Greater Manchester Mayoral Election Hustings for the Voluntary, Community, Faith, and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) Sector
How will the next Greater Manchester Metro Mayor work with the VCFSE sector?
Greater Manchester’s Voluntary, Community, Faith, and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) sector is the backbone of our region, supporting communities and residents and driving social and economic change across all ten boroughs. As we look to the future, we bring the contenders for the next Greater Manchester Mayor together to explore the unique challenges, opportunities, and strategic priorities facing our sector and how they hope to use their power in this role to respond to them.
Candidates will set out their vision for Greater Manchester and how they intend to work with the VCFSE sector to deliver it. They'll answer pre-selected questions drawn from those submitted at registration by the broad range of VCFSE organisations attending. The event will close with candidates' closing statements.
Key themes are likely to include tackling inequality, honouring the GM VCFSE Accord, devolving power to communities, and resourcing the VCFSE to continue to shape a positive future for GM.
This non-partisan debate will be independently chaired by be Grace Dyke from Yellow Jigsaw. Yellow Jigsaw is an Award-winning community media training & agency, empowering people to share their views & stories.
Candidates invited*
Labour – Bev Craig
Green – Geraldine Coggins
Conservative – Phil Eckersley
Liberal Democrats – Richard Kilpatrick
Reform – Sian Astley
*Due to limited time for the hustings and to ensure candidates get fair chance to answer questions on a full range of matters important to the voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise sector, we are limiting candidate invitations to representatives whose parties received a vote share of over 4% in the last GM Metro Mayoral election in 2024.
Submit Your Questions:
We want this event to reflect the immediate concerns of VCFSE organisations. Please submit your questions for the candidates during registration.
Can’t make it in person?
We will be livestreaming and we will share details via our comms channels closer to the time.
This event is organised by the *Greater Manchester VCFSE Leadership Group. We are a coalition of VCFSE organisations who work to promote the role of the 17,000+ Voluntary, Community, Faith & Social Enterprise (VCFSE) organisations in Greater Manchester. For more information, please visit our website: www.vcfseleadershipgm.org.uk
Logistics info:
Refreshments
Tea and coffee provided - no food, so please eat before you arrive.
Travel Advice
To view the location in Google maps, click here.
If you are travelling by car, the nearest car park is ParkBee Piazza which is a 6-minute walk from the venue. Location details can be found here.
There are spaces for disabled parking badge holders on Mount Street opposite the main entrance.
If you are travelling by bus, tram, cycling or walking you can use TfGM’s Bee Network Journey Planner to help plan your visit and get live departure times for public transport, which you can find here.
If you require any further help or advice on how to get to the venue, please do not hesitate to contact kassandra.banks@vsnw.org.uk
Accessibility
- The venue has step free access from street level via a ramp to the right-hand side of steps to enter from street level and is fully wheelchair accessible.
- There is a fully accessible toilet located on the ground floor, same floor as the Main Hall, where the event is taking place.
- A hearing loop is built into the event room.
- The front door has a powered automatic door opener which can be pressed from both inside and outside the building. The front door opens externally outwards, so when users arrive from using the ramp the user can access easily without having to go around the door.
- The reception and communal spaces have adequate space for wheelchairs and mobility vehicles.
- There is a lowered desk in reception. Venue staff are always willing to help and provide assistance if required. While reception does not have an induction loop, all our reception staff are willing to assist people who are hard of hearing.
Should you have any specific accessibility requirements for attending this event, please indicate this on your registration. If you have any specific queries regarding accessibility, please get in touch kassandra.banks@vsnw.org.uk
