Barcelona candidates clash over housing and immigration in election debate

Candidates standing for Barcelona seats in Spain’s 29 November general election debated key issues in a televised event organised by RTVE Catalunya.

The debate included candidates from the PSC, PP, Comuns, ERC, Junts and Vox, with the campaign due to begin in the coming days.

On housing, they argued over a government decree that failed to pass in Congress after PP, Vox and Junts voted against it, a defeat that led to the early election.

PP candidate Xavier García Albiol called the measure unfair and said a PP government would repeal it if it were still in force.

Other candidates criticised the opposition to the decree, saying the housing crisis affects voters across the political spectrum.

Immigration and security brought the sharpest exchanges, with candidates disagreeing over whether the two issues should be linked and over conditions in Catalan cities.

The debate also covered rail services and the place of Catalan in schools, but the event offered no further next steps beyond the approaching campaign.