Adrian Cruden for Dewsbury

"Dewsbury has a lot of talent waiting to be unleashed - the Green New Deal would do just that."

Adrian Cruden is standing for the Parliamentary constituency of Dewsbury, which includes Mirfield, Kirkburton and Denby Dale.

Adrian is presently a Green Party councillor on Kirkburton Parish Council, representing the Grange Moor and Little Lepton area. On the Parish Council, he has taken up a number of casework issues in the Grange Moor area as well as being involved with work on allotment provision and he successfully proposed the Parish Council call on Kirklees Council to adopt 20 mph speed limits outside all schools in the Parish - Kirklees have yet to act on this.

The Greens have been growing across the Dewsbury constituency - with new members joining in every ward, the Greens have also seen success with a Metropolitan Councillor, Derek Hardcastle, elected onto Kirklees for Kirkburton ward. On Kirkburton Parish Council, Greens hold 12 out of the 25 places, and are the largest party. There are also 2 Green councillors on Denby Dale Parish Council.

In Dewsbury itself, the Greens have consistently opposed the disastrous Stayton project which has devastated the town centre and left the iconic Pioneer House a virtual shell. Even when all the other parties were welcoming the reclusive multi-millionaire into Dewsbury, Adrian was warning that this would do nothing but damage local business - and time has proven us right. Several shops and businesses have either closed or moved away and Stayton has apparently run out of finance for his project.

Greens have called instead for investment in small local businesses, which are environmentally more sustainable and also keep more money in the town, helping to create much needed jobs.

"A New Economics Foundation survey found that for every Ł1 spent in a national retail chain like Stayton and Kirklees wanted for Dewsbury, you create Ł1.40 for the local economy. if you spend it in a local business, by contrast, you create about Ł2.59 - because local businesses do not cream off huge profits, and their owners are more likely to live and spend locally themselves, often sourcing their products more locally too. Dewsbury has a lot of talent waiting to be unleashed - the Green New Deal would do just that."

Adrian is married, lives in the Thornhill area of Dewsbury and works as a Personnel Manager for a well known charity.

Adrian Cruden: