In this week’s episode of the Kent Politics Podcast our reporters discuss the Tories’ changing strategies for the general election and what a Starmer supermajority might mean.

Our special guest this week is Denise Scott-McDonald, Labour’s candidate for Sevenoaks who tells us the issues being raised on the doorstep and how confident she is in being elected.

She talks about striking the balance between meeting the national party’s ambitions for housebuilding with local feeling in the constituency - 93% of which consists of greenbelt land.

She also tells us about her background and entrance into politics, particularly what brought her to standing in Sevenoaks and why she feels she’s the right choice to represent the area in Parliament.

Our reporters also discuss the hustings in Medway and across the county more generally, and why some politicians have been dodging them, as well as how the Green party’s control of Folkestone & Hythe council has panned out and potential cuts to services at Kent County Council.

They also talk about the latest in the general election campaign, including the change in Tory messaging from saying they can still win despite polling, to the more pessimistic version of asking voters not to give Keir Starmer an all-powerful supermajority.

The weekly podcast, which launched earlier this year, brings together local democracy reporters Simon Finlay, Robert Boddy, Dan Esson and KM Media Group political editor Paul Francis.

Simon covers Kent County Council while Robert reports on Medway Council and Dan specialises in borough and district councils.

Paul brings his weekly Westminster Watch review – highlighting what’s happening in Parliament and how it affects the county.

Next week we’ll be joined by Martin Baxter, founder and chief executive of polling company Electoral Calculus, who returns to tell us the latest findings.

You can listen to the podcast at IM Listening, or download it from Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and TuneIn – just search for Kent Politics Podcast.

New episodes are available each Friday.

The podcast is the latest move to increase KentOnline’s political coverage ahead of the general election.

In recent months we also launched bespoke sections on KentOnline highlighting Kent Politics and Medway Politics.

Added to this is the highly-respected Kent Politics Show which airs on KMTV each Friday evening.

The full list of candidates for the Sevenoaks constituency is: Richard Streatfeild (Lib Dem), Adam Hibbert (SDP), James Milmine (Reform UK), Laura Manston (Green Party), Laura Trott (Conservative), Denise Scott-McDonald (Labour), and Elwyn Jones (Rejoin EU Party).