Filton & Bradley Stoke constituency General Election 2024 candidates' pledges and all you need to know

Filton & Bradley Stoke constituency has been held by incumbent Conservative MP Jack Lopresti since it was created in 2010. However, Labour candidate Claire Hazelgrove is tipped to oust him at the 2024 General Election on Thursday, July 4, with the latest YouGov MRP poll suggesting this is “likely”.

In 2019, Jack Lopresti was returned to Parliament with 49 per cent of the vote, beating Labour’s Mhairi Threlfall in second place with 38 per cent, while the Lib Dems and Greens were a distant third and fourth respectively ahead of a candidate from Citizens Movement Party UK. A swing of just over five per cent from the Tories to Labour would see the seat change hands for the first time.

YouGov’s second MRP poll of the campaign in mid-June, which is regarded as one of the most accurate because it uses a large survey and data size, predicted a Labour gain with 49 per cent of the vote – 13 per cent more than five years ago – with the Conservatives in second on 27 per cent, down almost half. Reform UK, standing for the first time, is forecast to finish third on 14 per cent, ahead of the Greens on seven per cent overtaking the Lib Dems on four per cent.

Read more:

• Cash-strapped Bristol City Council owns £134m of art - including four Banksy pieces

• Bristol Central constituency General Election 2024 guide -candidates and all you need to know

Their candidates are Stephen Burge (Reform UK), James Nelson (Green) and Benet Allen (Lib Dem). All five candidates have provided a pitch to voters for this article.

Try BristolLive Premium for FREE with no ads and new features

Benet Allen (Liberal Democrat) is a former councillor and was deputy leader of Somerset West and Taunton Council. During his tenure, the local authority began work on the first council houses to be planned and built in west Somerset for more than 30 years.

He is campaigning for the Filton & Bradley Stoke community on both a local and national stage and wants to see action to tackle the housing, cost-of-living and NHS crises and the ongoing sewage scandal. Benet was the party’s candidate in the recent Avon & Somerset police and crime commissioner local elections where he finished fourth out of four.

He said: “For years our area has been taken for granted by an out-of-touch Conservative government that has failed to get the basics right and lurched from crisis to crisis – now it’s time for a change. We need to see a return to politics that not only works for the country, but for our local communities.

“Local health services have been brought to their knees, people’s mortgages and rent have skyrocketed and water companies have been allowed to pump their filthy sewage into our rivers and beaches. All this by a Conservative government more interested in fighting between themselves than standing up for the country.

“People are at breaking point and the simple fact is that we need change at the very top. This government is the first in almost a century to make the average person poorer.

“Every vote for the Liberal Democrats is a vote for a fair deal. It’s a vote for a party and a candidate that will stand up for our community and our health services.” He said the Lib Dems had promised to hold Labour’s “feet to the fire” in Westminster and that, if elected, he would fight for his community to ensure no one was forgotten.

Steve Burge (Reform UK) has lived in and around Filton & Bradley Stoke for most of his life. He is married with three children and has worked for a company in Weston-super-Mare for more than 20 years.

Steve said: “I have never done anything like this before, and at 65 I felt compelled to stand to try and have a voice for Filton & Bradley Stoke. Over the last few years this community has been taken for granted and not listened to with its local issues.

“Although I moved from this area a few years ago, after living in this area for a majority of my life, my links are very much here, with my children living in Bradley Stoke and myself involved in local events, skittles and football. I want to focus on what is important for this community and issues like bus services that have been cancelled, Hambrook Junction, petty crime, housing issues, etc.

"I may not be able to solve everything overnight, but at least people can be assured that I am fighting for them and doing everything I can.”

Claire Hazelgrove (Labour) lives in Stoke Gifford and is from a family of teachers, NHS workers and RAF service members, and says “public service runs deep in me”. She has worked in leadership roles for national charities, including Shelter and Friends of the Earth, and on big political campaigns to make change happen on important issues.

Claire has spent the last four years supporting councils and charities across the UK to bring the people they represent into decision-making processes on issues that matter to them. She said: “I've worked in leadership for trusted charities on big issues, including the housing and environmental crises.

