Some of the subjects covered were predictable: the NHS, housing, the UK’s place in Europe. Others were more local or downright esoteric – the thorny issue of fracking on the Mendips, flooding on the Somerset Levels, the problem of sheep chewing on solar panels stationed in farmers’ fields.
The candidates trying to sway voters at this hustings at Wells Cathedral school (est AD909) cajoled and joked and sometimes dodged, but the show was stolen by 18-year-old Molly Lythaby, who had been busy with her calculator.
Molly – a student not of this historic, fee-paying school but of the state-funded Strode College – has set her heart on studying history and politics at university in west London. But, she reckons, if she does go there she will leave with £72,000 worth of debt. She told the candidates that if she got a job on the average graduate salary it would take her 333 years to pay that back. Did they have any comment?
Lib Dem candidate Tessa Munt – on sticky ground, of course, because of her party’s U-turn over tuition fees while in coalition government with the Tories – said graduates would only pay once they earned more than £21,000 a year. She recommended people take a look at the MoneySavingExpert.com site for a fair and simple explanation. The real problem, she claimed, was the Tories’ decision to scrap maintenance grants, making the cost of studying in cities prohibitive.
Former army major James Heappey, who is defending the Wells seat for the Tories and saluted crisply as he arrived for the hustings, suggested Molly might want to check other routes to her chosen career (human rights lawyer) but, perhaps when he saw her face fall, added: “I’m sure you’ll be a roaring success and pay it back without noticing.”
Afterwards Molly seethed at Heappey’s response. “As long as I can remember I’ve always wanted to go to university,” she said. “I’ve worked so hard. To be told maybe I should think of a different way is so unfair. Education is important for everyone. It opens up so many opportunities. I was very disappointed and upset. I know people who aren’t going to university because of the debt. It’s a really serious issue.”
Molly was much more impressed by the Labour candidate Andy Merryfield’s performance at the hustings. Labour’s promise to scrap tuition fees was an open goal for Merryfield, himself a former teacher, but he impressed on other points.
“Labour is the party for me – 100%. Like many people of my age, they hold so much more for me,” said Molly. “I disagree with lots of the things the Tory party is standing for. But I have to vote tactically here.” So despite the Lib Dems’ problem over tuition fees, Molly will use her first vote to try to help Munt into the House of Commons.
The battle for Wells is a keenly fought one between the Tories and the Lib Dems, and has national ramifications. When she visited Somerset last week, Theresa May made it clear that if the Tories did not hang on to the seats the party won in the West Country in 2015 the government risked losing its majority.
During this series the Guardian has spoken to long-term Tory voters who are going to back the Lib Dems to help prevent a Tory landslide, but also to traditional Labour supporters who will back the Tories because they believe the May line that she is the only one who could lead Brexit negotiations successfully. A good few people who wanted to vote Lib Dem have said they have been put off by the party’s pledge to hold a second EU referendum. The signs are that it is going to be tight here – and it may just be that first-time voters are decisive.
Before the hustings, a trio of 18-year-olds from the state Blue School – a Wells institution dating back a mere 350 years – were taking a break from A-level revision on the sunlit lawn in front of the magnificent cathedral.
Florence, Catrin and Bertie turned out to have similar views to Molly. “Labour would be my first choice,” said Florence. “I think they’ll take best care of the NHS and education, and end the austerity programme. Tuition fees is also a big issue.” Catrin is worried about mental health and housing, and believes Labour cares more. Bertie likes the Lib Dem pledge to hold a second referendum on Brexit. All three said they would vote Labour if the party had a chance, but will lend their votes to the Lib Dems.
The Guardian accompanied the trio to the hustings, organised jointly by the cathedral school and the Sustainable Wells group and held in the Eavis Hall, named after Glastonbury festival founder Michael, who was a pupil here from 1945-50. Eavis, incidentally, stood for Labour in Wells in the 1997 general election but even he had little chance against the Tories and Lib Dems, and finished third.
Catrin found the hustings “super-interesting”. “I really liked the Labour guy. I didn’t know much about him before. It made me want to vote for Labour more. But the lesser of two evils for me is Tessa Munt.”
Florence said she felt sorry about the response Molly got from Heappey. “I think she was belittled. The Labour candidate was appealing. You could sense he cared. You get that from Jeremy Corbyn too.”
Like the three Blue School students (and Molly) most cathedral school pupils the Guardian spoke to were planning to vote Lib Dem, either because they liked Munt and her party’s policies, or to stop the Tories getting a large majority.
James Karpinski was one of the few that said he backed the Tories. “To get a strong Brexit deal we need a strong government,” he said. “I disagree with some of Theresa May’s policies but the Conservatives are the only ones who can deliver a strong government.” Unfortunately for Heappey, James is only 17 so can’t vote this time.
James, it turned out, stood as the Tory candidate in a mock election at the cathedral school in which all students aged 11-18 took part in a secret ballot. The Lib Dems won that election and, interestingly, the Labour share of the vote went up – 16% compared with 10% when the school ran a mock election two years ago.
That may offer Labour even here in Wells a sliver of hope, or consolation. After the hustings, while Munt and Heappey chatted at a drinks reception in the school’s drawing room, the Labour lot headed off to the Globe pub.
Merryfield’s closing speech had been passionate and well-received by the room. Vote Labour and receive four extra days public holiday, a £10 minimum wage, 10,000 more police officers, 3,000 more firefighters, Sure Start, childcare. “You’re going to get a great deal and it’s all fully costed,” he said. “If you want an MP who is really going to support this part of the country then you vote Labour.”
In the Globe beer garden, Merryfield just about conceded he won’t be MP for Wells come Thursday. But he and his colleagues believe Corbyn is a game changer. One activist said the Tories were openly mocking them at their street stall in Glastonbury at the start of the campaign. Now, they say, the Tories are taking them seriously.
Merryfield said a good result would be to build a base so that in 10, 20 or 30 years Labour could win in places like Wells. And people like Molly and the Blue School trio may no longer have to lend their votes to the Lib Dems.
