People living in the Somerton and Frome constituency have been given an opportunity to quiz the people vying to be their next MP.

A by-election for the constituency will be held on Thursday (July 20) following the resignation of David Warburton, who had represented the constituency since 2015.

Seven of the eight candidates attended the hustings organised by Frome Town Council at the Cheese and Grain on Sunday afternoon (July 16) – with the only absentee being Reform UK candidate Bruce Evans.

Lisa Merryweather-Millard, the leader of the town council, allowed each candidate in attendance to speak for one minute before the main questions were posed.

Lorna Clarke (Christian People's Alliance) said her party would focus on "moral education in schools", arguing that Christianity needed to be front on centre on the curriculum as children emerged from lockdown and were "confronted by all sorts of ideologies".

Martin Dimery (Green Party) – one of three Somerset Council division members standing – said that Brexit had been a "catastrophic calamity" and the government had a "callous disregard" for the planet, arguing the by-election was an opportunity to push for change.

Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrats) said she had "a strong record" on climate change and the environment, pointing to the success of the Recycle More scheme and promised to be "a strong voice in Westminster", standing up for GP funding and "holding Wessex Water to account" over sewage levels.

Neil Guild (Labour Party), who served in the army during the second Iraq war, asked the audience whether they felt "better off" after 13 years of Conservative rule, and said Labour was the only party which could be trusted to "save the NHS and make sure people have the public services they need".

Rosie Mitchell (Independent), who has been endorsed by film-maker Ken Loach, said she would focus on the cost of living crisis by "reinvesting in our public services" and advocating for nationalisation of key sectors.

Faye Purbrick (Conservative Party) said she was "the only candidate who could hit the ground running", promising to cut crime and ensure greater police presence in the town, as well as investing further in local schools and health services.

Peter Richardson (UK Independence Party) emphasised his military record and his experience as a magistrates, pledging to block the Packsaddle Fields housing development and pushing for a cut in corporation tax.

Here's seven things which we learned from the hustings:

1. Health, housing and transport are high priorities for all the candidates

Trisha (who did not give her second name) asked the candidates to list their top three priorities if they were elected.

Ms Mitchell said she would focus on the NHS, arguing both Labour and the Conservatives have "been selling off bits by the back door", as well as delivering large amounts of new social housing and renationalising the rail network and bus services.

Ms Dyke said she would push for more health funding – citing her own difficulties in seeing her local doctors and the experience of a 93-year-old resident who waited 13 hours for an ambulance – as well as promising to tackle "unsustainable" mortgage increases and tackling the environment.

Mr Guild said his top priority was "getting a Labour government, because that's the change this country needs" – with his top priorities being higher NHS funding to increase doctor and nurse numbers, reforming planning law to "empower local communities" over social housing, and improving public transport in rural areas.

Ms Purbrick said the government was already working on health recruitment though its NHS workplace plan – but also pledged to cut rural crime, get more investment in local schools and businesses, and ensure the constituency had "the right homes in the right places".

Mr Richardson said there had been "very little levelling up" in the constituency, saying he would force developers to build on brownfield sites before green fields, as well as pushing for a "cross-party management system" to ensure the NHS was fit for purpose and pushing for a new railway station in Somerton (his home town).

Mr Dimery said he wanted to be "a proper MP to represent this constituency", pledging to focus on preventative medicine to cut NHS waiting times, reform adult social care to prevent 'bed-blocking', and pushing for more social housing by "not letting developers off the hook".

Ms Clarke said she wanted to reform GP funding to make the NHS more effective and cut waiting lists, along with a "turnover tax" of five per cent on multinationals to raise £40.5bn to scrap business rates and restore recent cuts to benefits.

2. Climate change is important – but not for everyone

Patricia McCabe asked about the candidates' stance on the climate crisis.

