A WHARFEDALE MP has been shortlisted for an environmental award for the third year running.

Alex Sobel (Lab, Leeds North West) has been nominated in the Local Champion category of this year’s Green Heart Hero competition.

The nomination is in recognintion of his work towards making his constituency ‘cleaner and greener’. Mr Sobel has repeatedly lobbied the Government over providing funding for a Clean Air Charging Zone in Leeds - £29 million in funding was approved in January, 2019 - and dedicated a week last summer to raising awareness of local environmental issues.

He is also a member of the All Party Parliamentary Environment Group and has been a regular attendee at the ‘School Climate Strikes’ which took off around the country in 2019.

He said: “I feel honoured to have been nominated for the Green Heart Hero Awards again. We are in the midst of a climate crisis that will impact hugely on our lives in the not too distant future.

“To avoid disaster, we need to act firmly and quickly. I will continue to do what I can in Parliament to put tough legislation forward that penalises polluters and cleans up our air.”

The winners of the Green Heart Hero Awards will be announced on March 9