Quiz the Candidates! 

Two public events are to be held in Macclesfield giving voters the chance to quiz all seven of the town‘s general election candidates.

The first event is for the under-30s and will take place on Saturday 29 June at 4.30 pm at Tytherington School, Manchester Road, Macclesfield. This will focus on issues that affect young people both nationally and locally.

The second hustings is open to everyone and will be on Monday 1 July at 7.30 pm in St Michael’s Church, Market Place, Macclesfield.

For more than 100 years, our Macclesfield constituency has been a safe Conservative seat but this is no longer necessarily the case. Every vote will matter and with a record seven candidates standing on Thursday 4^th July there is a range of views to choose from. 

Each event will start with the seven candidates each setting out the reasons why they believe they should be elected Macclesfield’s next MP. This will be followed by live questions from the audience, which the candidates won’t have seen in advance. Anyone registering to attend can submit a question beforehand for consideration by the organisers.

The candidates are: Stephen Broadhurst (Reform UK), Neil Christian (Liberal Democrats), Dickon Fletcher (SDP), Amanda Iremonger (Green Party), Tim Roca (Labour Party), David Rutley (Conservative and Unionist Party) and Chris Wellavize (Independent). 

Turn out in Macclesfield at the last election in 2019 was just over 70%, slightly above the national average. However the number of young people nationally who cast their vote was well below that. The deadline for registering to vote in the general election is midnight on 18 June – go to www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.

Both events are free and impartial. The Tytherington School hustings ‘Your Vote, Your Voice‘ is an initiative for the town’s secondary schools. They are keen to ensure young people – including new voters – can get first hand information from candidates. 

The St Michael‘s event is being put together by a team of volunteers in association with Entropy Events. “We want voters to be more connected to the election process and feel they can make an informed decision,” said Lynne Jones, one of the organisers. “Voting is one of our most consequential rights, so we’re particularly hoping to attract undecided or even disaffected voters to come along and see what each of the candidates stands for“ added Jude D’Souza of Entropy Events. 

To be sure of a seat at the town hustings and have a chance to submit a question, please register for ‘Quiz the Candidates! Macclesfield Hustings for the General Election 2024’. Admittance without a ticket cannot be guaranteed as the 2019 event was ‘sold out’. 

Both events are supported by Hope, the organisation of churches in north east Cheshire.