That's the end of our coverage of the debate at Cast in Doncaster

The candidates for South Yorkshire's mayoral election have had their say.

It'll be down to the county's voters to make their voices heard on Thursday 2 May.

Click on the video above to watch the whole debate between the candidates again.

Want to find out who the candidates are? Click here.

And you can find out more about South Yorkshire's mayoral election here.

Thanks for spending time with us today.

Lucy Ashton
BBC Sheffield political reporter

The running theme of the South Yorkshire mayoral debate seemed to be a region which has been left behind.

Members of the audience spoke about communities without bus services, families forced to use foodbanks and a regional airport which is closed.

When Conservative candidate Nick Allen suggested “people needed to take personal responsibility” there was an audible gasp as someone in the audience said “wow” and shook their head.

From May, for the first time, the Mayor’s role will be merged with the Police and Crime Commissioner.

As candidates discussed increasing police numbers, the Green’s Douglas Johnson said: “You cannot police your way out of social problems.”

There were moments when candidates spoke over each other and threw the odd pointed comment.

Liberal Democrat candidate Hannah Kitching accused Labour and the Tories of “playing the blame game” saying that did not help anyone.

Meanwhile Labour’s Oliver Coppard, who has been mayor since 2022, asked for another term so he could “continue to make lives better”.

This was an election where only a quarter of people in South Yorkshire voted in 2022, so the challenge is convincing voters a Mayor can make a difference.

The Labour Party candidate for South Yorkshire mayor outlines his vision. Oliver Coppard says he would work to improve public transport and reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport.

The Green Party candidate for South Yorkshire mayor shares his priorities. Douglas Johnson says he will focus on improving public transport, insulating people's homes and creating safer and kinder communities.

The Liberal Democrats candidate for South Yorkshire mayor shares her manifesto if she is elected. Hannah Kitching says she wants to create safer and better connected communities as well as increase opportunities for all.

The Conservative Party candidate for South Yorkshire shares his vision if he is elected. Nick Allen promises to get tough on fly tipping and work to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport.

The Social Democratic Party candidate for South Yorkshire mayor shares his priorities. David Bettney says he will "end rough sleeping, put a stop to grooming gangs and open up the airport".

After a lively 50 minutes, that's the end of the live debate.

We'll have analysis from Radio Sheffield's political reporter Lucy Ashton to come as well as a chance to catch up on the 30-second manifestos shortly.

Mr Johnson says knife crime is a "social problem" and more should be done outside of policing to tackle the issue.

This would include working with children to guide them in the right direction.

Hannah Kitching says she doesn't have any "easy answers" for tackling knife crime.

She suggests policing needs to be more visible, but says the problem is also an issue for schools, further education colleges, parents and families.

The winner of this election will become South Yorkshire's new Police and Crime Commissioner.

Image source, PA Media

Labour's Oliver Coppard says knife crime has gone up in South Yorkshire more than in other parts of the country. He says the region has fewer police officers than it had in 2010 because of austerity and says Labour's plans to hire more PCSOs can be "part of the solution".

He says as PCC he will ask the police to impose a "zero tolerance" approach to knife crime.

Meanwhile conservative candidate Mr Allen says: "I would champion more police officers, greater visibility and, as a priority, stop and search, so we can find these knives and get the police to confiscate them".

Lisa Theobald, whose son Ryan was murdered alongside another man in Doncaster in 2022, says more needs to be done.

She advocates for tougher sentences but wants to know what the candidates will do about policing.

She says: "Something needs to be done done, not in a few months or a few years."

Oliver Coppard says South Yorkshire would be just the fourth region in the country to bring its buses back under public control.

"This will give us the opportunity to set the routes, the fares and the timetables," he says.

The Labour candidate takes aim at Margaret Thatcher for privatising the bus network in the 1980s, saying it will "take a long time" for communities to recover from the "damage she caused".

The Green Party candidate says more people should be encouraged to use buses, putting more money into the transport system and sustaining it.

He says sometimes getting a taxi is cheaper and this dissuades people from using buses.

The candidates have been asked about buses, particularly for disabled people who have limited access to a social life without frequent services.

Nick Allen says he relies on the bus and tends to agree that he would franchise them.

He adds that they do not have a "magic wand" but says the sooner certain services are restored, the better.

Lib Dem candidate Hannah Kitching says bus companies should not be able to unilaterally cut bus routes.

"We need to be able to, as an authority, decide what routes run, how frequently run and what fares you pay," she tells the audience.

Lucy Ashton
BBC Sheffield political reporter

Whether is a bus, tram or plane – transport is the number one issue in South Yorkshire.

One in three people in the region do not have access to a car but South Yorkshire has lost 42% - when you measure by mileage - of its bus network over the past decade 

South Yorkshire was named as the government’s first Investment Zone, located on the border of Rotherham and Sheffield, next to the world-leading Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre.

Yet only one percent of people can get to the site by bus within half an hour, according to the South Yorkshire Combined Mayoral Authority.

The mayor took back public control of Supertram in March after 27 years and plans to introduce bus franchising are also underway.

Politicians are also pushing ahead with proposals to use £138m of public money to fund the reopening of Doncaster Sheffield airport, which closed two years ago.

Bus user Dave Jackson from Barnsley tells the panel about his experience of bus cuts - and wants to know why public money is not helping him and others like him.

He asks: "Are you going to promise me a bus service?"

Mr Coppard is asked about how Sheffield Council's ban on airline advertising might affect the airport.

He believes it won't be an issue, but calls on the government to release £30m he says its withholding to build rail links from places like Lincoln into the airport.

Douglas Johnson says rail links are "not good enough" in the area and should be improved.

Nick Allen says he will always champion a rail link and questions why an operator is not in place for the airport.

He criticises Mr Coppard for how the airport deal has been handled so far.

Hannah Kitching says she wants a five-year deal with a major airline operator to secure the airport's future, which she says will bring investment and jobs into South Yorkshire.

She suggests running the airport on cheap flights alone will not be sustainable. "We've seen it fail to survive on EasyJet," she says.