One of Harrogate's best-known figures in Green politics is to run at the General Election against Tory MP Andrew Jones

The Harrogate and District Green Party announced the unanimous election of Shan Oakes as its Parliamentary Candidate hailing her “wealth of experience defending not only nature but also those less fortunate."

Currently a councillor on Knaresborough Town and Scriven Parish councils, Shan last stood as a candidate in the General Election in 2015 when she won 4.4% of the votes (2,351).

Shan said: “I'm delighted that Green Party members have confidence in me to stand as their candidate.

"I'm passionate about rescuing nature from the onslaught it is suffering at the hands of humanity.

"We are currently in the grip of profit-driven short-sighted political ideology.

"In our district, we can see it exemplified in a swathe of inappropriate housebuilding.

"The filthy state of our rivers is another example, and the desperate state of our hospital buildings and other public services is another.

"We need to wake up and insist on a different kind of politics.”

Shan, who studied Sustainability at London South Bank, was formerly second on the list for Yorkshire and Humber Green Party European candidates.

Standing against Tory MP Andrew Jones, Shan is an executive member of Harrogate and District Green Party and former project manager at Earth Charter in Business.

2019 General Election result: Harrogate and Knaresborough

Andrew Jones, Conservative, 29,962 votes

Judith Rogerson, Liberal Democrat, 20,287 votes

Mark Sewards, Labour, 5,480 votes

Kieron George, The Yorkshire Party, 1,208 votes