Faith in politics in short supply in one North West constituency

Shafiq Ahmed predicts a "sway away from the two main parties”

As Boris Johnson’s Conservatives swept to victory in 2019, seats across Labour’s north west of England heartland went blue for the first time in decades.

Bolton North East was among them.

In a town where 60% of residents had voted for Brexit, it appeared the new Prime Minister’s promise to "get it done" had resonated with a frustrated electorate.

His other headline pledge to "level up the country" and boost struggling local economies in places like Bolton cut through as well, tapping into a similar sense of dismay with the status quo.

'Host of concerns'

Bolton North East did not cause the same level of shock of some of the other constituencies but it had been Labour since 1997.

New MP Mark Logan was part of the fresh intake, enthusiastic about the change that was possible with a stomping majority but, five years on, he recently announced he would not be standing again and intends to vote Labour this time.

He claimed the Tory party was “now unrecognisable” from the one he joined and that Labour could “bring back optimism into British life”.

With a Conservative majority of just 378, it won’t take many of his former constituents to follow his example for the seat to return to red.

At Bolton’s market hall, in the centre of town, there is disappointment with how things have turned out and a host of new concerns.

There is also little optimism that this election can bring any improvement.

Peter McGowan from Pillings Fish and Chip Shop in Bolton says his customers are "disillusioned with politicians"

Peter McGowan, 64, has been running his chippy here for more than 40 years and, a lifelong Conservative voter, he says his customers are disillusioned with politicians.

“I don’t think they feel that those promises have been lived up to,” he says.

“A lot of people are feeling that they’re disenfranchised, they feel that nobody listens to them, nobody’s interested in what they have to say. I wouldn’t put any money on the Conservatives this time.”

Mr McGowan thinks many of his customers will be looking beyond the big two on 4 July.

“A lot of people were thinking they won’t bother voting and then when Reform came, a lot of people got a different fire in their belly,” he adds.

A majority of residents here had voted for Brexit expecting immigration to go down, but it is now at record levels.

Nigel Lyons from the Coffee Grind cafe says people do not know what to believe any more

Nigel Lyons, 48, owns the Coffee Grind café and says people do not know what to believe anymore.

“We all vote for one thing, we don’t get the other thing. It’s all an illusion. The only change is that there’s less policing," he says.

"There’s a lot more immigrants up here at the moment.”

Asked about some of the "levelling up" cash which has started to arrive, he thinks it could be better spent.

“We have a government grant for a new park and a bit of refurb on the market but we’d rather see that go into the NHS and fire service and the police to make people feel protected,” says Mr Lyons.

'NHS is priority'

It is a sentiment Marjorie Armstrong, 82, agrees with. She says the NHS is her main priority.

“Something needs to be done about that, about the amount of people who’re being held up for operations and waiting a long time to get an operation done,” says Ms Armstrong.

She also worries about the cost of living, saying that "prices keep going up and nobody seems to be doing anything about it".

Marjorie Armstrong says her main concern is the NHS

But while there's frustration with the Conservatives, enthusiasm for Labour, which runs Bolton Council, is in short supply.

Shafiq Ahmed, who owns the Kandy Crush sweet shop, says he doesn’t know who to vote for.

“I don’t know that there’s much faith in the politicians. It’s one or the other, Conservatives or Labour. I don’t think Labour’s got the answers to this," he says.

Mr Ahmed adds: "From what I’ve seen of Keir Starmer, I don’t think he’s answered any of the questions about how he’s going to tackle the issues.

"I think there’ll be a sway away from the two main parties.”

In 2019 this was a Tory v Labour battle, with others not even in the conversation.

While the polls are suggesting a swing back to Labour for a comprehensive victory, other parties could play their part.

There are eight candidates in the running this time, in a constituency desperate for some hope.

Candidates

The eight candidates in Bolton North East, listed here in alphabetical order according to surname, are:

Hanif Alli - Green, Kevin Allsop - Independent, Kirith Entwistle - Labour, Rebecca Forrest - Liberal Democrat, Trevor Jones - Reform UK, Syeda Kazmi - Workers Party of Britain, John Partington - Independent, Adele Warren - Conservative