Dudley’s general election candidates have outlined how they would tackle the ‘nightmare’ effect of out-of-town shopping on traders.

The debate was at times as hot as the recent weather at a hustings hosted at Beacon Hill Academy in Sedgley on Tuesday evening.

All but one of the election candidates for the Dudley constituency were at the event which was hosted by TV and radio presenter Adrian Goldberg.

Marco Longhi (Conservative) blamed out-of-town shopping at the Merry Hill Centre as well as online shopping and the effect of the lockdown which encouraged people to stay at home even more for the drop in town centre trade. Mr Longhi, who highlighted investment in transport links during the past five years while he was MP for the town, said: “Businesses don’t stay open if there isn’t footfall, if we think our town centre is going to be the same again we are wrong, it is going to be different.”

A member of the audience hit out at the Conservatives, who were in government during the 1980s when Merry Hill was developed, for “foisting that nightmare on the people of Dudley, Halesowen and Stourbridge.” Mr Longhi said: “I wasn’t part of that decision, at the time I thought it was a bad idea.”

Labour’s Sonia Kumar said: “Small and medium size businesses are really important to me, they are the lifeline and backbone of our economy so my plan is to get powers to have empty shops reopened where we can scale up the town centre.” She also said reforming business rates will help new businesses.

Ian Flynn for the Liberal Democrats said: “Dudley is one of the most failed town centres, it has made a start but there is a lot more to do. “Dudley needs to be re-purposed with more residential and a more vibrant shopping area.”

The Reform UK candidate, Andrew Southall, pointed out the town centre does not even have its own branch of McDonald’s any more and criticised building new transport links before regenerating the town centre. He also said free parking should be extended and added his party’s policy of an online sales tax would help high street businesses.

Zia Qari for the Greens called for improvements in infrastructure while independent candidate Shakeela Bibi said lower rents would encourage more business to the area.

Aftab Hussain, for the Workers Party, said he wanted to see larger businesses encouraged to come to Dudley.

The debate will be aired tomorrow on Black Country Radio from midday.