16
Jun 2024
The man looking to turn Harrogate and Knaresborough red at the election
The Stray Ferret has spoken to all the candidates running for election in the Harrogate and Knaresborough constituency and will be running features on each of them. Here, Conrad Whitcroft of Labour talks about what his priorities would be if elected.
At 24-years-old, Conrad Whitcroft is the youngest candidate standing in Harrogate and Knaresborough.
Mr Whitcroft was announced by Labour just hours before Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stepped outside Downing Street to declare that an election would be held.
It’s been three weeks since that day and the political campaigns are in full swing.
For Mr Whitcroft, who originally hails from Northampton but moved to York for university, the days have been spent keeping on Labour’s message on the doorstep.
I think it’s clear that the whole country is crying out for change, Harrogate and Knaresborough in particular.
NHS and housebuilding
In an interview with the Stray Ferret ahead of polling day, Mr Whitcroft insists that he is focussed on becoming the seat’s first Labour MP.
But what is Labour’s plan for Harrogate and Knaresborough, if elected?
The Stray Ferret put it to Mr Whitcroft that the constituency particularly suffers from a lack of access to NHS dentistry.
We found that just one dentist in Knaresborough is currently accepting new patients and just two in Harrogate are only taking on those aged 17 and under.
When asked how Labour would deal with such a problem, Mr Whitcroft said the party had a “comprehensive plan” for the health service, including dentistry.
He said dentists needed to focus on prevention in order to keep the pressure off practices.
My brother is involved in the dentist industry and a lot of what they are doing is prevention. That has got to be the call here.
Mr Whitcroft also pointed to housebuilding as a key issue for the party in Harrogate and Knaresborough. He said he was keen to be seen as “the pro-housebuilding candidate”.
He points to high house prices in the constituency, which he says “vastly outpaces wages”.
Mr Whitcroft said he was in favour of reforming planning laws in order to ensure more homes are built, in particular affordable houses.
It’s something that hits me quite personally. I’m 24-years-old and my dad was 24 when he bought his first home. I’m nowhere near [affording a home] and I don’t think it’s through lack of trying either.
Conrad Whitcroft with Labour activists.
The 24-year-old, who will turn 25 on the Friday before polling day, remains confident in his candidacy despite the historically low vote share for Labour in Harrogate.
The constituency has not typically been a successful seat for the party in the past.
In fact, the party’s highest share of vote in the constituency since it was created 27 years ago was 20% in 2017.
Despite this, Mr Whitcroft believes the prospects have changed particularly following the election of a Labour mayor in York and North Yorkshire.
I think David Skaith is the prime example of that. I’d also point to Keir Mather in Selby and Ainsty which was traditionally seen as a rural seat which no one could possibly win, but he was able to win it.
I think the game has completely changed. We did exceptionally well here, as far as we can tell from the votes of the mayoralty.
Mr Whitcroft’s defiance is also not swayed when it’s put to him that his own party designated the constituency a “non-battleground seat”.
I’m an optimistic man. There’s no guarantees in anything in life at all, particularly when it comes to elections.
Also, that designation happened before David Skaith won the mayoralty. This has changed things massively.
He also dismisses any notion of tactical voting on polling day and is unmoved by the suggestion that it’s a seat the party is unlikely to take.
I’m optimistic about the chances and I’m going to fight for every vote.
Voters will head to the polls in Harrogate and Knaresborough on July 4.
The deadline to register to vote is 11.59pm on June 18. You can register online here.
The full list of candidates for Harrogate and Knaresborough are as follows:
- Tom Gordon, Liberal Democrat
- Paul Haslam, Independent
- Andrew Jones, Conservative
- Shan Oakes, Green Party
- Stephen Douglas Metcalfe, Independent
- Jonathan Swales, Reform UK
- Conrad Whitcroft, Labour
The Stray Ferret will be hosting hustings events in both Harrogate and Ripon ahead of election day. You can sign up to attend the Harrogate event here and Ripon hustings here.
Subscription is coming on July 1. To find out what to expect click here.
0