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³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Three Counties Radio hosted a debate with the candidates standing in the Mid Bedfordshire parliamentary constituency.

Jonathan Vernon-Smith put some of your questions to the would-be MPs.

The constituency produced a shock in the by-election earlier this year when Labour's Alistair Strathern won the seat previously occupied by the Conservatives' Nadine Dorries.

The debate ran from 11:30-13:00 on Wednesday, 12 June.

You can watch the debate in full below:

Amy Holmes
Political reporter, ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Three Counties

Six candidates are taking part in today's debate:

Dave Holland (Reform UK)

Dave Holland was born and bred in the constituency, spending a lot of his time as a youngster in Ampthill Park. He moved back to south Bedfordshire in 2012 and has lived in Shillington ever since. He worked for his family business as an engineer before branching out into various sales roles. He then set up several different businesses and is currently managing director of an IT marketing company. In his spare time, he clay pigeon shoots, tours the UK and Europe on his motorbike and attempts to train his dogs. He finished fifth in the Mid Bedfordshire by-election that was held last October in the constituency.

Gareth Mackay (independent)

Gareth Mackey has been an independent Central Bedfordshire councillor for Flitwick since 2019. Since the May 2023 local elections, he is now on the executive team on the unitary authority, which is run by the independents. Mr Mackey beat both the Greens and Reform UK in the Mid Beds by-election in October. He finished fourth in the Mid Beds by-election that was held last October in the constituency. He’s a governor on the East London NHS Foundation Trust and on the Bedfordshire Police and Crime Panel

Maahwish Mirza (Labour)

Luton-born Maahwish Mirza studied at the University of Warwick and decided to return to her home town after graduating. She said she grew up in a working-class family and now works for an investment bank, where she has had an international career in finance. She worked in Paris and London, across client sectors, and previously in government financing. She previously served as a Luton councillor for three years between 2016 and 2019 on the High Town Ward.

Stuart Roberts (Liberal Democrats)

Stuart Roberts is a third generation arable and livestock farmer from Harpenden. He has served four years as the National Farmers Union (NFU) Deputy President and since April 2022 has been advising the Liberal Democrats on food and farming policy. He was previously a Conservative councillor in Hertfordshire but joined a growing number of farmers who are no longer supporting the Conservative Party. He became a member of the Liberal Democrats in 2022, helping to write the party’s new farming policies.

Cade Sibley (Green Party)

Cade Sibley's party has found an increasing presence in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire, currently running East Herts Council in a joint administration with the Lib Dems. Closer to Mid Bedfordshire, Green councillor Susan Clinch was elected to Central Bedfordshire Council for the Ampthill Ward in May 2023. He lives in Toddington and works in adult social care looking after disabled people. He finished sixth in the Mid Bedfordshire by-election that was held last October in the constituency.

Blake Stephenson (Conservative)

Blake Stephenson is a Central Bedfordshire councillor, representing the villages of Gravenhurst and Shillington in Mid Bedfordshire. He serves on the Bedfordshire Police and Crime Panel, Shillington Parish Council and is chairman of the Shillington and Stondon Federation of Schools. He has lived in the countryside all his life and is passionate about supporting rural communities and local businesses. He built a successful career in the City of London over 15 years, working in ethics and compliance roles within wholesale financial markets.

Also standing:

Richard Brunning (Social Democrat Party)

Richard Bruning is co-owner and director of YouTube channel Bad Obsession Motorsport. He spent 10 years with Daytona Motorsport as technical director and was responsible for the performance and safety of more than 300 go-karts across the group and their engineering staff. He described himself as a "part-time drummer and full-time father of twins".

What could we expect in this Mid Beds debate?published at 10:01 British Summer Time 12 June

10:01 BST 12 June

Amy Holmes
Political reporter, ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Three Counties

People living in Mid Bedfordshire are preparing to go to the polls for the second time in less than a year.

Last October they went through weeks of waiting for the incumbent Conservative MP Nadine Dorries to formally resign before finally picking a Labour MP for the first time ever in Alistair Strathern. Thirteen candidates put themselves forward.

This time there are seven candidates - and three of those have been here before. Independent Gareth Mackey finished fourth, Reform UK’s Dave Holland was fifth and Cade Sibley of the Green Party came sixth.

MPs can be criticised for not living where they represent, so Mr Strathern’s relocation to the Hitchin seat (which thanks to boundary changes now includes Shefford, where he lives) seems sensible.

The only woman on the ballot is Labour's former Luton councillor Maahwish Mirza, who lists her home address as Luton.

For the Lib Dems, previous by-election candidate Emma Holland-Lindsay has done the same as Mr Strathern, deciding to run in the nearby Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard constituency where she lives, with former Conservative councillor Stuart Roberts taking on the challenge of winning in Mid Bedfordshire instead.

Meanwhile, the previous Conservative candidate in the by-election, Festus Akinbusoye, didn’t make the final shortlist for this contest, with Blake Stephenson selected instead.

The main three parties picked up nearly 90% of the vote in the by-election in October so will all feel like they’re in with a chance again.

The Social Democrat Party also have a candidate in Richard Brunning.

In terms of issues, like most places, cost of living, lack of GP and dental services will again be making an impact on polling day, while parts of the constituency historically have issues for families of children with special educational needs.

Plus, places like the Wixams Estate are stillwaiting for the right infrastructure to go along with the housing development there. With other developments across the seat being built, candidates will be minded to have the right answer to how they’d deal with that problem too.