CRIME concerns will take centre stage this week as MPs Philip Davies and Robbie Moore take part in the first Blue Collar Conservative (BCC) conference.

The week-long event is aimed at taking politics to the people and will be live-streamed each evening, featuring members of the public, business leaders and others discussing a different subject each night, which will then be answered by a Cabinet Minister. Live question and answer sessions will then be held on the subject, with different MPs sitting on the panel.

Tomorrow will see Mr Moore, MP for Keighley, feature in the broadcasted video on crime before taking part in the live question and answer session with Mr Davies, Shipley MP, and Tatton MP Esther McVey, who heads the BCC group in Westminster.

Mr Moore said: “Keighley is a wonderful place to live and work, with a strong manufacturing and engineering base with so much to offer. However the area does have deep-rooted problems with crime, especially, but not exclusively, drug and drug gang related crime issues.

“Unfortunately, we also have an underlying problem with grooming which gone on for years.

“These issues need addressing head-on with a tough stance being taken. Speaking with many residents and local businesses, crime is having a detrimental impact on Keighley and the image of our town, and it is time we focus on dealing with this as well as raising aspirations. I am glad that the BCC is supporting me with highlighting this matter at the very top of Government and I look forward to working with the Home Secretary on this.”

Mr Davies added: “I am passionate about tackling crime and am firmly on the side of the victims and ensuring criminals receive tough punishments. I look forward to our question session on Wednesday, hearing from the Home Secretary as she responds, and hearing what she is doing now and what she plans to do with the information from the evening in future to shape policy.”

In response to the concerns raised by Mr Moore, Inspector Khalid Khan, of Keighley Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT), said: “In the past 12 months, Keighley has seen a reduction in crime including burglaries, theft from motor vehicles and shoplifting. Our NPT team have been working tirelessly in the last year conducting proactive operations to tackle issues raised by our residents. There is a well-documented historical issue around CSE in Keighley; child exploitation is taken extremely seriously in the Bradford district and across West Yorkshire and over the past few years alone there have been multiple convictions which have culminated in significant sentences for the perpetrators. I hope the recent crime figures are a reassurance to our local communities that our teams are committed to reducing crime in the area and will continue to do so in the next 12 months.

“I would urge anyone who has any information about anti-social behaviour or crime in the area to come forward and speak to the police. We always act on intelligence given to us to tackle any concerns or issues in the area.”

To watch the event visit www.bluecollarconservatism.co.uk/live from 6.30pm each weekday evening. To take part in the live Q &A submit a question or comment to opinion@bluecollarconservatism.co.uk or on Twitter using #BCC20. The live session will be streamed at 8pm.