Anyone who has canvassed in the South West will be familiar with the above words. If you are not in Exeter, Plymouth or Bristol, the perception among local voters is that the West Country is an electoral wilderness for Labour, and is doomed to be as such. Unfortunately, this is also the dominant attitude of many in the party itself. As a result, that Labour will perform badly in this region has become more or less a self-fulfilling prophecy. I do not believe it has to be this way.
There is a lingering perception that the South West is prosperous, pastoral and idyllic. When I tell people I am from Somerset they usually respond with comments about the Shire in an accent that has not been heard around here since the Stuarts were on the throne. The reason we have this reputation is because the West Country did used to be home to wealthy landowners profiting from agriculture. However, as the economy has moved away from this sector, so has the wealth.
While it cannot be denied that we do not suffer from the effects of urban poverty – such as high crime and homelessness rates – this does not mean that there is not real deprivation in the South West. Lack of investment (public and private) in the area has meant that we see some of the lowest median wage statistics in the whole of the UK. The problems attendant upon this lack of earning power are multiplied by the fact that coastal areas – South Devon and Cornwall in particular – are seeing rising house prices due to tourism and the amount of second homes, forcing many young people from low-waged families to move elsewhere.
The main effect of this wage disparity and lack of opportunity has been something of a breakdown in local communities. I believe that Labour is the best-equipped party to deal with this problem, and we should have no hesitation in saying so. As I have argued, a good deal of the South West is not prosperous, and people do not feel represented by the Tories. The younger generation do not see them as offering opportunity, and many of the older generation feel they have abandoned the countryside to become a party of international city finance.
The key to capitalising on this is through effective local campaigning, dedication to local communities and a message that can resonate across the nation. Earlier this year, before the local elections, I acted as a campaign intern in Ben Bradshaw’s Exeter office. What was most striking during my time there was the sheer level of dedication from councillors and volunteers and the name recognition it gained them. Volunteers canvassed voters all year, asking them if they had concerns they would like to raise and responding to them when they did. This approach has turned Exeter from a Tory seat to a Labour majority of 7,000.
Without wishing to make us sound too much like something out of ‘Hot Fuzz’, voters in the South West do place a lot of value on local candidates and community. This is apparent in how successful the Liberal Democrats were in turning the West Country, which is arguably small ‘c’ conservative on many issues, into a capital ‘L’ Liberal stronghold.
Finally, I must stress the importance of message. I do not believe voters here are natural Conservatives, but they are certainly not attracted by Corbynism. The majority value patriotism, institutions and hover around the centre economically. My grandparents – lifelong old working-class Labour supporters who are partly responsible for my own values – have both declared they could never vote Labour with Corbyn in charge. This is a sentiment that was echoed across the council estates I canvassed in Exeter and in the Naval city of Plymouth. For the party to have any future, it must realise that culture and values are important to voters, not just economics.
I am not pretending that we will ever win Tiverton and Honiton or North Devon. However, I am saying that there is no reason why we should not be gaining councillors in Taunton, Redruth or Exmouth. Labour has previously held North East Somerset, Falmouth and Camborne and my home constituency of Taunton Deane among others. By working for local people and providing an effective opposition to the Tories at the county and national levels, I see no reason why we cannot again.
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Samuel Fawcett is a Labour activist. He tweets @SamFawcett92
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