The Blackpool North and Cleveleys constituency has been held by the Conservatives - through Paul Maynard - since it was formed in 2010.
It is now becoming Blackpool North and Fleetwood, a constituency that previously existed from 1997 for 13 years, when it was held by Labour.
The wards Carleton and Stanah will become part of the new constituency, moving over from the axed Wyre and Preston North, as will the central and southern parts of the Marsh Mill ward.
The Park, Pharos, Rossall and Warren wards, once part of Lancaster and Fleetwood, will also join the constituency, which loses Claremont, Clayton and (a different) Park as they move into the Blackpool South constituency.
At the last general election in 2019, Maynard held his seat with a majority of 8,596. The Tories won 57.6% of the vote share, followed by Labour (35.5%), the Liberal Democrats (3.9%), Green Party (1.9%) and independent Neil Holden (1.1%).
Blackpool South was held by Labour from 2014 until 2019, when veteran politician Gordon Marsden lost his seat to Conservative Scott Benton, with the Tories securing a majority of 3,690 on a turnout of 56.8%.
A by-election was held last month after Benton, who had already lost the Tory whip, resigned after being caught up in a lobbying scandal.
Labour’s Chris Webb, after failed efforts to take Maynard’s seat in Blackpool North and Cleveleys in 2017 and 2019, finally tasted success, and in some style, too. He secured a 26% swing - the third-biggest Conservative-to-Labour shift since 1945 - to take Blackpool South.
He will now defend a huge 7,607 majority, which he secured on a turnout of just 32.4%.
Candidates for Blackpool South
Stephen Justin Black - Independent
Little is known publicly about Black, who ran in May’s by-election and won 163 votes. But in one Instagram video, recorded on the Promenade, he rallies against bankers. In another, he warns of the threat posed by Russia and China and claims Japan has “still not forgiven us for the atomic bomb”. He adds: “This is an evil axis using our politicians against us. This was in a jihadist plan of 1991. The Muslim Brotherhood set out how to use our institutions to undermine ourselves. They have to be stopped.”
Mark Butcher - Reform
A well-known local figure, Mark Butcher describes himself as a campaigner for the homeless and was involved with the soup kitchen Amazing Graze. He recently denied wrongdoing after the Charity Commission opened an investigation into claims the venue was used to promote his campaign. Butcher, whose election material describes him as a “local man who will speak out for the residents, not a career politician”, has vowed to improve the health and wellbeing of residents, focus on affordable housing, realistic rates of rent and ending homelessness and tackling poverty and the cost-of-living crisis.
Andy Cregan - Liberal Democrats
Cregan’s LinkedIn page, which says he works as head of PR at British Gas/Centrica, describes him as an “astute lobbyist and communications professional with an exceptional network across the retail, finance and payment industries and a proven track record of delivery effective change in public policy across Britain and the EU”. He is an ex-London councillor and said it was a “privilege” to stand at the by-election in May, when he won 387 votes. In March, he said he was “tired of seeing my family and community being let down” and had “come home to stand for a fair deal - to make Blackpool a great place to live, move to and invest in”.
Zak Farhan Khan - Conservatives
Khan is a rookie politician who lives in the Cheadle area of Greater Manchester. A Tory party insider denied he is a paper candidate - given he stands little chance of winning - and suggested the party is keen to give him the experience needed to make a real push in 2029. Little is known about Khan, so little in fact that even his namesake councillor in East Lancashire recently tweeted: “My grandparents live in Blackpool. I love the Lancashire town, having spent many days of my childhood & adulthood there. However, I am not the same Zak Khan that has been selected to fight the seaside seat this year. I’m not standing anywhere nor sought selection at the GE.”
Kim Sherrie Knight - Alliance for Democracy and Freedom
Businesswoman Knight says she has lived in Blackpool for over 45 years, running two companies and employing about 10 people. She says: “I previously worked as a foster carer for 26 years and looked after 160 young people with behavioural difficulties. I have also worked in gaming as a croupier/training officer.” Knight says she is committed to raising the tax allowance to £20,000 a year, scrapping national insurance contributions for those taking out private health care and pensions, opening all areas of hospitals round-the-clock and hiring more frontline medics, and detaining, processing and removing within 30 days all migrants without ID.
