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Since we’re post election and we’re all honestly trying to find a way for Labour to turn a corner, I’m going to have a rant (THREAD).
I moved to Herts in 2010, from Whitehaven, Cumbria. To be precise, I lived in Low Moresby, between Whitehaven and Workington. In a flat in a converted manor with views overlooking the Solway Firth. My rent was £450 a month.
I moved because my employer moved me. Their offices were next to Liverpool Street station. So my flat search was along the train lines into it. I ended up In Stanstead Abbotts in SE Herts. In Hertford & Stortford constituency.
I met my husband shortly afterwards and I moved up to Letchworth. We married in 2012 and we rented a house for £695 a month. We live 200 yards away now and pay £930 a month to rent an almost identical property. We really should’ve bought years ago. But house prices....
I mention this because I’ve lived both lives. I’ve lived in the Red Wall and I’ve lived in the London commuter belt. I’m in a strong position to compare and contrast.
Since I’ve moved down, I’ve really struggled to articulate these differences - and frequently felt dismissed. Sometimes in conversations with people from eg Tower Hamlets, I’ve struggled to convince that Cumbria has wards that are top 1% deprivation.
I’ve also struggled to articulate the specific challenges facing being poor in a remote commute community. Getting to the job centre when the bus service has been cancelled. Or the job centre closes and you have to go further afield.
Or the jobs you can apply for (without having to relocate, with all its costs) are so severely limited. Applying for jobs and getting rejected isn’t the same as not having jobs to apply for. With the former, you at least have hope that you can do better next time.
If you ever try and articulate that there are problems that poor people in remote communities face that poor people in urban communities don’t, you get hit with a wall of resistance. As if I don’t understand the challenges of working in London....
Then there’s the prickly issue of trying to articulate the historic Labour values of these non-urban communities. If you try that, people will blow up with “Little Englander” stuff. Tread with care!
My point being: maybe it would be a good first start in rebuilding the Red Wall, if we did more listening and less reacting? Because knee-jerk reactions to people trying to explain the problems gets us no-where.