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Post by Pete Whitehead on Jul 26, 2024 8:53:07 GMT
I think I've only been to Tunbridge Wells once and it was quite a while ago but I had a similar reaction to @aargaur
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Post by East Anglian Lefty on Jul 26, 2024 9:11:56 GMT
It would be interesting to see the breakdown of the popular vote across Kent generally. Did Labour even win the popular vote? I know they won many more seats than the Tories, but in places like Sevenoaks, Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge, Labour would have been exceptionally far behind. Conversely, the Labour-held seats are generally fairly marginal. Don't have the numbers to hand at the moment, but the Tories did narrowly win the popular vote in Kent - few of the Labour majorities there were huge, whereas their vote entirely collapsed in favour of the Lib Dems in a handful of seats. |
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Post by kitesurfer on Jul 26, 2024 9:14:38 GMT
I used to work in Tunbridge Wells, so I know it pretty welll.
The lower part of the High Street and area around the Pantiles is incredibly high end and well to do. There are stunning houses on the A26 opposite the Common where it meets Mount Ephraim. It feels very much like Richmond Park and Bath, which are similar former Tory seats.
That said, when you go further up the High Street, it gets shabbier. If you go up the A26 and go through Southborough, it is quite grotty.
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Post by andrewp on Jul 26, 2024 9:45:39 GMT
Total votes cast in Kent
Con 251,860 31.3% - 6 seats
Lab 249,043- 31% - 11 seats
RefUK 168,652 - 21% - 0 seats.
Green 64,303 -8% - 0 seats
LD 57,579 - 7.2% - 1 seat
Oth 13,059- 1.5%
For comparison, in 1997 Kent voted Con 40.5%, Lab 37.1%, LD 17%
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Post by where2travel on Jul 26, 2024 10:28:20 GMT
I think I've only been to Tunbridge Wells once and it was quite a while ago but I had a similar reaction to @aargaur Same here, and I wonder if it's easy to be a bit disappointed because it's one of those places that's built up so much based on perception, what you hear etc. I do recall it had a very nice Wetherspoon pub though, set in the old Opera House which had retained a lot of the original features. I'm in Harrogate at the moment, another town where I need to check out the Wetherspoon pub again, very nice and set in the old Royal Baths complex. Maybe this should be the new measure for Lib Dem targets; not Gail's Bakery, but fancy Spoons! |
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Post by londonseal80 on Jul 26, 2024 11:44:19 GMT
Driven through here a couple of times, the town centre is not as attractive as I thought it would be though still nicer than say the outer London fringe centres like Sutton and Bromley. I have gone through the residential areas as well and was like the affluent suburbia you get around Kingswood and Chipstead in Surrey.
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Post by Devil Wincarnate on Jul 26, 2024 14:26:19 GMT
It does have the Spa Valley Beer Festival, which is bloody brilliant. But it is a touch shabby other than the Pantiles.
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Post by sanders on Jul 26, 2024 15:07:32 GMT
Never been to Kent, not once. Gammon country sans here, Canterbury, Sevenoaks?
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Post by batman on Jul 26, 2024 15:26:00 GMT
That's a gross oversimplification. Kent has superficial similarities to Essex but the strong divergence in their voting record suggests that these similarities are indeed limited. The north-west of the county is predominantly very well-to-do, with only a few pockets which are not (Southborough & High Brooms & a few bits in Tunbridge Wells itself, and Swanley whose demographics are perhaps closer to south Essex than most parts of the county), and the countryside further out is traditionally for the most part standard-issue Conservative. Even Dover, which has a reputation of being a bit like parts of Essex, has not taken that serious a look at parties other than Labour or Conservative in modern times. I could go on, but basically, the word gammon, if we have to use it, has limited although not non-existent currency in Kent.
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Post by Devil Wincarnate on Jul 26, 2024 18:10:40 GMT
Kent is a fine county. It is England in miniature. Friendly people, all manner of landscape from weald to coast to town, plenty to see and do. Great food and drink. Wonderful pubs and restaurants, fine architecture.
A much-underrated corner of the country. A great spot for a domestic holiday, and to live.
