- Title: Divisions in Labour heartland Hartlepool over Brexit and Corbyn
- Date: 1st June 2017
- Summary: HARTLEPOOL, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (RECENT - LATE MAY 2017) (REUTERS) BOATS IN HARTLEPOOL MARINA SAFETY RING FLOAT READING (English): "CAROLE-A / HARTLEPOOL" MONKEY STATUE BOATS IN MARINA / FISHING FOR LEAVE BOAT RIPPED SIGN FLYING ON BOAT READING (English): "FISHING FOR LEAVE" EXTERIOR OF PORT BAR ON MARINA MANAGER OF PORT BAR, 62-YEAR-OLD PETER ROBINSON WHO VOTED "LEAVE" AND IS A CONSERVATIVE VOTER, SMILING INTO CAMERA AS HE WALKS THROUGH BAR COFFEE BEING MADE / CUPS BEING TAKEN ROBINSON TAKING CUPS OF COFFEE FROM BAR TO GIVE TO CUSTOMERS (SOUNDBITE) (English) MANAGER OF PORT BAR, BREXIT SUPPORTER AND CONSERVATIVE VOTER, PETER ROBINSON, SAYING: "There was a massive vote for Brexit in the town, almost 70 percent, so how many of those people will feel a little bit betrayed by Labour and their inability to push for Brexit, I don't know. But I suspect there will be quite a few people who would vote Labour, won't because of Brexit." BUS STOP ON STREET CLOSED SHOP CLOSED PUB PEOPLE WALKING ON STREET (SOUNDBITE) (English) HARTLEPOOL VOTER, PAUL ATKINSON, SAYING: "I think Theresa May, even though I'm not a Tory voter, I think she's very very strong at the minute. And even though I've been Labour all my life and my family have, I think I will be voting for her because I think she's going to be the strongest thing for the country right now." PEOPLE WAITING AT BUS STOP (SOUNDBITE) (English) HARTLEPOOL RESIDENT AND LIKELY ABSTAINER, LINDA, SAYING: "There's not a chance in hell would I vote for that Corbyn cause he's an idiot. The government goes back to what it was in the 1960s under him? I don't think so." VARIOUS OF MANAGER OF "TEA @ HART CAFE", HEATHER CHAPMAN, PREPARING HOT DRINKS BEHIND CAFE BAR CHOCOLATE CAKE ON COUNTER (SOUNDBITE) (English) MANAGER OF "TEA @ HART CAFE", BREXIT SUPPORTER AND LABOUR VOTER, HEATHER CHAPMAN, SAYING: "I worry that he doesn't have the backing of his own party, but the people seem to back him, which I like. I like his old style Labour values as opposed to Labour pretending to be Tories." CHAPMAN MAKING DRINKS (SOUNDBITE) (English) MANAGER OF "TEA @ HART CAFE", BREXIT SUPPORTER AND LABOUR VOTER, HEATHER CHAPMAN, SAYING: "I think they'll lose, like, some stragglers that are undecided may go over to UKIP or even the Tories, but we've always been a Labour town and if it were to change it would shock me." CHAPMAN SERVING MILKSHAKE TO CUSTOMERS IN CAFE STUDENT, RYAN, HOLDING CUP OF TEA (SOUNDBITE) (English) STUDENT, RYAN, SAYING: "He's not afraid to get his hands dirty and get with the people, he's not afraid to go out and meet people. Other parties don't seem to do that as much as Jeremy Corbyn. He really seems to be very in touch with the people." UKIP CANDIDATE FOR HARTLEPOOL, PHILLIP BROUGHTON, HOLDING CAMPAIGN LEAFLET READING (English): "It's pointless voting Conservative in Hartlepool" BROUGHTON WALKING DOWN ROAD HOLDING BAG WITH UKIP SYMBOL FULL OF LEAFLETS BROUGHTON AND UKIP CAMPAIGNER TALKING TO VOTER IN HARTLEPOOL AT DOOR / AUDIO: BROUGHTON ASKING (English): "Do you think we can count on your support this time?" / WOMAN AT DOOR SAYING (English): "Well I'm going to give it a good think." BROUGHTON AND CAMPAIGNER OUTSIDE HOUSE BROUGHTON AND CAMPAIGNER OUTSIDE HOUSE / AUDIO: WOMAN AT DOOR SAYING (English): "Labour are letting everybody down aren't they." / BROUGHTON SAYING (English): "They've had a Labour MP here since 1964." BROUGHTON STANDING AT DOOR OF HOUSE (SOUNDBITE) (English) HARTLEPOOL RESIDENT, INDUSTRIAL WORKER AND UNDECIDED VOTER, LEE ETHERINGTON, SAYING: "You could put a red rosette on a jar of marmalade around here and it would get in. That's just the way of it, you know." VARIOUS OF BROUGHTON AND CAMPAIGNER OUTSIDE HOUSE (SOUNDBITE) (English) HARTLEPOOL RESIDENT, RETIREE, BREXIT SUPPORTER AND LIKELY UKIP VOTER, IVY SLIMINGS, SAYING: "We've moved on, and the likes of Jeremy Corbyn, unfortunately the man does not appeal to me nor does he appeal to lots and lots of other people who might have voted Labour if they thought they were in with any kind of a chance that he'd be strong. He's not strong enough." BROUGHTON AND UKIP CAMPAIGNER CHATTING WITH SLIMINGS AT HER HOME
