North Shropshire by-election: Climate hustings to be held in Oswestry
A by-election debate to discuss the climate and ecological emergency will be held in North Shropshire next week.
The event at the Eastern Oswestry Community Centre, beginning at 7.45pm on Monday, December 6, will see candidates in the North Shropshire by-election take questions from the audience and present their vision for how the UK and Shropshire should respond to the climate crisis.
“In the aftermath of Cop26, voters are more concerned about environmental issues than ever before,” says Hannah Peters of Zero Hour Shropshire, the group that is organising the event.
“This hustings event will give North Shropshire voters an opportunity to ask candidates about everything from the climate crisis, to net zero, to pollution in our rivers, and how best to support North Shropshire farmers.”
Hannah said that concern over environmental issues among voters is now at an all-time high. A recent Ipsos-Mori poll found that climate and the environment are seen as an even more important issue than the economy.
“How politicians respond to the climate crisis is a key factor in how people vote, so it’s important that the people of North Shropshire get an opportunity to ask candidates about their plans for how to deal with this issue. As the Prime Minister himself said, we’re facing the collapse of civilization if we don’t get our response right. For us, our children, and Shropshire itself, this issue really matters.”
Zero Hour Shropshire’s climate hustings is supported by local groups including Friends of the Earth Shropshire, Global Justice Shropshire and Fossil Free Shropshire.
Attendance is free on a first come first served basis and members of the audience can submit questions, with their name and postcode, in advance via ZeroHourShropshire@gmail.com. A representative sample of questions will be selected by the moderation team.
