Labour's Rosie Duffield says party has 'work to do' in South East

Rosie Duffield said it felt as though Labour was more focused on the North and Midlands

Labour has "an awful lot of work to do" to win seats in parts of the South East, the party's Canterbury MP says.

Speaking at the Labour Conference, Rosie Duffield suggested her party had focused more on the North and Midlands.

"It feels a little bit as though Kent possibly doesn't matter as much as some of the other areas like the 'red wall'. she said.

The Labour Party said it was prioritising areas, including the South East, that had been "neglected".

Ms Duffield is the Labour Party's only MP in Kent, having won the once-Conservative stronghold of Canterbury in 2017.

Ms Duffield told BBC South East on Monday: "I'm the only one in Parliament talking about those issues with our farmers and the impact of Brexit and the things directly affecting us, like tourism. So it would be nice to know that Kent was being listened to."

Lisa Nandy, Labour's shadow levelling-up secretary, said: "I've said for a decade now that this country is far too regionally unequal, and that this Tory government has written off the contribution of most people in most parts of the country.

"That's not a north south divide, that's about taking seriously the contribution that people can make in our rural areas, in our towns and villages, not just our cities."

She told BBC Radio Kent: "We are going to prioritise those areas of the country that have been neglected, and that absolutely includes the South East and other parts of the country as well."

Kent visit

Ms Duffield said the party needed to "show itself a bit more around Kent" if it wanted to win the next general election.

"It would be nice if we just felt that we were just as important," she said.

The MP said she was not aware of Sir Keir Starmer visiting the county since he became Labour's leader, but said he should come to Kent to understand more of the local issues.

Ms Nandy said on her next visit to Kent she would bring Mr Starmer with her, "to meet Rosie, and all those people she represents".

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