If I lived in a run down area, voting.

Lin52

EllanVannin

Aren't run-down areas up to the local councils ( many of which are Labour ) to sort out ?

They absolutely are, my area much improving since the demise of the previous Labour majority, still needs work as do many places, and cannot be achieved overnight.

They absolutely aren't. It depends which tier of council you're talking about anyway. Some former Labour councils were offered a bung recently.

Same here GillT57. The local Facebook group is full of moans about potholes and doctor's surgeries, etc, but it doesn't matter how many times people are told. The county council's website even has a useful guide as to who is responsible for what.

Lemongrove, it is indeed interesting that areas which have been very directly affected by Brexit have turned away from Cons. Why would you choose to ignore that?

I think it would help if the electorate knew who paid for what. For example, we ( like most of the country, I expect!) have pot holes which take ages to be dealt with. Every day there is someone grumbling on FB about the local ( either Borough or even Parish) council failing to deal with them. It doesn't matter how many times it is pointed out that highways are the responsibility of the County Council and noting to do with anyone else, still people blame the wrong ones.

EllanVannin

Aren't run-down areas up to the local councils ( many of which are Labour ) to sort out ?

They absolutely are, my area much improving since the demise of the previous Labour majority, still needs work as do many places, and cannot be achieved overnight.

In England, there has been a massive swing away from Labour...but to read comments on GN you could be forgiven for thinking the opposite.?

In answer to your question Mokryna I would vote for any political party in local elections that I think will put in more time and effort into securing good things for my area.
I would do the same in a GE, but in that case for the country as a whole and have no inherited or cultural affinity with any one political party.It’s misguided loyalty to do otherwise.

Kali2

Interesting to see the massive swing away from Tories in Coastal Kent regions so directly affected by Brexit.

There's been a swing away from the Tories in Cambridgeshire too.

Rosie I know transport in London varies, but even so, it's better than many parts of the country outside London and some of the big cities. The point I was trying to make is that if you live in one of the poorer parts of London, reasonably paid jobs are usually within an hour's travel, which isn't the case in many towns.

growstuff I agree about the concept of all Londoners being better off (I wish!) but transport in London does vary. SE London is quite poorly serviced in some parts, generally south of the Thames is poorer served than north of the Thames. I do know the boroughs with the largest numbers living in deprivation are north of the Thames.

Interesting to see the massive swing away from Tories in Coastal Kent regions so directly affected by Brexit.

vegansrock There are plenty of areas in London with high deprivation and are in the poorest 20 boroughs in the country. I posted some information about this last year some time.

London's big advantage is that it generally has good transport, so people can be flexible about the areas where they work. That's often not the case in the small and medium towns surrounding big cities, where work is generally more highly paid. Additionally, some small and medium towns have historically relied on single industries, so if there's a decline other suppliers and outlets will be affected. That leads to wider areas being in decline and deprived.

Nevertheless, don't think for one minute that all Londoners or all people in more affluent areas are better off. That's how averages deceive.

The Tories have always despised local government and since Thatcher have eroded the power they hold and the funding they are given, to centralise more state control in Westminster and, more recently, in cabinet government. It is a worrying trend.
Labour's popularity in cities and in the mayoral regions demonstrates the need for more regional control and for representation for those communities.
Political change will come around in those localities where Labour used to be strong, and where people have realised voting Tory comes with targeted privilege- ie your gain at someone else's expense.
Run down areas may be a vague term but it is an accurate one- these places, particularly the old Labour strongholds, have been deliberately run down by a succession of Tory governments and equally neglected by London centric Labour ones.
Only when the Tories let down these voters, as they inevitably will, will we see a politics more reflective of those communities' needs.
I think voting Tory has been a real dilemma for some and has been played down by the media as it suits their agenda.
Covid has strengthened our awareness of community and I believe will be a key player in future politics.
I think that can only be a positive change.
Climbs down from her soap-box.

lin52 which areas of London are more awful than any other big cities ( most of which also have Labour mayors) ? Khan did not get as big a vote as last time, but I wouldn’t call 55% of the votes “scraped in”, there were about 20 other candidates. Khan has been sh*t on by the government and he stood up to them by not scrapping the freedom pass for pensioners and free travel for kids, which the government wanted him to do, I’m guessing to make him unpopular. That’s why he got my vote as well as the greens, as I’m not a Labour member btw and usually vote green or tactically.

Not sure how you would define a run down area. Sometimes it is just a few streets surrounded by more affluent people so it could be hard to carve off that area. Or perhaps it is more widespread than that ? It might be caravan parks and temporary housing but that is hard to define without being judgemental.

EllanVannin

Aren't run-down areas up to the local councils ( many of which are Labour ) to sort out ?

Local councils at all levels, whether county, district, parish or whatever, depend on grants from central government and in reality have little power. In recent years, the formula for distributing grants has been changed to favour more affluent areas. As poorer areas tend to be Labour, they have been left as the scapegoats.

varian

If I lived in a run down area I might ask the Tory candidate why we were so run down when we have had a Tory government since 201.0

EllanVannin, austerity slashed the funding from central to local government. Labour councils in the north (mine) got a great hit, Kensington and Chelsea did well.
Odd that

Aren't run-down areas up to the local councils ( many of which are Labour ) to sort out ?

Yes, I think that would be my question. Did you hear the older guy and son from Hartlepool?

If I lived in a run down area I might ask the Tory candidate why we were so run down when we have had a Tory government since 201.0

mokryna

Thinking of how I would vote if I live in a run down area and noting that 40 places were allocated more money under the Tories, I would really have to think. Sleaze or funds to boost a neglected area. Do you think it was dilemma for some?

Many parts of my area could be called run down, same in many towns and cities, although not as awful as some parts of London under the auspices of Khan and co, only just scraped in I see. The Cons council have done much to encourage business, hence jobs, and tried to amend the big overspend by last Labour council, including a 3 million traffic light project, found not to be required, they must have made a big impression on the local people, as have increased their majority. Think it is rather a bigoted point of view that all Conservatives are uncaring and that their councils are sleazy.