The local elections of May 2023 in Surrey brought positive news for the Liberal Democrats, who secured six seats on Elmbridge Council. These results have given hope to Monica Harding, the Liberal Democrats’ prospective parliamentary candidate (PPC) for Esher and Walton who is seeking to defeat Dominic Raab.
While local election victories do not guarantee success in general elections, this article explores Monica’s chances and outlines her strategies to challenge Raab effectively.
Monica Harding’s unique appeal:
Monica Harding, a mother of four and former school governor, possesses a compelling personal story that resonates with voters. Widely liked on the doorstep, she presents a stark contrast to Raab, whose shortcomings as an MP and as a government minister are widely acknowledged. This includes the bullying, the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan and his extreme views on Brexit.
Moving forward, Monica’s popularity can be leveraged by increasing her visibility through media appearances, showcasing her as a valuable asset for the Liberal Democrats.
Monica Harding can defeat Dominic Raab
Running a strong local campaign:
To insulate herself from potential national party mistakes, Monica must focus on running a robust local campaign. By engaging with constituents, she can build rapport and address their concerns directly. Her emphasis should be on promoting herself as an accessible MP (Raab doesn’t even run public surgeries) and will prioritise local issues and deliver concrete improvements for Esher and Walton.
Monica must focus on running a robust local campaign. People feel utterly miserable about the cost-of-living crisis and 13 years of Tory rule, that has done nothing to improve their lives. We cannot get GP appointments. Monica must avoid getting derailed by too many fringe issues that few people care about in Surrey.
Contrasting Raab’s extremism:
Highlighting the stark contrast between Raab’s extremist views and Harding’s centre / moderate stance must be a key strategy for the Lib Dems. Raab holds offensive positions on feminists and ethnic minorities. He opposes legal routes for refugees, the Human Rights Act and the rights to protest. His environmental record can be effectively contrasted with Harding’s positions in favour of progressive causes such as opposing fracking, and campaigning against sewage dumping.
Many voters are appalled by the modern Tory Party, made up of ideologues like Raab, Braverman, Truss and Rees-Mogg. Monica appeals to most voters – who are fundamentally politically moderate and holds mainstream progressive views.
Addressing local issues:
Monica’s focus should be on issues that directly affect Esher and Walton residents. The current state of the National Health Service (NHS) and the challenges faced by small business owners due to the Tory-led cost-of-living crisis should be central to her campaign.
By offering practical solutions and demonstrating a genuine concern for constituents (something Raab lacks), she can build trust and support.
Tactical voting and collaboration with Labour:
Tactical voting will be key for a Monica victory. Exploring the possibility of a pact with the local Labour Party – whether informal or codified – would be wise. In 2019, Labour campaigned as if they could win Esher and Walton – which was clearly bollocks.
By ensuring a consolidated progressive vote, Harding could prevent a split that would favour Raab.
Defusing the ‘coalition’ question:
The ‘coalition of chaos’ trick also relies on a weaker partner and one person who is ‘pulling the strings.’ The Tories could attempt to persuade voters that Ed Davey is the evil one – who will force Labour in coalition to re-join the EU and / or demand proportional representation.Journalists are likely to demand answers to what will happen if there is a coalition. This is not an unreasonable question, but one that is full of danger for both Labour and the Lib Dems. They need to come up with a robust (and short) answer.
Monica Harding as the ‘change candidate’
Things can change! Not all MPs are the same.
Acknowledging the dissatisfaction and frustration among constituents due to 13 years of Tory rule that has done little to improve lives, Monica should emphasise her commitment to effecting positive change. By highlighting Raab’s failures and offering a vision of a brighter future, she can tap into the desire for hope and provide a compelling alternative for Esher and Walton residents.
Do voters feel better off than they did 13 years ago?
Has Brexit improved the NHS, the economy, education, employment…. anything in their lives? These are the questions that need to be asked on the doorstep.
Conclusion:
Don’t believe any of the polls putting Monica ahead. The Tories have many advantages that could help them hold onto power in the region.
While unseating Dominic Raab in Esher and Walton will be challenging, a strong local campaign, emphasis on contrasting positions, and focus on addressing pertinent issues can position her as a credible alternative.
By leveraging her personal appeal, Monica Harding has the potential to secure victory and provide a fresh voice for the constituency.
Dominic Raab proved himself to be a sore winner when he used his victory speech at Sandown Park, Esher, to smear his rival Monica Harding. Here is the final verdict on the result.
