THE parties standing for election in Bolton’s three constituencies went head to head at a hustings event at Bolton Market.

The debate, organised by Bolton FM and YMCA Bolton, was attended by candidates representing Labour, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats, UKIP, and the Green Party.

Candidates were quizzed on issues including Brexit, social care, and homelessness in a heated contest on Tuesday evening, with questions submitted by audience members and Bolton FM listeners.

When asked by YMCA members what their party would do for young people, Labour’s Julie Hilling was cheered when she said that services for the nation’s youth had been decimated by the current government and that more funding was needed to provide support roles.

Ms Hilling, who is hoping to take back the Bolton West seat she lost in 2015, was joined at the debate by fellow Labour candidate Yasmin Qureshi, who outlined her support for lowering the voting age to 16.

James Daly, Tory candidate in Bolton North East, said that he worked with vulnerable young people on a daily basis in his job as a solicitor and that more needs to be done to encourage them to “achieve their full potential from an early age”.

Alan Johnson, Green candidate in Bolton South East, said that the current generation of young people will be the first to be worse-off than their parents.

Colleague Liz Spencer, who is standing in Bolton North East, highlighted the levels of poverty as the main challenge facing the next government.

When asked how they would tackle homelessness in Bolton, Bolton North East Lib Dem hopeful Warren Fox said that the issue was the “scourge of our society” and criticised Bolton Council for not doing enough to solve the problem.

He added: “It is an absolute disgrace that this is something that consecutive governments have not dealt with.”

Fellow Lib Dem candidates Rebecca Forrest and Frank Harasiwka also attended the hustings.

UKIP’s Jeff Armstrong, who is standing in Bolton South East, added that he was appalled at the number of ex-servicemen who were sleeping on the streets.

Mr Harasiwka, who has made health and social care the key issue of his Bolton South East campaign, said that the Tories’ plans to fix the care crisis had been “a cock-up from start to finish”.

UKIP’s Harry Lamb said that his party would put £2 billion a year into improving social care, using money that previously went to the EU.

Mr Daly told the crowd that the main issue facing Bolton at this election was leadership, adding that Theresa May would lead Britain to “thrive and prosper” in the future.

Martin Tighe, UKIP candidate in Bolton West, said that he believed that the potential loss of green belt land across the borough was the main topic of debate.

The debate will be aired on Bolton FM next week.