Coastal and rural areas deserve better from both Tories and Labour – The Yorkshire Post says

A NEED for the still London-centric Conservative and Labour parties to reappraise their respective relationships with the country at large is offered by the pre-eminence of terms like ‘red wall’ and ‘blue wall’ seats at the last election.
By YP Comment
Published 5th Sep 2020, 16:45 GMT
Past flooding in Scarborough as the Tories and Labour turn their attention to policies for rural and coastal communities.Past flooding in Scarborough as the Tories and Labour turn their attention to policies for rural and coastal communities.
Past flooding in Scarborough as the Tories and Labour turn their attention to policies for rural and coastal communities.

Yet, while the Tories do now hold more MPs in traditional ‘low pay’ seats than Labour, the ‘levelling up’ agenda is still a spasmodic one – another reason for a Cabinet-level Northern Powerhouse Minister and team – and both risk ignorning rural issues at their peril.

And it is why there’s another dynamic in the electoral landscape – the new ‘yellow wall’. The foundations of Tory successes, these are the rural – and coastal – seats that Labour needs to win for the party to be in any position to return to power.

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Areas that the Tories take for granted at their peril – as Sir John Major, William Hague and Michael Howard can all testify – Labour appears to sense an opening, hence why so many of its MPs have gone out of their way since Parliament’s resumption to cite coastal communities as part of a calculated and emerging electoral strategy.

Both the Tories and Labour need a credible strategy to combat flooding.Both the Tories and Labour need a credible strategy to combat flooding.
Both the Tories and Labour need a credible strategy to combat flooding.

But both national parties should know by now that issues facing coastal and rural areas are far more nuanced – they require a level of understanding which neither appears to command at present – and that a joined-up policy for flood prevention and coastal erosion is also imperative.

And if Boris Johnson won’t appoint a high-profile and credible Minister for the Coast and Flooding, and make Whitehall roles more relevant to current issues, Labour should outflank him if it wants to be taken more seriously in such areas. Over to you, Sir Keir Starmer.

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Coastal communitiers like Scarborough remain a key electoral battleground.Coastal communitiers like Scarborough remain a key electoral battleground.
Coastal communitiers like Scarborough remain a key electoral battleground.
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James Mitchinson

Related topics:LabourMPsLondonYorkshire PostBoris JohnsonJohn Major

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