‘Save our conference centre’: Harrogate’s Lib Dems and Tories make rare joint plea

Liberal Democrat and Conservative councillors put their differences aside last night to call on the new North Yorkshire Council to back a £49m redevelopment of the Harrogate Convention Centre.

It came during Harrogate Borough Council’s final full meeting at the Civic Centre.

The council has previously warned that if the convention centre redevelopment doesn’t go ahead, the district could lose out on up to £250 million over the next 40 years in lost tourism and business spending.

A motion was proposed by the Liberal Democrat councillor for Fairfax, Chris Aldred, which was seconded by Conservative councillor for Valley Gardens, Sam Gibbs, to ask the new authority to confirm its support for a major refurbishment of the ageing facility.

It will take control of the building when Harrogate Borough Council is abolished at the end of the month.

The motion also asked that the new council “moves forward with urgency” in setting up a management board for the Harrogate Borough Council .

The project has moved to the design phase but where the money will come from to pay for it remains uncertain. North Yorkshire Council will make a final decision at a later date.

During the debate, councillors from both sides of the political divide lined up to give reasons why it should go ahead with many citing how the convention centre boosts the trade of Harrogate’s bars and restaurants.

Cllr Aldred said if the conference centre closed Harrogate would be “a very different town”. 

He said:

“We across this chamber must not allow this to happen. We need to send a message to North Yorkshire — Harrogate wants to continue to welcome the world — and the best way to do that is to ensure the HCC gets the resources it desperately needs to be the economic beating heart of the district.”

Conservative councillor for Killinghall and Hampsthwaite, Michael Harrison, who will sit on the decision-making executive of North Yorkshire Council compared the redevelopment to the £68 million re-routing of Kex Gill but said the benefits were not as visible.

He said:

“The damage if investment was not made isn’t as immediately obvious as a road collapsing into a valley. The spending is just as vital.

“I’m confident that members of new authority get it. They understand the benefits and the damage if the HCC wasn’t supported adequately. We do understand the benefits to the town, district and county that the HCC brings.”

Both council leader Richard Cooper and opposition leader Pat Marsh also addressed councillors about why they were backing the redevelopment.

Ann Myatt, the Conservative councillor for Ouseburn, was the sole dissenting voice from either the Tories’ or the Lib Dems’ benches.

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Cllr Myatt said she “has never been convinced” that the taxpayer should foot the bill for the redevelopment and that a focus on supporting the hospitality trade could hold Harrogate back. 

She said:

“I worry by asking North Yorkshire Council to support the refurb then we’ll still have a town that’s dependent on hospitality.

“It’s also a dampener on new industries and sectors to come. I’d like to see Harrogate be a silicon town or an IT hub. We have highly skilled people living in Harrogate but they all go somewhere else to work and people living outside come to Harrogate. 

“That brings difficulties. I don’t think we’ve really thought this through. Is there anyone in the private sector who could take this on? If there were that would give me confidence this is a viable long-term business.”

Ripon councillor calls it a “bottomless pit”

Many people in Ripon have been against the conference centre ever since it was first proposed in 1976, believing the facility offers few benefits for the cathedral city.

Ripon Independent councillor for Ripon Minster, Pauline McHardy told the meeting that the convention centre was a “bottomless pit” and the redevelopment should not go ahead. 

She said:

“The conference centre will be a noose around the neck forever and people will be fed up of propping it up while other parts of the district are going short-changed.”

The motion passed by 29 to 3.

Harrogate Borough Council has a final extraordinary meeting of the council scheduled for March 22 before it is abolished after 49 years of existence on March 31.

Cost of Harrogate to Leeds rail season ticket rises to almost £2,000

The cost of an annual season target from Harrogate to Leeds has risen to almost £2,000 following the latest rail price increase.

Yesterday’s 5.9% hike was part of the largest annual fares rise in Britain since 2012.

It means Harrogate commuters must now pay £1,928 for an annual season ticket to Leeds — an increase of £107.

The news prompted Tom Gordon, the Liberal Democrat prospective parliamentary candidate for Harrogate and Knaresborough, to call for a fare freeze.

Mr Gordon said the annual season ticket price for Harrogate commuters was forecast to be £2,206 by 2027 despite reduced services compared to pre-pandemic timetables. He added:

“It is outrageous to hike rail fares in the middle of a cost of living crisis.  This Conservative government is completely out of touch.

