For the General Election 2019 we sent out a survey to all political candidates in the Huddersfield, Colne Valley, Dewsbury and Batley & Spen constituencies on a few key climate and biodiversity issues. The results of the surveys will be shared with the press and social media.

Among other things, we asked candidates to support Friends of the Earth’s Climate Actuion Pledge: “I’ll make the climate crisis a deal-breaker in how I vote in Parliament. I’ll vote to support measures that help us rapidly cut greenhouse gas emissions and build a fairer and greener society.”

The survey is now closed. Please email huddersfieldfoe@yahoo.co.uk if you want to add anything.

Below  are the responses we had received by our deadline on Sunday 8 December:

Friends of the Earth has also undertaken an analysis of party manifestos (and any additional pledges they’ve made during the campaign) to see how they score on tackling the climate and ecological emergency. https://friendsoftheearth.uk/general-election/general-election-2019-manifestos-final-scores

Batley & Spen Constiuency

Ty Akram (Green Party)

• Climate pledge YES
• Do you support calls for the West Yorkshire Pension Fund to divest from fossil fuels? YES
• If elected, would you oppose airport expansion at Heathrow and elsewhere? YES
• If elected, would you support a permanent ban on fracking in England? YES
• If elected, would you support ending the sale of new petrol and diesel cars within the decade? YES
• If elected, would you support calls to double tree cover in the UK? YES

Tracy Brabin (Labour)

• Climate pledge YES
• Do you support calls for the West Yorkshire Pension Fund to divest from fossil fuels? YES
• If elected, would you oppose airport expansion at Heathrow and elsewhere? NO
  
• If elected, would you support a permanent ban on fracking in England? YES
• If elected, would you support ending the sale of new petrol and diesel cars within the decade? YES
• If elected, would you support calls to double tree cover in the UK? YES

Clive Minehan (Brexit)

• Climate pledge YES

Colne Valley Constiuency

Thelma Walker (Labour Party)

• Climate pledge YES
• Do you support calls for the West Yorkshire Pension Fund to divest from fossil fuels? YES
• If elected, would you oppose airport expansion at Heathrow and elsewhere? YES
• If elected, would you support a permanent ban on fracking in England? YES
• If elected, would you support ending the sale of new petrol and diesel cars within the decade? YES
• If elected, would you support calls to double tree cover in the UK? YES

Dewsbury

Simon Cope (Green Party)

• Climate pledge YES

John Rossington (Liberal Democrats)

• Climate pledge YES

Paula Sherriff (Labour Party)

• Climate pledge YES

Huddersfield Constituency

Andrew Cooper (Green Party)

• Climate pledge YES
• Do you support calls for the West Yorkshire Pension Fund to divest from fossil fuels? YES
• If elected, would you oppose airport expansion at Heathrow and elsewhere? YES
• If elected, would you support a permanent ban on fracking in England? YES
• If elected, would you support ending the sale of new petrol and diesel cars within the decade? YES
• If elected, would you support calls to double tree cover in the UK? YES

Ken Davy (Conervative  Party)

• Climate pledge YES
• Do you support calls for the West Yorkshire Pension Fund to divest from fossil fuels? All trustees should consider divesting their funds of unethical investments
• If elected, would you oppose airport expansion at Heathrow and elsewhere? Heathrow definitely, impossible to say regards elsewhere
• If elected, would you support a permanent ban on fracking in England? More research needed
• If elected, would you support ending the sale of new petrol and diesel cars within the decade? YES
• If elected, would you support calls to double tree cover in the UK? YES

Barry Sheerman (Labour & Cooperative Party)

• Climate pledge YES
• Do you support calls for the West Yorkshire Pension Fund to divest from fossil fuels? YES
• If elected, would you oppose airport expansion at Heathrow and elsewhere? Not answered
  
• If elected, would you support a permanent ban on fracking in England? YES
• If elected, would you support ending the sale of new petrol and diesel cars within the decade? YES
• If elected, would you support calls to double tree cover in the UK? YES

James Wilkinson (Liberal Democrats)

• Climate pledge YES
• Do you support calls for the West Yorkshire Pension Fund to divest from fossil fuels? YES
• If elected, would you oppose airport expansion at Heathrow and elsewhere? YES
• If elected, would you support a permanent ban on fracking in England? YES
• If elected, would you support ending the sale of new petrol and diesel cars within the decade? YES
• If elected, would you support calls to double tree cover in the UK? YES