SLURS and accusations were non-existent as policies finally took centre stage in the battle for the Bradford West parliamentary constituency tonight.

More than 200 people gathered at Bradford Cathedral for the latest hustings, perhaps in expectation of fireworks after a sparky get-together last Thursday in Manningham.

That event was dominated by a war of words between Respect candidate George Galloway and Labour's Naz Shah.

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There were fears of more tension as earlier in the day the battle between the pair had intensified, with Mr Galloway being accused of breaching election law, and Ms Shah being accused of perjury.

Instead, not an angry word was spoken as the audience listened to the seven candidates give their three key policy statements and answer questions on five topics.

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Indeed, it only threatened to get spiky when Ukip candidate Harry Boota directed a joke about politicians and nappies and why they need changing, at Mr Galloway, who was not in the slightest bit amused.

The meeting's chairman, the Dean of Bradford, the Very Reverend Jerry Lepine, delivered the questions to the candidates and ensured good timekeeping. Before the hustings got under way, he instructed the candidates to "show consideration to fellow candidates, do not heckle them and await your turn to speak".

The evening's questions were put together from a People Inspired event that took place last month. Mr Lepine said the biggest issue that voters in Bradford West had, was education, and they wanted to know what the candidates would do to improve it.

Independent candidate James Kirkcaldy raised a few eyebrows when he said "a lot of our children are smoking a lot of marijuana", while the Green Party's Celia Hickson and Ms Shah spoke of the importance of reducing class sizes.

Liberal Democrat Alun Griffiths, who was sandwiched between Ms Shah and Mr Galloway, said it was important to spread finances fairly, and Mr Boota wanted to bring grammar schools back.

Conservative candidate George Grant said: "We need to stop talking education in Bradford down, or teachers will not want to come here."

Mr Galloway spoke of his desire to bring the London Challenge to Bradford and get the city's education attainment on a par with Tower Hamlets in the capital.

The other four topics were employment, society, engagement between politicians and the public, and how whether regions like Bradford got their fair share when compared to London and the South East.

Mr Galloway, who read out his mobile number and Bradford address when talking about engagement with the public, discussed bringing the HS2 rail line to Bradford and bringing parliament further north, and urged Britain to stop getting embroiled in foreign wars.

He also urged Bradford to unite with Leeds - which received a loud cheer - as he said: "We would be foolish to separate ourselves from Leeds. Let's put a hyphen between Leeds and Bradford like we have at the airport and make that the political powerhouse."

Therese Hirst (English Democrats - Putting England First) is also standing in Bradford West but was not on the panel tonight.