Now that a General Election is upon us, a number of people in Tonbridge and Malling have been asking how to get involved? 

Turn on the TV any day in the last 6 months, and you will have witnessed the scenes of mayhem in Westminster.

The Conservative Government want a chaotic and damaging no deal Brexit. As a result, Boris Johnson has lost his majority in Parliament and the confidence of the country.

In these turbulent times, an election could be called at any time.

If we have an election soon, it will effect generations to come. It will also be very close. In Tonbridge and Malling, every vote will count.

That is why I am asking you to sign up for a postal vote today. I do not want you to miss your chance to have your say.

Boris Johnson’s actions regarding the UK’s request for an extension to the 31st October  Brexit deadline beggar belief. We apparently have a Prime Minister who intentionally and simultaneously contravenes the spirit of the law and undermines the sovereignty of the parliament from which he derives his authority and for which he tries to justify his disastrous Brexit ambitions. 

Yet again Tom Tugendhat is putting his career with the Tories ahead of both the national interest and his own Remain convictions. His tweet “Take the Damn Deal” is an extraordinary surrender by a man who knows the UK and the people of Tonbridge and Malling will be far worse off and far less secure if the deal is taken.

Any "damn deal" must be given back to the people to decide between taking it and staying in the EU

The Queen’s Speech today has been used by the Tories as an Election Manifesto rather than for its proper purpose as a serious, longer-term, fully-costed legislative programme.

It is yet another example of Johnson’s misuse of constitutional procedures to achieve an objective which will deeply damage our country.

Every word Boris Johnson uttered yesterday in Parliament demonstrated that not just his actions, but also his intentions, in proroguing Parliament for 5 weeks were wholly illegal.  His entire purpose had been to stifle parliamentary opposition on the most important issue facing the UK for decades.  This man is unfit to remain Prime Minister.

Richard Morris
Liberal Democrats PPC for Tonbridge and Malling
26 September 2019.

Following the Supreme Court's ruling Boris Johnson's prorogation of parliament to be "Unlawful, void and of no effect", Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidates (PPCs) for North West Kent have issued the following common statement: 

"Now we know our democracy works. The Queen’s judges have upheld the Queen’s laws and the role of our Parliament in our Constitution.

They have decided that government cannot silence Parliament - our representatives - or stop them holding ministers to account.

Now we know where legal authority lies. A small minority of ideological extremists cannot hijack our country and drive Britain over the cliff of a no-deal Brexit

The Supreme Court has ruled that honesty, integrity and openness are absolute requirements of our public life." 

Richard Morris, PPC for Tonbridge and Malling. 
Kyle Marsh, PPC for Dartford.
Ukonu Obasi, PPC for Gravesham. 
Gareth Willis, PPC for Sevenoaks. 

Boris Johnson’s recent action to suspend parliament reaches new depths of duplicity. It undermines the very institution for whose sovereignty he claimed to be fighting in the 2016 referendum. 

Following Boris Johnson’s fruitless meetings with Merkel and Macron, some commentators argue that he “deserves a chance” to try to reach a Brexit deal.  This is a dangerous delusion designed to undermine opposition to his government and to run the clock down towards 31st October.  

How much longer will we allow ourselves to be governed by a jokey journalist with a ludicrously inflated ego, who poses as a man of principle?