Waterloo Road star and Green Party Councillor join Big Issue's Big Debate in Newcastle

Waterloo Roadactor and Sunderland native James Baxter is joining a panel of experts and community leaders to discuss how to drive meaningful change in the region at the Big Issue’s Big Debate in Newcastle on Thursday night.

The free Question Time-style live event – chaired by Big Issue editor Paul McNamee – is part of the Big Community roadshow, a week-long initiative designed by the Big Issue to understand the real issues facing communities across Britain.

Also on the panel is Charlotte Windebank, managing director and co-founder of First, who is dedicated to empowering underrepresented communities through entrepreneurship and driving social value across the region.

Other panellists include former Big Issue vendor Earl Charlton, theatre maker Catrina McHugh MBE, Green Party councillor Nick Hartley, and Big Issue founder and crossbench peer Lord John Bird.

The people of the North East can attend to ask pressing questions, raise local issues, and propose ideas for change. Tickets are free and available via Eventbrite for the Big Debate, which will play out from 7pm on Thursday, October 3 at The Common Room in central Newcastle.

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When the Big Issue Community Roadshow arrived in Newcastle on Tuesday, October 1, passers by may have been surprised to see Orinoco the Womble bracing the rain in Grainger Street – starting a conversation around Britain’s most famous street magazine.

For one week, all aspects of the Big Issue Group – the magazine’s reporters, opportunities for vendors, the social investment arm, Big Issue Invest, and its job service Big Issue Recruit – are in Newcastle to talk, listen and help with the problems facing the North East.

Assisting with the Roadshow is local legend and ex-Big Issue vendor Earl Charlton, who has returned to his former pitch outside Newcastle Central station for one week only to spread the word about the Community Roadshow.