Four things we learned from BBC’s debate

The winner will represent Caerphilly in Cardiff Bay for around six months until all of Wales votes in the Senedd elections next May.

We learned this eight days before the midterm election.

Audience member Ryan Bevan asked the candidates what they would do to support and improve Caerphilly’s public services.

Plaid Cymru’s Lindsay Whittle said “we have seen the soul and spirit of our communities slowly being destroyed by the erosion of services”, with amenities such as libraries and swimming pools closing or in danger of closing.

He said investment should be in “the right places” and not in “high-level organisations”.

Green Party candidate Gareth Hughes said the way to adequately fund public services was to “tax the rich properly” and “pass the burden on those with the broadest shoulders”, as in continental European countries.

Reform’s Llŷr Powell accused the Labor government of “spending huge amounts of money on projects that do not prioritize frontline services” and said it would “prioritise frontline services at the moment”.

Richard Tunnicliffe, who is defending the seat of Caerphilly for Labour, heard accusations of hypocrisy for campaigning to keep libraries open while the local Labor Council was trying to close them, but he denied the accusations.

He said he was “passionate” about libraries as he was a publisher himself and made a living from books and wanted funding from the UK government’s scheme to help libraries survive.

Liberal Democrat Steve Aicheler accused Tunnicliffe of hypocrisy but said “absolutely difficult decisions” needed to be made on budgets.

“Our priority is care,” he said, introducing what his party called “the most ambitious childcare plan for Wales”.

Conservative Gareth Potter said his party was the only party to say it would save £120 million by increasing the number of members of the Senedd from 60 to 96 next year.

“We are the only party saying £120 million should go to frontline services in education and the NHS, that is how we will spend it,” he said.

The second question came from NHS hospital pharmacist Jordan Morris, who asked how candidates could reduce hospital waiting lists and improve access to GPs.

Labour’s Tunnicliffe said the Welsh government was pouring an extra £600 million into the NHS and long waiting times were looming.

Lib Dem Aiches accused Welsh Labor of failing health services for 25 years, praised the local GP practice and said “best practice” needed to be shared to improve services.

Reform’s Powell said there was no “quick fix” for the NHS and staff needed to be retained, but was pressed on Reform leader Nigel Farage’s previous comments on the NHS.

Farage called for debate on an insurance-based system when he led UKIP in 2015.

“I will not vote in any way to privatize the NHS,” Powell said. He said Farage was not running in the by-election.

Conservative Potter said Welsh Labor ministers were spending “ridiculous” amounts of money on non-frontline areas.

Plaid’s Whittle said better links between health and social care were needed to free up hospital beds.

Llŷr Powell has come under more criticism than anyone else for his party’s stance on immigration.

Powell was told that only 2.9% of people in Caerphilly were born outside the UK; these figures come from the most recent census in 2021.

Powell said it was out of date and more had come to the UK since then but he did not have his figure for the constituency.

He said: “I’m not saying everything is bad. I’m saying we need to get back to controlling immigration.”

An audience member later challenged him directly about the impact the Reformation’s rhetoric had on his own family. He was told: “You’re talking about people. You’re not treating them like people.”

Emphasizing that he was talking about politics, Powell said: “The level of immigration into the UK at the moment is very high.”

Most of the remaining candidates were less negative about immigration.

Tunnicliffe said immigration was “weaponised”. He said it was a “serious problem” and Labor wanted to “fix it”.

“Controlled, legal immigration has benefited and helped us. It helps the NHS, it helps care homes. It helps some jobs.”

Lindsay Whittle said she would be “proud” to continue supporting the Welsh government’s sanctuary policy, which provides some support for refugees.

“The Ukrainian people live in fear and hope of being sent back,” he said.

Aichler said he didn’t think immigration was an issue in Caerphilly, but the perception was. He said refugee hotels were “divisive”.

Hughes accused Reformation of “turning into enemies the people fleeing war into this country.”

Potter said the nation’s asylum policy needed to be looked at. He said he completely understood people from Ukraine because Ukraine was “torn by war.”

Labour’s Tunnicliffe says he knows people are frustrated with politicians and that he is “not a career politician like Lindsay or Llŷr. I had a career.”

The broadcaster said he would enter politics “only now”. “I will work with anyone if it will help affect change for the people in this constituency,” he said.

Plaid’s Whittle rejected Tunnicliffe’s accusation that he was a career politician.

He said he likes to think that those who voted for him repeatedly as a councilman “trust me.”

Hughes, from the Green Party, said there was no trust in politics because politicians made “promises they can’t keep”. “They need to be presented with reasonable things that can be achieved,” he says.

Reform’s Powell said politics was at a “distressing level” of trust. “I’m trying to ask for a mandate to demand better for this area,” he says.

“There is no magic wand, there is nothing any of us can do,” he said, adding that he was trying to be “frank and honest” in his campaign.

Potter, from the Conservatives, said no one voted for the 20mph speed limit policy, which was in the Labor Party manifesto at the last election but was not a major feature of the campaign at the time. “20mph needs to go away,” he said.

Liberal Dem Aiches supported the 20 mph limit, saying there were hundreds of people who “didn’t have to visit relatives in hospital” because of it.

The six parties taking part in the debate represent parties with clear evidence of electoral support in Caerphilly, given past elections in Caerphilly and opinion polls in Wales.

The eight candidates in the by-election are:

Liberal Democrats: Steve Aicheler

Gulen: Anthony Cook

Greens: Gareth Hughes

Conservatives: Gareth Potter

Reformation: Llyr Powell

UKIP: Roger Quilliam

Labour: Richard Tunnicliffe

Plaid Cymru: Lindsay Whittle

You can learn more about them Here.