JUSTINE Thornton, the wife of Labour leader Ed Miliband, said she was "proud" to hit the campaign trail in the district today, describing Naz Shah as a "fantastic candidate" for the Bradford West seat.

During an event at Forster Community College in the city centre, Ms Thornton talked to first-time voters alongside Ms Shah, discussing topics such as the importance of voting, and the impact of cuts to education.

She was then given a tour of the institution, meeting staff and students from the Young Chef's Academy in the college café.

Asked why she had chosen to visit Bradford and support Ms Shah, Ms Thornton said: "Naz is an inspiring, courageous, and determined woman, who is deeply rooted in Bradford.

"She was born here, brought up here, is bringing her kids up here, and she will provide an incredibly strong voice for everyone in Bradford West."

The constituency has been labelled as potentially one of the most keenly-contested seats in the country, and Ms Thornton commented: "I'm not a politician, so I'll leave it to them to talk about those sort of things.

"But, for me personally, it's very much up to the people in Bradford West to decide what is important to them in this election, and I'm sure they will.

"From what I've seen, this is an election about the sort of country we want to be in together, and its about values we want to stand up for, giving everyone a fair chance in life.

"It's about not walking by on the other side, it's about decency in public life and political life, and that's the sort of country I want to have.

"What I've seen of Naz, she will bring those values to parliament if she's elected.

"Naz is a fantastic candidate that the Labour party is really proud of, and I'm proud to be here to support her."