The final election hustings for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe candidates took place last night (Tuesday, July 2) in Talgarth.

 A huge crowd turned out to hear from Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe election candidates.

Candidates that atteneded the hustings were: Lady Lily the Pink, the Official Monster Raving Loony Party; Jonathan Harrington, Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party; David Chadwick, Welsh Liberal Democrats; Amerjit Rosie Kaur-Dhaliwal, Green Party; Fay Jones, Welsh Conservative Party; Matthew Dorrance, Welsh Labour.

Host, Ben Rawlence from Black Mountains College allowed each candidate two minutes at the start of the evening to address the audience. 

In her opening remarks, Lady Lily the Pink from the Monster Raving Loony Party encouraged non-voters to vote and presented herself as a ‘none of the above’ option. She said: “I stand to say don’t give up on our democracy and use your vote, preferably not for me. If you think the others stink, vote pink.”

Amerjit Rosie Kaur-Dhaliwal from the Green Party urged voters to not side with Reform UK and vote for green. Amerjit shared a story of racial abuse she received while with her husband in Builth Wells. She went on to say: “A vote for Green is not a wasted vote and I hope you all vote with your hearts.”

David Chadwick from the Welsh Liberal Democrats addressed the audience by calling for change and discussing public services, the environment, the NHS, farming, and taxes. He said: “We need bold radical action that can deliver the action we need at pace.”

Welsh Conservative candidate, Fay Jones, spoke highly about Talgarth and spoke about her achievements as MP. She said: “I have served thousands of constituents and that for me is by far the best part of this job, whether it’s helping them get a passport so they can go on a family holiday or helping them secure housing. That is why you send someone to Westminster, to support your constituents.”

Matthew Dorrance of the Welsh Labour Party followed up by paying tribute to a local who recently passed away. He went on to speak about the effect this election has on the future. He said: “This election is a choice about the direction of this country… working people should be put first.” 

Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party candidate, Jonathan Harrington informed the crowd of his disagreements with the other parties and how he decided to be a part of the Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party. He rounded off his speech by saying: “We don’t want more politicians; we just want better ones.”

 Ben Rawlence, the host for the evening then read out questions that had been sent in by members of the public, and each candidate was given one minute to share their thoughts.

Candidates were asked about healthcare in Powys, the state of public services, the housing crisis, and the first past the post voting system.

More questions were asked of the candidates on the situation in Palestine, education in Wales, immigration, funding for carers, misogyny and male violence against women, and the Senedd’s debate on the proposal to outlaw lying in Welsh politics.

Adam Hill representing Reform UK and Emily Durrant-Munro representing Plaid Cymru were not present.