“Ministers cannot keep turning a blind eye to these problems, especially given people are paying more for less on our rail network with fewer trains running or even on time.”

Tom Gordon

Tom Gordon at Knaresborough station

He added:

“I am calling for a fair deal for people in Harrogate and Knaresborough with an immediate fare freeze to help families struggling under the cost of living crisis this government created.”

“We should be making green forms of transport cheaper, yet this Conservative government is determined to make rail more expensive than ever before.”

The Stray Ferret asked Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, if he wished to respond to Mr Gordon’s comments but he did not reply.]

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‘Shocking’ lack of NHS dentists in Harrogate and Knaresborough raised in Parliament

A Liberal Democrat MP has raised concerns in Parliament about the “shocking” lack of NHS dentists in Harrogate and Knaresborough.

Daisy Cooper, MP for St Albans and the party’s health spokesperson, was taking part in a House of Commons debate yesterday on expanding the NHS workforce when she raised concerns about dentistry.

She said only half of children in North Yorkshire managed to see an NHS dentist last year, adding:

“In Harrogate if you are lucky enough to find an NHS dentist taking on any new patients you face a two-and-a-half year wait to see them. This is a shocking state of affairs.”

Ms Cooper called on a minister to visit the area to speak to patients and dentists to see the situation for themselves.

The issue has long been a cause for concern in Harrogate and Knaresborough. A Stray Ferret investigation carried out in March 2021 found that just two NHS dentists in the Harrogate district were accepting new patients – one in Knaresborough with a waiting time of two-and-a-half years, and one in Boroughbridge with a waiting time of three years.

Two years later, the NHS website currently lists just two practices in the district as accepting new patients, but only those under the age of 17 – one in Ripon and one in Boroughbridge. None are listed for Harrogate.

Tom Gordon, spokesperson and parliamentary candidate for the Liberal Democrats in Harrogate and Knaresborough, said:

“Patients in Harrogate and Knaresborough are facing an access crisis. Only yesterday I spoke with a family who moved to the area more than 18 months ago, they have been unable to find an NHS dentist and are now paying for private care. This is all too common; families are faced with a bill for private treatment or unacceptable waits to be seen by an NHS dentist.

“As a former health services researcher, I know how important it is that we get to grips with the dental crisis, and the impact that poor dental outcomes have on wider health & well-being.

“I am grateful to the Liberal Democrat MP Daisy Copper for raising this in Parliament and putting more pressure on ministers to act to fix this access crisis.”

The Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, Andrew Jones, was approached for comment by the Stray Ferret, but no response has yet been received.

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Harrogate and Knaresborough Lib Dems call for government to step in on energy bills

Harrogate and Knaresborough Liberal Democrats have called for the government to cancel plans for a hike in the average household energy bill from April.

The call comes as the energy price cap is set to reduce from £4,279 to £3,280, but bills are still expected to rise by £500 to an average of £3,000 a year.

The government’s own energy price guarantee is expected to be less generous and a £400 winter discount is set to end.

Local Lib Dems have called on ministers to step in and offer a new support package for businesses, leisure centres, schools and hospitals across Harrogate and Knaresborough.

Tom Gordon, the Liberal Democrat prospective parliamentary candidate for Harrogate and Knaresborough, said:

“The Conservatives’ plan to hike energy bills in April will come as a hammer blow to families in Harrogate and Knaresborough already struggling with soaring mortgages and rents, shopping bills and tax rises.

“With no plan to deal with this cost of living crisis for people or businesses, this chaotic, out-of-touch Government is instead making it much worse because they just don’t get it.

“People need real support and that’s what the Liberal Democrats are calling for. Sadly, to add insult to injury Rishi Sunak is happy for energy bosses to rake in millions of pounds in bonanza bonuses, while families struggle to put food on the table or heat their homes.”

The Lib Dems claim its plans would mean that in Harrogate and Knaresborough the average household would be £522.94 better off and would be funded by raising the rate of the windfall tax on the profits of oil and gas firms from 35% to 40%.

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Chancellor Jeremy Hunt told the BBC this month that he believed the government did not have the “headroom to make a major new initiative to help people”.

Speaking after the latest setting of the energy price cap, Jonathan Brearley, chief executive of Ofgem, said:

“Although wholesale prices have fallen, the price cap has not yet fallen below the planned level of the energy price guarantee. 

“This means, that on current policy, bills will rise again in April. I know that, for many households this news will be deeply concerning.”

