JEREMY Corbyn will feature in the first ever art exhibition at Otley Labour Rooms.

The party's leader has been captured in oils by Otley artist Chris Speedy for the groundbreaking display.

Mr Speedy said: "We think this is the first ever art exhibition at Otley Labour Rooms. It’s very much an experiment to see if the downstairs room at the Labour Rooms can work as an exhibition space for short, weekend shows by artists and makers. I suspect there are lots of people locally who enjoy making art and would jump at the chance to have their work exhibited.

"If the exhibition draws people in and we sell some work, I hope this will be first of many exhibitions at the Labour Rooms. The Labour Party would like to hear from other artists who might want to use the space in future."

Mr Speedy, who is retired from his job with the careers advisory service in Leeds, said:"I’ve always been interested in art and now I have the time and space to explore painting more actively.

"I recently migrated across from acrylic paint to oils which I’m really enjoying as it dries more slowly and you can therefore blend colours and play around with the paint more easily. That led to me attempting portraits and as an admirer of Jeremy Corbyn he just seemed like an obvious subject."

Four artists will be at the Philip Coyne Labour Rooms, on Nelson Street, over the weekend of September 7 to 9. Chris Speedy, who since retirement has worked mainly in acrylics and oils, is actively exploring different approaches and techniques. Royal College of Art graduate Steph Parr is showing a series of drawings about the act of drawing itself. Owen Speedy a graduate in illustration from Hull School of Art will exhibit some of his expressive, colourful works. Liz Neylan's paintings reflect places visited, sayings, songs, incidents, stories and myths.

Artists will each pay a small fee to participate, and the Philip Coyne Labour Rooms will take a small commission for any sales. The evening launch party, open to all, is on Friday, September 7, from 7pm to 9pm. The exhibition will continue from 12noon to 4pm on Saturday, September 8 and Sunday, September 9.