MORE than 80 people turned out to quiz the candidates for Old Bexley and Sidcup in the borough's only hustings meeting of the election. Candidates at St John's Church were last week put on the spot about everything from police numbers to tax allowances for married couples.

John Kempton, the Liberal Democrat standing in Erith and Thamesmead, deputised for Belinda Ford, who was recuperating from cancer treatment.

Issues addressed were:

*Lack of police

Kempton (Lib Dem): More specials and a bigger role for others such as park and traffic wardens.

Jim Dickson (Lab): Would press Home Secretary and the London Mayor for a bigger share of London's 1,000 extra police and up to 100 more in the borough at the end of three years.

Derek Conway (Cons): Would be on the spot every time Home Office matters are discussed in the Commons to put a spanner in the works until Bexley got more police.

Janice Cronin (UKIP): Helped collect signatures on the Bexley petition. Police have to get their priorities right, police morale has to be raised and have to be given back the community's respect.

*NHS funds and lack of cancer services

Kempton: Only way to improve NHS is spend more and employ more staff. Cannot improve it by fiddling at the edges.

Dickson: Labour is trying to undo 20 years of Tory neglect and pledges to bring health spending up to the European average in the next three years and is putting billions into cancer care.

Conway: Believes the answer is not more money but how it is spent. One of his first campaigns would be getting rid of mixed-sex wards at Queen Mary's hospital, Sidcup.

Cronin: Would use the money saved by withdrawing from the European Union on public services. Decentralise the NHS.

*Reinstatement of married man's tax allowance to encourage marriage

Kempton: Marriage is not the only model for family life. People should not be made second-class financial citizens because they are not married.

Dickson: No evidence it encourages marriage. Labour has transferred the money to children's tax credit. The most important thing is children don't live in poverty.

Conway: A stable marriage is more important than money. It is a fundamental building block of society.

Cronin: Should be restored so wives are not forced out to work when they want to look after their children.