City Labor is desperate to win where a problem continues to arise

It was a Labor town for almost 100 years before voters rejected the party in 2019, electing a Tory MP for the first time.

The shock result in Leigh was repeated in the north of England at the last general election. After nearly five years, Labor hopes to turn the tide, winning back the voters it lost and convincing those who have never voted before to give them a chance.

In a presentation to voters on Thursday (May 16), Sir Keir Starmer set out what Labor would do first if it wins the next election, before sending his top team around the country to deliver the message in the areas it needs to win them back if they win. to form a government. A few hours later, shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper appeared outside a van announcing the party leader’s six engagements in Leigh town centre.

READ MORE: It has been described as a ‘big shock’ to Labour. But others saw it coming

Sir Keir’s “first steps” include achieving “economic stability”, cracking down on anti-social behavior and recruiting 6,500 new teachers. The party also promised to establish a public clean energy company and increase border security.

But in Leigh, a problem keeps cropping up. Labor has promised to reduce NHS waiting times – and for many voters that is a top priority.

Anna, who turns 76 in a few weeks, has lived in Leigh all her life. But she never voted Labour.

For her, the NHS is a “big priority”. “I recently went into the hospital in an ambulance,” she said Manchester Evening News.

“I was hungry and cold. This in 2022, in this area. But I can’t afford to enter privately. I have pension credits”.

Although she usually votes Conservative, the pensioner is not happy with the current government. But she is not convinced by Labour.

“They will tell us everything in the next few weeks,” she said. – They will give us a pot of gold. Forget him.

Anna couldn’t believe the Tories had taken the ‘Labor city’ in 2019. But she doesn’t think Tory MP James Grundy will win again.

“There is no hope,” she said. “It’s a working-class town. They gave it a chance because people were fed up.”

Carole White, 67, who lives nearby in Hindley, is much more enthusiastic about the Labor Party. She has been disappointed in the past but now believes a Labor government will bring “transformation for the greater good”.

“I think he’s Keir Starmer,” she said “I think he’s a genuine person. I think that’s the difference. I just think he is a man who has moral values”.

For Carole, who lives in the neighboring constituency of Wigan, the NHS is also her number one priority. “I think it needs restructuring,” she said. “I saw a lot of waste at every level. There are not enough staff to take care of patients in the ward.”

Tony, who also lives in Hindley, agreed. Asked about his top priorities, the Labor voter said: “Health care and the NHS.”

Some are, however, less complimentary of Labour. One man, who won’t share his name, used a braid to sum up his point.

“They crashed the economy,” he said. “The Tories came in again and picked it up.”

A problem that did not occur when Barbie spoke to voters in Leigh town centre, it was the ‘Lexit’ question. The constituency’s current MP campaigned for Leigh to split from Wigan council in a move which was supported by Boris Johnson as Prime Minister.

Asked about the proposal, Jo Platt, the city’s former Labor MP who is hoping to win back the seat at the next election, said “Lexit” was not a priority for voters. “I know this has been brought up by our current MP,” she said, “but I think people are more concerned about the cost of living, what their energy bills are, whether they can get a GP appointment, on NHS waiting lists.

“This is the most important thing. But if the people of Leigh really wanted this, they would obviously make their feelings known. But I don’t understand that at the doors. We’ve knocked on thousands of doors over the last few months and no one has said we need a Lexit.”

During his visit to Leigh, Labour’s shadow home secretary said the party was working “very hard” to “win every vote back”. But the party also wants to win over people who have never voted Labor before at the next election due later this year.

“I think after 14 years of the Tories,” she said, “we badly need change and we need it in Leigh. We need it right here in the northwest.

“When you see families in Leigh who are worse off now than they were 14 years ago, who end up just having huge delays in getting NHS appointments, getting doctor appointments or dentist appointments and the change that Labor could bring so on the economy, on stability, having a proper industrial policy and also things like bringing neighborhood policing back into the city centre, tackling anti-social behavior or getting doctor’s appointments, getting NHS programmes. It’s those really practical things that are the most important issues.”