TWO more candidates have been revealed for the new Wetherby and Easingwold constituency just outside York.

The Green Party has announced Wetherby resident Anna Jacobs, a former lawyer with a background in civil liberties and road traffic collision cases.

The Liberal Democrats have selected James Monaghan of Knaresborough to fight the new constituency, which includes Boroughbridge, Tadcaster, as well as Wetherby and Easingwold.

Anna, a mum-of-two, is a volunteer in a local charity shop and has also worked as a case worker for a refugee support organisation.

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She said: “I want to be a part of the change to make our Wetherby and Easingwold a better place. We are so lucky to live in beautiful surroundings, but that doesn’t mean that it is without its problems or cannot be improved.

“I want to use my skills to properly represent residents, to really listen and help individuals to take action and make a difference to the quality of lives. That would be a privilege.”

Her priorities for the constituency are improving Public Transport and Road Safety, including Active Travel initiatives and Accessibility Improvements.

Nationally, Anna supports renationalising public transport and water companies, retrofitting of old hard-to-heat properties, and a Wealth Tax on the super-rich to fund social policies and support struggling families.

This May Anna stood for election to Leeds City Council, in Wetherby coming second to the Conservatives with 37%, with Labour polling only 9.7%.

Anna concludes “Green policies marry social justice with environmental justice, always putting people before profit. On top of that, elected Greens are never told how to vote, so unlike the other parties standing in Wetherby & Easingwold, I am free to speak out and take action in the best interests of local people, putting our constituency first.”

York Press: The new constituency.

Liberal Democrat James Monaghan is a director of a local finance company and former chairman of Knaresborough Civic Society.

The dad-of-two is a former Leeds City Councillor and Knaresborough Town Councillor who also chaired the Leeds Climate Change Partnership.  He has been a member of and campaigned for the Liberal Democrats for 20 years.

Despite current polling suggesting a Conservative win, with Labour second, James  believes that as a brand-new constituency, the Tories can be challenged. His local campaign issues are the NHS, dental services and the cost-of-living.

He said: “James said “In all my campaigning I have never known voters so disillusioned with the Conservative Party. They have broken our NHS, caused a cost of living crisis, and failed to tackle sewage dumping in our waterways.”

James added: “Labour supporters I have spoken to are uninspired by Keir Starmer and so there is a great opportunity for the Liberal Democrats to stand out with our message of a fair deal for all.”

The other candidates are John Hall (Yorkshire Party), Michael Jordan (Reform UK), and Sir Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative).