Election: More than 100 attend Gala hustings

More than 100 people turned out in the sleet and hail to question the candidates from the Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles constituency.

Topics ranged from the in-work poverty of people working on zero hour contracts to whether we could trust the Parties to keep to their manifestos.

One subject all the candidates supported was the reduction of the voting age to 16.

When asked if charity began at home, they also agreed, but did not end there, and were also in favour of foreign aid.

An informative and passionate debate was held with many useful contributions from the audience.

The evening was organised by Galashiels Fellowship of Churches and people from surrounding towns and districts were also invited. The meeting was hosted by the Rev Elspeth Harley and chaired by Rev Philip Blackledge, from Holy Trinity Church in Melrose.

On leaving the hall, several people said they found the debate interesting, but they still didn’t know who to vote for. It’s all to play for on Thursday, May 7.