Chepstow School pupils quiz Monmouth election candidates on issues faced by young people, housing and the environment

Topics including education, housing, the environment, the economy, and the issues faced by young people, were raised during the event at Chepstow School.

Head boy Jake Summers, 17, chaired the debate, which featured David TC Davies (Conservative), Yvonne Murphy (Labour), Alison Willott (Liberal Democrat), Ian Chandler (Green Party) and Hugh Kocan (Plaid Cymru).

Independent candidate Martyn Ford did not take part.

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Both Mr Davies and Mr Kocan spoke about the importance of highlighting the options outside of university for young people after leaving school.

“We need to ensure people are give a wide range of options for when they leave school, and make sure that university is something that people actually want to go to, not feel they have been pushed in to,” said Mr Kocan.

Mr Davies said: “It’s very important that everyone who leaves school understands what opportunities there are. There’s an enormous shortage in the haulage industry and in construction, where they are hiring 18-year-olds and training them as part of their job.

“I would like to see greater awareness of these options.”

Both the Labour and Green Party candidates promised to scrap university tuition fees, while the Liberal Democrats pledged to fund 20,000 new teachers.

Housing was another key topic of conversation, with pupils pointing out the difficulties they would face getting on to the housing market.

Mr Davies said there was “a supply and demand problem”, and although people wanted to see more houses built, “people don’t want these new houses built next door to them.”

Plans for 111 homes in Raglan were thrown out earlier this year, and planned developments of 271 homes near Portskewett and 130 homes between Caldicot and Caerwent also faced strong opposition from residents.

(One of the students asking a question at the hustings at Chepstow School.)

Mr Chandler said the Green Party was committed to building more houses for people to both buy and rent, while removing some of the barriers which can prevent young people from entering the renting market - such as letting agent fees.

Ms Murphy also pledged to scrap letting agent fees, along with the current rent-to-buy scheme. She said Labour would oversee 150,000 new council and social houses being built each year, while Ms Willott said the Liberal Democrats would build 100,000 social homes for rent every year, while helping first time buyers by introducing a new rent-to-buy scheme.

Mr Kocan said wages not rising with the house prices was one of the main challenges faced when trying to combat the housing crisis.

Speaking about the environment, Mr Chandler proposed making the UK carbon neutral by 2030.

“It’s a climate and ecological emergency. We need a government with a vision to grasp this challenge and opportunity to make a prosperous future for people like the pupils at this school.” he said.

Mr Davies said the UK would be carbon neutral by 2050, and Mr Kocan said the UK should be using its economic strength to trade deals to influence trading partners' sustainability policies.