VCSE organisations from across North Yorkshire and York came together on Tuesday 16 April to pose questions to candidates ahead of the local elections for the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority Mayor on 2 May.

Hosted by York CVS and Community First Yorkshire, the non-selective hustings provided an opportunity for voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations to meet the candidates, listen to their manifestos and to ask questions relating to issues that impact our sector.

Four candidates joined us

We welcomed the following candidates to the event:

• Felicity Cunliffe-Lister, Liberal Democrats candidate,
• Keith Tordoff, Independent candidate
• Kevin Foster, Green candidate
• Paul Haslam, Independent candidate

All candidates were invited to attend, however Keane Duncan, Conservative candidate and David Skaith, Labour candidate were unable to join us on the day.

Each candidate spoke about their manifesto and their priorities if they were elected, then the hustings opened for questions from attendees and pre-submitted questions from the sector.

Questions were wide-ranging

The questions covered a range of topics, including the candidates understanding of the VCSE sector, what support they would provide, and if they understood the challenges faced by the sector. More specific questions were asked about affordable housing, library services, violence against women and girls, support for refugees and people seeking sanctuary, and support for Trans and LGBTQ rights.

Want to know more?

If you would like to know more about each candidate and about the forthcoming elections on Thursday 2 May, the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority has produced this information booklet.