Elliot Nathan has been chosen as the Breakthrough Party's candidate for Otley and Yeadon in the Leeds City Council and Otley Town Council elections in May this year.

The Breakthrough Party is a new democratic socialist party. The Party currently has seven other councillors across England.

Elliot, 54, has lived in Otley for eight years and has worked in roles across the public sector, including as a postman, town planner and a civil servant. He is an experienced trade unionist.

He is hoping that the offer of a new alternative to the mainstream political parties will appeal to voters.

Elliot said: “I’m very pleased to have been chosen to stand for election this year. A lot of people I speak to tell me they think it’s time for a change – complacency can set in among councillors who have been in office a long time. I want to shake things up and get more action on the issues that matter to young people, families, older people, and local businesses.

"Traffic congestion, the lack of affordable housing, poor public transport, and reviving the high street are just some of the issues that come up regularly when I talk to people on the doorstep or at our street stalls.”

Elliot’s plans include campaigning to bring local bus services back into public ownership; making affordable council housing widely available; ending council outsourcing to large corporations, supporting local businesses; working on community environmental projects and opening a new youth centre in Otley.

Alex Mays, leader of the Breakthrough Party, says: “Elliot has got all the ingredients to be a fantastic local councillor: he’s passionate and full of energy and ideas to make his community a better place to be.

His experience of running as a candidate before will be invaluable and we are proud to support Elliot on his campaign in Otley & Yeadon. We look forward to seeing what we can do here!”