Blackpool by-election: seaside voters apathetic ahead of vote
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00:00 Hello everyone, Rafe Blackburn, National World Politics Editor here in Blackpool.
00:06 And I'm by Blackpool's South Pier and Pleasure Beach, which is just behind me, ahead of the
00:12 by-election on the 2nd of May next week for Blackpool South.
00:19 That's been called because Scott Benton, who was the Tory MP here, elected in 2019, stood
00:26 down after he had been caught in a newspaper sting by The Times, basically offering to
00:34 leak government documents to gambling companies, lobby MPs, lobby ministers.
00:42 And he was banned from the House of Commons for a number of days, and then he ended up
00:49 stepping down.
00:50 So we've got a by-election here, another by-election for Rishi Sunak to fight.
00:55 And it's definitely one that Labour are tipped to win.
00:59 The seat was Labour held from 1997 to 2019, when Boris's "get Brexit done" really overturned
01:08 a lot of seats in what they called the Red Wall.
01:10 And it's certainly one Labour are looking to win again.
01:16 Keir Starmer's been up here, the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, has been up
01:20 here.
01:21 They're putting a lot of effort into it alongside the local elections, which are held on the
01:25 same day.
01:26 And I've been hearing from the Labour candidate, Chris Webb, about his main promises and pledges
01:33 for Blackpool South, should he get elected.
01:37 So the New Deal for working people will put money back in their pockets, and give them
01:40 security at work, managing their hour contracts, giving them rights at work for day one, more
01:45 flexible working, helping working people be young, but also helping women, boys and girls.
01:51 It's about support for the use of working conditions.
01:54 But also it's about putting more bodies back on the beat.
01:57 We pledged for 30,000 new neighbourhood police officers right across the country.
02:01 That's one and a half thousand here in Lancashire, and they're desperately needed.
02:04 At the minute, these new officers are put behind bars.
02:06 We need to get them back out on the street.
02:09 Interesting listening to Chris there.
02:10 Obviously, as he said, the cost of living crisis is one of the biggest issues here,
02:15 as it is across the UK.
02:17 And he sounded quite hopeful about how he could make a bit of a difference, should he
02:22 get elected on the 2nd of May.
02:24 I did approach to speak to the Conservative candidate, David Jones, who is the chairman
02:31 of the Fylde Conservatives, we're on the peninsula and Fylde here.
02:36 However, we did not hear back about an interview there.
02:38 So we're unable to bring you that.
02:40 And a reminder that you can find a full list of candidates on the National World website
02:44 and app.
02:45 I'm going to head up to Blackpool Tower to speak to my colleague, Paul Faulkner, who
02:51 is the local democracy reporter covering nearby Chorley and Preston.
02:55 So I started by asking Paul about the political context for not just the by-election here
03:00 in Blackpool, but also the local elections on the 2nd of May in Chorley and Preston.
03:08 Obviously, the by-election in Blackpool South, an unplanned event after the departure of
03:13 Scott Benton last month.
03:16 I mean, that does really set the whole tone and tenor of a by-election like this, if the
03:21 candidates is left in those, departed in those circumstances.
03:24 And the Blackpool Gazette ran the hustings last week, and the issue of integrity and
03:29 honesty did come up.
03:31 And a couple of people commented, you know, they like somebody who is honorable to represent
03:35 the best interests of the town rather than themselves, as they perceived to have happened
03:40 previously.
03:41 And also, really, somebody did make a comment about the fact that Ed Lees should be the
03:46 best of us, he said, and at the moment it feels like the worst of us.
03:50 Bear in mind, the hustings did take place 24 hours after a scandal broke in the neighbouring
03:56 constituency of Fylde to do with Mark Menzies and his use of party funds for medical expenses
04:02 and to pay off what he described as bad people who had taken him captive for want of a better
04:09 expression.
04:10 So, it was in that context.
04:11 But, I mean, there is certainly a lot of disillusionment, I would say, locally about politics.
04:16 And so that all feeds into what would be an interesting by-election.
