All I care about is the constituents and getting what they deserve

Dominic Atlas is the Yorkshire Party candidate for Keighley and Ilkley 🗳️

How did you get involved in politics?

When I was much younger, I wanted to leave home, travel to Europe and settle down. And then I got my partner pregnant. At that point in my life, I had no job and was living in my mum’s spare bedroom. That wasn’t going to be good enough, so I went out and got myself two jobs to provide for my family.

But I found myself too far away from home. So I moved closer and found a job that was more sustainable for me. That's when I decided that if I can't leave and start a new life somewhere else, I'm going to try my best to help the community I'm in for the betterment of my kids – because my kids are my absolute world.

How historic is this general election?

It's going to be a very historic election. In my voting life, I don't remember any general election feeling as though it’s going to produce a landslide like the one they’re talking about.

But a massive majority – that’s not a government we need because nothing good will ever get passed if it's from the opposition. It’s odd when MPs vote against good policies from the other side – it makes no sense why that happens.

Also, I feel like the Conservatives don’t want to be in anymore. They know they’ve messed up and they just want someone to come in and fix it.

How has Robbie Moore fared as an MP?

I personally think Robbie has done a lot for Keighley and Ilkley – but not very much in parliament. He’s very much a yes man or a no man, someone who votes what he is told to vote. And that's not someone we need. We need someone who will be the right kind of person in Parliament – to stand up for what we want.

When it comes to his current campaign – I get the feeling he’s a bit ashamed to be a Conservative at the moment. I don't know if you've seen any of those signs? It makes no sense what he's doing. He is a Conservative through and through and he's pretending he's not at the moment.

Why do you want to be MP for Keighley and Ilkley?

For me, it's about making a positive change in the community. I'm a very firm believer that every single MP is there to work for the people and yet people are going into parliament with their own ideologies and beliefs and voting based on them instead of what the people might want or need. I won’t be like that.

I’m also a regular person and I don't pretend to know everything. All I want to do is make a genuine difference in my community, for the locals and for my kids – because my kids are going to grow up in that community.

So long as I can help people from Keighley and Ilkley get what they need – the end result is what matters. It’s not about me.

Historically the Yorkshire Party have not been serious contenders in Keighley and Ilkley – why are you hopeful that this time it’ll be different?

The Yorkshire Party are not big enough to get a majority in central parliament – that's not our goal. Our goal is to get someone in Westminster to talk about the real issues of Yorkshire and the real issues of our area.

What are the main issues and how are you going to address them?

Antisocial behaviour – kids being menaces knowing what they can and can't get away with. There needs to be collaboration – It’s not something an MP can look at by themselves. It's going take weeks and months of meetings with Bradford Council, Bradford police and so on – and then coming up with solid plans.

There needs to be a stricter system, too. One way to do that is not slapping their hands and taking them home to mommy and daddy. It's actually giving them some sort of punishment that will make them think twice about doing anything antisocial again.

Another one of my absolute passions in life is the schooling system. It's been failing for many years and that comes in the form of Ofsted making it impossible for education to work correctly.

There needs to be a different way of doing it. Why not get rid of Ofsted and bring in a new system that incorporates the children, parents of the children and the teachers so that they can all come together? Because the schooling system hasn't changed for 150 years. You still come into school, sit in straight lines and talk like you're going to be walking to work in a factory on a conveyor belt for the rest of your life. 

There are so many different ways of learning, so many different learning styles and so many different educational needs. The whole school system needs to be looked at so that the generation we're teaching – who will eventually run this country – aren’t absolutely useless.

Why not introduce a new curriculum that works better for multiple learning styles instead of just one singular learning style? Inviting everyone involved in the education system to talk about what is needed is another approach. Ofsted may have been teachers in the past and feel like they know what they're doing, but in reality, it’s those who are on the ground – the parents at home with the kids and the kids themselves – who will be able to tell you in much more detail what their education system needs to be like.

What’s the general reception you’re getting?

The general reception I’m getting is what’s the Yorkshire Party?! But it’s kind of just me in Keighley – so it’s not all that surprising. But, of course, some people know who I am and when they open the door, they’re like I'm already voting for you. I don’t even have to do any spiel!

Others open the door and I say I’m from the Yorkshire Party and they’re like I’m voting for Labour or for the Greens. That’s fine. Vote for with your heart. But if you do vote for me, do it because you think I will do good in the community. That isn’t a wasted vote. The only wasted vote is a vote that isn’t used. 

If numerous people do vote for me I might get in, I might not get in. But if I don’t get in, it doesn’t matter so much – those people who did vote for me know that their voices will have been heard because other people will have seen those votes and recognise that support for the Yorkshire Party is growing.

What’s your message for voters heading to the polling booths next month?

That I am one of you guys. I’m not a trained politician – and, to be honest, trained politicians have been running the country for many, many years and doing a horrendous job – and we need more ordinary people like me in politics. All I care about is the constituents and getting what they deserve. The Yorkshire Party is all for that.

Also, it doesn't have to be a two-horse race. There are other parties that are available even if you don't vote for me. A vote for a person who could do the most positive change for Keighley and Ilkley is 100% not a wasted vote.

Because time and time again, the Labour Party, the Conservative Party – and even to an extent the Liberal Democrats and Reform UK – have all lied to get what they’ve wanted and we’re worse off for it. So vote this this time with your heart, as well as your head. Give someone a chance who potentially will do a far better job than those who have been trained to do it.

Five years from now, what would you like to have achieved?

To have reduced antisocial behaviour as best as I can. I would like to see areas for young people to spend time to have been developed. I’d like to have made it safer and better for kids to go to school.

And, generally, I would like to have been out there and communicating with my constituents to see what they want and need – because I’m a very big believer that if I was to get in, I would be working for them. At the end of the day, what they want … I’m going to try my absolute best to make it happen.

How would your friends and family describe you?

If we're talking about family, they would tell you how dedicated I am to my girls and how I would do absolutely anything for anyone no matter how little or how big it is. If we’re talking about friends, they would say that I am a person who never gives up, that I persist and I put my 100% into everything.

What do you like to do beyond politics? What are your interests?

I play golf. I'm a governor in my kids' school. I’m a freemason primarily working on the charity side, trying to raise as much money for charity as I can. I spend as much time with my kids as possible, and I do a lot of overtime at work!

Is England going to win the Euros?

I wouldn’t be very patriotic if I said no. They’re going to bring it home – of course they are.