Bitter Raab accused the Lib Dems of running a “negative campaign” that attacked him personally. Monica Harding told Surrey Live: “I regret very much our new MP’s speech. It has been a fantastic campaign. I thank them [supporters] so much for putting their trust in me. I’ve never been so proud to live here.” She added: ”Half of Esher don’t like the direction the country is going.”
Throughout the campaign, Raab never failed to disappoint residents. His smug public schoolboy arrogance meant he refused to meet Harry’s Dunn’s family at a Hustings in East Molesey. Tim Dunn had taken a 2 hour journey to meet with Raab, having found he was getting nowhere setting up a meeting via official channels. The Dunn family were BLOCKED from entering the hustings and waited HOURS outside the church, where the hustings took place, in the cold and rain. What kind of human being does this?
Raab has ZERO empathy for anyone, but himself. At various election hustings he spoke very movingly about the death of his own father. Yet he was lacking in any sort of compassion in his dealings with the grieving family of Harry Dunn.
Now the dust has settled on the election result here are a few observations about what went right and wrong for the Lib Dems. Moving forward, will Lib Dems or Labour EVER manage to remove Dominic Raab (AKA Dim Dom) as MP for Esher and Walton?
WHERE’S YOUR MAJORITY GONE?
Esher and Walton has been returning Tory MPs to Parliament since 1906.
But what a difference two years makes! In 2017 Dim Dom enjoyed a majority of 23,298 (GE 2017), today it stands at a rather pathetic 2,743 (GE 2019). Indeed, this was the largest swing AWAY from an incumbent during the 2019 election.
Raab’s percentage share has tumbled to just 49.5% – meaning that there are more people in Esher and Walton who DIDN’T vote for him, than did. The words ‘humble’ and ‘Raab’ have never gone together and we won’t be expecting him to acknowledge this fact anytime soon. However, the normally calm Raab was rattled as he, reportedly, paced up and down while awaiting the result at Sandown Park.
Raab’s majority is slashed in Esher and Walton
ARRON BANKS SAVED RAAB’s SKIN – THE PEERAGE IS IN THE POST
Up until 11th November 2019, Nigel Farage promised to stand candidates in EVERY constituency. So when news came he would NOT contest 317 Tory-won seats (for fear of splitting the Leave vote) it came as quite a shock. Not least to Axel Thill, the Brexit Party candidate for Esher and Walton, who has a very cool name.
We were keen to see Axel on the ballot paper, not least because his name reminds us of one of Eddie Murphy’s greatest character roles. And of course the lead singer of a very famous rock band. Why wouldn’t they stand, when the Brexit Party came second in Esher and Walton at the EU elections?
But it wasn’t to be. Poor Axel was ordered to stand down with zero warning about this massive U-TURN! Raab has to thank Arron Banks and Farage for saving his skin. I’m sure a very large ‘cheque’ / peerage is in the post.
This was a massive blow and one that the Monica Harding and the Lib Dem’s struggled to recover from.
LABOUR’S PETER ASHURST HELPED SPLIT THE VOTE
Labour took an age to appoint a candidate and things never looked promising. Esher and Walton CLP eventually appointed a total unknown – Peter Ashurst
Peter’s a big guy, who’s heart was in the right place, however Labour could NEVER win in Esher and Walton. But they COULD, of course, do real damage to Monica Harding’s chances and totally scupper a rare chance of removing Raab.
Incredibly, Ashurst was still pumping out the line that ONLY Labour could defeat Raab in Esher and Walton well into the campaign. Clearly, this was bollocks and most of his supporters in Esher and Walton CLP knew it.
The Greens stood aside in Esher and Walton to give the Lib Dems a clear run. Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for Labour. Ashhurst, a keen Corbyn supporter, did all he could to SPLIT the progressive vote.
Here at RaabWatch we pleaded with Ashurst, if not to stand down (against the rules from Labour HQ), but to sign an informal non-aggression agreement. However, Ashurst appear to view fellow progressives in the Lib Dems as simply being Tory-lite.
There was indeed bad behaviour from BOTH Labour and Lib Dems. Most notably, Tim Walker stepped down as Lib Dem candidate in Canterbury to give Rosie Duffield a clear run (luckily, she eventually won). However, Lib Dem central office were having none of it and Walker was replaced by Claire Malcomson (she managed just 5.7%) of the vote.
The Liberal Democrats face a revolt from a local party over plans to replace a candidate who unilaterally stood down in a marginal Labour-held seat, saying he wanted to avoid the “nightmare” of handing the constituency back to the Conservatives.
