Tuesday 26th November saw the Hackney North & Stoke Newington PPC’s assemble for the only hustings scheduled for the Constituency during this Election campaign. The Climate hustings were organised by Xtinction Rebellion and hosted by the Mildmay Club in Stoke Newington.
I was very pleased to receive an invitation to participate in Xtinction Rebellion’s Climate Hustings. The opportunity to debate a topic as prescient as the solution to Climate Change is both challenging and rewarding, offering the chance to hear opposing views , but also to advertise the Conservatives’ admirable record on Climate Change.
Whilst I was not expecting anything other than a partisan crowd at an Xtinction Rebellion hustings, I was pleased to find an audience that was keen and eager to listen to the various opinions and plans being outlined. What is clear about the Climate Emergency is that each Party broadly agrees on the key issues at stake; Our differences centre around he manner, and speed, that we will achieve a resolution.
The hustings themselves were extremely well organised, though they were overshadowed by the absence of the incumbent MP, who failed to attend, despite having committed to the event some weeks before.I was extremely disappointed to hear that Diane Abbott was had chosen not to attend. Given that the hustings would be the only opportunity to challenge Ms Abbott as the incumbent MP, her late withdrawal and replacement by her deputy was initially taken at face value, having informed the organisers that she had ‘National Obligations’ to attend to. That she subsequently chose to reveal on Twitter, that far from having a pressing issue of national importance, she had instead chosen to campaign in Westminster in support of the Labour PPC there, should indicate to constituents that Ms Abbott feels no need to place herself under scrutiny nor the need to earn her votes. It has not gone unnoticed that the Shadow Home Secretary has been conspicuous by her absence from both the local and national stages throughout this General Election campaign.
