Yorkshire Election 2017: Where You Live

Theresa May has called a snap general election.

THERESA MAY: At this moment of enormous national significance,

there should be unity here in Westminster.

Come on, it's what we all wanted - isn't it?

In just over a week's time we'll all be heading back to the polls

So what are the issues that it get us all going here in Yorkshire,

and more importantly, who do you trust to sort them out?

The main thing I'd say for me is the NHS, it's in a bit of a mess,

Poor people are being left behind and being crushed, as always,

and the politicians are just saying what they have to say.

During an election they promise you the moon but when they get in,

Here in Halifax last time around there were only a few

hundred votes separating the leading political parties.

This time the Yorkshire election battle grounds

Hello, we're at the Square Chapel Arts Centre in Halifax.

Tonight, our audience will get the chance to put their questions

to the politicians fighting for their vote.

This is Election 2017, a BBC Look North special.

Anyone will tell you what a grand place Halifax is, but come on,

two visits to the area from our two main party leaders in two weeks

Our panel tonight, John Healey from Labour and Wentworth and Dearne

He's a shadow housing secretary and admits all the leaders he's

Rishi Sunak took over from William Hague as

Some majority you've got there, Rishi.

Natalie Bennett is a former leader of the Greens.

If you want to chop a tree down in Sheffield Central,

The Lib Dems were nearly wiped out last time round.

Di Keal, from Thirsk and Malton, is hoping it's different this year.

Bradford South's Stephen Place is hoping to rise to

And welcome to the leader of the Yorkshire Party, Stewart Arnold.

If the vote was about to be the best place to live you'd

have a handsome lead I think, wouldn't you?

You can follow the debate on social media.

The hashtag is GE2017 Yorks, and on your local

Our first question tonight comes from Morgan.

Manchester is just 30 miles from where we sit tonight.

What will your party do to reduce the chance

of another terrorist attack following last week's atrocity?

OK, let's move immediately to Rishi Sunak.

I think we all watched those events on TV and were horrified.

The first thing is to pay tribute to the incredible

professionalism of the police, who responded magnificently,

but also to the people of Manchester as you said,

I think they responded with incredible strength

and solidarity in the face of a heinous, heinous crime.

In terms of going forward, there are three things

The first is making sure that our intelligence services

remain the best in the world, investing in MI5,

Secondly, we need to listen to our security services

about the tools they need to do their job.

That things like giving them access to the Internet browsing history

of suspected terrorists, or exclusion orders,

which prevents people from returning back to the UK if they are suspected

of plotting terrorist activities abroad.

Those are some of the practical steps we've been taking.

The third thing is to put this in context.

Right now there are I think 200 different active investigations

that the security services are looking at with regard

There are 3000 people on the high priority watch list,

so the scale of this problem is significant.

I think we have to think about prevention.

We have to look at what is really awful Islamist...

Reality, you've cut one fifth of police officers in West Yorkshire.

If you look at what we have done and the Home Secretary was talking

about this last week and asked the head of the counter

terrorists in the UK, is it question of resources

The counter-terrorism budget is increased.

There are 1900 more officers going into MI5, MI6 and GCHQ

The only manifesto that talks about tackling Islamist extremist

ideology is the Conservative manifesto, which is setting

I think it's right to stand up for what's important in this country.

We have a great country, we have great laws, great values,

and people need to integrate into British society

and that's the only way we'll ultimately solve this problem.

Some members of your Cabinet actually want MI5 completely

That would stop this look into trying to stop terrorism.

There's been no discussion in Shadow Cabinet about anything like that.

No, Jeremy Corbyn in the wake of the bombing in Manchester

has said very clearly, just like Theresa May,

the security services get what they need in order to do

It was a magnificent response in Manchester.

The government, to its credit, got it right, by raising

the threat level to critical, putting troops on the street.

A couple of things need to happen now.

How did this man escape them after he was alerted to them over

There is also questions that now need to be launched

by the Home Secretary, between the border

Was he stopped at the border when he came back from Libya?

If he was stopped, why was he let go?

And finally, the point about the police.

Policing is now more and more complex, as crime

The number of counter-terrorism cases that the police

and the security services have to track is increasing all the time

and neighbourhood policing is needed more than ever.

We've lost in this region 2300 police since 2010.

We have to put them back on the street.

You haven't got any plans to support the police in the future.