Tim Walker announced in an article for the Guardian that although he did not trust Jeremy Corbyn on Brexit, he wanted to give Rosie Duffield, the Labour candidate who took Canterbury from the Tories for the first time in 2017 by just 187 votes, the best chance of winning.
In the end, Peter Ashurst managed just 4.5% of the vote for Labour – one of the worst on record.
Thank you Peter for all your hard work in helping to ensure a Raab victory. You should be very proud of yourself.
HARDING WAS GREAT. SWINSON? NOT SO GOOD.
We’ll come out and say it, Monica Harding would have been a SUPERB MP for Esher and Walton! We really wanted her to win.
Raab has done literally nothing for the constituency – even the setting up of a free school has been a total disaster. It would have been a massive change to have an MP that actually represented local people in Parliament and cared about us. Is that too much to ask?
Harding was an impressive debater at the three local hustings and was a big hit on the doorstep.
Any prospective candidates needs to tell their own story. Sadiq Khan was ‘the son of the London bus driver’. This is particularly important when the leader of your own party (i.e. Corbyn) wasn’t particularly popular on the doorstep.
Harding’s story of how, out of frustration with Brexit and the state of national politics, she gave up her job and decided to stand as an MP was powerful. As a local school governor, she was particularly strong on education. She also pulled Raab apart at hustings on the environment.
Crucially, Harding grew in confidence as the campaign went on and this was shown in how Raab’s lead narrowed in a tantalisingly close YouGov poll, issued days before voting.
However, the national scene was much more bleak. Jo Swinson turned out to be a MASSIVE disappointment.
It may have seemed bold and brave at the time, but the policy to not have a 2nd Ref, but to actually REVOKE ARTICLE 50, seemed un-democratic for a party called the the Liberal Democrats.
The clarity of the Johnson slogan – three words – “GET BREXIT DONE!” – resonated, even among some in Remain-voting Esher and Walton. People had real concerns that Brexit would be a disaster, but they were simply worn down. Even some Remain voters wanted this nightmare simply to be over with.
Swinson took a lot of flack, much of it sexist in tone. But she also got hung up on issues of marginal interest. The policy to change the law to automatically recognise non-binary gender identities and allow people to self-identify without medical evidence was a total distraction.
During a disastrous interview on Today (Radio 4) she said that sex and gender aren’t as “binary as they are presented”. This issue was a long way off from the concerns of people on the doorstep in Surrey. Esher and Walton is VERY conservative and very white.
Harding needed to reach out to older, aged 60+, white, men, who tend vote Raab. These people tend to reside in ultra-posh Esher and Oxshot and they have a conservative mentality that can be reluctant to vote for anyone new or who they deem as ‘high risk’.
That said, there was massive support in West Molesey and the wealthier East Molesey. These areas, which border Hampton Court, along with the Dittons, are fertile Lib Dem streets and there were streets lined with Lib Dem posters in these areas.
PEOPLE HATED CORBYN
At the last GE2017 Labour was second, all be it not remotely close to beating Raab. This time residents of Esher and Walton rejected Labour almost completely.
However, in the closing stages of the campaign Raab and Tory Party HQ went into “project fear” mode i.e stating that voting Lib Dem would SOMEHOW lead to Corbyn getting into No.10. Of course, there was literally no possibility of this actually happening.
This prompted Raab to get on his computer and create some of the worst social media graphics ever seen in a general election…
The reality is that Corbyn was a mixed blessing for Lib Dems. Far fewer Labour people would have lent their votes if Corbyn was even a vaguely decent leader. On the doorstep people would say how much they despised all the leaders – Johnson, Swinson…but ESPECIALLY Corbyn.
Lib Dems are always in a tricky situation, having to collect support from both former Labour and Tory remain supporters. Monica received endorsements from Michael Heseltine and, even the former Tory MP for Esher and Walton, Ian Taylor. But this may have alienated some Labour people planning to vote Lib Dem.
DID RAAB SEE THE POSTAL VOTES?
Michael Crick may have had a good-old laugh as Raab casually admitted to committing electoral fraud. However, to everyone else this all sounded very dodgy indeed. Particularly, as a relaxed Raab seemed to know he had won GE 2019 way in advance of polling day.
AND THERE WERE SOME LAUGHS….
People really despise Raab in Esher and Walton. We salute Mr Howard Bisell who graffitied his OWN house with this wonderful – RAAB OUT!
Raab Out in Walton-On-Thames
And who can forget the singing dog?
IF NOT IN 2019, WHEN?
