HUNDREDS of Labour members attended a canvassing event in Shipley today led by the local Labour group and left-wing columnist and activist Owen Jones.

Unseat Philip Davies - Win Shipley for Labour, is part of a national scheme targeting parliamentary seats to build support for Labour ahead of the next general election.

Shipley has been held by Conservative Philip Davies since 2005, who Mr Jones described as “full of bigoted views”.

He said: “It was hugely inspiring to see so many people turn out.

“Shipley deserves an MP who fights passionately for the constituency and can have a Labour MP who does that while not talking out important legislation.

“I can’t wait to see Philip Davies’ face when he loses his seat to Labour at the next election.”

Even though Shipley has been held by the Conservatives for all but eight years since 1950, Mr Jones insisted Labour had a good chance of winning the seat.

He said: "Canterbury had never been Labour before and we took that, we won Kensington, which is hardly known as the Socialist Republic of Kensington to put it mildly.

"At the last election we reduced Mr Davies' majority by half, but we can't be complacent and it is still a battle.

"This is not a one-off event, the purpose of these events is to get people constantly engaged and to get people to carry on knocking on doors and carry on the momentum."

He also criticised Mr Davies for his voting record, saying that shows he does not fight for his constituents.

He said: "Shipley deserves someone who fights for this constituency and you can have a Labour MP who does that without talking out legislation which tackles violence against women and girls.

"We can have a Labour MP who is rooted in and will work tooth and nail for the community without that.

"I don't think he is someone who champions his constituency and community, I think that's someone who stands up for the vested interests and the elites who fund the Conservative party. We need a local community fighter who stands up for the majority, the real wealth creators in this constituency, not just the rich elites of London."

Mr Jones did confirm he will not be running in Shipley - or anywhere in the UK - for Labour at the next election, after Mr Davies threw down the gauntlet and challenged him to stand in Shipley last week.

Mr Davies dismissed the event as a “publicity stunt by Owen Jones to try to impress his hard-left friends”.

He said: “They had an 'Unseat Philip Davies' event earlier this year, it was called the general election and they lost.

"This is not something new and it is bizarre to think it is. It has been going on since I first got elected in 2005.

"I got 51 per cent of the vote at the last election, and if Owen Jones thinks people in Shipley will be won over by him stopping by today and his hard-left militant bully tendencies he has an over-inflated sense of his own importance and could be in for a rude awakening.

"He is just pontificating in front of people who already agree with him as usual. This is just a publicity stunt for him to impress his hard-left friends while preaching to the converted.

"He is all talk, I challenged him to stand at the election but he either hasn't got the guts to stand or isn't prepared to give up his job at the Guardian."