- Embargoed: 15th June 2017 16:22
- Keywords: Conservatives Theresa May Labour Jeremy Corbyn EU referendum election Brexit
- Location: HARTLEPOOL / LONDON / BRISTOL / SWINDON / BRADFORD, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
- City: HARTLEPOOL / LONDON / BRISTOL / SWINDON / BRADFORD, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA0016JH8QBR
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The town of Hartlepool in northeast England has been a stronghold for the British opposition Labour party for over half a century, but this election is the first time it has shown signs that old loyalties may have begun to erode.
The industrial town, regarded as a heartland for the party, has had a Labour member of parliament since 1964. Home to a large number of lower income voters, it has high levels of poverty, with one in 10 people unemployed.
In last year's EU referendum, almost 70 percent of the coastal town backed leaving the bloc, the highest vote for Brexit in the northeast.
The Labour party campaigned to Remain in the EU in the lead up to the referendum and now voters in the coastal town are unsure whether the party will secure the Brexit they are hoping for.
"There was a massive vote for Brexit in the town, almost 70 percent, so how many of those people will feel a little bit betrayed by Labour and their inability to push for Brexit? I don't know. But I suspect there will be quite a few people who would vote Labour, won't because of Brexit," said 62-year-old Peter Robinson, who runs a bar on the marina.
Robinson, a "Leave" voter in last year's Brexit referendum, is a Conservative supporter and so a rarity in the Labour town. He voted UKIP tactically in the last election, but will be voting for Prime Minister Theresa May's party on June 8.
Hartlepool was once an industrial town and has struggled to recover since its biggest shipyard closed in 1962.
Similar to other traditional Labour strongholds in the region, Hartlepool saw voting for Brexit as a vote for change.
The family of Paul Atkinson, 39, are typical of Hartlepool, always voting Labour. This election is the first time that Atkinson, a jeweller, is considering another option.
"I think Theresa May, even though I'm not a Tory voter, I think she's very very strong at the minute. And even though I've been Labour all my life and my family have, I think I will be voting for her because I think she's going to be the strongest thing for the country right now," Atkinson said.
Other staunch Labour voters in the town have not changed their minds, with many delighted by the way the party's leader, Jeremy Corbyn, has re-positioned the opposition on the left of British politics.
Heather Chapman, manager of a quirky small cafe in the town's centre, thought Labour might lose "some stragglers" in Hartlepool, but said she would be shocked if there were any other winner. She added that she liked Corbyn and his values.
Ryan, a 19-year-old student, drinking tea inside the cafe with his friends, said Corbyn's down-to-earth approach and street campaigning made him popular among young voters.
"He's not afraid to go out and meet people. Other parties don't seem to do that as much as Jeremy Corbyn. He really seems to be very in touch with the people," Ryan said.
In the 2015 election, the anti-EU UKIP candidate, Phillip Broughton, came just 3,024 votes behind the Labour winner.
This year, Broughton is saying on the stump that a vote for the Conservatives is wasted, and that Brexiteers should vote tactically for him to get Labour out. He hopes a high big leave vote and anti-Corbyn sentiment will help his bid for office.
But on the doorstep, for undecided voter Lee Etherington, it is a no-brainer that Hartlepool will continue with its Labour traditions.
"You could put a red rosette on a jar of marmalade around here and it would get in," Etherington said, referencing Labour's signature colour.
With just a week to go until Election Day, Corbyn has seen a recent surge of support and is narrowing the gap with the Conservatives. Recent polls suggest Theresa May might not win the landslide predicted just a month ago and could lose control of parliament. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
