Candidates in Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire constituency take part in election hustings
Fervent speeches, forthright debate - and some fractious moments.
For 90 minutes, five of the seven candidates standing in the UK general election for the newly-created constituency of Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire constituency took to the stage at an election hustings in Inverness.
With voters set to go to the polls on July 4, the would-be MPs spoke with passion as they fight for every vote they can get.
The event, hosted by Inverness Chamber of Commerce, was held at Merkinch Community Centre and covered topics from Brexit and labour shortages to the greening of towns and gender recognition.
The line-up comprised Drew Hendry, previously the SNP MP for the Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey constituency which ceased to exist following boundary changes, Angus MacDonald (Lib-Dem), Peter Newman (Green), Michael Perera (Labour) and Ruraidh Stewart (Conservative).
Dillan Hill, of Reform UK, and Darren Paxton, of the Socialist Equality Party, were not present.
Armed with their party manifestos, statistics and figures, the candidates fielded questions from the audience as well as each other and from chamber chief executive Colin Marr who moderated the event.
Mr Hendry set out his party’s stall stating the SNP was the only left-of-centre alternative in this campaign for Westminster and its manifesto looked to protect the NHS, public services and reverse austerity.
Mr MacDonald, who pledged to fight for the Highlands on every single issue, acknowledged he had never been a politician but was a businessman.
He went on the attack against his SNP rival saying Mr Hendry would even blame Westminster for bad weather.
There was a fractious exchange between the pair later in the debate after a member of Mr Hendry’s campaign team asked Mr MacDonald about a donation to the Vote Leave campaign.
Mr MacDonald insisted he had not given a single pound to the Brexit movement but had given a donation to Ruth Davidson (former leader of the Scottish Conservative Party) as well as the Labour and the Lib Dem parties to hold the SNP to account.
Mr MacDonald acknowledged he voted for Brexit and had immediately regretted it.
“So many of us got carried away by the rhetoric,” he said. “The people who supported Leave were very convincing.
“It has been a disaster.
“The Lib-Dem policy is to get back into the Common Market.”
Mr Hendry, who said Brexit had been devastating, returned to the theme later in a direct question to Mr MacDonald. saying it had cost hundreds of millions of pounds.
“Did you not listen to any of the concerns raised across our region before donating £25,000 to the Tories under Boris to get Brexit Done?” he queried.
Mr MacDonald insisted he had never come across Boris Johnson, had no affection for him whatsoever and had listened to concerns and made a mistake.
“We have all made mistakes,” he said, going on to refer to media reports in 2021 which had alleged Mr Hendry became drunk with other MPs on a flight to Gibraltar.
An angry Mr Hendry strongly refuted the allegation and there was a call for Mr MacDonald to apologise.
On the issue of Brexit, Green candidate Mr Newman said Brexit had resulted in an adverse impact, adding: “We have to get back into Europe.”
Conservative candidate Mr Stewart did not think there had been an adverse impact while Labour’s Michael Perera said it was too early to tell but said there was no doubt that freedom of movement had changed.
Mr Stewart, who is also a Highland councillor for Eilean a' Cheò, said housing is a key issue in his campaign.
He said more land needed to be allocated for housing and the planning system needed to be reformed.
Asked by Mr Perera who the next leader of the Conservative party would be, Mr Stewart said he would wait to see what happened after the election but conceded it would probably be someone else.
Mr Perera, who has been speaking to people on the doorstep, said he had found it a positive experience.
“There is an appetite for change and a great deal of people say they are going to vote this time,” he said.
“People feel this coming election is a change election.”
Mr Newman, who called for more investment in rail and public transport, said: “We are about devolution and empowering communities so I don’t think being ruled by Westminster is a good thing for us.”
He felt people were massively disillusioned and urged them: “Vote like your future depends on it.”
A question from the chief executive of Visit Inverness Loch Ness, Don Johnston, had the panel flummoxed when he cited a survey which found that the UK was ranked 116 out of 117 countries on cost competitiveness and asked what they would do.
Afterwards, he said the panel members, who did not have figures to hand, had come to speak to him and were going to look into it.
All seven candidates contesting the seat will be quizzed at another hustings hosted by Inverness and District Trades Union Council at the Highland Council headquarters on Monday June 24.
