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.
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