Craig Williams did not attend Machynlleth’s hustings on 27 June, but a betting stall did.

The Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr general election hustings at high school Ysgol Bro Hyddgen hosted five of the six MP candidates after Tory-suspended candidate Craig Williams did not show up.

Outside the hustings, a resident set up a betting stall encouraging bets on whether he’d turn up after the ex-Montgomeryshire MP was suspended amidst an investigation into alleged election betting.

Despite the empty seat, the hustings were a passionate affair, with Nigel Farage’s Reform UK candidate Oliver Lewis receiving regular heckles from the full audience, booing, calling him a “liar” and shouting after he referred to refugees as “boat people”.

Craig Williams' empty seat was set aside as the other candidates waited to begin the husting
Craig Williams' empty seat was set aside as the other candidates waited to begin the husting (Deb Luxon)

Politics teacher Mr Lewis then caused audible shock when the candidate compared himself and his party to the suffragists in calling for political reform, asking the heckling members if they knew the difference between suffragists and suffragettes.

The young Liberal Democrats candidate and county councillor for Llanidloes Glyn Preston caused a stir by downplaying the impact of the student debt crisis, whilst Green Party candidate and county councillor for Forden and Montgomery Jeremy Brignell-Thorp said the UK could not afford to completely drop student debt.

Cllr Preston however grilled Plaid Cymru and county councillor for Glantwymyn Elwyn Vaughan on not voting for Proportional Representation when he had the chance after Cllr Vaughan spoke in favour of a new electoral system.

Labour candidate and high school teacher Steve Witherden received a similar grilling from other candidates about Labour’s lack of follow-through in changing the two-party system and the party’s ‘weak’ line in calling for an Israel-Hamas ceasefire.

A resident set up a betting stall outside the Machynlleth hustings, poking fun at the absent Tory candidate Craig Williams after he became embroiled in an election betting investigation. The stall asks for bets- "3-1 he's going for jail, 5-1 he's hiding in a fridge with Boris, 7-1 he's not turning up at all".
A resident set up a betting stall outside the Machynlleth hustings, poking fun at the absent Tory candidate Craig Williams after he became embroiled in an election betting investigation. The stall asks for bets- "3-1 he's going for jail, 5-1 he's hiding in a fridge with Boris, 7-1 he's not turning up at all". (Cambrian News)

Mr Witherden claimed to be for greater devolution of powers to Wales, protecting trans youth and recognising the state of Palestine, whilst stating his whole family was ecologically minded, after his dad moved them to Powys in the 1970s to help found eco-centre CAT: “The Labour green new deal will introduce great British energy- publicly owned, and the expansion of tidal, solar and wind technology to bring down utility bills.

“The alternative is Rishi Sunak jettisoning net zero- we cannot have that, the planet cannot have that.”

Cllr Vaughan called for polls to be banned during election campaigns and to instead look at the integrity of the person in front of you - speaking in support of whistleblowers, openness and transparency.

Plaid would bring the end to conversion practices for sexuality and gender, speaking against the polarisation of politics limiting conversation, and in support of youth struggling to buy houses in the face of student debt: “One of the key issues we have is that the [Barnett] funding formula for Wales does not reflect the need in Wales to support our young people... Lord Barnett said it needed reform himself... if we don’t invest in our young people what future is there?”

Cllr Preston said Lib Dems would support Proportional Representation, self-ID for trans people, an immediate ceasefire in Israel and Palestine and further devolution, but that “it shouldn’t stop in Cardiff”.

A group of Palestine supporters outside the gates to the Machynlleth hustings
A group of Palestine supporters outside the gates to the Machynlleth hustings (Deb Luxon)

He however had a word of caution for full independence which some people can treat as a Brexit-like silver bullet: “Decisions in Cardiff can be bad for this area of the world - power needs to devolve further from Cardiff to our local councils.

“Decisions taken closer to people are ultimately better decisions.”

Cllr Brignell-Thorp called for the government to “start telling the truth” about the climate crisis, supporting self-ID for trans people but that a “conversation was needed” about dealing with public bathrooms, and that Green has been clear on calling for an immediate Israel and Hamas ceasefire.

He added: “No one joins the Green party for fame and fortune, we are all passionate about making a world that is habitable for our children in 20 years time...

“The government’s current line is that climate change will be solved through technology and that we don’t need to change our behaviour but that’s not the case, we need to take it seriously and to understand the consequences, and emphasize the importance in taking action.”

A listening audience and a packed room for the Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr hustings in Machynlleth
A listening audience and a packed room for the Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr hustings in Machynlleth (Deb Luxon)

Mr Lewis said Reform UK would abolish the House of Lords, nationalise water to address pollution issues and stated that Wales needed a “stronger voice in Westminster”, level with Scotland and Northern Ireland.

He added that the true victims of the refugee crisis were ‘real refugees in need of safety’, calling the Rwanda asylum plan farcical whilst adding his party was not against third country processing, adding: “Reform UK has an established value to live and let live.

“No trans person has any basis to fear from a strong Reform UK movement or me as your MP.”