In the video, Ms Beamont lists her three pledges as – “no other second homes allowance, I will commute to London like everybody else and no other paid employment.”
The use of ‘new media’, meaning freely accessible sites such as Facebook Twitter and blogs, is a relatively new development in English politics and is leading to some interesting interaction between politicians and voters.
Ms Beaumont’s Conservative rival Damian Collins appears to have the sharpest web presence, with regularly updated pages on Twitter, Facebook and Youtube. His Facebook avatar is a nod to an iconic image of Barak Obama, who used new media to great effect in his campaign for the American presidency. 
While these sites help raise candidates’ profiles, they can also allow very public comment and criticism, which becomes more likely as the site or page becomes more popular. Mr Collins appears to be dogged by one persistent commenter, although occasionally others step into defend him. Mr Collins background in PR and advertising leads many to tip him to win the new media race although given Shepway’s elderly demographic and the history of the seat it is not clear what effect this will have on the result.
Ms Beaumont is beginning to post but has yet to achieve Mr Collins’ success - Mr Collins boasts 866 Facebook friends, while Ms Beaumont has 149.
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