On the hustings in Highworth 

Local residents question general election candidates

 

The General Election debate heated up in Highworth tonight with a well-attended hustings session featuring candidates fighting for the North Swindon seat.

 

Labour's Victor Agarwal, Conservative Justin Tomlinson, Liberal Democrat Jane Lock, UKIP's Stephen Halden and the Green Party's Bill Hughes took questions from local residents on a raft of issues at the Highworth Methodist Church.

 

Question Time: (from left) Jane Lock (Liberal Democrat), Victor Agarwal (Labour), Meeting Chairman, Justin Tomlinson (Conservative), Bill Hughes (Green Party) and Stephen Halden (UKIP)

 

After the audience listened to each candidate make statements on more national issues, the meeting was eventually brought to life by eight-year-old Simon Exell, who asked the simple question:

 

"What has each of you done for Swindon?"

 

A request that initially brought the accusation of bias from by one Labour supporter, given the time spent by Justin Tomlinson as a local councillor compared to Victor Agarwal's only recent appointment as Labour candidate in January.

 

But what followed resulted in an hour of opinionated debate and cross-party arguments that eventually turned into a detailed discussion on Highworth residents' concerns on schooling, crime and especially the new swimming pool, which faces an uncertain future after recently running into financial difficulties.

 

The evening was eventually brought to a humourous end by the Green Party candidate Bill Hughes, who, when accused of being a socialist, was happy to declare "Up the revolution!" to much laughter and applause.