The Stray Ferret approached Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, Andrew Jones, for comment.

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.

“She gave me her business card and said ‘if there is anything I can ever do, just get in touch’. At that point it’s fair to say I was slightly disengaged with politics.”

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.

“My mum is a single parent and my little sister was five. I dropped down to part-time study to go home and help.

“Mum arranged to have chemo on Friday nights so she could be ill over the weekend because she couldn’t afford to live off statutory sick pay.

“Seeing mum work a minimum wage job, trying to cover the mortgage and bills, and trying to deal with fighting cancer was an eye-opener. When people have to schedule their chemo around work, that’s not the country I want to live in.”

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?

“We are not under any illusion that as an area there are a lot of demographics in favour of the Conservative Party. But what we do know is there is a route to winning here. We have held the seat before under Phil Willis and feel we can do again.”

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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:

“There are strong views for and against it. I haven’t made up my mind yet.”

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:

“Pavement politics and grassroots activism upwards is the best of the Lib Dems and Tim epitomises that.”

It’s a style he intends to copy:

“People should expect to see someone who will be on their doorsteps, who will be at community events and leading from the front and championing Harrogate and Knaresborough and demanding better than what we’ve got from the Tories. I am energetic and dynamic and very happy to roll up my sleeves and get stuck in.”

Liberal Democrat Tom Gordon

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:

“I’m an ambitious person. I’m very driven. If I set my mind to something, I tend to achieve it.”

As for Mr Jones, the politicking has begun.

“I met him once briefly in passing at a media event. One of the things local people have said is that Andrew does like to turn up to have his photo taken where possible. They don’t tend to say much else.”

If elected, what difference would it make to local people?

“The key point will be that I’m not going to endlessly trudge through the lobbies as the government says, I’m going to be a strong voice for what local people want.

“He has a record of shame quite frankly, whether it be voting to let water companies get away with discharging sewage into rivers or voting for all sorts of horrendous policies this government has concocted over the last few years — he’s got one of the highest records of following that government whip.

“I will put the people of Harrogate and Knaresborough first — not the Tory Party.”

The first shots have been fired as the election countdown draws near.

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP says sewage criticism ‘ridiculous’

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones has described criticism of his record on sewage as “ridiculous”.

Mr Jones was one of 265 Conservative MPs who voted to stop Amendment 45 to the Environment Bill in October 2021, which would have forced water companies to reduce the amount of sewage they discharged and pay for its environmental damage.

He subsequently supported a government amendment to make water companies provide “costed plans” on how to reduce the amount of sewage.

This has led to claims, especially from the Liberal Democrats, that he and his party are allowing too much sewage to pollute rivers.

Mr Jones said on his Community News website that “the recent spate of US attack-style campaigning over sewage in water… stands the truth on its head” and needed challenging.

He said untreated sewage had been discharged into waterways when sewers were overloaded since Victorian times.

He added overflows were happening more frequently due to severe weather and more items like wet wipes being flushed down drains and the focus should be on changing this. He said:

“If we shut the overflows today sewage would have nowhere to go when sewers are overloaded and would back up into our homes. To suggest that we should do so and I should have voted for that is ridiculous.

“Do you want your sewage and that of your neighbours backing up the pipes into your home? Of course not.”

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Mr Jones said removing the overflows would cost up to £593 billion — the equivalent of closing the NHS for over three years. He added:

“These are the reasons why reducing the use of storm overflows must be part of a costed plan. The proposition that storm overflows can be closed today is just false.

“Portraying my support for this costed plan as voting to continue dumping sewage in our rivers is nonsense. It is the stuff of political game-playing and that isn’t something that interests me.”

andrew jones-mp-and-frank maguire

Mr Jones with the owner of Knaresborough Lido on the River Nidd.

Mr Jones also highlighted his campaign to have the River Nidd in Knaresborough designated as bathing water as evidence of his willingness to tackle water quality.

The Stray Ferret asked the Harrogate and Knaresborough Liberal Democrats if it wished to comment but has not had a response.

 

Harrogate district Greens call for opposition parties to co-operate more

The Harrogate and District Green Party has said last week’s Masham and Fountains by-election result highlighted the need for opposition parties to co-operate if they are to overcome the Conservatives.

Liberal Democrat Felicity Cunliffe-Lister defeated Conservative candidate Brooke Hull in a two-horse race after the Greens decided not to stand.

The result reduced the Conservative majority on North Yorkshire County Council to two.

