The run up to the general election this year has seen leaders of the most prominent political parties in the UK go back and forth around several issues that will continue to affect the state of our nation. 

Two of the most talked about topics are; the state of the NHS and immigration within the UK which were conviniently both covered in the last series of The Aston Debates, held at Aston University in Birmingham.

Organised by Dr Tom Farnhill, a senior lecturer at the university, the debate featured four panelists; David Kirwan, Professor John Tritter, Roger McKenzie and Dr Katherine Tonkiss whom all had expertise within at least one of the two subjects.

Political radio presenter Charmaine Burton facilitated the event and each panelist was given a time limit of 15 minutes to speak. 

The general consensus throughout the evening was that the NHS was a system that needed to remain for the people and the re-organisation of the health service has had a terrible affect on those who need it the most. 

Whilst David Kirwan likened the NHS to a bottomless pit at the beginning of the debate, Professor Tritar argued that the distrubution of funds into various drugs is a form of corruption. Stating that the distribution of health is not equal, he stirred up the pot by asking why a patient with cancer is more important than a patient without, causing a few heated responses from audience members. 

Roger McKenzie, assistant general secretary of UNISON argued that we need to prioritise our public services and the quality shouldn’t depend on how much money we have but rather our needs.

McKenzie used the treatment of blacks and Asians in the late 60s to illustrate the similarities between that and the treatment of immigrants today. “Immigration is just being used as an excuse for racism and xenophobia”.

Last year work related visas rose by  8% and Dr Tonkiss argued that this idea of migrants taking jobs is a myth. The first panelist to highlight that she understands the current state of immigration is not ok, Tonkiss makes a point of explaining that we need to understand borders are social constructs. 

Discussions around the new Health Surcharge scheme resulted in mixed response. A majority of the audience members think that this is a resonable scheme though they do not believe this will have much affect on immigration control.

The debate was insightful and interesting as though it may not be apparent, the issues of health and immigration within the UK do go hand in hand. With the election just around the corner, this conversation will continue to be prevalent as people discuss the two of the most popular topics. 

As the we gear up for yet another general election, in a short clip young people from Birmingham voice their concerns and let politicians know what they want.

This year an estimated 3.3 million young people will be able to vote for the first time and although that seems like a significant number, in past general elections the turnout of young people who have voted has been disappointing.

In the last election just under 50% of young people voted and overall  fewer than 40% of young women aged 18-24.

The Conservative MP for Dudley South had emerged as the top spending politicians on the region on accommodation expenses.

According to Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority data, Chris Kelly was the MP who spent the biggest amount of money in accommodation rent between 2014 and 2015 with atotal amount of £13395.82. On the previous year (period 2013-2014) the Dudley South MP spent an even bigger amount of money on accommodation, £18558.18. Although was not first on the list since Richard Burden (MP for Birmingham Northfield) spent £19159.98 and Ian Austin (MP for Dudley North) spent £19038.84.

Chris Kelly, born in 1978, is a Dudley South MP. He was selected as Conservative Parliamentary Spokesman for Dudley South in September 2007 and afterwards elected as the new Member of Parliament in May 2010.

He is the founder Chairman of both the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Family Business and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Combating Metal Theft. Kelly will be standing down at the 2015 general election.

The Councillor pledged the Council to stop ''gobbing around for money'' and th trees ''being chopped and wiped down.'' He added: ''I don't know who is behind this nonsense but we need to find the truth.'' 

1. Mental Health

2. Obesity

3. Older Adult Health and Wellbeing. 

She discussed a change in the strategies of dealing with the aforementioned issues in order to improve the quality of life in the district. 

Councillor Diedry Alden returned to the point made in the beginning of the session: "We don't have a budget. The council is closing pitches across the city. How can the children stay fit without pitches? We spend time on mapping talking, planning, but not spending money on the real things that matter."

All attenders agreed that the budget spent on health issues needs to be re-evaluated. 

Then, Dr Luke Evans clarified the situation around obesity and the ageing population of the district. Almost every fourth person in Birmingham is overweight, and the rate for Edgbaston is even higher. He pleaded to improve cycling lanes and access to bikes. "We are often as professionals the last ones to know. I want to raise awareness of the practical and tangible things we can do.''

Other urgent issue is the poor housing that is prevalent in the region. One of the councillors notes: "Ongoing poor housing issues has a large impact on the health condition on elderly people. Housing needs to be brought in the whole health issue. Poverty more often than not leads to poor health and housing is a key factor in that. "