In South Yorkshire, this year, we got 2.5 million less

in the budget than we had last year, so the last seven years

of police cuts is due to continue for the next five,

Would you like to make a point about what you've heard from these

Basically, all I'd like to say is it's all well and good you saying

we are going to be doing this, we are going to be doing that,

If things like this keep happening and you keep telling us

you are putting this in place, things like this

Why weren't there troops in and around these areas

It's almost like you've let something like this

I'm going to Di Keal, for the Lib Dems' view.

I think the thing that really worries me about this going forward

is that we've seen since this incident, this dreadful incident

in Manchester last week, a spike in hate crime,

race hate crime in Manchester, and we need to work so hard

My daughter is at University of Manchester.

She spends her weekends working with the Sikh community,

working across the community, to try and bring people together,

and I think that's the sort of approach we need to take.

Yes, we do need more police, we'd need more community police,

definitely, because they're the level of police that pick up

But we also need to work really hard on community cohesion.

What about Natalie Bennett, what Jeremy Corbyn said the other

day, that foreign policy of the government has caused this

I don't think that's exactly what Jeremy said but I think

to start off with we do have to start with the local,

Tory austerity is showing in fewer police in our streets

and our communities and that has one impact.

There's also the question about the Prevent strategy

and the way in which that has demonised communities.

We've heard everyone from Liberty to the NUT saying what we need

instead is an engage strategy, but it's also true that

if we have an unstable, insecure world, a world that's been

partially created by our policies of foreign intervention,

Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, a world in which we are selling arms

to Saudi Arabia, an unstable world, the eddies will come back to us

What we need to do is support human rights and democracy around

the world and that will make the whole world safer,

and it will be better and safer for others as well.

It seems to me that human rights is the root of the problem.

Legislation tends to protect the extremist at the expense

of innocent people, and the sooner we instigate Brexit and get rid

Lock them up, then you don't have to keep tabs on them and then

I'll let that comment go without comment for the moment.

Gentleman at the front with the nice tie.

The thing that concerns me about all this is two things.

One is we are letting these people back in after they've

The other thing is when the Labour Party leader talks

about being friends, he did talk about being friends

with the IRA, when the IRA terrorists were killing our boys

and blowing up British people and they expect us to vote for them.

The attitude seems to be from your party to lock them up

without charge when they come from say Syria or Libya.

He said further down the line there may be a point to be made

and maybe we have a grown-up talk about this with regards

to internment at some later stage, but not for now.

I think you have to listen to what these two main

One of them, post-Manchester, is going to have a review,

The Tory party are going to have a commission.

They are having a commission into historical child sex abuse.

It's taken five years and about three or four different leaders.

You've got to listen to what they are saying.

A review and a commission right now are about as much use

And so we need to have, people are frightened and worried

as Manchester continues to mourn and grieve, quite rightly,

we are all getting over the shock and horror of what happened

and we've now got to start saying what is going to happen.

Ukip have said anybody, we've been saying this for quite awhile,

anybody at this moment in time who's left this country and gone to Isis,

we should immediately revoke their passports

and revoke their citizenship and then we don't have that problem.

There are 3000 people wandering the streets

of this country right now, that's what they are telling us,

3000, can I finish off, and we don't know who they are,

we don't know where they are, we don't know what their intent is.

The Yorkshire Party, do you have any policy on this at all?

Well, obviously Yorkshire has suffered its own terrorist

activity just last year, in the far right murder of Jo Cox,

so we are not immune and we know we have experienced ourselves

of this and we are united with Manchester obviously

I don't know that 2300 police would have made the difference,

but clearly, if you start to take those off the street,

if you take them out of the intelligence services,

if you take them out of communities policing activities,

then surely that's got to have a knock-on effect.

Yorkshire losing those police have to be rectified. Quick comments from

the audience. We've had Lee Rigby and the Manchester attack but the

security services have kept us safe for the last 12 years. We've had two

horrible attacks, the other was 12 years ago, and they should be

commended. Yes, sir? The police have said on reports that the bomber in

Manchester was known to the police. Why was he allowed to leave the

country? Why was he allowed to come back?

APPLAUSE OK, very quickly, and that? I would

say the lady mentioned this point, we have exclusion orders, we should

make more use of them and stop people coming back. It was opposed

by Jeremy Corbyn. You have only used it once. It's been used more, we

haven't commented on the number. This is the kind of practical step

we need to be doing. Jeremy Corbyn has taken pride in opposing

anti-terrorist just lay on since he was elected. All the things you are

talking about other things we need to do, but we need someone prepared

to put these things on the statute book. Quickly? You are right, this

is one off. There have been lots of plots foiled. We failed in this.

