Austerity slammed as Caerphilly candidates go head to head at election hustings The Caerphilly constituency General Election candidates came to blows in a feisty hustings organised by Caerphilly Trades Council yesterday, April 29. Issues raised by the audience of more than 60 residents included the ‘Bedroom Tax’ and welfare reform, the European Union, funding for Wales, the rise in food bank use, nationalising public transport and the extension of the right to buy scheme. --> --> Labour’s Wayne David, Jaime Davies of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC), Leo Docherty for the Conservatives, Sam Gould for Ukip and Rebecca Newton for Plaid all gave their case for why they should be elected on May 7. Katy Beddoe of the Green Party was represented by Elspeth Parris, candidate for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, while Aladdin Ayesh of the Liberal Democrats was not present but did provide statement. --> --> The candidates on the whole rejected the austerity measures of the Government over the last five years, with TUSC’s Jaime Davies questioning Ukip’s Sam Gould’s anti-‘Bedroom Tax’ and NHS ‘privatisation’ stance. Mr Davies said: “Even Nigel Farage has said if Thatcher was alive now she would join Ukip. At least Leo (Docherty) is an honest Tory.” --> --> Labour’s Wayne David opened saying this election will “determine the shape and direction of this country for years to come”. He said: “The ordinary people of this country are paying for the crisis caused by the bankers and capitalist crisis.” --> -->

Mr Docherty faced heckles from the audience when he defended Conservative policy over the last five years.

He said: “The Government over the last five years has bought the economy back from the absolute brink. We must not let Labour break what we achieved.”

Mr Docherty said that the Government’s welfare reform is “extremely fair” and that the Conservatives are “determined to make work pay”.

Plaid’s Rebecca Newton claimed welfare reform hit the poorest hardest.

She said: “They are taking away the very simple, basic things in life like food and shelter. The only bank that a Tory doesn’t care about is food banks and we’ve seen the use of food banks double.

“We are punishing people just for being children and in this constituency 27% of children live below the poverty line.”

The Greens, Plaid, TUSC, Labour and Ukip called for the ‘Bedroom Tax’ to be scrapped.

Labour’s Mr David called for a “fairer benefit system”, and was asked by the TUSC candidate why the Welsh Government had not already scrapped the ‘Bedroom Tax’, as the SNP did in Scotland.

The Green’s Elspeth Parris said they would also scrap the Work Capability Assessment, Universal Credit, end benefit sanctions, scrap ‘Workfare’ and create a Citizen’s Income.

Mr Docherty criticised the Welsh Government over the NHS, questioning why money had been spent on nationalising Cardiff Airport.

Mr David said Labour are against the ‘privatisation’ of the NHS and said a Mansion Tax on properties worth £2m or more would help fund this, as well as limiting non-dom status.

He clarified that there would be no properties in Caerphilly affected by the Mansion Tax and said: “We are in favour of a redistribution of wealth. That’s the theory behind the NHS.”

Sam Gould was derided by Rebecca Newton when he called for EU migrants and other immigrants to be charged health insurance to use the NHS.

Mrs Newton said: “I’m a firefighter and I don’t care where you come from when I’m going to save your life because you’re a person.”

She called for equal funding with Scotland to help the NHS in Wales saying “we have 50% less GPs than Scotland, that’s why people are going to A&E they cant get an appointment”.

Ms Parris claimed health spending needed to be directed to the right places.

She said: “The NHS costs more in rural areas and places where people have poor health.”

On the question of the Barnett Formula, with the exception of Mr Docherty, all called for reform.

TUSC’s Jaime Davies said: “We need to fight in our trade unions and communities and fight for more funding from Westminster.”

Mrs Newton and Mr David called for the top rate of tax to be returned to 50p, Ms Parris 60p, while Mr Gould said it should be 40p at £55,000, then staggered up.

On the question of Europe the Green and Conservative representatives called for an in/out referendum, Ukip support withdrawal, whilst Labour and Plaid Cymru rallied in support of membership.

Mr David and Mrs Newton both claimed Wales gets more money than it gives to the EU and the South Wales Valleys benefit greatly from EU funding.

The conservatives’ extension of right to buy to allow housing associations to sell of housing stock cheaply was criticised and Mr Docherty defended privatisation of transport amid calls for re-nationalisation.

The traditional vote at the end of the hustings was abandoned after audience members spoke against the process.