General Election: Oxford East candidates grilled in hustings

A total of eight candidates out of the 12 nominated turned up to answer questions around the theme of 'Peace and the Environment' yesterday (June 11) evening for the event hosted by the Oxford Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

Those who attended were Sushila Dhall - Green Party; Anneliese Dodds - Labour and Co-operative Party; Brandon Luke French - Workers Revolutionary Party; David Henwood - Independent Oxford Alliance; Theo Jupp - Liberal Democrat; Katherine Mary Longthorp - Party of Women ; Zaid Marham - Workers Party and Jabu Nala-Hartley - Independent.

Candidates first introduced themselves and were asked to outline their views in relation to peace, the environment and Gaza.

READ MORE: Rishi Sunak football visit ‘misled’ parents over PM identity

Zaid Marham of George Galloway's Workers' Party said: "The one thing we can do is not vote for any of the parties who have given this genocide a mandate."

Oxford residents turned out to grill the candidates. (Image: Noor Qurashi.)

Meanwhile, the Workers Revolutionary Party candidate Brandon French also condemned the violence and said "I love this country" but added he was "ashamed about politicians".

Labour's Anneliese Dodds said her party is "calling for an immediate ceasefire" in Gaza.

She said the ceasefire motion proposed by the party was "the only one that passed" to which someone from the public said "rubbish" as the party has been accused by some circles in Oxford of not taking a strong enough stance on the issue.

Green candidate Sushila Dhall added her party had been "calling for a ceasefire since October", she was "proud to represent the green party" and "we need to look at where we spend our money".

Katherine Longthorp - candidate for the Party of Women - bucked the trend with her response as she chose to speak about the importance of "protecting single sex spaces" and said the NHS is "indoctrinated by ideology".

Independent candidate Jabu Nala-Hartley referenced having previously served as a Labour city councillor for Oxford.

She had resigned from the party in October over the "Labour leadership’s refusal to condemn collective punishment of Palestinians".

Speaking at the meeting this week, Ms Nala-Hartley said she "grew up under apartheid" and so "the issue of Palestine resonates strongly".

Jabu Nala-Hartley. (Image: Contribution.)

Liberal Democrat candidate Theo Jupp, who was elected as a city councillor for Summertown this year, said the party was "the first to call for an immediate ceasefire", "we must stop weapons exports" and referenced "the sheer number of emails (he had) received".

Independent Oxford Alliance candidate David Henwood was the last to speak out and gave a slightly shorter speech than the others.

He said: "What we are seeing in Gaza is a military operation akin to ethnic cleansing".

Several of the questions were directed towards Ms Dodds as the incumbent candidate but also in light of some of the criticism the party has received in Oxford.

One citizen brought up the candidacy of Oxford resident Luke Akehurst for a Labour seat in north Durham and added: "What does this say about the Labour party?"

Anneliese Dodds. (Image: Newsquest.)

Ms Dodds said in response to the question: "I do not think name calling generally is helpful.

"We need to speak more with each other rather than speaking less."

One question asked for the candidates' thoughts on the European Union (EU) with the speaker referring to it as leaving "the biggest peace project".

Mr Henwood said he personally agreed leaving the EU meant "leaving a sense of freedom" but that it was his personal belief and not the IOA's belief which is "democratic in focus" and "respects the referendum".

Liberal Democrats' Mr Jupp said the party aim was to rejoin the EU and Ms Dodds said it was not Labour's position to seek to return in the foreseeable future.

Oxford. (Image: Ed Nix.)

The only candidate to challenge the premise of the question was Mr Marham who said: "I think it's extraordinary to describe the EU as a peace project."

Dan Glazebrook - an Oxford resident who has previously been vocal in his opposition to the city council's project to build a new bridge at the Grandpont Nature Park and been escorted out by security twice in planning meetings - was present at the hustings.

A member of the public asked: "Do candidates recognise that punishing people for crimes they have not committed is against international law?"

Mr Glazebrook joked "I need to take legal advice on that one" taking a jibe at Ms Dodds' previous response to a question.

Speaking about the NHS and public services, Ms Dodds told the meeting: "I do believe things can change.

"They can change and they need to change."

Election day is July 4 and you must register to vote by 11.59pm on June 18.

Independent candidate Amir Steve Ali, Conservative candidate Louise Brown, Social Democratic Party candidate Benjamin Adams and Rejoin EU candidate Andrew Smith were not present for the event.

Help support trusted local news 

Sign up for a digital subscription now: https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/subscribe/

As a digital subscriber you will get:      

• Unlimited access to the Oxford Mail website   
• Advert-light access       
• Reader rewards       
• Full access to our app

About the author

Noor is the Local Democracy Reporter for Oxfordshire who covers political stories from across the county. 

She began working as a journalist in Oxford in September 2023 having graduated from the University of Oxford.

Noor was trained at the News Associates journalism school and can be found on X through the handle @NoorJQurashi