After the once-thriving coal and manufacturing town of Leigh in northern England voted for the Conservative Party for the first time at the last general election, locals hoped for a promised transformation of the area. But over four years later, and just days until the next national ballot, the signs of economic hardship and neglect remain.

Leigh

The northern English town of Leigh voted in a Conservative Member of Parliament for the first time at the UK's last general election. Locals hoped for a promised transformation of the once thriving coal and manufacturing area. But over four years later, the signs of economic hardship and neglect remain. Many shops on Leigh's main shopping streets are boarded up. Housing and homelessness are also big issues here.

John Reidyard, who used to work in a textile mill in Leigh, was one of those who voted Conservative in 2019. He reflects that the town's thriving community has dwindled, noting that "there's no laughter in the streets like it used to be."

At the 2019 general election, then Prime Minister Boris Johnson persuaded voters in dozens of towns like Leigh in northern and central England to elect a Conservative candidate for the first time. These areas, known as the Red Wall, were previously strongholds of the opposition Labour Party. Johnson's pledge to get Brexit done and his promises of levelling up resonated with an electorate tired of Britain's slow negotiations to withdraw from the EU. 

However, many residents now feel betrayed, and polls predict that the Conservatives will lose all the seats in Red Wall areas in the upcoming vote, potentially paving the way for a Labour landslide victory. Local Labour campaigner Farai Nakaniso pointed out that residents in Leigh are struggling more than they were five years ago, citing a cost of living crisis and insufficient support from the local Conservative MP.

Leigh was allocated $40 million to redevelop the town centre under the levelling up plan. However, Reuters has found that more than 99% of those funds have not been spent, caught up in local political and bureaucratic quarrels. This pattern is reflected nationally, where just over 10% of the more than $12 billion local regeneration funds have been spent, according to Parliament's Public Accounts Committee.

Of the 44 voters who spoke to Reuters in Leigh, only one planned to vote Conservative this time. Michael Winstanley, the Tory candidate, expressed his disappointment over the lack of investment in the town and blamed the Labour-run local council for not having a clear plan. Labour has stated that if it wins the election, it will grant more powers to local leaders and abandon the term "levelling up" to signify a break from Conservative policies.



Broken promises in England's north point to Conservative wipeout

The northern English town of Leigh voted in a Conservative Member of Parliament for the first time at the UK's last general election. Locals hoped for a promised transformation of the once thriving coal and manufacturing area. But over four years later, and just days until the next national ballot, the signs of economic hardship and neglect remain. Many shops on Leigh's main shopping streets are boarded up. Housing and homelessness are also big issues here. John Reidyard used to work in a textile mill in Leigh. He was one of those who voted Conservative in 2019. As you can see, the town's died. It was a thriving community. Everybody was happy. And it's gone. Yeah. There's no laughter in the streets like it used to be. You know, like is the heart and soul of the country. And apart from that, it's just desolate. At the 2019 general election, then Prime Minister Boris Johnson persuaded voters in dozens of towns like Leigh in northern and central England to elect a Conservative candidate for the first time. Those areas in the country's former industrial heartland, known as the Red Wall, were previously strongholds of the opposition Labour Party. But Johnson's pledge to get Brexit done resonated with an electorate tired of Britain's slow negotiations to withdraw from the EU. Voters were also swayed by his promises of levelling up, a policy of investing in local projects to regenerate deprived areas. Many of them now feel betrayed, and polls predict that the Conservatives will lose all the seats in Red Wall areas in Thursday's vote, helping Labour to a landslide victory. Farai Nakaniso is a local Labour campaigner. Our people in Leigh are struggling far worse compared to five years ago, based on the cost of living crisis that we're facing as a nation at the moment. And places likely are being hit the hardest because we had a Conservative MP that didn't stick up for people locally here in the Leigh constituency, and we need a change to that. Leigh was assigned $40m to redevelop the town centre under the levelling up plan. But Reuters has found more than 99% of those funds have not been spent, with the cash caught up in local political and bureaucratic quarrels. Other areas of Britain follow a similar pattern. Parliament's Public Accounts Committee said in March that nationally, just over 10% of the more than $12bn local regeneration funds have been spent. Of the 44 voters who spoke to Reuters in Leigh, only one planned to vote Conservative this time around. Michael Winstanley, the Tory candidate, said he would have liked to have seen more money spent on regenerating the town, but he blames the Labour-run local council for failing to have a clear plan. Labour said if it wins Thursday's election, it will give more powers to local leaders, and would drop the term levelling up to mark a break with Conservative policies.

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