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Canterbury general election hustings to be streamed on KentOnline tonight
05:00, 19 June 2024
Another general election husting is set to be live-streamed on KentOnline today.
We are bringing you coverage of the event in Canterbury with just weeks to go until voters head to the polls.
Parliamentary hopefuls will attempt to win over voters at the event, which starts at 7pm.
Conservative Louise Harvey-Quirke, Reform UK’s Bridget Porter, Henry Stanton from the Green Party, Liberal Democrat Russ Timpson and Luke Buchanan-Hodgman from the Social Democratic Party will be among the candidates at the Canterbury Christ Church University hustings.
Labour candidate Rosie Duffield, who has served as MP since 2017, will not be attending.
In a statement on X, she said: “I have made the extremely difficult decision not to attend local hustings events during this general election campaign.
“Hustings are usually an enjoyable and interesting part of any political campaign, but sadly the actions of a few fixated individuals have now made my attendance impossible.
“The constant trolling, spite and misrepresentation from certain people – having built up over a number of years and being pursued with new vigour during this election – is now affecting my sense of security and wellbeing. The result is now that I feel unable to be focused on giving a clear presentation of the Labour Party’s manifesto commitments.”
Former EastEnders star Lord Cashman had the Labour whip suspended for suggesting Ms Duffield was scared or lazy after she withdrew from the hustings due to safety concerns.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer branded the peer’s comments “particularly inappropriate”.
The event, which will be streamed on KentOnline, will take place at Augustine Hall in Augustine House from 7pm, with a drinks reception beforehand at 6.30pm.
On Monday night, candidates for the three Medway constituencies answered questions live on KentOnline at a hustings.
The KM Group and KMTV teamed up with the Universities at Medway and Maxim PR to present the event at its Gillingham campus.