The Lib Dems had a golden opportunity, but at the end of the day they fell short. Richmond Park aside, it was a terrible night for Lib Dems. Early predictions of Remain voting Surrey (and much of London) going yellow seemed frankly ludicrous as 3 am approached on Friday morning.
Lib Dem’s benefited from a Labour Party with a useless leader and a constituency that voted Remain, yet STILL failed to depose Raab. It begs the question if they couldn’t do it in 2019, will useless Raab EVER go? What a depressing thought.
But Monica Harding is right to be proud of a massive swing and turning Esher and Walton into a marginal for the first time.
Residents have made it clear – we really don’t like Dim Dom. Of course, Raab will no doubt carry on as he has always done – offending food bank users and threatening to privatise our NHS.
Most importantly, he also needs to get justice for Harry Dunn.
So many people are NOT registered to vote in Esher & Walton-on-Thames. Young people, students and private renters are MOST likely NOT to be registered. You may want to vote on polling day, but it will be too late!
So 1 in 6 people are not registered. Warning – you must register by 26th November. But don’t leave too late. The website gets very busy nearer deadline time.
Younger people and renters are missing from the register in greater proportions than older voters and owner-households. If you’ve just moved flat and are juggling two or three jobs, registering to vote usually isn’t number one on your priorities list.
Private renters are also the least likely to have accurate and up to date entry on the register. Just 58% are correctly registered, compared with 91% of homeowners.
Registration levels are also low amongst young people aged 18-34, with only 71% correctly registered, compared to 94% of people aged 65 and over. Make no mistake: this is a generation gap that threatens political equality in the UK.
Dominic Raab is very HAPPY with these figures.
His voter-base is middle-aged and more male than female. In general, the older you are the more likely to vote pro-Brexit as well.
Monica Harding of the Lib Dems is the ONLY candidate who can stop Raab. But it will be very close!
She needs your help if she is going to #StopRaab and #StopBrexit
So how do you register to vote?
Warning – the deadline is 26th November to Register to Vote in Esher & Walton.
Students who wish to Remain in the EU and stop Brexit will be wise to take a look at where your vote will be most effective.
If you are student, but mum or dad live in Esher and Walton, your vote COULD be the one that defeats Dominic Raab! Awesome!
You can only vote once, obviously. But your vote may be more use in Esher & Walton than at your university town.
Here at RaabWatch towers in the heart of Esher & Walton constituency we occasionally like a little “flutter”. However, we always bet responsibly.
And even we’re not CRAZY enough to put money on Labour winning in Esher and Walton at 50:1, even though our humble fiver would rake us a cool £250!
Seriously, we were hoping that Labour would stand aside, like the Greens have, as part of the Remain Alliance. Raab has always relied on the fact he can split the vote here between Labour, Lib Dems and a few Greens.
But Esher and Walton Labour Party, in their wisdom, appointed a paper candidate last week. It is Peter Ashurst. However, the first weekend of campaigning didn’t get off to a great start. Indeed, he hasn’t started. Ashurst went to see women’s football at Wembley! In fairness, this did look very cool.
While Ashurst was at the footie, Harding was busy knocking on doors after a rally with supporters in Esher – proving that the Lib Dems are SERIOUS about taking on Raab
Even Dim Dom himself was spotted by our RaabWatch spies door-knocking near Hampton Court. It is clear Raab is rattled by the surge in support for Monica Harding, as at the last general election he barely campaigned.
The betting is mixed for Harding though. Odds are in the region of 4/1. While Labour are completely out of the race, Raab STILL has the lead.
Labour supporters in Esher and Walton need to realise that a Vote for Lab means you GET RAAB! A vote for Monica Harding COULD make all the difference
Spotted Dim Dom actually campaigning in Esher & Walton? Make sure you TWEET US!
Get the latest odds for Esher & Walton at OddsChecker [bet responsibly!].
FOR CONTINUING COVERAGE OF #GE2019: Follow RaabWatch on Twitter and now on Facebook
Dominic Raab literally has no sense of irony when it comes to Brexit. Is the MP for Remain-voting Esher and Walton simply having a laugh at our expense?
Raab is one of the most hardline Brexiteers in the Cabinet, yet he represents Remain-voting Esher and Walton. This constituency covers areas like Walton-on-Thames, Cobham, Claygate and Molesey in North Surrey.
He’s facing a serious challenge from the #StopBrexit candidate Monica Harding from the Lib Dems. She is benefiting from support from Remain-voting former Conservatives AND Labour supporters across Surrey, who are upset by their parties’ stances on Brexit.
