Times Radio Election Bus comes to Harrogate

Times Radio brought its election bus to Harrogate today as part of a tour of what it regards as key battleground constituents.

The radio station, which launched in 2020, chose Harrogate and Knaresborough because of the threat being posed to a traditionally Conservative seat by the Liberal Democrats.

The show was broadcast live from a studio within a branded tour bus parked outside the Yorkshire Hotel in the centre of Harrogate.

As part of its coverage, journalist Nick Ellerby stood on a lectern near the war memorial with Bettys in the background and talked about his impressions from chatting to local people.

He said he got the sense “a lot of people are undecided” about who to vote for and had cited NHS waiting lists, potholes and river sewage as key issues. 

Harrogate, he added, was a wealthy spa town that existed “in a bit of a bubble compared with nearby Leeds and Bradford”.

The Bettys connection soon became clear when Mr Ellerby went on to introduce clips recorded with local people on which party leader they’d most like to have a cup of tea with.

The bus is due to visit Blackpool, Altrincham and Wrexham in the next few days.