Keith Tordoff MBE is standing as the independent candidate for Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, with elections on 2 May 2024
Keith says he has watched the Wellingborough and Kingswood by-elections with a great deal of interest, and how it may relate to North Yorkshire.
From 2019 to 2024, the turnout has dropped for both of them. Both seats have now been taken by Labour.
Keith Tordoff said:
Let’s not get misled by any one party by saying that this is a good result for anyone. Labour have termed it a stunning victory in Wellingborough, but although they won the seat, their votes this time compared to 2019, have dropped by about 1/3rd.
This isn’t a ringing endorsement for any political party, it more shows a disillusionment with what politics is doing for the country. When voter turn-outs drop by nearly a half, then there is something very wrong with people’s views on the main parties.
Even the local Conservative Mayoral candidate, Keane Duncan, rarely wants to mention that he is a Conservative. This is something that we have seen before though in politics, with national politics dragging down local politics. We also saw it in the latter days of Nick Clegg, and the Libdems, when local campaigners didn’t want him to visit them.
This is why I am standing as an independent, without an affiliation to a political party.
People are done with politics, and some areas just need to be for the people. Of course Westminster is in turmoil, and that needs to change, but let’s not drag that into North Yorkshire.
However, we must remember that a Mayor and the new Combined Authority is there to deliver for the people of York and North Yorkshire, to increase prosperity for the county, but also to level-up for those on a lower income.
See: https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/3837/election/397