Ms Clarke caused a stir by saying "I don't believe in it", and was heckled for her subsequent comments about the coronavirus vaccines, where she stated: "How many people took an untried, untested jab? We have to really research what we're told today, because truth is not spoken."

Mr Dimery said 99 per cent of climate scientists supported the existence of climate change, urging people to "use their senses" in light of recent extreme weather in southern Europe and warning that climate change could worsen existing issues surrounding refugees.

Mr Guild said Labour was "absolutely committed" to spending £28bn a year to ensure the UK was a clean energy producer by 2030, pledging to double on-shore wind capacity, triple solar capacity and quadruple off-shore wind.

Mr Richardson said a balance was needed between tackling climate change and tackling the cost of living, saying decisions should be "moved down the road" to when better technology was available, including hydrogen.

Ms Purbrick said it was important to "take everybody along with us" with any policy, stating she wanted more solar panels and insulation within schools to lower their energy bills and promising to "do everything I can" to stop future flooding across the constituency.

Ms Mitchell quoted Greta Thunberg's famous 'How dare you? speech from September 2019, arguing that nationalising energy firms would bring down prices and "give people far more say in how investment is made going forward in greener solutions".

Ms Dyke said climate change was "the reason I got into local government", describing the government's record as "appalling" and pledging to stop water companies from dumping raw sewage into local rivers.

3. Some candidates have closer ties to Frome than others

Neil Howlett asked how often the candidates had visited Frome in the last 12 months and what they got up to while in the town.

Ms Dyke said she visited the town frequently to visit her partner, and said she had spent much of her recent visits walking along the riverside to test the water quality and speaking to staff at Frome Medical Centre who were "stretched too thin".

Ms Mitchell said she had lived in Frome for eight years (having been born in Warminster), and regularly visited in her capacity as a train conductor, as well as visiting "thriving" small businesses, arts venues and green spaces to walk her dog.

Mr Richardson said he had visited three times in the last year, describing Frome's farmers' market as "wonderful" and stating that the town had "the same big issues" as his home town of Somerton.

Ms Purbrick, who lives in Yeovil, said: "I'm not going to pretend that I'm here all the time" – but added she had visited more regularly as a result of working with local schools and had been "very involved" in discussions with the town council.

Mr Guild, who was born in Shepton Mallet and lives in Taunton, said Frome was "a great place to raise a family", adding that he had visited the area numerous times as a civil engineer working for Somerset Council.

Mr Dimery said he had lived in the town for 40 years, citing his experience with the Frome Festival and praising the town's "great sense of independence" in its politics.

Ms Clarke said she lived in the neighbouring Wells constituency, saying she had "enjoyed getting to know Frome" and citing her experience sitting on local drainage boards, stating: "We need to sort flooding out."

4. There are different views over how to improve GP services

Catherine Norris, a pharmacist living in Frome, asked each candidate how they would increase GP appointments in the town without hurting working conditions for existing staff.

Mr Guild said Labour was "absolutely committed" to improving outcomes in the health service by investing, but said a general election was needed to "make sure the NHS lasts another 75 years".

Mr Dimery said it was essential to recruit more GPs, stating that health funding "had to be consistent over a period of time" with higher salaries and more investment in "crumbling buildings", funded through higher taxes on the top one per cent of earners.

Ms Clarke said the NHS was "being abused as a safety net" and that people should be encouraged to help themselves through better nutrition and boosting their immune systems through access to green space.

Ms Mitchell said: "If you want to retain and recruit quality staff, you have to value them", stating that staff should be provided with on-the-job training and not be expected to work large amounts of overtime.

Mr Richardson said patients should be fined for missing appointments, with the fines being retained by GPs, and said more investment in care homes was needed to free up hospital beds.

Ms Dyke said nurses, doctors and paramedics had been "badly let down" by the government, saying her party would recruit 8,000 new GPs across the UK by "closing loopholes" in the UK tax system.

