Are the Conservatives abandoning Lancashire?
Plus: Hustings fallout, Jay Slater search and Eden Project's new boss
Hello and welcome to today’s edition of The Lancashire Lead. It’s been brilliant to see so many people signing up in recent weeks as the newsletter continues to grow - please do keep sharing it so others can find it too.
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In less than two weeks, the General Election will be over and Lancashire may well have a raft of new MPs. Until then, there’s lots of campaigning to be done, thousands of doors to be knocked, and tons of leaflets to be delivered.
I’m a firm believer that hustings are a particularly informative way for voters to get to know candidates and I’m thrilled that here at The Lead, we’ve been able to organise another two events, following last week’s in Preston.
On Wednesday, we’ll be hearing from the Blackpool North and Fleetwood candidates and one day later we’re heading over to Penwortham for the South Ribble hustings. Both seats are tipped to turn to Labour by various pollsters and would see current Conservative MPs defeated if that were the case.
The events have been organised in collaboration with Blog Preston, the Lancashire Post, Blackpool Gazette and Shelter Lancashire and I’d love to see more titles working together to serve their readers in future. Use the links above if you’d like to sign up and submit a question.
Over in Lancaster, another hustings event sparked a fallout when Conservative candidate Peter Cartridge dropped out on the day, followed by the Labour’s Cat Smith and then Lib Dem Matt Severn. While Green candidate Jack Lenox showed up and enjoyed a chat with the audience members who also still showed, the events sparked frustration from some, notably Bishop of Blackburn Philip North who described the late withdrawals as “bitterly disappointing”.
It was left to Smith to offer an explanation for exactly what went down. She said: “I wish my Conservative opponent well with his recovery from Covid, it is not his fault he’s unwell. He’s done the responsible thing to stop the spread by withdrawing from hustings.”
Down the road in Morecambe and Lunesdale, Beyond Radio hosted a hustings which covered subject such as housing and Eden Project Morecambe (more on that subject later). David Morris, who has been MP since 2010, was also challenged over his claims of falling child poverty rates in the constituency.
The General Election has also dominated the focus of this week’s other Lead titles, with previews and analysis of the upcoming vote in various area. I’ve taken a look at Hyndburn where another swing back to Labour is looking likely, while Michael Holmes has cast his eye over Blackpool where one seat is a race for second place and the other will tell an awful lot about what the town thinks of the Tories.
Each newsletter contains more than just those features so do sign up below to make sure you don’t miss out. You can see our previews of other areas using the ‘menu’ button on The Lead site.
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The final election chat keeps us in Blackpool as Reform leader Nigel Farage visited. A day before the broadcast of a BBC interview in which he claimed the West "provoked" Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Farage enjoyed an altogether more friendly encounter at the Imperial Hotel.
The populist leader spoke to the Blackpool Gazette before delivering a rally at the seafront hotel. He stopped to pose for a video with fans during the England match (sadly none of them noticed England conceding as they video their excitement) and had earlier been greeted by a huge and critical beach mural from campaign group Led By Donkeys.
Surrounding all the noise is a belief that Reform can do well in areas such as Blackpool while the Conservatives appear to be doubting that they can. The Guardian this week reported that Northern candidates were frustrated with the lack of support from the national party, while The Times says Boris Johnson has moved to distance himself away from the campaign for fear of being associated with disastrous results.
One man who has received his backing in the form of a video message is Jake Berry, the former minister and Conservative Party chair who wants to be re-elected in Rossendale and Darwen. He used his Sunday Express column today to warn against that apparent abandonment of the north.
“All the more depressing to me, having devised the Levelling Up policy with Boris Johnson and been Northern Powerhouse Minister, is the talk of the Red Wall, which brick by brick became blue in 2017 and 2019, reverting back to its original shade of deep red.
“Unbelievably, I’ve read article after article about the Conservative Party ‘giving up’ in the North and reverting to its traditional supporter base in the South. If true, this ‘Southern Comfort Strategy’ is absolutely the last thing we should be considering at this election.”
Jake Berry
🚨 The search for missing teenager Jay Slater has entered it’s seventh day (BBC).
And the authorities in Spain have said thanks but no thanks to an offer from Lancashire Police for any help - as detailed below:
We have specialist officers who are continuing to support Jay's family.
Whilst this case falls outside the jurisdiction of UK policing, we have made an offer of support to the Guardia Civil to see if they need any additional resources. They have confirmed that at this time they are satisfied that they have the resources they need, but that offer remains open and they will contact us should that position change.
Once again, our thoughts remain with Jay's family and friends at this distressing time.
💰 Blackburn with Darwen Council is set to increase fees for key service as it battles a budget black hole (LancsLive).
🦨 Fleetwood residents say they are still being plagued by terrible smells despite promises to resolve issues at a landfill (LancsLive).
🚆 An engineer was two seconds away from being killed by a 110 mph train (BBC).
🪧 Striking security guards at Lancaster’s job centre have spoken about their fight for better pay (Beyond Radio).
🍸 An independent gin company has been named among the very best in the world at a prestigious awards (Lancashire Telegraph).
🍻 New laws are being brought in to ban drinking in the street in parts of Preston city centre (Lancashire Post).
Burnley’s former Reel Cinema has been demolished to make way for a Lidl supermarket (Burnley Express).
There’s a new person in charge at the Eden Project - and he’s arrived with a promise over its Morecambe plans.
Andy Jasper has been named as the charity’s new Group Chief Executive Officer, replacing Rob Chatwin who will step down in September after nearly three years in the role. Mr Jasper will join the Eden Project in September from the National Trust where he is currently Director of Gardens and Parklands.
The new boss will be moving for a second stint at Eden, having previously spent 13 years as the project’s Head of Research and Evaluation where he specialised in understanding and communicating the social and economic impact of the Eden Project in Cornwall.
This time around, he’ll not only be overseeing everything at the original location, but also developments in Morecambe and Dundee. Activity will be seen soon at the Lancashire site thanks to the Government agreeing to release £5m of funding.
Mr Jasper said: “We will pull out every stop to deliver the innovative new Eden Projects in Morecambe – where I have family links - and Dundee. I can’t wait to rejoin and lead, nurture and support the fantastic team as we take the Eden Project into its next chapter.
We’re heading back almost 400 years for today’s history and I’m indebted to Peter Smith’s Preston History blog for the information. As Peter writes, June 20, 1642 saw supporters of the king in Lancashire called to a meeting on Fulwood Moor that signalled the outbreak of Civil War hostilities in the county.
While one of Preston’s MP and Alexander Rigby, another Parliamentarian, tried to stop the gathering, some 5,000 people turned up to show their loyalty. Peter writes:
“The Royalists followed up the Fulwood Moor gathering by garrisoning Preston and seizing control of its magazine of armaments.
“However, support for the king was somewhat lukewarm in Preston, consisting chiefly of followers of the Earl of Derby, the Stanley family being a powerful force in the town then and later, and of Catholics.
“Set against this support was the Parliamentary sympathies of the town’s corporation. The struggle for control of the town between the Stanleys and the corporation was to persist for centuries.”
You can read more on Peter’s blog here.
Once again we finish on a few What’s On stories from the past week. If you have an event or news you’d like to share, get in touch.
Lostock Hall theatre group return with Great Expectations adaptation
Burnley Canal Festival returning in August courtesy of Mid-Pennine Arts
Bacup and Stacksteads Carnival announces out-of-this-world theme
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