There are questions for the police and the border for Stanford. Stephen

Place, you're wrong. We're talking about that, and it's needed, but

over the next parliament we'll have 10,000 extra police officers back on

the street, because across the country we've lost them in West

Yorkshire, we've lost in South Yorkshire, we've lost 20,000. We

need them back. We need to move on. Thank you, thank you very much

indeed for your responses on that one. Our next question comes from

Tim Newton. A year ago we voted to leave the EU that's why we're this

general election. Of the two prospective prime ministerial

candidates, who can best be trusted to get the best Brexit deal for

Yorkshire and the north of England? OK, that's a direct question. I'm

going to ask Stephen Place about that one. It certainly isn't Jeremy

Corbyn, in my opinion. He's not going to take us through Brexit.

There's a lot of anti-feeling about him and what is going to do. Theresa

May is trying to be strong and stable but she's already

backsliding. She has that we will remain under the auspices and

management of the European Court of Human Rights. A big part of the

Brexit debate was our own sovereignty. You are spent force

now. You say that, I'm here, Harry. I'm standing in Bradford.

Politically, do you not feel you are? Not at all, that's not what I'm

getting on the streets on the doorsteps when I'm talking to

people. Let's not delude ourselves, Ukip are not going to get into

power. What we are after is offering a strong and individual voice in

Parliament, a fresh voice, something new. Isn't it just, Natalie, a

straight choice between two party leaders? Absolutely not. The Green

Party in the last election, we got 1.1 million votes. That's more than

we got in every previous general election added together. Because of

the electoral system we got one MP, the great Caroline Lucas. We are

aiming to get a strong group of Green MPs, three to five, and what

we will be doing in Parliament is fighting for the best possible deal

and one of the key point is we want to keep free movement of people

within the EU. That enriches all of our lives and our young people

should have the same kind of freedoms, the same opportunities,

that their elders have had. We don't want to reduce people's freedoms and

options. We want to do that. We want to ratification referendum so we see

what the deal is, people get to decide for themselves whether they

like the destination or not. We didn't decide in the Brexit

referendum, it was like saying you are in Sheffield, drive north.

Depending on your heading and distance, there's a lot of different

destinations. People should be able to say Will they like that

destination and do they want to go back. If it came to a hung

parliament would you support Jeremy Corbyn? We would never support

Theresa May and the Conservatives. Respond to that? The Lib Dems are

taking a completely different attitude to this discussion than

everybody else. As you are probably well aware, we don't believe that

the country under Theresa May or Jeremy Corbyn would be going in the

right direction, because they are talking about a very hard Brexit,

which would not be good for this country, would not be good for

employment, would not be good for the cost of living and a whole host

of other things. We are not wanting to redo the referendum, yes or no.

They don't want a second referendum. Actually, it's been quite

interesting. They don't want a second referendum but I think they

have a right to a referendum and to have a say about the final deal.

Because basically they voted yes or no. Am going to ask the audience to

react to that. This gentleman? Brief comments. This is quite a

controversial concept, but it would be something that Ukip might want to

take on or any other party. I'd like to see on ballot papers and option

to vote for a vote of no-confidence in the democratic system.

