THE idea of Jeremy Corbyn as Prime Minister was met with a round of applause at a husting event ahead of next month’s General Election.

Candidates vying to be the next MP for the City of Durham took part in an event at the town hall on Friday.

Conservative candidate Richard Lawrie’s assertion that a vote for Labour’s Roberta Blackman-Woods was a vote for Jeremy Corbyn as Prime Minister was met with applause from the audience.

Mr Lawrie added: “I think that’s a terrible idea. This is a man that can’t hold his shadow cabinet together.”

In response, Dr Blackman-Woods said: “This is quite a traditional election between Conservative and Labour. I hope you agree we don’t want to give Theresa May a blank cheque to do what she wants with a hard Brexit that will damage the North-East.”

The event, organised by Durham Churches Together, saw city residents quiz candidates on range of issues from student housing and Durham County Council’s ongoing dispute with teaching assistants to subjects like refugees, renewal of the Trident nuclear weapons programme and the impact of Brexit on the Northern Irish peace process.

There were clashes over issues relating to the cost of living, with debates on the living wage, zero-hour contracts and the increase in the use of food banks.

Liberal Democrat Amanda Hopgood, leader of the opposition of Durham County Council, highlighted her party’s role in defending teaching assistants at County Hall, while criticising the “appalling” reduction in education funding by the Government.

The Green Party’s Jonathan Elmer called for a more progressive tax system, the introduction of a universal basic income and said his party was the only one seriously thinking about the “catastrophic” issue of climate change.

Mr Lawrie accused Dr Blackman-Woods of failing to hold the Labour controlled council to account on the issue of teaching assistants and not tackling the spread of student housing. He said: “We need a bit of plurality to Durham’s politics.”

Ukip’s Malcolm Bint said voters had been let down “time and time again” and said he wanted to ensure people got the kind of Brexit they voted for.

Mr Clark, a postman from Meadowfield, told the audience he had decided to stand after feeling that none of the mainstream parties represented his views.

He said: “I believe that we’ve had successive governments who say the right things and say the things people expect them to say but when they fail to deliver them they get forgiven and no-one holds career politicians to account. I believe that has to change.”

A straw poll of the audience found the majority of those attending were in favour of paying more tax for better services and giving asylum to more refugees.

Jon Collings, who is standing for the Young People’s Party, did not attend.