Region’s electoral ‘red wall’ still crumble further, warn
CONSERVATIVES could make even more gains in so-called ‘red wall’ seats in the region – according to both Labour and Tory MPS.
The 2019 general election saw Tories win traditional Labour seats such as Blyth Valley, Redcar, Bishop Auckland and Sedgefield.
But recent election results, including the Hartlepool by-election victory, suggest support for the Conservatives might still be growing. Tories gained council seats in places like County Durham and Sunderland.
South Shields Labour MP Emma Lewell-buck warned that voters had not forgotten Labour’s decision before the 2019 election to support a second Brexit referendum, which was unpopular with pro-brexit voters.
She said: “Brexit affects how people vote, most definitely.
“I’ve said for a long time, you can’t keep saying that’s behind us and we move on. People don’t forget, when you didn’t do what hey asked you to do. It’s ultimately about public service.
“I haven’t forgotten how I was treated by own party for having a different view on Brexit to the majority [of Labour MPS], so why would my constituents forget?
“I know I sound anti my own party, but I’m just telling the truth. This is what people are telling us. And until we face up to that, we are going to struggle.
“We need to admit that on things like Brexit, we got it wrong as a party.”
She said the performance of Labourcontrolled councils was also a problem.
“What I heard time and time again in Hartlepool is similar to what I hear in South Shields – that the council takes things for granted.
“Until we start tackling some of that, we could be in trouble.”
Ms Lewell-buck said Labour’s problems could not all be blamed on current leader Keir Starmer, or on former leader Jeremy Corbyn.
“That’s a mistake we make, we centre it all around one person.
“The Labour Party has always been bigger than one person. It’s a collective. It’s pointless saying it’s all Jeremy’s fault or it’s all Keir’s fault. We all have to take responsibility.”
But referring to the last Labour government, which was in power from 1997 to 2010, she said: “There is hope. When we were in power all those years ago, we did
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We need to admit that on things like Brexit, we got it wrong as a party SOUTH SHIELDS LABOUR MP EMMA LEWELL-BUCK
great things. We can do it. We just need people to trust us and give us the opportunity to do it.”
Bishop Auckland Conservative MP Dehenna Davison said: “If we reflect on the results we saw in the local elections, there were an awful lot of council seats that we gained, and an awful lot where we can second.
“Which I think shows that Conservative support is really still growing.”
It might look like there aren’t many seats left in the North East that the Conservatives could win, but Labour held Wansbeck with a majority of just 814 ahead of the Tories in 2019, while the party held Stockton North with a majority of just 1,027.
However, Conservatives could still struggle to hold on to some of the gains they made in 2019.
They have a majority of just 712 in Blyth Valley, and 1,144 in North West Durham.