APPLAUSE And to open discussions in

alternatives. The lady at the front? I think there's a lot of arrogance

with Theresa May and a hard Brexit. APPLAUSE

If we are member of any other club and we decide to leave, if there are

terms on the table it's up to that club to say what it is, so standing

and slapping off EU is going to get the worst deal possible. So I think

Theresa May is the worst possible person. The gentleman right in front

of the microphone? Surely come if we had to have a vote on the final

deal, the EU would not give a decent deal. Exactly. A lady in white? I'm

concerned about the liberals saying that we will have another vote if we

liked the deal law we don't like the deal. Because it could go on ad

infinitum. We could always be having a vote, if we don't like it or the

majority don't like it. They all get together again heads round the

table, right up another agenda and it could go on and on and on, and I

think we should trust whoever is in power, whether it's Labour or

Conservative, and work of the team. Listen to what we are saying, the

people, but worked as a team. Thank you, Madam. We will come back to

some reaction in a moment. John Healey, in your very blunt way you

said Jeremy Corbyn in the past couldn't cut it as a leader. How can

you see him seeing us through Brexit? You said earlier on I've

served under four different Labour leaders on the front bench in

government and opposition, and they've all had flaws and all

benefited from somebody telling them bluntly things they don't

necessarily want to hear from somebody who doesn't necessarily

agree with them. If you asked this question, it's a very good question,

if you ask this question of the 27 leaders of the other European states

they might say to Theresa May because they see not strong and

stable but weak, wobbly, and won't give a straight answer. We saw it

with the backtrack on cuts in tax credits in the Autumn Statement,

national insurance contributions from self employed at the budget,

not causing a snap election, which she promised she wouldn't do, and

most recently on the dementia tax and cap on social care. What

happens, she starts to backtrack and buckle under pressure as soon as

she... As soon as she finds opposition. If I'm one of those

other European Union leaders, this is the sort of head of the country

I'd quite like to negotiate with. Very briefly... It isn't just,

Natalie Bennett is right, it's not just a question of the two leaders.

It's a question of the basic plan to negotiate for this country the best

deal, and for others, very different. Not really the crash out,

willing to put and determined to put jobs, the economy first, clamped

down on immigration because the freedom of movement ends, and

finally it's the interests of the jobs in this region that matters

most. Quarter of a million jobs directly linked to exports to the

European Union. We need strong Labour MPs, a plan that secures the

closest of tariffs -- tariff and barrier free access to that single

market. So much of our prosperity in this region depends on it. Rishi,

Theresa May was very quiet when it came to the whole referendum debate.

Why should she be the person to lead us through it? Very briefly, please.

If you vote for her you know what you're getting, it's

straightforward. Brexit is an opportunity for this country. The

Brexit deal she has outlined is straightforward, we will be back in

control of our borders, our laws, and our money. Those are paramount.

You are right to focus on a binary choice between the two of them

because in 11 days' time the election one of the two of those

people will sitting across the European Union to negotiate. It will

not be an easy deal. As you turn every time she opens her mouth, she

changes her mind. The gentleman at the back. You've given me a great

reason not to vote for Theresa May. You spelt out exactly what she's

going to do, hard Brexit, she doesn't have the mandate and I'm not

going to vote for her now. The gentleman? The reason I voted for

Brexit was because I feel that the EU is undemocratic. There was never

a conversation between the EU and the public. We've got to vote once

every so often. I feel similarly... Quickly. It's the same with our

domestic politicians as well. I want to know, how are you going to make a

better conversation between ourselves and our politicians? The

lady in purple? It seems to me it is such an important negotiation that

the word negotiate is really important. Not I Theresa May, just

stand there and tell them off, but Jeremy Corbyn is willing to talk to

people and that's what you've got to do to get a good deal.

APPLAUSE The Yorkshire Party, how will you

make sure that Yorkshire gets some benefit from this Brexit situation?

As a very interesting question, because I don't think we are at the

moment. The choice between Corbyn and May, it's interesting to note

that in neither party's manifesto is there a single mention of Yorkshire.

That's how little we are figuring in their interests. Theresa May took

ten months before she actually came to Yorkshire and that was only

because of the general election being called. I don't think we have

any voice at all in this process. Very quickly from the audience. The

gentleman at the front. Thanks, Harry. The point is everybody seems

to forget that originally we didn't sign up for an EU, we signed up for

a single market, market. That's a European market. Why should we have

an extra government running our government? One final point, you've

not made, yet? When it comes to the negotiations I'm a bit worried about

Jeremy Corbyn and Diane Abbott, because the way they've proven to be

with figures, before we know it they will have signed is up to ?50

billion a year to ongoing contributions to EU when we've left.

