CHALLENGE FACING ‘RED WALL’ TOWNS AFTER THE PANDEMIC
Why support crumbled in a Labour fortress
The Tories must invest and stop giving their mates huge contracts
RICHARD SPAIN WHO VOTED LABOUR
ON the North Wales coast, the crumbled walls of the medieval Flint Castle are a reminder of its historic glory.
And in the Red Wall town it used to guard, Labour faces a struggle to rebuild its previously solid support.
Labour held the seat of Delyn, which includes Flint, for 27 years until the Tories took it at the last election.
Pete Williams, 49, an assistant retail manager, switched to the Tories because of Jeremy Corbyn.
He does not regret his decision – even though he is waiting for the “levelling-up” promised by Boris Johnson. “It does feel there is one rule down there and another rule up here. There is a little bit of a way to go,” he said. Despite the mistakes made during the pandemic, he is reluctant to lay all the blame on the Government.
He said: “The virus was completely unforeseen. At the end of the day I think they are doing a decent job. The vaccine rollout has been pretty good and I don’t think anyone could do any better.”
Dennis Smith, 76, a retired oil industry worker, voted Tory at the last election but backed Labour when younger. He wants the Government to tackle inequalities.
He said: “I’ve always had a comfortable job but there are a lot of people who, to be honest, I don’t know how they manage to live. You have got to create jobs but not jobs which just pay a living wage.”
He believes Covid-19 has made the Government’s task much harder. “Obviously over the past 12 months the Government has made mistakes but this pandemic is unprecedented.”
Kath Jencitis, 65, a retired care manager, is another ex-Labour voter who switched sides because she could not vote for Mr Corbyn. She is not sure she will return to Labour next time. But she is a huge fan of Jack Sargeant, who succeeded his father, the late Carl Sargeant, to represent the constituency of Alyn and Deeside in the Senedd. Kath believes levelling-up will take time. However, all is not lost for Labour in
Flint, on the banks of the River Dee. Richard Spain, 68, a retired economist, supported the party in 2019 and was a fan of the former MP David Hanson. He says the Tories will not honour their promises.
Richard said: “I’m a trained economist and levelling-up is not happening. They need to stop awarding huge contracts to their mates.
“They have got to invest. Where is the investment in improving rail services, East to West, Liverpool to Hull?”
Student Rebecca Hughes, 21, a first-time voter in 2019, was also impressed by MP Hanson: She said: “He did a lot for the community. Especially younger people. I was very surprised he got beaten. But people did not like Jeremy Corbyn.”