Summary

  • BBC Wales hosted its second election debate in Wrexham's William Aston Hall

  • Panel: Steffan John - Lib Dems, David Hanson - Labour, Fay Jones – Conservatives, Rhun ap Iorwerth – Plaid Cymru, Nathan Gill – Brexit Party

  • Question 1: With a week to go, is Brexit the most important issue in this election?

  • Question 2: Following the recent terror attack in London, how are you going to make our streets safer?

  • Question 3: What would you do to help small businesses in Wales thrive, particularly when it comes to corporation tax?

  • Question 4: Our politics is a mess and the system needs to be overhauled. What would you change?

  1. Thanks for joining us!published at 21:07 Greenwich Mean Time 3 December 2019

    If you missed any of tonight's debate, you will be able to watch it online very shortly on the BBC iPlayer.

    And if you'd like to catch up with the debate on our BBC Sounds podcast, it will be available here shortly.

    Thank you and good night.

  2. Final thoughts and resolutionspublished at 21:04 Greenwich Mean Time 3 December 2019

    Plaid Cymru's Rhun ap Iorwerth says: "All of us have a responsibility" to make society more tolerant.

    David Hanson says he wants to spend more time with his granddaughter, born five weeks ago.

    Nathan Gill says he will “absolutely” spend more time with his family, admitting he had neglected them over the last five years as an MEP, which he expected would come to an end soon due to Brexit.

    Fay Jones says she will "lose that stone and a half" but will "eat more Welsh red meat".

    And Steffan John said he would like to "take a step back" from politics to allow him to "see the bigger picture".

  3. 'Not left and right, but open and closed'published at 20:59 Greenwich Mean Time 3 December 2019

    Vanessa Durkin, who asked the question, said she agreed with reform of the House of Lords, but she felt politics had changed, in that people were taking more of a part. She felt the division was less between left and right, but between open and closed, and she appealed for more transparency.

  4. 'Restore trust in politics'published at 20:58 Greenwich Mean Time 3 December 2019

    Fay Jones – Conservatives

    Fay Jones

    There should be a cut-off point after which parties cannot change their spending pledges, Ms Fay says, in response to a question about restoring trust in politics.

  5. Labour ideas for political reformpublished at 20:57 Greenwich Mean Time 3 December 2019

    David Hanson, Labour

    David Hanson

    Labour's David Hanson calls for reform of the House of Lords and votes for 16 year olds, and to make more decisions at a local level.

  6. 'Wales should be independent'published at 20:56 Greenwich Mean Time 3 December 2019

    Rhun ap Iorwerth - Plaid Cymru

    He finds himself "for the first time in his life" agreeing with Mr Gill that the Labour-led Welsh Government should get "its house in order".

    Mr ap Iorwerth makes a case for Welsh independence, citing the level of poverty in Wales.

    "If we are serious about ourselves as a nation, we should be using this opportunity - the mess that has developed around Brexit - to see if we can find another way," he said.

    Rhun ap Iorwerth
  7. 'Westminster to blame, not Brussels'published at 20:54 Greenwich Mean Time 3 December 2019

    Nathan Gill, Brexit Party

    Nathan Gill

    Brexit Party MEP Nathan Gill says he once thought that "all our problems emanated from Brussels", but now believes the problem lies at Westminster. He calls for a change in the voting system to proportional representation, the scrapping of the House of Lords and a new upper chamber with time-limited appointments. In terms of devolution, he says Wales should get its house in order on the NHS before we consider devolving services such as the police.

  8. Question 4published at 20:52 Greenwich Mean Time 3 December 2019

    Vanessa Durkin says: "Our politics is a mess and the system needs to be overhauled. What would you change?"

    Change question
  9. The £350m per week claimpublished at 20:51 Greenwich Mean Time 3 December 2019

    Audience member

    An audience member asks Nathan Gill about Vote Leave's claim that leaving the EU would see £350m per week coming back to the UK.

    Mr Gill denies he was involved with the official Vote Leave campaign

  10. 'Review after review after review'published at 20:48 Greenwich Mean Time 3 December 2019

    Rhun ap Iorwerth, Plaid Cymru

    Plaid's Rhun ap Iorwerth says 97% of Welsh people work for small and medium sized firms, so he wants to support them. Business rates need to be addressed, he says, scorning the Welsh Labour government for "review after review after review".

  11. The 'heart of our high street'published at 20:47 Greenwich Mean Time 3 December 2019

    Fay Jones – Conservatives

    Wales has the highest high street vacancy rate in the UK, Ms Jones said.

    She said the Conservatives will be delaying the planned cut to corporation tax.

    Small business commissioners would also be introduced if the Conservatives are elected, she says.

  12. 'Reverse corporation tax to invest in communities'published at 20:46 Greenwich Mean Time 3 December 2019

    David Hanson, Labour

    Labour's David Hanson says his party will reverse Tory cuts to corporation tax to invest money back into the community including small businesses. He refers to local firms repairing roofs for the local council benefitting their communities.

  13. Small businesses are worst hitpublished at 20:44 Greenwich Mean Time 3 December 2019

    Nathan Gill - Brexit Party

    Small businesses are the worst affected by high tax, Mr Gill says.

    He pledges to cut taxes for thousands of small businesses.

    How will the Brexit Party pay for it? Mr Gill says it would be funded through £8bn which would otherwise be paid to the EU, and the cancellation of HS2.

  14. 'Can't rely on big corporations'published at 20:43 Greenwich Mean Time 3 December 2019

    Steffan John, Lib Dems

    Small businesses are key to our economy, says Steffan John of the Lib Dems, who says we cannot rely on the big corporations for jobs. On the matter of tax, he says he is comfortable with his party's plan to add 1p to income tax to fund the NHS to ensure people are happier and healthier.

  15. Question 3published at 20:41 Greenwich Mean Time 3 December 2019

    Ken Davies asks: "What would you do to help small businesses in Wales thrive, particularly when it comes to corporation tax?"

    Business question
  16. Passionate responsepublished at 20:40 Greenwich Mean Time 3 December 2019

    Rhun ap Iorwerth - Plaid Cymru

    "The passion we are seeing from members of the audience shows we need to build a system which people trust," Mr ap Iorwerth says.

    But years of cuts have had an affect on the government agencies' ability to do so.

  17. 'Invest in intelligence'published at 20:40 Greenwich Mean Time 3 December 2019

    David Hanson, Labour

    Labour's David Hanson says: "You cannot put everybody in prison for life", pointing out that Khan had been committed for planning an attack. We have to assess and manage risk, and that means investment in intelligence and policing, Mr Hanson says.

  18. 'Why is it always about money?'published at 20:39 Greenwich Mean Time 3 December 2019

    Audience member

    "Why does it always come down to money?," an audience members asks.

    He claims the Blair and Brown Labour governments left the Conservatives facing difficult choices with the economy.

  19. 'Intolerance... is something we should all condemn'published at 20:36 Greenwich Mean Time 3 December 2019

    Rhun ap Iorwerth, Plaid Cymru

    Politicisation of terror attacks like the London Bridge incident is wrong, says Plaid Cymru's Rhun ap Iorwerth, "because it affects every one of us".

    "These are our communities", he says. "Intolerance between different groups is something we should all condemn."

    Mr ap Iorwerth says policing and justice should be devolved to Wales so the nation can make its own decisions on who should be released or not.

    He was pressed on whether Usman Khan, who carried out the recent attacks in London, should have been released. He stressed that each case was different.

  20. Postpublished at 20:33 Greenwich Mean Time 3 December 2019

    The panel