HANNAH BRYAN talks to this year’s General Election candidates about what they see the issues are in Ryedale.

WITH just over two months to go, the Prospective Parliamentary candidates for the Thirsk and Malton constituency are starting to drum up support ahead of May’s election.

Six candidates are canvassing for votes across Ryedale and they told the Gazette & Herald what they think the election issues will be in the district. The Thirsk and Malton constituency was created in 2010 and since then has been respresented by Conservative Anne McIntosh.

The new constituency took electoral wards from the former Ryedale and Vale of York constituencies.

The electoral wards are: The entire district of Ryedale; the Scarborough wards of Filey and Hertford and the Hambleton wards of Easingwold, Helperby, Huby with Sutton, Shipton, Sowerby, Stillington, Thirsk, Thorntons, Tollerton, Topcliffe, White Horse, and Whitestonecliffe.

Briefings have also been taking place for candidates and agents for Ryedale District Council elections.

The General Election and the Local Government elections for Ryedale will be held on Thursday, May 7.

 

Gazette & Herald:

Alan Avery, Labour

Alan Avery began his career with the Labour Party in Hull in the 1966 General Election.

He is a retired Army officer, having served in Germany and in the Falkland Islands. On retiring in 1986, he moved back to his home town of Pickering and set up his own publishing business.

He has represented the Labour Party as a town councillor and has stood for both district and county councils.

He said: “The economy must be the first issue to be addressed by any serious candidate who wants to be this constituency’s Member of Parliament. The present Government has taken an approach which says we must cut back public spending to the levels of the 1930s and make those with the lowest incomes pay the most, be it in reduced council services, the cut back in benefits or the bedroom tax.

“At the same time the richest people are given tax cuts or are allowed to avoid paying any tax at all. This must change. We must all pay our fair share and those with the least must be protected, not persecuted.

“The other major issues which I have found concern people (and I have spoken now to more than 600 constituents on their doorsteps) are the NHS, care for the elderly and decent housing and jobs for our young people.

“The NHS must be properly funded and this can only come from increased taxation or an increase in the National Insurance contribution, which would go directly to the NHS. Social care must be integrated with the NHS so that those leaving hospital, especially the elderly, are cared for properly in their homes.

“Our young people deserve the best education which fits them for life and a place in our community. They should not have to leave the area to find a decent job or an affordable home. As MP I would work hard to bring high quality jobs to the area and ensure an adequate supply of affordable homes.”

 

Gazette & Herald:

Di Keal, Liberal Democrat

Di Keal has lived in Ryedale for more than 20 years with her husband and three daughters.

She has held the position of mayoress of Malton, district councillor for Norton West and media communications manager for the Alzheimer’s Society.

She has been a town councillor for the past 14 years and a district councillor for more than 10 years. Councillor Keal lost her seat in 2010, but regained it in 2012.

She said: “Top of my election agenda is the NHS, along with jobs, support for hard-working families and young people, for older people and the environment.

“I have been at the forefront of politics in Ryedale for more than 15 years and am the only candidate with a proven track record supporting local people as a district and town councillor.

“Having lived in Ryedale for 20 years, I am well aware of the issues faced by residents and what matters to local people.

“Good health and care when we fall ill is a basic human right. I want to ensure that health services, across all age groups, are retained and delivered as close to home as possible. All of us of working age should have access to jobs paying a decent wage. It is essential that more well paid jobs are secured in Ryedale. One industry we don’t want and will never need is fracking.

“Liberal Democrats support Ryedale’s excellent schools through the pupil premium to deliver high-quality education giving all our young people the best possible start in life.

“I understand the challenges faced by older people and campaign for their rights to live well, which is why I am proud of the protection of pensions secured by our party in Government.

“Something of which I am especially aware, in my work at the Alzheimer’s Society, is that our health and social care systems must be integrated to provide seamless care that is better for patients.

“That’s my vision for a better deal for the people of Ryedale.”

 

Gazette & Herald:

Kevin Hollinrake, Conservative

Kevin Hollinrake was born and brought up in Easingwold and co-founded Hunters estate agents in York in 1992.

He is a governor at Easingwold School where his children go and, as a result, he says that he has seen at first-hand the improvements needed in local schools.

He says he wants to “make work pay, improve education for all, support local business and get a fairer deal from central Government in terms of investment in the region”.

