23 October 2009
An evening with the Liberal Democrats
A panel of politicians, including Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, faced a Question Time grilling by students at the University of Sheffield yesterday (Thursday 22 October 2009) at an event aimed at reigniting student interest in political affairs.
The high-profile politician was joined by former Liberal Democrat leader Lord Paddy Ashdown and current leader of Sheffield City Council and prospective parliamentary candidate for Sheffield Central, Councillor Paul Scriven, for the `Evening with the Liberal Democrats´ event held in the University´s Richard Roberts Auditorium.
In a similar style to Nick Clegg´s `town hall meetings´, which have seen him travel up and down the country inviting voters to tell him what they think about fixing the economy and rebuilding trust in politics, students were given the chance to have their say on political issues and pose questions to the panel.
Nick Clegg was elected leader of the Liberal Democrats in December 2007 after a leadership campaign in which he focused on reaching out beyond the party to new voters by promoting the Liberal Democrats as the party of the family, focusing on social justice, education and opportunity.
He has close links with both universities in Sheffield and even carried out a part-time teaching position in the University of Sheffield´s Department of Politics after his departure from European Parliament in 2004.
The event was organised by The Exchange, a collaboration between the Union of Students, the Politics Society and the University and aimed to host current political debate in an informal context. The Exchange focuses exclusively on high-profile political and public figures to reengage student interest and participation in political activities and hopes to establish Sheffield as a centre for debate in current affairs.
Paul Tobin, President of the Union of Students at the University of Sheffield, said:
"This was a great opportunity to ask some of the big names from the Liberal Democrats about their policy ideas. With a General Election coming up and students having the potential to swing any vote, it was fantastic that students were able to ask big questions directly to the party leaders."
Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: "Since being elected leader of the Liberal Democrats I have enjoyed holding open meetings all over the country, where anyone can turn-up to ask me questions about any topic. The meetings are an opportunity to hear first-hand what people are concerned about and respond by explaining how the Liberal Democrats would help them.
"It was a particular pleasure to return to the University of Sheffield and speak to students in such an open forum alongside one of my predecessors Lord Paddy Ashdown and future Liberal Democrat MP Councillor Paul Scriven. The event was a perfect response to anyone who thinks that young people are no longer interested and informed about politics. " Notes for Editors: The Exchange was set up in 2008 and has previously organised events involving Higher Education Minister Bill Rammell debating the value of University with other representatives from the Higher Education sector, Nick Cohen (The Observer) debating with Alan Cochrane (The Daily Telegraph), Nick Clegg discussing political apathy with Professor Colin Hay (as part of the ESRC Festival), David Blunkett talking about his life in politics and Lord Anthony Giddens addressing the politics of climate change. Eddie Izzard has also addressed students as part of the programme of events.
For further information please contact: Shemina Davis, Media Relations Officer, on 0114 2225339 or email shemina.davis@sheffield.ac.uk
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