NEWS

Amongst the 650 newly elected elected MPs are FoOL supporters:

• Katie White OBE - our new constituency MP in Leeds North West

• Alex Sobel - remains an MP in the new seat of Leeds Central and Headingley

• Rachel Reeves - represents the new Leeds West and Pudsey constituency and is also Chancellor of the Exchequer

​FoOL congratulates all three and expresses commiserations to all the other candidates. Leeds North West candidate for the Liberal Democrats Cllr Ryk Downes remains a Leeds City Council member (Otley and Yeadon Ward) whilst Green Party candidate Cllr Mick Bradley continues as an Otley Town Council member (Danefield Ward). We thank both for their long-standing support and look forward to continuing to work with them.

Katie ‘reached out’ to FoOL several months ago to affirm her support. This was most welcome in light of the fact Alex Sobel - Katie’s predecessor - has been a strong and vocal supporter for a number of years and instrumental in securing Rachel Reeves’ endorsement.

Therefore, we continue to have the invaluable support of our constituency MP. We look forward to working with Katie to move our project forward and bring benefits to our community. Additionally, we now have MPs representing two neighbouring constituencies backing our project too.

FoOL has previously secured the backing of Cllr Downes’ Otley and Yeadon Ward colleagues on Leeds City Council - Cllrs Colin Campbell and Sandy Lay. Additionally, Leader of Leeds City Council - Cllr James Lewis - has offered the council’s support and it continues to engage with us in respect of the site and other matters. Otley Town Council continues to endorse the project - having previously unanimously voted to pledge a £5,000 grant plus enshrined its support in the Otley Neighbourhood Plan - with Cllr Richard Hughes (Chair) actively engaging with us. Finally - but certainly not least - Mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin and Otley resident Baroness Blake of Leeds are also behind our project.

FoOL are grateful to each and every one for their endorsements and assistance. We aim to build on these firm foundations by engaging with other local politicians in light of the General Election results in addition to continuing to seek the backing of other local councils.

Please note: FoOL is an apolitical organisation that engages across the political spectrum in order to gain the necessary support for our project so we can deliver benefits for our community. None of the above implies (or intends to imply) support for - or an endorsement of - any candidate(s), individual(s) or political party (or parties) either locally or nationally. It is merely an update in respect of the support FoOL enjoys subsequent to the 2024 General Election.