Wakefield by-election: Yorkshire Party selects David Herdson

Yorkshire Party candidate David Herdson lives in Crigglestone, Wakefield

A former Conservative councillor has been selected by The Yorkshire Party as its candidate in the forthcoming Wakefield by-election.

David Herdson quit the Conservatives in 2019 in protest at Boris Johnson's policies, in particular over Brexit.

Mr Herdson, who lives in Wakefield, later joined the Yorkshire Party, saying it had an "ambitious vision".

The by-election follows the resignation of Imran Ahmad Khan, who was convicted in April of a sexual assault.

Commenting on his selection, Mr Herdson said both Labour and the Conservatives were London-based parties which had let down Wakefield over the years.

Mr Herdson, who lives in Crigglestone, added that Yorkshire was "ignored by Westminster".

He said: "We miss out on funding and initiatives in education and transport.

"It would be far better if we got our fair share up-front and had the power to decide what to do with it through a Yorkshire regional parliament, in the same way Scotland does."

The Wakefield seat is seen as a key target for Labour, which had held it for more than 87 years before Khan won it for the Conservatives in 2019 with a majority of 3,358.

Khan was found guilty last month of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy at a party in 2008, and was jailed for 18 months.

Earlier this month, Labour selected Simon Lightwood to contest the Wakefield seat, and Nadeem Ahmed, who has been a councillor in the city since 2006, will stand for the Conservatives.