This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-20312266
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Corby by-election: A swinging constituency | Corby by-election: A swinging constituency |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| By Robin Brant Political Correspondent, BBC News, in Corby | By Robin Brant Political Correspondent, BBC News, in Corby |
| Voters in Corby, Northamptonshire, go to the polls on Thursday to choose a new MP following the resignation of Conservative Louise Mensch - what are the issues they care about? | Voters in Corby, Northamptonshire, go to the polls on Thursday to choose a new MP following the resignation of Conservative Louise Mensch - what are the issues they care about? |
| It is a road like thousands of others, winding its way through the English countryside, far from the choked-up thoroughfares of Westminster. | It is a road like thousands of others, winding its way through the English countryside, far from the choked-up thoroughfares of Westminster. |
| In fact, it is nowhere near London at all. | In fact, it is nowhere near London at all. |
| Yet every politician knows that the A427 is the road to Downing Street - because the A427 passes through Corby. | Yet every politician knows that the A427 is the road to Downing Street - because the A427 passes through Corby. |
| You've got to win Corby if you're going to win power - it's the classic electoral barometer. | You've got to win Corby if you're going to win power - it's the classic electoral barometer. |
| The winning party here has come out on top in every general election in the past 30 years - and the gritty former steel making town, ringed by affluent villages, has regularly swung between Labour and Conservative. | The winning party here has come out on top in every general election in the past 30 years - and the gritty former steel making town, ringed by affluent villages, has regularly swung between Labour and Conservative. |
| That is why the party leaders are so serious about winning here in Thursday's by-election. | That is why the party leaders are so serious about winning here in Thursday's by-election. |
| Ed Miliband has visited Corby no fewer than four times. | Ed Miliband has visited Corby no fewer than four times. |
| Serious scrap | Serious scrap |
| With a healthy lead in the national opinion polls, the pressure is Labour candidate Andy Sawford, son of former Kettering MP Phil, to overturn Louise Mensch's 1,951 majority. | With a healthy lead in the national opinion polls, the pressure is Labour candidate Andy Sawford, son of former Kettering MP Phil, to overturn Louise Mensch's 1,951 majority. |
| If Labour fails to win, it will be seen as a major setback for Mr Miliband, a sign that he is still struggling to make headway in the Southern half of the country despite a concerted effort to do so in recent months. | If Labour fails to win, it will be seen as a major setback for Mr Miliband, a sign that he is still struggling to make headway in the Southern half of the country despite a concerted effort to do so in recent months. |
| The Conservatives would dearly love to hold on to the seat. Like most prime ministers, David Cameron does not always find the time to hit the by-election campaign trail, but he has made an exception for Corby. | The Conservatives would dearly love to hold on to the seat. Like most prime ministers, David Cameron does not always find the time to hit the by-election campaign trail, but he has made an exception for Corby. |
| But a victory by Tory candidate Christine Emmett on Thursday is starting to look like plot a development not even Mrs Mensch, a former novelist, would dare to write. | But a victory by Tory candidate Christine Emmett on Thursday is starting to look like plot a development not even Mrs Mensch, a former novelist, would dare to write. |
| There is also a serious scrap among those who don't expect to win, with Liberal Democrat Jill Hope and UK Independence Party (UKIP) candidate Margot Parker battling it out for third place. | There is also a serious scrap among those who don't expect to win, with Liberal Democrat Jill Hope and UK Independence Party (UKIP) candidate Margot Parker battling it out for third place. |
| The constituency is part beautiful Northamptonshire countryside, part industrial town, with a strong Scottish heritage linked to the thousands of workers who travelled to work in the British Steel plant that once dominated the skyline. | |
| Steel making has long since given way to manufacturing and distribution warehouses as the principle source of employment. | Steel making has long since given way to manufacturing and distribution warehouses as the principle source of employment. |
| And in recent years many of these manual jobs have been taken by East European workers who have moved into the town in large numbers. | And in recent years many of these manual jobs have been taken by East European workers who have moved into the town in large numbers. |
| Resentment | Resentment |
| Youth unemployment across the constituency is growing faster than anywhere else in the country. | Youth unemployment across the constituency is growing faster than anywhere else in the country. |
| It's a recipe for resentment among locals. | It's a recipe for resentment among locals. |
| One man - a committed Labour voter - who works for Argos, at their nearby distribution centre, told me he is facing redundancy, as are dozens more of his colleagues. | One man - a committed Labour voter - who works for Argos, at their nearby distribution centre, told me he is facing redundancy, as are dozens more of his colleagues. |
