Harrogate Chamber Hustings : Your Questions Answered
Meet the Candidates
In preparation for the General Election to be held in less than 2 weeks, we hosted a Hustings of our own with 6 of the 7 candidates standing in the Harrogate & District constituency in attendance. This week we will reflect on the questions asked and the answers given.
Six out of the seven candidates standing in this years’ election were in attendance: Tom Gordon, Liberal Democrats; Paul Haslam, Independent; Andrew Jones, Conservative; Shan Oakes, Green Party; John Swales, Reform UK; Conrad Whitcroft, Labour Party. Only Stephen Metcalfe, Independent was missing as we became aware of his entry after the deadline for nominations and were unable to reach him to extend an invitation.
Candidates were given the opportunity to answer questions submitted in advance from the business community on a wide range of issues, including the future of the high street in Harrogate, the controversial Station Gateway project, funding for the NHS and support for the non-for-profit sector.
John Plummer, Editor of the Stray Ferret chaired our hustings.
Candidates were first asked to present their case in 60 seconds.
Tom Gordon (Lib Dem):
Harrogate is the nicest place I've ever lived and I'm so proud to have made it my home, but we could be doing so much better. We've had endless years of chaos and mismanagement from the government and the Conservatives. We've missed out on opportunity time and time again whether that be levelling up, whether it be the towns fund or any sort of meaningful regeneration. The Liberal Democrats launched our manifesto today and it is focused around getting a fair deal and that means a fair deal for residents, for local business and for the country too. If you want to read more of the in-depth policies, that is online. But for me, I've already been working hard fighting over the last year and a half as your candidate leading campaigns on trying to make sure we get the money to repair the crumbling concrete of our local district hospital - targeting those health services to make sure they're fit for purpose. And that's what my professional background's in is health services research and as a scientist.
Paul Haslam (Independent):
I'm standing as an independent because I'm slightly incensed. I'm incensed because we've been trying to level up for many, many years and we have still not done it. Just if we look at local services, the local council gets probably 30% less than the average metropolitan Council, and yet our rates are about 25% higher than that. So, the first thing is I'd like to see levelling up because whatever else we do, if we want to get more money into this economy, we need to get more money up here into Harrogate. In terms of business, I really think we need to embrace the new economy, the green economy, but also, we need to also work on the existing things that we do so well. So, we've got tourism, we've got the conference centre, we've got the town centre. We need better housing, and we need to improve our transport and we need to make a lot of things better so that we can enable business to succeed and provide a great economy for our area.
Andrew Jones (Conservative):
I'm originally from Ilkley. I went to school in Bradford, University in Leeds. I’ve lived in Harrogate for about 25 years or so. I spent the first 25 years of my career in marketing, primarily marketing, but also split into more general management. The last role I had commercially was as Sales and Marketing Director for Bettys and Taylors. That career, saw me launch new products, new brands, new companies, export programmes. So, I went into Parliament in 2010 as one of the most commercially experienced members of Parliament. I also served for two terms on Harrogate Borough Council and that had responsibility for the finances of the Borough. I've been the MP here since 2010 and my priority has always been this constituency and we have made progress - more jobs, local action, getting stuff done. It's been my priority and if re-elected, that will be my pledge.
Shan Oakes (Green):
I started off being desperate about the state of the planet when I was about eight years old. I ended up going into teaching education authority work in Humberside and for the City of York Council and a spell in Uganda, which confirmed the things I was worried about, made me even more worried. Looking at Europe from Africa makes quite a significant difference. I'm the kind of person that doesn't waste anything. I'm actually like another politician. I'm a grocer's daughter and my mum also drummed into me that waste was bad. So, any sort of waste doesn't happen at our place. All kinds of things that is.
John Swales (Reform):
I’m a local boy, born and bred. I have lived here all my life, had 25 years in the corporate world, did an MBA at Leeds business school and I run my own small business. I got into politics. I'm not a professional politician - I haven't been to politician school. I just talk from my heart. I'm a husband, I'm a father, I'm a concerned citizen. I want Harrogate to improve. We're all told it's a two-horse race. It may well have been but in Harrogate now, the future is unwritten. It doesn't have to be a two-horse race now or in the future. I'll try to answer your questions succinctly and honestly. I'm not going to bang on about 15 different policies that are nothing to do with the question you've asked me, and I hope you appreciate that.
Conrad Whitcroft (Labour):
I'm a qualified project manager and I'm a local counsellor. In the heat of an election campaign, we can, as politicians often forget that most people don't spend all their time thinking about politics. People are worried about their bills, about their homes, about what they've got to do tomorrow. For no one is this more true than local business owners. Now, if the polls are to be believed and touch wood and fingers crossed that they are, we will have a Labour government. The other candidates claim that only they can win. But ask yourself, what would be the point of electing an opposition MP in this year of all years? Surely it will be better if we had an MP on the government benches, someone who would speak directly to the new Labour government on behalf of Harrogate’s local economy. I'll be an energetic young advocate for our community, and I'll get results. Admirable as my opponents are, if they're elected, they will be able to do little more than shout from the sidelines. If I get elected, I'll be on the pitch and scoring goals.
We would like to thank all candidates for participating in a lively and engaging discussion, and all those who asked such pertinent questions.
Thanks also to John Plummer for facilitating the meeting and Pavilions of Harrogate for hosting.
Written by Zach Greaves - Chamber Press Secretary
