A LIVELY hustings took place at Skipton's Greatwood and Horse Close Community Centre, where about 50 members of the public grilled the five Parliamentary candidates on their views, policies and plans.
Candidates Jacquie Bell (Liberal Democrat), Andy Brown (Green), Alan Henderson (UKIP), Julian Smith (Conservative) and Malcolm Birks (Labour) faced questions as diverse as education, the replacement of Trident, the environment, economy, and First World War debts to the United States.
Candidates were permitted five minutes to introduce themselves and answers were restricted to a strict 90 seconds.
The event was organised by the Craven Community and Voluntary Services (CCVS) and was refereed by chief executive Milton Pearson.
New chairman of the CCVS, Stephanie Wheelhouse, introduced the evening.
Speaking afterwards, she said: “The questions were clearly rigorous and kept all the candidates on their toes, and we learnt quite a lot more about the individual candidates and what fires them up politically and personally. The evening was a great success and I hope will inspire people to go out and vote in May.”
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