Ms Purbrick said pharmacists could take the pressure off GPs by handling some appointments, and said health checks would "catch conditions early" before people needed to see their GP.

5. Mental health is a high priority for everyone

Billie (who did not give her surname) asked the candidates about the future of youth services and mental health.

Mr Richardson, a former scout leader, said it was "important to give young people a focus" and said more youth clubs needed to be set up to cater for young people's different interests.

Ms Mitchell said that antisocial behaviour needed to be addressed in "a more holistic and less demonising way", arguing that mental health services needed to be better funded and waiting lists made people "take a step back".

Ms Purbrick, a former brownie, said young people needed to "learn about serving the community", pointing to the relationship between schools and the police in providing information and support.

Mr Dimery said the loss of Frome's youth centres and clubs had been a tragedy, stating that taxes could be used to rebuilt the "rich mixture" of after-school activities which were once in place.

Ms Dyke said schools in the constituency were underfunded compared to others in the country, arguing that mental health in young people "had to be taken seriously" by government.

Mr Guild said pledged to provide each school with a mental health specialist to "support pupils before issues escalate", funded by ending the current VAT exemptions for private schools.

Ms Clarke said this was "a very serious problem", arguing mothers needed more support to provide a safe, loving environment in which children could thrive and avoid early traumas.

6. Childcare provision can lead to arguments about Brexit 

Charlotte Carter asked the panel how they would address childcare issues in Frome, citing recent closures of nurseries.

Ms Purbrick said the government was making childcare available from nine months of age, with more funding being provided to ensure "parents who want to work can access this service".

Mr Richardson said young people needed to be looked after, citing the success of "thriving" mother-and-toddler groups in Somerton, and said it was "imperative" to fund childcare through local councils.

Ms Dyke said childcare was "woefully underfunded, particularly in rural areas", arguing that more money had to be targeted at the very start of young people's journey through life.

Ms Clarke said that letting illegal immigrants into the UK "puts pressure on every service", and said more needed to be done to support mothers who choose not to work after starting a family.

Mr Guild said Ms Clarke's immigration comments were "completely inappropriate", citing his own family experience and saying Labour would "empower local communities" to provide local childcare services.

Ms Mitchell said there was "no such thing as an illegal immigrant", saying that wage stagnation meant both parents in a household usually had to work to make ends meet and provide for their children.

Mr Dimery said the loss of SureStart centres across Somerset had left "a great economic hole" for working families, and said nursery fees should be capped to ensure poor families could access the service.

7. Delivering more low-cost housing is crucial

The final question – assembled from numerous residents' comments – focussed on how affordable housing would be provided in and around the town.

Mr Guild said too many people were "stuck in the private rental market", saying Labour would focus on "sustainable, affordable housing" with more council homes and more power for local residents within the planning system.

Ms Mitchell said profits from social housing needed to be "reinvested to build more homes that we need", saying the government was too busy "propping up greedy landlords" and arguing in favour of rent controls.

Mr Dimery said the phosphates crisis needed to be solve to deliver new housing in and around Frome – but added that developers could not be allowed to "pick off bits of land" for new housing without local facilities.

Ms Dyke said local authorities needed to be "empowered to build new homes", saying she would put more pressure on water companies to decontaminate rivers and ensure more new homes would be built to Passivhaus standards.

Ms Clarke said more action was needed to stop 'landbanking' and ensure that developers delivered social housing where it had been promised.

Mr Richardson said brownfield sites should be built on "in the first instance", with a national minimum level of social housing on any new development and solar panels on the roofs of all new homes.

Ms Purbrick claimed the new Renters Bill would stop 'no-fault evictions' and said a range of accommodation had to be delivered to meet local needs – including a form of "halls of residence" for young people leaving home for the first time.

The polling stations will be open on Thursday (July 20) between 7am and 10pm. The count will take place at the Bath and West Showground near Shepton Mallet, with the result expected to be announced at around 3am on Friday (July 21).