Your voice for Burley and Menston on Bradford Council
Matt would be pleased to hear from local residents about any issues or concerns. Please click here to get in touch.
Matt Palmer
Matt has represented Burley in Wharfedale and Menston residents since 2004 as a member of Bradford Council.
He also volunteers as a Governor of Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and has made a national contribution to the NHS through the Foundation Trust Governors Association.
He is a former school governor, a father, and a committed campaigner for Wharfedale and for a stronger Bradford District.
Matt Palmer stood as the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Bradford South in the 2010 General Election, reducing the Labour majorty by half.
Matt went to school locally and has lived in the district for most of his life, with short periods in Reading, Berkshire and in Haarlem, the Netherlands. He lives in Burley in Wharfedale with his wife Mariya and son David, 2.
Campaigning on local issues
Matt is an experienced campaigner on local issues, having led a number of campaigns, including to keep Adult Education courses available after cuts in government funding, to resolve a financial crisis at a local Hospital Trust that threatened healthcare provision, and to deliver broadband for Burley.
As a local councillor, he has focussed on campaigning for local services – for example retaining access to a recycling centre and improving road safety, and on supporting local residents – for example in fighting for Burley’s new village green and against new housing development in Menston. Matt has also focussed on delivering value for money for local residents and keeping council tax low by scrutinising council spending.
Matt stood for Burley Parish Council during it’s formation in 2006 and served for five years as a member of the Parish Council, retiring in 2011.
Working for a stronger Bradford
In 2007, Matt brought Conservative Party Leader David Cameron to Bradford along with shadow ministers, to look at the challenges to regenation in Bradford and the acheivements and problems so far, and to find ways to speed up regeneration after the election and deliver real change in Bradford.
Making a difference: Matt cleaning up a park with local volunteers
No stranger to hard work
A qualified accountant and auditor, after working his way through a degree at Leeds Metropolitan Univerisity, Matt joined ‘big 4′ accountancy firm KPMG before moving to work with firm Bentley Jennison in Leeds, where he helped colleges, hospital trusts, and other public bodies across the country to deliver improved services.
In 2003 Matt set up an internet company focusing on web application development, assurance and risk, which he ran for five years before being asked to join Skipton Building Society where he now works to ensure that people’s assets stay safe in the current difficult economic climate.
He is currently Group Information Security Officer at Skipton Building Society and an Associate Lecturer in Information Security Management at the Open University.
Need help with a local issue? Please get in touch
Matt would be pleased to hear from local residents about any issues or concerns. Please click here to get in touch.
