WE’RE now days away until voters head to the polls for the third general election in four years.

St Helens is made up of two constituencies, St Helens North and St Helens South and Whiston.

In this guide you will find all of the candidates standing in St Helens North, the key issues facing voters and what is likely to happen come election day.

Who is standing?

Labour: Conor McGinn

Conservatives: Joel Charles

Green Party: David van der Burg

Liberal Democrats: Pat Moloney

Brexit Party: Malcolm Webster

St Helens Star: Disaster banner ballot box.jpg for the homepage

What are the key issues?

Whichever way you look at it, Brexit is still a huge issue for lots of voters in St Helens North.

Whether that is the frustration that it hasn’t happened yet or residents’ concerns of what will happen once – or if – we leave the EU.

Of course, there are lots of other issues voters want addressing.

Austerity has had a significant impact on public services in St Helens, with the local authority severely hit by funding cuts.  The future of the NHS is also believed to be a key issue on the doorsteps locally.

The regeneration of Earlestown town centre is long overdue, so voters will want an MP who can lobby Westminster to help secure the necessary funds.

Green belt development and the Local Plan is a key concern, in particular in areas such as Haydock that is already feeling the effect of the massive Amazon warehouse at Florida Farm North.

The re-development of the former Parkside Colliery in Newton-le-Willows is also a key development that has divided opinion with residents.

A rise in violent crime, and in particular knife crime, is a cause for concern with voters.

Employment is another big issue as well as the quality of jobs and opportunities for young people on offer.

Many schools in St Helens are currently struggling financially so voters will be keen to see this burden eased.

St Helens North has high levels of deprivation so voters will want to be assured whoever they vote in can help improve their quality of life, following the nine years of austerity.

With one of the highest suicide rates in the England, St Helens is in desperate need of greater mental health provision so that is also likely to be a key concern for a large number of voters.

More funding for the NHS in general will be welcomed by voters, as will increased provisions around adult social care.

What is likely to happen?

It seems unlikely that Labour will lose St Helens North but if UK politics has shown us anything in the last three years it is to expect the unexpected.

Since 2015 the seat has been held by Conor McGinn.

At the last election, Mr McGinn received the most votes any candidate has ever gained in the constituency, achieving 63.7 per cent of the vote.

However, while Labour increased its percentage of the vote, so did the Tories.

But while the Labour candidate has come under fire over his views on Brexit, it would be a big upset if Tory rival Joel Charles, a councillor in Harlow, near Essex, was victorious.

It seems even more unfathomable that any of the other parties, who have performed meagrely in the past, will win the seat.

The big unknown at play is the Brexit Party.

In St Helens, 58 per cent of those who voted in the 2016 referendum voted to leave the EU.

The frustrations around the current deadlock in Parliament have been clear when speaking to voters on the streets and from the candidates themselves.

It would need a monumental effort from Brexit Party candidate Malcolm Webster, a retired police officer from St Helens, to win the seat.

That said, it is certainly not mission impossible, however improbable it may be.