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Full House Husting Reaction
(June 20, 2024)A full house greeted six parliamentary candidates at Warminster's Atheneum on Wednesday evening for a lively hustings event just over two weeks before voters in the town go to the polls for the July General Election.
WCR radio's Barry Mole told us that hustings had been held at the venue over the decades going back to 1900. At that election Liberal candidate John Fuller gained the seat from the Conservatives in an election which saw 86.7 per cent of the male only electorate turn out.
Could history repeat itself and the election see Warminster represented by a non-Conservative for the first time since 1924?
If you look at the national polls the Tories are struggling to convince even their own supporters that they deserve to stay in power.
But what of the position in the South West Wiltshire constituency?
Candidates performance on the stage
At the hustings event long-serving Conservative Andrew Murrison did his best to defend the indefensible record of the government and fend off his critics who attacked him on the environment, defence, agriculture and health.
Steve said: "My honest opinion was that he played a poor hand quite well. The others failed to land any blows on him personally, but because the record of this government is so poor in so many respects he had little ammunition to use against his opponents other than to say they would spend money unwisely and drive up tazes.
"But haven't the Conservatives already done this?"
Liberal Democrat Dr Brett Palmer probably landed the most bruising blow on the MP when he accused the Conservative government, quite rightly, of crony capitalism - especially in the health sector and the water industry.
Steve said: "I was hoping to hear some good things from this candidate, but I found him tedious and he has obviously not reconciled himself to the democratic decision taken by the country in 2016 and 2019 to leave the EU.
"I like the Lib Dem policy on water and also their focus of social care, but for me our decision to leave the EU must be respected and so he is out of my consideration."
Then there is Labour. According to the Electoral Calculus website and the betting market Labour's Evelyn Akoto is the most likely candidate to unseat Dr Murrison - really?
Steve said: "I was pleasantly surprised by this lady as she knew her brief, came out with some interesting views, most especially in regard to councils taking a more active role in protecting their communities and supporting rather than demonising young people.
"She would probably be the most sympathetic if you went to her with a problem. However to my provincial ears she did sound as if she was recounting the text from the Metropolitan Socialist's Handbook. Her prescriptions seemed mostly to rely on state-controlled action and little on individual initiative."
Reform UK have been edging up consistently since the Prime Minister called the vote and candidate, Garry Irvin, appeared a little nervous at the start. He gave a very traditional approach to most problems that might find favour among many - including the 'clip round the ear' for the youngsters involved in anti-social behaviour.
Steve said: "The middle class Guardian reading element in the audience didn't like much of what he had to say but his opinions will ring true with many. He was on strongest ground when discussing the failure of the government to maintain military numbers (which was lamented by all) but he asked the pertinent question of how you could expect to recruit enough combatants when the woke authorities put it about that white males are not wanted."
Independents Enter The Fray
Then there are two independent candidates. Thomas Culshaw, would be a breath of fresh air to the House of Commons if he were elected but in our system he stands little chance. This probably applies to barrister James Ward who, as you would expect, is an effective public speaker and gave concise and to the point answers to question - with no hint of any use of the Metropolitan Socialists Handbook.
There is also a Green Party candidate, Fay Whitfield, who was unable to attend the event for family reasons.
Who will win? Who knows?
Summing up Steve said: "The event was professionally organised by WCR and gave a rare opportunity to hear the candidates. I was slightly disappointed that many big issues - the population explosion caused by migration, the rapidly ageing population of the UK, the inability of the young to find homes large enough to raise children and the failure of the state to encourage marriage and protect the family unit were largely overlooked.
"Dr Palmer did mention the family and was loudly applauded. I would suggest that the other parties also address this issue if they wish gain my support and that of many, many other floating voters."
Steve said: "We know that many undeclared Tories will come out of the woodwork at election time so even with the dire polling and appalling Conservative campaign nationally I would expect Dr Murrison to receive a minimum vote of 28 per cent. He might secure a little higher vote as he is the sitting MP so he must have assisted a number of constituents over the years and they may feel a personal loyalty to him.
"If Reform polling edges up further in the next two weeks they could cause an upset. However a potentially decisive factor is which of the Labour and Lib-Dems is seen as the lost likely challenger for the anti-Tory supporters to vote tactically. This is crucial but at present it is unclear. Since 1974 the Liberal element of the opposition has usually been ahead of Labour but Labour was in second place last time.
"My hunch is that more disaffected Tories will switch to the Lib Dems but will they do so insufficient numbers.
"We are also certainly likely to witness the most interesting election of our lifetimes."
Steve Dancey has lived in Warminster since the 1950s. He served as a county and town councillor and spent a quarter of a century in print media ending his career as the editor of the Andover Advertiser - one of Hampshire's oldest paid for newspapers.