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By ROB PARSONS - June 24 2022
It was exactly 925 days ago that voters in Wakefield played their part in a dramatic reshaping of the North's political landscape as they voted in a Conservative MP for the first time in decades.
But the outlook for Boris Johnson's party in summer 2022 couldn't be more different from the optimism of the 2019 General Election, when the Tories' gains in Labour's Northern heartland seats raised hopes of a permanent shift in voting patterns.
This morning Wakefield was back in Labour hands. A by-election prompted by the resignation of shamed MP Imran Ahmad Khan saw a 12.7% swing from the Tories and ushered in a new Labour MP, NHS worker Simon Lightwood. You can catch up with the action as it happened on this live blog .
In the early hours of the morning the former Tory stronghold of Tiverton and Honiton was lost to the Liberal Democrats and minutes later Conservative Party co-chairman Oliver Dowden quit, saying he and Tory supporters are “distressed and disappointed by recent events” and telling Mr Johnson that “someone must take responsibility”.
Comparing the Wakefield by-election result with the 2019 General Election reveals the extent to which local voters deserted the Tories this time round (with the caveat that turnout is usually lower in by-elections).
Tory candidate Nadeem Ahmed got 8,241 votes, some 13,000 fewer than Imran Ahmad Khan's total three years ago. And Simon Lightwood won comfortably with a majority of nearly 5,000 despite getting fewer voters than Labour's Mary Creagh received in defeat in 2019.
Polling guru Sir John Curtice has said the swing from Conservative to Labour in Wakefield would, if replicated everywhere, be enough to deliver a Labour overall majority. And he observed that today's by-election results show "many opposition voters are now seemingly willing to vote for whichever candidate seems best able to defeat the Conservatives locally".
Tory MPs are today questioning whether the PM is any longer an electoral asset. He won a confidence vote earlier this month and under current Tory party rules, a second vote of confidence in his leadership cannot be triggered for a year - but there are whispers MPs are considering a rule change. And you can ask our Westminster Editor Dan O'Donoghue what the results could mean for the party leaders in this Q&A .
Speaking 4,000 miles away in Rwanda, where he is at a Commonwealth summit, Mr Johnson vowed to “listen” to voters. He insisted the cost-of-living crisis was the most important issue for voters and it is “true that, in mid-term, governments post-war lose by-elections”.
But as Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer arrived in Ossett, West Yorkshire, for a victory lap, Sheffield MP Louise Haigh who led Simon Lightwood's campaign said she hopes Tory MPs will now remove their “deceitful, dishonest leader”.
Jibes at Angela Rayner's accent 'trying to take away her voice'
Despite rising to the top of politics, Stockport-born Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner has had to grow a thick skin after being on the receiving end of jibes about her strong Manc accent.
But according to Dr Robert McKenzie, a Northumbria University academic behind a new study revealing that many people in England are prejudiced against people with Northern accents, such insults are more than harmless jokes.
"It's a way of taking away their voice," he tells this week's episode of The Northern Agenda podcast . "So if you look at some politicians, for example, Angela Rayner, and [Birmingham MP] Jess Phillips, they've been criticised for the way they speak by several newspapers and on Twitter, and it's a way of diminishing their message.
"So if the accent, or the variety is stigmatised, then they can take away their voice, the message they have is also stigmatised and diminished."
His British Academy-funded Speaking of Prejudice research project interviewed hundreds of people and found that speakers in the North are generally seen as less intelligent, less ambitious and less educated. He says such attitudes have social implications, meaning those with a 'stigmatised accents' are more likely to be found guilty of a crime and be given lower marks at school.
And the aim of the project is for accent to be designated as a protected characteristic under equality legislation, meaning it would be illegal to discriminate against someone based on the way they speak. Perhaps one for Angela Rayner to lobby for in her next media appearance?
Listen to the full interview here on The Northern Agenda podcast
MP ponders referendum to aid his 'Lexit' breakaway bid
It got little attention in the cut-and-thrust of Parliament but this week Keighley MP Robbie Moore presented a Bill which could allow constituencies like his to form their own councils if they get local backing in a referendum.
The Tory MP wants to separate his patch off from Labour-run Bradford council but the move, if successful, could have implications in places like Southport, where many locals want to split from Sefton council and Leigh, where MP James Grundy hopes to break away from Wigan's town hall.
