With climate change and biodiversity loss a key concern for voters in the upcoming General Election, Huddersfield Friends of the Earth has undertaken a survey of candidates in the Batley & Spen, Colne Valley, Dewsbury and Huddersfield constituencies.

Amongst other things the survey asked local candidates to take Friends of the Earth pledge to make the climate crisis a deal-breaker in how they would vote in parliament if elected.

Eleven prospective parliamentary candidates in the local area have signed the Climate Action Pledge, from a wide range of political parties:

Batley & Spen

• Ty Akram (Green Party
• Tracy Brabin (Labour Party)
• Clive Minehan (Brexit Party)

Colne Valley

• Thelma Walker (Labour Party)

Dewsbury

• Simon Cope (Green Party)
• John Rossington (Liberal Democrats)
• Paula Sherriff (Labour Party)

Huddersfield

• Andrew Cooper (Green Party)
• Ken Davy (Conservative  Party)
• Barry Sheerman (Labour & Cooperative Party)
• James Wilkinson (Liberal Democrats)

The pledges have been collected by Friends of the as part of its campaign for all candidates to make the climate crisis central to how they vote in parliament, and to support measures to rapidly cut greenhouse gas emissions, if elected.

The public can use Friends of the Earth’s postcode look-up tool to see see who’s standing for election in their constituency and whether they’ve taken the pledge here.

Lesley Hawthorn, co-coordinator of Huddersfield Friends of the Earth, said:

“The climate and ecological crisis must be at the top of next government’s agenda. The public wants climate action and it’s encouraging to see so many parliamentary candidates paying attention, but we need them all to take the climate crisis seriously. We’re calling on all parliamentary candidates to make the climate crisis a deal breaker in how they would vote in parliament, if elected.

“The climate crisis is having dire impacts around the world, including on communities right here in the UK who are facing extreme flooding, heatwaves, wildfires and more. This will only get worse if the next government doesn’t step up to stop further climate breakdown. It’s time for decision-makers to show proper climate leadership and put in place the clear and achievable solutions to build a greener, fairer world.”

The pledge, which is available online for any parliamentary candidate to take, reads as below.

If elected, I pledge to:

• Make the climate crisis a deal-breaker in how I vote in parliament.
• Vote to support measures that help us rapidly cut greenhouse gas emissions and build a fairer and greener society.

Huddersfield Friends of the Earth also quizzed local candidates on a range of issues from banning fracking to stopping airport expansion. You can see candidates’ full responses on Huddersfield Friends of the Earth’s website.

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