Ben Thomas - Green Party
The Manchester Metropolitan University graduate said in a video posted to his online crowdfunding page: “I will not focus only on the sewage being spilt into our coastlines but the inequality seen throughout Blackpool. The cost-of-living crisis has meant communities who are already struggling are even worse off.” He said the Green Party has plans to beat the housing crisis, climate emergency and high cost of living. The webpage adds: “He wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth or parachuted into the constituency just to land himself a cushy seat in Westminster. He is rooted in the community and knows the challenges we all face and what support we need to thrive”
Chris Webb - Labour
Webb said he has dedicated his life to making his hometown better, leading a mental health charity, volunteering at a food bank and supporting women fleeing domestic violence. He said: “My first priorities are to support residents through the cost-of-living crisis while the Labour government starts to bring economic stability to the country.
"I will hold a jobs fair to connect local people with local employers. I will fight for a return to neighbourhood policing so people can be safe on the street. And Labour will ensure access to NHS dentists and GP appointments so people in Blackpool South have the health care they need.”
Candidates - Blackpool North and Cleveleys
Lorraine Beavers - Labour
Born and bred in Fleetwood, just up the coast from Blackpool, Beavers is a veteran local councillor. She describes herself as a “working-class woman who has fought most of my life for my community” and said she believes she is “the person we need to fight our corner”. Writing on her website, she adds: “I have the passion, experience and dedication to fight for us all.” She has called for the railway line between Fleetwood and Thornton to be reopened and wants an electricity-generating barrage at the mouth of the River Wyre to supply “cheaper and greener energy to people of the Fylde coast”.
Dan Barker - Reform
Another candidate to say he is “not a career politician”, Barker, who lives in the Wythenshawe and Sale East area, said he is “like you … one of the silent majority”. He says: “I got involved in politics because I was sick and tired of politicians from all parties running the country down and eroding our freedoms in the name of political correctness, net zero and anything else they can dream up.” He says he has a “clear plan to boost the local economy by reopening the airport, bringing a film studio to the Fylde coast and breathing life back into our fishing industry”. He has pledged to deliver year-round jobs and reduce anti-social behaviour and crime. He wants to re-establish the Poulton to Fleetwood railway line and “tackle the Jameson Road landfill crisis”.
Jeannine Creswell - Social Democratic Party
The recently retired conservation officer at Blackpool Council, a married mother of two adult children, said she voted Labour “for many years, becoming a floating voter in my 40s” before more recently finding herself “politically homeless”. She says: “I have a fundamental mistrust of empire building, and voted to leave the EU; it’s a mistake to confuse the beautiful continent of Europe with the bureaucratic EU.” Creswell says she likes the SDP’s “left-leaning economic policies” and said the headline policy is “housing: promising 100,000 social housing dwellings per year”.
Gita Gordon - Independent
On her website, Gordon says she has lived and worked in Blackpool for over 22 years, in jobs including care worker, charity worker and volunteer. During the pandemic she was a nursing associate trainee and later says she had to rely on food banks “due to an error in my salary calculation”. She says: “That was a lesson to me about the pain people go through during hardships. It was a valuable insight into the ongoing cost-of-living challenge that is causing distress for many of us.” Gordon pledges to investment in families, children and people, encourage local business, create a social care system “that works”, ease the cost-of-living crisis and create safer streets and neighbourhoods.
Bill Greene - Liberal Democrats
Another candidate where little is known publicly about them, even the information on the Blackpool Liberal Democrats’ website is sparse: “Bill Greene first stood as a candidate for the parliamentary seat of Blackpool North in 2010. He then stood for the Blackpool South parliamentary constituency in the 2015, 2017 and 2019 general elections, whilst also contesting for the Stanley ward in local elections.” Last year, in the run up to the local elections in Blackpool, Greene criticised both Labour and the Conservatives, saying: “To get a ‘fair deal for Blackpool’, vote for Liberal Democrats candidates…”
Paul Maynard - Conservatives
Maynard served as MP for Blackpool North and Cleveleys from 2010 until parliament was dissolved for the general election. He says he “has secured hundreds of millions of pounds of funding for levelling up and transport improvements”. A spokesman added: “Paul is committed to restoring the rail connection to Thornton and Fleetwood, to protecting our greenbelt from housing development and to securing continued investment - creating jobs and boosting skills. He is supporting local businesses and volunteers to improve the high street in Cleveleys and working hard to deliver a regeneration masterplan for Fleetwood’s docks as well as pushing for an expansion of high quality further education provision.”