Raab insisted that Boris Johnson had clinched a “cracking deal” for Northern Ireland’s businesses. He said, with no sense of irony, it would give Northern Ireland the best of both worlds because it would remain in the UK customs territory while having access to the European single market.
Indeed, the deal sounds so “crackingly” good that many people in Esher and Walton are wondering why England, Scotland and Wales shouldn’t get the same deal? We’ll allow the Raab household in Thames Ditton, Surrey, to opt-out of being in the EU if he wants.
“Overall what Northern Ireland businesses get is remaining part of the UK customs territory, no infrastructure at the border with the Republic and frictionless access to the single market. It is a cracking deal for Northern Ireland businesses,” Raab said.
FOR CONTINUING COVERAGE OF #GE2019: Follow RaabWatch on Twitter and now on Facebook
We all know that “money talks” in politics. Political campaigns are really expensive and Labour and the Lib Dems can struggle to raise funds. They can’t rely on wealthy donors like Raab does.
He spent a fortune on highly-targeted Facebook adverts in a failed bid to become Tory leader and someone has to pay for it all. Welcome to the murky world of political funding.
Raab spent a whopping £56,000+ on Facebook adverts during his failed bid to become Tory leader – more than his rivals COMBINED. So that was money well spent wich could have been donated to a Cobham foodbank or Walton-on-Thames charity.
“A total 22 adverts that were paid for by the Dominic Raab Leadership Campaign 2019 were also removed by Facebook for breaching its advertising policies..” states Politics Home.
Lazy Raab likes to campaign from his computer. Knocking on doors in Esher and Walton is hard work. It is also high risk – it will mean he is likely to meet constituents and most of them voted REMAIN. They won’t be inviting him in for tea and biscuits.
They don’t support his NO-DEAL Brexit and they don’t support his ANTI-DEMOCRATIC suspension of Parliament.
The list of donors and the figures involved are completely eye watering. There are restrictions on how much candidates can spend on election campaigns, which means that Labour and the Lib Dems are not completely outgunned.
But it is clear that Raab is particularly well-funded by wealthy Brexit-supporting donors.
Raab as an MP will get the standard annual pay of £79,468
On top of that there is the fee for his role as Foreign Sec. That takes his total pay to around £141,505. So he is pretty wealthy, even by Surrey standards! But Raab is always after new ways to make a quick buck..
It’s always interesting to speculate on why companies / individuals decide to bankroll politicians? Nothing is free. Who gains? It certainly isn’t voters to Esher & Walton.
This Vox article has plenty of detail about who has donated to Raab and why..
IPGL Ltd – a hedge fund – headed by former Tory treasurer and donor Michael Spencer. Among its many donations, IPGL paid for “a helicopter for two people for a flight from Gloucestershire to Duns Castle, Berwickshire for a campaigning event; value £9,830.28
Esher and Walton Connect (business club) – they don’t appear to have a website and we are not sure what they do. They do pay for the printing and distribution of Raab’s appallingly produced “Westminster Watch”, that is distributed to homes in Esher & Walton.
We all know that #DimDom likes nothing better than to Block people on Twitter who he disagrees with. But despite this, there is a burgeoning “Raab-O-Sphere” – that is an online sphere of Raabites and Raab-rejectors.
Here is a list of Twitter accounts to follow (in a very random order)…
Demonic Raab and Dominic Raab share such similar right-wing views on Brexit that they could have been separated at birth. Both were thrilled when they realised that the UK was actually an island…..
Second up in the Raab-o-sphere is a self-proclaimed political ‘influencer’ and Brexit Party outrider. She supported Raab’s failed leadership bid and has Tweeted the pics to prove it, yet she models herself more on Katie Hopkins.You may think this is a parody account. We couldn’t possibly comment.
We couldn’t miss #DimDom off. Raab’s Twitter efforts are so bad that his staff have been required to take social media training courses to appear ‘authentic’ (We kid you not. We’ve seen the expense claim). He hasn’t Tweeted anything remotely interesting in three years, yet somehow his account has 81.5K + followers!!?
How many people has Raab blocked? We have no idea. But if you do wish to get blocked by the MP for Esher and Walton, just RT that video of him talking about food banks. Then make sure you use #BlockedByRaab to tell us all about it.
Big supporter of a Raab-style #TotalBrexit, Psyched 4 Raab is as macho as the great man himself. Raab’s favourite dish is “steak” and this account likes to serve it to him on a daily basis, raw and bloody. Raab won’t ever go vegan, will he? Awesome videos.
