Election debate gets very heated
Minister tells audience to calm down
Although a council issue, one of the most popular issues of the night was the question of the Cathkin Relief Road.
Gill Gowran, who has been one of the leaders of the campaign against the project, said afterwards: “I went knowing the two candidates I wouldn’t be voting for but was keen to hear what the other four had to say and how they performed.
“I felt Tom Greatrex came across as the most experienced in these situations but that the ladies were more passionate about the locality.
“I was disappointed Tony Hughes appeared apathetic and didn’t enthuse us undecided voters.
“I felt some of the Labour and SNP supporters in the audience didn’t do their parties any favours with their conduct and perhaps should be advised what is and isn’t acceptable behaviour in these settings before attending any future events.”
The minister at Burnside Blairbeth Church was forced to appeal for calm during a heated election debate last week.
Rev William Wilson warned those in attendance they reminded him of opposing factions in his native Northern Ireland.
His comments came during a heated exchange on oil.
Earlier in the night, an audience member was warned he faced ejection after a verbal attack on the Conservative candidate, Taylor Muir, after a question on welfare.
Rev Wilson’s intervention seemed to calm some frayed nerves with the audience settling down from then on.
Burnside Community Council organised the event, and chair, Jim Neil, admitted he was disappointed by some of the behaviour from the audience.
He said: “It was marred slightly by some sections of the audience whose behaviour can only be described as boorish.
“Some people wanted to shout down opponents and not listen to the reasoned arguments, and that’s an aspect of the election campaign that we cannot be too happy about.”
In stark contrast to some of the leaders’ debates, all the candidates conducted themselves with decorum, with any shouting coming from the floor.
In terms of policy, SNP candidate, Margaret Ferrier reiterated her opposition to Trident, but was accused of not understanding her party’s own policy on Full Fiscal Autonomy.
Labour’s Tom Greatrex faced criticism on higher education and the NHS, but hinted that he might not support Trident renewal, while Tony Hughes of the Lib Dems chose to highlight his party’s record in the coalition.
The Conservatives’ Taylor Muir defended the past five years, saying Britain was on the road to recovery.
Yvonne Maclean, who is campaigning for the legalisation of medicinal cannabis, drew applause for her passion and honesty on a range of issues. The sixth local candidate, Janice Mackay of UKIP, could not make it on the night.
The meeting was chaired by church member Robert Rowatt, who started the evening off with a few light digs at the parties involved.
After the opening statements, the first question focussed on how the candidates would tackle poverty and end the need for foodbanks.
Taylor Muir found himself in the firing line, but he insisted foodbanks were a “complex issue” and said more people used them per head of population in Germany than the UK.
Margaret Ferrier said the UK-wide parties were signed up to £30m worth of cuts, and called on the Living Wage to be implemented. Tom Greatrex said instances of benefits being withdrawn were on the increase in the constituency while Margaret Ferrier said “wealth is badly divided.”
As the discussion turned to Trident, Tom Greatrex said he would push for multilateral disarmament and said he might not vote for its renewal in 2016. Tony Hughes said Trident would already have been renewed if it hadn’t been for the Lib Dems but drew cries of “shame” from the audience when he appeared to suggest he would “push the button,” if he had to.
Margaret Ferrier and Yvonne Maclean were dead against Trident, with Ms Ferrier saying: “Spending £100bn on weapons of mass destruction is an obscenity,” a statement her Labour opponent actually agreed with.
The next question on FFA saw Ms Ferrier claim the £7.6bn shortfall being quoted if the IFS was a “myth” that had “been created”. She claimed Scotland would still benefit from Barnett consequentials, but her statement was seized upon by Mr Greatrex.
He said: “Margaret’s confusion is indicative of SNP’s position,” and said voting for FFA would “leave a massive gap in Scotland’s funding”
Taylor Muir said: “The SNP get out of bed to make Scotland independent regardless of the consequences.”
The argument became heated on the floor when someone who said they work in the oil industry accused proUnion parties of “lying through their teeth,” on the issue. Another said he was sick of hearing Scotland was “too wee, too poor and too stupid,” to run its own affairs.
But after calm was restored, Marjory McLennan, asked if teachers’ pensions would be guaranteed by the Scottish Government of Scotland gained FFA, with Margaret Ferrier giving her assurances they would.
The local issue of Cathkin Relief Road was then raised, with Tom Greatrex, Tony Hughes and Taylor Muir all vowing to make representation on locals behalf if elected.
However, Margaret Ferrier and Yvonne Maclean both said they were fully against the road, which drew support from the crowd.
Chair of Burnside Community Council, Jim Neil, asked if scrapping
We are pleased there was a big turnout and such a lively debate -