Four takeaways from North Herefordshire debate

The debate was held at Little Pomona, an independent cider maker near Bromyard

General election candidates in North Herefordshire have gone up against each other, in a debate hosted by BBC Hereford and Worcester.

Five of the constituency's six candidates answered questions from voters including on the state of the NHS, immigration and pollution in the River Wye.

North Herefordshire has been a Conservative seat for decades. In 2019, Sir Bill Wiggin won a majority of 24,856.

The candidates who took part were: Jon Browning (Labour), Ellie Chowns (Green), Andy Dye (Reform UK), Cat Hornsey (Liberal Democrat) and Sir Bill Wiggin (Conservative). A sixth candidate, Michael Guest (SDP), chose not to attend or be interviewed.

Here are some of the key takeaways.

Conservative candidate Sir Bill Wiggin said his party was already delivering for Herefordshire's hospitals, and highlighted the arrival of two new dental practices

State of local NHS

As part of the BBC's Your Voice, Your Vote project, voter Christine Flathers asked the candidates what could be done to improve the local NHS.

Green candidate Ms Chowns said her party was the only one being honest about how much extra funding was needed. She advocated a new wealth tax to help pump an extra £30bn a year into the NHS and £20bn into social care.

Reform UK candidate Mr Dye said his party's plans to cut waiting lists in two years could be achieved by exempting front-line NHS workers from paying tax, and with a voucher scheme that offered private treatment to patients stuck on waiting lists.

Lib Dem candidate Ms Hornsey said the only way to fix the NHS was to solve a crisis in social care. She said her party would provide extra support and funding to carers.

Conservative candidate Sir Bill said his government was already delivering a new £90m diagnostics centre for Hereford County Hospital, and would continue to deliver more doctors and nurses.

Former paratrooper and builder Andy Dye said he had chosen to stand for Reform UK because of a lack of trust in politics

Trust in politics

In a week where Conservative candidates and staff members have been investigated by the Gambling Commission, the candidates were asked how they would restore trust in politics.

Conservative Sir Bill argued his party had built trust with voters by honouring previous election pledges, including recruiting 20,000 police officers.

He said it was not acceptable for those elected to public office to gamble or break the law, and criticised Green candidate Ms Chowns for being arrested at a climate change protest.

Ms Chowns rebutted Mr Wiggin, pointing out her arrest had been judged unlawful by the High Court.

She stressed the importance of listening to voters and serving the constituency full time, asking Mr Wiggin if he would give up other outside interests if elected.

Labour candidate Jon Browning insisted he could win, criticising Green election literature for describing the contest as a two-horse race with the Conservatives

Labour candidate Mr Browning said trust could be rebuilt by greater engagement with voters. He criticised the local Green campaign for depicting the contest as a two-horse race with the Conservatives, calling polling on Green leaflets "disingenuous".

Ms Chowns insisted her party's message came after it had spoken to 4,500 residents and said only her party had been consistently out campaigning.

Reform UK candidate Mr Dye said a lack of trust in politics had been his primary reason for standing for Parliament. He argued there should be fewer people going straight into politics from university.

Lib Dem candidate Ms Hornsey said her party would call out any wrongdoing. She said voters appreciated politicians who were out in the community on a day-to-day basis.

Green candidate Ellie Chowns said the current government's action plan for the River Wye would simply "subsidise" the poultry industry

Restoring the River Wye

Voter Gill Coldrick asked the candidates what they would do to heal the polluted River Wye.

Green Ms Chowns said years of voluntary measures had not tackled pollution. She argued a legally binding water protection zone was needed to ensure those responsible for pollution paid for its clean up.

Conservative Sir Bill warned a water protection zone would increase utility bills. He said he had worked with poultry farmers to ensure no manure was spread until processes were improved to stop it entering rivers.

Mr Browning said Labour would introduce new legal powers and put water companies in special measures if they failed to reduce pollution.

Reform UK's Mr Dye said farmers should not be demonised over pollution. He said the Environment Agency had allowed the River Wye to silt up, fuelling flooding incidents.

The Lib Dems' Cat Hornsey said a new regulator "with teeth" should replace the Environment Agency. She argued many farmers had ideas about how to reuse waste such as manure.

Liberal Democrat Cat Hornsey highlighted the need for skilled immigration for public services

Immigration

Local resident Tom Egerton asked the candidates what their parties would do to tackle immigration.

Reform UK candidate Mr Dye accused the Conservatives of being "negligent" on illegal immigration, arguing small boat crossings should be stopped, turned around and sent back to France.

Conservative Sir Bill criticised Reform's stance on stopping boats, warning 60 people had already drowned in the Channel. He said a Tory manifesto pledge to remove asylum seekers to Rwanda was already proving a deterrent.

Labour candidate Mr Browning said the Rwanda policy had already been proven a failure. He said a Labour government would use counter-terrorism powers to target organised smuggling.

The Lib Dems' Ms Hornsey said many of those crossing the Channel were fleeing for their lives, adding claimants should be given the chance to work after three months in the UK.

Green candidate Ms Chowns agreed there was no safe and legal route for the majority of people to claim asylum in the UK. She said it was silly to impose targets on legal immigration which was a net benefit to the UK.

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