AT the Shildon hustings last Friday night, the Tory candidate for Bishop Auckland told us he was not afraid to disagree with his party on policy from time to time.

He went on to disagree with it on almost everything: the bedroom tax, cuts to school funding, downgrading of hospital services, cuts to education funding, and removal of student nurse bursaries. He ended with an inspired flourish: the Shildon Enterprise Zone! He began to sound like he was in the wrong party.

We should not be fooled. A vote for a Tory in our constituency would not lead to these compassionate policies. This was an attempt by the Tory candidate to distance himself from policies he knows are against our best interests.

What we would get are Theresa May’s vicious cuts, affecting everyone. Don’t let a Tory leave you with a warm, fuzzy feeling that everything would be all right under Mrs May. Nothing the Tory candidate advocated to help the people of Bishop Auckland would come to pass under a Tory government, and he knows it.

The only way to fight the devastating cuts to our public services is to vote Labour.

Judi Sutherland, Barnard Castle

ON Friday evening, I attended the hustings in Shildon for the candidates contesting Bishop Auckland. At these hustings in 2015, the Labour and Conservative candidates were the same.

Witnessing Conservative Christopher Adams on the platform for a second time was something I last saw 43 years ago, when the same Conservative was selected for the two elections held in 1974. I remember campaigning in both of those elections for Labour’s Jim Boyden and indeed, over the years organising the campaigns for Derek Foster.

For Christopher Adams to throw his hat into the ring for a second time shows not only his determination, after turning this Labour safe seat into a marginal in 2015 election, but also the faith of the Conservative Party in a candidate with electoral appeal and acumen.

Having campaigned over many years for the Labour Party in this constituency, at this election I will not be voting as I did in the past. I will be voting for the future in casting my vote to allow Christopher Adams to turn this marginal seat into a Conservative Party gain.

Billy Neilson, Bishop Auckland