Immigration and high street on agenda in key seat

BBC South Today visited the coastal town of Littlehampton to talk to residents as the election nears

As polling day for the general election on 4 July approaches, BBC South Today's red sofa tour has been visiting key constituencies to hear what matters most to voters.

Bognor Regis and Littlehampton has long been considered a safe Conservative seat. The party has a big majority here of 22,503 votes.

But former education minister Nick Gibb, who has been the MP for the past 27 years, has stood down at this election.

That, alongside boundary changes, could make the outcome less predictable this time around.

Peter Beech said the amount of empty shops was "ridiculous"

Peter Beech told us: “Immigration is always top of the list.”

As a lorry driver, he said: “I think the state of the roads is terrible at the moment. They don’t seem to be spending enough money on them.”

He also said improvements to the town centre were a top priority for him.

He said: “Littlehampton is absolutely dying. You look at how many shops are empty, it’s just ridiculous. There must be a way of lowering the rents.

"I mean look behind us here at all the shops shut down. When a charity shop shuts down you know there’s something wrong.”

Marlene Wint said putting more money into communities could make them flourish

Marlene Wint has lived in Littlehampton for 30 years and runs a cleaning business.

She said improving the NHS and social care was important to her, as well as helping young people starting out.

She said: “Make centres where these kids can learn a skill!”

She added: “Look at Littlehampton. They’re not putting in any resources in these communities to make them flourish.

"I’ve been here 30 years and I’ve never seen Littlehampton looking like this.”

Susan Smith said illegal migration puts pressure on housing and schools

Susan Smith said: “I think all our problems stem from immigration, too many people.

"If you’ve got that many people living on a small island, coming here illegally, we’ve got to house them, we’ve got to get schools for them."

Asked about legal migration, she said: “There’s nothing racist about it at all, we’re just full up. To be honest, we do benefits, we look after people, maybe too well.”

Roger Stevens said small boats should be stopped in a humane way

Roger Stevens told us his top three priorities were illegal immigration, helping small towns and supporting pensioners.

He said: “They need to find some way of stopping the boats coming over in a humane way. I don’t think Rwanda is going to work.

“They need to spend money on small towns to bring customers in. And make sure they look after the pensioner and keep the triple-lock.”

He added: “It doesn’t really matter who gets in - they’re all the same. They do a certain amount and they don’t bother after that. "

The six Bognor Regis and Littlehampton candidates are (top row from left to right) Conservative Alison Griffiths, Liberal Democrat Henry Jones, Carol Birch for the Green Party, and (bottom row left to right) David Kurten for the Heritage Party, Labour's Clare Walsh and Reform UK's Sandra Daniells

What do the Conservatives say?

Conservative candidate Alison Griffiths said bringing inflation down to 2% meant the national economy was working well which was “critical” for local high streets.

She said tax cuts would also feed into a sense of wellbeing.

She said Sussex’s Police’s Operation Sonar was cracking down on anti-social behaviour and she would use her business experience to promote the link between Littlehampton’s seaside tourism and the town centre.

On immigration, she said: “For many of us in the Conservative Party, if we thought there was an alternative to Rwanda, we would be all over it.

"But the reality is the issue is getting worse and worse... so we need to find a way to stop it."

What does Labour say?

Labour candidate Clare Walsh said: “People don’t feel safe in the town centre, it’s really worrying for them. Labour has a plan to bring back police officers.”

Community powers to take over unused buildings as local hubs and to have more say over bus services are also proposed.

Labour plans to scrap the Rwanda policy and divert funds into a new Border Security Command.

She said: “It will stop the gangs at source and I know this because I used to work for the Serious Fraud Office and that’s how we did it.”

She said legal migration needs to be “managed properly” so “the right people come in with the right skills.”

What do the Lib Dems say?

Henry Jones is standing for the Liberal Democrats.

He said councils need more funding to regenerate high streets and support a move towards hospitality, and business rates should be reformed so those on the high street pay a “fairer share” compared to online retailers.

On immigration, he said: “We need to tackle the processing... People with valid claims, who need protecting, [should be] processed quickly and fairly."

What does Reform UK say?

Sandra Daniells is Reform UK’s candidate.

Two of Reform UK’s core pledges migration-related. The party said it would freeze non-essential immigration, but there would be exceptions, with work in healthcare considered essential.

On small boats, the party said it would “pick up illegal migrants out of boats and take them back to France”.

To help the high street, it has pledged tax cuts for small businesses and to abolish business rates for high streets, paid for by a 4% online delivery tax for large multinationals.

What do the Greens say?

Green Party candidate Carol Birch said “We need to recognise that immigration is playing a really important role in keeping a lot of our services going, like care homes and hospitals.

She said the Green Party wanted a “fair and open” immigration policy that treats people “with dignity” and doesn’t keep them waiting at public expense.

She said increasing Universal Credit would put more money in people’s pockets to come and spend in the town centre.

What does the Heritage Party say?

David Kurten from the Heritage Party said reforming business rates would help high streets.

He said: “We’ve got quite a radical suggestion that we would restructure that into an online turnover tax and, when it’s feasible, get rid of business rates. Then that’s a huge cost that high street businesses wouldn’t have.”

The Heritage Party favours low-immigration. David said: “We would... push the boats back to France and then we’ve got to cut legal immigration as well with strict caps on work and student immigration visas.”

A full list of all the candidates standing in Bognor Regis & Littlehampton can be found here