A quick comment, hasn't this been a fiasco of the Shadow Cabinet, come

on, be honest? You always are. Quite the opposite. A detailed manifesto,

a big plan for dealing with some of the really deep-seated problems that

we face in this country, ignored over the last seven years and in

some cases made worse, like on policing by the Conservatives. For

the first time, fully covered and costed, both what the new plans will

cost and ways of raising that funding. You may laugh, sir, but

I've been a Treasury minister and I know how you do this. It's not easy,

that we've set that out before people and frankly the only numbers

you'll find in the Tory manifesto are the page numbers. Thank you. We

have to move on to our next question. It's from Nigel. How would

the panel decreased the north- south divide and ensure a great

distribution of wealth away from the London and the south-east? The

North-South divide, you have a view about that? You are right, there is

a north-south divide. We need to devolve powers, take powers out of

London, away from the dead hand of Westminster and Whitehall, up to

Yorkshire, so we set our own priorities here, our own commitments

and spend accordingly. There are two things happening. One, the things

that are happening to us that we don't necessarily want, that we have

no say in, like for example fracking, HS2, when we might prefer

better east-west trans-Pennine links, and there are other things we

do want, like better connectivity in terms of our rail infrastructure,

like in terms of things like educational investment, that are not

happening to other at all. So I want to see a model rather like Scotland,

Wales, Northern Ireland and London, where Yorkshire takes control, sets

its own priorities, spends the money according to what we want to appear.

Daya Keel -- Di Keal, Lib Dems? I'm very concerned about the North-South

divide because I think what's happening at the moment is this Tory

government is quite determined to impose on the north something we

really do not want. Stewart has mentioned it, fracking. There is

overwhelming opposition to fracking in the North of England will stop

we've seen it in planning applications as they are going

forward and they've been totally ignored by this government. Now in

their manifesto they are actually going to take democracy away from

local people in the North. The desolate north, I think George

Osborne's father-in-law referred to as ours, and it was fine to frack is

up here. The powers will be taken away and decisions on fracking made

up Westminster, well away from local democracy and that the Shia led and

pushed by the Tory party. How is that in the interest of the North,

they will make it the industrial wasteland that they are talking

about -- they are cheerleading. Theresa May has come to Yorkshire a

few times but she said very little about what she will do for

Yorkshire. Don't you feel a bit embarrassed about that? I think

she's carrying on with the programme of government that was put in place

by George Osborne, who was passionate about creating Northern

Powerhouse. We saw the results of the mayoral elections, genuine

devolution from London to all the provinces of the UK. Yorkshire needs

to be part of that, I agree. It's for Yorkshire to come together and

figure out the right geography for others and the settlement forums.

The opportunities there. The transport situation, ?6 spent in

London to ?1 in Yorkshire. That's not on, is it? The gap is closing,

we have Transport for London, we have transport for the North, it's a

new body to get the money to spend across the North transport

priorities. Like the M62. Would you commit to hate chess three, Halifax

would benefit? -- HS3. I support that. Natalie Bennett? I'm going to

answer you, no, the fact is, as the point has been made, the North has

had lots of things imposed on them. I've been with the protesters over

at Blackpool and they are holding signs that said Lancashire said No,

that's what the county council said and London overruled it. Harry, you

have an important point in terms of money. HS2, the Green Party is

utterly opposed to hate just do. You might think that's a bit surprising,

we are Greens, we're supposed to like trains, but I will focus money,

people and resources even more London. What we need is investment

in the trains. I came on the train from Sheffield today. It was slow

and rattly. We need investment in our local and regional trains and we

desperately need to put the money back into regional and local buses.

Bus services are really crucial to people, as well as investment in

walking and cycling, active transport in our communities to get

round our communities and between our two images in the North. Stephen

Place, your party is against HS2? This is a railway that will cut a

scar across the main part of England and cost they say 50-60,000,000,000,

you can double that. It will be at least 120 billion in our estimation.

To get somebody from London to Birmingham 30 minutes quicker than

now. It's a vanity projects. They are so ignorant and will not make a

decision and the in the times we are in now, when people are having to go

to food banks to feed their children, we are going to spend all

that money on a railway. It's a nonsense. 2010, we were told about

the Northern Powerhouse. I can't find any evidence of a single brick

laid, a single business started up, a single railway track being done.

They've used part of the money into Hull to rebuild flood defences. It's

a con. I want to hear from the audience, Nigel? You've heard some

answers? We've been I think HS2 is the white elephant. It doesn't need

to be built. It's only going to improve real-time by 30 minutes and

why don't we spend the billions and put it in the NHS? We might not have

such a big problem. The gentleman with the moustache? Thanks for

explaining about extra infrastructure investment, but which

party is going to invest in the skills we need to actually make sure

that infrastructure in Yorkshire gets built, because we've been sadly

lacking in that sort of spend for many years. Thanks for the question.