| "I've got Polish friends," he stressed, before admitting his sense of frustration. | "I've got Polish friends," he stressed, before admitting his sense of frustration. |
| "I don't know where to start... you feel racist if you try to talk about it." | |
| Yet there is little evidence voters he want to capitalise on their significance as barometers of the national political mood. Apathy reigns supreme. | Yet there is little evidence voters he want to capitalise on their significance as barometers of the national political mood. Apathy reigns supreme. |
| At the florists where I met the Argos worker, the manageress told me she was a Tory through and through, but won't be heading to the polling station on Thursday. | |
| "I do at the general election, but not now," she said. | "I do at the general election, but not now," she said. |
| A few miles away, in the village of Kings Cliffe, Karen O'Sullivan runs a bakery. | A few miles away, in the village of Kings Cliffe, Karen O'Sullivan runs a bakery. |
| It's a good bakery. The husband and wife team have been around for 25 years. | It's a good bakery. The husband and wife team have been around for 25 years. |
| Step into their stone cottage shop - they live upstairs - and the warmth and smell transports you to a simpler time. | Step into their stone cottage shop - they live upstairs - and the warmth and smell transports you to a simpler time. |
| But Karen said she "probably won't vote" on Thursday. | |
| Mensch factor | Mensch factor |
| She's a Tory, she's pleased with what the coalition's done over the past two and a half years to deal with "the mess left" by Labour. But she seemed genuinely uninterested in polling day. | She's a Tory, she's pleased with what the coalition's done over the past two and a half years to deal with "the mess left" by Labour. But she seemed genuinely uninterested in polling day. |
| There may be a Mensch factor. | There may be a Mensch factor. |
| Some Conservatives admit privately that supporters are angry about the way their former MP departed, mid-term, for a new life in New York, with her rock band manager husband and young family. | Some Conservatives admit privately that supporters are angry about the way their former MP departed, mid-term, for a new life in New York, with her rock band manager husband and young family. |
| Whether it's on Mensch or foreign workers, UKIP believe they can make serious headway in Corby. | Whether it's on Mensch or foreign workers, UKIP believe they can make serious headway in Corby. |
| They're encouraging people to come to them as a protest vote. There's serious talk of - maybe - coming second, which would mean eclipsing the Conservatives. | They're encouraging people to come to them as a protest vote. There's serious talk of - maybe - coming second, which would mean eclipsing the Conservatives. |
| The most optimistic person I met was Denise Liquorish, a Lib Dem voter in her mid-50s who is looking for work. | The most optimistic person I met was Denise Liquorish, a Lib Dem voter in her mid-50s who is looking for work. |
| "Corby's really on the up," she told me: "Everyone is pulling together." | |
| But it was a young mum, on her way home from shopping, who showed best the changing pressures within the barometer that is Corby. | |
| Mary-Therese Smith said she had just secured a full-time job at the new Tesco, starting in January. | |
| She benefited from a quota of places going to people at her local job centre. | She benefited from a quota of places going to people at her local job centre. |
| 'Baby on the motorway' | 'Baby on the motorway' |
| But it is not jobs or foreign workers that has influenced her voting choice - it is having a baby and using the NHS. | |
| She is worried about plans to change services at the local hospital. | She is worried about plans to change services at the local hospital. |
| Proposals for Kettering General, including reducing the number of beds and reviewing maternity services, formed the central plank of the Labour campaign. | Proposals for Kettering General, including reducing the number of beds and reviewing maternity services, formed the central plank of the Labour campaign. |
| "Someone might end up having a baby on the motorway" if they have to go further to get to hospital. she said. | |
| The motorways and trunk roads around Corby are the reason it has established itself as a major distribution hub for the UK. | The motorways and trunk roads around Corby are the reason it has established itself as a major distribution hub for the UK. |
| The lorries leaving here carry everything from electrical components, to steel tubes, to Weetabix. | The lorries leaving here carry everything from electrical components, to steel tubes, to Weetabix. |
| There are signs the area is undergoing a revival, with the resumption of a train service to London, and an eyecatching, if wildly over budget, new civic centre. | |
| The fastest growing youth unemployment in the country, coupled with a large number of foreign workers means there will be a long, hard journey ahead for whoever wins on Thursday. | The fastest growing youth unemployment in the country, coupled with a large number of foreign workers means there will be a long, hard journey ahead for whoever wins on Thursday. |
| But they will at least have the comfort of knowing they are on the right road for Downing Street. | But they will at least have the comfort of knowing they are on the right road for Downing Street. |
| Here is a full list of the candidates in Thursday's by-election: | Here is a full list of the candidates in Thursday's by-election: |
|
|