Hello and welcome to today’s edition of The Lancashire Lead. As the intricacies of the General Election results continue to be pored over and the new government begins to take shape, I’m very pleased to say that two newly elected MPs have written pieces exclusively for today’s newsletter.
Andrew Snowden was the one Conservative success story of July 4, overcoming the party’s national collapse and the negativity and controversy surrounding predecessor Mark Menzies to win the Fylde seat by a majority of little over 500. The former police and crime commissioner discusses his priorities for the constituency and the challenges facing the party nationally.
Meanwhile Lizzi Collinge, who has served on Lancashire County Council since 2016, won in the Morecambe and Lunesdale seat, defeating David Morris who had been in place for 14 years. She tells Lancashire Lead readers of her desire to serve the people who elected her and how that work has already begun.
Before those, there’s another piece of original content courtesy of The Lead (North) editor Luke Beardsworth. Having launched Lancs Live before moving on to other projects which include overseeing The Blackpool Lead and The Hyndburn Lead, he’s as well placed as anyone to cast an analytical eye over this week’s events.
There’s also the usual news digest and What’s On section included below and another look at the shock election result in Blackburn. And a quick bit of housekeeping: with the election finished, I’m returning a twice-weekly publication, with newsletters sent out every Wednesday and Sunday. Please subscribe to receive them straight to your email inbox.
The past has passed; now it’s time to look forward
By Luke Beardsworth, The Lead (North) editor
In the build-up to polling day, you got the impression that the Conservatives were staring into the mirror whispering Supermajority three times each morning. Lo and behold, when the lights came up, the Supermajority had come for them.
Over in Blackpool North & Fleetwood, Paul Maynard was flushed into the sea. Morecambe & Lunesdale won’t be donated any more of David Morris’s time. Jake Berry, for Rossendale & Darwen, probably won’t have to burden himself with visits to Bacup anymore.
In Burnley, where the BNP once won their first ever council seats, both the Tories and Reform finished behind Labour and the Liberal Democrats - a sign, hopefully, that one taste of the far right leads you to spit it out.
In the week leading up to the election, Labour will have been hoping for this national picture, but without the bloody nose. Attention will be given to the result in Leicester South where an MP standing on a pro-Gaza ticket unseated Jonathan Ashworth. Blackburn, all the way up here, will escape notice in comparison.
The last time Blackburn, once two constituencies, elected anything other than a Labour MP, my grandfather hadn’t been born. Elected Adnan Hussain, and George Galloway’s pal Craig Murray, split the pro-Gaza vote in the town - and still one of them prevailed. Even in Preston, where Labour held, they saw their vote plunge in a similar manner.
It will be important for Labour to acknowledge and address the level of dissatisfaction they faced in areas with high Muslim populations. A failure to regain faith opens the door for any combination of the Conservatives and Reform.
Andrew Snowden took the seat in Fylde and is the last Conservative standing. He’s a high profile figure in Lancashire, thanks to his diligent work as police and crime commissioner, and Mark Menzies ‘bad people’ weren’t enough to turn at least one area red.
But while the country has shown the same level of disdain for the Conservatives that they were treated with over the last 14 years, it bears mentioning that not every Lancashire Tory is on a level with the disgraced former Blackpool South MP Scott Benton, who took one greedy gamble too many.
The world ain’t divided into good people and Tories. Maynard has always come across as a thoroughly-decent bloke who genuinely cares. Sara Britcliffe, Hyndburn through-and-through, was the youngest of the 2019 Tory intake of MPs at 24. She’s paid the price in a swing seat not on the basis of her own actions, but due to the failures of much older, and infinitely more feckless, men.
A red wall rebuilt in Lancashire, but on shaky foundations. The newly-elected red MPs of Lancashire will read lots about why they won and how they won, and why they shouldn’t get too comfortable, in the coming days. None of it matters. The next general election will be decided on one thing: will the country be a better place in 2029 than in 2024? Over to you, Keir.
I’ll fight locals battle while helping Tories rebuild
By Andrew Snowden, Fylde MP
It truly is an honour to be elected to represent an area I love and have known all my life, and to have my wife and family with me at the count. I’d like to thank everyone who voted for me, and to all the candidates for a clean and good-spirited election.
Whilst we held Fylde, it was a terrible night for the Conservative Party across Lancashire. We lost many first-rate MPs as the public vented their frustration at our government.
Andrew Snowden
I know, therefore, I have a huge task ahead of me, to be part of the rebuilding of Conservative Party nationally. We need to get back to our roots; supporting hard work, aspiration and enterprise, championing our countryside and way of life, common sense and competence in policy making and leading by example.
