Portugal Colonial - Struggles of 'levelling-up' plan epitomise UK Tory decline

Keighley, a town in northern England of around 50,000 people, returned a Conservative MP, Robbie Moore, in 2019, but looks set to punish the ruling party at this year's election on July 4.

"It's definitely not going to be who's in power," pub worker Chris Ashworth, 40, told AFP when asked who he would vote for.

He voted Conservative in 2019, but will ditch them this year because "everything is just so much more expensive and NHS (National Health Service) wait times are huge," he added.

Such anger is widespread across the region, and Labour candidate John Grogan is expected to be the beneficiary.

"The number one issue is poverty and all that goes with it," said Grogan from his campaign office.

"Life can be quite hard in Keighley. There is so much talent that goes to waste in this town."

After the 2019 result, incoming prime minister Boris Johnson pledged to repay the trust put in his Conservatives by voters in traditionally Labour-supporting regions such as Yorkshire, where Keighley is located.

His flagship "levelling-up" policy funnelled funds to these areas, ravaged by the decline of heavy industry.

But the pandemic and war in Ukraine triggered a price surge that has affected every level of the community.

- 'Empty town' -

The town's Salvation Army centre is at the front line of the cost-of-living crisis, running a weekly food bank.

"We've seen an immense growth spurt" in demand, said Imogen Stewart, a minister at the Salvation Army church, in front of trolleys of food parcels ready to be handed out.

"From a year ago, when we were just giving out 40 a week, now we give out 60 per week."

"Without places like this, everyone would struggle," said food bank user Shaun Broom, 30, who was laid off six weeks ago.

It is not just individuals but the community as a whole that has suffered, said stay-at-home mother Alannah Hodgson, 31.

"Shops are shutting down, left, right and centre. It's just an empty town."

Despite the bleak outlook, she is one of the few actually switching her vote to the Conservatives this year.

"Even though I don't particularly want Conservatives in government, I do want Robbie Moore to stay," she said outside the town centre shopping centre.

Business owners have had to deal with the twin pressures of cash-strapped customers and rising costs.

These include Stefania Risidi, who runs award-winning hair salon "Hairavanti", an institution in central Keighley for 44 years.

Hit by a 30-percent hike in rents, she was forced to move her salon to a quiet arcade.

"It's really heartbreaking to leave the place," she said. "Where we are at the moment, there is zero passing trade."

All of which has created a sense of decline and despair in the town -- exactly the problem that levelling-up was supposed to remedy.

- Funds boost -

Moore was still keen to trumpet the fact that the town has received tens of millions of pounds in levelling-up funds.

"I want to build on the great work that I've been doing as the MP... in securing over £80 million ($101 million) of investment," he said from the picturesque hills overlooking Keighley.

One beneficiary has been Keighley Creative, a charity whose purpose is to "increase the amount of artistic activity that's going on in the town," according to executive director Riaz Meer.

"It will make a huge difference," Meer said of the £2.6 million in funding it will receive, in the small cinema inside the charity's temporary headquarters.

"We can do a lot here in our current premises, but we'll be able to do so much more in a purpose-built building.

"So yes, it's going to allow us to really be a beacon in the centre of the town."

Highlighting the charity's role in the community is Jonathan Britten, a 48-year-old who gave up his job as a bricklayer to become a painter.

"I downed tools... and I just picked up the paint brushes and made a start. I've not looked back since," he said from his studio inside Keighley Creative, adding that his work helped him deal with long-term mental health issues.

"I think a lot of people here, the other studios, they're really happy with their choice as well."

Out on the street, however, most were unaware that the town had even received funding.

"What levelling-up?" asked Hodgson. "I've heard of levelling-up, but I haven't seen it in Keighley."

E.Paulino--PC