Thorngate Halls in Bury Road was packed with people standing at the back for the two-and-a-half-hour meeting.

The four candidates are competing to become the prospective Conservative candidate for Sir Peter Viggers' seat when he stands down at the general election.

It's only the second time in the country that constituents are picking the party's candidate in a postal vote. Chairman of the Gosport Conservative Association Alan Scard said: 'It was excellent, it went really well and after listening to them all I still don't know who I'm going to vote for – this has been a real success.'

The four candidates – James Bethell, Caroline Dinenage, Sam Gyimah and Julia Manning – all made short speeches followed by a number of questions from the chair.

The floor was then opened to members of the public who asked questions ranging from immigration policy, to contraception and sex education.
After so many people have been angered by Sir Peter's attempted duckhouse claim and his role in the expenses scandal all four candidates talked about trust.

Mr Bethell said: 'This is about more than a simple duckhouse – people in Gosport are worried that there's an overall sense of laziness. For me, and a lot of people here, I think cleaning up politics is the most important thing.

'There's a strong feeling that they will get another immovable lazy MP.
He added that if constituents weren't happy at the end of his first term, he would be willing to hold a reselection ballot.

Ms Dinenage came the closest to defending Sir Peter and said: 'I feel sorry that after 35 years of service it had to end this way.'

She said it was unfortunate that he'd become the 'pin-up boy' for the expenses scandal, when what other politicians had done was 'bordering on criminal'.

Mr Gyimah focused much of his speech on congestion and the A32, and said: 'I don't think there's a silver bullet. But there's a number of things we can do – we don't need more homes, that will put more pressure on the roads and we need more local jobs.'

Mrs Manning closed her speech by saying: 'I grew up in this area in Southsea and went to school in Fareham. I had friends in Gosport who I would come and hang out with. I want to come back to my roots and serve here.'