Labour’s Red Wall: the places that will decide the election | Anywhere but Westminster

now there comes a point in an election or referendum campaign where we feel we have to go three or four places on some maps for it told that Labour's own polling suggests that it's vote is draining away in the very places that it needs to hold on to pollsters and pundits are talking about the so-called labour red war the string of seats from the Midlands to the north of might fall to the Tories we're starting our journey here in Wolverhampton this is where we first define the corbin surge of 2017 does you know who you're gonna vote for Oh like last week it's a hundred percent conservative and now through my daughter and through watching television I'm not sure I might change my mind but I might not he seems quite sincere for those depressed by the you government peephole it needs only that poll to be naught point five percent now and then I want percent swing from toys a labor in the next two weeks to reduce that sixty-eight majority is zero so the people do opinion polls have their methodology we have ours that was noted in the bus stop well you gonna vote no you should vote but AM decide he did I don't mean about the labor in the past what's change we all know what comes next pay for every name which one we want to know is whether we can get beyond these quickfire superficial responses work out of that many sets or it can be a thoroughly dispiriting business because the voice in your own head constantly says what you doing this is this is completely unscientific about two years ago but I won't be going to this what's change confusion really over what's happening with grips it and what's happening in the in the political world and the lack of understanding and maca trust within the government well what about the other the opposition what's opposition jeremy corbyn's Labour Party is that what you call opposition is it is it I don't know you tell me what's your feeling I don't think observed you have any opposition in this country no more and you vote with labour in the path I have to have always voted labour what do you need for live we look after children who have got learning disabilities autism behavioral issues etc and we bring them back into the community into small homes and the funding for that has been stretched the government isn't giving us enough funding to make an improvement back into an integrated back into the community cutting your work in a caring occupation you're well aware of the cuts it's totally aware of the cuts and yet you're not voting labour no oh they got work to do alright a younger person on the other side of the street are you gonna vote with two weeks time no no no no we're doing a generation with no bother following the politics clearly so really what's your sense of the future of the country where's Britain going how do you ah so you feel strongly about that yeah I don't know why I feel strongly about it I just how do you feel about the future for you don't feel up to missed it I'm 24 only I found 21 an hour and it's a minimum wage of the kids with I found 21 an hour nothing but your job title is what dude manager here at junior manager here I do get the minimum wage the minimum wage so we've gone wrong there join a trade union what's the trade here do you have a sense of what the Labour Party stands for and I may be considering voting for the Conservatives or we're still the brexit party only labour has the policies to deal with those concerns are left behind town is home to over okay people left behind towns come home to labour it's just [Music] right we've come to spend some time with the Labour candidate here which we also did two years ago I'm ready when you are make this play you're not you're not taking this to people you already know a prolate with something like that thought we might be able to buy don't think anybody's organized it I just can't make my mind and my other kimonos but neither can any one of my friends we talk about it frequently and we all very indecisive the all-important ground game don't mind the TV the Internet that's your member a poem okay so basically what I need but half its values I use to make it better change someone we they don't have to go from what we've been through that I mean see what get into Maori youth clubs anymore but for sure all that down the mall just going back stabbing each other doing what but looking out there you need to set up some schemes to bring water young people to get what you're somewhat your circumstance where you worked I'm unemployed um everything do you have a sense of what the Labour Party is all about - you know Alex stands for you don't know what engaged because you don't think it's gonna suit you because you don't feel that's for me and every politician you've met in your entire life has promised you the earth it gave you entertain coming making people do music in the town we were shopping parading pen thus morning right and when we were there two years ago straightaway we got a sense that people will warm into the Labour Party and warm into Jeremy Corbyn and that things were shifting and and as much as coming out with you and everything I would like to think about the Labour Party's true soon as I make the local aid party here we didn't meet anyone who said they were voting labour and we spoke to a lot of people different sizes shapes backgrounds as if something had changed a bit well yeah I you know I was brought up in the Labour Party we haven't committed say Oh the Labour Party's having trouble hahaha you know there's something tragic about it I suppose you know there's no other political party looks like that up close you know full of moral force about social justice and with members from every background in class and all that and it's having a hard time the driving north I miss tough enough in Worksop that former coal town in Nottingham yet pretty much everywhere we're passing through here is a kind of labor conservative leave foe in battleground see I can't see if it's a start but these are the places that are going to decide what happens in this general I really don't know who to vote for I'm going to put you in a coal mine yeah I broke delay but I don't already when did you stop working late change policies that you just change you change your ways though you know thank you labour voting in these places has been softening and weakening for a long long time because the culture the place has completely changed that gentleman said he'd stop voting labour when you stop being a coal mine the history of this is nut goes back much further than Jeremy Cole became the leader can't do it you do it for six right you're up there is no future in England's dream in a film about the election 3 the election right at this time this time I will decide to go on the policy through all of it it's my thanks Iggy one well policies this time yeah I think he's got a bit too many they don't listen to what we want what do you want we voted four years three or four years ago it's not happening for you having a Venant democratic country they're not going to listen to the word of the voters in the first place so you not gonna vote at all I don't think so these are the precise metrics we use folks because that fellow there out of beard we thought you looked a bit hipstery and therefore you might be a Labour voter it turned out that they felt that the fat brakes haven't been delivered red that everything works yesthey excuse me do you know who you're going to vote for barb in you're gonna vote for Coleman tell me why tell me I just like him like he's for the people in it like