Summary

  • Candidates from across West Yorkshire have taken part in a debate, discussing key issues ahead of the general election

  • The debate was hosted by BBC Yorkshire's Political Editor James Vincent live from Leeds

  • Ahead of the election on 4 July, you can use our tool to find out who is standing as a candidate in your area and to which polling station you can go to vote

Media caption,

West Yorkshire Debate

  1. Watch: Click above to watch the debate in fullpublished at 12:10 British Summer Time 26 June

    Thank you for joining us for our live coverage of today's debate.

    If you missed it and would like to hear what the candidates had to say you can click above to watch it in full.

    We will also be bringing you analysis of the debate from BBC Yorkshire's political reporters Gemma Dillon and Aisha Iqbal later.

  2. The candidates taking part in the debate (in alphabetical order)published at 11:00 British Summer Time 26 June

    David Herdson

    David Herdson - Yorkshire Party - Ossett and Denby Dale

    David Herdson is the deputy chair of the Yorkshire Party.

    He works in IT and is a former councillor and school governor who lives with his wife and son in Crigglestone, near Wakefield.

    Katharine Macy

    Katharine Macy - Liberal Democrat - Colne Valley

    Katharine Macy is the secretary of the Young Lib Dems and is currently studying for a PhD on autism in evolution.

    They joined the party in 2017 and currently work for Lib Dem HQ part time in the campaigns team and have an interest in diversity, heritage and education.

    Katie White

    Katie White - Labour - Leeds North West

    Katie White was born and raised in Adel, in Leeds. After graduating from university she went on to work for Friends of the Earth and WWF-UK.

    If elected she would be only the third female to have represented a parliamentary seat in Leeds, after Alice Bacon and Rachel Reeves.

    Martin Hey

    Martin Hey - Green Party – Halifax

    Martin Hey became the Green Party’s first councillor in Calderdale after being elected in 2022 to represent the Northowram and Shelf.

    Born in Ovenden he now lives in Northowram and works as an accountant.

    Sam Firth

    Sam Firth - Conservatives - Leeds East

    Sam Firth is a Conservative councillor for the Harewood ward in Leeds. He was first elected in 2018.

    He is a former family carer and works closely with community groups and partner organisations supporting local vulnerable residents.

    Sarah Wood

    Sarah Wood - Reform UK - Spen Valley

    Sarah Wood was born in Halifax and has spent the past 21 years working as a chartered engineer.

    She previously stood for the Brexit Party in Halifax in the 2019 general election.

  3. What can we expect from West Yorkshire in the election?published at 10:34 British Summer Time 26 June

    Gemma Dillon
    Political Reporter

    Around 2.8 million people live across West Yorkshire, in Leeds, Bradford, Kirklees, Wakefield and Calderdale.

    They are represented by 22 MPs at Westminster - including the Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper.

    In recent general elections West Yorkshire has been seen as a key battle ground, with David Cameron and Theresa May choosing to launch their manifestos here. Boris Johnson also chose to make key policy pledges in the county and some of the parties' big hitters have been dispatched to try to win voters over in the past.

    The Colne Valley and Keighley and Ilkley seats are often described as ‘bell-weather’ seats as they tend to return a representative of the same party that ends up forming the government.

    At a local level, politically West Yorkshire is represented by one Labour Mayor and four Labour-run councils. While Labour lost overall control of Kirklees council in May’s local elections they do remain the largest party.

    Issues likely to come up during today’s debate include immigration, the NHS and social care and trust in politicians.

    Today's debate will be hosted by BBC Yorkshire political Editor James Vincent.

  4. Welcome to our live coverage of the debatepublished at 10:13 British Summer Time 26 June

    Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of today's West Yorkshire election debate.

    Join us from 11:00 BST to hear from candidates standing across the region on behalf of the Conservatives, Green Party, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Reform UK and the Yorkshire Party.