CALLS to nationalise the M6 Toll road provided the fireworks as West Midlands mayoral candidates held the first of a series of four public debates.

The issue proved a rare moment of division in a debate where ‘I agree with’ was the most commonly heard statement from the panel of five candidates.

Conservative Andy Street, UKIP’s Pete Durnell, Labour’s Sion Simon, Lib Dem Beverley Nielsen and the Green Party candidate James Burn lined up for the debate in the historic surroundings of the Black Country Living Museum.

Mr Simon, who backs making the M6 Toll free said: “It is the only the major road in the region with excess capacity. We need to make it free to take some pressure off our roads.”

But he was challenged by Mr Street over the cost who said it has been put up for sale for £2 billion and that is too high a price to pay from a West Midlands Transport budget which would be better spent on other projects such as rail and Metro lines.

“That’s not the best use of our money,” he said.

Sion Simon (Lab), Pete Durnell (UKIP), Beverley Nielsen (Lib Dem), Andy Street (Con), James Burn (Green) at the Black Country Living Museum

Mr Simon hit back saying that the sale price would be lower given no-one had yet met the asking price and the Government should pay for it as it had left short-changed the West Midlands on transport over many years.

UKIP policy is to nationalise the M6 Toll, but Mr Durnell said he now disagreed with that following a meeting with the road’s owners in which he was given usage figures showing 90 to 95 per cent of HGV traffic passing through the West Midlands during peak times of day already use the toll road.

He added that the Government will not simply pay for the road. “It’s not going to happen,” he said.

Both Mr Burn and Ms Nielsen agree that £2 billion could be better spent on other transport projects. Mr Burn suggested that there should be measures to free up the toll road if the M6 is blocked.

The audience for mayor debate at the Black Country Living Museum

All candidates seemed to agree on the problems facing the region - ingrained deprivation and unemployment, poor public transport links, the need to build some 300,000 new houses over the next 15 years and the need to ensure the region makes the most of Brexit.

And even some broad agreement over some of the solutions, reopening disused rail lines, regenerating brownfield sites with new housing and targeting economic growth at deprived areas.

The Birmingham Mail is set to host its West Midlands Mayor debate on April 4 and places are available.