THE Green Party has chosen a parish councillor to fight a Parliamentary seat.
Adrian Cruden will contest Dewsbury at the next general election.
The 44-year-old was elected to Kirkburton Parish Council in May.
He said: “I am delighted to be selected to stand in Dewsbury. We need a new kind of politics that challenges the cosy consensus of the three main parties.”
Mr Cruden, who lives with his wife in Thornhill, will make climate change a major part of his campaign.
He said: “The Green Party offers the only practical response to the global warming crisis which threatens humanity’s future.
“The floods this summer, the droughts last year, the increasingly violent storms and phenomena such as wasps in December and plants sprouting in January show how quickly things are changing.”
Mr Cruden opposes plans to bring big chain stores to Dewsbury.
He said: “Investment should benefit local people and small businesses, not distant shareholders and mysterious millionaire landlords.”
Mr Cruden will also campaign for better rural bus services in the constituency. “Good public transport is vital to provide a reliable and comfortable alternative to cars,” he said.
And he said Greens were on the rise in the constituency, which includes Dewsbury, Mirfield, Kirkburton and Denby Dale.
Mr Cruden added: “In May we took a Kirklees Council seat in Kirkburton and 11 of the 25 parish council seats. A Green vote is never wasted. It is a vote for real change and real hope for our futures.”
Labour’s Shahid Malik won the seat in 2005 with a majority of more than 4,600.
