Greater Manchester A Mayor for...

The political power base across Greater Manchester is shifting. For

years we been saying in the northwest, London does not know

best, we know best. This is our big chance. This is a region on the

rise. The capital's closest economic competitor. Now a Metro mirror will

be tasked with taking it forward. It needs to be someone who is very

genuine about getting the job done. We need someone doing the work for

real. Someone who understands Manchester and understands what the

city has got. Taking the reins over social care and skills. The biggest

issue is housing. But financially, the city of

Manchester dominates. Prosperity and poverty remain near

neighbours. North Manchester and South

Manchester are completely different. Especially things like health care.

Who do you want to put in charge on the 4th of May?

If we blow it, we will regret it for a generation.

Hello and welcome to media city in Salford tonight.

Tonight we have seven of the eight candidates standing for mayor

of Greater Manchester. So let me introduce you to them.

We have Stephen Morris of the English Democrats.

Will Patterson is the Green Party candidate.

The Conservative candidate is Sean Anstee.

Standing for Labour is Andy Burnham. Jane Brophy is for the Liberal

Democrats, Ukip's candidate is Shneur Odze and Marcus Farmer

is standing as an independent. Welcome to all of them.

And Mohammad Aslam, another independent candidate unfortunately

couldn't make it here this evening. You can get all the information

you want on the candidates on the BBC website.

That is BBC.co.uk/candidates. And you can follow

the debate on Twitter using the hashtag #YourMayor.

But let's cut on the night with the night's event and get our

first question from Jack. This week, we have seen more

pictures of people catatonic in Manchester after taking

the drug Spice. With more cuts on the horizon,

how would the police force under your leadership

tackle the problem? Jane Brophy, Liberal

Democrats, what would you do to tackle this problem?

Firstly, Government policy has failed, hasn't it? We have made it a

criminal offence. We need to take that time away from

those people, because need to reach out to them and help them.

Homelessness is a complex problem, we need to get the right services

for people. It could be mental health problems,

they could be domestic abuse, it could be financial difficulties, it

could be all sorts of reasons why people are homeless.

We need to reach out to them, provide them the right support for

their drug and alcohol problems and make sure we decriminalized the use

of Spice because it hasn't actually worked, has it, this Government

policy where we make people into criminals when they actually need

our help? That is a point, these so-called

legal highs made illegal. Has that made the problem worse? No

one should have to sleep on our streets at night cold and scared in

Greater Manchester. It is important that it is not just

the response of Greater Manchester Police but all agencies across

Ridder Manchester to make sure that we get an deal with this issue once

and for all. It is some of our most vulnerable

people in a society, we don't stand idly by when that happens.

That is what I would do as mayor, bring together all of our different

agencies to say we can tackle this and we can make sure we support

those who need our help the most. Stephen Morris, as mayor, you will

be taking over the role of policing crime commissioner, Peter also went

up to do this job with a lot of cuts.

One of the things I've already said is that people have had ?5 extra put

on the council tax. We have not seen where that has

gone, we have not seen the allegation of police that we were

told it would go to. My plan is to make sure that the 70

police officers we were told we would get would put into a special

task worst and each one will have the task force for a month.

Going onto the gentleman's question, Greater Manchester has four councils

in the top for the UK for drink and drug related issues.

These are Labour councils. You can put council tax up, can't you? We

are ready put an extra ?5 on the council tax for the extra police,

we've not seen the men were not accountable. Get used to make sure

the community says what their issues are, then we put this task force

with 70 police officers into that area accommodate you with the issues

and then the next Barack, they move on to.

Actual accountability for what you pay and the police become

accountable. Shneur Odze. It has been the police that do not

have the resources to do with it. We are closing ten major police

stations in Greater Manchester, so first and foremost, it shouldn't be

for the police to mop up, because they are the agency of last resort.

It is the failure of multi-agency approach which has unfortunately

borne the brunt of the cuts. Very much, I don't believe in

decriminalizing spice, I can't imagine that putting more drugs on

the street will solve the problem, it would only make it worse. We need

to help these people long before they get to this situation. Andy

Burnham. It is a worrying situation. No one wants to see it.

It is something we want to deal with an deal with straightaway. First and

I would say, I would do two things. Protect the front line. Greater

Manchester Police have had 2000. Please officers under this current

Government. That can't carry on. They are in danger of being

overwhelmed last weekend. I would protect the front line,

neighbourhood policing and make sure there are no more cuts to police

officers. I have a plan to do that, a costed plan, and a difficult

decision has been made by the interim mayor this year to put more

police on the front line. The second thing I would do is show leadership

from the very start on tackling rough sleeping and homelessness. It

isn't acceptable that so many of our fellow citizens are out there

huddled in the doorways of Greater Manchester. What I have said is, I

will commit 15% of my mayor 's salary on an ongoing basis to create

a new mayor's fund to tackle rough sleeping and homelessness. I will do

this because I want other people to contribute as well. We are saying,

look, together, let's do something and show leadership from the front.

