FOCUSBARRY held a hustings meeting on April 15, where the parliamentary candidates for the Vale of Glamorgan were present to answer pre-selected questions.

Chair of FocusBarry, Dennis Harkus said: “All the candidates handled the questions well especially considering the time pressure placed on them. They covered both their Party’s position and their own personal view on issues. The quality of the questions and answers made it a very interesting and productive event.”

Present at the hustings were Alun Cairns – Conservative, Chris Elmore – Labour Party, Ian Johnson – Plaid Cymru, Kevin Mahoney – Ukip, David Paul Morgan – Liberal Democrat Party and Steve Reed – Cannabis is Safer than Alcohol Party.

Alan Armstrong from the Green Party was unable to attend due to illness.

Candidates were introduced by Mr Harkus then given two minutes to answer questions on European membership, their party’s unique selling point, parties combining on the important issue of the NHS becoming a political football, what can be done to prevent the break-up of the UK by the SNP, what qualities and experience do the candidates have and how would they go about representing their constituents and we have representation in Europe and Wales. Is the election of MPs at Westminster as important as it has been in the past and is there a danger of over representation?

Over 60 members of the public attended and were able to ask questions during the open session.

Candidates were then able to speak to attending members on a one-to-one basis.

Paul Keeble from Rhoose, thought the meeting was very enlightening and that it was a good idea to hold a hustings meeting as many residents were still undecided about who they would vote for.

Tom Cleland from Barry, who will be voting for the first time in a General Election, stated: “It was good to see all the main party’s represented. It enabled me to gain more knowledge in helping me decide who to vote for”.

FocusBARRY member Debra Cleland said: “This is the first time I have attended a hustings meeting and it was good to hear all the candidates give a detailed answer to my question concerning the NHS”.

(Words provided by Dennis Harkus)