WITH just days to go until the General Election, Swindon finally had the chance to see all ten candidates take part in a head to head contest as they took to the Wyvern Theatre stage on Monday evening.

The audience watched on as they tackled issues ranging from Brexit to taxation and schools to social care.

While the representatives of the two major parties are now familiar faces to many, the candidates for the smaller parties - with the exception of veteran Lib Dem councillor Stan Pajak - are not.

For the neutrals in the crowd, it was the Green Party’s Andy Bentley (North) who was the surprise hit of the evening with his firm but composed defence of the public services he relied on as a child and his calls to “shake up the system” met with appreciative applause.

His South Swindon counterpart Talis Kimberley-Fairbourn’s comment that there was “no time for hand-holding with the wilfully ignorant” - taking aim at both the US President and the UK Prime Minister - was undoubtedly a contender for witty barb of the evening.

The Lib Dems were always going to be in for a tough evening as they fight a campaign centred around remaining in the EU in leave-voting Swindon.

Liz Webster (North) tried to use personal anecdotes in place of policy pledges but the audience appeared unmoved. She will likely come away being remembered more for her views on badgers, than on Brexit.

For UKIP, the night was an opportunity to demonstrate credibility and relevance in an election campaign where the party has struggled to gain any real traction.

But the party’s North Swindon candidate, Steve Halden, appeared not to have got the memo. Embracing the role of unorthodox pantomime villain he had the crowd rolling in the aisles, but not in the way he would have wanted.

Fellow UKIP candidate Martin Costello (South) will be pleased with his performance in what was clearly an unfamiliar and nerve-wracking setting for a political newcomer. But his visible frustration with Mr Halden’s off-script antics suggests that next time he will hope to be alongside someone else.

Ultimately both Swindon contests are likely to come down to a battle between two familiar foes - Labour and the Conservatives.

If one were judging Monday’s performance of the candidates by crowd reaction alone, then Labour had a winning night.

The party faithful whooped, hollered and clapped each time that candidates Mark Dempsey (North) or Sarah Church (South) took the mic whether on NHS funding, school cuts or the proposed new National Care Service.

But election outcomes are ultimately not measured by the noise of a clearly left-leaning partisan crowd and Conservatives Justin Tomlinson (North) and Robert Buckland (South), both seeking re-election after seven years at Westminster, will have come away pleased with a defence of their record that avoided any penetrating blows.

Their message is business as usual, safe pairs of hands in contrast to the unpredictability of their opponents. They will be hoping it is a case that wins over voters, even if it left the Wyvern audience less than convinced.