Shan Oakes, a member of the executive of Harrogate and District Green Party, said some Conservatives “knew that if a Green had stood, the opposition vote would have been split, potentially leading to a Tory win”.

Ms Oakes said the result confirmed the suspicion and vindicated the party’s decision, adding:

“The current national Conservative policy is extremely damaging, and the first-past-the-post voting system is stacked against more progressive parties in favour of the status quo.

“It is therefore imperative, despite naysayers, for progressive parties to work smarter to ensure their candidates can win so that we can break out of the terrifying downward spiral we are in.

“The Greens look carefully at each seat to decide how to get to the best outcome, for people and the environment , and we invite other parties to cooperate.”

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The Stray Ferret asked the Liberal Democrats if it agreed the Greens’ decision not to contest Masham was a factor in its success and whether it would reciprocate by standing down in some seats to allow the Greens to go head-to-head against the Conservatives.

Liberal Democrat Matt Walker replied by saying the result showed people were angry and “now is the time for change”, adding:

“It is ultimately voters who decide who they put their faith in to deliver much needed change and the Liberal Democrats in North Yorkshire will not take that for granted.”

How will the Masham by-election defeat affect North Yorkshire Conservatives?

The Conservatives in North Yorkshire suffered a blow this week after losing the Masham and Fountains by-election.

Liberal Democrat Felicity Cunliffe-Lister, the Countess of Swinton, took the North Yorkshire County Council seat which had previously been held by long-serving Conservative Margaret Atkinson.

It’s the latest defeat for the local Tories, who failed to win a majority in Harrogate and Knaresborough in last May’s local election.

That meant the Lib Dems seized control of the county council’s Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee but the Conservatives retained overall control across the county.

But this week’s loss has reduced the Tories’ majority to just two and raised the prospect of the party losing overall control of the county for the first time in over 20 years.

A further dent in the Tories’ majority

In just eight weeks time, the upcoming North Yorkshire Council will take over local government in the county. Councillors will transfer from North Yorkshire County Council and serve for four more years.

The swing in power has been dramatic since May last year.

In Harrogate and Knaresborough, the Liberal Democrats now hold 11 seats compared to two just nine months ago following this week’s election in Masham.

How the make-up of North Yorkshire County Council looked prior to the by-election.

How the make-up of North Yorkshire County Council looked prior to the by-election.

The Masham result was particularly pertinent given that the Conservatives had won the seat in the May 2022 elections with 1,076 votes.

This week’s by-election was a two-horse race after the opposition Green Party pulled out of the contest in an effort to bolster the Lib Dems’ chances.

Overall, the Conservatives are the largest party with 46 seats on the council with opposition parties taking up 44.

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The dent in the majority means the party are just one by-election away from losing overall power.

The loss of overall control would have implications for major decisions. Should the council be required to pass a tough budget with far reaching cuts or hike in council tax, it could result in a tight vote.

The make-up of the council could also lead to close votes on politically difficult topics, such as fracking.

However, such a controversial topics may also see other councillors from different political parties vote against their own party line.

‘You can promise the earth in opposition’

While the defeat may leave the Conservatives in a tough position on paper, local councillors are upbeat about the situation.

Cllr Nick Brown, who sits as a Conservative in the Wathvale and Bishop Monkton division, told the Stray Ferret that the party respected the electorate’s decision and that Tory councillors would continue to work for constituents.

He said the Liberal Democrats would find it “difficult” to put words into action.

Cllr Brown said:

“The opposition spoke a lot and talked a lot. But putting things into action would be very difficult.

“When you are in opposition, you can promise the earth.”

He added that he hoped the result was a “blip” for the local party.

He said:

“We live in a democracy and people can put their names forward.

“The electorate has spoken, sadly not in our favour. I hope this is a little blip on the horizon.”

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats have taken the result in their stride.

Tom Gordon, Liberal Democrat candidate for Harrogate and Knaresborough parliamentary constituency, said the result “put the Tories on notice”.

He said:

“A fantastic result and win in what once was true blue North Yorkshire.

“It’s clear that the public, and the Lib Dems, are well and truly putting the Conservatives on notice in what issupposed to be their heartlands.”

Meanwhile, Green party Cllr Arnold Warneken, who represents Ouseburn division, said it was not straight forward in opposing the Conservatives despite their slim majority.

He said:

“It’s not clear cut. We have to get all the opposition on the same side and get one Conservative.

