CANDIDATES AT THE READY! FIRST SELL-OUT HUSTINGS EVENT LESS THAN A WEEK AWAY

With less than a week to go until the first Island Echo/IW Observer hustings gets underway in Newport, all candidates have confirmed their attendance at the premier General Election events. Over 500 Islanders have registered for their free place across the 2 hustings, the first of which will take place on Wednesday evening (12th June) at Newport Minster. All 5 candidates standing for the Isle of Wight West seat have confirmed their attendance; Cameron Palin (Green), Ian Pickering (Reform), Richard Quigley (Labour), Bob Seely (Conservative) and Nick Stuart (Lib Dem). The quintet will all face set questions from the chair for the night, David Holmes, as well as pressing questions from the engaged audience. It’s a full house for the Island’s leading, independent news publications as all candidates have confirmed their attendance at the Isle of Wight East hustings too, which will take place at Ryde School a week later on Wednesday 19th June. Emily Brothers (Labour), David Groocock (Independent), Michael Lilley (Liberal Democrat), Vix Lowthion (Green), Sarah Morris (Reform) and Joe Robertson (Conservative) will all face the same set of questions asked of those standing in the West, with questions open to the floor for the final part of the evening. The East hustings will be chaired by Richard Priest OBE. For those not attending in person, both events will be live streamed on Island Echo’s Facebook page, with a full report on the night’s political action to follow. Tickets for both events have now been fully reserved, but it is hoped that extra tickets can soon be made available for those on the waiting list. Keep an eye on your inboxes! Thanks to Newport Minster and Ryde School for their support in making these non-selected hustings happen in the name of open and fair democracy.