Election Debate to be hosted at Vineyard

Five candidates from the main Executive parties will attend the event at 7:30pm this Friday, April 24, moderated by Peter Lynas of the Evangelical Alliance.

Peter Lynas commented: “We don’t have a strong history of running local pre-election debates here in Northern Ireland. It is great to see churches stepping in and providing this opportunity for people to ask their questions.”

The panel includes Caomihe Archibald (SinnFein), Yvonne Boyle (Alliance), Gregory Campbell (DUP), William McCandless (UUP) and Gerry Mullan (SDLP).

The candidates will have a chance to set out their positions as well as answering questions from the moderator and direct form the floor.

Peter Lynas continued,

“We ran our first hustings of this General election season in East Belfast. A couple of hundred people gathered from across the community to hear the main candidates debate key local and national issues. We had lively exchanges between the candidates and great questions from the floor about early years funding, the environment, faith in politics, welfare reform and lots more. Jesus’ message was deeply political and upset the authorities of the day. We are encouraging Christians to vote, but not just for themselves, but for the good of everyone in their community. These hustings are providing vital opportunities for local people of all faiths and none to engage with their would-be MP.”