A MEDICAL student is hoping to play his part in the first live TV election debate this week.

Mark McInerney, 23, of Warrington Avenue, Whitby, will find out today if his question concerning the future of higher education in the UK will feature on Thursday’s 8.30pm ITV show.

All three party leaders will face pre-selected questions from the studio audience at an as-yet undisclosed location in the North West in the first of three historic televised debates.

Aberdeen University student Mark, who also graduated from Bristol University with a degree in anatomical science last year, said: “I emailed my question last week and heard back that I’m being considered for the live show, which would be a great opportunity to take part in an historic event.”

Former Catholic High School pupil Mark’s question is “University degree level education in the UK is highly regarded by the rest of the world. How do the delegates expect to maintain this reputation and quality amid budget cuts and the overcrowding of courses?”

The first half of the debate, chaired by Alistair Stewart OBE, will concentrate on domestic affairs such as the NHS, education and immigration and Mark is keen to play his part.

He said: “I’ve always felt that as much as it’s important to go to university and get a degree, too many people go and are given unrealistically high expectations and fed false hope about what will happen once they graduate.

“Some courses are doubling the number of students while cutting staffing numbers and I want to hear how they plan to handle that.”