Older East Londoners Put Mayoral Candidates on the Spot at Pre-Election Hustings

Older residents from Hackney and Newham challenged mayoral candidates on the issues shaping their day-to-day lives at our local election hustings. Held ahead of the recent local elections, the events gave older people a direct platform to question candidates and ensure their priorities were heard loud and clear across both boroughs. 

What older people said 

Across both boroughs, older residents raised consistent and practical concerns about the challenges they are facing day to day, including: 

• Safe, accessible, and affordable housing  

• Ongoing cost-of-living pressures  

• Street safety issues, including uneven pavements and dangerous cycling  

• The risk of digital exclusion as more services move online  

• The importance of community spaces and social connection  

Alongside these wider themes, residents also shared personal experiences that highlighted how these issues affect confidence, independence, and quality of life. 

Why this matters 

The hustings were an opportunity to ensure that older residents were actively involved in the conversation during these local elections.  

This approach reflects the priorities older people identified while helping us shape our organisational strategy. Working alongside more than 150 older people, four key priorities emerged: older people want to feel heard, connected, informed, and independent. These hustings were a direct response to those priorities. You can read more about our strategy here. 

Working in partnership

The events were built through strong local partnerships. In Newham, we worked alongside organisations in the Staywell Partnership, a collective of voluntary sector organisations supporting older people across the borough. In Hackney, we partnered with organisations based at the Marie Lloyd Centre, including Holly Street Lunch Club, Choice in Hackney, City & Hackney Carers, and MRS Independent Living. 

Working with trusted local organisations helped us reach a diverse group of older residents and ensured that a wide range of experiences and perspectives were represented in the room. 

Making the hustings accessible

We designed the hustings to maximise accessibility and inclusion from the outset. We invited attendees through partner organisations and community networks, and we accepted questions in advance so that people unable to attend could still make their voices heard.  

We also made space for live questions and discussion during the sessions, allowing residents to respond directly to candidates and share personal experiences. 

Accessibility considerations, including hearing loops and translation support, were built into the events to help ensure as many people as possible could participate confidently. 

Amplifying older people's voices 

We were pleased to have local democracy reporters attend both events, helping ensure that the priorities raised by older residents reached a wider public audience and local decision-makers. Engaging local media is an important part of keeping these issues visible as new administrations take shape. 

You can read the coverage from the Newham hustings here and the Hackney hustings here. 

Looking ahead

Our focus now is on maintaining momentum and holding the new mayors to account for the commitments made during our hustings. 

These events were not intended as one-off conversations, but part of ongoing work to ensure older people’s voices remain central to local decision-making and to building an East London where everyone can age well. 

At the Hackney hustings, successful mayoral candidate Zoe Garbett pledged to continue listening to older residents, protect the Freedom Pass, retain accessible offline services for people who are not digitally confident, improve safe and affordable transport options, and expand access to housing that meets residents’ needs. 

At the Newham hustings, victor Forhad Hussain pledged to prioritise adult social care, support unpaid carers, protect libraries and face-to-face services, and introduce new neighbourhood-based community hubs bringing together local organisations, residents and council services. He also committed to protecting the Freedom Pass, investing in parks and community spaces, and working more closely with voluntary organisations and local communities to shape services and tackle isolation. 

What we learnt 

These hustings reinforced some important lessons for us as an organisation. We saw again how valuable it is to create spaces where older people can speak directly to decision-makers, share lived experience, and shape conversations around local priorities. We also learnt that accessibility needs to be considered from the very beginning — from how people are invited and supported to attend, to how questions are gathered and discussions are facilitated. Working closely with trusted local partners was key to reaching a broad range of residents and helping people feel confident participating. Most importantly, the events showed that when older people are given the opportunity to speak and are genuinely listened to, they bring insight, challenge, and practical solutions that should play a central role in local decision-making.