´óÏó´«Ã½

You can catch up on the debate by clicking on the link below.

Thank you for joining us. You can keep up to date with the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s general election coverage online

Division over school investment sumspublished at 12:22 British Summer Time 25 June

12:22 BST 25 June

Luke Walton
Political correspondent, ´óÏó´«Ã½ North East and Cumbria

"A feisty exchange between candidates on the issue of school investment – after Claire raised the example of St Leonard’s in Durham, where pupils have been forced into temporary buildings because of potentially dangerous Raac concrete.

"Thousands of pupils at a number of schools across the North East have faced disruption to varying degrees because of concrete-related problems, and some parents are worried they will be unfairly penalised as a result in this summer’s exams.

"Conservative Luke Allan Holmes said in the case of St Leonard’s, the local council - which is led by a Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition - had worked (along with the government) to ensure pupils were able to move to temporary buildings.

"Labour says the structural problems are part of a wider long-term issue of under-investment in school buildings. And Labour’s Joe Morris questioned why the Conservatives expected families to be grateful for having children taught in temporary structures."

Question seven comes from Stephen Thompsonpublished at 12:07 British Summer Time 25 June

12:07 BST 25 June

Brexit

"The white elephant in the room which is never mentioned is Brexit. The country is billions worse off - but this is never talked about with any real intent."

Question six comes from Claire Hallpublished at 12:02 British Summer Time 25 June

12:02 BST 25 June

Schools

"My nephew attends St Leonard’s School in Durham. His education has been utterly disrupted by RAAC. Money needs to be poured in to solving the problem. Tents are not going to be a long term solution. This is the foundation for the rest of his life."

Candidates clash over A1 duallingpublished at 12:00 British Summer Time 25 June

12:00 BST 25 June

Luke Walton
Political correspondent, ´óÏó´«Ã½ North East and Cumbria

Interesting clash over plans to dual the A1 in Northumberland.

Local people say the single-carriageway stretch between Morpeth and Ellingham is currently dangerous and they lament repeated delays to the project.

Conservatives have included a promise to dual the 13 mile section in their election manifesto.

But Labour’s Joe Morris says the government’s record on the issue has been one of "dither and delay".

Conservative Luke Allan Holmes hit back that it was Labour that was refusing to commit to A1 dualling.

Rachel Featherstone for the Greens said her party would invest heavily in bus and rail transport and said a push for "active transport" such as cycling and walking would be good for public health.

Question five comes from Michael Jonespublished at 11:54 British Summer Time 25 June

11:54 BST 25 June

Social Care

"Boris Johnson said that he would prioritise social care reform. He did not - nor does any other party have it in their manifesto.

"As a sole carer for my wife, if she goes into care, our savings and eventually the house will have to be sold to pay for it. What will all the parties do about this unfair practice?"

Big changes have been made to the political map since 2019. Boundaries have changed and many constituencies will be new or different from the last general election for millions of people.

You can use our lookup to find out which constituency you are in, who is standing as a candidate in your area and to which polling station you can go to vote.

We apologise for the technical disruption to the live feed of this debate.

Your Voice, Your Vote will put your stories and questions at the heart of our general election coverage.

Get in touch and tell us the election issues that matter to you.

And Dr Tanmay Sukthankar asks:published at 11:45 British Summer Time 25 June

11:45 BST 25 June

NHS

"The NHS already runs on fumes and the goodwill of thousands of staff who are now overworked and traumatised by COVID and bruised by an often ungrateful and abusive public. Why will neither leader consider actually paying up for the service they want?"

Question four comes from Sandra Carverpublished at 11:44 British Summer Time 25 June

11:44 BST 25 June

NHS

"I have been with my GP practice for 30 years and never before have I experienced such dreadful service. Which party is going to sort out the NHS so I can ring or call into my GP surgery to make an appointment and get that appointment within a couple of days? No wonder A&E departments are overrun with people suffering minor ailments."

Some still feel the region has been short-changedpublished at 11:38 British Summer Time 25 June

11:38 BST 25 June

Luke Walton
Political correspondent, ´óÏó´«Ã½ North East and Cumbria

The Metro rail system has been a source of North East pride since the early 1980s. But in the last few years, delays and disruption have been a big problem.

Much of this was down to ageing infrastructure and rolling stock.

A fleet of new trains was due to enter service last year but that launch has now been delayed to later this year.

Some of this delay has previously been put down to inflation, supply chain issues linked to the war in Ukraine, and the need for more testing.

Meanwhile, local rail-users will welcome the expected return of passenger services to a Northumberland line linking Ashington and Newcastle this summer.

But some still feel the region has been short-changed, particularly by comparison to London and the South East, which has benefited from multibillion-pound long-term projects such as Cross Rail.

And Scott Simpson asks:published at 11:35 British Summer Time 25 June

11:35 BST 25 June

Transport

"The roads are terrible. Where does the road tax money go?"

Question three comes from Andrew Abelpublished at 11:35 British Summer Time 25 June

11:35 BST 25 June

Transport

"Public transport is a constant issue. The Tyne and Wear Metro system has daily/hourly issues and I am late for work on a weekly basis. The levelling up slogan was a nice branding tag line but with HS2 cancelled, does the north get the investment it needs or is it always about London?"

Question two comes from Dr Stephen Westgarthpublished at 11:28 British Summer Time 25 June

11:28 BST 25 June

Water

"I’m a keen fisherman and river swimmer. I want to know which party is going to take water pollution seriously? Not a single watercourse in England has good ecological status due to their pollution. What is each party going to do to sort out this mess?"

Here's a reminder for you:

Cost of living crisis having an impactpublished at 11:22 British Summer Time 25 June

11:22 BST 25 June

Luke Walton
Political correspondent, ´óÏó´«Ã½ North East and Cumbria

Elizabeth talks of a "huge" rise in the use of food banks – and recent figures suggest there has been a big increase over the last eight years.

The number of emergency food parcels handed out by North East food banks covered by the Trussell Trust network rose from 65,218 in 2016/17 to 150,560 in 2023/24, although compared to the 2022/23 figure of 154,729 there was a slight fall last year. Around of third of parcels go to children.

The boss of Newcastle Food Bank recently told me an increasing number coming through their doors are in work – many on zero-hours contracts. Clearly, the cost of living crisis has had a big impact.

In response, ministers would likely retort the government’s own policies have helped to reduce inflation. Conservatives also point to a recent rise in the National Living Wage as evidence of their determination to tackle low pay.

Question one comes from Elizabeth Renneypublished at 11:18 British Summer Time 25 June

11:18 BST 25 June

Poverty

"Is the government not ashamed and embarrassed by the huge rise in foodbanks and child poverty? What are they going to do about it?"

The candidates are introducing themselves and the debate runs until midday