Scottish Quakers support hustings guide
‘Having the hustings online may well increase the engagement of those in the local neighbourhoods.'
Quakers in Scotland are publicising a guide to help Friends engage with candidates for the Scottish parliamentary elections in May. The twenty-seven-page guide, put together by the Scottish Churches Parliamentary Office, looks at how to run a hustings meeting. There are details on inviting candidates, appointing a chair, and different formats for the hustings.
‘Having the hustings online may well increase the engagement of those in the local neighbourhoods, through live streaming to people’s homes and also allowing the material to be accessed later for those who miss the live event’, it says.
The recently-appointed Edinburgh-based parliamentary engagement officer, Andrew Tomlinson, spoke about opportunities for Quaker engagement at the first full meeting of 2021 for Northern Friends Peace Board (NFPB), alongside Grace Da Costa, Britain Yearly Meeting public affairs and advocacy manager. Thirty-seven Friends gathered for the online event.
According to NFPB, the opportunities described ranged from ‘the review by government and parties of defence policies, asylum and migration policies, peace education, to addressing the climate crisis in the lead-up to the UN climate conference COP26.
‘They encouraged us to keep presenting our concerns to politicians, working on building relationships when possible as well as drawing on our own experiences and expertise’.
The priorities for the work of the Parliamentary Engagement Working Group are discerned by General Meeting for Scotland. They are: climate emergency; economic justice and land reform; and militarism in schools.