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Post by londonseal80 on Jul 26, 2024 19:54:15 GMT
I’d say West Kent (Sevenoaks, Tonbridge and Malling, Tunbridge Wells) isn’t too dissimilar to East Surrey (Tandridge, Reigate and Banstead, Mole Valley)
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Post by akmd on Jul 26, 2024 20:16:30 GMT
Kent is a fine county. It is England in miniature. Friendly people, all manner of landscape from weald to coast to town, plenty to see and do. Great food and drink. Wonderful pubs and restaurants, fine architecture. A much-underrated corner of the country. A great spot for a domestic holiday, and to live. I had a holiday on the Kent Riveria last week: Broadstairs and Margate. The former is a pleasant seaside town with excellent beaches while the latter is quite rough in parts but also has charm and some perfectly nice areas like the Old Town. Margate also has a growing arts and music scene which is the main reason why I was there (a concert at Dreamland). I’d certainly be happy to go back to either town in future. Kent is somewhere that I’ve come to appreciate quite a bit in recent times and I intend to explore more of the county over the next few years. |
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Post by Devil Wincarnate on Jul 26, 2024 20:35:31 GMT
Kent is a fine county. It is England in miniature. Friendly people, all manner of landscape from weald to coast to town, plenty to see and do. Great food and drink. Wonderful pubs and restaurants, fine architecture. A much-underrated corner of the country. A great spot for a domestic holiday, and to live. I had a holiday on the Kent Riveria last week: Broadstairs and Margate. The former is a pleasant seaside town with excellent beaches while the latter is quite rough in parts but also has charm and some perfectly nice areas like the Old Town. Margate also has a growing arts and music scene which is the main reason why I was there (a concert at Dreamland). I’d certainly be happy to go back to either town in future. Kent is somewhere that I’ve come to appreciate quite a bit in recent times and I intend to explore more of the county over the next few years. That all sounds familiar and thoroughly enjoyable. We have family there and in SE London, so we went there for a week after COVID when you could get away but couldn't go abroad. Absolutely brilliant. None of the crowds or costs of Cornwall or the Cotswolds. Oysters and stout on the seafront at Whitstable, beer and wine at Westerham, Basque cooking and views over the Channel at Folkestone, seaside at Broadstairs, beer festival at Tunbridge Wells. Subsequent trips have taken us to Tenterden, the Weald, Leeds Castle... Anyone who likes France is doing themselves a disservice by not exploring Kent. Ok, it lacks that foreign exoticism, but holidays don't always have to be like that (a point owainsutton made on another thread). And Kent is really upping its game to get people to visit. |
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Post by akmd on Jul 26, 2024 21:12:11 GMT
That all sounds familiar and thoroughly enjoyable. We have family there and in SE London, so we went there for a week after COVID when you could get away but couldn't go abroad. Absolutely brilliant. None of the crowds or costs of Cornwall or the Cotswolds. Oysters and stout on the seafront at Whitstable, beer and wine at Westerham, Basque cooking and views over the Channel at Folkestone, seaside at Broadstairs, beer festival at Tunbridge Wells. Subsequent trips have taken us to Tenterden, the Weald, Leeds Castle... Anyone who likes France is doing themselves a disservice by not exploring Kent. Ok, it lacks that foreign exoticism, but holidays don't always have to be like that (a point owainsutton made on another thread). And Kent is really upping its game to get people to visit. Some nice vineyards too. I went to one near Canterbury once COVID restrictions were lifted for domestic travel. It’s probably the only vineyard in the world which has a helter skelter slide connecting the tasting room to the winery! Unfortunately, the slide was off-limits during my visit because of the pandemic so I need to go back just to fulfil that part of the experience. |
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Post by Devil Wincarnate on Jul 26, 2024 21:17:07 GMT
That all sounds familiar and thoroughly enjoyable. We have family there and in SE London, so we went there for a week after COVID when you could get away but couldn't go abroad. Absolutely brilliant. None of the crowds or costs of Cornwall or the Cotswolds. Oysters and stout on the seafront at Whitstable, beer and wine at Westerham, Basque cooking and views over the Channel at Folkestone, seaside at Broadstairs, beer festival at Tunbridge Wells. Subsequent trips have taken us to Tenterden, the Weald, Leeds Castle... Anyone who likes France is doing themselves a disservice by not exploring Kent. Ok, it lacks that foreign exoticism, but holidays don't always have to be like that (a point owainsutton made on another thread). And Kent is really upping its game to get people to visit. Some nice vineyards too. I went to one near Canterbury once COVID restrictions were lifted for domestic travel. It’s probably the only vineyard in the world which has a helter skelter slide connecting the tasting room to the winery! Unfortunately, the slide was off-limits during my visit because of the pandemic so I need to go back just to fulfil that part of the experience. Can you remember the name by any chance? |
