Six things you may have missed this week on the Yorkshire General Election trail

The Haltemprice is right

Is there a shortage of Labour politicians in Haltemprice and Howden willing to take on sitting Tory David Davis?

The local Labour party announced this week that its candidate to take on the former Brexit Secretary and his 15,000 vote majority is George Ayre, a councillor 50 miles away in Pontefract.

"Haltemprice Labour Party searched far and wide for a candidate of the calibre they desired," the successful candidate said.

Mr Ayre, who has represented Pontefract South on Wakefield Council since 2014, will be trying to unseat an MP who has been in place since 1997 in an area that has voted Tory since the early 19th century.

But his recent activity suggests he likes a challenge. He last year led a coup against long-serving Wakefield council leader Peter Box, which ultimately failed when a no confidence vote did not pass.

WEP steps back

It's been a week where parties standing aside for others has made the news.

But while the Brexit Party standing down its candidates in Tory-held seats captured the national attention, the Women's Equality Party (WEP) took a similar step on a smaller scale in Sheffield.

The party had not yet announced its candidate to stand against Jared O'Mara in Sheffield Hallam but revealed this week that it would instead be backing Liberal Democrat Laura Gordon.

This is because the Lib Dems had promised to include a key WEP policy, amending the law so MPs who are found guilty of sexual harassment and abuse can be recalled, in their manifesto.

Those whose memories stretch back to 2010 and the Lib Dems' promise to scrap tuition fees may raise a sceptical eyebrow about how likely the party is to deliver on this pledge if it enters government.

Is that another lie, Boris?

Pictures of a downbeat Boris Johnson being harangued by locals in flood-hit Stainforth were front and centre across the media as the Tories took a major PR hit.

And as the PM tried to counter accusations of a slow government response to the flooding, it was one of his government's own election-friendly schemes that came back to bite him.

One local told him: "You promised us months ago that you were going to give our community £25m to make these communities better. We're still waiting for it Boris. Is that a lie again?"

Stainforth and Doncaster are both potentially in the running to get £25m from the £3.6bn Towns Fund announced this summer. Critics point out that the areas benefiting are disproportionately in marginal seats Boris Johnson wants to win next month.

But if the reaction in South Yorkshire is anything to go by, he may not be getting as much credit from voters for the scheme as he would hope.

A Giant challenge for Barry Sheerman

He has seen off all comers as Huddersfield's MP since 1979, but Labour veteran Barry Sheerman is now facing off against a candidate with even more local experience than him.

Ken Davy, a local businessman who is chairman of the Huddersfield Giants, is standing for the Conservatives and hoping to overturn the Labour majority of 12,000 votes.

A pro-Brexit Conservative, Mr Davy contested Colne Valley for the Tories in General Elections in 1970 and 1974 but has had "no involvement in front line politics" since the 1970s. At 78 he is a year younger than his Labour opponent.

A Hull of a problem for Farage

Announcing her candidacy for the Brexit Party in her native Hull this week, former Apprentice winner Michelle Dewberry declared the North was considered an "afterthought" by the main political parties.

She probably wasn't including her own party leader Nigel Farage in this sweeping assessment, though it's clear he might want to brush up on his own Yorkshire geography.

A number of Twitter users pointed out an error on Mr Farage's Twitter account, in which he stated he was "live from South Yorkshire", despite being in Hull in East Yorkshire.

The Yorkshire Party was quick to respond, tweeting: "If you’re going to come to Yorkshire at least get the local geography right."

Tories' HS2 dilemma

It's been a confusing few weeks for those with an interest in whether the 250mph HS2 rail scheme will come to Yorkshire.

A leaked report last month suggested the Government's Oakervee review had recommended the Birmingham-to-Leeds leg be cut from the project to save money. But last week a different newspaper reported a leak with the opposite recommendation.

The review itself, which was due to be presented to Ministers in the Autumn, has now been parked until after the election.

But the question remains of whether a Tory government - seeking to please voters in northern marginals and southern shires - backs HS2 in full.

Asked for their position by The Yorkshire Post, both Labour and the Lib Dems said they supported the scheme, but that improved governance was needed. As yet no response has been received from Conservative HQ.