My last hustings of the campaign, last night (Bank Holiday Monday), was at Highbury Roundhouse. The Roundhouse, on Ronalds Road, is a great community facility which I and my three kids have used a lot over the years, and which provides excellent services for older people too.
The hustings was all about Highbury issues - and three out of the four parties* managed to field Highbury candidates to answer them!
We faced a range of challenging questions on issues from the Council's tree policy to the rumoured threat to the Highbury Barn Tavern (the word on the street is that there are plans to turn it into a Sainsbury's local); and from rat-running down Fieldway Crescent to the possible reintroduction of a Citizens' Advice Bureau in Islington and the future of the excellent Islington Law Centre. We were also quizzed on broader policy issues such as improving secondary schools; the need for investment in social housing; and the erosion of local democracy.
Thank you very much to William Ellington (Chair of the Roundhouse), Victoria Ellington (Management Committee) and Andrew Berthier (Director) for inviting me; to Nicky Anderson (Pensioners' Worker) for providing the refreshments; and to Martin Jones (Highbury Fields Association) for chairing the hustings and giving us all a chance to have our say!
*The speakers were as follows: Conservative - Neil Lindsay (Highbury East); Lib Dem - Terry Stacey (Highbury East); Green Party - Emma Dixon (Highbury East); Labour - Catherine West (Tollington).
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