The lady at the back? Watch the microphone, it's dangerous! When you

are on about various parts of Yorkshire getting their own mares

and one thing and another, when you think about Yorkshire, Yorkshire is

Yorkshire, we are all involved together. Absolutely, yes, OK. The

gentleman there? Two quick points. Are we going to end up with

Yorkshire Nicola Sturgeon at some point? And the other thing is do

people keep saying that the North should be more like the South? It's

already way better than that. APPLAUSE

A lady in a white top? I take great exception to what the colleagues

said on the Conservative Party about the Northern Powerhouse. For the

past seven years all we've seen is austerity and this area has become

the northern poor house and what you are putting in in your manifesto is

absolutely shameless. I've got to give you the chance to respond to

that but briefly. APPLAUSE

In the last Parliament Yorkshire created more jobs from the entirety

of France, so that doesn't seem to me to be a record to be ashamed of.

It's great progress. There's more investment going into infrastructure

in the north. Without a doubt there's been a change in sentiment

led by George Osborne to make the North great again. I get the

impression you have more to add on that, have you? The lady in the

white? Yes, I have. What your party is doing to the NHS, what your party

is doing to our local schools, how is that, how can you account for

that? APPLAUSE

Respond quickly. On schools and the NHS, there's more money that's been

going in. Why bobbin LAUGHTER

It might be that we would like to see more money going in, of course

that's fair but to say there is non-going in is not right. There are

10,000 more doctors, 10,000 more nurses, 15,000 more teachers across

the country so it's not fair to say nothing has happened. The NHS is

under enormous strain but is coping well, and with a sensible economy

that's where you need to get the funds to keep investing in the NHS

and that's what you will get. We've been fed up four years in Yorkshire

that we get neglected. You get somebody like Nicola Sturgeon, she

shouts, rants and raves and could they get so much money in Scotland.

We want some brass here. Discuss. The answer is not a Yorkshire Nicola

Sturgeon, I have to say. We have a deep north-south divide. The North

is by far the best place to live and my favourite time of the week is

when the train pulls out of King's Cross Station and heads home.

