There is a General Election just a matter of weeks away - and the north is set to play a hugely important role in its outcome.
Right across the north there are battlegrounds that will determine who makes it into Number 10 Downing Street on December 13.
With so many key seats at stake, we can expect to see hoards of national journalists heading out of London and to the north to give their views and analysis on what makes our communities tick - and where those General Election battles will be won.
But we thought that a group of northern journalists already based in those communities might do a better job.
The Liverpool Echo has teamed up with various other titles including the Manchester Evening News, the Yorkshire Post and numerous other northern names, to bring you The North Poll .
Every week we will feature expert political opinion and analysis from a range of northern journalists as well as a host of other guests, who will reflect on the election campaigns and what it all means for our regions.
The first episode - Winter is Coming - features our political editor Liam Thorp, Jennifer Williams from the Manchester Evening News, the Yorkshire Post's Geri Scott and Professor Andrew Russell, head of politics at the University of Liverpool.
