William Hague in Ilkley

I had the great privilege of welcoming Shadow Foreign Secretary and former Conservative Leader William Hague to Ilkley earlier today where, unsurprisingly, he was greeted like the returning proud Yorkshireman he obviously is.

William has been to support my campaign in Keighley and Ilkley on numerous occasions since I was selected as the local Conservative candidate in 2006. And, each time, his presence has given everyone involved - myself included - a huge boost. This morning was no exception.

As well as meeting local residents, shoppers and local business people along The Grove, he also took the opportunity to address the hundred plus crowd which had gathered to see him and to catch a word.

He was very happy to take questions across the full range of policy areas including Afghanistan, pensions and the collapse of Equitable Life.

And from where I was standing (i.e. right beside him), William certainly seemed to satisfy every query raised on how a future Conservative Government would tackle each of these most important issues.

After almost an hour in Ilkley, he headed off to Leeds for a scheduled interview with the Yorkshire Post and a series of voter-centred engagements across the city.

As an aside, you may be aware that William recently joined Twitter and has already attracted almost 7,000 followers including former Republican Presidential candidate John McCain.

Here is how he Tweeted about this morning's visit:

"Good start to the day's campaigning in Keighley and Ilkley. On the way into Leeds and just saw some sheep trying to eat Lib Dem posters."

A marathon sprint

A General Election campaign is a marathon and, waking up this morning, it felt like I had run one.

The truth is a little less heroic although running was, nonetheless, the cause of my suffering.

Because yesterday I had the privilege, for the second successive year, of climbing into the famous Cliff The Castle suit to take part in the 2010 Mascot Gold Cup at Wetherby Racecourse.

And running with me was the Conservative Keighley West Local Election Candidate Chris Herd, as Sir Ian "Beefy" Botham. As a local butcher, Chris was certainly the right man for that particular role.

In the end, neither Chris nor I were in any danger of "troubling the scorers" with regard to our finishing positions.

But our collective endeavours did manage to raise almost £400 for Manorlands Hospice in Oxenhope, with some money still to come in.

Thanks to everyone who put their hands in their pockets to support this most special of local causes.

Lies, lies and more Labour lies

One of the most memorable moments of Thursday's second Prime Ministerial Debate, which like most people I thought David Cameron won comfortably, was when the Conservative Leader challenged Gordon Brown over Labour's lie-filled election leaflets.

Examples of these have, shamefully, been distributed in Keighley and Ilkley including one which falsely claims that a Conservative Government would put pensioners' benefits at risk.

As I have made clear every single day of this campaign but will happily do so again, the Conservatives will not cut the state pension but instead link it to earnings so that it goes up.

We will also will protect Disability Living Allowance for over 65s and Attendance Allowance for pensioners, keep the winter fuel allowance, keep free bus passes and keep free TV licences.

However, back to Labour's lies.

Yesterday, Conservative Campaign HQ produced an incredible 23 examples of Labour's scaremongering leaflets peddling lies about Conservative Party policies.

Amongst the large number of Labour candidates putting these out across their respective constituencies are no less than five Labour Minsters plus Gordon Brown’s own Parliamentary aide.

On Thursday night, Gordon Brown denied giving the go ahead for these leaflets.

But with his own ministers using them in their local campaigns, his comments have been shown up to be complete and utter rubbish.

So are these leaflets just the latest sign of Labour's increasing desperation to hold on to power? I think the answer to that question is obvious.

But no doubt local voters, in Keighley and Ilkley as elsewhere in the country, will have their own view.

Thankfully, they will also have the chance to express it on 6th May.

Campaigning in the Ilkley sun

Exactly two weeks until polling day now and yesterday, like most days of the campaign so far, it was nice to get out and about in Ilkley.

Yesterday afternoon I was very pleased to be joined, not only a number of local activists including well-known Ilkley Conservative Councillor Anne Hawkesworth, but also by several members of the national Conservative Party board.

As ever, the response on the doorstep from Ilkley residents was warm.

It was then on to Christchurch in the centre of town for the latest in a series of hustings across the constituency.

Very well organised by Churches Together in Ilkley, it was informative, lively and an excellent example of democracy in action - and quite right too.

Michael Gove in Keighley

I was delighted to welcome Shadow Schools Secretary Michael Gove to Keighley and Ilkley earlier today for a tour around the hugely impressive Keighley Campus of Leeds City College, due to open in September.

