It won’t have escaped your notice that there is yet another election next Thursday. As with many general elections, local voices are being drowned out by the battle between party leaders and the media hysteria over what this or that leader has done, or might do, and whether they turn out for TV debates.
For us in Ludlow, we need an MP who can deliver for us locally. We need to hear the voices of our candidates. We fortunately have had the opportunity to hear our four Ludlow candidates at two hustings hosted by BBC Radio Shropshire. There is a third husting tonight (Friday 2 June) at St Laurence’s Church, 7pm to 9pm.
On Wednesday, Eric Smith invited the four candidates into the studio for an hour’s grilling, based in part on listener’s questions. You can hear the debate online.
Yesterday, Thursday, Eric and Claire Ashford came to Ludlow for an open-air husting on Events Square. Again, you can hear the debate online.
From left: Julia Buckley, Heather Kidd, Hilary Wendt,
Philip Dunne, Eric Smith and Peter Corfield
This will be broadcast during Eric Smith’s Shropshire Breakfast on Saturday morning (6am to 10am). He will be playing highlights during the first three hours of the show and the full recording from 9am to 10am.
Before that, we have a husting tonight at 7pm in St Laurence’s Church. The new Rector of Ludlow, Kelvin Price, will be in the chair. The event, open to all, is organised by People4Ludlow, with thanks to Churches Together Around Ludlow. A retiring collection will be made to cover costs.
The four Ludlow candidates are:
- Julia Buckley, Labour
- Philip Dunne, Conservative
- Heather Kidd, Liberal Democrats
- Hilary Wendt, Green.
I got the report from the Ludlow food bank today. 45% of all food parcels given out this year were to people caught by the benefits system- usually because of delays in receiving benefits. Ask the candidates to comment on that shameful local statistic in a country with the sixth highest GDP in the World.