'Why I deserve your vote' - Thirsk & Malton candidates in their own words

Alan Avery, Labour Party

"The Labour Party set out clearly in its manifesto its commitment to ban fracking in the UK and we in the Thirsk and Malton Labour Party took the lead in having this commitment clearly stated.

"We will continue to work with all the groups who are campaigning to prevent the despoliation of our countryside and the further use of carbon fuels for the sake of corporate profit.

"We are determined to support the Labour Party in its alternative strategy to austerity.

"Austerity means larger class sizes for our children, the closure of libraries, fewer police and fire-fighters and an attack on the living standards of those least able to support themselves.

"There are alternative economic models to austerity based on training and investment and everyone in the constituency will benefit from this alternative strategy.

"Only the Labour Party in Thirsk and Malton can prevent the Tory Party from the further impoverishment of our lives for the sake of the few who benefit from the capitalist economy.

"Rural poverty, the lack of affordable housing, growing use of food banks and the scarcity of good quality well-paid jobs effect the lives of all our families.

"A vote for Labour on June 8th will be a vote to end this gross inequality in our society."

Martin Brampton, Green Party

"This election is in danger of looking back, when we badly need to be looking forward.

"The issue hanging over everything is that raping the planet simply isn't a long term policy. It isn't just a minor mistake, it's a threat to our very existence.

"Reliance on coal, oil and gas used to make sense. But it has reached a scale where today's school children will see in their lifetimes dramatic and unwelcome changes. Sea levels will rise substantially, agriculture will be disrupted, and many species will be wiped out.

"Even in the lovely environment of North Yorkshire, we see greatly increased flooding. Areas of heavy traffic suffer air pollution that shortens lives. The threat of fracking hangs over many communities. And we cannot be immune from the global changes that are under way.

"For humanity to have a future, we need policies for energy, agriculture and industry that take proper account of the health of our planet.

"A radical increase in automation should be a huge opportunity in almost every sector. But if all that is achieved is greater profit for the rich and widespread unemployment, it will have been squandered. We already need policies for education that aim at equipping everyone with skills that have a future. Automation will make this vital.

"We really are all in this together. But while many people are getting a raw deal from society, it is hard for them to look past the challenges of everyday life. The last thing we need is to head back to Victorian poverty and struggle. Instead, we need to build a fair future. Part of that is fair taxation. Another is high quality publicly provided services, with adequate funding and common sense policies.

"We can all be wealth creators in a healthy world. Green Party policies aim for no less."

John Clark, Liberal Party

"Over recent years there have been three kinds of MP. Those with their noses in the trough; Those that knew others had their noses in the trough but did nothing; Those who didn’t know it was going on.

"Is this what we want in Thirsk and Malton?

"Liberal Democrats and Conservatives propose a cosmetic change. I offer a ‘complete change’.

"For those I haven’t met here is a brief history. 

"I grew up on a small farm in Cropton. A small farm struggles to support one family so I went south where I spent:

• 4 years on Berkshire County Council, part of the time as Chair of the County Youth Service.
• 4 years on Slough Borough Council – I exposed the waste and corruption on that council.

"I returned to the family farm in 1990.

"I have been on:

• Ryedale District Council since 2003 – here I have campaigned for; more affordable housing, environmental issues and against the ‘Council perks’.
• North Yorkshire County Council, elected June 2009.

"Thirsk and Malton needs a Liberal MP; an independent minded MP to stand against the ‘three main parties’. In recent years we have seen how a small number of councillors can stand alone and have a large influence on their council. The same needs to be done in the House of Commons. It provides an opportunity:

• For those who cannot support the  three main parties
• To cast a positive Liberal vote for a ‘complete change’.

Kevin Hollinrake, Conservative

"I have had the honour of representing you in Parliament since May 2015 and am delighted to have been re-selected as your Conservative candidate for the General Election on June 8th 2017.

"There is much more to be done, but I believe my team and I have achieved a great deal in the past two years including:

• Public Services: Secured an additional £17m for North Yorkshire in the Local Government Funding Settlement.

• Schools: £7m allocated to North Yorkshire schools in the ‘Fairer Funding’ proposals.

• Health and Adult Social Care: secured an extra £19.6m for North Yorkshire in the 2017 Budget.

• A64: A dual carriageway on the A64 from York towards Malton, I believe the first stage will be delivered by 2023.

• Digital: More investment and new solutions for superfast broadband and mobile phone coverage.

• Fracking: Secured a ban on shale gas well pads drilled at the surface of AONB and the National Park and independent monitoring of water and air quality.

• Business: Growth Fund investment at employment sites in Thirsk, Pickering and Malton.

• Casework: Worked to resolve many complex issues.

"If elected, I will once again make working for a Fairer Society and a Fairer Deal for the North my priorities.

