing more that came out of my mouth until we have progress there,” she adds.
And this view is held in common: “We will all shout and yell and bang to get that road,” said the Lib Dems’ Murphy.
But Jedrzejewski feels that from within the Labour Party she would be most effective.
“Here in Tunbridge Wells we have to have a major overhaul of our transport system and transport links, and that’s going to require money.
“This is why we don’t need another opposition MP. And if the polls can be believed and Labour do get in for a third term we need a Labour MP to say ‘come and invest in middle England’.”
But Clarke feels that while the best thing for Tunbridge Wells is to have a Conservative government, should that not happen an MP with a strong voice for the local community is an asset.
“You can be effective, hauling ministers to the despatch box to account for their failure to deliver against promises or to do something that is desperately needed in the community. You need to be absolutely tireless and indefatigable, you need stamina and energy as an effective MP and you must never give up, you’ve got to keep on at them until it gets done.”
And along with investment in the transport system, there is set to be major investment in the region’s hospitals as well.
A new hospital has been agreed for the area, but many feel it has taken too long to arrive.
“The dedication of the staff is superb, but they work in conditions that are cramped, out of date, and old fashioned. At Pembury Hospital they have w