But I also know that the work starts right here in Fylde. On everything from fighting the wind farm cabling and substation plans to attracting more investment and being a voice for our farming and business communities. The hard work starts now.
Brighter future looms for Morecambe and Lunesdale
By Lizzi Collinge, Morecambe and Lunesdale MP
I feel unbelievably privileged to have been elected to represent the new Morecambe and Lunesdale constituency.
Taking in the liveliness and grassroots arts of Morecambe, the National Landscape of Arnside and Silverdale, the tranquil beauty of the Lune Valley and even a bit of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, I think Morecambe and Lunesdale is the loveliest constituency in the whole of the UK.
In my acceptance speech, I promised to represent every town, village and hamlet and I intend to keep that promise from day one. Locally, I'm already getting stuck in setting up a constituency office and getting out to community events.
And nationally I know Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the team are getting stuck into rebuilding Britain. As Keir said at the first Cabinet meeting of the new Government, “We have a huge amount of work to do, so now we get on with our work.”
Lizzi Collinge
We understand the scale of the challenge we face; there are no quick fixes and we have to carefully and methodically set about delivering our first steps and establishing a mission-led government. I know the new Cabinet is made up of decent, honest people with a practical approach to getting things done.
I also know that the fundamentals of public service are in their bones: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership. This is the bedrock of everything we will do in government and how I will serve you in Parliament.
I've been blown away by all the support I have received since being elected and the enthusiasm of individuals and organisations who want to work with the new Labour Government to rebuild our country. That work has already started and I am confident that, together, we can build a brighter future for Morecambe and Lunesdale.
There’s been plenty of discussion on social media about how well it reflects on our country and politics that we’ve seen such a respectful and peaceful transfer of power.
While the subtext of this is having a dig at US politics and Donald Trump supporters, the point is absolutely a valid one. It’s equally been good to see that on a local level, with the likes of Nigel Evans, Jake Berry, David Morris and Sara Britcliffe among those offering their support to the Labour politicians who have replaced them.
I mentioned earlier on there’d be some be some discussion of Blackburn and there’s a couple of articles I’d like to direct you to for a greater understanding of what happened in a town where the Gaza crisis became such an important issue in this election.
While she wouldn’t say as much, Kate Hollern may well find herself feeling hard done by to be replaced given she was among the earliest Labour MPs to vocalise her support for Palestinians. Like some of the Conservative MPs who’ve lost their seats, she has perhaps paid the price for the perception of her party’s record rather than her personal one. As much was said in Shuiab Khan’s Lancashire Telegraph column, while her replacement Adnan Hussain also spoke positively about her.
After his election, he said: “I thank Kate Hollern for the contribution that she has made to our town. She has spoken about Palestine but I’m going to take it a lot further."
Over the years, Kate Hollern has done all she possibly could to address the concerns of her constituents. When called upon she has raised issues that matter to some voters and she has made a conscious effort to attend and meet people face-to-face.
Shuiab Khan, Lancashire Telegraph columnist and reporter
Hussain is already finding himself facing the increased scrutiny that Hollern faced, with attention being drawn to his previous comments on Israel by both The Daily Telegraph (£) and Jewish Chronicle. Both titles reported on decade-old calls made at a “Free Palestine” rally which included a reference making Israel burn.
Explaining that, he indicated it wasn’t meant in a literal sense and that he ended his speech by expressing solidarity with his Jewish brothers and sisters.
Hussain added: “In hindsight, and with the maturity of at least ten years since the speech in question, I’d use my words much more carefully, in order for room for nuance not to arise.”
“We need to send a message to Starmer and the Labour party hierarchy that you cannot take Muslim votes for granted, and you also have to take other views into consideration. We have supported the Labour party for well over 40 years, but that doesn’t make you take our votes for granted.”
Ibrahim Master, Blackburn resident and ex-Labour member
Steve is a retired teacher and experienced walker and his books offer comprehensive guides to help you get out in places including the Ribble Valley, South Fylde, Preston and much, much more.
I’m looking forward to giving some of these a try over the coming weeks when free time is a little more available and hopefully greeted with decent weather.
I’ll finish on a bumper list of What’s On stories from the past week but first a quick request. If you have any events, articles or anything else you’d like to share, please get in touch via jamie@thelead.uk or using the contact form.
Thank you for reading this edition of The Lancashire Lead. If you enjoyed it, please share it so others can find it too. I’ll be back with the next edition on Wednesday morning.
