Saturday 30 April 2022 The Guardian •11Jessica Elgot
Chief political correspondentS
ituated in the south-west
of the borough of Bury,
Radcliff e has long been
a place of contradictions
and political turmoil.
The terrace houses, once
home to workers in a thriving paper
industry, have sweeping views over
lush green fi elds.
These wards in the town, north
of Manchester, are the site of some
of the area’s tightest election
contests – split between Labour, the
Conservatives and the independent
group Radcliff e First.
The two constituency seats in
Bury are among the UK’s most
marginal. They turned Tory in 2019
then, in January this year, Bury
South’s MP, Christian Wakeford,
dramatically defected to Labour
over growing anger with Boris
Johnson.
His predecessor as MP for Bury
South, Ivan Lewis, had quit Labour
amid a disciplinary process and had
campaigned for Wakeford.
James Daly, Wakeford’s northern
Tory neighbour, has an even
tighter seat – his 105-vote victory
means it’s the most marginal in
England. Both Johnson and the
Labour leader, Keir Starmer, have
campaigned there in recent weeks.
As a long time Labour activist
Paddy Heneghan puts it : “If we
don’t win both of these back, then
we might as well pack it all up now.”
Despite the ostensibly
favourable political climate, Labour
has jitters about Bury, where every
seat is up for re-election. Starmer
launched his local campaign in the
town, unusual for a council that
Labour already holds.
Nick Jones, the leader of the
Conservative group, says he has
“no doubt” his party could gain
seats, possibly moving the council
to no overall control.
The Conservatives have kept
their campaigning focused on the
incumbent Labour council and
away from national politics – with
no pictures of Johnson in sight –
including opposing plans for green-
belt homes, the Greater Manchester
clean air charges and on potholes.
“When we knock on doors, we’re
not there to talk about Downing
Street. We talk about potholes in
their street. The street lights, the
bins. Ultimately, it’s a tired, out-of
touch Labour council,” Jones says.
Both parties are fi ghting to take
the credit for a new Radcliff e high
school, one that briefl y hit the
media spotlight when Wakeford
said Tory whips had threatened to
cancel it if he rebelled.Wakeford is Bury’s most famous
defector – but out canvassing in
the evening light is Gareth Staples-
Jones , who defected to Labour
in the same week as Wakeford,
though from Radcliff e First. Born
to a Labour-supporting family, he
is knocking on doors a few streets
from the paper mill where his
grandfather was a wagon driver.
On the corner is the terrace house
where his mum grew up.
“I get so emotional about
Radcliff e,” he says. “These streets
have three generations of families
living on them, not many places are
like this any more. I’ve been in so
many kitchens talking about things
like anti social behaviour. And I
solve it that week, but then six
months later the problem is back.
You start to realise that people need
bigger change on a national level,
money, gaps in the law. That means
everything round here. That’s why
I made the jump to Labour.”
At each house, there is a
new, diverse opinion, from full-
throated Labour, to Conservative
supporters, to many undecideds.
Most people bring up Partygate,
but often the disparaging
comments seep out into general
condemnation of politicians.
“All the main parties irritate me,”
says Sue Kagan in her neat front
garden. “None of them speak for us.With Labour, it was Corbyn who did
it for me. I’ve usually voted Green
as the alternative. But it does feel
there is a real disconnect even more
with people’s everyday struggles
and politicians.”
Starmer’s eff orts to change
the party have been noticed, but
many express scepticism about his
leadership. One voter call s down
the drive: “Tell Keir to be a bit
bolder!” Another long time Labour
voter, Loretta Anthony, 61, says
she dislikes Starmer. “I am really
wavering this time, I’m sorry to say
I don’t like the guy. We really need
someone with a bit of backbone, to
stand up to people who say: ‘ Oh,
you can’t do this or that, it’s not
right.’” But Johnson is similarly
unpopular. “He’s a clown.”
The cost of living is the otherkey factor on people’s minds. Rich
Shaw, 31, is another waver er, but
says he will vot e next week. “I
want to know exactly what each
party says about getting people
into work, getting good pay, good
hours,” he says.
There are still many staunch
Labour voters, who mention a
long family association. “Labour
is for the working class,” Susan
Henderson, a care home worker,
says from her doorstep. “When
Labour was in power, that’s what
they were for. The Conservatives
are happy for the rich to get richer
and poor to get poorer.”
Staples-Jones is optimistic that
the anger he is hearing on the
doorstep can be channelled into
positive action for change. “When
you really strip down voting, it’s
about an emotional decision about
how people feel – and the main
thing they are feeling is pissed
off. They need to know there are
people who understand that, who
feel the same way they do and that
they are going to fi ght for their best
interests.”
He concedes his own seat hangs
in the balance, but says he will not
be deterred if he loses, describing
a new sense of motivation among
activists. “I feel excited and
energised now. It’s a reawakening.”
Labour are tentatively optimisticabout getting a better hearing from
Jewish people. A number of young
families have moved into Radcliff e
in recent years and Heneghan also
canvasses in Prestwich, which has a
large secular Jewish community.
Most people in Labour are
cautious about whether Starmer
has won back those who rejected
the party under Corbyn. There is
talk of “long Corbyn” among Jewish
and “red wall” voters who disliked
the previous leader.
But there are small signs of
progress. Heneghan estimates
about 10-15 people every session
are switching. Several say Wakeford
has made an eff ort to be a voice on
antisemitism, though last week he
was confronted by angry voters at
an event at Whitefi eld synagogue,
who said they felt “cheated” by his
defection.
But this election it is the Tories
who are feeling more heat on
antisemitism – two Conservative
councillors have had party support
withdrawn after antisemitic
Facebook posts were unearthed.
Several Labour activists recount
how appalling the atmosphere
was in 2019 among Jewish voters.
“We used to get shouted off the
doorstep and now we aren’t,”
Staples-Jones says. “Two years out
from an election, that is not such a
bad place to work from.”‘Tell Keir to be bolder!’
Labour activists hopeful but
ji ttery in marginal Bury
A Labour
party canvasser
chats with
a resident
in Radcliff e.
Bury has the
most marginal
parliamentary
seat in England Councillor
Gareth
Staples-Jones
canvassing in
his Radcliff e
West ward.
Every seat on
Bury council –
controlled by
Labour – is up
for re-election
on Thursday
PHOTOGRAPHS:
CHRISTOPHER
THOMOND/
THE GUARDIAN‘Voting is a decision
about how people
feel – and the main
thing they are feeling
is pissed off ’Gareth Staples-Jones
Labour councillorNational
Local elections