He said: “My priorities for Ryedale are; helping to build a fairer society with a fair deal and an abundance of opportunity for all, protecting public services, campaigning for a fairer share of investment in our roads and rail and safeguarding our rural way of life and the beauty of our countryside.

“Schools and hospitals in Ryedale get a worse deal than other parts of the UK as the current funding formulas mean that urban areas get a better deal than rural ones. Our local schools get less money for new buildings and for annual budgets due to the impact of the Pupil Premium and other factors, this has been partially addressed by the new 2015/16 Fairer Funding formula, but we need to make sure that we make more progress on this.

“The funding for hospitals gives priority to deprived, urban areas, which means that we get a worse deal despite having our own issues related to rurality and one of the highest populations of over-85s in the North.

“Our roads and railways get less than half the investment per head compared to London and the South East.

“I am not asking for a better deal, just a fair one.

“In terms of protecting our countryside, like many others, I am very concerned about the potential impacts of fracking in Ryedale. It is clear to me that fracking is a new industry with potential, but with associated risks that need to be fully understood and correctly managed.”

 

Gazette & Herald:

Chris Newsam, Green Party

Hoping to make Malton green is Chris Newsam, a long-time member of the Green Party.

Chris, who volunteers at Oxfam, has been vocal in protesting against fracking coming to Ryedale and regularly attends meetings and supports the work of members of Frack Free Ryedale. He believes that having a Green MP “will bring newness and will restore hope and belief in politics for the common good”.

He said: “I have entered this election because I feel very strongly that we need to change and address a number of mounting and pressing concerns. I will campaign on behalf of local people to stop fracking coming to Ryedale as I believe this exploitative, dirty and polluting process has no place here and will produce nothing of real value to local people.

“I want to work towards reducing the growing and glaring inequalities highlighted by corporate tax evasion on the one hand while nearly one million people (nearly 1,000 in Ryedale) have had to rely of food banks. I want to help protect our public services from privatisation and being turned over to profit making corporations.

“I am deeply concerned that vulnerable and elderly people are becoming isolated and have to live in cold and damp houses often having to make the decision between adequate heating and feeding themselves. I want to improve local transport infrastructure ensuring that essential bus services are available in rural areas and that they are affordable and reliable.

“I want to ensure that local businesses thrive and the heart is restored to community life with the growth of local shops and facilities. I want to encourage the growth of meaningful and satisfying local employment and ensuring that good quality, appropriate and affordable housing is available to local people. I want to represent the people of Thirsk and Malton with a strong Green voice and in helping us to work towards a more sustainable and equitable future for everyone - for people and the planet."

 

Gazette & Herald:

Toby Horton, Ukip

Election veteran Toby Horton stood for Ukip in Thirsk and Malton in the 2010 General Election and has said that he is looking forward to fighting for the seat again.

Mr Horton stood as a candidate against Tony Blair in Sedgefield and was chairman of Richmond Conservative Association from 1996 to 1999. He joined Ukip in 2006 and has lived in the area since 2012.

He is a previous managing director of Radio Tees and founder director of Minster Sound Radio in York and Yorkshire Coast Radio in Scarborough.

He said: “The first task of any Government is to ensure the security of our people. Yet for over a generation, Governments drawn from the three old parties have put our country at risk. Only a Ukip Government will begin the process of making Britain safe again.

“We need financial security. The euro dream has become a nightmare, yet we continue to pour more borrowed money into this failed project, a drain that can only grow as the whole crazy enterprise unravels.

“We need political security. Our open-door immigration policy has put us all at risk from those who wish to undermine and destroy us.   In the process, the whole of our society has been destabilised.

“We need defence security. Our Armed Services are being systematically taken apart at just the moment when threats to our country, both internal and external, are rapidly growing.

“There needs to be energy security. The 2008 Climate Change Act, supported by the three old parties, with its commitment to an impossible 80 per cent reduction in carbon emissions, will literally lead to a new dark age with widespread fuel poverty.

“And food security is also essential. With population growth now in uncharted territory and British-grown food falling rapidly as a share of national consumption, looming food poverty, like fuel poverty, is a growing danger.

“Only Ukip has had the courage to say these things, but truth will out. And only a Ukip Government will begin the long, arduous process of making Britain a safe and secure nation once more.”

 

Martin Cruttwell, Independent

Martin Cruttwell lives in Ryedale and has high hopes to get an Independent into the Commons. He is currently away, so was unable to contribute.