the town. In 2016 Skipton was voted the best place to live in England for the second time, having been voted for by the Sunday Times, two years earlier. Governance Skipton is part of the parliamentary constituency of Skipton and Ripon, which was created in 1983. Since its creation, the constituency has returned a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP). , the seat is held by Julian Smith, a former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. Before 1983 Skipton had its own eponymous constituency. Skipton forms part of Craven District, a non-metropolitan district, and is home of the offices of Craven District Council. In 2007, proposals to make North Yorkshire County Council a unitary authority, removing the layer of government represented by Craven District, were rejected. Skipton has its own town council consisting of 16 councillors, formed by 4 members from each of the four wards within the parish boundaries, North, East, South and West. Skipton town councillors elect a town mayor each year at an annual general meeting. As of 2018, the town mayor is Councillor Alan Hickman. The town council offices are based on the high street, upstairs in the Town Hall. Economy The town's major local employer is Skipton Building Society, with its subsidiary companies. The town is home to several holiday companies, including Blue Water Holidays and several cottage holiday firms. It is a centre for recruitment agencies, with several hundred people employed in this sector. Recruitment firms include Medacs, HCL Doctors, Templars, Holt Doctors and Medic International LMS Recruitment Systems Ltd. and Justteachers. Tourism and retail sales are significant. The Global Environmental Engineer JBA Consulting is headquartered here. The town is known as the "Gateway to the Dales", because of its close proximity to the Yorkshire Dales. Skipton has many visitors, particularly on market days (Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday). As Skipton is the nearest and largest town to most of the small towns and villages within the Dales, it attracts numerous shoppers. In 2008, the Academy of Urbanism voted High Street the best shopping spot in Britain. The wide main street used to host the sheep market, but now a general market is held there four days a week and livestock is auctioned at the Auction Mart on the western edge of the town. The town has three official allotment sites. Chocolatier Whittakers, based in the town, was established in 1889 in nearby Cross Hills.