Bath General Election hustings tonight includes candidate who doesn't speak

John Wimperis

24 June 2024 at 9:12 am·2-min read

Voters in Bath can head to the Abbey tonight to hear from the people who want to be the city’s next MP.

Bath Abbey will be hosting the hustings — which all nine candidates for the Bath constituency have said they will attend — at 7pm tonight (Monday June 24). The event is free to access and will end no later than 9pm.

Candidates will face questions from members of the audience, which can be on any topic as it is a general hustings with no specific theme. It is being arranged by Bath Christian Action Network, who have also arranged hustings in the constituency in previous years.

One candidate who may be quieter than most at the hustings is Independent candidate Bill Blockhead. Mr Blockhead, who wears a straw box on his head and describes himself as “a postmodern artworker and aspiring politician (weekends only),” does not speak.

He said: “NOT speaking is who I am. I write and consider issues deeply, though like all politicians prone to the ‘odd’ sound bite. ”

He is hoping to be able to hold up his policies written in large print on A2 card to answer questions, if allowed.

Bill Blockhead, campaigning for Bath in a bath -Credit:Bill Blockead

The general election takes place on July 4 and, for the first time, you will need to show one of 20 accepted forms of photo ID when you vote. You can check that your ID is on the list, and you have until 5pm on June 26 to sign up for a free Voter Authority Certificate if it is not, here. You do not have to show ID if you vote by post.

The full list of candidates standing for the Bath constituency is:

A.N.ON. (Independent)
Matthew Alford (Workers Party)
Dan Bewley (Labour)
Colin Blackburn (Independent)
Bill Blockhead (Independent)
Teresa Hall (Reform UK)
Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat)
Dominic Tristram (Green)
James Wright (Conservative)

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