In August of 2023, after living in hotels and similar accommodation across the city, Cheng found housing for his family on Lord Street. He is hopeful that Benton’s time as an MP is coming to an end. Now Former Conservative MP Benton has said he will appeal his recommended suspension from parliament and intends to make a formal complaint over it. That followed an investigation by The Times where he suggested he would be willing to break lobbying rules in exchange for money.
Scott Benton did not respond to The Blackpool Lead’s request for comment.
“See the polls are against him, it doesn’t seem likely he is coming back. Even his party has dropped him. So I think things will change.”
Cheng is conscious that there are other factors at play in some of the abuse he has faced.
He said: “Yeah, I mean I don’t like Benton, don’t get me wrong, but he is a product of his voters.
“They voted for him, they broke the ‘Red Wall’ and they voted for Brexit. So you cannot deny that their opinions exist or that they want their problems to feel valid.”
“However,” he added: “I don’t blame Benton, but I blame the general system that led to this. I mean if nearly millions were trying to come to my country I would be proud to see what my country is offering them, but sadly here that is just not the case.”
Jack is a single mother-of-two who came to Blackpool at the same time as Cheng and his family. She had similar experiences to Cheng. She relocated to a different area of Blackpool as a result.
“I did not want my children to be exposed to that, so I decided it was not worth staying in that area,” Jack told The Blackpool Lead.
She now lives close to Bloomfield Road. Her younger daughter likes playing football and has been trying to get into Blackpool FC’s youth academy, which is a five-minute walk for her. The issue has not gone away completely.
Jack said: “Racism is still prevalent. Moving areas has not changed it for me.”
On one occasion, she was dropping her children off at a Blackpool game, and visited the Taco Bell. Heading home after collecting her food, she was approached.
“He was under the influence, cannot say drugs or alcohol, but he was not sober."