UNA Lymington: Hustings hosted by UNA Lymington on 25 April

UNA Lymington held a hustings on 25 April at The Lymington Community Centre. The following Parliamentary candidates from this area were invited and participated: Desmond Swayne (Conservative); Janet Richards (Green); Lena Samuels (Labour); Paul Bailey (UKIP); and Imogen Shepherd-Dunbey (Lib-Dem), who was unable to attend but sent a statement which was read out.

All candidates, when invited, had been referred to the UNA-UK foreign policy manifesto, and each made a statement from their party's perspective on the manifesto's 10 recommendations at the beginning of the meeting. Each member of the audience was provided with a copy of the manifesto, entitled 'A global force for good', and the manifesto's recommendations were summarised during the branch's welcoming remarks. The meeting was chaired by Chris Willsher, Head Teacher of Priestlands School (local academy).

Following the statements from each of the candidates, the majority of the time was dedicated to candidates answering the following six questions put by members of the audience:

(1) Will the UK still provide 0.7 per cent of GDP to overseas development aid?

(2) Will the UK support the UN's role in maintaining world peace and reducing poverty?

(3) How will the UK protect Human Rights internationally?

(4) What steps will the UK take to meet legally binding climate change actions by 2050?

(5) What will be the UK's policy on renewing Trident?  

(6) Why have the parties been unwilling to discuss foreign policy during the election campaign?

In the last minutes of the session candidates answered questions from the audience on the following: UK's membership of the EU; UK's housing market distortions; payment of living wages; fracking; and health care. It was generally believed to have been an equitable, lively and open discussion with all candidates having adequate opportunity to address the various issues in the time allotted.