Eric Pickles - a former leader of Bradford Council and now a top ranking Tory MP - has been back to his roots.
The Tory Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government visited Haworth last Thursday.
He met a group of people from Bradford Cathedral Centre planting trees on communal land behind the village school.
Mr Pickles, who represented the Worth Valley ward in the 1980s and lived in Oakworth, said: "I get a tremendous feeling of nostalgia coming here and seeing people working like this.
"What I remember, and this reflects it, is the terrific sense of community and the kind of Yorkshire cussedness which I miss living in the south.
"I was proud to represent this area and the people who believe in direct action of which this is a great example."
Mr Pickles also visited students working at nearby Haworth Community Centre on a bricklaying skills project backed by Keighley company CD Construction. He later went on to visit staff at the refurbished Carnegie Keighley Library, in North Street.
The 55-year-old has been MP for Brentwood and Ongar since April 1992. He was educated at Greenhead School, Keighley.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article