Tom Tugendhat

01/06/2026

South East Water continue their dry spell, failing to provide basic water supply to over 100 homes in our area.

Thank you to Matt Boughton, Leader of Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council and Cllr Sarah Hudson for their continued work on this issue. Matt is posting regular updates on the situation.

31/05/2026

Last night, councillors Sarah Hudson and Matt Boughton handed out bottled water at the Moody Mare in Mereworth after another failure by South East Water.

Over 100 properties on and around Seven Mile Lane in Mereworth, West Peckham, Platt and Offham have been cut off.

Thanks to Cllrs Sarah Hudson and Matt Boughton for giving up their Saturday evening to help so many in our community.

30/05/2026

South East Water's incompetence strikes again. Homes in and around Mereworth have been left without any alternative water supply for nearly 36 hours.

I have applied for an urgent debate in Parliament on South East Water's performance, which is, yet again, unacceptable.

WATER OUTAGE

Properties across parts of Mereworth, West Peckham, Platt and Offham remain without water.

We have established that the cause is a failed booster at the Beech reservoir which means the water which has been tankered into the system is unable to get through the pipes to homes.

We are told South East Water are working on an alternative way of resolving this, but cannot put a timeframe for when water will return.

In the meantime we have asked for a bottled water station to be set up. We have suggested The Moody Mare Pub would be a good location. Despite it being around 30 hours since the first homes here lost supply, South East Water have not agreed to setting up a local bottled water station yet.

Late last night anyone on the Priority Service Register should have received some bottled water. If you are without water and haven't had a delivery please let me know - [email protected].

As always the dedicated Cllr Sarah Hudson has been on the ground looking after those affected, whilst the Duty Officers at TMBC have been pushing hard for South East Water to improve its response to the latest water outage - thank you all.

30/05/2026

For too long China, Russia and Iran have attempted to divide our people.

One clear example is the Iranian government using fake accounts to boost support for Scottish separatism.

The currency of people is trust, our greatest weakness is division.

29/05/2026

East Peckham Primary School maintain their fantastic standard of education to meet a diverse range of needs. Despite difficulties in funding from central government, they've just had a really good Ofsted report.

It was a pleasure to meet Kate Elliott, her team and the students on a visit last Friday. Their approach to education for students and the importance of children’s wellbeing especially in the SEND capacity, is inspiring. They have a podcast studio, a pool and a forest school giving kids the opportunity to learn a range of skills.

The ice cream, served to me in the pop up glacerie in their French lesson, has got to be my highlight! 🍦

29/05/2026

Remembering Sir John’s dedication to political service.

28/05/2026

There isn’t a snowflake generation – 170,000 expressed an interest in serving our country.

We need to be willing to face the obstacles and build the future force that we need now.

Preparing our people means investing in technology and changing how we bring people in.

Our Armed Forces are undermanned and underequipped. We can do better.

27/05/2026

Residents of East Peckham can often hear the noisy motorbikes and cars racing up the bypass, especially in the summer. With four deaths on the road over recent months, it is clear that more needs to be done to tackle this persistent problem.

Working with Matt Boughton, Leader of Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council and Cllr Sarah Hudson , we want to hear your thoughts on how to solve the issues.

Solutions such as changes to the layout of the bypass or speed cameras have been suggested, but we want to find out what works best for you.

Please fill in our surveys and have your say - https://www.tonbridgeconservatives.org.uk/campaigns/a228-safety-petition

27/05/2026

Estonia have never forgotten the threat of Russia against their territory and have invested in defence to protect themselves.

I spoke to The Estonian Council on Foreign Relations about the lessons we must all learn from the war in Ukraine.

In Britain, we need to wake up to the dangers that we face.

26/05/2026

It’s Kent Day!

A day to celebrate the fantastic people in our county, our schools, businesses, public sector workers, and the wonderful Garden of England we all share.

From the ancient Kingdom of Kent to the arrival of St Augustine in Canterbury and the reintroduction of Christianity to these islands, our county has played a unique role in the story of our nation which has shaped the world.

Kent is beautiful because of its countryside, and special because of the people who work every day to strengthen their communities.

It’s an honour to represent Tonbridge as part of this great county.