MP wants details over mayor vote

aN MP has called for a constituency breakdown of votes in next month’s referendum on elected mayors in Bradford to clearly identify those areas against.

Keighley and Ilkley MP Kris Hopkins, who opposes the elected mayoral system, believes a single person wielding most of Bradford Council’s power would sideline people in his constituency. He has written to Bradford’s chief returning officer to press for a breakdown of votes which he viewed as a potential precursor to future breakaway from Bradford Council.

The Tory MP said: “We need to have the ability to shape our own destiny, not be told what to do by someone from Bradford sitting in an ivory tour half an hour down the road. Keighley and Ilkley residents pay more in council tax than the residents of the three Bradford parliamentary constituencies combined.

“The Government, which has the power to grant us an independence referendum, must be left in no doubt that the status quo is no longer an option for Keighley and Ilkley.”