As is customary “Vision Group for Sidmouth” invited all candidates to take part in a hustings. Only one candidate said yes.

Denise Bickley, standing for the Liberal Democrats, said she “would be delighted to take part in the hustings and will make myself available whenever you can arrange it”.

Sidmouth has a long tradition of holding hustings and Tories have “form “ for finding last minute excuses. In December 2019 Simon Jupp pulled out to go “late night shopping”. This week “Local Conservative” Stuart Hughes can’t find time in his diary which is a slap in the face for the local electorate.

He also added “it’s long days at the moment busy campaigning”, maybe he is struggling to keep up the pace as well.

In any event it doesn’t look as if accountability is high on his agenda.

So Vision Group for Sidmouth has had to cancel the event!

At the general election the voters in the new Honiton and Sidmouth constituency swung away from the Tories and voted for Lib Dem Richard Foord. Anyone reading his contributions to parliamentary debates will appreciate how passionately he is serving his constituents. This passion for caring for the community is shared by Denise Bickley. See: reflections on being a caring councillor.

Press release – 21 April 2025 – VGS cancels County Council election hustings event

The Vision Group for Sidmouth has had to take the decision to cancel its much-anticipated hustings event for the upcoming Devon County Council elections on 1st May.

Having announced at the town council’s Annual Assembly their intention to hold the event, the VGS contacted all four candidates for the Sidmouth seat, inviting them to take part in a Q&A session in front of a live audience at the end of April.

However, only one candidate replied to the invitation positively, despite repeated efforts by the VGS to produce a full ensemble of candidates.

Denise Bickley, standing for the Liberal Democrats, said she “would be delighted to take part in the hustings and will make myself available whenever you can arrange it”.

Stuart Hughes, candidate for the Conservative Party, said “I’m having a real problem trying to sort a date for this… so it’s looking as though unfortunately I shan’t be able to attend your planned event”. His agent added that “it’s long days at the moment busy campaigning”.

Neither Suzanne Bullock of the Labour Party nor Basil Herbert of Reform UK responded to invitations to attend the hustings event, whether directly or though offices and agents.

The VGS has held hustings for both general and local elections over the past twenty years, the most recent being in June last year when all the candidates were able to take part.

As one commentator says about hustings events, “I think they are an important and traditional part of the process”.

The VGS event would have been the only such opportunity available for voters in the Sidmouth seat.