Vale of Glamorgan Hustings-Vale Candidates are a credit to the Vale

Yesterday, 14th April saw the first Hustings in the Vale of Glamorgan. I was pleased to say that my organisation (Vale Centre for Voluntary Services) organised and facilitated the proceedings. It was a pleasure to have the candidates for Plaid Cymru (Ian Johnson), Labour (Alana Davies), Conservative (Alun Cairns) and the Liberal Democrats (Eluned Parrott) together to speak to representatives of the Third Sector in the Vale.

To be honest, I wasn't sure quite what to expect.........it could have been a recipe for disaster - four opposing candidates all wanting to convince us to vote for them. Would it turn into a shouting match? Would the invited audience be hostile? Would it turn people off the electoral process?

In fact, it was none of the above. All candidates were exceptional in their professionalism - dealt with all questions fully, but more importantly, they all respected each other as politicians. Even though there were huge differences in policy between the parties, there was no disintegration into the yah-boo politics that we sometimes see at Westminster - what a refreshing change!! It was good to have a serious debate about serious issues in a mature and measured way!!

All in all, a successful event - all candidates could relate to the real issues facing the Third Sector and could relate to us, as constituents and voters. All of them are from the real world. How politics has changed over the years!! I'll be attending further hustings events in the Vale to chart the progress of the candidates!

Despite their differences in policy - one thing they did have in common was "Gavin and Stacey" - its funny how a TV programme can unite people who have opposing political views!!