Labour needs to do more if it’s going to bring lasting change to Blackpool, says MP

Chris Webb writes exclusively for The Blackpool Lead on the need for Labour to do more, and do it quickly, to bring transformative change

Hello and welcome to The Blackpool Lead.

It has been far from a smooth 18 months for Labour since taking power in the 2024 general election.

They have done some good work, but it has been incremental and almost entirely lost in debates and mis-steps around immigration, the two-child benefit cap and conflicting priorities as votes-in-theory are lost to both Reform UK and the Green Party.

In Blackpool, it is unlikely that the Green Party will make a headway and the challenge instead comes from Reform UK.

And today, Chris Webb, MP for Blackpool South, writes exclusively for readers of The Blackpool Lead to tell Keir Starmer in strong terms that change needs to be bigger, and quicker, if Labour is make the impact that it promised.

The Blackpool Lead is marking two years of publishing thorough, independent journalism this month. This January we are giving you a 20 per cent discount if you want to support our work and if you think proper reporting is important. Join us here.

Blackpool briefing

🍴 The operators of Blackpool’s Holiday Inn ended the arrangements with Marco Pierre White’s restaurant brand because of “restrictions” with the deal, it has emerged. It comes as new Platform 9 signage appeared at the hotel this week, ushering in a new era for the restaurant, with all signs relating to Marco’s removed. Council documents show that the council made the move to “terminate” the agreement because it was too restrictive. Those documents stated that the presence of Marco’s - a big name brand - were ‘impacting on the profitability of the hotel and restaurant’. It was felt that people were choosing the restaurant for convenience of the location rather than the brand.

🐕 Plans are being considered to invest in a new pet amenity in Carleton Crematorium to cater for people who are grieving for their beloved domestic animals. Blackpool Council, which owns and operates the crematorium, is considering the move as part of an overall £633,000 project which includes a new yard, as the current facilities are deemed not fit for purpose. The proposals come up for consideration when it goes before the authority’s Executive Committee on Monday January 19.

🎭 Plans are being made to introduce a much improved yet sympathetic reseating of the top gallery tier at Grade II-listed Blackpool Grand Theatre. The proposals are intended to build on the restoration work already carried out at the Victorian theatre, considered by many to be among the best of its kind in the country. A planning application has been submitted to Blackpool Council seeking consent for alterations to the layout and reseating of the Gallery including new handrails and amphitheatre barrier. The proposals are intended to open up the side slips and introduce a follow-spot position in the centre of the rake with direct access off the corridor below.

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Labour needs to do more if it’s going to bring lasting change to Blackpool, says MP

Chris Webb with son Cillian. Credit: The Blackpool Lead/Michael Holmes

By Chris Webb, MP for Blackpool South

My son was born in Blackpool. That simple fact means he is destined to live ten years less than a boy born in Hampshire. Ten years stolen before he has even had the chance to live them.

This isn’t down to fate or chance, but policy choices. Decades of neglect have written inequality into the lives of children like mine. Unless we act, they will inherit a Britain that rewards wealth and punishes geography.

When Keir Starmer came to Blackpool during my by-election in May 2024, he said something that people here immediately recognised as true – he spoke about the pride and ambition of our town and the frustration that comes when that pride is met with neglect, not investment.

He was right. Blackpool has never lacked pride or ambition – what it has lacked for far too long is a sustained and serious commitment from those with the power to change things.

Eighteen months on from the General Election, it is time to be honest about where a Labour government has made a difference for Blackpool, where it has fallen short and what must change if it is to match the pride and ambition of my hometown.

Blackpool is in crisis. The 2025 Indices of Multiple Deprivation place seven of England’s ten most deprived communities here. Low wages, poor health and insecure work are all part of a deep-rooted disadvantage.

There have been improvements and they should be recognised. After years of seeing our public services stretched to breaking point, we now have a government that understands the scale of the challenge facing towns like ours. Increased NHS investment has stabilised services on the brink of collapse. Early steps on social care reform are beginning to ease pressure on families and hospitals. Support for further education skills, and funding for two new SEND schools in Blackpool has strengthened local institutions, giving young people the chance to build a future without leaving Blackpool behind.

Regeneration is happening too. Some long-neglected areas are finally benefiting from joined-up plans rather than short-term funding announcements designed to grab headlines. And the shift towards working with local government rather than directing everything from Whitehall is welcome.

Nevertheless, the 2025 Indices of Multiple Deprivation should be a wake up call to anyone still sleeping on this issue. This is not a badge of shame - it is a call to action.

Labour in government must confront this reality. Despite good intentions, we are yet to rebalance investment away from the South toward Northern towns and coastal communities at the scale required. Too much capital spending still flows to places that are already doing well. Too many national programmes assume city-region models that ignore towns like Blackpool. Coastal deprivation is still treated as a niche issue rather than the national economic failure that it is.

If the government is serious about matching Blackpool’s pride and ambition, 2026 must be the year it sharpens its focus.

That starts with radical, long-term, place-based investment. Real regeneration understands that buildings alone do not change lives – jobs, health, skills, transport and housing do.

We must also be honest about the limits of current schemes. The £20m Pride in Place funding for Layton and Grange Park is a start, but allocating a single project per constituency is nowhere near enough for a town where deprivation is widespread and entrenched. Communities facing extreme disadvantage need multiple, coordinated projects delivered over time or we risk raising hopes without delivering change.