Say, I am going to do this and then I will be in a position to ask

others to do the same. The great thing about the people of

Greater Manchester is there is a huge generosity there, they do not

just walk ass people in the doorways, they want to help them.

This is just gesturing politics. At the end of the day, it's not your

ways, it's taxpayer money. Asked Andy if he will pledge to keep those

ten police stations opened that he has mentioned, his Labour colleague

is closing today. Will you keep that ten major police

officers open? What is closing is the inquiry desk. I agree with you.

I would put more resources... Would you pledge to keep them open? I

would like to reopen them. The Greater Manchester Police has moved

too far away from communities them I would want to make sure they have a

strong presence... I know you mean well, but is that a pledge? Going

back to the question. The question is about what we would do as mayor,

we need to look at the evidence base, the policing has failed to

tackle the problem, so we need to look at it again. Actually, Labour

authorities in Greater Manchester have not fixed the problem. The Tory

government is not fixed the problem. I am the change candidate here. We

will look at changing the way we look at things like drugs.

The evidence is, that is what has made the problem a lot worse. We

need to look at what works in terms of policing. Criminalizing people

for personal drug use is not a good use of police time. Let me bring you

in on this. He for Christmas, I spent a night out on the streets

with a good friend of mine who works with homeless people. I saw

something that police don't see. I don't see why they don't see it.

Homeless people seem to be spaced out somehow by about 150 yards from

each other. That tells me one thing that

somebody has actually sold these guys drugs. The money they are

begging for, all of them, I think is going into somebody else's pocket.

What would you do about it? I agree with Shneur Odze. We need to put

more people on the street and get to grips with the problem.

But that is money. Where would you get the money from? If you want

services, you have to pay for them. The council tax would go up. Let me

ask William. His that Sunday he would you? Ultimately, we have to

keep our streets safe. If the price of that is an extra ?5 a year on

council tax, that is a price worth paying for everybody in Manchester.

We've are ready put forward the fact that we would bring in tobacco

license tax, similar to alcohol, and anybody who needs to buy a lottery,

you don't need a license to sell tobacco.

We would bring that in. Before we get into racing council tax... Point

of figure where it needs to be. The Government has been cutting Greater

Manchester Police for seven years. You can't keep putting the front

Greater Manchester Police, cutting them, and not expected to be

problems. What Greater Manchester will need is a strong experienced

voice that knows how to get hurt on the national stage to tell the

Government that those cuts cannot carry on. Sean, go on.

And he said as Shadow Home Secretary that the police could make

efficiency savings. It is taxpayers As many as are of the opinion, say

"aye". To the contrary, "no". Money, that funds are police service. What

we need to do is use the ability to bring those huge amount of money

that is spent on money, support people off the street, but the

images show is very distressing that there was much more we need to do. I

want to make sure that we bring those agencies together. We need to

get to the recalls of the problem. No point papering over the cracks

here. Fundamentally different, that we can

support people that need our help the most.

You had your hand up. You are all talking about raising things for

these things to be paid for. What about the massive reserves that

all the local authorities have got? We are not running for Government.

We are not running for local councils. We are running for local

mayor. We're talking about how as mayor

would help. That is why we do not want to do the council tax up higher

than inflation and provide services, by talking to the Council. We need

to sort this out long before the end of comatose on the street. It is

about bringing in the NHS and councils to help them do their job

that are important in the money it needs, which is why I wouldn't put

these agencies under one umbrella. That is a recipe for more cuts. Many

of the young man on the streets are actually ask forces people. It seems

to me you need to go upstream as to why X forces people disconnect from

society and the way that they do. as you might say where the problem

is, rather than downstream. It is an important point. The question was

about policing. These people need better mental Health Service. The

gentleman is quite right. People who are coming out of the arms forces

were not supported with the right mental health services. Mental

health services across Greater Manchester were not resourced as

much as they should be. As mayor, that is what we need to do. We need

to make sure the services are there for our young people, homeless

people, people who are expect any kind of abuse. That includes the

homeless. That is often the recent why am it they have not had the

mental health services they might've needed in the first place.

I very much agree with what Jean has just said. I have spent time, like

markets, out with the groups working with people and it is quite vocal to

see the range of people that are there.

X forces, very young people leaving care.

We have the Government cutting housing benefits for 18-21

-year-olds. We will not be a will to solve all of those cuts. They arise

from Government decisions. We have got to do things different at a

local level. That is what I'm proposing to do.