Exactly the problem is what you articulated, Rishi. You said Theresa

May is carrying on with George Osborne's policy. You're the Steph

over the next few years in transport more than half the total investment

in transport is said to be in London -- over the next few years. All

regions, Yorkshire is set to get the least. Its long-term. The divide

comes on incomes, job opportunities, skills levels, levels of business

investment. It is long-term. We start to do it, a bit like we did

under a Labour government, with Yorkshire forward, serious

investment to stimulate the economy... We have the slowest

economy in Britain in Yorkshire, Rishi? That's a fact. The slowest

growing economy. Across the North... A faster rate than elsewhere which

is very positive and you talk about investment in the north. Under the

last Labour government the show runs investment going to Yorkshire was

lower than it is today. If it where it needs to be? Absolutely not, but

it's a darn sight better than I was under Labour. Yorkshire Forward, the

best of the regional development agencies until it was abolished in

2010, a budget of ?300 million and left when you axed it, South

Yorkshire offered a deal by George Osborne worth only ?30 million a

year. This is chicken feed. The Northern Powerhouse is a PR stunt

that was only devised to make people try and believe somehow the Tories

care about the North. They. Don't APPLAUSE

They don't stand up for the North and really what this region needs is

strong Labour MPs in Parliament, in government or opposition, giving a

voice to our areas down there. What you heard said in the last few

minutes, the gentleman in the pink shirt? We need more money in the

NHS. I work for the NHS. The trusts in the country are in serious

deficit. It's come down a little bit but still in deficit. Our nurses are

getting food from food banks. OK. They are squeezed frozen, because

only 1%. Can I respond to those points? New ways some fair points

but the factor of the matter, the average nurse's salary in this

country is ?31,000, so there's no reason foreign average nurse to be

at a food bank. Average increase in pay in the NHS was 4%, when you take

into account various bindings. In terms of more money going to the

NHS, there's ?8 billion more going into the NHS, which is exactly what

the CEO of the NHS said he wanted. He was backed, given the money and

there are pay rises happening at 4% on average and nurses earning

?30,000 on average, ?21,000 when they start, should not need to go to

food banks. In real terms, since 2010, a 12% real terms cut in

nurses' pay, which is making people struggle to survive. I must go on,

sorry. We've busted on that one. On Sunday we heard the views of young

people in a special debate. It's still available on the BBC look

North Facebook page. George took player part and is here with a

question. -- Georgette took part. They seem to benefit the most. How

we you when the generation gap which young people are hit hard and older

voters keep getting richer? Why bobbin I'll go to Ukip for your

reaction? They are being left behind, you are being left behind,

without a doubt. It's going to be a situation where you will actually be

worse off than your parents and I think that's criminal. The biggest

problem I think, well, one of the biggest problems, is housing. Quite

clearly. I was 19 when I bought my first house. I think my youngest son

is 31 and has just bought his first house and that's the gap and the

divide and he's got a good job. Young people are just quite simply

being left behind. There's a gap with regards to the apprenticeship

programme, which used to run and used to run very well locally, with

local skills councils managing those apprenticeships, but they've gone

and so that's been diluted. With regards to technical colleges,

they've all gone. People go to college, they are put under so much

pressure now. I have family members who are doing GCSEs. 29 exams, they

are doing, in the period of a month. Ridiculous. Why bobbin I'm sorry I

cut you off, it's an opportunity to talk about this old divide, can we

call it? Yes, I understand what you're saying but I think what we

need to do is support people across the piece. We do have an older, a

growing older population, so we do need to support people right across

the piece, but I think we do need more housing for young people. We

need more affordable housing. The Liberal Democrats have committed to

that. There are lots of things we will also work on. Our colleague has

mentioned apprenticeships. I've just been meant boring and older

apprentice to get her through her programme -- I was meant. Those

other things we need to investing in order to help our young people. Once

they are married and a family, free childcare for the under twos and

paternity leave, so families are supported. But it's got to be

support right across the board, because we do have an older

population. We'll go to the audience in a moment. Any thoughts about

that? Just as we have a north-south divide in infrastructure investment

we have a north-south divide in education spending because it's fair

to say some kids in London are getting twice as much money spent on

them then kids in York, and this has to change. We have to invest in the

skills, the education and skills and training, which will bring this

economy up. In reference to a question and a point made earlier.

It's not just about money. It's also about the collaboration and strong

leadership that is needed, because London was in exactly the same

position as Yorkshire is now. It was bottom of the league. But bringing

everybody together they've pushed through the London Challenge, London

are at the top of the league tables and we need to do something similar

in Yorkshire. Isn't the problem that young people don't vote, generally

speaking? Political apathy is a response to the fact that

politicians don't speak to us all for us. I'm not saying that older

voters should be supported, but I'm not talking about those with

families. I'm talking about young voters who don't feel like they are

presented and I want to feel more. Natalie Bennett is the only person

who was mentioned young voters tonight and I live in Leeds,

leaflets haven't mentioned students. I want to see more engagement with

the issues that matter to young people. Isn't it true that over the

last seven years the reason young people have been left behind is

because the Conservative Party don't think it is politically expedient to

focus on young people, because they know their voters will march to the

polling station, the older people? Why bobbin

APPLAUSE This young lady has made an

excellent point. She's been let down and the younger generation has been

let down by the older generation. All of you on that panel tends to

make four or five-year plans for your next election to get your next

job, and it's all short term is. We need 30 or 40 year plans, so that

our young and in the national interest benefit. That's the

problem. Natalie Bennett. APPLAUSE

I want to say, Georgia, thanks for recognising the Green Party does

address young people and I'd start with what's happening in schools,

which are being tended to exam factories, where young people are

shot through exam after exam after exam. The Green Party will abolish

saps and Ofsted and get schools providing an education for life, not

just for exams -- we will abolish Sats. We've opposed university

tuition fees, the rogue university tuition fees. It's a weight of debt

on people's shoulder for 30 years that 70% will never pay off. John

Healey, can we afford university tuition fees? Yes, we can. The

British political system is biased against young people and really

young people should be demanding and expecting much more of politicians,

especially from government. The hard fact is almost four in 5/60 fives

voted in the last election, only two in five under 25s, so that given the

licensed to the government to pick on younger people, axing housing

benefit support for the under 21s, locking out first-time buyers from

the housing market and slamming the door with tuition fees. 15 seconds.

The Labour manifesto for the first time has plans on all those, which

is why so many young people are registered to vote, but they must

vote. Young people I focus on three things. He will get you the best

deals throughout your career, who will help you with a job and who

will help you buy your first house? Why bobbin thank you very much

indeed. one thing that would make a huge differences if we had votes at

and we had... APPLAUSE

Doesn't time fly when you are having so much fun. Thanks to our panel,

thanks to our wonderful audience and I hope you've made up your mind as

to how you will vote on the 8th of June. From all of us here,.

APPLAUSE -- from all of us here, goodbye.

APPLAUSE Hear the arguments

from the politicians themselves.