We gave each candidate in the Keighley constituency an equal amount of space to set out their election message. Here is what they wrote. Photographs were also provided by the candidates.
GENERAL ELECTION 2017: KEIGHLEY CONSTITUENCY PROFILE
Ros Brown (Green)
I HAVE worked as a primary teacher and headteacher and am an expert on child-led research. I have also been a school governor and trade union representative.
As a headteacher, I faced the heartache of making redundancies when budgets were reduced and I currently campaign to ensure investment in our schools.
As the first person in my family to go to university, my first degree was from the University of Hull. I am a passionate supporter of lifelong learning and have since gained two masters degrees and a doctorate in education from the University of Cambridge.
I have supported people who are elderly, homeless, survivors of torture and families living in poverty in Zambia.
I live with my husband and young family near Ilkley, am a member of my parish church and enjoy running and dancing.
I was the Green Party candidate for Keighley in the 2015 General Election and am a dedicated campaigner against the Aire Valley incinerator.
Our country and constituency face huge challenges. We know there is a real appetite for working together to ensure a cleaner, fairer future and hope for our young people and generations to come. Voting Green can make this happen.
David Crabtree (Independent)
GROWING up in Bingley I trained as a psychiatric nurse in Burley in Wharfedale, going on to became a senior nurse manager in the NHS, commissioning and developing services for psychiatry.
Leaving the EU. Immigration. The reality is that some immigration is essential for our country to grow. Many service sectors including the NHS and agriculture would grind to a halt without some essential immigration.
Free child care up to the age of five if parents are working.
Youth centres in every town utilising schools in the evenings.
In 2015, the UK spent £12.1 billion on overseas aid, much of it unaccounted for. I support capping the annual increase on foreign aid. Using the savings of billions of pounds on this country’s health, education and our vulnerable elderly.
Education of our children is the key to all of our futures. I support a 1p on tax ringed-fenced funding for health and education.
State pensions to keep rising with and be above inflation.
Keighley Ilkley, and Shipley to gain independence from Bradford Council.
Halt the licensing of the waste incinerator at Marley, Keighley.
Set up an umbrella funding resource for all of our local groups and organisations.
John Grogan (Labour)
IF ELECTED, like Ann Cryer used to do when she was the Keighley MP, I will hold regular advertised surgeries open to anybody who wants to see me.
A Labour Government will reverse the proposed £7 million cuts in Keighley and Ilkley schools.
Extra doctors and nurses will be hired for Airedale General Hospital whose staffing levels have recently been criticised by an independent NHS watchdog.
I will oppose the proposed Keighley waste plant.
I will campaign for better transport across the Pennines, improving roads into Lancashire and restore the Skipton to Colne railway link. This would mean direct trains from Keighley to Manchester.
I will vote to keep the triple lock on the state pension and the Winter Fuel Payment which has over 20,000 recipients in the constituency.
I will campaign for more youth clubs, promote sport which brings different communities together, and the restoration of Keighley’s parks to their former glory.
I will urge the Government to restore the policy of building on brownfield land first to protect the green belt and to build more affordable housing to buy and to rent.
I will work to attract public and private investments into Keighley and to bring more shops and businesses into the town centre.
Kris Hopkins (Conservative)
THE UK’s decision to withdraw from the EU following last year’s referendum was a major moment in our history. It is vital that we negotiate the best possible Brexit deal and I am committed to working closely with Theresa May as our Prime Minister to ensure that this is achieved.
The first duty of any government is to protect its people. We live in an increasingly dangerous world with the threat from terrorism very high. I will work with senior ministers and the security services to keep our country safe.
More than 1,000 more people are in work in Keighley and Ilkley than when I was first elected in 2010, with youth unemployment falling by 60 per cent. I’ll work to bring more jobs, apprenticeships and training opportunities to the area and will continue to organise my annual jobs fair.
I have long believed that Keighley and Ilkley should break away from Bradford and form a new, independent local authority. Labour-led Bradford Council will never give Keighley and Ilkley residents a fair deal. I will continue to make the case for us to take control of our own futures.
I ask for the support of Keighley and Ilkley voters once again.
Paul Latham (Ukip)
I WAS the task-force leader here in Keighley and Ilkley for Vote Leave in the EU referendum campaign last year, which was supported with 25,892 votes, a 53.3 per cent majority, on June 23rd.
I am standing in a General Election here for UKIP for a third time.
My political views have been consistent for eight years, because I wish to have a complete Brexit from the EU. No special deal whereby Britain pays for access to the so-called ‘single market’ in Europe, with a £50 billion price ticket attached. We voted LEAVE on June 23rd, 2016. That means OUT.
The other 27 EU member states sell far more to us than we sell to them. We have the upper hand in any negotiations with the EU, yet they are setting the negotiation terms. This is completely unacceptable.
I champion older residents who are concerned about the ‘means-testing’ of their Winter Fuel Payments. This is an affront to pensioners who are already burdened with renewable energy subsidies on their domestic energy bills.
I want your support again to help me become our next MP. Please vote for me on June 8th.
Matt Walker (Liberal Democrat)
I AM Yorkshire born and bred and have worked across the county in the NHS.
Healthcare is my number one priority. I have experienced first-hand the pressures and triumphs of working in the NHS and am well-placed to fight to ensure that Health and Social Care is properly funded and accessible to all.
I currently work for NHS England supporting GP practices. My passion, determination and reliability have earned me the respect and support of colleagues and a strong reputation for delivery.
Two of my brothers are teachers and I know very well the dedication and long hours that teachers put in. Local schools need to be properly funded to ensure children get the best start in life.
I am a strong supporter of delivering fair funding for all schools and will ensure it is properly funded by the government, from early years right through to college.
I am fighting hard to keep the countryside open to all and free from fracking and harmful planning decisions. Incineration should only be used as a last resort after deducing, reusing and recycling.
An advocate for green and healthier travel, I can often be seen out and about on my bike.
MORE ELECTION NEWS FROM KEIGHLEY
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