There are moderate Tories on Twitter and then we have Chris Rose. While Raab came a “respectable” fourth (or was it fifth?) in the leadership contest, Rose still leads the #Ready4Raab campaign online. Happy to engage in blue-on-blue warfare against Tories he claims to be disloyal to the PM, Raab etc. etc.
This is one Twitter account Dominic Raab would be wise NOT to block (that’s assuming he wants to keep his nice job at the Foreign Office). While Raab takes his majority for granted, the Lib Dem candidate has been busy knocking on doors in Remain-voting Esher and Walton. The result? Moderate Labour and Conservative voters are uniting behind the only candidate that can stop Raab.
“Does anyone have an audiobook version of the Good Friday Agreement?,” he asks. Moronic Raab can’t believe that someone of his intellect has been promoted to Foreign Secretary.
Councillor Christine Elmer for Walton South is a Lib Dem, but was once Conservative. Thus starting a trend that became quite the fashion. Now many more Remain Labour and Conservative voters are following her lead in Esher and Walton-on-Thames. Has a unique insight into the Raab mindset.
There are a lot of moderate Tories in Esher and Walton who are appalled by Raab’s crazy No-Deal Brexit. Who will they vote for? It’s not as if our local MP is Phil Hammond or Anne Milton. (Raab, why oh, why, can’t you be like them???). Surrey Tories have a decision to make.
Yes, Tweets don’t come much more intellectual than this account from the University Surrey politics department. Profs Amelia Hadfield and Simon Usherwood are also worth a follow. When it comes to Europe and Surrey politics, they know their Raab from their Milton..
The Brexit Party candidate with a very cool name. We’d love to see Axel on our ballot paper in Esher and Walton, mainly because he reminds us of Eddie Murphy. Yes, we are that old!!!
And one last one…
Of course its the awesome RaabWatch on Twitter and now on Facebook
Have we missed any great accounts from the Raab-O-Sphere?
Politics is in flux and traditional party loyalties are changing. Moderate Conservative MPs are leaving to join the Lib Dems. In Esher & Walton there is a mood of change in the air.
Esher & Walton (#EsherAndWalton) has been a safe Conservative seat for as long as just about anyone can remember. But many Remain-voters in Walton-on-Thames, Cobam, Esher and Claygate are deeply unhappy with Dominic Raab. Our MP relishes the idea of a No-Deal Brexit and all the economic chaos it will cause. He was first to suggest that Parliament be suspended, to force through by any means necessary, a hard Brexit.
So the question is whether a GE in 2019 will reflect the results of 2017 or, more likely, the EU Results in 2019?
Are you an unhappy Labour voter concerned by Corbyn?
We hear you! Here at RaabWatch we were former Labour members. For the first time, ever, we voted Lib Dem at the EU 2019 election. Yes, this felt very strange indeed! We know what it is like to switch sides.
As we write this, Labour in Esher & Walton has yet to even select a candidate (even the Brexit Party has one!).
But they are unlikely to take part in any #RemainAlliance as such a strategy must be approved by Labour HQ.
…Or a Conservative voter in Esher & Walton who isn’t rockin’ with Raab?
Moderate Conservative voters in Esher and Walton, some of whom backed Remain and some who voted Leave, are deeply unhappy.
While Raab claims to support local businesses, we all know the damage that will be done by his style of ultra-hard, No-Deal Brexit.
Raab shares very few of the values of the mainstream, one-nation conservatism, of the likes of Major, Clarke or Cameron.
Raab is an extremist in his own party.
We are international in our outlook and moderate. Our area is home to numerous multinational tech and pharmaceutical companies.
Many of us chose to live here due to its excellent links to Heathrow Airport and we travel abroad (thanks Raab, the pound has just nosedived AGAIN!)
But we have a choice..
Esher and Walton can do better. The only candidate who can win against Dominic Raab is….. Monica Harding for the Lib Dems
We’ve come to the conclusion that the only way to stop Raab is to unite behind a single, credible, candidate. We’ve thought about it a lot and we’re supporting Monica Harding of the Lib Dems.
To win, Raab knows he must split the vote, ideally between Labour, the Lib Dems and maybe a few Greens. He’s done it at GE2017 and he’ll try the same trick again.
WE CAN’T ALLOW IT!
He’ll spend a fortune on Facebook ads to shore-up his support and buy votes. He rarely knocks on any doors and won’t discuss Brexit with constituents.
Monica Harding, for the Lib Dems, has the clearest policy:
Stop Raab
Stop his No-Deal, Hard Brexit, that will cause carnage to businesses and jobs in Esher and Walton.
