Is Rishi on the level? – many in town think not
Prime Minister’s claims of progress are disputed
RISHI Sunak says the government is making ‘great progress’ in ‘levelling up’ the country.
But when the Express asked voters in Stockport, which the Prime Minister visited on Friday, hardly anyone agreed.
Mr Sunak spent the morning in the Conservative constituency, where he met party members and local activists at a cafe in Marple.
The Prime Minister was greeted by Paul Athans, the Conservative candidate who hopes to become the next Tory MP for Hazel Grove when incumbent William Wragg stands down, before answering questions about the economy, the Ukraine war and the conflict in the Middle East.
But following the warm reception inside La Dolce Vita Restaurant on Stockport Road, the Prime Minister was heckled by members of the public when he stepped outside.
Several people stood on the other side of the road booed and shouted ‘resign’ as he left the cafe.
The Prime Minister went on to visit Altrincham Market where he met Sir Graham Brady, the local Conservative MP, before walking around the town and speaking to the public.
The Express had the opportunity to ask the PM one question during his visit, which came a few months after the Conservatives came to Manchester for their party conference.
Ahead of the event in October, our sister paper the Manchester Evening News reported on the growing disparities between the North and South of England in health, education and employment.
Since the last general election in 2019, life expectancy in the North has fallen while it has gone up in the South.
GCSE grades in the North West have fallen further behind those in London.
And the unemployment rate has risen faster in this region than anywhere else.
The Express put these figures to the Prime Minister when he visited on Friday and asked whether he has given up on improving the lives of people in so-called red wall seats who voted for him because he promised to ‘level up’ the country.
Mr Sunak rejected the suggestion that the levelling up mission has failed, claiming the Conservatives have made ‘great progress’.
However, when the Express asked people in Marple whether they agree, some just laughed.
Jane Nketiah, who sells dog accessories at her Barkley and Fetch shop in the town centre, said the only levelling up in the area has been a commitment to a new leisure centre.
Last year, Stockport council secured £20m of levelling up funding for a new community hub in Marple with a pool, library, gym, community space and play park.
But Jane says the government should be investing more in public transport - particularly trains.
“I don’t feel like he’s levelled up at all,” she said.
Having previously voted for the Lib Dems in Hazel Grove, Jane says she supports Labour but worries that it is a wasted vote in the constituency where the opposition party has come third in every general election.
She has never voted for the Tories.
Brian Morrisey on the other hand, has.
But the Cheadle Hulme resident, who lives in another marginal Conservative constituency which neighbours Hazel Grove, says he has been voting for the Lib Dems for 20 years.
Having previously lived in London for 30 years, he says public transport outside of the capital is ‘unreliable’.
He won’t be voting Conservative at the next general election, he says, primarily because of the partygate scandal and the handling of the pandemic.
His daughter Charlotte, moved to Marple a month ago .
“Where is it levelled up?,” she asked. “Why’s he stopped HS2?”
The PM defended his decision to scrap the Manchester leg of HS2 during his visit to Marple saying that every penny that was going to be spent on the high-speed railway line in the North will still be spent in the North.
However, some of the money saved by making changes to the southern section of the line will be spent elsewhere in the country - including on filling potholes in London.
“He needs to invest in the North,” Charlotte said. “We can’t even get down south.”
Another Marple resident, who did not share her name, agreed that more money needs to be spent on infrastructure in the North.
The Conservative voter gave the government some credit for their record on levelling up, saying that there’s been ‘a little bit of progress’.
However, she says she will not be voting for the Tories again at the next general election.
Another Conservative voter in the Hazel Grove constituency, who also asked for his name not to be published, said that he might not vote at all at the next national poll.
He thinks the government has made some progress on levelling up, citing the new leisure centre that is planned.
But he is unhappy about the Conservatives selecting a candidate who is not from the area - and he would never vote for Labour or the Lib Dems.
“You want someone who’s been here a number of years. You can’t just come in from somewhere like Liverpool which is a totally different locality,” he said.
“The people are totally different. They’ve got a totally different outlook to the Manchester people.”
Michelle Singleton, who works as a child minder and lives in Marple, usually votes Labour.
The 55-year-old said the town centre looks ‘lovely’, but businesses are suffering and some areas are not being maintained well, referring to grass coming out of the pavements.
“When he says levelling up,” she said. “I don’t really get what he means. I don’t think he lives in the real world.”
Mr Sunak told the Express ‘levelling up’ is ‘about making sure that everyone, no matter where they live in our country feel like they and their family have every opportunity to build the life that they want for themselves and that they feel enormous pride in the place they call home’.
He said the government is committed to delivering that and has already made progress in the North West.
Asked whether he has given up on improving the lives of people in historic Labour heartlands in the North of England who voted for the Conservatives on a promise of levelling up, he said: “No. I’m a Northern MP. I represent a community over in the North East.
He added: “Whether it’s more investment in local transportation, whether it’s investment in local hospital services, new community diagnostics centres, people could get their scans and checks quicker, whether it’s making sure our schools and our apprenticeships are well-funded so young people have the opportunities they need, or whether it’s through all our levelling up funds to make sure our fantastic high streets and town centres - including ones right round the corner from here - are getting the investment they need so that people can grow up in fantastic places.
“All of that is part of levelling up and we’ve made great progress over the past few years but obviously we’re going to keep going because I want to keep making sure that everyone, as I said, wherever they live in the UK, feels that they have those opportunities they need to succeed an they have enormous pride in the place they call home.
“That’s what we’re driving towards.”