'I've no chance,' says Rother Valley Lib Dem candidate

Wesley Paxton, standing for the Lib Dems in Rother Valley, admitted that the party had no chance of denting Labour’s dominance despite leader Nick Clegg’s unprecedented surge in the national polls.

Speaking at a Rotherham Pensioners’ Action Group hustings, he blamed the country’s “crackpot” voting set-up and revealed the party would not even bother leafleting voters.

What do you think of Mr Paxton's stance. Use the "write a comment" button to give us your views.

He added: “This has not been fertile territory for the Liberal Democrats. That’s the way it is, and the way it will stay until we change the system.”

This riled watching candidates Peter Thirlwall (Independent) and John Wilkinson (UKIP), whose parties were not invited onto the panel at the Bailey Suite last Friday.

“The worst thing I’ve heard today is Wesley saying that you can’t change the political landscape of Rotherham,” said Mr Thirlwall, who is standing in Rotherham.

Labour’s Kevin Barron, Tory Michelle Donelan and Mr Paxton fielded questions from the over-50s members on health, pensions, immigration and housing.

Rising rent and council tax coupled with the freezing of a private pension had made things worse for one woman, who said that pensioners were not better off and asked the panel to justify MPs’ pay increases.

Rother Valley candidate Mr Barron said: “Private pensions vary, and MPs’ pay was done independently of MPs, because we shouldn’t be in a position to decide our own pay.

Was Mr Paxton right to admit defeat? Join our poll. Click here.

“There are 900,000 less pensioners in poverty than when Labour came to power and £52 million has been spent improving public housing stock in Rotherham.”

He also promised that Labour would deliver a national care service—“akin to the NHS”—for pensioners.

Miss Donelan lauded Conservative plans to freeze council tax, saying that this policy would  bring major benefits to older people.

A Conservative government would be the only one committed to increasing spending on the NHS, she said, adding: “We are going to cut unnecessary waste and paperwork and we have worked out the costings.”

Mr Wilkinson, standing in Wentworth and Dearne, raised the issue of immigration, saying that  it was the hot topic when he was out doorstepping voters.

Miss Donelan said that other nations had introduced a cap on the number of immigrants and asked why the same thing would not work in Britain.

But Mr Barron said: “I still don’t see how a cap would work. This is a very emotive issue and this country has a great record on human rights.

“But if we’re not careful, it’s going to end up with a tit-for-tat war within the EU, because there are thousands of Brits living and working abroad.”

After the hustings, RPAG member Gloria Martin, from Wickersley, said: “I think all the panel answered the questions very well. But my vote will be for Labour because, even though Michelle was fairly good with her answers, I just can’t see how they are going to finance what they are promising.”

RPAG chairman Keith Billington said: “The three main political parties were there because we made a unanimous decision, and I don’t apologise for it.”

Election blog: Man in the middle leans towards Labour.