³ÉÈËÂÛ̳

You can see what the candidates had to say in ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio Solent's election debate.

Tristan Pascoe
Political Reporter, Dorset

Six candidates standing across Dorset are taking part in today's debate:

Catherine Bennett, Green Party, Dorset South

On her website Catherine says she is proud to be from South Dorset and wants a brighter future for her community.

With a background in education and economics, Catherine now works as a community projects co-ordinator on Portland where she lives with her family.

She campaigned against an incinerator planned for Portland that she says "is clearly bad for our environment".

She also started a community fridge project that actively reduces waste and tackles food poverty.

Andrei Dragotoniu, Reform UK, Poole

Andrei is a software engineer - working in the industry for the past 17 years. Before that he worked in retail as a night shift supervisor and also as a care coordinator.

He came to the UK in 2003 from Romania, raised a family and developed a successful IT career.

He says he wasn’t interested in politics until about 2020, when he noticed concerning totalitarian actions taken by the government, with the support of the opposition and also mainstream media.

And says he noticed parallels in communist Romania in the 1980s and decided that’s not what he wanted for his children.

Tobias Ellwood, Conservative, Bournemouth East

Tobias was elected as Member of Parliament for Bournemouth East in May 2005 and has subsequently been re-elected at every general election since.

A former soldier, he spent six years in the Regular Army with The Royal Green Jackets, and served in Northern Ireland, Cyprus, Kuwait, Germany, Gibraltar and Bosnia. He now has the rank Lieutenant Colonel as a reservist in the 77th Brigade.

He has held a number of roles within the Conservative party, including Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign Office and the Ministry of Defence, and was elected Chair of the House of Commons Defence Select Committee in January 2020 and remained in that position until September 2023.

Outside of politics Tobias is a keen sportsman, an active Army Reservist and a private pilot. He is a frequent visitor to the United States and the Middle East.

Vikki Slade, Liberal Democrat, Mid Dorset & North Poole

Vikki is the Leader of BCP Council, a member of the Liberal Democrat’s regional executive and the vice chair of Liberal Democrat Campaign for Gender Balance.

Her background is in financial services and management but she left the industry to work full time in her family business after the birth of her son in 2005.

During the 14 years that she ran their catering business and cafe, Vikki became involved in mentoring disadvantaged young people and offered a number of apprenticeships and work placements.

This is her fourth attempt to become an MP - she has stood in the MDNP seat at every general election since 2015, losing three times to the Conservatives.

Jessica Toale, Labour, Bournemouth West

Jessica is Labour’s candidate for Bournemouth West. She grew up overseas but spent her summers in Bournemouth.

She has fantastic memories of the town but has been disappointed with the way things have changed.

Much of her family lives in the area and she has focused her campaign on town centre regeneration, tackling knife crime and protecting the environment.

Jessica has a varied professional background – she has worked for City firms, NGOs, universities and start-ups.

She has been a freelancer, run a company and served as a political advisor to the Labour Party. She is a specialist in foreign policy and international development issues, having worked on early childhood development, international tax cooperation and sexual exploitation in conflict.

She is currently a councillor in Westminster City Council, representing the West End ward, and is the deputy cabinet member for culture, heritage, and the arts.

Tristan Pascoe
Political Reporter, Dorset

We've had lots of responses from residents, with questions for the candidates on issues like crime, the NHS and climate change, all of which our would-be MPs in the studio can expect to be challenged on.

There are eight constituencies in Dorset, all currently held by the Conservatives.

Traditionally, it’s solid Tory heartland with some seats that have only ever returned blue MPs. But could there be some surprises this time round?

Labour has been campaigning hard in both Bournemouth East and West - long identified as target seats for the party.

The Liberal Democrats believe they can challenge for MPs in West Dorset and in Mid Dorset and North Poole.

They won the local elections in May and took control of Dorset Council for the first time in more than 20 years - and they also control Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council.

And what will be the impact of Reform UK on some of those large Conservative majorities in the county? They have candidates in six of the eight seats.

Welcome to the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s general election debate for Dorset.

Candidates from a number of parties and constituencies across the county are taking part to discuss the issues that matter most to voters in Dorset.