04:21 I mean, in Blackpool South, one of the big issues has been the future of Blackpool Airport,
04:26 which to all intents and purposes has been presumed to be resolved.
04:30 It's functioning now as a training centre.
04:33 And there's been a lot of talk all of a sudden, really, about reinstating commercial flights.
04:38 And the Conservative candidates and the reform candidates are both pushing for that and say
04:42 it would be a worthwhile investment.
04:44 But the other candidates, most notably the Labour candidates, have said it's a waste
04:50 of taxpayers' money if it's not something he's going to pledge and commit to because
04:55 he just doesn't see the value in it.
04:58 Health inequalities has been another big issue that the candidates themselves have really
05:03 tripped on talking about investment in the NHS, on Blackpool's sea frontier, or Stone's
05:07 Throw, some of the most deprived wards in the country.
05:11 So that always plays well.
05:13 Anything that can improve people's health and access to health, especially in the current
05:17 climate with lengthy waiting lists and the like.
05:19 In both cases, Labour strongholds, surely, I mean, they hold 37 of the 42 seats, a significant
05:26 majority for Labour in Preston as well.
05:29 So certainly no chance of any shocks or upsets or changing of hands, really, because of the
05:35 fact they're elected in third.
05:37 So there's not the scope for a huge upset.
05:41 Local issues do dominate, really.
05:43 But I mean, the thing that struck me as well is that the national chatter hasn't really
05:48 cut through at a local level.
05:50 The candidates aren't really talking about what their national parties would do.
05:55 And if they are, they're talking about it in very localised terms.
06:00 And even to the extent in the case of the Conservative opposition group leader of Preston
06:05 City Council, I ran a debate with the Preston candidates last week.
06:11 She said, you know, vote local was her message.
06:14 And she came straight out of the blocks with that pitch, saying that she understood people
06:19 might be disillusioned with the government.
06:22 She means the world were appalled with some of the MPs.
06:25 And it was very much, you know, not something she was trying to brush under the carpet.
06:30 She came and confronted it and said, please see past that and see us as local Conservatives.
06:38 So absolutely fascinating to hear Paul's thoughts there, not just about the Blackpool South
06:44 by-election, but also about the Chorley and Preston local elections, which are also on
06:49 the 2nd of May.
06:50 And it really echoes a lot of what I've heard from speaking to candidates and people today,
06:57 which is the local politicians are really trying to focus on local issues, and particularly
07:03 with the Conservatives.
07:04 They don't want to be really linked or compared to anything in Westminster.
07:11 They're really trying to set out their own campaign.
07:13 That was the case in Dudley, where they told me they were trying to be seen as almost independent.
07:19 So it's really interesting to hear it's still the case up here.
07:22 And also what Paul was saying about the sleaze that is really affecting the Conservative
07:26 party up here with Scott Benton and also Mark Menzies in the neighbouring constituency in
07:33 Fylde.
07:34 And that really builds on what I've heard today from people.
07:39 You know, they're talking about how they think politicians are just in it for themselves.
07:42 They're trousering all the money and they're just keeping it.
07:46 And there's not much appetite to go out and vote.
07:48 And worryingly for Labour, I would say that the public seem to be throwing all politicians
07:55 in that.
07:56 They're not just saying it's the Conservatives.
07:58 They're saying it's all of them.
07:59 And that is where the Angela Rayner scandal could really harm Labour, because clearly
08:04 people are saying all politicians are in it together.
08:07 They're taking all the money.
08:08 And it's affecting not just the Tories, but also Labour.
08:12 So yeah, a tale, I guess, of apathy here in Blackpool South.
08:17 But as Paul says, it would still be a shock if Labour didn't win this seat.
08:21 And you know, there's not that much science of the Conservatives campaigning around here.
08:26 So just a reminder, you can find all of Paul's fantastic reporting on the Blackpool Gazette
08:31 website and also the Lancashire Evening Post website, our sister titles.
08:36 And you can find all of our politics coverage on nationalworld.com and our app.
08:41 And I will see you next week when we'll be looking forward to covering the by-elections
08:45 here and the local elections all across the country.
08:47 So thank you very much.
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