More than 250 voters turned out to hear the candidates for the newly-created Weald of Kent constituency make their pitches.
They gathered at St Mildred’s Church in Tenterden on June 23 with less than two weeks to go before polling day on July 4.
Among the many topics discussed during the debate were standards in public life, immigration, the sewage companies, rural life, Brexit and the NHS.
Weald of Kent was created from huge chunks of the old Maidstone and Weald seat and the Ashford constituency’s towns and villages which includes Tenterden, to reflect the county’s growing population.
Most pollsters see the new patch as a safe Conservative seat with an 80%-plus chance of taking it.
Labour candidate Lenny Rolles, accepted as the more likely opposition candidate to challenge the Tory Katie Lam, appealed for the loan left of centre vote of John Howson (Lib Dem) and Kate Walder (Green Party).
Observers say that if the left coalesces behind Labour and there is a strong showing from Reform UK, to the detriment of Ms Lam, there is an outside chance of an upset.
Mr Rolles asked if things have got better in the past 14 years before observing: “The result in this constituency is not a foregone conclusion.”`
Ms Lam told the audience her family were forced to flee the tyranny of Nazi Germany for criticising Hitler’s regime.
This galvanised her belief in “standing up for the truth”.
She told the audience: “Freedom doesn’t come for free - freedom must be fought for.”
Ms Walder, who lives and farms locally, cited climate change, the fallout from Brexit and rural over-development among her concerns for the future.
Mr Howson, who lives in Oxfordshire and returned home using a bus to Maidstone, said he has much experience in his working life in education and observed that A-level results in the rural parts of the south-east were worse than urban areas.
He described the Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey as a “kind, articulate and patriotic” man, adding: “How could you not like him?”
The subject of affordable housing brought broad agreement among the four candidates that more needs to be done.
Ms Lam said it is “quite wrong” that young people are forced to move away because of a lack of affordable living accommodation.
As well as making sure developers build affordable homes, Mr Rolles said Labour would financially enable council and social housing to be built.
Ms Walder said that an average agricultural worker earns £23,000 yet the average house price in one part of the constituency is almost £1m.
Every battle against over-development, she said, ended up like David and Goliath and called for the return of council housing.
Mr Howson said a feature of recent house building was to develop land in easy reach of railway stations, creating “dormitory suburbs of London”. Affordable homes are needed to retain local people.
There were moments of levity during the serious elements of the discussion, which lasted more than an hour and a half.
Mrs Walder reminded the audience of a recent news report when Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary David Cameron were ignored by sheep being offered feed they would “normally knock you over for”.
She added to laughter: “Sheep are very good judges of character.”
Commenting on sewage company bosses being rewarded bonuses despite polluting rivers and coastal waters Mr Rolles said: “I think the state of the water system is a metaphor for the state of the country.”
Reform UK candidate Daniel Kersten was unable to attend the meeting.
The candidates standing in the Weald of Kent seat are: John Howson (Lib Dem), Daniel Kersten (Reform UK), Katie Lam (Con), Lenny Rolles (Lab) and Kate Walder (Green Party).
