Elections 2023: The view from the stand at Soham Town Rangers
- Published
Soham fans John Morgan and Keith Alcock watched their team's last home match of the season
It has been a tricky season for East Cambridgeshire's Soham Town Rangers FC. One club insider says being placed just above local rivals Ely City in the Thurlow Nunn Eastern Counties Premier League counts as a "small win" in an otherwise "disappointing" year. With local elections on the horizon, what are the main concerns among the 120 or so fans who have come out to watch the club's last home match of the season?
'Uncertainty'
Chloe Vince and her mum Sharon both say the cost of living crisis is among their top political issues
Sharon Vince and her daughter Chloe are cheering on Rangers' number 11 - Chloe's boyfriend, Joe Carden.
Off the pitch, for Sharon, 59, it is the huge amount of "uncertainty around" that is on her mind.
Asked what she means, she says: "Just the crisis that's happening and no one seems to come up with the right solutions and answers.
"The impact it's having on families. The cost of living crisis. The energy crisis.
"It's all having this massive knock-on effect on the country or families in need."
Chloe says she does not watch the news "every day" but keeps in touch like a "typical 22-year-old on their phone".
On the cost of living crisis she says: "I'm hearing about it a lot at home with 'turn that light off, make sure you do this'."
Soham comes under East Cambridgeshire District Council, where on 4 May all 28 seats are up for election.
The last time they were contested in 2019 it was knife-edge close with the Conservatives winning 15 seats and the Liberal Democrats 13.
But four years can be a long time in politics.
The council now has 16 Conservatives, nine Liberal Democrats and two independents, with one seat vacant.
Conservatives here are campaigning on their opposition to plans for a congestion charge in Cambridge.
The Greater Cambridge Partnership is analysing responses to a consultation about a Sustainable Transport Zone in the city, which would see drivers charged at least £5 to drive into or around Cambridge and around £50m a year spent improving buses and active transport.
Leaflets from the East Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats point out they do not support the current proposals. Meanwhile the local Labour group says it is good the issue is being grasped but any road charging needs to be fair.
What are the parties' priorities?
The key issues raised are the Cambridge congestion charge and the condition of our roads, which I’m very concerned about.
We want an East Cambridgeshire that's greener, cleaner, does the basics right like sweep the streets and empty the bins – that’s fairer.
Priority number one is the cost of living crisis. What Labour would do in East Cambridgeshire is declare a cost of living emergency.
What do Sharon and Chloe think of the plans?
"Ooh, I know about that - that's not good," says Chloe.
Her mum picks up: "I'm personally against the charge because it'll have a massive impact on me moving around the city.
"Every time I want to go anywhere or do anything, I'm going to have to pay."
Our conversation is interrupted by a Soham goal.
Rangers are enjoying themselves on the pitch. They are playing Whitton United, a Suffolk team currently enduring a losing streak which has anchored them to the foot of the table.
'We'd sort them out ourselves'
Keith Alcock hopes councillors can help Soham gel as a town
At half time 68-year-old Keith Alcock talks about the problem of potholes.
"If they gave us all a bag of [bitumen], we'd sort them out ourselves, wouldn't we," he says, wearing a green and white Soham scarf.
Potholes - and the congestion charge - are ultimately a matter for Cambridgeshire County Council, which is in charge of highways.
But there are deeper issues on Keith's mind.
"We don't seem to gel as a town… which is a bit sorry," he says.
"I'd like the councillors to bring us more together and sort more issues out for the town and for the local community."
And the congestion charge?
"Anything that makes cleaner air, I think is good.
"Taking cars off the road - I think it's got to be good, hasn't it? Give the streets back to the kids so they can play in them, like I did when I was young."
None of the fans mention the congestion charge without being prompted; most are not in favour.
Malcolm Howe, 75, is concerned about the state of the roads and getting access to the GP surgery
Malcolm Howe, 75, says "getting to see a local doctor and potholes" are the issues he is most concerned about.
"It's a job to get an appointment [with a doctor]. A lot of people say they can't get an appointment when they want," he says.
He questions why Cambridge needs a congestion charge adding he felt the scheme was "just to make more money for the councils".
Lauren Kelly says a congestion charge in Cambridge would probably put her off going into the city
Lauren Kelly, 29, agrees that both potholes and the difficulties getting a GP appointment are key issues, along with the general "tidiness of the area".
She says her mum goes into Cambridge each day, so would be affected by a charge on drivers, which "would probably put me off going in".
During the match, the lunchtime sunshine gives way to thunder, lightning and a downpour.
Soham's players are clapped into their dressing room – 8-0 to the home team the final score.
But who will be cheering after the votes are counted in May?
A full list of candidates standing in East Cambridgeshire can be found here, external.
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