We need a higher National Living Wage, more affordable housing for local people, lower taxes for low earners, more money for rural areas, our roads, rail, skills training, superfast broadband, mobile coverage, our schools, our health services, and to close the gap between spending in the North compared to London.

"Theresa May has all the qualities needed to lead us through the challenges ahead and to make a success of Brexit. She is highly respected and will always put the interests of us all first, wherever we live and whatever our background, because she is determined to create a fairer society for all. For all these reasons and many more, I hope you will vote Conservative."

Di Keal, Liberal Democrat

"Campaigning Di Keal has a record of service to the community that is second to none - now she is fighting to champion the rights of local people as your MP.

"She is a town and district councillor and has built a reputation for campaigning on the local issues – doing more for local people than all the other candidates put together.

"Di's priorities:

• Fracking – Di is totally opposed to fracking and is campaigning with local people against the Tory-backed industry in our constituency and nationally. She will continue to fight to prevent the industrialisation of our countryside.

• NHS – Liberal Democrats will fund gaps in NHS and social care budgets by putting a penny on income tax. In Yorkshire and Humber this will raise an extra £236 million for the local NHS and almost £53 million for social care annually. Tory plans to rob people of their homes to fund care costs will be fought every step of the way by Di.

• Schools – Our schools are threatened with huge budget cuts under the Conservatives. Malton School faces a cut of £339,207, equivalent to £620 per pupil by 2019, leading to the loss of nine teachers. Secondary and primary schools right across the constituency all face similar cuts. Tories plan to even take the food out of the mouths of our youngest children, hitting hard-pressed families, says Di.

• Pensions – Di is fighting to protect the 26,650 people on a state pension in Thirsk and Malton from Tory cuts. The Liberal Democrats delivered the ‘triple lock’ guaranteeing better pensions, stopping cuts under decades of Labour and Tory rule.

"There is no other parliamentary candidate with a record of public service to the community anything like Di’s – no other candidate who has done more to deserve your vote on June 8th."

Toby Horton, UKIP

I am fighting this campaign not just on the UKIP manifesto with its commitment to regain our North Sea fisheries, but also on the need to transfer scarce public resources to underfunded rural areas like Thirsk, Malton and Filey.

Our education, health and social care budgets have for years seen funds diverted to both urban areas and of course to Scotland.

It is simply not acceptable that annual education spending per pupil in Westminster, London stands at £8,595.00, while in Ryedale/Scarborough it stands at just £4,338.00.

Or that annual health spending per head in Islington, London stands at £1,918.00, while in Ryedale/Scarborough it stands at just £1,695.00.

Or that local authority spending per household in Islington, London stands at £2,092.00, while in Ryedale/Scarborough it stands at £1,335.00.

We need to transfer some £10 billion a year from our bloated Overseas Aid budget, which should concentrate solely on famine and disaster relief, to improving services in underfunded rural constituencies.

For years the Conservative Party has trashed both UKIP and its own grass roots, calling us “fruitcakes and loonies” or “swivel-eyed loons”.

Yet lo and behold, in this year’s General Election, the key elements of Theresa May’s manifesto, Brexit, immigration control and grammar schools, are nothing more than a straight lift from UKIP’s 2015 manifesto.

And you can be certain that at the next General Election UKIP’s key policies from this year, a clean Brexit with the return of our North Sea fisheries, reform of the scandal of Overseas Aid and complete reform of the House of Lords, as well as our integration, security and healthcare policies, will again be lifted by the Conservatives.

So stay ahead of the game, don’t be caught by a Conservative monopoly and in Thirsk, Malton and Filey vote for the real deal - vote Toby Horton UKIP."

Philip Tate, Independent

"My campaign is easy to understand. Fracking is not good for our constituency - or anywhere else in the UK. Why ? Because we already have a serious problem with air pollution and Fracking can only make it worse .

"Fracking needs pumps, drills, compressors and heavy goods vehicles. And once extracted, the gas itself will only add to the emissions that cause climate change.

"There is no shortage of gas in the world. The wholesale price of gas has been falling and there is no need to find a new way to extract more of it in our Yorkshire countryside.

"Fracking is a manufacturing process that requires the use of open farmland.

"Countryside that should remain uncontaminated for agricultural purposes and which tourists can continue to enjoy.

"It is hard to picture how many wells would be drilled to alter our gas supply, but the British Geological Survey thought that 30,000 wells would be necessary to extract 10% of the gas. Drilling night and day , seven days a week - including Christmas.

"Our attitude to Fracking defines who we are. When there are other sources of energy , particularly renewable, it is irresponsible to encourage the industrialisation of our landscape to extract fuel that is available elsewhere. To reduce air pollution , we must aim to use less energy - not more.

"To put an Independent MP into Westminster would send a shock wave through the system and show that here in this constituency we care about our countryside, care about climate change and wish to do no further harm to our planet."