He won the selection by a majority of votes at the packed-out meeting held in Birstall. Dathan is an experienced political campaigner who has been an integral part of many successful campaigns. In 2012 he was elected campaign co-ordinator for Kirklees Labour Party, a vote taken by all four parliamentary constituencies in Kirklees (Batley & Spen, Colne Valley, Dewsbury and Huddersfield).
He has run his own graphic design and print company since 2012, which gives him the flexibility to spend whatever time he needs meeting local residents and taking up their issues.
After being selected Dathan said:
"It's a great honour to represent the Labour Party in Birstall, Birkenshaw and East Bierley and I can't wait to get out there and listen to the concerns local people have.
"This area is suffering heavily from Conservative/Lib Dem cuts which are as much as eight times higher than those in more affluent councils down south. Many of our services and facilities have closed or will close thanks to this disproportionate attack on Kirklees council.
"Many of these are services that elderly, disabled and less fortunate people rely on. And they are being diminished in the context of the top 1% in our country becoming many times richer while the poorest and most needy are getting ever poorer.
"The "success" of our Food Bank in Batley is a sign that local people are really struggling just to get by.
"The three Conservative councillors in Birstall, Birkenshaw and East Bierley cannot distance themselves from the decisions of their friends in Westmister. The politics of this government are based on breaking up public services regardless of the impact on local communities.
"It's really important at this time that local people have good representatives who will make sure the impact of the cuts are managed in the best possible way, by people who actually believe in local services and local government."