Here is what we learnt about Raab in the week of the leadership campaign launch.
Raab has spent most of his political career as a nobody. He’s no Gove, Hunt and definitely not a Johnson.
Raab hasn’t held any of the big offices of state. Why? Well, Cameron wouldn’t let a Brextremist anywhere near the levers of power.
But this week people started to get to know the self-proclaimed Brexit pirate and they REALLY don’t like what they see.
Crucially for Tories, he isn’t viewed as uniting force within the Party (which Hunt, possibly could be).
But what have we learnt this week….
1) Raab is down, but he is still playing to win
The week of 3-7 June were a complete disaster for Raab.
His hardline plan to prorogue / suspend Parliament, bring in the Queen, and drive through a WTO No-Deal hasn’t gone down at all well.
Raab isn’t backtracking and has double downed on this CRAZY idea.
To his right, he is being out gunned by the equally hardline and Thatcherite McVey. He was even overtaken by the geekyand funny Rory Stewart – who is in the race just for the LOLs.
Raab is 30/1 today (11th June). Way down from his peak odds at 24/5/2019 when we was 7/1 – second only to Johnson.
It seems to be a very good week for Hunt and Gove is doing well, despite the cocaine stuff.
Them were the days back in May…
Odd on Raab in May 2019
We personally think that the bookies have this all wrong. I would be getting a fiver on this ASAP.
The book — Michael Gove: A Man In A Hurry — by Owen Bennett, recalls the incident in detail, leading to a bitter blame game for the leak among Mr Gove’s top team, with suspicion falling on Ms Armstrong.
One insider told The Mail on Sunday it ‘doesn’t take Sherlock to work out how this got out’. Another claimed Ms Armstrong had the ‘dark arts flowing through her’ and had cut her teeth as a researcher at Conservative Party HQ, digging up dirt about Labour.
Last night, Mr Raab’s team said: ‘This did not come from anyone involved in the Raab campaign. We would never look to score cheap political points like this.’
3) #Raab NDA trended on Twitter (Tues 11th June)..
Maria Miller was forced to defend Raab on the radio. Lots of people have been asking who did Raab C get to sign the #NDA? While he CAN talk about it, she can’t!
4) Raab has a lot of money to burn on Facebook ads targeting older Tory members.
Dominic Raab dropped over £50,000* on Facebook ads in the last week, just before the spending limit deadline, way more than any of his rivals.
5) Raab is STILL blocking people who share this video of him on Twitter
The future PM has famously blocked Victoria Derbyshire, LBC’s James O’Brien and, of course, us here in his constituency of Esher and Walton.
It isn’t a big problem, we just have to sign out of our account to view Raab C’s appalling attempts at social video.
But more people are joining the #BlockedByRaab club
They seem to get an instant blocking for sharing infamous foodbank video.. Can you get yourself blocked by @DominicRaab
Journalists gathered on Monday (10/6/19) to watch Raab C’s leadership launch at the Royal Festival Hall and here are 10 scary things we learnt about the original Brextremist..(and that’s not Esther McVey)
The day was notable in London for constant rain. It was if God himself was shedding tears of pain, as he was forced to listen to one un-costed pledge to cut income tax / National Insurance or VAT after another, after another, from the various #ToryLeadershipContest rivals. First it was Hancock, then Raab, then McVey and finally Gove..
But let’s get down to business… What did we learn in those painful 22 minutes of Dominic Raab speaking words, very, very badly?
1) What’s this? Raab is being introduced by the Chair of the Women and Equalities Select Committee??
WOW! Now this is a surprise.
How much bullying did it take to get well-known feminist Maria Miller, Chair of the Women and Equalities Select Committee, to introduce not-so-well known feminist, Dominic Raab?
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2) Raab doesn’t understand irony – “We’ve been humiliated in this country during the talks with the EU”
Can we PLEASE just remind Raab who was responsible for the negotiations…. Yes, it was YOU who has humiliated the UK..
“The tired approach that got us into this mess… [Raab, that was YOU!]
…can’t get us out of it” [We agree. #StopRaab becoming PM]
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3) The man is really boring… for a self-proclaimed “buccaneer”
While nobody could actually see Hancock at his campaign launch also at the Royal Festival Fall – a classic schoolboy error is that you don’t stand in front of a bright window. You’ll just appear in the dark on camera.
Chaotic at times, Hancock’s launch was a blast compared to the dull, and deeply, deeply, serious Raab C launch, which occurred a floor beneath in the Royal Festival Hall.
