Introducing myself as your Labour Parliamentary Candidate.

Full statement

While I know some of you will know me already, many of you will have seen us at our Campaign Launch, and plenty of you have spoken with us on the doorstep in Boroughbridge and Tadcaster and Wetherby, I simply wanted to formally introduce myself as your Parliamentary Candidate and let you know how you can get in touch.

• How can I get in touch? Please follow this page to see what we are up to across the constituency, send me a message at anytime about with any questions you might have, or send me an email at ben.pickles@gmx.co.uk.

I want to speak to as many people as possible so any messages at all are welcomed.

• Who am I? I'm a ‘proud council estate kid’ and Yorkshire lad, I grew up with a single mum and I was the first in my family to attend university. While at university in Leeds, Georgie and I had our first child as teenagers, and our second little one shortly after my final year.

I graduated in Politics and went straight into education.

I'm a schoolteacher and have been for nearly a decade, aiming to give back to the community that gave so much to me. I specialise in teaching English, Citizenship and A-Level Law.

• Can we win? Two recent polls for our constituency show we are ahead here. Some assume wrongly that it is a 'safe' Tory seat, but with the boundary changes, it is absolutely a seat we can win - I wouldn't be standing if I didn't think I could make real change.

There are so many other questions I could answer. Please do get in touch and make your voice heard. I look forward to speaking with you!