Bring people together who want to solve this. Joe the Greater

Manchester can do things better and differently and differently and that

is what we have to do. But continuously say, this is the result

of Tory government policies that is putting more and more people in the

doorways of Greater Manchester. We are criminalising the wrong

people, focusing on the vulnerable on the streets and frankly police

forces need to be concentrated on the dealers, the people exploiting

these fungal people and frankly the people who this dodgy government

policy have criminalised, that policy has driven those people into

the hands of the dealers in the first place. We keep looking at the

blame game here, going back to the guy 's original question, we have

already spoken to voluntary groups who were looking to go into these

units, I have spoken to the British Legion. They do very good work with

ex-forces, they are very keen on it because then they would have a place

to concentrate ex-forces in one place at all of the organisations

can work together. These readers are other parties are talking about

getting stuff together, why haven't they done it all the -- already? It

is a Conservative government... As a leader you have to take action and

get people together and get it sorted, exactly what the gentleman

was after. The way we do that is with a Conservative government that

has worked with greater Manchester to give us the power to do things so

differently in a way that we don't want to do opposition politics in

Westminster, we want responsibility. I want is to be a greater Manchester

where we are ambitious... I grew up in Partington and saw the welfare...

I am asking a direct question. What about the cost to housing benefit

for 18 to 24-year-olds and what to do to homelessness? We need to make

sure people have the skills... We are going to move on to the second

question which is from Charlie Allen. Charlie. Greater Manchester

's framework proposes building new houses on green belt land, should

it? The framework for anyone who doesn't know is the greater

Manchester long-term development plan. Marcus Farmer. Should we build

on green belt? The clear answer to that is possibly yes. That will be

very, very... Let me finish. What is happening in this, by building an

aspect of the green belt is you give developers the chance to actually

provide something important that is not there at the moment. Shoehorning

stuff into Brownfield sites is not the answer. Go to my website, I'm

doing a lot on this because I do believe that building on certain

aspects of the green belt is a necessity for Manchester to provide

quality. It is about quality. You would say definitely? I think we

have to accept that if we have to go the way we are there to provide

quality that is what we have to do. Will Patterson. The special

framework is based on assumptions about population and economic growth

made before Brexit so the assumptions underpinning the

framework dodgy, they are based on the idea that the green belt would

suddenly unlock land that would be available for social and affordable

housing and does not factor that developers have not been meeting

their obligations. That assumption is dodgy. It is based on the fact

that the economic growth would be developed through this idea of

compartmentalising the outer boroughs when in fact line one

industries that are vulnerable to trends like automation, so that

assumption is dodgy. Every piece of thinking underpinning the framework

is completely dodgy and we need to start this again. You don't support

the special framework? Not in this form. We need a plan that this is

the wrong one and the wrong way. Jane Brophy. As may I would scrap

the greater Manchester special framework because it does not

deliver the affordable houses everyone needs, because the people

around greater Manchester are protesting because they want to keep

the green belt, we have not consulted the local people properly,

you can't have a beer coming to power when all those people are

unhappy with the greater Manchester special framework. We need to scrap

it because it does not work. It has to be agreed by the leaders of all

ten authorities and combined authority and the mayor so you're

already at loggerheads argue? Have not consulted local people and it

needs local decision-making and as a Liberal Democrat that's what we

believe in, local people should decide about where building takes

place in the land. There are Brownfield sites... The have any in

mind? Greater Manchester is not a particularly dense area, there are

plenty of places in the city where we can grow and build housing and we

need to make sure we build where you have the infrastructure, welding on

green belt does not store the infrastructure and make things worse

in terms of abolition and people will get in their cars and make the

already polluted city of greater Manchester worse so I need to make

sure we build the houses where it produces the problem. I will ask the

gentleman in the pink tie to make a comment. I think the whole idea of

the special framework as I understood it was that it devolved

power to the regions to the benefits of the residents. If you start

building as a first choice on green belt then you're not going to do

that, you're actually giving the benefit to the builders, it is

cheaper to build on green belt when you can take from the start. There's

a lot of expense involved in removing old buildings or whatever

it is that happens to be redeveloping the site. As the

candidate just said, the communities together and do not disperse them.

You build the infrastructure there. You are right, must be Brownfield

first because if you open up green belt there is no incentive to go to

other places. The problem is it has been to develop and lead to this

point. I would protect green space and shift the balance towards

revitalising the town centres of greater Manchester and build high

density housing there. But Jane I am afraid I don't agree with either

because if you just scrap it then you have no plan and then you have a

free final for developers and big whenever they want so you need a

plan. I could not agree more with the audience member which is why I

am proud to say you get the first people to commit against the special

framework because we sought was agenda let's not either housing

developers, as a fellow candidate member -- mating, the numbers are

even worse now. We also need honest politics from the panel. If

candidates will advocate open door migration that we have to build more

housing and it will not be enough Brownfield sites to build on. Which

is why Brexit affords us the opportunity to build on Brownfield

but also control the level of migration we have so you can see you

want open door migration and protect the green belt. The important point

is that it's a housing crisis in greater Manchester and we have just

stopped about homelessness, we are not building upholds and we need to

make sure we get the right types of homes for people in a city region.