We loved it when a fired-up Hancock asked journalists: “If you could choose, what time you would be alive? Wouldn’t you choose now?”
Even McVey had her picture of Thatcher and the EXCITEMENT of a stage invader [who she actually laughed at!].
4) “Me, 3 years-old, and the bowl haircut”
For some reason, Raab C seems to believe his upbringing is REALLY interesting.
Unlike Gove or Hancock, who are happy to speak without notes, nervous Raab was totally scripted. And those scripted “jokes” barely got a laugh.. [there is one involving Emily Thornberry that is just soooo painful].
Raab was so nervous and so dull in contrast to Gove, who strolled around the stage confident and with his notes rolled up, ready for action.
5) Raab has a great memory. He may have been just two years-old, but Raab remembers 1976 VERY well.
He has a stunningly good memory of the strikes of ’76, inflation and coffins piling up – bearing in mind Raab would have been just TWO YEARS OLD!
Raab was born on 25 February 1974, so we doubt he was worried about inflation aged two.
We developed a nasty cough [cough..”bullshit!”], whenever Raab talks about his formative life experiences that resulted his becoming a Brextremist Tory.
We are pretty sure its all TRUE [cough..bullshit!] that he recalls the “national pride” of a Silver Jubilee “street party” which he [apparently] attended way back in 1977, presumably rocking his trademark “bowl haircut.”
6) Worryingly, Raab has NO FEAR of bringing his kids into his leadership campaign
We believes that MPs should have a private life.
We wouldn’t invade Raab’s privacy by NAMING his father, mother OR CHILDREN (who, we found out are just 6 and 4 years old..poor “little mites”).
But Raab is happy to bring his family into his politics, particularly if it allows him to illustrate yet another lesson he learnt on his way to become a Thatcherite Tory.
Who names his own kids at a launch speech in front of journalists at the Royal Festival Hall? We have a feeling that by invading the privacy of his family may well come back to haunt him, should he ever become PM.
But we WILL name Mrs Raab C – that is Erika Rey-Raab mainly because Raab C wants us to know that she is BRAZILIAN. Last time we checked, Brazil wasn’t in the EU so her right to remain in the UK will be just fine after Brexit [we hope!].
Raab C wants us to know that his wife, Erika, who is Brazilian (we thought we would remind you!) because he is trying to get across that he is completely fine with immigration (not like some of those nasty fruitcakes and racists in UKIP).
Raab has form in the area of using is family in attack videos. A particular gutter move, was to use a picture of his late father, a Jewish refugee, in a social video to attack Corbyn. #NotFair
7) He refers to the UK crashing out of the EU as merely a “transition”
He talks about hard Brexit causing a period of “uncertainty” and “transition” for British businesses. But that’s not what the CBI is saying!
Business is saying that a WTO Brexit will be carnage for the British economy, which is already flatlining.
He double-downed on the warning that Parliament won’t stop him from crashing out of the EU in October.
8) “I believe in a second chance society”
Do you Raab C? Really?
That isn’t just a soundbite? PS: what is a “second chance society”, anyway?
9) “That’s a pay rise for the nurse, getting up at 5 am to catch the bus to work..”
Then the moment came, like any good Tory he offered a tax bribe. In his case, a cut in National Insurance contributions for the poor (like nurses).
That’s when the heavens started to open and sensible Hammond started to rain tears of despair.
In fairness Raab wasn’t the first or the last last Tory leadership contender that day to offer un-costed tax cuts, which the editor of the FT described in a Tweet as “financial incontinence”.
10) He opposes climate change and wants to stop it, unlike “luddite Labour Party”
Well, well, well…. Raab isn’t blue, he is GREEN.
Look Raab, we’ve read your voting record on preventing climate change…. and its frankly all hot air..
Raab on climate change
11) He thinks things will go “back to normal” once Brexit is delivered…
Brextremists believe if only we can just get out of the EU, by whatever means necessary, and things will return to normal.
The Party will reunite and the Tories can carry on being, well….Tories.
They don’t understand that Brexit will NEVER end. Whitehall will be dealing with it for decades to come.
Unpicking and re-writing all the trade deals and introducing new regulation will go on and on, and ON…..
We’ll be employing EXTRA staff to man the borders, not fewer.
We’ll be arguing for decades to come over why a box of tyres is able to move across a border, yet a human needs to have their passport stamped.
It is why we have to Revoke Article 50.
Remain and then reform the EU.
Read like Raab: Nixon by Jonathan Aitken
One of nine books Raab owns.
Net and Gross…it’s like the same thing, right?
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