A total of five candidates are contesting the Filton and Bradley Stoke (FaBS) constituency seat in the UK parliamentary poll (general election) that will take place on Thursday 4th July 2024.
Conservative candidate Jack Lopresti, who has held the seat continuously since its inception in 2010, is hoping to defend the 5,646 majority he secured at the last general election in 2019.
However, he faces a stiff challenge this time round as the latest polling predictions show him trailing the Labour candidate by 21 percentage points.
The Labour challenger is Claire Hazelgrove, who has a background in professional campaigning and stood as a candidate for the Skipton and Ripon seat in the 2010 general election.
She was selected by a vote of local party members back in November 2022 and since then has been busy trying to raise her profile through a busy schedule of “door step conversations” and attendance at public events.
Both mainstream parties appear to have lost ground to Reform UK in recent weeks, and the latter have put up Stephen Burge as their candidate in FaBS.
In a brief statement on the Reform UK website, Mr Burge describes himself as a “local ordinary person, educated locally”, adding that he “knows the area well”. He appears to have been something of a last minute selection as the party website was until very recently showing another individual, Gareth Watson, as Reform UK’s prospective parliamentary candidate for FaBS.
The Liberal Democrats, who took third spot in FaBS in the 2010, 2017 and 2019 general elections, have put up Benet Allen.
The name may be familiar as he stood in the recent Avon & Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner election, finishing last of four. The party seems to be making little effort to promote Mr Allen, perhaps preferring to focus their local efforts on nearby constituencies where they feel they have a better chance of winning, such as Thornbury and Yate.
Finally, James Nelson, an elected member of Bradley Stoke Town Council, is standing as the Green Party candidate in FaBS.
His profile on the local Green Party website speaks of him “having seen the damage the Tory Government in Westminster has done to our communities”. It adds: “If you put your trust in me, unlike our current MP, I won’t harbour the fame and power of office for myself”.
Are they local?
The formal Notice of Election reveals that at least two of the candidates live outside the constituency: Benet Allen (Somerset) and Stephen Burge (Knowle, Bristol). James Nelson declares a home in Bradley Stoke; Claire Hazelgrove “in Filton and Bradley Stoke” (although she has stated in her own literature that she lives in Stoke Gifford); and Jack Lopresti “in South Gloucestershire”.
Hustings
We’re still waiting to hear whether there will be any local hustings/debates involving the FaBS election candidates. Disappointingly, a hustings scheduled to take place in Downend on Friday 28th June has been cancelled – “because the Liberal Democrat and Reform UK candidates did not reply to the invitation while Labour and the Conservatives declined after finding out the event wasn’t ticketed”, according to an informed source.
[Editor’s note: Since this article was published, Claire Hazelgrove (Labour) has been in touch to say that while she had “asked questions about basic security at the planned Downend hustings – as is standard”, she had not formally “withdrawn” from the event ahead of it being cancelled by the organisers.]
Betting odds
Bookmakers are siding with the polling predictions and offering extremely short odds for a first-ever Labour victory in Filton and Bradley Stoke.
At the time of writing, Bet365 is offering the following odds: Labour 1/25; Conservative 12/1; Reform 33/1; Liberal Democrats 125/1; and Green Party 150/1.
The FaBS candidates on X/Twitter
View or follow the Journal’s GE2024FaBS list on X/Twitter to see what our local candidates have to say.
Recent tweets
More information
For more information about the local candidates, including links to their websites and social media channels, plus links to manifestoes and policy analysis from respected sources, visit the Journal’s dedicated 2024 General Election information page.
