General election debate canceled at last minute due to ‘lack of interest’ from voters | Bristol Live

Two planned general election debates in Bristol were canceled at the last minute due to a lack of interest from voters. The debates were scheduled for the end of last week, giving locals a chance to question the candidates who can represent their areas in parliament.

Hustings are usually held before an election, where members of the public can ask questions and hear directly from their candidates. But ahead of the general election on Thursday, July 4, organizers struggled to get all the candidates to participate.

Totterdown Baptist Church organized two tours for Bristol South and Bristol East. These were both canceled before going ahead after only a few people expressed an interest in attending.

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Posting on social media, organizers said: “There was less interest than we had hoped for and on top of that our seat is not good. The pre-submitted questions will be sent to all candidates and if we receive an answer we will pass. their answers on.”

Bristol South Field Trips were scheduled for Friday, June 28 at Totterdown Baptist Church. Conservative candidate Liz Brennan said she did not attend, while Labor candidate Karin Smyth did not respond to an invitation to attend.

The Bristol East trip was scheduled for Thursday, June 27, also at Totterdown Baptist Church. Organizers said they had received no responses to invitations from Conservative candidate Dan Conaghan, SDP candidate Clare Dunnage and independent candidate Wael Mustapha Arafat.

Both Bristol South and Bristol East are safe seats for Labor and are unlikely to change hands in the general election. Hustings in other parts of the city were canceled after candidates pulled out for security reasons, while others went ahead with just two candidates and few people in the audience.