Rother Valley: Red wall voters look set to perform about-turn

The twists and turns in the Rother Valley are not confined to the dancefloor

Since its creation in 1918, the parliamentary seat of Rother Valley had always returned a Labour MP, but all that changed when the so-called red wall crumbled in 2019.

With another election due later in 2024, the BBC asked voters in the constituency whether time had changed their voting intentions.

A rainy Monday night in South Yorkshire may not be where you expect to find the flame of rock 'n' roll burning brightly.

But the dancefloor of the Rotherham Titans rugby club bar is packed with couples attempting to preserve that fire.

They meet every week for a boogie to classic songs, but the twists aren't just restricted to the dance floor - politically, there's been a few about-turns too.

Rother Valley was a Labour heartland built on coal, but when two weeks before the 2019 general election Channel 4 reporters visited this very same dance club, the journalists were told Labour would not be their choice.

As the music whirled, one of those talking to a camera crew was Dave Smith, a former Labour Party member and Orgreave colliery union rep.

In short, he sounds like the least likely person to vote Conservative - but he turned blue and plumped for the Tories and Boris Johnson.

'I feel adrift'

"I didn't vote Labour in the last election, I just did not like Corbyn at all, he wasn't good for the Labour Party and he certainly wasn't good for the country," he said.

"I'm almost 80 years old and it was the first time I've ever voted for the Conservatives.

Dave Smith does not know who he will vote for come the election

"Brexit played a part as well. Do I think the Conservatives delivered on Brexit? No. We had Levelling Up and that's never happened, not to the degree that they said it was going to.

"I don't know how I'm going to vote in the next general election. I don't like Keir Starmer.

"The Conservatives have had many years in power and still not improved things.

"I feel adrift, I have no idea who to vote for."

In 2019, the Conservatives thought Rother Valley was unwinnable as the seat had been in the hands of Labour since its inception.

But Europe played heavily on the mind of Rotherham voters as 68% voted Leave, and their dislike of Jeremy Corbyn made them sway even further towards the Tories.

The Brexit Party, now Reform, received more than 12% of the vote, with the Lib Dems recording 5.2% of ballots cast.

Conservative candidate Alexander Stafford overturned a majority of just under 4,000 to canter to victory with 6,318 more votes than Labour in second.

Alex Stafford became the first Conservative MP for Rother Valley

Boris Johnson rode into Downing Street on the crest of a wave after lifelong Labour supporters like Dave switched to the Conservatives.

But parts of the constituency are within the most deprived 6% of England and £12m of Levelling Up money for Dinnington high street has yet to translate into actual buildings.

Now it's the Conservative voters who are unhappy.

"I've always voted Conservative but they've not delivered this time around, the country's in a bit of a mess" said Rhoda Kitchen.

"All they seem to do is argue in Parliament and discuss things that don't matter to the country.

"I wanted to come out of Brexit but I didn't know enough about it, you tend to sometimes follow the crowd, don't you? I think we should have been told more about it.

"I know I'm not voting Conservative, I might have to study the others."

Peter Thirlwall is a former councillor who has fallen in and out of love with the Labour Party over the years but is now firmly supporting them.

"Brexit hasn't turned out to be the Shangri La that everybody thought it was," says Peter Thirlwall

"Last time there was so many things at play," he said.

"There was Jeremy Corbyn who wasn't particularly popular and the alternative was Boris Johnson, who was a buffoon, then Brexit came into play so it was difficult, but I did finish up voting Labour.

"This time it's a lot simpler, all the personalities have gone. Things are substantially different, it's about policies, it's about competence and the Conservative Party have been in chaos for years.

"Brexit hasn't turned out to be the Shangri La that everybody thought it was going to be. I'm definitely going to vote Labour."

People here voted for change, first with Brexit then with the Conservatives - but almost five years on, it feels like they're still waiting.