Hustings not always so civil

‘ALCOHOL TURNED AUDIENCES INTO VIOLENT MOBS’

- GUY HENDERSON

RIOTING, disorder and alcoholfuelled mob violence were once so commonplace in British elections that an Act of Parliament had to be passed to clean things up.

These days a hustings is a meeting of candidates ahead of an election, a largely civilised and polite occasion in which people of all political persuasions sit down at the same table.

They pass microphones around and take turns to answer questions, allowing their opponents uninterrupted time to speak before putting their own views.

When the chairman or chairwoman of the session tells them their time is up, they demur politely and hand over the mic.

It was not always like that.

The word ‘hustings’ derives from old English and Norse expressions for an assembly of the followers or household retainers of a king, an earl or a chief. Literally, it means ‘house things’.