Lib Dems announce candidate for West Yorkshire mayor

Stewart Golton has been a Leeds city councillor for 20 years

A long-standing city councillor has been named as the Liberal Democrat candidate in the first West Yorkshire mayoral election.

Stewart Golton has been selected to contest the election which is scheduled for May 2021.

Mr Golton has been a councillor in Leeds for 20 years and currently leads the Lib Dem group on the authority.

Former Coronation Street star Tracy Brabin was announced as the Labour candidate last week.

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Mr Golton told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "It's a shame that the Conservative Government and the Labour leaders of West Yorkshire have failed to deliver true devolution for Yorkshire.

"Local people are understandably worried that the new mayor could become a costly, bureaucratic nightmare that charges local people higher taxes and fails to deliver the change we all want.

"I'm determined to stop that. At the moment all five West Yorkshire Councils are run by Labour.

"We're asking people to support us, so the mayoralty doesn't become a Labour stitch-up."

He said he was keen to promote active travel in the region and planned to invest in walking and cycling routes.

The Conservatives have yet to announce their candidate, while the Green Party's candidate is Andrew Cooper and The Yorkshire Party's is Bob Buxton.

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