We preceded the visit with a short walkabout in Keighley town centre, accompanied by around 20 members of my campaign team.

Then it was on to the main event at the new £35 million campus where, in 2008, I joined the principal in formally launching the construction phase of the site.

It is a project very close to my heart, and not only because I am a former student of what used to be Keighley College.

But also because without the joint efforts of Conservative-led Bradford Council and the College to work together to locate, assemble and prepare the new 3.5 acre site adjacent to the town’s railway station, the dream could never have become reality.

The result is a modern, state of the art facility incorporating specialist vocational and general accommodation.

Despite the well-documented difficulties with air travel at the present time, we were able to buck the trend by boarding a plane – a "Keighley Airways" plane.

OK, in truth, it was just a mock-up, yet a very impressive mock-up which will shortly be utilised as a top-notch training facility for in-flight catering and attendance training.

As well as witnessing a remote-controlled robot do its stuff in what will be the hi-tech STAR Centre designed to encourage and stimulate interest in STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths), Michael welcomed the opportunity to meet and chat with members of staff and students.

And, if you’re in the mood for a chat, there’s generally no better company than hairdressers.

Before leaving, Michael expressed a willingness to return to the campus in September when it is fully operational.

By then I hope he will be playing a key role in a new Conservative Government.

Conservative Manifesto 2010

The Conservative Party today launched our General Election manifesto, imaginatively entitled An Invitation to Join the Government of Britain.

And the clue is in the title.

As David Cameron said this morning, for far too long politicians have behaved in a way which suggests that they and only they have the answers to the problems faced by this country. And clearly we don't.

The manifesto is therefore asking the country not just to vote for Conservative candidates on May 6th, it is asking people to become involved in delivering positive change on behalf of us all should a Conservative Government be formed on May 7th.

Have a look for yourself here.

Promoting Conservative plans to build a world class NHS

As my incredible team and I prepare for the first full week of the formal General Election campaign starting tomorrow, I would like to say a huge thanks to them and, most importantly, to the many residents of Keighley and Ilkley who have already indicated their support for our efforts come polling day on Thursday 6th May.

Yesterday marked a very special day on the campaign trail as we went out and about in Keighley and Ilkley town centres and beyond to talk to local people about what a Conservative Government would do to improve the NHS.

These plans include:

• increasing spending on the NHS every year over and above inflation
• ensuring the NHS focuses on the treatment of patients, not box-ticking
• giving patients more choice
• stopping the spread of hospital infections
• ending the scandal of mixed-sex wards
• increasing the number of single rooms in NHS wards
• making sure cancer patients get the drugs they need
• restoring access to an NHS dentist to a million people
• free dental checks for all school children and
• providing 4,200 more health visitors across the country

Under David Cameron, the Conservatives have become the Party of the NHS and I was delighted at the excellent and warm response our plans received from local residents.

The Shadow Home Secretary comes to town

Day two of the General Election campaign proper and, after an excellent start yesterday, we had another huge lift at lunchtime today with the arrival of Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling.

Following David Cameron's visit to Yorkshire last night, Chris was spending the day here including a stop off at the Worth Valley Police and Community Contact Point in Haworth.

And it was excellent to have him here in Keighley and Ilkley so he could see for himself what can be achieved when the community comes together to combat criminal activity.

But the efforts of local volunteers and partners should not take away from the fact that, over the last 13 years of Labour Government, police officers have been forced to spend 50 per cent more time doing paperwork than out on patrol.

Thankfully, a Conservative Government will ensure that the police are allowed to get away from their desks and back out on our streets tackling crime.

At last

After almost three years of dithering, indecision and trying to avoid the inevitable, this morning Gordon Brown was finally forced to call the General Election and to give the people of Keighley and Ilkley the chance to vote for change.

I have already been out and about in Keighley, in Silsden and in Ilkley handing out leaflets, hearing local concerns and shaking lots of hands.

But as someone who grew up in the constituency, who went to school here, who was educated here, who still works here and who has been the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate here since 2006, I believe I know what most local residents want.

And that is change.

There is a lot of hard work ahead between now and the close of polls at 10pm on Thursday 6 May.

But, with the support of my excellent campaign team, I cannot wait to get on with the job.