Skipton & Ripon Liberal Democrats

Welcome to the website of Skipton & Ripon Liberal Democrats

The Liberal democrats are working for a stronger economy in a fairer society enabling every person to get on in life - locally and nationally

There is a long Liberal history in Skipton & Ripon - Claire Brooks came within 590 votes of victory in the 1974 general election for the Skipton seat, and David Austick won the 1973 by-election in Ripon. We are planning, and working hard, to return Liberal Democrat local, borough and county councillors and return a Liberal Democrat as MP for our constituency so we can put in place a full set of liberal policies and values for Skipton & Ripon. You can find out more, including how to keep in touch or join the Liberal Democrats, on this site.

In May 2010 we increased the Liberal Democrat vote in the constituency by around 4,000 votes to increase our overall share of the vote by 5.8% to 32.4%, sadly in 2015 our share of the vote fell to 7.4%, reflecting the heavy swing against the party nationally.

Since the 2015 general election the party has been rebuilding both locally and nationally and in 2016 we were delighted to see our membership grow to almost 150 members in the constituency. Now in 2018 our numbers have now reached well over 200, demonstrating the strength of liberal values within the constituency. This gives us a solid base from which to launch our campaigns for the 2019 local elections.

Click here to get a brief version of what Liberal Democrats stand for.

Selection of Prospective Parliamentary Candidate

Andrew Murday (centre) with Alan Luckraft (returning officer) and members of the constituency party

Skipton and Ripon Liberal Democrat Party are delighted to announce that Andrew Murday was chosen as their Prospective Parliamentary Candidate at a selection meeting on Saturday November 17^th.

Andrew, a cardiac surgeon by profession, now runs a smallholding near Glasshouses, in Nidderdale. Involved in Labour Party politics for many years, he joined the Liberal Democrats in 2017.

After selection he said: 'The Liberal Democrat philosophy of tolerance and fairness and the policies on education, the environment and the economy will be instrumental in restoring public confidence in the political process when the dust of Brexit finally settles.'

Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords and Skipton and Ripon constituency party member Dick Newby said: 'The possibility of an election well before the normal time of 2022 is now extremely high. Andrew is highly respected, both for his professional work and as a member of the local community. I am delighted that he will be the Lib Dem standard-bearer in Skipton and Ripon whenever the election comes.'

Andrew sets out some of the major issues which he will tackle as Member of Parliament for Skipton and Ripon

Although Brexit dominates today's domestic politics I believe it is just as important that we address the issues that have given rise to the growth of populism, of which Brexit is a symptom. Whatever the outcome of the current political maelstrom, it is vital that over the next few years we seek policies which will bring our divided society back to a cohesive whole.

To read more click here

Former town, district and county councillor Beth Graham, from Settle, dies aged 91

A SETTLE woman renowned for being a formidable presence in local and county politics and who could be relied upon for fighting tough battles has died peacefully aged 91.

To read the full obituary please click here