And to you now, without a plan not a single blade of grass is free from

the risk of speculative planning development and application. One of

the time. What that means as we are seeing that we do not want to

control the development is. I don't think that is right. I want offers

great protection of databases as I can. By Blackie -- by backing the

plan your opening are put up green belt. We do need a plan. So we do

need a plan but we need to plan so that local people can decide because

we have wasted... Or scrapping it? Andy Burnham you're not scrapping it

you're rewriting it? Market share in favour? Truly as a business person I

can't believe it has not been communicated at all to any

businesses because we are effectively... Lets you from a

member of the audience. I am astounded at some of this panel,

especially Andy Burnham because you are at loggerheads with your

9-member councils around here because the main Labour councils

actually put the special framework together and tested an immense

amount of work on this. You're against your own party. Let me ask

you a question directly, if you like likely as may I will be my own man

and I will do what I think is right for greater Manchester and I will

show leadership on an issue as important as this. We don't want to

build alongside the main roads with cars on the road, I will listen to

people and I will bring forward a plan that carries people with it.

That is the leadership I will show as mayor. We don't want this to be

led by both parties, we want what is right for the people. We would vote

on a party basis. Can get this back to the question, in terms of

protecting the green belt, there is the assertion that the framework

will protect the green belt by hiving off some of it. I think that

is another dodgy assumption on the part of a special framework because

we have seen in the local plans that the individual virus of the doubt

that is not protected, it is not limiting house-building. You are

conceding the plan. You conceding the point of building on the green

belt. If you look at what I have done in the bar I run, we are

bringing forward a film it on Brownfield sites. If you look at

Wigan... We are using compulsory purchase orders to get loving

kick-started. The gentleman at the end. And duties for the candidate

who wants to scrap the plan, how will you stop the developers from

putting speculative applications in well you build a new plan? It has

taken years to build. By having a Democratic widely consulted

congruence special plan that involves communities and has led at

a grassroots level... However long it takes, because at what price

democracy? If you allow a plan driven by agendas by the

house-builders, that you will end up with is then concreting over the

cheapest most affordable but for them. We need to protect the green

belt. I would rather listen to the people, start again and having one

that works. As it takes 6-9 months then so be it. This has taken years,

not 6-9 months. There has been a lot of talk about democracy and

consulting the people and I have seen it happen in my local area and

the greenfield area, they will move on to someone else. You will consult

communities and ask if they want build on the green belt and they say

now in the aftermath of another and they will be at loggerheads. You

have to show leadership. Where does it end? The question is what type of

homes in rebuilding? Our aim should be to solve the housing crisis and

that will not be done by building big executive homes in these matters

road or the other main roads across greater Manchester, because they

would be affordable to people. This planet needs to be rebalanced

towards revitalising our town centres by building higher density

residential development there. More affordable to young people, bring

young people into those places, have more council housing as part of the

plan. That is what I think we need. Housing policy for greater

Manchester that solve the housing crisis and sadly in recent times we

have been too focused on luxury flat in the city centre and large

executive homes on the big roads. You have answered that I was more to

the people who are saying ask everyone. I run an environmental

social enterprise and for the last two years it has been very clear to

me that the environment is not a priority for the government. We have

talked about a number of issues here. But how would you reprioritise

the environment? That encompasses the code for sustainable homes in

terrace of building homes that are fit for the future and been

retrofitted with solar PV and things in the future. How will you

reprioritise? The problem is the definition of green belt, some

scruffy land and some really beautiful outstanding scenery.

Unfortunately I have been a developer in the past, it is very

difficult to shoehorn development into Brownfield sites and

unfortunately Andy I don't think you'll find anybody in the league

will flow a lot of money at its two retrofitted, you will not find them.

