HERE are the candidates standing in the general election for the Skipton and Ripon constituency, including some submitted information about themselves.

The election is taking place on December 12 and the nominations for candidates to contest the seat, formerly held by Conservative Julian Smith, closed at 4pm today.

Conservative Party. Julian Smith
Julian Smith was first elected as MP for Skipton & Ripon in 2010.

Since joining parliament, he has focused on rural issues, education, business and international development concerns. He has campaigned hard for a fairer funding formula for rural schools and for improvements in the way the Trans-Pennine route is configured. He has also been closely involved in bringing the Tour de France Grand Depart to the UK.

In May 2015 Mr Smith joined the government in the whips’ office and in July 2016 he was promoted to the position of government whip and vice chamberlain of HM Household. Following the 2017 General Election, he was government deputy chief whip, and from November 2017 until July 2019, served as government chief whip.

In July 2019, Mr Smith was appointed Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
Prior to becoming an MP, he had a successful career as an entrepreneur. In 1999, he set up Arq International, a leader in its field of executive recruiting, based in London and Singapore and working across Europe, Asia and the United States.

He grew up in Stirling in Scotland, and read history and English at the University of Birmingham. He was previously educated at a local comprehensive and he received a sixth form bursary to Millfield School, Somerset.

Labour Party. Brian McDaid
Brian McDaid, a Gargrave resident, has lived in the constituency for 15 years. He said: “I am privileged and honoured to be selected as the Labour Candidate for this wonderful constituency.

"This has been described as a once in a lifetime election during some challenging times, where many people understandably have lost trust and respect for today's politicians, so it's time for change.

"I am standing as I, like many, are fed-up with the years of Tory austerity and I cannot stand-by and allow it to continue. I cannot let all those who work for our public services work in continuous under-resourced conditions and I cannot let other families suffer from continual funding cuts to our vital services.

"I cannot stand by and see our communities divided, insisting each other are to blame for where we find ourselves as a society, when that blame is not around us, but above us.
"I will be a candidate who is open, honest and available to all, commit myself to my community at a local level and hope to be their voice nationally.

"I may not be the most experienced in the world of politics, but I know I have the experiences of life that will allow me the opportunity to improve society based upon the values of Labour.”

Liberal Democrats. Andrew Murday
Andrew Murday welcomes this chance to show that Skipton and Ripon rejects the Government’s damaging Brexit plans. He said: "Our opposition to Brexit will obviously be a big part of our campaign but we also have detailed policies on all those major issues which face the country and which have been drowned out by the Brexit debate."

Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords and Skipton and Ripon constituency party member Dick Newby said: "Andrew is highly respected, both for his professional work and as a member of the local community. I am delighted that he will be the Lib Dem standard-bearer in Skipton and Ripon."

Mr Murday was chosen as their Prospective Parliamentary Candidate almost a year ago. Since then, he and his team have been developing detailed plans for a general election and now the time has come they are ready to go.
A cardiac surgeon by profession, he now runs a smallholding near Glasshouses, in Nidderdale.  

Green Party. Andy Brown
Andy Brown is rooted in the local community having lived in the constituency for 25 years. In 2016 he became the first Green Party District Councillor in Craven and at the last General Election 3,734 people voted for him and he finished third.

He is a retired further education lecturer and then manager and was Director of Hillsborough College in Sheffield and Director of Young People's Learning for Yorkshire and the Humber. He writes regularly for the Yorkshire Post on nature and on bee keeping and has written for the Independent, the Guardian and Northern Life.

He has been an active local campaigner on housing issues fighting to ensure building is for need and to protect the wonderful local countryside against endless new housing estates of large executive homes that are unaffordable for most local people.

During the Referendum Mr Brown campaigned to stay in a heavily reformed EU arguing that we’d end up facing a damaging exit without a deal or get landed with taking all the rules without making any of them.

He now wants to give voters a chance to express their opinion on the actual deal as, so far, we have only voted on promises.

He believes the biggest issue we face right now is how to change the way we produce, distribute, consume and waste so that we can put Britain at the forefront of the next wave of low carbon technology and enable us all to change to more sustainable less pressured lifestyles.

Yorkshire Party. Jack Render
"I’ve lived and worked in Ripon my whole life and I stood in both the 2017 General Election and last local elections. 

"I am 21 years old and wish to bring in new life to Parliament. The past few years have showed us that Westminster isn’t working. We can't carry on like this and change is needed. However, this change is not happening through the old Westminster parties and Yorkshire deserves better. 

"I am standing to change that as well as bring new ideas and life to a dying system while also making sure the cares and concerns of the constituents are looked after. 

"For three years all that has been talked about is Brexit which has meant our key services, such as the NHS and policing have been left by the wayside. I want to put more money into the NHS, and make sure our hospitals, such as Airedale General Hospital, get the resources they desperately need. 

"My focus in this campaign will be on public services and making sure they can provide the best possible care for our area. This would be focusing on the NHS, especially mental health care as well as policing."