My partner Tom got an invitation to the event, which sounded good, and it was right around the corner from our house, so there was no excuse.
There was maybe 30 seconds of slightly awkward anticipation but [Guardian journalist] Ewen Macaskill did a good job of being relaxed, he set the tone of ‘this is just a chat’, and a question that got people talking immediately.
It was very Scouse the whole thing. I don’t know how well it would work in other places – the willingness to talk and be honest, the feistiness of people, including women.
There were people from all walks of life, all socio-economic groups. It was very respectful but engaged and it did get heated because people care about this. Everyone, no matter what side you’re on, you’re going to care about the Labour party at the moment and that energy and passion came through.
I think there’s a lot of anger between Labour Party members that stems from quite longstanding divisions within the party but has found new territory since Corbyn was elected and everything’s changed with the membership.
I think people have found some of the local meetings quite polarising but, at the event, the conversation was civilised and people were genuinely interested to hear what others had to say.
You want to say something that’s honest but also something that’s helpful. I was quite nervous about speaking as a young, posh-sounding southerner. But with social work you have to justify yourself a lot, about who the hell you are to tell someone about their kids, so maybe I carried a bit of that in.
When you leave university you realise how few events there are for adults that are a public discussion open to anyone who’s interested. It’s always good to go and have your views challenged.
Amy Lonton-Rawsthorne, 25, is about to graduate as a social worker. She grew up in London, but has lived in Liverpool with her partner Tom for two and a half years. She has just been offered a job working with children and families.