“I knock on doors all year round and share your concerns. We live in great communities but our potential is held back. As your strong voice in Parliament, I’ll act:

“Reduce the cost of living. Getting energy bills down with a proper windfall tax on oil and gas giants and switching on GB Energy;

“Public services back on their feet. More doctors, dentists, teachers and police, and reform. Funded by closing tax loopholes and exemptions;

“Good and affordable homes, with infrastructure. Protecting our growing communities’ character;

“Public transport that works. Speeding up bus franchising and opportunity for local control of bus services;

“Climate action and good, local green jobs. Protecting nature and backing local skills, in aerospace and beyond.

“Change will take time, but I’ll work every day to serve you as an active, impactful and approachable MP you can be proud of. Labour’s always been the strong second here – let’s give change a chance.”

Jack Lopresti (Conservative) has been Filton & Bradley Stoke MP since 2010 and is defending a 5,646-vote majority from the last General Election. He was appointed the party’s deputy chairman in February 2023.

Jack said: “It’s been an honour to represent you as your Member of Parliament for the last 14 years. Over that time, we have achieved so much together for our area, but there’s still more to do.

“Our country is at a crossroads. We have all faced very difficult years: a global pandemic – the first in over a century – and the first full-scale invasion on the continent of Europe since the Second World War. We have had to make difficult decisions to steer our country through these dark times.

“Locally, I have been working hard to improve connectivity in Downend and surrounding areas like Frenchay and Emersons Green. I presented a petition to Parliament to restore Hambrook Junction so traffic can cross the junction in both directions.

“I’ll continue to push to reinstate bus services which have been cut by Labour’s West of England mayor Dan Norris who, despite receiving £105million to improve buses, prefers to waste money on gimmicks like a Birthday Bus pass, and adverts of himself and his dog. When it comes to public services like health and education, I secured £49.9million for Southmead Hospital and I’m working to improve access to local GP surgeries.

“As for education, 93 per cent of South Gloucestershire schools are rated good or outstanding by Ofsted. Moreover, having already delivered a new school in Winterbourne, we must look to build another in Emersons Green. We’ve turned a corner – we have a plan. We seek the opportunity, honour and privilege to continue to serve the British people.”

James Nelson (Green) is a 20-year-old law student at the University of Bristol and a Bradley Stoke town councillor. He said: “We need to see a step change in how we fund our public services.

“As someone not far out of school and as the brother of a soon-to-be children's nurse, I have seen the devastation of austerity on our public services. As a Green MP, I would fight to ensure those with the broadest shoulders paid for public services that are fit for the future.

“We need to protect our waters, air and land. I have grown up appreciating our local nature and seeing the failure of the government to address the climate crisis.

“As a Green MP, I would fight for sewage-polluting water companies to come under public ownership and for real ambition from the government to provide a green future for the next generation. We need to deal with the cost of living with more than a sticking plaster.

“I have met with many people feeling the squeeze while some large companies post record profits. As a Green MP, I would fight for the tax on income from shares in companies to be raised to equal what you pay on your salaries from work, so that we can pay for a fairer, greener society for all.

“I have lived in this area since I was two years old, I have seen promises made and then broken. I believe in real hope and real change for our communities.

“That’s why I’m asking you to vote for me on July 4. Read more about the Green Party in our manifesto: https://greenparty.org.uk/about/our-manifesto/ ”

Filton & Bradley Stoke constituency has seen some boundary changes for this year’s General Election, including gaining parts of the former Kingswood seat, which has been abolished, such as Emersons Green. It has lost Severn Beach, which has moved into Thornbury & Yate, while Staple Hill and Mangotsfield are now part of the new Bristol North East constituency.

Filton & Bradley Stoke comprises the South Gloucestershire wards of Bradley Stoke North, Bradley Stoke South, Charlton & Cribbs, Emersons Green, Filton, Frenchay & Downend, Patchway Coniston, Stoke Gifford, Stoke Park & Cheswick and Winterbourne.