The Chamber of Commerce lunchtime session was the busiest one I’ve ever attended. The OGH’s massive room was dwarfed by a full subscription of members wanting to hear from the G8 panelists and mingle with the candidates, plus of course the candidates and some of their proposers and seconders. The panelists were frank about the challenges facing the island at the moment and the questions challenging but mostly conducive to the interests of the finance industry’s high flyers.
The St. Martin’s focus of the pub tour was largely successful, or at least the Captain’s leg of it was (I wasn’t at Queen’s, so I don’t want to comment based on hearsay). Several locals turned up to engage with candidates. I managed to get in a few meaningful conversations towards the end of the evening as some other candidates left.
Next event: Safety Net’s informal drop-in upstairs at PingQuay’s Monday 6pm-8pm. Safety Net’s primary focus is tackling violence (in all its forms, from subtle misogynistic policies and micro-aggressions to murder) against women and girls. With resources for the police stripped to the bone, it is vital that their research, education programmes, recommendations for government & businesses and other efforts get the serious attention and support this often overlooked issue deserves.
Tom Moore for Deputy 