Listen to the Dragon Hustings Here

Published on: 21 Apr, 2023
Updated on: 6 Jun, 2024

The hustings audience numbered about 90.

It is always good to hear directly from those seeking election to govern us and the Guildford Dragon Hustings gave a rare chance to see candidates face a range of questions in front of a live audience.

Their demeanour might give us a clue about them as individuals and their answers more insight into the policies of their parties and the thinking behind them.

The hustings panel with Conservative Paul Spooner speaking.

In the Dragon Hustings meeting held last week (April 13), the panel comprised six-party representatives: Conservative – Paul Spooner, Green Party – Claire Whitehouse, The Guildford Greenbelt Group – Ramsey Nagaty, Labour – Anne Rouse, Liberal Democrat – George Potter and Residents for Guildford & Villages – Joss Bigmore and was chaired by Dragon editor Martin Giles.

A screen on which the livestream of the meeting was shown.

There were around 90 attendees and the meeting was live-streamed.

Questions posed were:

How high is too high for Guildford town centre development?

Is social media campaigning good for democracy?

What policies will the candidates propose to improve traffic in the town centre? How will they balance congestion, parking, low-carbon transport and economic prosperity?

In a weakening national policy context, what specific action would you commit to, to protect the quality of water in the River Wey?

What is the relevance of National Politics in Local Government?

Please listen. The meeting lasted for 90 minutes.

We thank the URCH for their assistance and providing, freely, their facilities, including the recording of the meeting, and Mark Insoll for his help in communicating it to The Dragon.