Tag: hustings

Our common future: Putting general election candidates on the spot

June 2, 2017

Susan Atkinson, CAFOD volunteer Deanery Co-ordinator for Hartlepool in the diocese of Hexham and Newcastle reports on a local hustings event.

Susan (right) asks a CAFOD question to local candidates
Susan (right) asks a CAFOD question to local candidates

Hartlepool is a rock-solid Labour seat. Always has been, always will be…though maybe not this time! At the last election, UKIP ran them close and, with our sitting MP stepping down and a new and largely unknown Labour candidate, anything might happen!

So my local hustings, for candidates standing for election in Hartlepool, had the potential to be interesting.

Email your candidates – call for action on poverty and climate change 

Continue reading “Our common future: Putting general election candidates on the spot”

Ask an election question: challenging my candidates on poverty

April 27, 2015

Ask an election question at hustingsSusan works in CAFOD’s Education team. This blog was written just before the 2015 UK general election.

I have a confession to make. Despite years of working for CAFOD and writing to my MP about social justice, I had never attended a hustings meeting of election candidates in my constituency until this month.

Email your candidates  during the 2017 general election campaign with a question on poverty and climate change.

My parish, the Church of the Transfiguration in Kensal Rise, decided to host a hustings for the first time this year. The parish is on the border of two particularly interesting constituencies.

Hampstead and Kilburn is the most marginal seat in the country. Glenda Jackson won in 2010 with a majority of only 42. She is standing down this year, as is Sarah Teather, who has been my constituency MP. She had a slightly higher majority, but this is still the 51st marginal seat. So there’s a lot to play for!

We had a great turn-out, from the candidates – almost all of whom came – and the audience, there were a mix of parishioners and other local community members.  Continue reading “Ask an election question: challenging my candidates on poverty”