Political Speed Dating 2008

Councillors interviewed by young people

(Date of issue: 15th October 2008)

Students from Newman Secondary School grilled Carlisle City Councillors about a variety of issues at a Political Speed Dating event to celebrate Local Democracy Week 2008.

City Councillors were put in the spotlight on Tuesday 14 October, by eight of the school’s sixth formers who asked as many questions as they could to each councillor in just three minutes. The only proviso was that the questions were related to City Council services.

The students were not just assessing the answers but they were also looking at a set of factors: Approachability; listening skills, ability to understand the issues and ability to answer specific questions.

The councillors taking part were: Cllr Marilyn Bowman (Cons) Portfolio Holder for Economic Development & Enterprise, Cllr Michael Boaden, Leader of the City Council’s Labour Group, Cllr Steve Layden (Cons), Cllr James Bainbridge (Cons), Cllr Joe Hendry (Lab).

The Newman School Sixth Formers selected Cllr Michael Boaden as their top Political Speed Dater for 2008.

Angela Breen, Deputy Head Teacher at Newman School, said: "Participating in Local Democracy Week is the essence of citizenship. This is an excellent opportunity for our students to interact with local councillors and to discuss issues which affect us all."

Carlisle City Council has supported Local Democracy Week since 2001 and the Political Speed Dating event has been a regular feature since 2005.