The World asked readers to send in the burning questions they wanted to ask the candidates standing in the Halton and Weaver Vale constituencies. Here present the responses from the candidates for the three main parties standing in Halton (updated on April 20th) and Weaver Vale (updated on April 27th). They have been edited by The World for space.

Derek Twigg Labour

Q. After top-up fees and the weapons of mass destruction, why should we believe what Tony Blair says?

A. Tony Blair has led a Labour government which has delivered on its promises - a strong economy, unemployment halved, the introduction of a minimum wage and more.

Q. Why won't anyone face up to the fact the health care needs to be privatised?

A. Labour will keep the NHS free at the point of use. The choice is clear: forward with reduced waiting times, better hospitals, more nurses and doctors, or backwards under the Tories to charges, long waiting lists and more than £1 billion being taken out of the NHS to subsidise private operations for the few.

Q. What will you do to secure the bridge?

A. I have been in the forefront of the campaign for a new bridge. I have constantly lobbied ministers and had them visit to see the problem for themselves. I am confident, that if Labour is re-elected we will see a positive decision within a matter of weeks.

Q. You say investment in public services has gone up but private sector jobs are going down and tax will go up. Labour are showing their true colours aren't they?

A. We can invest in public services because the economy is so strong and more people are in work. We have record employment and more investment in skills and training. The £40 million grant given by the government to Ineos has helped safeguard 2000 private sector local jobs.

Q. We need an MP with a voice not someone who always votes with the government like the Conservatives say you do. When are you going to speak out?

A. I was elected as a Labour MP and support a Labour government. I do not do it blindly and have always expressed strong views within government.

Conservative candidate, Colin Bloom

Q. Labour has done a lot for pensioners with the TV licences and the tax credits. Why should I change my vote?

A. Mr Blair has said a lot about the welfare of older people, yet pensioners are still the most marginalized group of people in our country. It is insulting to think older people will be bought off with gimmicks. Conservatives will restore the link between earnings and pensions giving real equity back to pensioners.

Q. Michael Howard introduced the poll tax, which hit poor areas like Halton the hardest. Why should I vote for his party now?

A. Most people know the Conservative Party instinctively desires the reduction of the burden of taxation. The best way to help people who don't have much money is to stop taking so much of it!

Q. Why won't anyone face up to the fact that we need a private health care system?

A. This country has a private health care system and it is doing a very a good job. But it is not right that anyone should have to pay twice for their healthcare. Comprehensive healthcare should be based upon need, not the ability to pay.

Q. What will you do to get us the bridge?

A. Widnes, Runcorn and the North West needs this bridge. We have been told the announcement was imminent, and then on the day that the Pope was lying in state and the election is announced it is sneakily slipped out that there will be no announcement until after the election. The people of Halton will not be fooled by these snide tactics.

Q. Why should we vote for someone from Wirral?

A. If elected I will have a permanent home in the Constituency. Most MPs spend the weekdays in Westminster and their weekends in their constituency. It is more important that the people of Runcorn, Widnes and Hale choose a candidate that is capable, honest and caring.

Liberal Democrat Candidate, Roger Barlow

Q. Labour has done a lot for pensioners with the TV licences and the tax credits. Why should I change my vote?

A. Millions are failing to receive the pension they've earned and need because of complicated and demeaning means tests. We would bring in an extra 100 pounds a month for the over 75s which would take a million pensioners out of means testing altogether.

Q. Is Charles Kennedy really cut out to be a leader?

A. Leading the Liberal Democrats is one of the hardest jobs in the business - we're strong-minded individuals, from rural Cornwall to inner-city Liverpool - and he's made us a cohesive force.

Q. Why won't anyone face up to the fact that we need a private health care system?

A. We don't. I've seen private health care systems in Germany and the USA. They're alright for the rich but the poor get second-best - or nothing at all.

Q. What will you do to get us the bridge?

A. In an ideal world, we would stop messing around with PFI and pay for it of motoring tax revenues.Otherwise, it's a question of nagging the Department of Transport.

Q. You say bureaucrats shouldn't control our services but the Liberal Democrats want Europe to control them instead. That doesn't make sense.

A. That's a caricature! We strongly believe that elected representatives should make the decisions at the appropriate level. Decisions about Halton should be decided in Halton - not London. Issues like pollution, air travel and free movement of goods cross national boundaries - the EU is there to deal with these.

Q. Isn't the party becoming old Labour, the party of high taxes?

A. We're prepared to raise tax on top incomes back to the amount it was under Mrs Thatcher - and nobody called her 'old Labour'. If anyone in Halton earning more than 100,000 a year decided not to vote for us because they'd pay a little more, then so be it.