Tina Rothery - Green Party
Prominent anti-fracking campaigner Rothery was the Green Party’s first parliamentary candidate for the Tatton constituency in 2015. Ahead of July 4’s vote, she said: “After an absolutely disastrous (to say the least) 14 years under the Conservatives, it’s time for this particular ‘awful’ to be ousted - and they will be.” The focus, she says, will be on improving the environment and access to health care and dental services, the “ability to heat our homes and put food on the table”, “decent care for our elders and those in need” and the “provision of activities and opportunities for youth, along with a fair wage and pension for them to look forward to”.
James Antony Lionel Michael Rust - Monster Raving Loony Party
Little is known about Rust, who lives in Blackpool South, but his party’s pledges include turning 10 Downing Street into a hair salon and introducing an ROT - an annual test to make sure roads are car-worthy. Also included in the party’s manifesto is a promise to reduce pregnancy from nine to seven months to ease the pressure on the NHS.
Analysis
It isn’t a question of who will win in Blackpool South - Labour’s Chris Webb would have to be caught on camera punching a baby to throw away the majority he secured on May 2 at a by-election sparked by the resignation of Scott Benton, the Tory MP exposed in a lobbying scandal.
The real battle is for second place. The Conservatives got 17.5% of the vote share at the by-election and Reform had 16.9%, a difference of only 117 votes.
But with May 2’s Tory candidate David Jones replaced by Zak Khan, an unknown political rookie from Cheadle, Reform, whose popularity has surged nationally, will be confident of becoming the constituency’s second-biggest party through Mark Butcher.
Butcher’s image of an everyman will resonate with voters who had their fingers burnt when backing Benton, whose disastrous spell as MP will not be easily forgiven or forgotten anytime soon.
Blackpool North and Fleetwood is tougher to call, with Tory Paul Maynard in the hot seat since 2010.
Despite being caught up in a scandal of his own recently, his misstep - breaking expenses rules by using a taxpayer-funded printer for “overtly political” material - seems small fry compared to those by Benton and Mark Menzies, the Tory MP for Fylde who recently quit the party after claims he misused party funds.
But Maynard, who is known for toeing the party line and rarely rebelling, could pay the price for his government’s plummeting popularity. Major boundary changes could also have an impact, with veteran Labour councillor Lorraine Beavers in the running to become MP on July 4.
Despite Blackpool having a mostly white population and a string of serious issues to contend with, expect immigration to be the biggest topic of debate going into the general election.
After all, the town heavily backed Brexit and elected anti-immigration Scott Benton - before watching on powerlessly as his government housed asylum seekers in the Metropole Hotel, the resort’s only hotel on the sea side of the Promenade, against local wishes.
So while constituents here may want to see more done to curb immigration, it may come down to which party they trust to finally get a grip of the issue.
If May 2’s by-election is anything to go by, the Conservatives have already lost Blackpool’s backing.
Austerity and anti-Covid measures both walloped the town and its residents, with Webb’s man-of-the-people rhetoric and promises to tackle the cost-of-living crisis luring, according to the man himself, lifelong Tory voters.
“So many people are crying out for a Labour government,” he said recently.
Blackpool is a town where the council once said it could no longer afford to routinely cut the grass because of a lack of government funding.
Its hospital has been at the centre of numerous scandals and is rated ‘inadequate’ by the health industry watchdog Care Quality Commission.
The sea opposite the Tower is so dangerously dirty because of pollution that people have been told they shouldn’t even paddle in it anymore.
Social houses have mould and more are desperately needed. And food bank use has rocketed alongside the cost of living.
After 14 years of rule already, will people believe the Conservative party can change its spots and give Blackpool the funding and help it needs to fully thrive?
Can they look past the controversies three of its Tory MPs - Blackpool South’s Scott Benton, Blackpool North and Cleveleys’ Paul Maynard and Fylde’s Mark Menzies - have found themselves embroiled in?
Or do they believe a change of MPs and government is needed? All signs point to the latter.
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