Amble hustings: ‘a great idea’ for local democracy
Members of the public met and questioned the Amble candidates for the forthcoming county council elections at a hustings event – the first of its kind in living memory.
The event, held at James Calvert Spence College, drew an audience of around fifty, who heard from six of the candidates for the two Amble wards. The candidates gave a short introduction about themselves, before answering a number of questions which had been sent in beforehand. Members of the audience were then invited to question the candidates directly.
Of the nine candidates, six attended and two sent in statements to be read out on the night. Those attending were:
Amble West with Warkworth
Alex Brewis (LibDem); Ann Burke (Independent); Ivor Rackham (Green); Amy Spriggs (Labour) and Jeff Watson (Conservative)
Amble Ward
Jenny Richards (Conservative)
Moderator Matthew Connolly explained that the organisers had been particularly keen to involve young people in the event, believing it is very important to include them in the democratic process. He said all the candidates had been invited to attend, and great efforts had been made to invite everyone. In the end, six candidates took part, one candidate couldn’t attend and submitted a statement (Terry Clark); one candidate said no (Arty Hume); and one candidate didn’t respond (Pauline Davidson). Statements were read out from Terry Clark and Arty Hume.
Twenty eight questions were sent in to The Ambler, which were then sorted into categories. Questions were asked about local services, the environment, and young people. It soon became apparent that the hot button topic of the night was the lack of sports provisions in the town.
Candidates on stage expressed a range of views about how to address this issue, ranging from the retention of the existing sports hall on the current JCSC site, to the construction of a new venue in town, whilst others argued that the cost of upkeep made the construction of a new facility unlikely. Incumbent councillor Jeff Watson argued that the sports facilities included within the JCSC new build would adequately meet the community’s needs.
A question from Kieron a JCSC Sixth Former, centred around Anti Social Behaviour in light of recent police activity in the area. Several candidates commented on the importance of local voluntary and community groups offering youth services, such as the likes of Amble Youth Project, in tackling behavourial attitudes at an early stage. Other candidates commented that it was a generalisation to attribute ASB to young people. Others said that according to Police reporting, ASB in Amble has in fact reduced over the last few years.
Responding to their answers, Kieron said he felt that youth provisions ought to be expanded beyond the current sports offering, highlighting the value of the likes of music, theatre and dance.
Further questions were posed from the audience, ranging from whether the salary of the CEO of Northumberland County Council was too high, a request for help for young people with autism in mainstream education, comments on recycling, and queries over why parking in Amble is not free like other market and coastal towns.
Hustings were a great idea
Afterwards, Kieron told The Ambler “I follow the general elections closely and enjoy watching political debates. Attending the local election hustings was a great opportunity to listen to what the candidates had to say face-to-face. I really enjoyed being in the audience and being part of this political environment.”
“I think hustings are a great idea and holding local ones are really important. As voters we can easily access candidates policies and opinions in writing but it is much more personal and impressionable receiving this information face-to-face.”
Matthew Connolly said “Young people wanted to be involved in the democratic process and it was great that they came along to pose questions and listen to answers direct from the candidates. They told us ‘we hear all the time about misinformation from the internet and spending too much time on screens, so it was great to have a real-life opportunity to be involved’.”
Organiser Luke McTaggart said he had been pleased with how the event had gone. “I’d hoped the event would allow the voters in both our Amble wards to gain a clearer sense of the personalities and platforms of those standing for election.”
He added “At a time of low public trust in our political system, I think it is vital that county council candidates are properly scrutinised and our community is given the chance to put forward questions on topics that matter to them most.”
Anna Williams
Photos: Jim Donnelly, Anna Williams and Luke McTaggart
Video: Lily Tibbitts
