Council leader's dramatic defection to Reform UK shows where real battle will be in May
PLUS: Strong opposition to PIP cuts announced yesterday by government
Hello and welcome to The Lancashire Lead.
It has not been a quiet week so far in the world of Lancashire politics.
Defections to Reform UK were probably to be expected. Local councillors prioritise little more than their own seat and you sometimes have to squint to see the difference between Reform and Tories in particular.
But Stephen Atkinson’s defection, as former leader of Ribble Valley Borough Council, was unexpected and, of those who took to the stage in London on Monday, the one that really allowed the event to cut through Reform’s own in-fighting of late.
His letter of resignation was notable for its attacks on the Conservative Party rather than Labour - though there will doubtless be plenty of time for that in future.
But it also made a number of statements that don’t stand up to scrutiny - points we’ve made in this newsletter.
We also have Labour MP Sir Mark Hendrick speaking out against the now-announced plans to cut PIP payments.
Hendrick is a politician thought of, in some circles, as being reluctant to rock the boat - potentially a consequence of sitting in one of the safest seats in the country. He’s held Preston since 2000. Nobody except Labour has held the seat since 1945.
But he’s been bolder of late, and here he has added his name to those Labour MPs critical of this particular government policy.
Former council leader, defecting to Reform UK, blasts Conservative Party policies
By Robbie Macdonald & Luke Beardsworth
The former leader of Ribble Valley Borough Council has blasted the Conservative Party at Westminster over a host of topics in his resignation letter, accusing it of becoming a ‘social-democratic party’ and criticising past and present Tory leaders Kemi Badenoch and Theresa May.
Cllr Stephen Atkinson listed topics including free speech, law and order, the economy, taxes, energy for industry, food, farming and voter apathy among his concerns,
He has joined Reform UK after resigning from the Conservatives and ending his role as leader of Ribble Valley Borough Council. He sent a letter to other councillors in the Conservative group, announcing his resignation on Sunday. Then on Monday, March 17, he joined a Reform UK press conference in London alongside other newly-recruited councillors and party leader Nigel Farage.
Ribble Valley Borough Council’s Conservative group - who he made a point of praising upon announcing his plans to step down as leader - remains the largest group and will have to choose a new leader.
In his resignation letter, Cllr Atkinson wrote: ” It is with great sadness that I wish to inform you that I will be resigning from the Conservative Party with immediate effect. Over the last decade we have governed as Conservatives, creating the most prosperous council in Lancashire. The borough is one of the top-ten healthiest places in the country, with the lowest level of recorded crime in England and Wales. We have done this with no debt, cash in the bank, and our share of council tax is one of the lowest in the country – and half that of some of our neighbours.”
The Lancashire Lead was unable to confirm that the Ribble Valley has the lowest level of recorded crime in England and Wales. The most recent data suggests that areas of Cumbria, Cheshire, Devon and Cornwell would all be considered safer places to live.
In addition, based on Office for National Statistics (ONS) general health figures, which were produced using data from the most recent census in 2021, the Ribble Valley would be considered the 20th most healthy borough in England and Wales, though the healthiest in Lancashire overall.
He continued: “We have governed as Conservatives but unfortunately the parliamentary party has governed as social-democrats. I have tried to change this from within the party by raising this issue in Conservative Association meetings, with our former MPs, Nigel Evans and Andrew Stephenson; and directly with the chairman of the party in Downing Street in 2023.
“My concerns were not listened to. I thought that after the general election loss. the Conservative Party would set-out definitive policies to restore the party’s reputation. Sadly, this was not the case.
“I have come to judge MPs not on what they say but what they do. That is why I was so disappointed when Kemi Badenoch was elected leader. Her commitment not to bring forward policies for two years leads me to the opinion that either she cannot get policies through the parliamentary party or that policies will be chosen in the pursuit of power, which they should never be.
“To help you understand my frustration, I have set out some of the policy failures brought forward by the parliamentary party that I regard as not being Conservative. This has not been an easy choice. But for the future of my children and the country, I have opted to stand in the county council elections for the Ribble Valley South West ward for Reform UK.”
Cllr Atkinson accused the national Conservative Party of governance failures in the following areas: Regarding free speech, law and order, he listed:
Non-crime hate incidents being recorded by the police from 2014
Laws around buffer zones near abortion clinics. He cited the case of Adam Smith-Connor, an army veteran found guilty of breaching the law by ‘praying in silence for his dead son’
Allowing laws to remain regarding offensive social media posts
Sentencing for violent offenders including former MP Mike Amesbury, who recently received a suspended sentence after assaulting a man in Cheshire
Cllr Atkinson wrote: “Free speech is vital to enable issues to be resolved through debate and understanding.”
He claimed the UK economy is not working, stating: “Too much regulation is resulting in too many hurdles for small companies, There have been increases in dividend and corporation taxes, freezing of personal tax allowances for four years and the ’creation of the highest-ever tax burden.”
He added: “The size of the UK economy is now smaller than California and will be overtaken by Texas in the next few years. GDP per capita has not increased since 2007. In the United States, it has overtaken the UK and grown by 66 per cent in that period. Poland will overtake the UK’s per capita income in five years.
“Quantitative easing, printing money, has doubled since 2010 resulting in asset inflation. This is why our children can no longer buy a house. National debt has increased from 70 per cent of the economy to 100 per cent in 2024. We are now paying £118 billion per year in interest costs.”
