VOTERS are going to the polls on Thursday, December 12, to vote in the general election.

The candidates for Thirsk and Malton Constituency are: Martin Brampton, The Green Party; John Hall, Yorkshire Party; Kevin Hollinrake, The Conservative Party; Gordon Johnson, Independent; Di Keal, Liberal Democrats; Michael Taylor, SDP; and David Charles Yellen, Labour Party.

We contacted all the candidates to ask them to provide profiles for the Gazette & Herald.

Here is what we received from the candidates.

Green Party - Martin Brampton

The Green Party offers practical policies for a healthier society. Fairer taxation, robust public services, good housing, genuine localism. But above all, Greens recognise the threats to our environment. We are committed to make the big, practical steps that are needed to deal with them. Most obvious is the climate crisis. We cannot afford to drag our feet, faced with potential disaster. We must rapidly develop new energy sources such as wind, solar, tidal, geothermal. New housing has to be energy efficient, old housing needs upgrades. Transport must be revolutionised. Agriculture has to change. Just as important, our world is threatened with ever increasing pollution. Plastic is a particular problem, not just the obvious items, but tiny particles of plastic are being found everywhere. And we are threatening the future of insects, birds and mammals. Tinkering is not good enough, let’s go Green. We owe it to future generations.

Yorkshire Party - John Hall

I believe this region would be a beneficiary of our fair funding policies. This part of Yorkshire is where I lived for 25 years, with happy memories of my children growing up here. Now retired from business, I am an executive member of the Yorkshire Party and party treasurer. Brexit is not the only consideration when voting. It’s time to consider how a responsible government would take steps to unlock the great potential Yorkshire has. The Yorkshire Party was formed to secure fair funding for Yorkshire, as the disparity is alarming. Between 2012-17 London received £25bn for rail investment. Yorkshire received 3.38bn, hence our trains are totally unreliable. Education - Yorkshire pupils receive around £1,000 less per pupil per academic year, resulting in poorer grades. There is a similar disparity with flood defence and health. Regional funding is essential through devolution and the Yorkshire Party is the only party fighting for Yorkshire.

Conservative - Kevin Hollinrake

As a local businessman, my election as your MP in 2015 was a huge privilege. I would like to see the world become a fairer place, with equal opportunity for all whether you live in the North or South, a city or a rural area. First, however, we must honour our promise and deliver Brexit. I have worked hard to deliver on my promises, securing extra monies for schools and social care, improved mobile phone coverage via the new Shared Rural Network and fighting for justice and compensation for small and medium-sized businesses mistreated by their bank. I also successfully introduced two new Acts of Parliament; Guardianship, also known as Claudia’s Law, will allow loved ones to manage the affairs of a missing person and the Parental Bereavement Act requires employers to offer paid holiday for bereaved parents. I will continue to fight for a better deal for Thirsk and Malton and the North.

The People’s Party - Gordon Johnson

As the first and oldest candidate for Filey, I wish to thank all the people who have persuaded me to stand as a candidate and form The People’s Party. We have all noted the areas of high spending by the various Members of Parliament using the people’s money with little or no benefit for the actual people these politicians are supposed to be representing. I have spent a considerable time assessing the country’s present situation and the Government’s procedures over the years which are based on the Magna Carta and which have been in force since the reign of Henry III whereby the rich could get richer but the poor could only get poorer. I am not associated with manifestos and lies which seem to control the other political parties. I am a voice for The People and will do my utmost to give The People a voice in Parliament.

Liberal Democrat candidate - Di Keal

Elections are about more than a party – they are about a person and this person is the only candidate with decades of service to our community now standing for the privilege of representing you in parliament. Action on climate change, traffic congestion, flood defences, saving our bowls club - when it matters most, I’ve a track record of being in your corner when others are nowhere to be seen. It’s not all about Brexit, but don’t buy the oven-ready deal cooked up by Boris Johnson – it’s a complete turkey - stuffing: environmental protection, workers’ rights and jobs. It won’t get Brexit done. That’s fiction. Fence-sitting Corbyn intends to negotiate his own Brexit. Labour is a Brexit party. The Lib Dems will fight climate change – ban fracking and invest a £50 billion Remain bonus in properly funding our NHS, schools and social care. Don’t get done by Brexit. Vote Liberal Democrat.

Independent - Steve Mullins

Steve worked as a manager in the food industry, catering and service businesses before becoming an independent business advisor in 1988, picking up a few awards on the way. He is now retired and appalled at the way the country is being run – to the point where he has come out of retirement to try to shake things up in a way that is right for our Constituency, not obedient to a distant party machine based somewhere in London. Key local issues for him are: to get transport working properly, a fairer share of funding, support and advice for enterprise and agriculture, top-flight education and training, to finally can fracking, ensure adequate health care for all, and to leave Europe. A challenging legacy of neglect that needs to be put right in order to improve quality of life in Thirsk and Malton.

Labour Party - David Yellen

David has lived and worked in the Constituency for over 30 years and has been an active member of the local Labour Party being its chair for the last three years. The main issues he will be campaigning on are: affordable social housing, the establishing of high quality jobs in the area so that our young people are not attracted away, essential public services being brought back into public ownership, the funding of Social Care services for our elderly, vulnerable adults and children with special needs and the full funding and safeguarding of our NHS. David said: “The creeping acceptance of growing poverty amongst us must stop simply by us refusing to accept that in some way it’s inevitable; it’s not. The resources are there to make a difference just insist by voting Labour that our wealth is targeted at the many and not just the few.”