South Dorset prospective parliamentary candidates were quizzed on their views about the climate and the environment.

Hustings at St Aldhelm's Church in Weymouth was organised by Transition Towns Weymouth & Portland.

The candidates vying to be South Dorset's MP, who all attended, are: Richard Drax (Conservative), Joseph Green (Independent), Nick Ireland (Liberal Democrats), Dr Jon Orrell (Green) and Carralyn Parkes (Labour).

The Rev Nick Clarke chaired the evening, asking people to submit and ask questions to the candidates.

The first question put to the candidates asked what would be their first action in government to combat the climate crisis.

Joseph Green, a lecturer at Weymouth College, said that he would introduce a proportional representation voting system, which he said could help maximise the number of ecologically minded MPs.

Nick Ireland said that he would revoke Article 50 and keep the UK in the EU, saying that he thinks Brexit is a disaster for the climate.

Dr Jon Orrell said he would take his cue from Extinction Rebellion, and that his first act would be to tell the truth about the extent of the climate emergency.

Carralyn Parkes declared her intention to tax the top 100 companies as a climate measure, blaming them for causing a large share of the world's emissions.

Richard Drax stated his belief that the country needs to move as fast as possible towards a more environmentally friendly future without damaging the economy.

Candidates were also asked what role farmers would play in reducing emissions and how they would support our farmers.

Dr Orrell emphasised the need to move away from factory farming and focus on arable farming, while Mrs Parkes stated that supporting animal welfare was vital and said that Brexit threatens animal husbandry.

Conversely, Mr Drax said he believes Dorset's farmers will benefit from Brexit. He said he considers farmers to be crucial to the area. Mr Green and Cllr Ireland pointed to the need for farmers to reduce carbon emissions and said that people need to eat less meat.

The topic of air travel was also raised. Mr Green, Mr Ireland and Mrs Parkes all stated their opposition to further airport expansion, and Jon Orrell went further to say the Greens want to stop flying as much as possible. Mr Ireland floated the idea of taxing frequent flying. Richard Drax, on the other hand, pointed out the opportunities that air travel has given to people and admitted that he did vote for Heathrow's third runway.

Among other topics, including transport infrastructure and corporate regulation, the audience asked the five for their stances on fracking and wind farms. Mr Drax pointed out the government's moratorium on fracking, and said that he supports wind farms in principle but opposes them being built on the Jurassic Coast, saying that they would ruin the landscape. He wants them built offshore where no one can see them.

The other candidates all staunchly stated their opposition to fracking and their support for wind farms.

Dr Orrell went so far as to say he considers wind farms to be beautiful, a sentiment echoed by Carralyn Parkes who said she would prefer them to oil power stations.

The general election will take place next week on Thursday, December 12.