West Yorkshire mayor candidate: Bob Buxton

Bob Buxton is one of six candidates campaigning to be Mayor of West Yorkshire

Box Buxton has lived in West Yorkshire for 27 years and worked in Leeds, Wakefield and Shipley.

He teaches engineering apprentices in Bradford and lives in Rawdon.

The Yorkshire Party candidate said education and engineering had always been a "passion" and he wanted to bring his experience and expertise to the role of mayor.

A Yorkshire Parliament is his priority

Mr Buxton said his first priority would be to secure a regional parliament for Yorkshire and guaranteed fair funding from government.

He said he would engage with the government and opposition parties to secure a deal and give Yorkshire "the future it deserves".

The candidate believes improved funding and power would help deliver economic success and enable improvements in health and policing.

Quicker journeys will help the regional economy, he says

Mr Buxton said he would use his engineering experience to deliver a West Yorkshire Metro, with elevated and underground sections to cut the worst congestion.

He said that would deliver "quicker journeys, reduce air pollution and help our economy prosper".

The candidate also wants to introduce a Yorkshire Pass to access all forms of public transport.

It would, he said, "deliver the best deals with no need for advanced bookings, no peak-time hikes and no cross-border penalties".

He wants to cut crime and improve scrutiny of police

The candidate said he wanted to prioritise crime prevention and detection.

He said he would build public trust by ensuring policing was measured by results, with proper scrutiny and accountability to the public.

Mr Buxton believes a better society might be achieved by improving links between policing and the community, and also with more youth centres, inter-community events and co-operation.

He would also fight for funding for more front line officers and cut waste.

A new college for a new green workforce is his aim

Mr Buxton said he believes there are "huge economic benefits associated with green technology".

"The green industrial revolution will play a huge part in our future prosperity," he added.

The candidate said during his teaching career he had written educational courses on renewables, science and engineering.

He said he would use the mayor's skills budget to create new specialist green technology college to build a green workforce and would also create colleges to fill skills gaps in health, social care and digital industries.

In his own words