Election debate to be held at the Park Centre, Knowle, ahead of local elections
Before the upcoming local elections, residents and volunteers from community groups in Knowle have come together to organise and fund an election debate at the Park Centre, Knowle.
Event organisers want to ensure the community has the opportunity to quiz all the candidates in advance of voting on 2 May.
Prospective candidates from the four parties will be quizzed by local residents on key issues of the day and their vision for Knowle. The event organisers have invited Knowle residents to attend the meeting and submit questions in advance of the event. The event will be chaired by independent facilitator Tony Watkin.
Tony is an experienced facilitator in the public and voluntary sector and local resident of 37 years. “It’s important to me that local people have the opportunity to talk about what matters to them with our prospective Councillors. I hope to create a space in which this can happen effectively,” said Tony Watkin.
Residents can submit questions via: KnowleElection@gmail.com
Said the organisers – anyone could win this election, so all eyes will be on the results from Knowle as, with eight candidates confirmed on the poll card, there is a strong possibility that a split vote might ensue.
A split vote is an election effect in which the distribution of votes among similar candidates reduces the chance of winning for any of the similar candidates and increases the chance of winning for a dissimilar candidate. This could result in tactical voting.
Local resident Sandra Stancliffe who is supporting the debate said: “The election debate is a great chance for anyone interested in the future of Knowle to hear from the candidates. It will help local people decide who will best represent our community’s interests.”
The organisers are distributing leaflets about the event and will be recording the event and making it available on YouTube to allow those that cannot attend, to watch at a later date.Knowle has experienced some difficult times over the last four years, said the organises, who believe that as a community it will require the support of councillors who’ll fight for what residents need, to ensure Knowle is able to stand up and be counted at City Hall.
With high stakes and so many candidates, there has never been a more important election for Knowle.
This promises to be an informative event ahead of an interesting election. The election candidates attending are:
- Liberal Democrats: Anna Fry & Zachary Barker
- Labour: Chris Orlik
- Green Party: Cam Hayward & Toby Wells
- Knowle Community Party: Gary Hopkins
Event details:
- Wednesday 3 April 2024, 7–9pm
- Location: Park Centre, Daventry Road, Knowle
- Facebook event link: https://fb.me/e/1kUqWrpMW