Five takeaways from Corby and East Northants debate

(Left to right) Tom Purglove, Conservative, Chris Lofts, Lib Dems, Lee Forster, Greens, Lee Baron, Labour, and Eddie McDonald, Reform, took part in the debate

Candidates who wanted to be the next Corby and East Northamptonshire MP answered questions at a BBC Radio Northampton election debate.

Five out of the six candidates for the region spoke at The Good Bean Café at Prior Halls Park in Corby .

Independent candidate Karen Blott was not in attendance.

Here are the main takeaways from what happened.

1. Feeling the pinch

The cost of living featured high in the debate.

The Conservative candidate, Tom Pursglove, said there had undoubtedly been pressures and he recognises “that it is still difficult and challenging for people but there’s a lot at stake in this election about not squandering the progress that we’ve made”.

Lee Barron for Labour said "economic stability is crucial and key" and ensuring this would be one of the party's first steps if they won. He said cost of living strains had been “fourteen years in the making, people have had pay freezes, pay squeezes, pay restraint.”

On the cost of living the Liberal Democrat candidate, Chris Lofts, said "unfortunately the government response has really been a series of patchy and short term fixes". He said the Lib Dems would focus on those that struggled the most and fix pensions and tackle poverty.

Lee Forster for the Greens said it had been "shocking" and his party would scrap the two child benefit cap.

Meanwhile the Reform UK candidate, Eddie McDonald, said his party would make work pay "by raising the basic level of income tax".

2. No quick fix for the NHS

People across Northamptonshire raised their concerns about the NHS and social care sectors.

Lee Barron for Labour said the party would get waiting lists down. He said the party would fund it through closing "loopholes" in the government's plans to abolish non-dom exemptions. He also made a commitment to deliver the Corby Community Diagnostics Centre and the upgrade to Kettering General Hospital.

But the Conservative candidate, Tom Pursglove, argued that both these projects were at risk under Labour’s plan to review capital projects. He argued this was the first government to have a long-term plan for the NHS workforce.

The Liberal Democrat candidate said the "NHS was close to his heart" not least because one of his daughters is a pharmacist working in a hospital. From her experience, he said "employees in the NHS feel demoralised". He argued the Lib Dems would increase the number of GPs.

3. Immigration

The topic of immigration sparked one of the most heated discussions in the debate. Corby the biggest town in the constituency has been built on immigration first from Scotland and now from all over the world.

Reform UK candidate Eddie McDonald said his party would have a policy of "one in one out" and those coming in would provide the skills we need.

Labour and the Conservatives clashed on this issue.

Tom Pursglove said: "It is absolutely right that we have the policy of relocating people to Rwanda…it’s about rendering the business model of the evil criminal gangs redundant."

But Labour’s candidate Lee Barron disputed that the Rwanda policy was a deterrent, he argued it needed to be treated as terrorist offences.

4. How do you rebuild trust in politicians?

In all seven Northamptonshire constituencies, and across the country, the issue of trust and honesty in politics frequently came up during the campaign.

All five candidates recognised that this was an issue they needed to tackle.

Tom Pursglove the Conservative candidate said local politicians should be judged by what they delivered and claimed there were several promises he had completed.

Lee Barron for Labour said that "we need to give politics back to the people".

He added: "If we go through another parliament or another couple of parliaments like we have…then I believe fundamentally we’ll be talking about the future of democracy let alone politics."

5. The people behind the politics

After weeks of campaigning and with just days to go until the polls open on 4 July you might not think there was anything new to hear from the politicians, but the five candidates gave a glimpse of their life outside of politics.

The Labour candidate shared that he has always been a “Mod never a Rocker” and rides a "Vespa with 12 mirrors, eight spotlamps and continental whitewall tyres".

The Green candidate said he was "the son of a taxi driver, just thought I’d throw that out there, it seems to be a bit of a trend".

The Liberal Democrat candidate said he grew up in Northern Ireland and his first school holiday job was "cleaning beaches at Portrush not far from the Giants Causeway".

The Reform UK candidate revealed he was a third dan black belt in jiu jitsu but his favourite hobby now was dancing. "I am a twinkle toes from ballroom to rock and roll," he added.

The Conservative candidate said he has run three London marathons "which gives an insight into stamina and resilience which is really useful in an election campaign".

Also standing in the Corby and East Northamptonshire constituency is independent candidate Karen Blott.

A full list of candidates can be found here.