By Marg Siberry & Brian Flynn, St Benedict’s Garforth
The recent electoral boundary changes resulted in Garforth becoming part of the new Leeds East constituency, so Churches together felt it was important to provide constituents an opportunity to hear the views of all the candidates on issues that concerned them. The main arrangements for the meeting were organised by the Faith, Justice & Action group in St. Benedict’s parish. Five of the seven candidates (representing the Labour, Conservative, Social Democrat, Yorkshire and an Independent) accepted the invitation, with the Reform party and Greens each sending an apology. 
More than fifty people gathered at St Benedict’s Parish Centre on Saturday 22nd June and were invited to write a question for the candidates so that these could then be collated to allow candidates to respond to issues that concerned their constituents the most. The meeting was chaired by Brian Flynn who invited each candidate to give a short introduction as to why people should vote for their party.
It was no surprise that the first issue raised concerned the NHS, its funding, its current problems and how each party planned to address these. Following closely the next issue covered energy – costs, the use of fossil fuels in its production and the consequent impact of this on climate change. Another concern was the political process that often pitted central government against local government in planning.
Poverty, how to deal with people seeking asylum and the extent parties would be willing to collaborate in order to resolve some of these major issues were also discussed. Each candidate was given two minutes to respond, with strict time keeping. This allowed a quick fire round of questions at the end, which included views on proportional representation and whether the UK government should support countries that break international law.
Finally each candidate was given a chance to sum up and was offered the option to stay when the formal meeting had closed so that people could meet candidates individually. There was a lively buzz of conversation for a good while afterwards which reflected the energy that had characterised the meeting. The feedback from those who attended felt it had been a worthwhile event that had enabled them to hear candidates in person and consider their differing responses. The candidates also felt the morning had been well organised and worthwhile.
Would your meeting benefit from using a PA System?
The meeting made use of the J&P PA system. This portable system is very easy to use, includes 2 radio mikes and can work on battery power – so is ideal for these sorts of meeting. It even has wheels like a suitcase!
Get in touch with us if you would like to use it for an event in your parish – the Season of Creation is coming up in September, for instance!