Campaign groups across Swindon have been left frustrated as Conservative candidates have failed to engage with hustings and other campaign events.
Well attended hustings organised by Keep Our NHS Public and various local environmental groups have had to go ahead without the participation of local Conservative candidates.
Meanwhile, the ‘Fair Funding For All Schools Swindon’ campaign has been left disappointed after local Conservative candidates refused to sign up to a pledge to ensure adequate school funding after the election.
Jon Timbrell, a local parent campaigner with Fair Funding For All Schools Swindon said, ‘The lack of engagement on the crucial issue of school funding has been really disappointing. Candidates across party lines have signed the pledge to fix school funding, but not our two current MPs. Over the last two years, our group has arranged several hustings and public meetings. We’ve had fantastic take up from Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green party candidates and activists, but the conservatives have yet to send a representative to a single one of our events. The truth is, education is being run in to the ground by chronic under-funding and no matter if they agree of disagree with parents and teachers, our local MPs should be at least engaging and debating with us.’
Samantha Walthen, chair of ‘Keep our NHS Public Swindon’ said, ‘Neither Conservative MP has attended any of our events, despite being invited on several occasions. We are made up of people from all political persuasions and seek only a properly funded and publicly provided NHS. Attempting to deflect attention from his lack of engagement with local NHS issues, as Justin Tomlinson has done in labelling us as “a Labour organisation” would seem an excuse, as other candidates were very happy to attend and express their views. It seems more likely that a public representative of the government is either unwilling or unable to defend their government’s record on this issue.’
John Ranford of Extinction Rebellion Swindon, who organised a cross-party hustings on the theme of climate change said, ‘After lengthy to-ing and fro-ing with telephone tag, the Conservatives came back saying neither Justin Tomlinson or Robert Buckland could find the time. We decided to go ahead anyway, but this is a sad day for democracy.’
Julian Jones of Swindon Climate Action Network said, ‘The science says we need rapid action on climate change over the next decade, so lack of policy commitment from the conservatives for the next five year government is truly alarming. Friends of the Earth have compared manifestos and there is a stark contrast, scoring the conservatives at 5.5 versus the highest scoring, which is Labour at 33 out of 45.’
In Highworth, where the hustings are usually organised by the Methodist Church, the organisers eventually decided to call off the event due to a delay in response from Justin Tomlinson.
Non-attendance at Hustings events appears to have been a feature of the Conservative electoral strategy. Nicky Bikston, a Conservative Councillor in Lewes, herself a last minute stand in for a Conservative candidate ‘too busy’ to attend was spotted atop a wheelie bin, attempting to scale a fence to avoid a climate hustings debate. She is one of at least 33 other conservative candidates who, along with Boris Johnston, have declined invitations to attend climate change themed hustings.
Jon Timbrell said, ‘None of our groups are affiliated to any political party. We have decided to take the step of coming together to publish a joint statement as we feel that our MPs and candidates should be held to public account and be willing to debate their record and party policy with the people of Swindon. The local, and indeed national, policy of certain candidates appearing to wish to avoid public scrutiny send a worrying precedent around accountability and transparency.
