LABOUR leader Ed Miliband was in the district today to deliver his Party's new health manifesto into the arms of maternity staff at Airedale Hospital's maternity unit.

Just hours after pledging one-to-one midwife care for women during childbirth as part of Labour's big plans if it gets into power, Mr Miliband was chatting to midwives and managers at the Steeton unit near Keighley.

During the tour of the unit, he spent some time away from media glare behind closed doors with maternity staff to get their take on his Party's promises for a new future NHS.

The one-to-one care in childbirth is on top of a promise of 3,000 more midwives, funded under the extra £2.5bn a year raised for the NHS by measures including a mansion tax.

That pledge would be a certainty he said and would be embedded in the NHS constitution, as part of measures funded through a tax on properties valued at more than £2m, a crackdown on tax avoidance and a levy on tobacco firms.

In an exclusive interview before taking a selfie with midwives and leaving on the election battle bus for a Q & A session at Guiseley Theatre, Mr Miliband said the Call The Midwife pledge and general Health Manifesto had been positively received by the Airedale staff he met - especially the vow to bring in thousands of more midwives which would be shared out equally across the country.

"Their feedback was positive. They don't want a big re-organisation of the NHS, they've been through enough of that already. What they want is a plan, a sense of direction and that's what we will give them."

Shadow Secretary for Health Andy Burnham and shadow health minister Liz Kendall were also on the visit which lasted about one hour, Mr Burnham had earlier told the gathering of NHS staff that Labour wanted the NHS to put each patient at the centre of everything, he added: "It's difficult out there for you right now. You must feel there's no light at the end of the tunnel. We are trying to give you a bit of hope that the NHS can break that cycle. We want the NHS to be at the top as the best health system in the world."

During Mr Miliband's interview he said he was confident about Labour's chances of securing seats across the district.