The shadow foreign secretary visited Bradford yesterday in a bid to strengthen the Tories stronghold in the district.

William Hague met with Council leader Kris Hopkins and other Conservative group members at City Hall.

"I have been here talking to Councillors and other people in the party to listen to them and understand what their concerns are," said Mr Hague.

"One of their biggest concerns was how we can work to strengthen links between them and the national party."

He said the entire shadow cabinet would be visiting the region within the next couple of months.

"The north of the country is vital to us. We are going to work very closely with Councillors in Bradford to establish links with the national leadership," said Mr Hague.

"The Bradford Councillors want to be plugged in to what we are doing nationally. I will feed information in both directions."

He said one of the biggest problems the party faced in the district was the lack of Conservative MPs from Bradford.

"An important part of creating better links between the national party and Bradford is trying to get more Bradford Conservative MPs elected to the House of Commons.

"We have got to put that right because the potential is there," said Mr Hague.

He said in order to increase the party's stronghold in the district it was important to make sure the Conservative Party had the right policies in place for the city.

Mr Hague, originally from South Yorkshire, said he had visited Bradford on a number of occasions and was impressed by the progress of the regeneration programme.

"I think the Conservatives are doing a great job running the council," he said.

"They are making a lot of progress with education and the regeneration in the city."

Mr Hague said the impact on community relations of the terror raids in Bradford had also been discussed.

"We have been looking at how we can engage better with ethnic minority communities and bring them into mainstream politics," he said.

e-mail: jennifer.sugden@bradford.newsquest.co.uk

'We want to learn real life'

Former Tory leader Iain Duncan-Smith has arrived in Bradford to spend a week working with disaffected youngsters from the inner city.

Mr Duncan-Smith came to the city yesterday to work with staff and young people at the Lighthouse Project in Great Horton Road.

The charity works with pupils who have been excluded from school and provides accommodation for young people coming out of care.

The visit to Bradford is part of an the "Inner City Challenge" being launched by the Conservative Party to get MPs working with projects which address social issues.

Mr Duncan-Smith, who now runs the Centre for Social Justice think tank, said: "We want to get MPs out of Westminster to learn what real life is like."

Tim Morfin, the Lighthouse Group's chief executive said: "It is fantastic that Iain Duncan Smith has chosen to spend a week working with the Lighthouse Group.

"Not only does it display his personal commitment to tackling poverty and educational under achievement but it highlights our ability and proven track record in dealing with issues that underpin educational failure."