05
Jun 2024
On the road: Is the wind of change coming to Pateley Bridge?
This week, we have been reporting on voters' views on the general election across the district. This article, which collates the views of people in Pateley Bridge, is the third in the series.
For the last 41 years, Pateley Bridge – best known for its quaint feel and booming agriculture – has been staunchly Conservative.
Since the inception of the Skipton and Ripon constituency in 1983, which the Nidderdale town falls into, it has been a safe seat for the Tories.
Prior to that, when the town was part of the Ripon constituency, it returned Conservative MPs permanently except for 217 days in 1973 when Liberal David Austick held the seat.
Conservative Julian Smith, who has held the seat for the last 14 years, recorded a landslide victory in the 2019 election – with a thumping 23,694 majority.
But the changed political climate has left the people of Pateley Bridge less than confident about another four years of Tory local dominance.
The town was last week flooded with tourists during last week's May half-term holiday when the Stray Ferret spoke to locals ahead of the upcoming general election on July 4.
Carol Harpham, who works at Yorkshire Born and Bread bakery on the High Street, said she has “no idea” who she will vote for this year:
I really don’t know who I’ll vote for – I’m not massively political.
All my friends complain about the government, but I just think to myself, ‘can anyone really do better than the last’? I suppose apathy is what I feel towards the current government.
Ms Harpham said she will vote on both national and local issues, which she believes should include improved traffic and transport provisions and cleaner rivers.
When we asked Ms Harpham what she feels should change locally, she replied:
I like the way things are. I don’t have any issues really.
Giving the highest score across the board, Ms Harpham rated the current government a 7 out of 10.
Carol Harpham gave the highest rating of them all.
‘The lesser of two evils’
George Collinson, who works as a barista at coffee shop Wildish, told the Stray Ferret he was “tired of all the cloaks and daggers”.
Speaking about Julian Smith, Mr Collison said:
I don’t feel like he really interacts with the public and interaction is something I look for.
He isn’t hands-on, and that approach doesn’t give me any sense of relatability. I want to know the person I’m voting for.
Mr Collinson, who moved to Nidderdale last year from North Wales, also said he felt living in Wales was politically “much easier”, adding:
I knew Plaid Cymru would look after the area I lived in in Wales. England just feels like people constantly jab at each other.
People vote tactically here – not passionately – because we're having to decide who is the lesser of the two evils.
Mr Collison said public transport was “totally inaccessible” in Pateley Bridge, which can make the town “really isolating” for young people looking for jobs in Ripon or Harrogate.
He said housing – or the lack of it – was the most pertinent issue local people face:
So many properties are used for holiday lets – I wish there was a cap.
It is such slim pickings here as a young person making your first move.
It's pretty much either big properties you can't afford or smaller properties which are used for holiday homes.
Hence why Pateley has a much older community; there’s nowhere for young people to thrive.
He added he thinks it’s time the government was “more upfront” with the public.
“They should just take responsibility and listen”, he said.
Mr Collison rated the government a mere one of out of 10. Spoiler: his score did not turn out to be the lowest…
George Collison rated the government a solid 1.
‘They’re appalling’
We bumped into Mr Pateley Bridge – also known as Keith Tordoff – who stood as an independent in last month's York and North Yorkshire mayoral election.
Mr Tordoff was typically strident in his views:
He [Julian Smith] is a genuinely nice man, but I think he’s got sucked into the Westminster bubble – so much so that he’s not present in our area.
People are so distanced from politics, it’s like a hit-and-run.
Mr Tordoff said he’d prefer to vote for an independent candidate, as the two front-running parties were “so similar in what they say they’ll do anyway”.
When asked about the current government, he said:
I think they're a disaster and even they know it!
There’s so many MPs jumping ship and that’s why people are disillusioned by it all. It’s so difficult to know who to vote for.
They're appalling.
He said the next government needed to prioritise opportunities for young people and healthcare provision and provide better support for the elderly and improved transport services in the rural areas.
Mr Tordoff originally rated the government at 0.5 out of 10. However, with the Stray Ferret only having whole numbers to hand, he made the reluctant decision to round up to a solid one.
Keith Tordoff clearly has little confidence in the government.
Beverly Jones, Nicki McCullum (pictured below) and Kate Nestor rated the government 0 out of 10 without hesitation.
Judging by the people we spoke to, the Conservative seat could be less than secure this time around.
But, this is just a fraction of Pateley Bridge’s population – and anything can happen in a general election.
These ladies were more than happy to rate the government a 0.
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