Richard Carter — Yorkshire First

@YorkshireFirst

Richard Carter

Biography: I was one of the co-founders of Yorkshire First that stood in the EU elections last year, gaining a higher percentage of votes in our first election than the Greens, UKIP, and SNP. I have travelled widely and lived in Norway from 2008 – 2014. My background is as a business adviser and I have set up and run several businesses. We decided to set up the party having become frustrated at the national parties. I have lived in Huddersfield for most of my life, and have worked in Dewsbury over many years. It is a town that could and should do better – but it has suffered like many towns in the shadow of Leeds.

I was involved in politics 30 years ago, but have become active now as I think Yorkshire is being short changed.

Manifesto: Our Voice, Our Yorkshire outlines our manifesto which seeks to focus attention on the issues and opportunities that our region has. It can be read at www.yorkshirefirst.org.uk

The UK is failing when NINE out of the 10 poorest areas in the whole on Northern Europe are in the UK – three of those in historic Yorkshire. This is unacceptable, and has been presided over by the existing ‘national’ parties. Labour and Conservatives have failed us.

We think Yorkshire needs first rate decision-making powers similar to Scotland. A parliament for Yorkshire within the UK. After all we have a larger population than Scotland, and an economy twice that of Wales. But with the powers of neither.

We have called for action around Education, Energy, Transport and a wider cultural renewal.

We have challenges around the next generation. We have the worst GCSE results, the lowest number of Good or Outstanding schools, and the highest child poverty levels in the country. Why is there no outrage around this? If we fail our children, we fail them and our future.

We generate 16% of UK electricity but have no plan to develop Yorkshire as an Energy hub. This key strength needs to be built upon – not kept quiet. In order to be successful we need to align our Research & Development, Education, Investment, Skills and infrastructure to help us take advantage of this as we move towards a carbon free future. This kind of approach will allow the region to develop good, skilled jobs in the future.

If you vote the same, you will get the same. If you want change, change your vote to Yorkshire First.

Paula Sherriff — Labour

@paulasherriff

Dewsbury Labour candidate Clr Paula Sherriff (front) surrounded by party activists after her selection
Dewsbury Labour candidate Clr Paula Sherriff (front) surrounded by party activists after her selection

Biography: My parents taught me about the value of hard work, and that to make a difference in life you need to care about people. Local people are suffering, and I care too much for our community to sit quietly on the side-lines and let it happen. Things need to change, and I am the only candidate with the drive and the passion to make change happen.

I’ve worked hard in every corner of our community, and I see great challenges facing our area, but also great opportunities. Our town centres are suffering, our hospitals are under serious threat, and our young people face an uncertain future, struggling to get jobs and homes. And yet, we have strong and resilient communities with dedicated and hard-working people, and creative and innovative local businesses. What a difference it would make to have a strong voice to work alongside you to make the changes required in our community.

Our community needs a hard-working, full-time MP to fight for you and your family. I’ve spent my working life standing up for people, from supporting victims of crime with the police force to working on the frontline of our NHS. I’ve spearheaded town centre redevelopment, and I’ve fought against the odds as a woman in politics. I promise to put you first, so together we can save our NHS, deliver a strong economy that works for all of us, and help our young people reach their full potential.

I will fight for you – because you deserve better.

My pledges:

  • Fight to secure the future of our NHS, with 36,000 more frontline staff and guarantee a GP appointment within 48 hours, or on the same day where needed.
  • Ensure 25 hours free childcare each week for working parents of 3 and 4 year olds. Every primary school will also provide childcare from 8am – 6pm each day to help parents balance work and family life.
  • Be a strong voice for the constituency, ensuring we attract equal investment and growth throughout the area.

  • Work with businesses and further education to develop more apprenticeships and new technical degrees, offering young people the opportunity to develop essential skills for a future career.

Simon Reevell — Conservative

@simonreevell

Simon Reevell
Simon Reevell

Simon Reevell has been the Conserative MP for Dewsbury since 2010.

Manifesto:

Getting the economy back on track was the Government’s number one priority during the last Parliament. It has succeeded. Without a strong economy no government can afford to pay for the schools, hospitals and public services that you and your family deserve. I’ll continue to support plans to maintain the economic recovery. I’ll continue to push for 2% of GDP to be spent on defence. More than ever, I’ll push for English votes for English laws. As ever, I’ll fight for us to regain control of our national borders.

Locally, that economic good news means that more than 200 new businesses have opened in the constituency since 2010; both adult and youth unemployment have almost halved. I’ll continue to promote local businesses. I’ll continue to fight the inappropriate development of our valuable green spaces, to advocate the use of brownfield sites ahead of greenbelt, and to oppose inappropriate wind turbine applications. I’ll continue to hold Kirklees Council to account on this and so many other matters.

Since 2010, I’ve held over 300 street stalls and ‘Meet your MP’ events throughout the constituency and dealt with more than 15,000 pieces of casework. I’ll continue to be both available and accessible to anyone who needs my help.

