We paid a visit to Angela Rayner's Ashton constituency and found Labour have got a fight on their hands

The July 4 General Election resulted in a historic landslide for Labour, who won 411 seats of the total 650 seats, up 209 from the previous election. In Ashton, the results were equally positive for the new ruling party. Rayner won 43.9% of the vote, almost double that of her closest competitor, the Reform party, which came in second with 24.8%. 

Despite these numbers, support for the Stockport-born politician, and politicians in general, in Ashton appears to be minimal. It’s been two weeks since the General Election and it’s business as usual in the town centre.

People are wandering around the market or sitting at one of the town’s many cafes enjoying a rare sunny day in an otherwise grey summer. Election fever has fizzled out across the country, but it’s hard to tell if it ever made its way to Ashton in the first place. For most people we spoke to in Ashton, mention of politics elicits some version of the same response: “They’re all the same.”

Nigel, who was sitting outside the indoor market with his daughter Claire, said: “I won't vote because they're all as bad as each other in my eyes. They promise this, that and the other to get their power and then they do what they want with the power, not help the people.”

Lisa gave an almost identical response. She has never voted and didn’t vote in the General Election because she did not have any ID. If she did, she would have voted for Reform. She got her phone and searched ‘Angela Rayner’ in her email inbox, showing me the numerous attempts she had made over the last couple of years to get in touch with her local MP regarding various issues, each time receiving the automated response. 

She said: “I just think they're all pretty much the same. They promise you the world and then you vote and they talk rubbish. I've always worked. I just lost my job two years ago and the trouble I'm having just with benefits. How are people meant to survive? I just hate every government.”

One issue that both Nigel, Lisa and a number of other residents brought up was immigration, expressing disappointment in the Labour government’s rollback of the Rwanda scheme. They feel that this is impacting their access to Universal Credit or, as another Ashton resident, Ann, told ManchesterWorld, doctors appointments. Another resident criticised the government's support for Ukraine.

Another woman, who preferred not to be named, said she had also tried to contact Rayner’s office and, like Lisa, had not heard back – but this was not the reason she decided not to vote. While she would normally vote Labour, she said that the party lost her support due to its stance on Palestine and the situation in Gaza. 

She added: “The MP that we had [David Heyes], I only met him once. He was very, very much into the public. He used to meet them, he used to solve any issues that we've had, but Angela Rayner, we've sent her a letter and an email about three times about my sister, who has had cancer and we've had a lot of issues at the hospital. We were hoping as an MP she might be able to push them a little bit but we've had no response. And I think she's not much of a local. Maybe, she's the Deputy Prime Minister, she might be busy, but I don't know.”

We met another resident, sat outside a café enjoying a pot of tea and a plate of chips with a friend, who had that opposite complaint. Unlike the previous respondent, she had met Rayner at an event in the town centre and the encounter had left her incensed, which is why she voted Reform. 

She said: “It's how she talks down to you, she shouts. For instance, there was a forum about voting and she was there in the crowd and she said: I want you to vote for Labour. She was looking at me and I said: I vote for who I want. There's nobody as good, who does a lot for Ashton, but no. She bit my head off. I'm not talking to you like that, don't do that to me.”

James had also met Rayner at a presentation she gave at the Anthony Seddon mental health support centre in Ashton. He is three years sober having almost lost his life to alcohol poisoning during lockdown. He would like to see more financial support for people like him, who have struggled with physical and mental health issues. 

He said: “Angela Rayner, she's not for me. A lot of people don't like her because they don't think she's done anything. I wish this country would get back on its feet and help people, the way they are struggling. I watched a bit of the election, what was going on, how many seats were involved, and I thought: ‘Oh my god’. What they talk about is unreal.

“I get information in the post. You just put a tick, send it off and that's it. I did it when I was younger. But now, since the country's been taken over and what have you, it's just going worse. People are finding it hard to live, like myself.” 

As we have reported previously, the town centre has been in decline for a number of years, plagued with complaints of anti-social behaviour and dwindling retail opportunities. When we visit, there are a few traders on the once bustling market square, but most of the units are empty. The indoor market has a steady stream of customers flowing through it, but even this is not like it used to be, one trader on a cigarette break outside tells me. He showed me the floor map of the market and said that over half of the traders listed are no longer in business.

But change is happening in Ashton. As we make our way through the market square, a constant rumble of heavy machinery can be heard in the background. Work has begun on the refurbishment of Ashton town hall, paid for thanks to the £20m in Levelling-Up money from the previous government, which will also be used to overhaul the market square itself. While these refurbishments are being led by Tameside council, not Angela Rayner, as the new Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, this is something that falls under her national portfolio. 

Regardless, the market trader is sceptical. He thinks the money would be better used elsewhere as previous refurbishments have failed to revitalise the town. There’s no point trying to turn Ashton into Altrincham, he said. 

Elsewhere, there is some tentative optimism among Ashton residents about Rayner and the new Labour government. 

William Thompson said: “I'm glad Labour's got in and I hope they can show and prove what they've promised over the election. If they do it, they do it. I was brought up with Labour but the last few years I've been voting Conservative. And I think they've done a good job through lockdown and helping everybody out with the finances and wages but, as the years have gone on, people are really struggling.”

Despite voting for the Conservatives in the recent election, he added: “You can only give them a chance. Conservatives had their chance. They've been in 14 years and they've really brought it to its knees.”

Claire Armitt, who was having a coffee with her parents Derek and Sue, is more optimistic. As a parent of a child with additional needs, Claire would like to see better provision and support for families like hers, particularly here in Tameside. She also pointed to the state of Ashton town centre, describing it as “horrendous.”

She said: “Things really need to improve round here, so hopefully it will start at home. But you never know, do you, now she's off down to London,” adding “It is really good to have somebody local that's going to have such a high position of power though.”

Overall, however, Claire sees Rayner and the Labour party’s win as a positive step forward. She said: “She's a down to earth kind of girl. You hear people say bad things, but she's working class, isn't she? She's lived it so you, kind of, want to believe in her a bit. I don't think she's really had a chance to prove herself yet. I think time will tell really. But I'm positive, I'm positive about her.”