General Election 2017: Warwick and Leamington parliamentary candidates to take questions from public at hustings debates next week

Jonathon Chilvers of the Green Party, Bob Dhillon, for UKIP, Liberal Democrat candidate Nick Solman, Labour Party candidate Matt Western and Conservative candidate Chris White will first attend The Education Question Time (EQT) hustings event at Leamington Town Hall on Monday May 22 from 7pm.

This has been organised by Our Schools: Warwick and Leamington, a group of parents, teachers and community members concerned about the cuts to schools in and around the towns.

Philipa Harvey, ex-president of the NUT will also be attending and the chair will be Emma Knights - chief executive of the National Governors’ Association.

All panellists will have the opportunity to speak for three minutes at the start of the EQT, followed by questions from the floor, concluding with all panellists being given a couple of minutes at the end to sum up.

Lots will be drawn before the EQT for the order in which panellists will speak and the summing up will be done in reverse order.

Simon O’Hara, from the group, said: “It will be an opportunity for constituents to ask questions of candidates seeking their vote.

“It is a non-party political event and will be chaired fairly and constructively.

“The hall has a capacity of 200, so an early arrival will best guarantee a seat.”

The town hall will also be the venue for another hustings meeting on Tuesday from 6pm.

The candidates have been invited by the Leamington and Warwick chambers of trade to attend the meeting where business people from the towns will question them on various issues.

It will take the form of the BBC’s Question Time with plenty of audience participation.

Therefore, the more people who attend, the livelier the debate will be.

The chambers have said: “This is an important meeting for you to influence local politics looking not only at your own business but also the local economy of the Warwick and Leamington area.

“It will give you the opportunity to hear from the election candidates before making up your mind on June 8.”

The event is free to attend.

However, so the organisers can plan for the number of attendees they are asking those who want to come along to call or email the chamber secretary, Jonathan Meredith at [email protected]