Why do you see that? We have an old Mullah Fazlullah redeveloped. Why

are you talking daringly? Nobody is talking daringly. But there the

Golden Triangle, Andy. The lady asked about environmental policy. I

think those are what advice because the greater Manchester mayor has a

huge as possibility to our environment. We have -- we are

seeing huge amount of air pollution and your policy to protect us from

climate change. How do you dead balance the deed to

protect the environment and the need to help the people who do not have

affordable homes? The two things go together hand in hand, if you build

the affordable homes and get them clean as the lady said... But not an

green belt. Building on the green belt damages the environment because

you have to travel in your car is to have the transport infrastructure is

key here, transport needs to be fixed in greater Manchester and as

mayor we will have major role in doing that. There is a much more the

government can do to unlock Brownfield sites. Very quickly shone

and then Stephen. It was a Conservative government that

announced a 2.3 billion pound infrastructure projects to get

Brownfield site unlock and ready for development. I will make sure we get

our fair share of that funding so we can do these things but you can only

plan for growth, even can only plan for infrastructure and transport and

health facilities. For too long we have avoided this issue. Is it any

wonder communities get development where they don't want it? We say we

don't want control and that is not good enough for me in greater

Manchester. I don't want is to be like London or Bristol v job after

you have a shower that lasts all day. Where you don't plan for the

great population because if you do that the inequality will be -- her

quality will be less. Greater Manchester is the worst area in the

UK for renewable energy and adversity. And our plan we will have

in the planning new property will have to solar panels and industrial

estates will need many wind farms should bring it back and rather than

just putting them in the countryside. This is a

Labour-controlled greater Manchester and we have the worst renewable

energy in the UK. We are going to move on. But if you

want to join in at any time, you can join in using our hashtag and you

can find out about our candidates on our BBC website. But let's get our

third question now. Hill how will candidates ensure that all ten

boroughs of Greater Manchester will benefit, not just the city of

Manchester? How will you ensure that all boroughs will benefit, not just

the city of Manchester? We need to make sure that the

Metrolink network actually reaches all ten boroughs and I am opposing

an outer circle that will connect the lines that are currently moving

out of Manchester, connect them up with each other. Will you have any

powers over the Metrolink? This is something that we can propose to get

that investment, building the consensus. The will for this to

happen is there. I went to help steer it and make sure it does

happen. Plans over the economy and spatial framer comes into this as

well, it's too heavily focused on building a high-powered jobs in the

city centre and places like Salford Quays, here at Media City. We need

to get white-collar jobs, technology jobs, rolled out across the ten

boroughs and make sure we are not compartmentalized in our economy so

that individual communities are reliant on just one industry. I grew

up in a mining community. I know what happens when you take away the

industry that your community relies on. It destroys everyone's hope,

everyone's prospects. We need to make sure that there was a diverse

range of economies across all ten boroughs. How do you redress it when

you have more jobs created in the south of the region of Greater

Manchester? Then in the North? This is a position for all of Greater

Manchester. I think too much of the focus has been on the city of

Manchester for too long. It starts with the signing of a lease in the

Greater Manchester. How are we going to attract major companies to park

themselves... Where would you have your office? I have no preference as

to whether it is back in Wigan or Bolton, because that is where I want

are great companies across the road to invest in. If we don't have the

transport links and other services and housing and everything else that

comes with it, that the mayor can function from one of our great

boroughs, how can we lead by example? A transport system that is

properly integrated, affordable, goes to her ten boroughs, but is

very much leading by example. You have got the ideas about building

transport, we need the Metrolink, we need to get that right on trains and

buses, our cycling routes and walking routes need to be right as

well. But it's more than that. We have a north and south divide in

Greater Manchester. I am concerned about this. I have worked all the

way across Greater Manchester in public health services than we have

a big health divide. We have about a ten year gap between people of the

North and other parts of the South in terms of life expectancy. That is

something the mayor can start to address, because that is something

that we can address, health, transport, looking at housing, look

at the environment that people grow up in. Those are the things that

will make a difference to everyone's prosperity and well-being. That is

what I want as Greater Manchester Mayor, to reach across all of

Manchester. Only three of the boroughs have been mentioned out of

ten in this entire debate so far, so that for me is very indicative of

something being on this. You from? Actually, I'm from Wales. But I live

in the city centre as well. But that's not the point. I'm also

concerned that every candidate may well want to talk about grassroots

etc., but this is been a top-down process from the beginning. This was

stitched up between the Conservatives and the Labour

colleagues, imposing it on us without any consultation. We had an

interim mayor voted by no one, so we have to judge by the deeds so far,

very top-down and I am not confident thus far that it will be very

different, I am afraid to say. It can only be different if we use the

powers that are coming to Greater Manchester to say that all parts of

the city region can prosper. It is not just about the structure we can

see, transport, health, facilities and so on. It is also the

infrastructure that we cannot say, broadband and infrastructure and so

on. Unless we do that, we will see a concentration. The point to remember

is that not a single part of Greater Manchester outperforms the UK

average for the economy. I want to make sure we get the right skills,

investment jobs, investment in transport, because if we do all of

those things, we can make sure we do not just redistribute wealth, but we

grow the wealth of Greater Manchester. That is got to be one of

the first priorities of our mayor in May, to say that, if you want to do

something so perfectly different with the decisions that are coming

here, you need to elect somebody that helps write those devolution

agreements. We need to get the collaboration with all parts Greater

Manchester and do something that sets all parts of Greater Manchester

can benefit. While we talk about sustainability, an issue that hasn't

been mentioned is the ?7 billion NHS budget that the mayor would be

responsible for the. How would we make sure that they resist

sustainable NHS workforce and Greater Manchester? We will come

back to that point, we will, to the NHS and bit. Well, you said on your

manifesto online that you want to create a Silicon Valley. How you do

that? We will make sure the people invest in this area. We want all new

property to have solar panels, wind farms, we do not want to buy wind

farms from China, wind turbines from Germany, we want to become the hub

of technology, new technology. That is why we want to bring people in.

