Labour candidate highlights Ripon's business needs as election race is predicted to be tightest ever in the city

Recent predictions by Electoral Calculus, based on nationwide polls and demographic data, show a 59% likelihood of a Labour win in Skipton and Ripon, with a 34.2% vote share compared to the Conservatives’ 29.4%.

The party has never come close to winning the seat in the past but some are predicting a shock result.

In 2015, Labour finished second with a 17.4% vote share behind the Conservative Party’s Julian Smith, who has held the constituency since 2010.

Labour Party candidate Malcolm Birks, a 48-year-old architect who lives in Skipton with his wife and two children, says poll predictions mean nothing.

Instead, he said, he is more keen to throw a spotlight on the issues that really matter to business in the city and the wider constituency.

Reacting to a new survey conducted on behalf of the Skipton and Ripon Labour Party, Mr Birks said the top three biggest issues facing local businesses ere cost of living (customers spending less); business rates; and the ability to hire and retain staff.

But, anecdotally, he added, he was hearing a lot of complaints about AirBnB rentals taking affordable housing out of the hands of locals or young people who wanted to move to the area for work.

“Airbnbs came up in Ripon at the hustings last week,,” Mr Birks said, “alongside the fact that we don’t have enough local further education establishments, decent childcare or reliable public transport to ensure our young people can stay here, train and get a good job and decent accommodation.

"If elected as Skipton and Ripon’s first Labour MP, I will look at the planning controls in relation to Airbnb rentals."

Business rates were named by more than half of respondents (55 per cent) as being in the top three most pressing issues currently facing their business.

The same amount also pointed to the cost of living and customers spending less.

Brexit was named by 27 per cent as a top three issue, crime and anti-social behaviour by 23 per cent and climate change by 11 per cent of respondents.

Mr Birks, who is on the road meeting business owners in person in the run-up to the General Election on July 4, said Labour was determined to tackle issues on the ground in a practical way.

"I know retail businesses - in particular in Ripon, Masham and Pateley Bridge - have reported an increase in shoplifting.

"This is the result of Conservatives slashing police budgets by 18 per cent, leading to local police stations reducing in size or closing and their shortsighted decision to not pursue shoplifters taking goods under the value of £200,

"Some don’t even even bother reporting shoplifting these days.

"Labour will change this, ending the £200 limit, cracking down on antisocial behaviour with new Respect Orders powers to ban persistent adult offenders from town centres and putting 13,000 more police on the streets.”

"Construction projects can’t get enough local workers in Ripon so they are bringing them in from Teesside and other areas.

"If I am elected, I will be looking at what we can do to improve the creation and retention of key skills in our area and make it more appealing for school leavers to stay.”

General Election, July 4, 2024

Skipton and Ripon: The candidates

Julian Smith, Conservative and Unionist Party

Malcolm Birks, Labour

Andy Brown, Green Party

Simon Garvey, Reform UK

Ryan Kett, Yorkshire Party

Andrew Murday, Liberal Democrats

Guy Phoenix, Heritage Party

Keith Tordoff, Independent