POLITICIANS clashed over private school fees, free school meals, and the national debt as campaigning recommenced in York late last month.

The three candidates fighting for election in York Central - Labour’s Rachael Maskell, Lib Dem Nick Love, and Conservative Ed Young, took part in the event at Bootham School on Thursday, May 25 - debating with the Green party’s York Outer candidate Bethan Vincent.

The evening began with a moment’s silence honouring the 22 people killed in the Manchester terrorist attack on Monday.

The debate began with Bootham headteacher Christopher Jeffrey asking the candidates to explain the point of the 2017 election. The three opposition candidates poured scorn on suggestions a strong majority would strengthen Theresa May’s hand in Brexit negotiations, and instead branded it a cynical land-grab by the Conservatives, and a reckless move.

Lib Dem Nick Love said: “This was a cynical move designed to help one person in a political party, not to help the nation.”

Taking questions from the audience, Rachael Maskell faced a challenge from a Bootham School parent about Labour’s planned tax on school fees to fund free primary school meals.

She said Labour wanted to give opportunity to all, and the fact some children in York had to go to school hungry was “disgraceful”. Expecting parents who have plenty to give a little to those who have nothing was not “asking too much”, she added.

Opposition came from Nick Love - who said his party had found the money for free school meals elsewhere, while Conservative Ed Young said independent schools needed to be more involved in the state sector.

The Labour and Conservative candidates clashed again over national debt, with Ed Young speaking of the record deficit left behind when Labour left office in 2010.

“We can’t have an economy that continues to pledge money if we can’t afford it,” he added.

Rachael Maskell, however, said the situation in 2010 was caused by the global financial crisis, not Labour’s record in Government. Answering for her party, Green candidate Bethan Vincent said the answer to the debt problem was to spend and invest for growth. “There is enough money to go around, but we need to have a conversation about how to distribute capital,” she added.