One last hustings (#bele11) in case you can’t sleep …

It’s the storm before the calm. It feels a bit like Slugger’s clearing out the draft folder of posts before they become irrelevant post-count when the focus switches away from the campaign and turns to the results and the consequences of the electorates’ pencil scribblings.

In case Tuesday’s late night leaders’ debate whet your appetite for midnight political listening, here’s one last election treat. It’s a recording of last night’s East Belfast election hustings, held in Knock Presbyterian Church. I wasn’t there, and I haven’t had time to listen to the whole thing, but a couple of friends who were there said they enjoyed the evening. Thanks to KPC for the recording.

  • Séamas de Faoite (SDLP, Pottinger)
  • Martin Gregg, (Green Party, Assembly + Castlereagh East)
  • Chris Lyttle (Alliance, Assembly)
  • Robin Newton (DUP, Assembly)
  • Philip Robinson (UUP, Assembly + Pottinger)
  • Dawn Purvis (Independent, Assembly)

(Sinn Fein’s Niall Ó Donnghaile apologised to the organisers that he could not make it along.)

Apparently there’s no mention of the recent dissident activity, no mention of the City Airport. Instead there’s health, education, sickness absence, women candidates, AV, ending with some “cruel questions” from host Mark Simpson which revealed an Alliance prediction to win 11 seats and a reiteration of the DUP commitment to take the Finance ministry first, and pick up Education as their second choice if it is still available.

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