The Town Hustings
The Hustings arranged by Churches Together in
Darlington took place on Thursday 25th May in St Cuthbert's Hall.
All five candidates appeared and faced an audience of around 80 electors.
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| Kevin Brack | Jenny Chapman | Anne-Marie Curry | Peter Cuthbertson | Matthew Snedker |
| UKIP | Labour | Liberal Democrat | Conservative | Greens |
The proceedings were introduced by Revd Dr John Elliston, who had compiled the document of questions which had been sent to the candidates to enable their written answers to be examined at leisure. His focus was on the "for the common good" aspect of an MP's work and the size of the task in present times.
The candidated were then each given 4 minutes to deliver an opening address.
Following this, the chairman, Ven. Nick Barker, chose questions on the more popular issues submitted by the audience and questioners were able to put their question to the candidates. Members of the audience had been provided with a sheet with which to register a request to ask a question and these requests were collated by the chairman.
After each question, the candidates responded in variable order.
A lively debate ensued, with the candidates being held to explain their policies on burning issues. Both local and national issues were raised.
Following the question session, the candidates were given 4 minutes each to sum up.
Churches Together in Darlington are grateful to Revd Dr John Elliston for compiling the written questions which formed the background to this debate and to Ven. Nick Barker for chairing the debate. Also to St Cuthbert's church for making their Hall available for the debate.