Letter from Hilary Myers to Rev Dr Ian Coverdale, Chair of Churches Together in Brighouse & Rastrick, 27 March 2010:
Dear Ian,
Thank you for your letter explaining the insurmountable difficulties you had trying to arrange a pre-election Question Time Panel of the parliamentary candidates in Brighouse.
I have to say I am very disappointed.
As you know I was always prepared to be flexible with regard to the make up of the panel and felt it was up to Churches Together, as the organisers and hosts of the event, to have the final say.
I am concerned that the Labour and Conservative candidates, who took opposing positions on who they would or would not appear with, have effectively sabotaged the whole event.
As a result, the electorate has been denied a chance to quiz the people who are seeking their votes, in person, during the General Election Campaign itself.
This is not a victory for democracy or for common sense. It is just another nail in the coffin of our outdated political system. No wonder people are so fed up with the two old parties. They think it’s just about the two of them having an argument about whose turn it is next. They make so much noise that none of the smaller parties who want to see real change, not just phony change, ever get much of a look in. It’s a stitch up!
Can I thank you again Ian, for trying to arrange this event. I hope this disappointing outcome will not deter Churches Together from trying again at future elections. Please pass on my best wishes and thanks to all your members.
I am copying this letter to Michael Peel at the Halifax Courier and to Stephen Firth at the Brighouse Echo for their information should they wish to represent my views to their readers.
Yours sincerely,
Hilary Myers
