It’s been a year since Leigh first became Tory – here’s what voters think of her decision now

It’s been 12 months since election night that sent shockwaves through the old mining town of Leigh.

An impenetrable Labor stronghold for nearly a century, many Leythers gave up lifelong loyalties to elect a Tory MP for the first time.

The result was not even close.

Conservative candidate James Grundy won comfortably on the night, racking up nearly 2,000 more votes than Labor’s Jo Platt.

The historic result was one of many so-called ‘Red Wall’ seats that helped secure a majority for Boris Johnson’s party and highlighted how the Labor Party had lost its grip on its traditional heartland.

At Leigh, the message was loud and clear: people wanted change.

That cry for something different was highlighted by Manchester evening news during a visit to the city in the previous weeks.

Concerns about Brexit and Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership came up repeatedly as voters spoke of becoming disillusioned with the Labor Party.

One year after the December 2019 election that gave Boris Johnson an 80-seat majority, it’s not hard to find Leythers who placed an X next to the Conservative Party for the first time last year, and back his decision.

Pat Butler is one of them. She explains how she was fed up with Labor and didn’t like the then leader, Jeremy Corbyn.

The 74-year-old has no regrets about voting for Tory and says she would happily do so again.

“I think they have been good,” he said. “They have handled everything better than Labor.

“I don’t think Keir Starmer is better than Corbyn.”

With just over a week since the national shutdown ended, a sizable number of shoppers have arrived in downtown Leigh.

The main street, Bradshawgate, is lined by a mix of well-known chains and independent businesses.

However, like many post-industrial cities, there is the depressingly familiar sight of closed stores. The fact that one unit still carries the signage for JJB Sports, a retailer that closed in 2012, tells its own story.

In a green coat and a black and white plaid scarf, a plastic visor covering her face, Margaret Shaw is one of those showing her support for the main street.

Like many in Leigh, the 76-year-old former care worker grew up in a home that relied on industries of yesteryear.

His father worked in the mines, and growing up voting for someone other than Labor was an inconceivable prospect.

He broke the habit of his life last year when he supported Boris Johnson’s party.

“My father was a Labor Party through and through. He would roll in his grave knowing how I voted.

“Although I don’t regret it one bit.”

He lists his views on Brexit and Corbyn as the top reasons to vote for the Conservatives.

“Boris was the only person who was positive about something,” he said.

“Jeremy Corbyn was not leader material. It takes a strong person to run a government.”

Labor’s failure to win Leigh for the first time in 97 years came as no surprise to Ms Shaw.

She notes that the change in the wind was when Andy Burnham resigned in 2017 to become mayor of Greater Manchester.

A former cabinet minister, Burnham held the seat for 16 years and won healthy majorities in four elections.

“Andy got things done and stood up for his beliefs,” explained Ms. Shaw.

“We had a swimming pool installed, a sports village, a new health center.

“It changed in Leigh when she left.”

Mrs. Shaw was unimpressed by Burnham’s predecessor, Jo Platt, so she had no qualms about endorsing James Grundy of the Tories.

A Leigh native and a former Lowton East district councilman, Grundy promised voters he would fight to end Brexit and ‘fix’ Leigh.

His message resonated clearly.

No conservative had ever won Leigh since the seat was created in 1885, and Grundy was not so prepared for his eventual triumph that he had not even written a speech.

“I’ve known James for years and he’s a nice guy,” explained Ms. Shaw. “He stands up for what he believes in.

“So far, I can’t complain about how he’s doing. We are in the middle of a pandemic.

“It depends on what happens when we get out of it.”

Kenneth Atherton is another who decided to vote for the Conservatives for the first time.

“I made the right decision,” he insists, a year later.

“It didn’t surprise me that Labor lost here. The more I talked to people at the time, the more I could tell what would happen.

“Leigh has been left behind.”

The view that people here have been overlooked is common.

Proud cities in their own right, Leigh and neighboring Tyldesley have been part of the Wigan district since 1972.

Resentment towards the worker-run Wigan Council has been brewing ever since, particularly over perceived underinvestment.

For Stephen Riley, who lives in Tyldesley, the decision to reject Labor was more of a protest than outright endorsement of the Conservatives.

“I don’t think people don’t even know the MP,” he said. “You rarely see him outside the home.”

Riley said he voted for Boris Johnson’s party, even though his partner worked in the Platt constituency office, as he blames Labor for the decline of various local industries.

However, you are not convinced that anything has changed in the last 12 months.

“I really can’t see what they’ve done for the city,” he said.

At the city market, shoppers dressed in masks line up to buy their first Christmas gifts.

Traders here say they have noticed a welcome rebound in trading since the close ended.

Andrew Baxendale, 66, runs various stalls with his wife Linda, selling everything from baby clothes to pet food.

When visited by the MEN last year, Baxendale predicted that Brexit and immigration would turn out to be decisive issues in the elections, stating that the Labor position was not attractive.

The former Wigan Council worker decided not to vote in the end, but says he was shocked when he learned that the Conservatives had taken Leigh.

“People were fed up with Labor,” he said.

“This is a mining town and there are still a lot of retired miners. The workers weren’t doing anything for them.”

According to Baxendale, Grundy is a regular visitor to the market and is happy to speak with traders about any issues they may be facing.

He says it’s hard to judge whether conservatives have improved Leigh’s lot because of the upheavals caused by the pandemic.

“It hasn’t gotten worse,” Mr. Baxendale joked.

“There is a lot going on right now, so I guess time will tell.”

A couple miles northeast in Tyldesley, Dawn Whiteside agrees that it is too early to pass judgment.

Ms. Whiteside owns Short Back and Whiteside, a hair salon in the city center, and she warmly praises the government’s support of businesses like hers during the pandemic.

He added: “We cannot begin to say that they have done this or that wrong because they have not had the opportunity.

“Their hands are tied.”

A regular conservative voter, Ms. Whiteside said she has noticed a shift in attitudes in the city in recent years.

She explained: “When people came here speaking, you could feel the change in people’s opinions.

“Everybody here was a Labor Party at one point, but there has definitely been a change.”

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