Going back to quite a few questions with the gentleman on the transport

issue with things like the Metrolink, it's not just a case of

let's have this system, you got to have the right system. Anyone who

travels from Rochdale to Manchester knows it takes twice as long now on

the tram than ever did on the train. It is not a fast rapid transport

system that you need to get people about the city. You need a proper

system, not just another system. It's an important question.

Reference, negative reference made to Labour, let me remind everybody

that Labour led Greater Manchester this facility, it is put us in a

position where we are at the head of the rest of the country with a

devolution deal that is better than anywhere else. We are in a strong

position. What we've got to do for the next 20 years is apply the same

ambition to the outlying boroughs as has been applied to the city centre

in present times. One second, Steven. We need to bring jobs of the

future, jobs in digital, renewable energy, in all of those areas that

will bring future prosperity. That is a plan to Greater Manchester

needs for the future. It needs to be an ambitious plan, making sure all

parts of Greater Manchester moves forward. This is our opportunity to

do something very different, we need a mirror that can not only work with

Council leaders across Greater Manchester, but also stand up and

work with Government ministers at the same time. I am uniquely placed

to do that. Surely you need to have a knowledge of the NHS of your going

to try and run it. I have some of the best social care services we are

going to move on. We're going to move onto the next question, because

you have been bringing this up in the last question and this one is

from Sasha. Will the candidates endorse a 24-hour public transport

across Greater Manchester if it is deemed a demand for it? This

surrounds the new power enabling possibly a London style transport

network. Jane, you first. Actually, we do need to move towards a London

style transport network. They do things a lot better there. We need

to get people out of their cars. If the public transport system is good,

we can have 24 hours, why not? We need to dream about how we run our

transport, have new idea is, when we are moving towards new technology,

it's mentioned quite a lot. Driverless cars, we need to dream

big and make sure we have that circular Metrolink, trams, buses,

trains. But you will not have any power over this as mayor. I would be

as mayor shouting from the rooftop to say, we need funding to get the

Metrolink running. London has the congestion charge, doesn't it? Sean

Anstee, would you bring in a congestion charge to fund public

transport? I have said, would Greater Manchester voted in 2008 and

gave a clear view on the congestion charge, that is my view today. The

short answer to the question is yes, if they could be proven. The second

part of that is we are going to be making those decisions and Greater

Manchester, so we will not be asking anybody else to take those decisions

for us. We will take those decisions here. You keep on saying the mayor

will not be responsible for transport, they will be. They're

going to be responsible for the bus through regulation. We've got to

make sure we integrate public transport across Greater Manchester

and make sure it's being used, safety using Greater Manchester. I

have said in my manifesto that I will make sure we put resources into

making sure that the Metrolink and buses are safe to use at night,

because that is how we get people comfortable with public to work

across Greater Manchester. What is your view on this, Will Patterson? I

want to see a 24-hour public transfer system. I want people to be

able to use public transport whenever and wherever they needed,

particularly as we move away from a 9-5 society, more of a 24-7 society.

We need to absolutely learn from what has in London to make sure we

avoid the approach that transport for London had with the unions, to

make sure we actually get a sensible deal there to make this workable.

The lady here on the back row. I would like to ask the candidates if

they think the night-time economy is vital in Greater Manchester and how,

what they would use to support that based on the transportation... As in

bars and restaurants? Yes. Do you have a particular interest? We are

talking about the transport network and giving people greater movement

around Greater Manchester, that would benefit a lot of people, bars

and restaurant and club owners. I want to know your thoughts on the

night-time economy Lee in Manchester? If you are not in the

city centre, if you need to travel out of the if city centre, it's

quite difficult. If you're at a gig and you lived outside of the city,

you might have to leave that concert early. What would you do to help

people who live outside of the city centre? It is not just about the

service sector, its public service who work in the NHS, great public

sectors you do not work 9-5. We need to give them more autonomy of a

Publix transport system that actually works and is affordable. --

public. Until the day we have to be friendly flying self driving car, I

welcome that day, most people rely on their cars to get to work. These

are a lot of lower income workers. I fear, after a two with another

candidate. Another way of taxing the motorists, more bus lanes, we need a

transport network... Had you think we will be paying for the gas

guzzling cars? The omissions? They are relying on that to get to work.

The people in gas guzzlers love the congestion charge in London because

it gets them to their offices quicker. It is low income workers,

they will pay for the congestion charge. There was a different

between the congestion zone and the omissions on. That will focus on the

top polluters. Will is making some good points here, we need to make

sure below are images, and electric cars of the future, aren't they?

People will drive, plug them in. I just got one myself, I've been going

around Greater Manchester setting where are the charging points are.

