As we have already highlighted, some election hustings are more equal than others.

But the next month does provide Croydon residents with a number of opportunities to question their elected representatives of the past five years, or to try to test those who would seek to replace them. Depending on who gets invited, or which candidates bother to turn up.

Here’s a hint to voters across Croydon: if a General Election candidate protests at being too busy to do any campaigning, to deliver a few leaflets, speak to some passers-by, or attend an election hustings, then they probably aren’t worth your vote. They really do need to try a bit harder. It’s really no wonder that the LibDem vote is in a state of utter collapse across all three of the borough’s constituencies.

Meanwhile, you’ll find that the professional politicians, or semi-professional ones who haven’t made it into the big leagues, such as Vidhi Mohan, will be spending all their time over the next month campaigning. And that’s probably not an altogether healthy thing, either.

Here’s a listing of those hustings which we’ve identified so far in addition to those already listed on our Inside Croydon Events page, marked HUSTINGS:

Wed Apr 15 Croydon Central
8pm. Venue: St Francis Church, Monks Hill, South Croydon.
http://www.stfrancismonkshill.org.uk

Tue Apr 21 Education Question Time
7pm. St Andrew’s School, Waynflete Ave, off Warrington Rd, CR0 4BH

This will feature NUT general secretary Christine Blower, Croydon Central Tory MP Gavin Barwell and others debating education in the borough. Doors open at 6.30pm, parking is available on the playground. To submit a question to the panel, email it in advance to croydonnut@hotmail.com, or you can write it out on arrival.
Tea, coffee and light refreshments will be provided.

Thu Apr 23 Croydon Central
6.30pm. Venue: Croydon College. Organised by South Croydon Community Association. Candidates who agreed to attend are Barwell (Conservative), Esther Sutton (Green), Sarah Jones (Labour), James Fearnley (Liberal Democrat) and Peter Staveley (UKIP).

And of course, we’re happy to add to our Events page the details of further such election events. Just email us at inside.croydon@btinternet.com with your information

• Inside Croydon Events: for dates and links to what’s happening in and around Croydon, updated daily, click here

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