Speaking on our podcast this week the Conservative, who won the seat from Labour in 2019, said he'd had talks this week with Local Government Minister Kemi Badenoch about his 'Lexit' plans but backed the referendum idea should the negotiations not bear fruit.
Though a referendum would come at a cost he likened it to the votes on Brexit (where locals in Leigh voted 63-37 in favour) Scottish referendum and even Greater Manchester's congestion charge that are "held pretty much once-in-a-lifetime".
"And once you've had it, the issue then becomes settled," he said. "And instead of it being an issue that keeps coming up again and again, you establish where people are on it. And you have your vote, and then and then you abide by the result. Where you end up with people not abiding by the results, as we saw with Brexit, well it's why I'm here as MP."
He said part of what inspired the breakaway was the perception in Leigh that Labour-run Wigan council doesn't represent the town's interests and spent less money there than in Wigan itself, something denied by the council.
Police officer dashes out of council meeting to catch shoplifter
Walkouts from council meetings aren't so unusual, but in Stockport a police officer was forced to abandon a gathering with local politicians when a suspected shoplifter was spotted making off with goods from a nearby store.
Insp Shaun Flavell had been fielding questions from councillors at Woodley Civic Hall when a figure was seen running past with a worker from the local Iceland supermarket in pursuit.
As Local Democracy Reporter Nick Statham writes, the suspected thief is first spotted by councillors who ask Insp Flavell if he ‘needs to go’, to which he first replies ‘I’ve not got a radio or anything, to be honest’.
But as councillors point out ‘that looks like a crime is being committed’, he breaks off to go after the offender. As he leaves the building he asks members to ‘look after my stuff’ to the amusement of those in attendance.
Minister 'still not sure' why dead crabs keep washing up on beaches
The resignation of Tory MP Neil Parish in Tiverton and Honiton created a gap as chair of the Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, which scrutinises the Government on crucial issues like trade and farming.
Enter Scarborough and Whitby MP Sir Robert Goodwill, who in one of his first acts since being chosen as replacement raised the issue of Teesside and Yorkshire coast crab and lobster mortalities, arguing the “problem still has not gone away”.
Huge piles of dead and drying crustaceans including crabs and lobsters began to wash up on local beaches last October . Local fishing crews have rejected the Government's position that a naturally occurring algal bloom is the most likely factor.
Sir Robert told the Commons yesterday: “Catches of lobster are 50% down despite vessels venturing further out to sea. I know Defra have attributed this to an algal bloom, but other theories are circulating. Could the minister publish all the toxicology data available for sediment, seawater, and dead crustaceans for independent scrutiny?”
Environment minister Victoria Prentis replied: “He and the neighbouring MPs, and I indeed, are very concerned by what happened last year, and I have been to see some of the crabs affected by this.
“As he said, we are not entirely sure what the cause of the mortality was, but algal bloom seems the most likely outcome. I have made it very clear that we need to publish every single piece of information that we have available, and academics need to work together on this.”
Meanwhile, new rules to ensure homes and estates don’t pollute the River Tees could cause a funding headache at councils, writes Local Democracy Reporter Alex Metcalfe .
Requirements to ensure “nutrient neutrality” for new homes have been rolled out by Natural England in a bid to prevent run-off from estates increasing nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen which can speed up the growth of algae and disrupt ecosystems.
But the new rules have thrown a spanner in the works of house building programmes along the Tees – and the financial plans of councils which rely on bonuses from homes and council tax income to fund services.
Middlesbrough chief executive Tony Parkinson warned the rule changes had the potential to “significantly impact” the borough’s house building programme in the next 12 to 18 months.
'Phenomenally racist letters' after Yorkshire cricket scandal
Test cricket yesterday returned to Headingley for the first time since the racism scandal that engulfed Yorkshire County Cricket Club last September. And the club's chairman Lord Kamlesh Patel admitted it would have gone bust but for England playing in Leeds again.
Lord Patel, who grew up in Bradford, outlined the “phenomenally racist” letters he has received since Azeem Rafiq’s shocking claims of racial harassment and bullying in his time at the county.
Yorkshire and “a number of individuals” were charged by the England and Wales Cricket Board last week following an investigation into the racism allegations made by Rafiq, and the handling of those allegations by the club.
