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26
Feb 2023
The Lib Dem aiming to become Harrogate and Knaresborough's next MP
After a process lasting eight months, the Liberal Democrats have finally named Tom Gordon as their candidate to wrestle Harrogate and Knaresborough off the Conservatives at the next general election.
Mr Gordon, who turns 29 today, is less than half the age of Andrew Jones, the current MP, but has already packed a lot into his short political career. He has stood twice for Parliament, led the Liberal Democrats on Wakefield Council and supported Judith Rogerson in her campaign to unseat Mr Jones at the last election in 2019.
But does he have the experience and nous to defeat a seasoned politician like Mr Jones, who will be going for his fifth success in a row? Mr Jones has achieved more than 50% of the vote at the last three elections, turning a constituency held by Liberal Democrat Phil Willis from 1997 to 2010 back into a safe Conservative seat.
With Paul Ko Ferrigno named as the Green Party candidate, and Labour yet to declare, there is the possibility of all the main parties selecting white men. Mr Gordon's youth gives him some point of difference, which he acknowledges could be advantageous but he says the main reason people should vote for him is because he would stand for "fairness and equality" while Mr Jones, he claims, is a party stooge with a "record of shame".
But what kind of candidate are local people getting — and how well does he know Harrogate and Knaresborough?
Mr Gordon, who is from Knottingley in West Yorkshire and is the Lib Dem leader on Wakefield Council, was chosen by party members ahead of Knaresborough campaigner Matt Walker.
Mr Jones was quick to express surprise, telling the Harrogate Advertiser (he does not speak to the Stray Ferret) he felt Mr Walker's local roots made him a "shoo-in".
Mr Gordon, who is moving to a flat in Harrogate next month, says it was a "lazy attack line" and points out Mr Jones is also originally from West Yorkshire having been born in Ilkley and educated in Bradford and Leeds.
Mr Gordon is keen to highlight his familiarity with Harrogate and Knaresborough, having helped Ms Rogerson in 2019, and at pains to explain he is only from "20 miles down the M1". But he did not answer when asked to name the manager of Harrogate Town, although he talked enthusiastically about Knaresborough Bed Race.
From disengaged student to Lib Dem activist
His introduction to politics began by chance as a student in 2014 when he was on a train to London and got talking to the woman opposite, who happened to be the Lib Dem peer Baroness Harris of Richmond.
He dropped her a line and ended up becoming a parliamentary intern at the House of Lords aged 20.
But his mother's diagnosis with breast cancer, the day before he started a masters degree in 2016, was the key moment.
Mr Gordon in Knaresborough
He says Labour politicians, utterly dominant in his area, had taken local people for granted, safe in the knowledge of re-election. By contrast he says the Lib Dems empower people by giving them the tools to build a better future.
He joined the party in 2017 and stood in Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford at the 2019 general election, finishing fourth behind Labour big beast Yvette Cooper with 6.5% of the vote. The Lib Dems polled 5.1% at the previous election. In 2021 he polled 3.3% in the Batley and Spen by-election to finish fourth behind Labour. George Galloway was third.
Harrogate and Knaresborough is his first serious chance of victory. The Lib Dems increased their share by 12% in 2019 to almost halve Mr Jones's majority. Mr Gordon says it "was one of the few success stories we had on the night" and "put us in a place where we can think about winning" at the next election, which is likely to be next year.
Why does he think Mr Jones has been so successful?
Read more:
- Lib Dems confirm Harrogate and Knaresborough candidate for next election
- Liberal Democrats win Masham and Fountains by-election
Mr Gordon cites NHS funding, apprenticeships and championing small- and medium-sized businesses as priorities. Brexit, he says, has "eaten up the oxygen in the room" and won't feature prominently in campaigning.
But what about local issues — does he think nearly £50 million should be spent refurbishing Harrogate Convention Centre?
He says the long-term future of the convention centre needs to be secured but is less sure about the £11.2 million Harrogate Station Gateway scheme that has divided the town:
Pavement politics
Mr Gordon says his political heroes are mainly Americans, particularly Hillary Clinton, but also singles out former Lib Dem leader Tim Farron, explaining:
It's a style he intends to copy:
Mr Gordon's varied professional career includes spells as an estate agent and in recruitment. He's currently a part-time policy and external affairs officer for the Carers Trust charity and the office manager for Helen Morgan, the Lib Dem MP for North Shropshire — a role he will soon relinquish.
He also plans to stand down as a Wakefield councillor in May, having been elected at the age of 25.
Away from work, he has run several marathons for charity and enjoys swimming and badminton. He has a degree in biochemistry and a masters in public health.
He has certainly not been idle in his 20s. He says:
As for Mr Jones, the politicking has begun.
If elected, what difference would it make to local people?
The first shots have been fired as the election countdown draws near.
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