Westminster is not the answer: Westminster is the problem.

Full statement

The state of Britain today is a result of an excessive concentration of power in London, with ministers and civil servants trying to micro-manage far too much from far too far away, and inevitably doing it badly. Some of what they try to do they should not be doing at all - the planning regime needs taking an axe to, for example, to end its stifling effects, get the country building and to enable towns and cities to regenerate and grow. But much else that does need doing by the state should be done closer to the people it affects.

That's why I'm standing for the Yorkshire Party. I want Yorkshire to benefit from the assured funding and devolved powers that Scotland has. I want Yorkshire to have the strong voice within the UK, to be able to lobby its case, to Westminster but also to the outside world, and to get the funding it needs to improve its public services, to develop a thriving economy and to build the connectivity within our region and beyond it.

I currently live in Crigglestone with my wife and son, who attends his local state school. I work in IT for a building society. I've previously served as a local councillor, a school governor and as an unpaid director of a social housing trust, and currently help coach Under 7s rugby.

The Yorkshire Party wants a stronger Yorkshire in a fairer United Kingdom. We want an end to the English regions being dictated to from London and taken for granted by the status quo parties. We want nothing more than the opportunity for equality and to realise Yorkshire's potential, which is huge.

Please vote for me, and for Yorkshire, on July 4.