As a marginal constituency, what happens here in Dewsbury is likely to reflect what happens in Westminster. There’s much more work for this Government to do, but I believe that we’re on the right track. Now is not the time to hand the keys back to the people who crashed the car.

Adrian Cruden — Green Party

@ViridisLumen1

Adrian Cruden
Adrian Cruden

Biography: I’ve lived in Thornhill with my wife Nikki for 15 years and work in the charity sector.

I have campaigned to save our local greenbelt, especially in Thornhill Lees and Scissett. I have worked to protect services at Dewsbury hospital and last year took part in a walk from Huddersfield to Wakefield to join the national 999 for the NHS march. I served as a councillor on Green-led Kirkburton Parish representing Grange Moor for four years. I believe a Green MP for Dewsbury, Mirfield, Kirkburton and Denby Dale would make a positive difference to the communities within the constituency, mainly by putting power in the hands of local people.

Manifesto: Greens seek a society where wealth is shared more equally and used more carefully.

Our priorities would be to end austerity and instead invest in our country:

• introducing £10 per hour minimum living wage and increasing taxes on the rich and big businesses.

• building up our local economy by supporting small businesses, co-operatives and social enterprises through lower taxes with higher taxes on national chain stores. This will help revive devastated town centres such as Dewsbury.

• investing in better local transport and taking rail back into public hands.

• keeping the NHS public and abolishing the PFI deals that have damaged Dewsbury and many other hospitals. We’d invest an additional £12 billion in health services nationwide and also implement free social care for older people, similar to the arrangements currently in Scotland.

• breaking up Kirklees into local councils with real power.

• ensuring education is free by abolishing tuition fees and investing in education for all ages

• Not replacing Trident missiles but using £100 billions saved to invest instead in a peaceful world. We opposed the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya and voted against bombing Syria.

I’m involved in politics to seek a fairer, happier society and to protect it for future generations. Greens are strong in the Dewsbury constituency – we took third place and more than one in every eight votes last year, so a vote for us will never be wasted. Vote for what you believe in.

Ednan Hussain — Liberal Democrat

Ednan Hussain (left), Liberal Democrat candidate for Dewsbury at the 2015 General Election, with Bradford East Liberal Democrat MP David Ward.
Ednan Hussain (left), Liberal Democrat candidate for Dewsbury at the 2015 General Election, with Bradford East Liberal Democrat MP David Ward.

This is an area, I know very well. I was born here, studied locally and continue to live locally. I use local services and cutbacks affect me and my loved ones in the same way.

I am proud of my town and will fight for real investment across the area. I will be a full-time MP, dedicating all my time and effort to helping the people.

Like all in the town, I am angry at the cutbacks in services at Dewsbury Hospital. The merger with the debt-ridden Wakefield and Pinderfield placed it into debt. Sadly, the Labour MP, did little to prevent the merger and today we face the consequences, whilst he has moved on. I will fight to protect services at the hospital and I am pleased that the Liberal Democrats will invest an extra £8 billion into the NHS.

I am a firm believer in fairness and creating opportunities for all. I am pleased that the Liberal Democrats have recognised this and have introduced Pupil Premium, raised the tax threshold to £10,600 and created an extra two million apprenticeships.

However, more needs to be done. The economy needs to continue to grow but opportunities must be for all and not a selected few.

Whilst Labour will borrow and the Tories will cut – we will reduce the deficit in a fair way and one that does not risk the economy of this great nation. I thank you for your support.

Steve Hakes — Christian People's Alliance

Our distinction is godly perception; I pledge to help clear the air. I am a theologian of working class background, in my fifties. I believe Scripture to be a one-of-a-kind, God-breathed. I side with J R R Tolkien: man’s part is to discern, not create, ethics.

The main parties have leaders who, even if Christians are ethical relativists, correctivists, seeking to redefine what they so choose without proper understanding of true ethics being an objective science. This has disturbed me into entering the political race.

Hitler boosted economics at the expense of ethics; I put economics as subservient to ethics. My platform is to weigh all important matters – NHS, education, infrastructure, international trade, immigration – along true ethical lines.

Although I have fundamental disagreements with Islam and Judaism, I’ve basic monotheistic affinity: God who is one, is lord over humanity.

Key terms of submission and covenant are my language. I pledge to represent this unity in the political arena. Indeed the term ‘arena’ reminds me that like in pre-Christian Rome, Christians are being targeted for persecution under the correctivist idea that all religions are equal – i.e. equally invalid. Those today targeting Christians, may tomorrow be targeting Muslims and Judaics. The darkness of un-enlightenment is in the political sky. A pollution of Nietzschean ethics. If atheism is valid, ethics is invalid, and ‘caring politics’ logically a contradiction of terms. Logic itself would arguably be illogic, a self-defeating concept. I stand for good philosophy, good theology, good ethics, good sense, goodness.

As a party we have policies covering education, immigration, national health, the economy, marriage & family, sanctify of life, fair employment, ecology, defence and foreign policy, British youth, restorative justice, and housing and redevelopment.

We have a caring heart, seeing each person as in God’s likeness, and seek that all should live to their full potential, rather than degrade through hedonism and selfism.