General Election 2024: Housing, the Middle East and use of AI among subjects raised in Crawley hustings

A few dozen people turned up at the Friary Church on Tuesday (July 2) for the event, which was hosted by Crawley CND.

Five of the General Election candidates attended: Linda Bamieh (Workers Party of Britain), Robin Burnham (Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition), Iain Dickson (Green), Peter Lamb (Labour), and Dan Weir (Heritage).

With the majority of people in the room being members of or campaigners for one political party or another, there were not many general questions about Crawley.

But candidates did make it clear that they did not support Homes England’s plans to build thousands of homes west of Ifield.

There was much talk about support for the people of Palestine, the need for a complete ceasefire, and how the UK should accept responsibility for its part in the horrors due to its continued export of arms to Israel.

Injustice closer to home was also raised by two members of the Chagossian community.

Chagossians were forced to move from their homeland, Diego Garcia, in the late 1960s and early 1970s to accommodate a large US Air Force base.

Over time, Crawley has become home to the largest community of Chagossians in the UK, approximately 3,500 people.

One, who introduced herself as Deborah, spoke about the kindness shown to the community by the people of Crawley – most recently to those who are currently camped outside the Town Hall.

She asked for assurances that something would be done to help and ‘not just promises being made and then nothing happens’.

Obviously, those assurances could not be given but the candidates were united in their desire to help.

Winding things up, the candidates gave their final words.

Iain Dickson was worried that this issue of climate change had not been raised. He added that the Green Party was about ‘hope and change – a fairer and more equal society and economy’.

Peter Lamb said he was ‘prepared to show up and do the work’, adding that, if elected, he would be ‘confidently arguing on behalf of the town, who has a detailed understanding of the nature of the challenges our community is facing’.

Dan Weir said he was ‘a man of action and when I say I’ll do something I do it’.

Robin Burnham said his party’s policies were ‘based on working class needs’, calling for a £15 per hour minimum wage and housing that was ‘truly affordable’. He added that there needed to be an end to ‘career politicians’.

And Linda Bamieh said that voting for her was ‘a vote for George Galloway’ who ‘stands up and says it as it is – he’s directly for the people’.