ONE year into the job and Calder Valley MP Craig Whittaker says he’s loved every minute of it.
The Tory MP for Brighouse, Rastrick and Elland said he always believed it’d be a tough job.
He said the election results had been positive for the Conservatives.“It’s been a good result for us, we’ve returned with around 1,000 extra councillors nationally.
“But the important thing to remember is that we’ve done what we said we’d do before the General Election.”
Asked if the coalition
Government had worked against the Lib Dems during the local and AV polls, Craig added: “The Liberal Democrats campaign heavily on issues and some of those things just aren’t possible when you come to power so they’ve had to make some tough decisions.”
Craig said he’d had an “incredible” first year as MP. One of his highlights is launching a charity for looked-after children, something he was passionate about as a Rastrick councillor and Calderdale cabinet member.
“It’s been hard work, life changing, but so worthwhile,” he added. “I always knew it would be tough, but I feel exhilarated to be an MP and working for people in Parliament and helping to bring a real change in society.”
He said it was right for the local Conservative party to look to the future in selecting a young candidate, with Scott Benton winning the Brighouse seat last Thursday.
“Scott has worked hard throughout the election campaign. I think people like Scott can make a real difference to politics and get more younger people engaged.”
