London Mayor candidates will attend gay hustings
The three leading candidates for Mayor of London have confirmed they will take part in hustings organised by gay equality organisation Stonewall.
Ken Livingstone, Boris Johnson and Brian Paddick will answer questions from the gay community on Saturday 19th April.
PinkNews.co.uk is proud to be Stonewall’s media partner for the hustings, which will be held at the BFI Southbank between 11am and 12.30pm.
Ben Summerskill, chief executive of Stonewall, said:
“The Mayor of London holds powers which can make the lives of over a million lesbian, gay and bisexual Londoners better – or worse.
“Policing, transport safety, culture, community relations, they all matter to us.
“With a close race in prospect, the pink vote is one the candidates dare not ignore. This is our chance to make our voice heard loud and clear.”
Tony Grew, editor of PinkNews.co.uk said:
“We are delighted to be the media partner for this hustings event. We know that many of our readers will relish the chance to put a question to the Mayoral candidates.
“The politicians are just as keen to talk to us – both Boris and Brian have been interviewed for PinkNews.co.uk and we are hopeful that Ken will find time to speak to us too.
“The gay vote will be vital in this election, because every vote is vital.
“In every election for Mayor of London, second preference votes have decided the winner.
“We hope this event will allow our readers not just to see the candidates but find out more about their policies and perhaps decide who will get their first and second preference votes.”
The hustings event is being held just eleven days before Londoners go to the polls on May 1st, and it will be the last time voters will get the chance to see the candidates debate before election day.
Each candidate will make a short speech, but the majority of the event will consist of questions from the audience.
It is hoped that some of the other candidates for Mayor will also take part in the hustings.
The event is open to everyone, but in order to ensure a seat we are asking people to register here.