It was absolutely an affordable range. What is the Greater

Manchester mayor good to do about that? What we can do is recognise

that that is the future and we plan for the future. Greater Manchester,

what are the biggest concerns of young peeper is climate change. I've

got three children and I think we need to look up what us older

politicians are doing because actually young people are very, very

concerned about climate change, the future, how it impacts on Greater

Manchester. Look at the weather patterns change it, how we are

getting more flooding. Young people are terrified of what might happen.

And Greater Manchester, we can make a start... Let Andy Burnham

comeback. There's lots of concerns. Climate change is a very big one.

Another one... Probably a more immediate one is the cost for young

people to travel around Greater Manchester. It is far too high. Much

higher than London, actually. I am the only candidate who said I would

back young people, put them first in my manifesto and give them all 16-

18 euros a free bus pass. Going forward, we need the London style

system. Later in Metrolink of buses, absolutely. The gentleman at the end

here has had his hand up for ages. Will the candidates support having a

night-time champion? Yes as long as they are actually promoting

everything. Will Patterson? Simply yes I support the night-time economy

across the borough is, I also support making sure we have houses

with access to that made him economy and what we have not talked about is

making access will to the disabled. It is a scandal that the metal in

the lists are turned off before the services have stopped. Would anybody

not support the 19th? And sceptical, in London the Windermere with a

dodgy self employment contract and will it lead, I am all in favour of

arts and culture but just focus on the naked city centre time as there

has been in London. We will move our next question from

Mohammed and then. Ellen Richter Manchester has a devolved NHS budget

and already has its own local care budget, with your power is what will

you do to solve the crisis in social care? I think having devolved powers

is one of the ways we solve difficult challenges for our

services. I read a council in greater Manchester that has

independently inspected children's services that are the joint- the

country. We have invested more money into social care in my borough and I

want to make sure that as we implement these powers that we

understand them because it is about the mayor doing this in partnership

with each authority in the voluntary sector. We have to make sure that if

we are going to do something so profoundly different in May and

beyond that making sure that the well-being of our population is at

the heart of what we do means that having these powers in the first

place will enable us to do that and at the point I do need to make is

that I helped to write that agreements to get these powers yet

greater Manchester, I did not campaign against them as and the

dead. It is important that we have someone in May and will continue to

stand up for the well-being of our population and ensure everybody here

feels like they are being supported. Andy Burnham Duro worried it would

create a 2-tier NHS system. I still have concerns because if you have a

mayor who believe in the privatisation of the NHS they could

crack on and do that. I have my concerns, which is why you need a

mayor who is as passionate about the NHS and everything it stands for as

I am. If I could just answer... You got any policy to privatise a

hospital. On social care I have long warned that if you cut social care

it will in the end crackdown National Health Service and that is

is happening before our eyes. The accident and emergency crisis in

greater Manchester is the product of deep cuts to social care and it is

getting worse and worse all the time. Never mind 15 minute visit,

there are two minute visits because the social care system is cut to the

bone. So what is my plan to deal with this? I have long said bring

these systems completely together, you cannot carry on in the

21st-century seeing the council does this in the NHS does that. You carry

-- you cannot carry on cutting care in the home because you leave people

trapped in hospital for weeks. Bring the funding together and create a

new incentive to support people properly in their own homes with a

multidisciplinary team around them, high-quality care in the home, get

rid of the broken 15 minute visits culture with staff on zero-hour

contracts, invest in the staff to provide preventative good-quality

home care with a single system, a national health care service. I want

to pioneer that here in greater Manchester.