bodies it just wants to sell a niche a study that's all evils and what it's called in one cuz you understand it wants to raise minimum wage to ten pounds at Cobbins four where'd you get your information Facebook and stuff like social media and stuff and his labor stuffing coming up on your Facebook [Music] [Music] and all likelihood the bragg's if he hasn't got a cat an else chance here but something is happening grisby's has been Alba the Labour Party for 74 years I think and it is said that the Tories are in with a very serious shout of winning it Grisby is also somewhere that's been on the receiving end of all modes of sort of snobby media cultural sneers dodgy documentaries about life on benefits and all that stuff mass it's a very interesting stuff going on there [Music] there's nothing you don't do we've come backstage to a fashion show it's for a thrift shop here on the nuns Thorpe estate the shop is one small part of Center for a pioneering community initiative that's bringing ideas to life in this part of Grimsby new businesses and urban farm support for loneliness and a gym none of it would happen without these volunteers and activists most of whom are women [Applause] [Applause] but the idea was that because we've done a lot of things with the center that we put our own community actual group together to do it so I brought a flower shop into the center and a gift shop what was your thinking of doing that I mean I was starting money but it's not purely a money-making it I believe it's got to be an affordable father's this community and that's what I set out to do and I do small bunches can take her and Cheer themselves up for a weekend of anything like we're looking in still getting all things the family is for the especially the you so having somewhere safe to go somewhere where they can go and they don't have to be out on the shop floor like are doing things and there's a lot of organizations and community things but they just don't get recognized because all that it gets ugly all it gets focused on is the drug side of Grimsby and poverty but not everybody is like that and and we want to help this is not here we want to help people get out of that and we won't release B to move on so you're you're sort of community activists right you're very involved in changing how do you get about the election because about what kind of country you were meant to be and all that now you're leaving us I don't really you love politics seriously how do you feel about the election um I would like to see Jeremy Corbyn game gone why then I bled the council dry the government funding just about everything schools councils local environment I feel very disillusioned with the whole parliamentary process at the moment I feel we need a brand new party of some kind and I just don't feel they are in touch with anywhere from nor in the north side that's almost irrelevant yes to be honest with you one person says one thing one another and the people here say he that doesn't mean anything to them they want to they want to see an actual tangible transformation as for them it's a spectacle of loads of people 200 300 miles away saying I'm gonna pull this lever and this is gonna happen to where you live perhaps that doesn't work and what works most effectively is you being unable to do it yourself yes yes and I think it's pride I think it's about people's pride and they should be involved more and make them feel as if they're worth something again everywhere we go we find people try to turn it around and make it better and enable people collectively to do stuff for the absolute grassroots and it's amazing and it's amazing in a way that nothing the distant state can do could be it's really moving up close to see we did speak to someone in there who's so I'll passionately Pro Jeremy Corbyn and I totally understand why you know but for other people we spoke to national politics is just like extraneous noise somehow it doesn't connect itself it's not interested nearly enough in what happens here places like too much of a gap we had time for a night how in Grimsby and a few less sober voxbox which mostly fell Labour's way we all make it working one way or another to return to yeah not working is it yes then it was a long drive to our ultimate destination in search of some kind of final answer you never find it out here but on these trips we sort of have some notion talk to as many people as you can some other a puzzles to be solved and I can't even articulate what the puzzle is that we've been trying so for 10 years so now we're on the a1 M which I'm really I think goes on forever here we are at Darlington [Music] phox phox pops [Music] is the only way the election takes the election English proud again we're hit by a wall of noise that seems to capture the nastiness that seeped into British politics but there's also a sense that if you look and listen hard there are quieter signs that we may not be all that divided after all underneath many of us still want the same kind of thing are you gonna vote I think we'll need your exit pie yeah because he's not fighting for a chair in Parliament that you don't want to be Prime Minister Barry's posture leave our land limited people in London in charge of our positions and what we want once again this is someone who wants the country to change but she has no trust in the established parties see I melt in their chest I feel like it should be a friend well it's over my it's about the NHS it's like I don't want to be paramedic but I'm after their part because they've stopped our bearings far the NHS like students want wanna be nurses and doctors that we parent the cap financially Farley I've just finished University surgery psychology and criminology now wanted to go back and do my masters and the fundament even put my rent among my fees for me to live enough for children so in our day they need to be put money back into education to get the nurses and getting the stuff the need for their nature they need to get that wow factor to encouraged young people because to say is just absolutely new kids know like well they're done what to do especially from families that are broken down from his that he'll will I don't apply them but a lot of money it's not fair I think that the elite just should offer that I would live in a happy country as soon as that woman in there if we just put her picture on Twitter said she's rocks he lives in Dallas it's just voting for the brexit Party can you imagine the rage and sneering that would fall and yet you start talking about stake the country and she has a crane experience and the way things are going wrong she's just done a degree as a mature student in psychology and criminology to try to turn children's services round Scott child diagnosed with ADHD keen sense that the NHS is brilliant and needs help and support more money it's so complicated and yet we live in a world we design but with the brexit party and suddenly you just become the subjects of a great noise again don't you less noise

Channel: The Guardian

Views: 198,141

Keywords: anywhere but westminster, labour, jeremy corbyn, boris johnson, worksop, grimsby, darlington, brexit, wolverhampton, eleanor smith, john harris, brexit latest, brexit news, uk election, general election, red wall, brexit party, nigel farage, brexit breakdown, get brexit done, food banks, universal credit, benefits, gdnpfpnewspolitics, labour red wall, labour's red wall, red flag, news, anywhere but westminster guardian, john harris guardian, guardian, anywhere but westminster brexit

Id: 23J3yB5Mmjg

Length: 20min 9sec (1209 seconds)

Published: Thu Dec 05 2019