Candidates from Enfield North battled it out in an early morning hustings.

Debating on BBC Radio 5 live at the Enfield Islamic Centre, on High Street, Ponders End, candidates for Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat, UKIP and Green party spoke on issues such as Chase Farm Hospital and local jobs.

Conservative candidate Nick de Bois and Labour candidate Joan Ryan were at loggerheads over the debate on Chase Farm Hospital, which lost its accident and emergency and maternity wards in 2013.

Mr de Bois said: “I think we should be very clear about this and people in Enfield will know this, that in 2008 the Labour government then made the decision – Joan Ryan was a member of that government – to downgrade the hospital.

“Then along comes my party leader and he said “this won’t happen”, and of course that utterly let down the constituents in my party as well. So none of the major parties actually can take any credit.

“By falsely claiming that the hospital will close, Joan is deliberately scaremongering, if that’s what weaponising the NHS means then shame on her.

However, the Labour candidate said that would have rather “lied on the road” than see the hospital close its key services.

She added: "The Tory candidate is so right. David Cameron completely let down Enfield over Chase Farm – so why should the people of Enfield vote for the Tories again?"

Members of the audience also expressed their views with Joseph Davy, 21, a Labour vote, of Hawthorn Grove, Enfield and neighbour Graham Martin, a conservative voter, were at loggerheads on issues of employment.

Mr Martin said: “Employment in the area has increased and that is thanks to our MP Nick de Bois.”

However, Mr Davy said: “We have seen an increase in foodbanks and despite people working, more and more people are living below the poverty line.”