Tonbridge MP 1974-2015 Has Died

Thursday, 4 December 2025 21:00

By Martin Webber

Tributes have been paid to the former Member of Parliament for Tonbridge and Malling, Sir John Stanley, who's died aged 83 after illness.

Sir John represented the area for 41 years, between 1974 and 2015.

In a tribute the current MP for Tonbridge Tom Tugendhat said that Sir John: "dedicated much of his life to our concerns and cared deeply. He served with distinction as a minister in government and had the privilege, as Margaret Thatcher’s PPS, of being the one who welcomed her into Number 10 for the first time."

Tom Tugendhat continued: "Even after he stepped down he was a kind friend and counsel to me and was the best predecessor I could ask for. No issue was too big or small for Sir John to deal with. In Parliament, he was devoted to serving his country in the same way he served our community.
Sir John will be missed by us all, not least, me. I send my deepest condolences to Elizabeth and to his whole family."

The current leader of Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council, Matt Boughton, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "I can remember a former colleague of mine saying you couldn't walk down a street in Tonbridge and Malling without meeting someone who had been helped by John Stanley. He had a wonderful memory, wonderful memory for people, a wonderful memory for places. He was an absolutely outstanding parliamentarian and he did an awful lot for Tonbridge and Malling.