The Lincoln Debate: Six MP candidates go head to head in local debate

The Lincolnite and BBC Radio Lincolnshire are organising the biggest general election debate event in Lincoln on June 5th at the Drill Hall and six of the seven candidates will be attending.

The programme will follow the format of the first landmark event organised in 2015. This time, the 90-minute debate will take place at the Lincoln Drill Hall from 7pm and some 200 people will be able to join in the live studio audience.

All the candidates standing for Lincoln MP have been invited to take part in the only single event reaching the entire constituency across radio, online and social media.

However, incumbent Conservative candidate Karl McCartney refused to attend, citing unfounded accusations of media bias against him. He also refused to attend the 2015 event, and this time, he refused a one-on-one interview with The Lincolnite as well. His invitation to the debate remains open.

The candidates taking part in the debate are:

• Ben Loryman – Green Party
• Karen Lee – Labour
• Caroline Kenyon – Liberal Democrats
• Nick Smith – UKIP
• Iain Scott-Burdon – Independent
• Phil Gray – Independent

Chairing the special Lincoln Debate programme will be BBC Radio Lincolnshire breakfast show presenter Scott Dalton. He also previously chaired the joint debate for the 2016 Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner elections.

Assisting him taking questions from the audience and feedback from social media will be The Lincolnite Associate Editor Emily Norton and BBC Radio Lincolnshire‘s Alex Rhodes.

The debate from Lincoln Drill Hall will be simulcast on FM and DAB radio on BBC Radio Lincolnshire and on Facebook Live on The Lincolnite‘s Facebook page. You will also be able to watch it back later in full on The Lincolnite website.

To join the audience, please fill in this form.

Charlie Partridge, Managing Editor of BBC Radio Lincolnshire, said: “We’re looking forward to working with The Lincolnite once again. It should a great night and an interesting debate.”

Daniel Ionescu, Managing Editor of The Lincolnite, said: “It’s very important for democracy that candidates get involved and debate publicly. We’re delighted to team up again with BBC Radio Lincolnshire to deliver special programming in the public interest ahead of the general election on June 8.”

ALSO WATCH: The Lincolnite‘s one-on-one interviews with the candidates.