Here is what Croydon Central's candidates think about Brexit, the NHS and town centre safety

The five candidates standing in the constituency were grilled by residents at a hustings organised by Croydon BID (Business Improvement District).

More than 300 people attended the event at The Recreational at Fairfield Halls.

But most people there had already decided who they were voting for, as revealed by a show of hands when asked by host Colin Stanbridge, former head of the London Chamber of Commerce.

Brexit:

When asked how she would campaign if there was a second referendum. Labour’s Sarah Jones said she would probably support remain but would not commit either way.

She said: “I suspect I would campaign to remain but it depends what the deal is of course.”

And when challenged on why he was supporting Brexit when his own father came over to the UK from Italy, Conservative Mario Creatura said it was not for one person to “go against the democratic will of the people”.

While Simon Sprague of the Lib Dems said it is “fanciful to suggest that we’ll be able to negotiate [trade deals] easily”. He wants to see a second referendum.

And Esther Sutton of the Green Party described the benefits of remain as “the benefit of workers rights”.

And of course, Peter Sonnex of The Brexit Party is in favour of Brexit. He said: “We want to take on trade in the national interest. We will reduce the cost of living.”

Economy:

The decline in Croydon town centre is a key issue for many living in the borough, with the Whitgift Centre getting more run down by the day and empty shops becoming a normal sight.

The latest we’ve heard from shopping centre Westfield development is that the company is still planning to build something in Croydon despite delays, and that this will now include more offices and a hotel.

Sarah Jones said she is convinced that Westfield will come to the town centre but the company has blamed the state of retail, Brexit and business rates.

But Mario Creatura disagreed that the economy is not thriving and claimed that nationally economy has grown every year since 2010.

He blamed Labour for delays with the redevelopment of the town centre, saying that when the Tories were in control of Croydon Council and the Greater London Authority, plans were on track.

But Esther Sutton, a local pub landlord, thinks that too much focus has been put on Westfield.

She said: “I don’t think that Westfield is the silver bullet to solve the problems in the town centre. I think we’ve put all our eggs in one basket. We have a wonderful diverse mix of small businesses here.”

And Simon Sprague said he thinks the Whitgift Centre needs to be replaced as soon as possible and that independent businesses need to be attracted to the town centre.

He added that the Lib Dems would scrap business rates, replacing them with taxing land.

Safety:

Both Sarah Jones and Esther Sutton agreed that the perception of crime in Croydon is higher than the reality, with Sarah calling for more police on the streets and services for young people to get them off the streets.

But Peter Sonnex of the Brexit Party said in his years as a bus driver he saw many violent incidents. He said third sector organisations being involved preventing knife crime showed a failure of government.

And Mario Creatura said it was thanks to funding from the Conservative government that Croydon Council was able to set up its Violence Reduction Unit, which takes a public health approach to tackling violence and knife crime.

In answer to a question about harassment, Simon Sprague said it was up to leaders to set high standards and referenced Boris Johnson calling gay men “tank top bum boys” and immigrants lazy.

Housing:

Sarah Jones said that with 1,500 children in Croydon sleeping in bed and breakfast hostels there is a housing crisis. She said more funding is needed to build new social homes and accommodation for people who have a history living on the streets.

Mario Creatura said Croydon Council has not built new council housing and slammed a proposal to build on the green belt .

While Simon Sprague said the Lib Dems propose a 500 per cent tax increase on second homes which are left empty.

Esther Sutton said the Green Party would require properly insulated homes to be built to save energy.

And Peter Sonnex said again that it is “telling” that charities like Shelter are involved in housing, he thinks there should be more cross-party working in the government on housing issues.

Passion for Croydon:

Closing the event, Matthew Sims from Croydon BID said: “What I am always impressed with is the level of passion that people in Croydon have.

“The views are different they always will be but what we’ve seen tonight is a wonderful array of different views and thoughts.”

And while most people already knew how they were going to vote, perhaps they will now be more informed about their decisions.

One thing that united all five candidates on the night was defence of Croydon’s star music attraction, Stormzy.

A question from one audience member which branded his music violent was shouted down by the other candidates, and the audience for that matter.