Last week, we held our first of three General Election hustings, and today, we’re able to bring you a recording from the event.
Our debate was a chance to question candidates standing to represent Gillingham and Rainham in parliament.
The candidates taking part are:
Kate Belmonte (Green)
Stuart Bourne (Liberal Democrat)
Peter Cook (Independent)
Naushabah Khan (Labour)
Roger Peacock (Christian People’s Alliance)
Peter Wheeler (Social Democratic Party)
Unfortunately, Rehman Chishti (Conservative) chose not to participate in the debate, and Rizvi Rawoof (Reform) didn’t turn up despite assuring us that he would.
It was a mostly good-natured debate with a surprising amount of consensus among the candidates, and the attendees submitted an excellent range of questions.
The audio quality isn’t absolutely perfect (it’s a little low), but it’s good enough to catch you if you didn’t make it along on the night.
Time stamps for finding individual discussions:
0:00 - Introduction
4:32 - Candidates introduce themselves
17:30 - If elected, what would be your top priority locally?
26:39 - What are your plans to level up Gillingham High Street?
40:29 - With rising levels of poverty and homelessness, if elected, what will you do to provide security for people living in those circumstances?
53:44 - What would you do to ensure that education is prioritised?
1:09:33 - How would you tackle the climate emergency?
1:22:40 - What can be done to bring down NHS waiting times?
1:35:34 - What can be done to support culture and the arts?
1:45:12 - Candidate closing remarks
Our Gillingham and Rainham hustings
Listen: Gillingham and Rainham hustings