Election hustings to take place at Imperial

Imperial will be hosting general election hustings on the 1st of June, inviting five speakers representing the Conservatives, Labour, UKIP, Lib Dems and Greens. Speakers were selected by picking the constituencies in which the most Imperial students live (Hammersmith, Kensington and the Cities of London and Westminster).

“I approached the PPCs from the parties one by one initially, and was successful in getting interest early on from local Lib Dem, Green and Labour,” says third-year chemist, Michael Edwards who’s been organising the hustings. “UKIP and the Conservatives proved more tricky to pin down. I initially had my sights on sitting MPs, such as Andy Slaughter in Hammersmith, but what with the short term announcement of this election, most people still had engagements, so it was a struggle.”

Edwards and his team have been polling students to find out what main issues embers of Imperial have on their minds. Burning questions unsurprisingly involve issues on the NHS, Higher Education, and Brexit. However we should expect a discussion on a range of topics including the economy and job prospects, climate policy, the ‘Snoopers’ charter, research funding, immigration and the housing crisis. The plan is for the event to take the format of Question Time, wherein audience members suggest questions before going in, and one of the chairs presents those questions to the panel.

Organisers are still waiting on clearance for some speakers, though the ones who have been cleared have come back with a minimal security warning. It’s safe to assume campus will be kept breezy, with likelihood of protesters at a minimum.

The debate will hopefully offer the chance to Imperial students to be exposed to their potential democratic representatives. “Although not all of the panel may end up with a seat in the Commons,” says Edwards, “some of them are local councillors for wards with a significant student population, and getting them to come to campus to talk with students is beneficial for both students and politicians.”

I’ve been talking to people who are considering not voting as, due to the nature of the FPTP system, their vote won’t count in either their home or uni constituency, and being exposed to the people battling for your vote can change mindsets.”

If nothing else, Edwards hopes that meaningful exposure to students will make politicians think more about how they can pass policy that benefits us as both current students and future taxpayers.

Nas Andriopoulos who will most likely be chairing the event said "the London Forum for Science and Policy have asked me to chair the event and I look forward to putting students’ questions to the panel. I would encourage voters to come along, as it will be the perfect opportunity for our members to quiz local party representatives on how their policies will affect students, STEMM in general as well as wider socioeconomic issues. "

This year I have been apolitical and will continue to do so, I will be merely keeping the peace during debate and asking the students’ questions.”