Labour might just turn the Tory tide in Britain's seaside resorts

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/aug/21/labour-tory-britain-seaside-resorts

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We tend to think of them as old-fashioned throwbacks to a bygone era, but in political circles Britain's seaside resorts are more important than ever. They contributed a little noticed but important part to the New Labour coalition in 1997, with once rock-solid Tory resorts like Thanet South, Hove, Brighton, Blackpool North and South, Hastings and Rye all turning red for the first time.

Labour lost almost all of these seats in the 2005 and 2010 elections, and they will be key battlegrounds at the next election, and Labour will need to win most of them to have any hopes of gaining a majority. The question is, can Labour turn the tide?

Since the Olympics, tourism has risen higher up the political agenda than ever before. According to a recent Deloitte study for Visit Britain, The Economic Contribution of the Visitor Economy, the UK's tourism industry was worth £115.4bn in 2009, equivalent to 8.9% of UK GDP. Tourism contributes £96.7bn to the economy in England (8.6% of GDP), £11.1bn in Scotland (10.4%), £6.2bn in Wales (13.3%) and £1.5bn in Northern Ireland (4.9%).

The Deloitte study found that the number of jobs that tourism supports is forecast to increase by 250,000 between 2010 and 2020, from 2.645 million to 2.899 million and that one in 12 jobs in the UK is currently either directly or indirectly supported by tourism.

However, the decline in Britons spending their main holiday, or indeed any holiday, at the seaside is one factor that has led to a crisis affecting many resorts, even as the tourism market grows. Many are in urgent need of the lifeboat.

A parliamentary report on coastal towns argued that the government has no specific policy or initiatives, based upon the premise that they are too diverse to warrant such an approach. The report highlighted that resorts suffered from physical isolation, deprivation, the inward migration of older people, high levels of transience, the outward migration of young people, poor-quality housing and the nature of the coastal economy. The report said: "Excluding their physical location, none of these characteristics are unique to coastal towns. The combination of these characteristics, however, with the environmental challenges that coastal towns face, does lead to a conclusion that they are in need of focused, specific government attention."

The majority of seaside resorts are essentially one-industry towns, relying on tourism, and competing against an ever-growing and better-priced alternative overseas. They are usually, by definition, in peripheral locations with what have been described as "180-degree economies". Tourism is also seasonal and is notorious for providing low-paid, low-skilled and low-status jobs. Of the businesses that do survive, many are national chains of pubs, hotels and shops rather than independent local entrepreneurs. Tourist spending is thus hardly guaranteed to remain in the local economy, although some towns have been fighting the trend.

Many seaside towns have relatively large dependent populations who create additional demands on health and social services. Former holiday accommodation has frequently been converted into DSS housing and, more recently, hostels for refugees and asylum seekers. Unemployment in seaside resorts is often comparable to inner-city areas, reaching, for example, more than 15% in Blackpool in the winter months. Economic decline has too often led to a crumbling local infrastructure, part of a vicious circle that makes these towns even less desirable places to visit.

Conservative policy is to cut "red tape" and regulation which, they argue, harms local businesses. They have abolished regional development agencies and transferred funding and resources to local councils. This should represent a golden opportunity for the Labour opposition. Many policies close to Labour's heart, such as the minimum wage, the working time directive and improved education and training, are more relevant to the tourism industry than almost any other. Even Eric Pickles seems to understand this.

It should not be forgotten that it was a Labour government that introduced the right to paid holiday for the first time. And it was the last Labour government that brought in a scheme to boost regeneration in coastal areas through investment in culture and heritage. The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) introduced Sea Change to ensure that investment in cultural projects complements and enhances wider regeneration programmes.

Diversification is absolutely crucial for seaside resorts that can no longer rely on the traditional bucket and spade holidays. Although tourism can be the catalyst for regeneration, it is not the only, or even prime, solution in every instance. The illuminations in Blackpool have been extending the season for more than 70 years. Bournemouth and Brighton are excellent examples of seaside towns that have successfully repositioned themselves as venues for conferences, exhibitions and trade fairs. There are also opportunities to develop as heritage centres, bases to visit nearby attractions or any other number of niche markets.

The European Union, too, could have a role to play in addressing the problems facing our seaside towns. A number of resorts are located within the EU's objective one and two, and now objective three areas, and benefit from European funding.

Seaside resorts across the UK are in the frontline in the battle to win the next election. Labour has an opportunity to demonstrate the benefits of well thought-out social and economic policies and even, perhaps, positive engagement with the EU. If it can do this, it may win the election. And, you never know, Blackpool may suddenly seem like a good choice of conference venue once again.