The Tory stronghold that could be a toss-up come election day

The disconnect between politicians and people is evident in Andrea Leadsom’s old seat

by Nadia Lincoln, Local Democracy Reporter

“If I’m honest I don’t know who I’m voting for this year,” Tracey Smith said as she stood at her front door which hasn’t yet been visited by any local candidates.

“I keep saying if one of them knocks on my door and has a conversation with me then maybe I’d vote, but we’re in a village and they don’t seem overly interested in coming to meet people on the streets.”

Her home in Roade makes up part of the South Northamptonshire constituency, a rural area which stretches all the way from small villages on the Oxfordshire border to Wollaston and Bozeat on the eastern edge of the county.

For Tracey, schools, education and special needs provision are the key issues she really cares about in the run-up to the general election. Her existence as a kinship carer is also important, but she says that there is currently no party that has taken notice of people like her or offered any meaningful support.

She said: “I just think they’re not touching the ground and they’re not really hearing the people anymore. It’s become more of a mud-slinging campaign rather than ‘this is what we’re going to do for you’.

“There needs to be change on all levels. People want the facts- what exactly are you going to do for us? Give us something to hope for.”

South Northamptonshire has always been a safe seat for the Conservatives, with the previous MP Andrea Leadsom winning the 2019 general election with a 62 per cent share of the vote and a 27,000 majority.

However, Joesph David Matthews, 71, from Brackley, is part of the group of people looking for a change this time around. Despite usually voting for the Conservatives, Joesph said he will probably vote for Labour on July 4.

“I think the country is being led by the wrong people and I honestly think that it’s time for a change,” he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) whilst walking down the high street in Brackley.

“Give it a shot, see what happens- you’ve only got five years.”

Just down the road, sat outside a cafe with a friend, Bev Wood, 66, also advocated for a change in the constituency.   He said that he was a “rarity” in Brackley, being a self-proclaimed staunch Corbyn left-winger in the “die-hard Tory” seat.

However, he said Labour wouldn’t be getting his vote for the first time in 30 years.

He continued: “I’ll be going for a more radical manifesto that suits me more so I will be voting for the Greens.

“The Labour Party used to be a broad church so it used to respect most people’s opinions, but unfortunately with Starmer we’re now in a position where the constituency Labour parties have been overridden and Labour MPs are being parachuted in.”

Bev, who has lived in Brackley all his life, said he would be “surprised” if it “went anything other than Tory”, but that it wouldn’t stop him from voting for the principles he truly believes in.

In sunny Towcester, Eugene O’Brien, 64, shared the increasingly common position of not knowing who exactly to vote for.   He said that he nearly always voted Conservative, but there were a few times over the years when he didn’t vote at all because he wasn’t sure which way to go.

He told the LDRS: “I was erring towards Labour, if anything, but still undecided. I have lost some faith in politicians- they say one thing and it doesn’t happen.

“I actually like Rishi Sunak a lot. If I was just voting for the leader of a party I’d go for Rishi Sunak, but on principle I’d more likely go for Labour.

“I don’t think I’ll definitely vote, in fact I think it’s more likely that I won’t vote. Whichever party’s in I don’t know if we’ll feel the difference in the next five years.”

The latest general election model released by Ipsos suggests that the once Tory stronghold could be broken, simply predicting a ‘toss up’ between the Conservatives and Labour. Their census estimates Conservatives will gain 34 per cent of the vote, whilst Labour could just pip them to the post with 36 per cent.

Walking back to her shop on Towcester high street, Jane Docking, from Greens Norton, said she was still “really undecided” about who she would be voting for. She said her focus lies on which party will do more to support small businesses and save high streets which have been really struggling over recent years.

Tracey Hopkinson, who works with Jane in the independent jewellery shop, was steadfast in her admission that she would not be voting this year, saying that a lot of people have given up on politics. They both felt that there was a lot of apathy for this year’s election, brewing from mounting distrust in politicians.

Jane added: “There’s too much backbiting that goes on instead of actually just putting their policies across. I think this year’s worse and I think a lot of people are undecided this time.”

Rob, who has lived in Roade for around 40 years, has taken his distrust of the system one step further and said he is planning on spoiling his ballot come election day. He said there needs to be a change, but doesn’t see how any of the current parties will offer anything different.

“No one’s going to change it. People say Reform but if everyone votes Reform they’ll just get Labour in.

“The only way to let them know I’m not happy is to spoil my ballot.

“The system needs changing, politics needs changing, education needs changing. This election won’t change anything. I think things will get worse before they get better,” he said.

People living in the constituency will have a choice of eight candidates on their ballot papers on July 4. The people running to be the new MP are Rufia Ashraf (Labour), Sarah Bool (Conservatives), Paul James Hogan (Reform UK), Ian Alexander McCord (Independent), Stuart Robert McCutcheon (Independent), Mick Stott (Workers Party), Stewart Tolley (Lib Dems) and Emmie Williamson (Greens).

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Published: 22/06/2024 10:53am by Banbury FM Newsteam

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