Cllr Atkinson claimed the Conservative Party had inflicted self-harm through industrial, energy and climate policy. He wrote: “Brought by Theresa May by a statutory instrument without a vote, the consequences of this policy brought in by a Conservative government are now starting to be felt.
“Farmers are being incentivised not to grow cattle feed. Meat and dairy is not good for net zero targets. Farmers are producing ever-less food, reducing food security. Simple supply-and-demand economics are why so many people are in food poverty with food being 40 per cent higher than before the pandemic.
He said UK industrial energy costs are five times that of the United States and seven times that of China. He also highlighted the loss of British steel making, the oil refinery at Grangemouth and the Vauxhall car plant in Luton ‘despite our C02 emissions only being one per cent of global emissions’. Without prosperity we cannot invest in climate resilience, he added.
Voter apathy is another concern. The last election saw the lowest turnout since 1928, he wrote. Atkinson believes change is needed to engage the public in politics.
Turnout for the general elections was actually lower in 2001 than 2024 - though 2024 was the second lowest since 1918. There was no general election in 1928.
Reform UK likely to feel confident heading into May
Analysis by Luke Beardsworth
Defections from the Conservatives to Reform UK can mostly be attributed to an acknowledgement that it’s the most likely way for anyone facing an election in May to keep hold of their seat.
Labour’s struggles since their general election win have been a boon not for the official opposition party in the Conservatives - somehow reaching borderline irrelevance - but instead for Nigel Farage’s party.
With the prospect of government reorganisation on the horizon, and with it the abolishing of every council, May’s Lancashire County Council elections felt like they were at best becoming a distraction and at worst an inherent waste of money.
But, democratically speaking, it’s hard to argue with the need to have something of an accurate representation of how the county is feeling before that reorganisation takes place. And it’s hard to predict anything other than that Reform UK will have a big presence at Lancashire County Council after May.
What a No Overall Control Lancashire County Council would mean for devolution plans, plans for a mayor and plans for new authorities to be set up remains to be seen.
But one person who would doubtless look to influence proceedings is Stephen Atkinson, who has been as loud as anyone in opposition to plans to abolish the more affluent councils in Ribble Valley (see also: Fylde). Something he perhaps felt he wasn’t well-placed to do from his position as leader at Ribble Valley.
The Conservatives holding Lancashire County Council has felt outdated for some time, but the election comes at the worst possible time for Labour, who could see their local government plans in Lancashire further complicated if Reform UK performs well in May.
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Veteran Labour MP Sir Mark Hendrick calls for PIP cuts re-think as disabled community to be hit
By Ed Walker
A veteran Labour MP has taken aim at proposals to cutback the Personal Independent Payment known as PIP.
Sir Mark Hendrick, the MP for Preston, has written to the Secretary of Statement for Work and Pensions to outline his objections to upcoming benefit shake-up.
But Sir Mark, who says around a thousand people in Preston could be affected directly, has called for a re-think.
He told The Lancashire Lead: “I believe that people with disabilities already face daily barriers, inaccessible services to rising costs. I understand many claimants use PIP as a lifeline to fund vital equipment and support their daily living needs, including the cost of energy bills to charge necessary equipment such as specialised beds and wheelchairs.”
Sir Mark goes on to say he believes cutting the PIP would put more people into poverty and increase pressures on the NHS, emergency services and the voluntary sector.
He goes on to suggest he and other Labour MPs, who are growing in number to express their frustration at the benefit cuts, have been blindsided by the government’s move.
He said: “Neither myself, not Labour colleagues have received correspondence from the government on these proposed cuts.”
He called on ‘other means of welfare reform’ to be looked at – although doesn’t outline what these could be – and asks DWP to ‘reconsider plans to freeze PIP payments in line with inflation’.
The government would ultimately acquiesce on the latter point.
Sir Mark’s concerns are shared by Disability Equality North West who are headquartered in Preston and work with disabled people in the city and beyond.
Chief executive Melanie Close, who is also a Labour councillor on Preston City Council, told The Lancashire Lead they were already experiencing an increase in contact from concerned disabled people and they expected this to increase further once the government made changes.
She said: “We’re pleased that Preston’s MP Mark Hendrick has expressed his concern – we share the same concerns, disability benefits such as Personal Independence Payment (PIP) are an absolute lifeline for many disabled people, who spend on average an extra £975 a month on costs relating to their disability, which is often more than the additional benefits they receive.
“We’re also disappointed that no one, in government, has mentioned the numbers of disabled and older people who don’t claim the benefits they’re entitled too – choosing instead to focus on the small minority of people who are claiming but may not be eligible.
“Here at Disability Equality, our advisers are dealing mainly with the fear of the changes as no detail has yet been announced – interestingly, there’s little to no funding available for advice services to support people to claim benefits they’re entitled too, another reason why many aren’t claiming or challenging bad decisions.
“No doubt we will be even busier when the detail of the changes are announced.”
The number of people receiving a benefit payment for disability has now reached 1.3million people and has accelerated rapidly since the pandemic and the total health and disability benefit bill is expected to top £100billion by 2030 according to Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts.
Thank you for reading The Lancashire Lead.
We will speak to you again on Sunday and hope you enjoy the rest of your week.
Luke, Ed, Jamie, Sophie and the team.