Tamworth by election 2023: Locals say town ‘falling to pieces’ - demanding ‘honesty’ and ‘more involvement’ from next MP

People who live in the Tamworth constituency are calling on their next MP to be “more involved” in the community and “revamp” their shops in the high street as it is a “ghost town”. Voters in the area are demanding change from the candidate who will replace the former Conservative MP Chris Pincher in the by-election taking place on Thursday (19 October). Pincher resigned after the Parliament’s standards committee found he groped two men at London’s Carlton Club.

Steven Harris, 70, said he prefers going to Lichfield nowadays as it is “dead” in Tamworth and would like to see the next MP spruce up the high street to encourage shoppers back. He said it is “currently like a ghost town” and although Pincher “didn’t leave a good taste in the mouth” he is voting Conservative in this next by-election to “give them another chance”.

Residents walking through Tamworth’s high street on Monday (16 October) told NationalWorld what they would like to see from their next MP. Fiona, 64, also said she would like to see “shops reopening not closing” as “there are a lot of people that cannot get to the outskirts of town”. Jack Evan, 80, echoed that the “town is going dead” and he wants “more involvement” from the next MP.

Dave Payne, 76, said the town’s infrastructure is “falling to pieces” and he would like to see a “big improvement on the roads, cheaper parking and a stop to some of the crime that is going on”. He told NationalWorld that he normally votes Conservative but he is “struggling this time” because “unfortunately they never seem to fulfil their promises - they all make them and never fulfil them”. He added that he would like his next MP to “show some respect” to the people that have voted for them and “treat them properly”. Julie Snow, 63, said she looked at all the candidates’ leaflets coming through her letter box and “they have all gone straight in the bin because they are all out for themselves”.

Another issue raised by residents is the amount of police on the streets and safety of its people. Brian Durham, 78, said the town “definitely needs” more police, adding that it is “very rare that you see one”. Another woman said the next MP needs to “focus on the basics” including “getting the roads done” and making sure there is safety as a lot of the entrances and exits at blocks of flats “are broken”. She told NationalWorld that the candidates’ flyers seem to “attack one another” but there needs to be “a little less I can do this and they can do that” and more “what do the people want and set up more meetings”.

Ronald Skett, 78, said his main concern is the Labour leader Keir Starmer “getting in and concreting over our surrounding countryside, similar to what the Conservatives have done for the last 12 years”. He is protesting against policies to build on greenfield sites and wants “more respect for the environment”. He said Tamworth is at risk of “serious flooding” as the town is at the junction of two rivers, the Anker and the Tame. He said: “The Anker serves a lot of concreted over areas and the Tame also comes from Birmingham which is a concreted over area so if we have a serious deluge which is quite possible with global warming I think Tamworth can get seriously flooded and I have been on about that for many years.”

Residents told NationalWorld they are struggling to trust politicians and have a lack of faith in them. Claire Durham, 75, said she would like to see more “honesty and clarity” and will be voting for the Labour candidate, Sarah Edwards, because she “so wants a change of government”.

Tamworth was held by Labour for 13 years before being gained by the Conservatives in 2010. The Conservatives candidate Andrew Cooper will be looking to win the seat this year. Labour leader Keir Starmer has said his party winning this by-election would still be a “tough ask”. To win the seat, Labour would need a net change of 22 in every 100 people who voted Conservative in 2019 to switch to its party.