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Post by akmd on Jul 26, 2024 21:59:54 GMT
Can you remember the name by any chance? Yes, it’s called Simpsons. It’s in Barham about 10 miles from Canterbury. |
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Post by aargauer on Jul 28, 2024 11:59:50 GMT
Never been to Kent, not once. Gammon country sans here, Canterbury, Sevenoaks? Sevenoaks voted for Brexit and Tory in 2024. It does feel *much* richer than Tunbridge Wells despite the lower number of managerial workers, which surprises me. |
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Post by gwynthegriff on Jul 28, 2024 12:22:08 GMT
Never been to Kent, not once. Gammon country sans here, Canterbury, Sevenoaks? Have been. On quite a few occasions. Not Gammon country. Far from it. |
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Khunanup
Lib Dem
Portsmouth Liberal Democrats
Posts: 12,011
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Post by Khunanup on Jul 28, 2024 13:20:22 GMT
Never been to Kent, not once. Gammon country sans here, Canterbury, Sevenoaks? Sevenoaks voted for Brexit and Tory in 2024. It does feel *much* richer than Tunbridge Wells despite the lower number of managerial workers, which surprises me. Your view of Tunbridge Wells is frankly hilarious, you really can't make sweeping statements of a town of 60,000 on a cursory visit. The south of the town going into the High Weald is anything but 'shabby' and any town of that size is going to have areas of relative deprivation as well as a need for more affordable housing due to being the regional centre. Interestingly your opinions of Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge and Sevenoaks is the complete opposite to those of us who grew up and those that live the other end of that train line. Tunbridge Wells is a destination and a desirable place to live whereas Tonbridge and Sevenoaks are regarded as pretty nondescript London commuter towns (which of course are 2/3rds and 1/2 the size of Tunbridge Wells respectively). And Sevenoaks town will have been a vote sink for the Lib Dems in the election earlier this month with the Tory majority being down to the Lib Dem vote in places like Swanley and the bits in Dartford district being virtually non-existent. |
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Post by aargauer on Jul 28, 2024 13:59:34 GMT
Sevenoaks voted for Brexit and Tory in 2024. It does feel *much* richer than Tunbridge Wells despite the lower number of managerial workers, which surprises me. Your view of Tunbridge Wells is frankly hilarious, you really can't make sweeping statements of a town of 60,000 on a cursory visit. The south of the town going into the High Weald is anything but 'shabby' and any town of that size is going to have areas of relative deprivation as well as a need for more affordable housing due to being the regional centre. Interestingly your opinions of Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge and Sevenoaks is the complete opposite to those of us who grew up and those that live the other end of that train line. Tunbridge Wells is a destination and a desirable place to live whereas Tonbridge and Sevenoaks are regarded as pretty nondescript London commuter towns (which of course are 2/3rds and 1/2 the size of Tunbridge Wells respectively). And Sevenoaks town will have been a vote sink for the Lib Dems in the election earlier this month with the Tory majority being down to the Lib Dem vote in places like Swanley and the bits in Dartford district being virtually non-existent. For a "hilarious" opinion it seems numerous people upthread agree with me. I don't think it's awful, just a combination of a bit twee for me in the nicer bits (which I thought were overpriced given the distance to London) with some very shabby areas in parts - which you appear to acknowledge. High Brooms for a start. I guess being self effacing perhaps I often prefer quiet homogenous middle class suburbia. I loved Orpington which is definitely "nondescript". (I was a long way from the more working class Crays). I did scope out the area quite hard. Went every weekend for months to work out what to do before kids arrived (less so Sevenoaks as the £/sq ft is just too high - I wanted something around 2000-2500 sq ft, but I knew that better going in). Obviously then I got an opportunity to move to Switzerland so it all came to nothing. I thought you lived in Portsmouth (where my sister works). |
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