The leader of Tonbridge and Malling council has ruled himself out of contention to succeed MP Tracey Crouch - despite being encouraged to put his hat in the ring.

Matt Boughton, who is one of the youngest local authority leaders in the country at 31, said he had been approached by a number of people encouraging him to apply but that he felt the time was not right.

He said that he had a job to do as the leader and wanted to fulfill that commitment.

The process of selecting a candidate for the seat is expected to get under way shortly and Cllr Boughton would be able to apply as he is on the list of approved candidates.

In an interview with political editor Paul Francis for the Kent Politics Podcast he was asked if he had any personal ambition to become an MP.

He said: “Not right now. My wife and I are having a baby in August. Personally, the timing doesn’t work for me; I’ve got a job to do at Tonbridge and Malling council; I want to do it, I’ve got unfinished business.

“I don’t want to turn around now and say never.”

He says local government was the one area of politics where you could make a difference.

“Sometimes you find a niche and perhaps my niche is local government. I enjoy being a councillor; I enjoy helping people and being able to make life better for people,” he added.

While other councils were struggling to make the books balance and faced possible bankruptcy, Tonbridge and Malling is not among them.

“We are one of the few not to have any debts, so we start from a good place; but there is a fundamental problem that local government has had - as costs increase, they’ve increased at the same rate as in the private sector.

“But unlike every other part of the private sector, there is a limit to what your income can be.”

On the charge that councils are stealth taxing, he says he accepts residents have faced higher costs but the fairest way to do it was to ask those who used them to pay more.

“The concept of the user paying is quite important because ultimately nothing the council provides is free of charge.”

He is cautious about those who argue that the best way for councils to be financially secure is to merge - the unitary option.

“The main challenge for me is to make sure that it [a unitary] is small enough to care but big enough to matter.”

The selection process for a candidate for Chatham and Aylesford is expected to get under way next week, with applicants whittled down to a long list, then a shortlist before two to four are quizzed at a final meeting and members hold a vote.

Ms Crouch - one of the most prominent MPs in Kent - announced she was stepping down in February.

Weeks later she told the Kent Politics Podcast how much pressure MPs are working under with demands on them greater than ever.

The weekly podcast, which launched in January, brings together local democracy reporters, Simon Finlay, Robert Boddy, Dan Esson and Paul Francis.

This week they discuss impending border chaos around Dover, pothole rows in Medway and housebuilding in Dartford.