ELECTION LATEST: Worcester's General Election hopefuls stage final hustings debate

At the Cap 'N' Gown pub on Monday night the hopefuls gathered to tell pub-goers why they should be the next MP.

During the debate Peter McNally, from the Trade Unionists and Socialists Coalition, said it was time to end "the capitalist system of boom and bust".

"We've had five years of austerity which had led to a crisis in the National Health Service," he said.

"Jobs have been lost and public services declined. Teachers are working 60 hour weeks and 40 per cent of teachers are leaving the profession."

He said "whichever party wins the election on Thursday the capitalist system is here to stay", insisting it was wrong.

"They say we can't hand on debt to a future generation but it's clear other generations handed on debt to us," he said, citing the fact the nation has only just finished paying off its first world war debt.

"I don't want to pass anything down to the next generation, but we've got to be clear about the situation we're in," he added.

"All around the world, working people have had to fight for a living."

Louis Stephen, from the Green Party, talked about cruise missile use in the 1980s ad the apartheid in South Africa, saying it had a profound impact on him growing up.

He said "whatever happens on Thursday, I will endeavour to put something back into politics in Worcester".

"The two main parties will be pressurising you to vote for them, saying 'a vote for the smaller parties is a wasted vote'," he said.

"Well there's no such thing as a wasted vote, a wasted vote is something you don't believe in."

UKIP's James Goad said there were "seven options on the ballot paper on Thursday, UKIP and the others", promoting his anti-EU stance.

"A political union with the EU offers nothing to us in terms of trade," he said.

He said UKIP wants to cut fuel bills and help pubs by offering tax breaks to small breweries and allowing smoke rooms to return to pubs, as long as they are well ventilated and separated from the rest of the boozer.

He said he felt the General Election "matters less than it used to" because too many powers have transferred to Brussels, and insisted his party could end up with "double figures" of MPs.

Independent Mark Shuker said he was concerned about economic and foreign policy, and backed lower public transport costs, while Lib Dem Federica Smith said being an MP would be "more than just a party's ordeals, it's about representing people in parliament".

Conservative Robin Walker and Labour's Joy Squires also made their last pitches to the pub's voters, both getting good receptions.

Cllr Squires said Labour stand for "fundamental and enduring values", saying her party would rise the minimum wage to £8, "ban" zero hours contracts by giving workers rights to better deals, freeze energy bills and slash tuition fees from £9,000 to £6,000 a year.

She reeled off a host of other policies like scraping stamp duty for first time buyers, building one million new homes by 2020 and giving £5 billion to housing associations for more social properties.

She cited "Labour's values of compassion and fairness", saying "that's what Labour's all about and that's what I'm all about".

Mr Walker made a passionate appeal to be re-elected on his "track record", calling the last five years as the city's MP "incredible".

"I am proud to have backed a Government which has turned the economy around and proud that I've been Worcester's MP," he said.

"I'd ask you, based on my track record and based on what I want to do, to re-elect me as your MP to represent this great city."

He said his main aim would be to "campaign for an upgrade of A&E", to secure more schools cash and help deliver serious reform to business rates.

LET'S LOOK AT CHANGING DRUGS LAWS, SAYS GREEN

WORCESTER'S General Election hopefuls have clashed over drugs policy, with the city's Green Party candidate suggesting cannabis should be "decriminalised".

Louis Stephen says his party would change the law over so-called "soft drugs" and focus more on rehab instead of locking people up.

But his view was criticised by Conservative Robin Walker and Labour's Joy Squires, both of whom insist that approach would be wrong.

During the hustings debate at the Cap 'N' Gown pub, Mr Stephen said: "We need to spend more on rehabilitation rather than locking people up.

"We'd come down really hard on 'hard drugs' traders, but when it comes to soft drugs we'd like to de-criminalise it."

He suggested cannabis could be made available over the counter, saying they'd split drugs into "two basic halves" of the soft and hard ones.

Councillor Squires said: "Knocking on as many doors as I have, it's amazing how prolific the use of cannabis is in this city.

"To think this is something which is purely recreational and not harmful, is not the way forward."

She added that during canvassing she'd come across a parent with a seven-year-old, where cannabis was being used, telling the pub audience she was concerned about incidents like that.

Mr Walker said: "I profoundly disagree about decriminalising cannabis - I know someone from school who had their life completely destroyed because of it, because of the mental health problems it caused."

He added: "In recent years we've seen some pretty major police drugs busts in Worcester, which is a good thing and shows we're not a soft touch on this."

WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT TO YOU?

WORCESTER'S candidates also debated what is the most important priority for Britain today - from the economy to the EU.

During the final hustings debate UKIP hopeful James Goad suggested the EU is the most pressing topic.

"The economy is one of the top issues, but I don't think it's the most important for our party, for us the EU and immigration comes top," he said.

"But when it comes to the ballot box self-interest may take over and it may come down to how much money people feel is in their pockets."

Labour's Joy Squires said: "When people go to the polling stations lots of issues will be on their minds - the economy is absolutely vital but the future of the NHS is on the ballot paper too."

Conservative Robin Walker said "fundamentally the economy" is most pressing, insisting creating more jobs and carrying on growing the economy needs to be the next Government's priority.

Green Party candidate Louis Stephen said: "If it was all about the money we'd be a very impoverished nation, and a very sad one.

"I think we need to do more to focus on arts, music, leisure."