Green candidate selected for Frome
As 2024 starts to loom into view, we are seeing more candidates declared for the new Somerset constituencies. A General Election must be held by January 2025 so more announcements are expected soon.
In the new constituency of Frome and East Somerset, the Green Party have selected Martin Dimery to stand for them. A long standing resident of the town of Frome, Mr Dimery was for many years involved in the Frome Festival. A former teacher he was selected as the Green party candidate in the Somerton & Frome by-election in July. Mr Dimery (pictured below) polled just under 4,000 votes coming third behind the LibDems and Conservatives with 10% of total votes cast. This meant he retained his deposit.
It was the best result for the Green Party since Theo Simon polled 5,400 at the 2015 General Election.
However the new Frome constituency is a more left leaning, losing the more rural areas around Somerton and Wincanton. In their place the constituency will take on the old mining areas of Radstock and Midsomer Norton. This ought to make it a target for the Labour party.
The latest opinion poll however from Stonehaven offers some encouragement for the Green party. It predicts a vote of 6,381 for the Greens.
Mr Dimery is the first candidate to be selected for the new constituency.
Hi- it’s worth remembering the consistency is called Frome & East Mendip.
Yes the town of Frome is ahuge bit c. 20/25,000 voters but still so much of the consistency is rural.
Historically the Green Party lost their deposit in 2017. When the article says they did well and were a few hundred votes off losing it again in ge2019.
Bye elections have their own dynamic so will exclude the recent bye election but recent polls but the constituency as a three way dog fight between LibDem, Tory and Labour.
Also worth noting that offical Green policy is for 4 MPs and this new steat does not figure in those calculations.
The Green Party have never run a town council, district, county or unitary council locally- advancing to Westminster seems tall order.