“We have also got to make sure that everyone is there.”

Cllr Warneken added that he was prepared to work with any party and was not bound by “political dogma”.

“As an opposition councillor, I will work with everybody.”

Liberal Democrats win Masham and Fountains by-election

The Conservative majority on North Yorkshire County Council has been reduced to two after Liberal Democrat Felicity Cunliffe-Lister – the Countess of Swinton – swept to victory in yesterday’s by-election for the Masham and Fountains division.

With this result, the make-up of North Yorkshire County Council – and the new North Yorkshire unitary authority that comes into being on April 1 – will see the Conservatives with 46 seats to the 44 belonging to opposition parties

The countess polled 1,349 votes in a two-horse race against Conservative candidate Brooke Hull, who received 801.

The seat became vacant after the sudden death in November of Conservative councillor Margaret Atkinson, who was appointed as the last chair of North Yorkshire County Council following the local elections in May.

At that May 2022 election, Felicity Cuncliffe-Lister stood as an Independent and polled 738 votes to finish second to Mrs Atkinson, who received 1,076 votes. The Liberal Democrat candidate Judith Hooper received 620 votes.

The Masham and Fountains division covers a large rural area that includes Kirkby Malzeard, Galphay, Grewelthorpe, Grantley, Sawley, Markington and Ripley, as well as Masham.

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Lib Dems confirm Harrogate and Knaresborough candidate for next election

The Liberal Democrats have chosen Tom Gordon as their prospective parliamentary candidate in Harrogate and Knaresborough at the next general election.

The selection was confirmed at the local party’s annual dinner last night, following a ballot of its members in January.

Mr Gordon has campaigned for the Liberal Democrats around the country and supported Judith Rogerson in Harrogate and Knaresborough at the last general election.

He works as an advisor for a national carers charity, was born and raised in Yorkshire, and previously stood for the Lib Dems in the Batley and Spen by-election in 2021.

In a statement the Lib Dems said Mr Gordon had stood up for local health services, fought for Yorkshire devolution and for better transport links across the region.   The party said he would be “running a passionate campaign to improve health services, tackle sewage and uncleanliness in our local environment and fighting for infrastructure and investment into our local services”.

Mr Gordon stood against Lib Dem Knaresborough West councillor Matt Walker in the contest.

The selection process has been lengthy for the party, having initially begun last June. It was abandoned two months later when the constituency was made a “target seat” by the national party.

Phil Willis, Lib Dem MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough from 1997 until 2010, welcomed Tom Gordon’s selection:

“Tom would make a fantastic Member of Parliament for Harrogate and Knaresborough. I have seen first hand how passionate he is about delivering change for local people across the region and know he will be a strong voice standing up for the constituency.

“Across the country, people are turning to the Liberal Democrats to oust out of touch Conservative MPs. People are fed up with being taken for granted by the Conservative party and I’ve heard this loud and clear from people across Harrogate and Knaresborough.”

Tom Gordon said:

“I am truly honoured to have been selected as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Harrogate and Knaresborough. As your next MP, I will fight tirelessly to give local people a strong voice, both here and in Westminster.

“This is a beautiful and iconic part of the country with a strong sense of community. We need an independent voice who will listen to concerns and stand up for local people.

“People tell me our area deserves a fair deal. I’ll be the candidate that champions our area, standing up for local health services, tackling sewage in our rivers and demanding action on the cost of living crisis.

“Residents in our area deserve better than chaos and incompetence that we see in Westminster at the moment. At the next election here, it will be a choice between four more years of a Conservative government taking them for granted or a Liberal Democrat MP being your local champion.”

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The Green Party is the only other party to have announced its PPC for Harrogate and Knaresborough.

Paul Ko Ferrigno has lived in Harrogate since 2007 and is involved in several community football teams as well as being a governor at Oatlands Junior School.

Meanwhile, the local Labour party has been going through the national selection procedure to find its candidate.

The Conservatives have not yet confirmed whether current MP Andrew Jones will stand to be elected in the constituency for the fifth time since 2010.

There has been no word on candidates for parties in Skipton and Ripon, where Julian Smith has been the Conservative MP since 2010.

The Selby and Ainsty Conservative MP, Nigel Adams, has already announced he will stand down at the next election.

His seat looks likely to be broken up in the constituency shake-up being carried out by the Boundary Commission, though this will not be confirmed until later in the year.

A general election must be held by January 24, 2025, at the latest.