• I AM standing as an independent candidate for Hampstead and Highgate, on a leaseholder rights platform, so I can support a cause of concern to so many voters in my constituency but also to contribute more generally to the political debate.

Last week I accepted an invitation to a hustings which was subsequently cancelled as not enough other candidates had also accepted to make the event viable.

I am hopeful that this event can be reorganised as it was for the benefit of secondary school pupils and young people are less likely to vote.

A report by electoral expert Sir John Curtice for the National Centre for Social Research published during the election campaign showed that trust and confidence in government are as low as they have ever been with Curtice commenting: “The public is as doubtful as it has ever been about the trustworthiness and efficacy of the country’s system of government and the people who comprise it.”

Given this backdrop and the change nature of this election there is simply no valid reason for Tulip Siddiq not to follow the Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Green Party candidates in publicly backing my call for a community hustings.

JONATHAN LIVINGSTONE
Independent Candidate for Hampstead and Highgate