Water quality, taxes on private schools and more issues were debated at a hustings for candidates for Reading West and Mid Berkshire constituency.
The hustings were held at Pangbourne College on Wednesday, June 12, with six candidates taking part.
It was the hustings debut for Kate Bosley, the Reform UK candidate, who said: “I’m new to politics, but I’m not new to life. The other parties are very similar. I’ve lived all my life in the constituency, with 10 years in Pangbourne. I just think that every deserves better, the country feels broken and disjointed.
“I want for our area and our country to do better.”
The first question was by Eve, a member of a rowing club, who recently fell ill after being in a local river.
She asked what each candidate would do to improve water quality.
Helen Belcher, the Liberal Democrat candidate, said: “The state of the water is shocking. We need more infrastructure on pipes to stop leaks.”
Ms Bosley said: “There needs to be an enormous change, the water companies and government need to work together.”
Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats will block bonuses for bosses at water companies that pollute rivers, while Adrian Abbs (Independent, Newbury Wash Common argued penalties would not help, and improvements need to be solutions based.
Meanwhile Ross Mackinnon (Conservatives) said that if water companies did not discharge sewage into rivers, it would go back up through toilets and sinks, and called for major investment. He said sewage monitoring was introduced by the Conservative government.
A proposal to impose VAT on private school fees received a frosty reception from the crowd at the college.
An audience member Rachel asked: “You are in a private school, if there is a tax increase in fees, families won’t be able to afford them, where will they go?”
Labour’s Olivia Bailey and Green candidate Carolyne Culver support the proposal.
“I understand why families save to send their private schools. The reality is there are crumbling facilities in our state schools,” Ms Bailey said, adding she would make ‘no apologies’ for the policy.
Ms Culver said: “We’re never going to agree on everything. I think it’s beneficial for people to be educated together. We would expand the state sector. I think a great deal of pupils will still go to private schools.”
The other candidates opposed the tax.
Mr Mackinnon said: “It’s an attack on parents who send their children who have to pay. It’s the worst kind of class warfare, it’s like Jeremy Corbyn never went away.”
Mrs Belcher said: “There are two destinations – the state sector, which is already struggling, and home education.
“We don’t support VAT on private schools. Education is a public benefit.”
The candidates also debated proportional representation, with the single transferable vote being the preferred method of Mr Abbs and Ms Belcher, while Mr Mackinnon and Ms Bailey supported the current system.
The final question from audience member Dominic asked: “What’s your least favourite of your party’s policies?”
It was a question that many ducked.
Mrs Belcher admitted she would support a second Independence Referendum for Scotland, which the Lib Dems officially oppose.
Mr Mackinnon wished the Conservatives would be ‘more judicious’ on tax breaks, and Mr Culver joked that she wouldn’t be able to benefit from the Green policy of decriminalising cannabis as she’s “never even smoked a joint.”
Mrs Belcher won the debate in a straw poll taken immediately after the hustings, with Mr Abbs coming in second.
Adie Peppiatt, an independent candidate who declared on Friday, June 7 did not attend.
