If tonight's hustings audience was representative of Rayleigh & Wickford then I don't think Mark Francois would retain his seat....

however, I fear this will not be the case. It would appear the audience was not on side and Mr Francois was only being supported by his over protective, front row, con club members. Like proud parents at the Christmas production, the Tory sheep lined the front rows of the Holy Trinty church for the hustings. However this had little impact of the mood of the evening which showed strong support for our Lib Dem candidate, Ron Tindall & the Labour candidate. The Green Party candidate although at times showed some inexperience held his own too. It has to be said that some Tory party members (district councillors) felt that they held some authority on the evening with outbursts from the audience on how the debate should be run. This were quite unwelcomed. The evening started with a question about defence. Policing and Nuclear deterrent were thrown into the mix, some may have thought that this was Labours Achilles heel, but Mark Daniels (Lab) handled it well. Ron Tindall (Lib Dem) handled the question better with a good take on Theresa Mays inability to make a decision in a timely manner! The next question tackled the issue of social care. A hot topic to be discussed. Mark Francois, regurgitated the party line with Ron Tindall (Lib Dem) quickly pulling the Tory policy apart due to the fact that there is no cap on what the Tories will steal from you. more to follow.......