Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Talk of the town? Not at this debate
Whitstable hosted its first hustings on Friday evening - but the town was barely mentioned. Labour’s Rosie Duffield, Conservative Anna Firth, Lib Dem Claire Malcomson and independent Michael Gould took questions from a 250-strong audience.
Hosted by Tatton Spiller from Simple Politics at St Peter’s Church, candidates were given one minute to answer on various topics.
If applause was an indicator of success, Ms Duffield was the clear winner.
“The 10 years of punishing, cruel, harsh things which have happened to poor people and people at the bottom of the rung of the ladder - we deal with it day in, day out. From the cruelty of PIP assessments to the way asylum seekers and refugees are treated by this government,” she said in her opening statement.
“I will carry on fighting for that if you re-elect me.” Mr Gould also took aim at the Conservatives but went on a tirade about why he would not support Labour. He blasted the party for voting against Theresa May’s Brexit deal, its “obsession” with a new Canterbury hospital and his opposition to abolishing university fees for “glitzy” courses like “media studies and politics”. Ms Malcomson - apart from speaking about stopping Brexit, improving the NHS and tackling climate change - discussed why she would love to live in Whitstable.
“Locally I know you have been talking about DFLS [Down from Londoners],” she said. “I have been emailed about that. “Well I’m afraid I’m a UFD which is ‘Up from Dorking’ and I would love to come and live here. If I was your MP I would move here immediately, no doubt.”
Despite the crowd giving Ms Firth a tough time, she came out fighting.
She said: “There is one word I would like to leave you with this evening and that word is ‘opportunity’. Because if the Conservative Party stands for anything at all, it’s the ability of each and every one of us to fulfil our true potential.
“Just to dispel some myths, I don’t come from a wealthy background myself. My grandma was a dinner lady but because of teachers who believed in me, I was lucky enough to become a healthcare barrister. I want the future generations to have the same opportunities I had.
“I am proud of what this government has done.” When asked what the benefits of Brexit would be for the constituency, Ms Firth said: “We can ban the disgusting practice of exporting live animals from Ramsgate.” But Ms Duffield quickly pointed out Ramsgate is not in the constituency.
In a rare moment where Whitstable was spoken about, an audience member asked: “What about fishing? We’re a fishing town, surely our fishermen are going to benefit?”
Ms Duffield argued the country has let down fishing fleets like Whitstable’s “for decades” and said “it is nothing to do with Europe”.
But Ms Firth argued the town’s fishing industry would get a “massive boost” and could “possibly double in size”. Throughout this election campaign, it’s seemed as though Whitstable has been all but ignored. And in terms of finding out what the candidates would do for the town, the hustings sadly felt like another opportunity missed.