The Liberal Democrat candidates across Wiltshire have welcomed the announcement of a July general election.

With Rishi Sunak declaring the date as Thursday, July 4, it leaves those seeking to challenge current conservative MPs with less than six weeks to carry out the rest of their campaigns.

The Lib Dem candidate in Chippenham, Sarah Gibson, said: “For years our part of Wiltshire has been taken for granted by an out-of-touch Conservative Government that has failed to get the basics right, and has lurched from crisis to crisis - now it’s time for a change.

“Local health services have been brought to their knees.

“GPs are struggling to provide the service that people deserve, and NHS dentistry is unavailable for many.

Wiltshire Times: Wiltshire's Liberal Democrat candidates: top left, Sarah Gibson, top right, Bret Palmer, bottom

“People’s mortgages and rent have skyrocketed, and water companies have been allowed to pump their filthy sewage into our rivers, including the Avon.

“All this by a Conservative government more interested in fighting between themselves than standing up for the country.

“Labour knows they cannot win here, and they are sending their activists to Swindon.

“From Corsham in the west, through Chippenham and Calne to Royal Wootton Bassett in the east, only the Liberal Democrats can beat the Conservatives in this constituency.

"I care deeply about our community, our country and the future we will give our children.

“It's time for change.  It's time for a fresh start."

The Lib Dem candidate for South West Wiltshire, Bret Palmer, added: “It’s unexpected, but considering the anticipated increase in boat crossings in August and the pending legal challenges regarding deportations to Rwanda, I understand why Rishi Sunak might opt for an earlier date.

“With six weeks to go, I’m feeling a mixture of urgency and determination.

“Our country is facing numerous crises: increasing poverty, a struggling economy, a failing NHS, schools that need rebuilding, unreliable railways, problematic water companies, high levels of business failures and homelessness, and sewerage in our rivers.

“It’s clear that the UK needs an election now to address these pressing issues and bring about necessary change.”

Over in Melksham and Devizes, Lib Dem candidate Brian Mathew said: “Quite frankly we needed a general election earlier.

“Under the former fixed term legislation the date would have been set in law, and not at the Prime Minister’s ‘Gift’.

“This was a retrogressive piece of legislation, which was brought in to give the Conservative government the maximum advantage in being able to call when an election was called.

“But we are where we are, and we are already pulling out all the stops to see a massive win for the Liberal Democrats in the West Country.

“We are unlikely to form the next government, but we will hold whoever wins to account with our seven core Liberal Democrat values of Liberty, equality, democracy, community, human rights, internationalism and environmentalism.

“Now that is something to vote for!”

Finally, in East Wiltshire, Lib Dem candidate David Kinnaird has embarked on a two-week bike trip around the constituency to speak to residents. 

He said: “The ballot box will now surely judge just how badly we have been governed.   

“In the past 12 months, Liberal Democrats have been hard at work in East Wiltshire  winning elections against the Tories in Amesbury and Marlborough, and beating  Labour into 3rd place in Wroughton & Wichelstowe and in Ridgeway; so we are absolutely ready to go.

“I’m going to work hard to persuade East Wiltshire voters that a committed local Liberal Democrat will provide the balance we need in a future parliament. 

“I am going to embrace and enjoy the next six weeks; it’s my chance to make a positive change for the county that has been home to my family for nearly 30 years.”