APPLAUSE What greater Manchester needs is a

mayor who understands the NHS from the inside out. I have worked in the

NHS on my life, I understand it from the inside and they also understand

from the Keller 's perspective as well so what we need to do is fixed

at broken system because actually social care does need more funding,

we need to look at mental health and the voluntary sector and make sure

that we properly fix the system in a way that it takes the NHS out of

politics. For too long the NHS has been a political football and what

we need is all-party commissions. My party has proposed is, it has been

rejected by Labour and the Tories but we want to bring everyone

together around the table in greater Manchester to fix the problem. Let

Marcus come in. I agree with Jane, we're in a situation where the call

emphasis of the NHS has to be taken out of the political sphere and is

made of Manchester I would want to appoint people who know what they're

talking about, I know Andy, he will tell you have done this that and the

other but the point of the matter is he now says much about the health

service as I do. On what basis are you saying that? QWERTY want me to

start? As may you one person. What you have to do is appoint people

have the skills and know what they're doing, and I have to

honestly stand here is the potential mayor of Manchester and say aye am

not the guy to sort out the NHS, and I don't think any of these people

are. You can sort out the NHS, Andy. It does not give people might hope

that all. Before we get distracted... We need people who

know what they're talking about like Jane. You would be people around

you, advisers? Absolutely. I'm a practising GP from Oldham, my

daughter who was born in all them ask me why do I have, why would I

leave less than my cousin who was born in Trafford Brown what as you

will tackle that issue and I also want to know when she asks me why my

grandmother when she goes into a care home gets different assistance

from others and that will only be possible if you have the right

workforce in greater Manchester. Doctors and nurses are the people

who have been trained by taxpayer money, what will you do to retain

them? How will you keep those staff? This is why I want to keep social

care buckle and why I will not bring it under one umbrella. I am not

comfortable with outsourcing social care to private companies. It could

be more cost-effective but it will not be to the long-term benefit of

the users or taxpayer. And furthermore I think it is more

accountable, the councils and other agencies and charities to bring it

closer to home. To do it far better. Fundamentally you're right. The

government has a responsibility and not the means to provide the

services. One thing I want to do is rely on experts and think tanks in

London, I will hire professionals who work you locally because they

know better how to provide care. For too long we have relied on external

professionals. It has been a Conservative government that is

given as the power to resolve these issues we're told me about, provided

a half billion pound transformation fund and we can get care back into

the game in 80 and has given us the power to say that not only can we

integrate health and social care what we can get it to focus on the

things that matter to people across greater Manchester. Is mental health

on the party needs to be? Can we ensure we get greater value out of

what we're doing? 2 billion has to be saved in the budget by 2021. What

will you cut? We can do something to do that, integrate budgets and make

sure we're spending it on how we look after people and how we

commission across greater Manchester... I would say two

things... Two things have to be cut. Unnecessarily -- unnecessarily

hospitalisation of all the people, they spent weeks on bass -- weeks in

hospital. Number two spending huge amounts of money on private staffing

agencies, cuts to nurse training have left hospitals in greater

Manchester in the grip of private staffing agencies. If I am then I

will bring three scheme that graduates in nursing or midwifery in

greater Manchester is the commits to our NHS five years I will surely

help pay the tuition fees. This is about health. When you're talking

about efficiencies in the NHS that is not cutting the job of a manager,

that means less appointments with doctors and long waiting times, it

means more people having five minute visits. Let's tackle the problem,

because neither shone or Andy have addressed that, we have a plan of

how we're going to address the shortfall in care funding to support

the professionals because actually you do need to address that issue.

We need more funding for social care, local authorities have been

cut and cut again and we do have a plan... You are trying to get in. No

one else has a plan to bring together a proper fund for social

care and that is where we're going with this. Firstly junkies boxing

went been in the room to sign these agreements and every time he does he

reminds us that more than 2/2-million people in greater

Manchester when not in the room to take part in the decision-making

process. But also we talk about responsibility being devolved to the

NHS and it is entirely clear to me that when the government wants to

devolve responsibility what they mean is blamed. They mean cutting

the funding and rates and greater Manchester 's funding and do what

they have done to the Welsh farming. Commenters there called the War on

Wales. We will get this replaced with the mauling of Manchester if

we're not careful. We were told before that breast cancer drugs in

Scotland will be funded but in the UK they will not be so when John

talks about countries, I'd get it right, the English NHS is the one

facing the massive cuts, not getting the cancer drugs that we want but

Scotland are. We have to think big and people will be more than happy

to pay 5p tax towards the NHS than to build better housing. That will

get us very far, that is why you could put on a manifesto to properly

fund NHS and how loopy fillers, unlike the Conservatives have

promised to funded and cut it. Where is the than 50 million? That was not

Ukip, that was the Tories. We understand that by having a more

realistic overseas aid budget, we have 12 billion coming back from the

EU post Brexit, that is money that we can... We will get Deyika Nzeribe

to answer this. There is a lot of discussion here about a lot of

things but the idea that the 350 million going back to Britain

argument is to suggesting that scaremongering of people who wanted

to stay in yellow, I'm European that is why want to be and we wrestle a

liability and 50 million to the NHS, where is it? Where is that money? --

we were sold a lie. Can I ask the question? The EU is stopping is

recruiting nurses from around the world. When I was a governor in

hospital every single meeting we had the same problem, it could not

retreat. I am terribly sorry, I am going to stop you there in

mid-track. I apologise but we have to stop. We have run out of time.

Thank you very much. It is just two weeks until we go to the polls to

vote for one of these and the eight candidates in greater Manchester

mayoral elections. You can find it but more about what they have to say

on each subject on the BBC website, that is BBC .co .uk/ candidates and

as I said you can join in the debate, the hash tag is your mayor.

For now, thank you to our candidates and audience, a fantastic debate.

Thank you very much all of you, from all this year, media city in

Salford, good night. Why are we not talking about an elected assembly?

What is going on with the health service is related to the European

issue. What the mayor should be able to do is put that into context and

ensure the funding is spent efficiently. What will we do about

the illegal private hire and illegal taxis operating in Manchester? It

will be down to the one personalities. I don't want to see

Bono style stunts like these empires, kennelling and style

outrageous statements.