Rafiq said he was a step nearer to “closure” after those disrepute charges were brought and called for the disciplinary hearings to be held in public. The former spinner plans to attend some stage of the third LV= Insurance Test between England and New Zealand at the invitation of Yorkshire.
Asked if he had received racist letters, Patel told BBC Radio’s Test Match Special: “Phenomenally racist. We have a very small but very vocal group of individuals that do not accept that racism happened at this club. I think we have to move beyond that denial. Racism happens in society. It certainly happened at this club."
War of words over 'fundamentally flawed' Roman Quarter bid
Some 2,000 years ago - when it was known as Eboracum - York was a major Roman settlement and for a few years even the capital of the Roman Empire.
But in the year 2022 attempts to capitalise on the city's heritage have caused a furious row, as Local Democracy Reporter Joe Cooper writes . A charity behind plans for a new ‘Roman Quarter’ this week hit back at historic conservation experts who described the idea as “fundamentally flawed”.
York Archaeological Trust (YAT) has issued an eight page response to the Council for British Archaeology (CBA) and Historic England, who both oppose plans for a new underground Roman museum, apartments and a hotel in Rougier Street.
The project – a partnership between Rougier Street Developments and YAT – is a resubmission of an application thrown out by councillors last year. The new application has sparked a war of words between YAT, the CBA and Historic England.
The CBA said the scheme was using the heritage visitor attraction, which would be twice the size of the city's Jorvik Centre, “as leverage to overdevelop the site as a whole” and described it as “unethical”.
The development would involve a two-year archaeological dig – with findings displayed in the museum – but the organisations are at loggerheads about the merits of the dig.
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Northern Stories
Conservationists aim to create a “northern stronghold” for the threatened hazel dormice with a release of 39 of the tiny mammals in Lancashire . The hazel dormice have been reintroduced into ancient woodland owned by the National Trust as part of efforts to help the endangered species come back from the brink of extinction. It follows a reintroduction of 30 hazel dormice last year in neighbouring woodland in the Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The move aims to create a bigger and better-connected population of hazel dormice in the North West.
A massive £20 million carbon capture and usage plant opens its doors today in Cheshire , signalling a key milestone in the race to meet the country’s net zero targets . The Tata Chemicals plant in Northwich, a UK first, will capture 40,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year - the equivalent to taking over 20,000 cars off the roads and will reduce carbon emissions by more than 10 per cent. Officials hope it will also help unlock the future of carbon capture in the UK as it demonstrates the viability of the technology.
Council bosses will be asked to pump more resources into Bradford ’s already stretched food safety team as the District prepares for a City of Culture boost. The team were speaking to Councillors about the pressures facing their department at a meeting this week on Wednesday evening – pointing out that there is a huge backlog in food businesses awaiting inspections. One councillor pointed out that the successful City of Culture bid will likely lead to many more new food businesses looking to open in Bradford, and more needed to be done to strengthen the service in preparation for this.
The cost of planting another six trees in Blackpool town centre has been revealed as £174,000 . The eye-watering bill for foliage in Edward Street comes three years after eyebrows were raised at the £100,000 cost of planting 10 trees in Cookson Street. Conservative councillors have attacked the spending – but council documents reveal it was necessary in order to give the trees a better chance of survival.
A Greater Manchester MP has warned antisemitism is rife even at junior level in football , with reports of seven-year-old Jewish players being hissed at on the pitch as a way to replicate the noise of the gas chambers. Bury South MP Christian Wakeford urged the Government to do 'much more' to ensure British football players can play their 'beautiful game' without being subjected to unacceptable abuse. During a Westminster Hall debate on antisemitism and other forms of racism in football, Labour's Mr Wakeford warned there are examples of antisemitism everywhere in football, even at junior level.
Tributes have been paid to a former Lord Mayor of Liverpool who was instrumental in the city’s European Capital of Culture bid. Former colleagues have lined up to pay their respects to Frank Doran after he lost his long battle with Alzheimer's disease, aged 72 . Mr Doran was Lord Mayor of the city in 1996-7 and, as cabinet member for culture in 2008, helped secure Liverpool’s transformational status as European Capital of Culture. During his time at the Town Hall, the former councillor also flew to New York to personally present Yoko Ono with John Lennon’s Freeman of the City.
