Voters urged to quiz Hartlepool's General Election candidates at hustings

Hartlepool Global Peace and Justice Group have organised the event which will be held at St George’s United Reformed Church, on York Road, on the evening of Tuesday, December 3.

There are six candidates all vying to become Hartlepool’s MP and are Joe Bousefield (Independent), Kevin Cranney (Socialist Labour Party), Andy Hagon (Liberal Democrats), Mike Hill (Labour), Stefan Houghton (Conservative) and Richard Tice (Brexit Party).

Each candidate will be given five minutes to address the audience before fielding a variety of questions.

The Hartlepool Global Peace and Justice Group has organised hustings for the town for the last four general elections at least.

It has had to work quickly to organise the event given the sudden calling of the election by parliament.

Chris Eddowes, chair of the group, said: “I have never known so many people be confused about who to vote for.

“Certainly this time everybody you talk to says ‘I’m not sure what to do’.

“Hopefully, this is the chance for the candidates to put across what they really stand for instead of all the hype.”

The event starts at 7pm and the church holds between 200 and 300 people.

People will be asked to submit questions on a wide range of issues upon entering.

Chris added: “After the candidates have given their opening speeches the questions will be put by the chairman.

“We are looking for a wide range what people are really interested in. If you put the same question to all of the candidates then it should give a pretty good idea of where they all stand.”

The polls in Hartlepool will be open between 7am and 10pm on Thursday, December 12, at 57 stations in schools and community buildings across the town.

The deadline to register to vote has now passed, but people can register for someone else to vote for them (by proxy) by 5pm on Wednesday, December 4.

Visit www.gov.uk for details.