Retaining new Tory seats in the North ‘a priority’

Chairwoman visits ex-Red Wall areas

HOLDING ON to former Red Wall seats is a key priority for the Conservatives, the party’s chairwoman has said.

Speaking during a visit to Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, Amanda Milling said a major part of her role, which she took up in February, would be working with new Conservative MPs who had been elected in December to make sure they were able to cling on to their seats when the next election comes in 2024.

Ms Milling, who visited Scunthorpe, Grimsby, and Penistone and Stocksbridge on Friday, said: “One of the things we need to make sure of is we really secure our presence and help these new MPs build their presence in their seats.”

Nine Yorkshire seats swapped from Labour to the Tories in the 2019 election – some for the first time in their history – and Ms Milling said she was conscious the votes that caused that were

lent to the party and not guaranteed the next time around.

“It’s also about understanding their priorities and what they’re looking to deliver as MPs, which will make a difference to that constituency,” she said.

“And that goes back to that levelling up agenda, put coronavirus aside and we still need to deliver on our manifesto commitments.”

Pushed on whether the promises made by Conservatives on the doorstep still stood despite coronavirus, Ms Milling said: “In order to come out of coronavirus, and ensure that we don’t end up with communities being left behind, it’s so important that we continue with that levelling up agenda, and so we’ve got to do things on the ground.”

Ms Milling said one of her priorities was to increase the number of different groups the party could reach, including bringing more women on board.

She pointed to Miriam Cates, Lia Nici, and Holly Mumby-Croft in the constituencies she visited as examples.

“When I was appointed as cochair of the party I was keen to reach out to communities but also reach out to different groups whether that was women, or BAME groups,” she said.

And she hoped now, with a four-year stretch before any General Election, she would be able to work on that more.