Hackney South and Shoreditch hustings: full round-up

Chorus of voices: the panel at St Peter’s Church. Photograph: Max Eckersley

The General Election hopefuls for Hackney South and Shoreditch traded blows in a packed-out De Beauvoir church last night.

Labour incumbent Meg Hillier was joined by Lib Dem Dave Raval, Conservative Luke Parker and the Green party’s Rebecca Johnson.

Independents Hugo Sugg and Dale Kalamazad were also on the panel, along with Angel Watt of the Christian People’s Alliance and Workers’ Revolutionary party candidate Jonty Leff.

They answered questions submitted in advance on key issues such as Brexit, air pollution and school cuts, before moderator Reverend Julia Porter gave those in attendance the chance to grill the candidates face to face.

Here’s your guide to who said what on topics raised by Hackney residents.

Brexit

Meg Hillier criticised the government for having “no plan” for leaving the European Union. The sitting Hackney South MP said she didn’t want the Conservatives to have a “blank cheque” when it comes to negotiations, and pledged to oppose a “hard Brexit”.

Hillier, who chairs the Public Accounts Committee, parliament’s spending watchdog, wants the country to remain in both the single market and the customs union, and called for careful thought on how important European regulations are transferred into British law.

Rebecca Johnson said the Brexit vote didn’t go the way she had hoped, joking: “But that happens to me a lot!” She said the Green party would hold a second referendum on the terms of Brexit, and disagreed that doing so would be undemocratic.

Dave Raval said his Liberal Democrat party, along with the Greens, is the only one offering the public a second referendum on any Brexit deal. He argued a true democracy would let people change their minds if they wanted to, and that a hard Brexit “is not what anyone voted for”.

Hugo Sugg focused on EU nationals who are “scared” about what Brexit will mean for them. Sugg, who was once homeless, said: “These are real people and they are worried about losing their jobs and their homes.”

Despite campaigning for Remain, Luke Parker said it is now up to politicians “to do the job the people voted for” and try to get the best deal on Brexit.

Air pollution

There was a consensus among candidates from the main parties that more needs to be done to tackle toxic air.

Meg Hillier praised the work done by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, and Dave Raval paid tribute to Hackney law firm ClientEarth, which has fought the government in the courts over its air quality strategy.

Luke Parker said he was the antithesis of the phrase ‘Blue and green should never be seen’, emphasising his opposition to a third runway at Heathrow and his pro-cycling stance.

Dale Kalamazad was direct in his approach to pollution, saying he would “get rid of old cars and plant more trees”, while Jonty Leff called for the nationalisation of all transport as part of a wider aim to “get rid of capitalism”.

Angel Watt, who read from her party’s manifesto, would introduce a diesel scrappage scheme, while Hugo Sugg said he would bring in more bike lanes across the borough and revamp the recycling system.

School cuts

Meg Hillier highlighted the shortage of teaching staff already hitting Hackney and said her party would put an end to the proposed cuts, praising the investments in education made by previous Labour governments.

Dave Raval claimed the Lib Dems had put more money into schools than any other party by introducing the pupil premium while in government. He laid into the Conservatives for their “obsession” with grammar schools and brought up the case of the old fire station in Hackney, a site for which he said the government has massively overpaid.

Rebecca Johnson drew loud applause when she said the Greens would bin Trident and instead funnel the money into education. She also said extra investment would be raised by introducing a so-called Robin Hood tax targeting the richest in society.

Taking a different angle, Luke Parker said he wanted private schools shut down – but only once state schools are good enough to take over. The Conservative, who grew up in a left-wing family, joked that once he had studied politics, he realised “to his horror” that he was a Tory. He said the party would continue to invest in education, prompting audible mutterings from watching constituents.

Hugo Sugg highlighted figures that were printed on banners across the borough last week as part of the Fair Funding for All Schools campaign. He said he would hold a referendum on council tax so residents could decide how their money is spent.

Jonty Leff called education spending “the biggest gravy train around” and said his party would bring all academies under council control. He also labelled Theresa May the “lunch snatcher” when the issue of free school meals was debated.

Only Parker defended means-testing free lunches, saying parents who could afford to pay for them should do so.

Budget deficit

Parker noted the reluctance of other candidates to take the microphone for this topic, remarking: “Everyone who wants to print money won’t get up to talk about this.” To jeers from the audience, he argued “brutal” cuts were necessary, and at one point said his party “perhaps should have gone further”.

Meg Hillier said it was clear that austerity had “gone too far” but urged caution, saying a Labour government would still have to make difficult choices in order to fund vital services like the NHS, police and schools.

According to Dave Raval, the Lib Dems “pulled back” on Conservative austerity while in coalition, adding that the balance between spending and cutting had tipped too much towards the latter since 2010.

Rebecca Johnson said the Iraq war had taken billions out of government coffers which could have been better spent at home. Jonty Leff’s solution is to “nationalise the banks”, while Angel Watt said more efficient spending on things like foreign aid would help balance the books.

Prime Minister in 2022?

The evening ended on a lighter note when the panel was asked who they would like to see leading the country in five years’ time.

Rebecca Johnson, perhaps unsurprisingly, offered Green party co-leader Caroline Lucas.

Hillier said she just wanted a Labour prime minister but said it might not be Jeremy Corbyn, given that he is “not a young man any more” – cue a few gasps.

Dale Kalamazad earned some applause when he put forward Meg Hillier. Luke Parker almost agreed, admitting he would like to see a strong Labour party by the end of the next parliament, but when pressed for a name, he said: “Theresa May. Strong and stable.”

Comment of the night has to go to Kalamazad, who summed up the sentiments of all those taking part by telling constituents: “Vote for me. If you do, I’ll come back here and do some very nice things.”