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The debate is over. Thank you for joining us. You can watch again here or listen again on ����ý Cumbria

Worries about reliability and frequency of busespublished at 11:01 British Summer Time 2 July

11:01 BST 2 July

Luke Walton
Political correspondent, ����ý North East and Cumbria

Gary is unhappy about buses that "don’t turn up" in Carlisle. And there are wider worries about the reliability and frequency of bus services across Cumbria – with complaints that some routes have been cut altogether, leaving communities isolated.

A recent analysis suggested about one in three of the area’s buses have been lost in recent years. A study from Leeds University and Friends of the Earth reported that bus numbers fell 37.3% in Cumberland between 2010 and 2023, while service frequency was down 27.6% in Westmorland and Furness over the same period.

Both Labour and the Green Party want local areas to have the power to bring services back under public control. But Conservatives insist they have been investing heavily in buses and warn any move to nationalisation would be expensive to the tax-payer.

Here is a reminder of some of the key points in each party's manifesto

Pensionspublished at 10:55 British Summer Time 2 July

10:55 BST 2 July

And Stephen Shaw, who's also in his 70s, suggests:

Pensioners should get less support. He wants to abolish the Triple Lock - the guarantee that means state pensions always rise by whichever's highest of inflation, wage growth, or 2.5 percent. He argues pensioners are better off than they used to be.

Pensionspublished at 10:55 British Summer Time 2 July

10:55 BST 2 July

Question six comes from Sue Walker

"I am a 70-year-old pensioner and just want to know which party is doing anything to help this age group?"

High cost of housing in Cumbria a key issuepublished at 10:53 British Summer Time 2 July

10:53 BST 2 July

Luke Walton
Political correspondent, ����ý North East and Cumbria

Kim and her children have been forced to move back in with her parents in Kendal because she can’t afford a home. And many others have been hit by the high cost of housing across Cumbria.

South Lakeland is one of the worst affected areas. Recent figures suggest the average cost of homes there now tops £300,000. That is about 10 times the average annual pay of local workers.

A growing number of second homes have pushed up prices and squeezed availability.

All the main parties agree that is a growing problem. There is also a consensus on the urgent need for more affordable and social housing – though meeting the cost of those homes, and finding the space, will be no easy task.

Transportpublished at 10:52 British Summer Time 2 July

10:52 BST 2 July

And Barry Armstrong from Cockermouth asks:

"I’m a cyclist and often do over 100 miles per week in and around the Cockermouth area and the roads are a disgrace. Some get patched over and then it’s a bump rather than a hole, and cycleways are non-existent in my area. What is each party going to do about road safety?”

Transportpublished at 10:46 British Summer Time 2 July

10:46 BST 2 July

Question five comes from Gary Glover from Carlisle

"Public transport in and around Carlisle is abysmal. Buses often don't turn up. This is especially true at peak hours. What can the parties do to address issues with public transport?"

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.

����ý Cumbria's Stephanie Finnon chairs the debate live from the University of Cumbria in Carlisle

Crime and anti-social behaviourpublished at 10:41 British Summer Time 2 July

10:41 BST 2 July

Question four comes from a listener from Carlisle

"Minor offences such as cycling on pavements are becoming the accepted norm, particularly for young people. Speeding in built-up areas, jumping red lights and the like are not stopped. What are the parties going to do about anti-social behaviour and minor offences?"

Housingpublished at 10:32 British Summer Time 2 July

10:32 BST 2 July

And Tom, 27 says

"Surely one of the political parties has a robust plan to tackle both rampant second home ownership and affordable housing in rural areas."

Housingpublished at 10:30 British Summer Time 2 July

10:30 BST 2 July

Question three comes from Kim Longton, 39, from Kendal

"What are you going to do to help single parents be able to afford to buy or rent? Houses to buy are not affordable and houses to rent are unbelievably high priced. There are no council houses available. For someone like me and my children, we had no choice but to move back in with my parents as it is impossible to do anything else."

'Cost of living weighs heavily in some areas'published at 10:25 British Summer Time 2 July

10:25 BST 2 July

Luke Walton
Political correspondent, ����ý North East and Cumbria

Cumbria is a county where the cost of living weighs particularly heavily in some areas.

The common complaint from many local people is that housing and transport costs are high while too often pay is low.

Food banks are at the sharp end of the problem. Figures from the Trussell Trust network show about 14,000 food parcels were distributed last year in Cumbria from sites it represents. And local food banks say they are struggling to keep up with demand.

Carepublished at 10:20 British Summer Time 2 July

10:20 BST 2 July

Question two comes from David Stewart, 62, from Carlisle

"I would like to know what extra help unpaid carers will get. We get paid £2.34 an hour for 35 hours' carer's allowance. The minimum wage is over £10 an hour."

Unsure who to vote for? This guide offers a summary of where parties stand on issues most important to voters.

Cost of Livingpublished at 10:09 British Summer Time 2 July

10:09 BST 2 July

Question one comes from Daniel Murphy, 26

"I urge political parties to commit to ending the need for food banks, because many people are struggling to make ends meet and many parents cannot put food on the table. Political parties should increase universal credit to help struggling families and support them through the cost of living crisis."

Presenter Stephanie Finnon is chairing the debate live from the University of Cumbria in Carlisle. The guests are introducing themselves and the debate runs until 11:00 BST

'A lot at stake in Cumbria'published at 09:52 British Summer Time 2 July

09:52 BST 2 July

Luke Walton
Political correspondent, ����ý North East and Cumbria

As the parties prepare to debate the future of Cumbria, there is a lot at stake.

The politics of the county has been in flux in recent years. The Conservatives won Copeland from Labour in 2017, two years later both Workington and Barrow and Furness also turned from red to blue.

But a boundary review has reduced the number of Cumbrian parliamentary seats from six to five – and reshaped the constituencies that remain.

Now it’s the Tories who are on the defensive, Labour supporters who are quietly confident about making gains while, if opinion polls are to be believed, the Liberal Democrats look likely to hang on their south Cumbrian bastion of Westmorland and Lonsdale.

But in the closing hours of the campaign, the battle to win over thousands of undecided voters will intensify.