“Buy Local” Tony Vaughan MP Spends £346 on Non-Local Plants — Some Imported from China

When Tony Vaughan KC MP for Folkestone & Hythe (pictured) penned his 24 July 2025 column, Buying Local is the Bedrock of Community, it was an unambiguous call to arms. Folkestone’s independent shops, he wrote, are the “bedrock of our community,” deserving of our custom to protect high streets, forge community bonds, and bolster the local economy.

From Docker Bakery’s sourdough to Bounce Vintage’s sustainable clothing racks, Vaughan urged readers to put their money where their values are — into the tills of local, independent businesses.

But documents obtained by this newspaper suggest that Vaughan’s own wallet tells a different story. Since being elected he has spent at least £346.30 on plants, pots, and accessories — yet none of it was bought locally.

The Non-Local Shopping List

The receipts paint a picture of a decidedly non-local spree.

• Beards & Daisies, an online national retailer, provided a Kentia Palm, a Hanging Satin Pothos, granite and jute pots, plant mister, and root treatment — totalling £132.80 including delivery.

• Amazon UK supplied a T4U ceramic succulent pot set (£17.99) from a seller based in Guangdong, China (we wonder what the Carbon Footprint is on that!), and a set of five mixed Echeveria plants (£14.99) dispatched from Gardener’s Dream Ltd in Glasgow.

• A further unidentified purchase of £45 is recorded, the plant itself unnamed, plus a £60 Cheese plant.

• The second-largest single spend appears to be £75.82, covering a Dracaena Sunray (Dracaena marginata ‘Sunray’) — a striking cultivar of the Madagascar dragon tree — along with other accessories from The Range. However, it remains unclear whether this purchase was made at The Range in Cheriton or at another branch elsewhere.

No evidence suggests a single purchase was made from a Folkestone, Hythe, or Romney Marsh-based nursery, florist, or garden centre.

‘Do As I Say, Not As I Do’

Psychologists have long noted that hypocrisy often emerges when there is a gap between public advocacy and private action. Hypocrisy is “only wrong when you do it” — a cognitive bias where we judge others more harshly for actions we quietly permit ourselves.

Vaughan’s rhetoric was unequivocal: buying local is a moral imperative. Yet when faced with his own purchasing decisions, he opted for national chains, online specialists, and even overseas sellers — precisely the behaviour he warned against as corrosive to community life.

This kind of inconsistency risks undermining trust. Politicians trade heavily on credibility; once the public perceives a gap between words and deeds, the authority of both is diminished.

Why It Matters

Critics will argue that Vaughan’s £346.30 is a drop in the ocean. But small details matter in politics — particularly when an MP has chosen to make “buying local” part of his personal brand.

Local florists and nurseries in the constituency — from Cheriton to New Romney — offer Kentia palms, succulents, pots, and hanging plants. Buying from them would have been entirely possible and politically coherent.

By not doing so, Vaughan has not only deprived his own constituency’s businesses of custom, but also handed a powerful example to opponents eager to frame him as “all talk, no follow-through.”

The Political Fallout

Whether this incident becomes a footnote or a festering sore depends on how Vaughan responds. An acknowledgment and a public commitment to source future purchases locally could contain the damage.

If ignored, however, it risks becoming emblematic of a broader political malaise: the ease with which fine words about community and sustainability evaporate when personal convenience is at stake.

In short: Vaughan’s plant-buying exploits may be green in colour, but they are not green in politics. When the MP for Folkestone & Hythe tells residents to shop local while his own receipts tell another story, it’s not just a potted problem — it’s a full-blown credibility crisis.

The Shepway Vox Team

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