Yorkshire First Select General Election Candidate For Beverley And Holderness

Local business man and Hornsea Councillor, Lee Walton, is the latest candidate to be selected by new party Yorkshire First as a prospective parliamentary candidate.

Lee Walton will stand for Yorkshire First in May’s General Election in the Beverley and Holderness seat.

Lee Walton has been a Hornsea town councillor since his co-option in 2013. He will be one of up to 20 Yorkshire First candidates standing across the county in the General Election, with many more in the local elections which fall on the same day.

Founded in April last year, the party wants a stronger voice for Yorkshire with similar powers to Scotland. The party’s aim is for ‘home rule’ not independence.

Lee said after his selection:

“There is no reason why Yorkshire should not have first rate devolution like the Scots. After all Yorkshire has a slightly bigger population than them, but no unified voice. Too many decisions in this country are taken in Whitehall. That has to change.

“We want to create a vibrant Yorkshire that works for us and helps to build a stronger United Kingdom. I also want to see more powers devolved to communities like Hornsea and Beverley so they may take decisions on what works best for them.

“The distrust of Westminster parties and politicians is now widespread. Yorkshire First has a code of conduct and no ‘party whip’. We aim to put our constituents before party interest and do our politics differently.”

The party’s manifesto (Our Voice, Our Yorkshire) was launched last Wednesday in York. It sets out how Yorkshire could benefit from real power and decision making at a regional level.

Leader of Yorkshire First, Richard Carter, welcomed Lee’s selection commenting:

“It’s great Lee has agreed to be our candidate in Beverley and Holderness. With his broad experience I’m please we can add Lee to our growing list of candidates wanting positive and progressive change for Yorkshire and its communities.

“For too long there has been no effective choice for people in great swathes of Yorkshire and Beverley and Holderness is no different. We want people to have that choice and have a chance to influence the outcome of the most unpredictable election in decades.

“We support decisions being made based, not on whether they are left or right wing, but on how they affect Yorkshire, its people, environment and economy.