'It's still a drive-through town' - what voters have to say in Northumberland's former Red Wall seat that turned Tory

When the Blyth Valley constituency was the third in the country to declare in 2019, it was a sign of things to come.

The red wall seat was one targeted by Boris Johnson's campaign, and the Conservative victory there - the first in the seat's history - was a shattering of all well-known political certainties that continued throughout the night. But five years on, things have changed dramatically.

The Blyth Valley seat was abolished in the Boundary Commission's review of constituencies, with the town itself now in the new constituency of Ashington & Blyth. Ian Levy - the Conservative who won the seat - won't be standing this year, instead following two-thirds of his former constituency to Cramlington & Killingworth.

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Maureen Levy - the wife of the aforementioned Ian - will be standing in his stead. But the polls suggest that Mrs Levy will have a tough time securing a Conservative victory.

As of June 15, the Conservatives were on 20.6% according to the poll tracker created by Britain Elects and the New Statesman, with Labour well out ahead on 42.7%. The figures for the Ashington and Blyth constituency are even more bleak for the Tories - Labour are on 57.1%, while the Tories are on 25%.

But, as we all know - the polls can be misleading. So the Local Democracy Reporting Service hit the streets of Blyth to ask people on the ground what they really thought.

Shelia Storey said: "I haven't made my mind up yet. If Keir Starmer says he is going to increase council tax, I will vote Conservative - I did last time.

"I don't like the fact that Keir's going to put VAT on private schools. The size of classes in primary schools will go up."

Blyth has benefitted from significant investment since 2019 via Levelling Up, including the £90 million Energising Blyth scheme. However, not all of the improvements have proved popular.

The decision to close the town's Keel Row shopping centre was frequently criticised by residents, while plans for a cinema and cultural hub were met with a lukewarm reaction.

Amy Green also voted Conservative in 2019 - but like Shelia, she was conflicted about her choice on July 4.

She commented: "There is some I agree with and some I don't. They say what we want to hear.

"In Blyth, there has been a lot of improvements in terms of how the town looks, it's now a lovely place to look at - but there's nothing here. It's still a drive-through town.

"I go to Cramlington for my shopping. I voted Conservative last time, but I've always been Labour before that, but I don't feel they're offering anything more that would sway me."

Similarly, Danielle Clough added: "I voted Labour last time, but I haven't made my mind up yet. I don't think there's a one size fits all for me."

Elsewhere, Jim Gleadow was concerned that neither party was prepared to do enough for working people amid the impact of the cost of living crisis.

He said: "For the working man, it doesn't matter which way you vote, they've done nothing for the working man. The Conservatives have never even increased the tax threshold.

"It's tough. I don't know if I will even vote, I really don't - I just think, for the working man, there's nothing for us.

"Whenever they do give us something, they take something else away."

Jayne Gleadow was critical of the leaders of the Conservative Party in recent years.

She said: "Boris has caused a lot of bother. Sunak is suddenly very vocal, but D-Day was horrendous - what was he thinking? That was very important.

"Things aren't going to change. All we spend our money on now is bills and food."

And while Dennis Dowson was determined not to vote Tory, he was also unconvinced by Labour.

He said: "I'm definitely not voting Tory - but it's a case of meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

"The legacy of Sunak and Hunt is personal tax allowance frozen until 2028. People are going to pay more tax."

In Blyth town centre, Graeme Scholick was unimpressed by the town's levelling up projects.

He said: "As long as Labour get back in, I'm happy. I've lived in the Blyth area for most of my life.

"I'm not being funny, but the cinema is going to be a novelty for three months and then I bet there will be nobody going in.

"It seems to be a complete waste of time and effort. Blyth will end up going back the way it was - a ghost town.

"I think if Labour get in, they should put in an iron-clad system in place so there's no comebacks and that everything progresses forward, rather than going round and round in circles. No sooner is Labour getting their head above water, the Tories knock it on the head and we're back to where we where 20-odd years ago."

The candidates for the constituency are Ian Lavery (Labour), Maureen Levy (Conservative), Steve Leyland (Green), Mark Peart (Reform) and Stephen Anthong Psallidas (Liberal Democrats).