A PROMOTIONAL visit to Bingley by Tatton and Shipley Conservative MPs Esther McVey and Philip Davies was met by a protest against government policies

Tory leadership candidate Ms McVey was at the Brown Cow pub along with Mr Davies to promote her recent launch of Blue Collar Conservatism which aims to champion working people and develop an agenda to benefit voters and communities.

Both MPs spoke at the meeting while a protest against the Party, organised by Bradford Labour councillor Richard Dunbar (Thornton and Allerton) took place outside.

Speaking about the agenda, Ms McVey said: “What people want is for us to deliver Brexit and then deliver policies that matter to them and their families. Brexit is important but people want us to be talking about domestic issues too. We need to engage with them. Now is the time to reach out and listen and hear what people have got to say, what they want money spent on, and we need to deliver it.

“People want to know that their street is safe, want their children to go to a good school, want good NHS services, want to know we are tackling knife crime as well as creating new jobs, reducing unemployment and strengthening the economy and this group is going to listen and push to make it happen.”

Ms McVey also believes BCC will appeal to many sections of society and said someone needs to give ‘hard-working people, let down by Labour, a voice’.

Mr Davies said they were unfazed by the protest: “The event was a great success. I was delighted to host the first ever Blue Collar Conservatism roadshow in Bingley. My constituents epitomise the down to earth, straight talking, salt of the earth people that Blue Collar Conservatism is intended to represent and appeal to, and we had a great exchange of ideas and suggestions from the people there.

“As for the protest organised by the Labour Party, I suspect it was borne out of frustration that their Islington heavy leadership wouldn’t recognise a northern working class voter if they tripped over one. Instead of protesting outside our events - which is of no consequence to me - they would be better served trying themselves to reconnect with their traditional working class voters that they have completely abandoned.”

Mr Dunbar said: “I took part in the peaceful protest against Ester McVey’s visit to Bingley because I believe her views and policy positions would mean she would be the sort of Prime Minister that would widen the gap between rich and poor, promote division and exacerbate injustice.

“We questioned her about her views on the rise in foodbanks and saying it was a positive thing. Her ignorance to the fact that her own welfare reform policies mean more people are struggling to make ends meet prove she does not care for the poorest, most vulnerable and marginalised in our society.

“It is absolutely right that we challenge the architects of austerity and call them out when they slash council funding by over 50 per cent, cut the police by 22,000 officers, privatise the NHS and starve our struggling schools of the essentials to educate our children.”