General Election Debates - Announcement

[Huguenot]

I've been irritated by the lack of input. 15,000 occasional visitors. Not worth weeing on apparently.

[louisiana]

Check out candidates' agreement or otherwise with a range of local statements and a range of national statements:

They Work For You's new home page

http://www.theyworkforyou.com/

Type in your postcode...

For D & WN, so far only Shane Collins (Green) has his posted. You can use the tool to encourage the other candidates to respond.

This is part of a national initiative by volunteers.

[Jeremy]

I think the questions are a strange mix of local issues and national/ideological ones. Perhaps we should focus on the latter at this point in time?

[The Chair]

Two out of the four candidates have now replied.

The Green (Shane Collins) and Conservative (Kemi Adegoke) candidates have both replied by private email saying they would take part. They were sent the questions and instructions of how to register an account with the Forum. Subsequently nothing has happened.

The Chair is not a nanny, however. I will not continually remind those standing for public office to engage with their constituents.

Jonathan Mitchell, the LibDem candidate, was nearly a week late in posting his reply. However, it is possible that the original email address I tried to contact him on was incorrect. Tessa Jowell, the sitting MP and a government minister, managed to respond the day after the deadline. I think this is to be commended.

I hope now that more of the EDFs members will now comment on the candidates answers. Politicians are often derided, on both the EDF and in the mainstream media, for not being "in touch" with their electorate or not being interested in "the little man". Currently two candidates have suggested that this is not true and are willing to speak directly to their electorate via this forum. I urge you to take advantage of this.

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

If you haven't had enough of politics yet, there is actually a pretty good spread in "The Southwark Weekender" the free newspaper, about all those standing in the whole of Southwark - MPs and Councillors.

[ruffers]

Interested to know what impression the candidates who said they'd respond and haven't imagine they've created.