Inverness Chamber of Commerce to hold hustings for the Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire constituency
The Inverness Chamber of Commerce has announced it will hold a general election hustings set for on Thursday 20 June with all five declared candidates for the Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire constituency.
Earlier this month, Alasdair Campbell, the former Downing Street communications director for Tony Blair, was the main speaker at the chamber’s Highland Business Dinner.
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Now CEO Colin Marr will moderate the event which he hopes will “focus the debate on the issues that Westminster can help us with” and which are “key to the Highland business community”.
The candidates in the race are:
– Ruraidh Stewart, Conservative
– Angus MacDonald, Liberal Democrats
– Peter Newman, Scottish Green Party
– Michael Perera, Scottish Labour
– Drew Hendry, SNP.
If other parties declare candidates, they will be invited to join the debate taking place at Merkinch Community Centre with attendees invited to submit their own questions in advance as well as on the night.
Entrance to the hustings is free to Chamber members and will be open to non-members at a cost of £10 but everyone planning to go must register in advance via the Inverness Chamber of Commerce website.
Applications will be limited to two people per business as space will be limited to the capacity of the venue with members given priority booking until Friday 7 June.
Colin Marr, Inverness Chamber of Commerce CEO, said: “I’ll be looking to focus the debate on the issues that Westminster can help us with, and as you would imagine we’ll be concentrating on what the candidates can do to help businesses in our region flourish.
“This is a really important election for our business community. UK productivity and growth both remain stubbornly low and it’s important that the new government’s top priority is to create the conditions that allow businesses to thrive.
“Whether or not you agree with a government’s social policies, the one thing that’s certain is that without a thriving business sector, no government can deliver the services that our society needs. A growing business sector creates more employment and therefore generates more tax income, which in turn allows more of all the other things that we care about to happen.
“So, whatever your particular political allegiance, and Inverness Chamber of Commerce will always be party-political neutral, it’s essential that the next government finds a way to unlock business growth.”