“You don’t see it in your pocket,” said Jenny Nichols, a care support worker, when asked about the chancellor’s 2p cut in national insurance. “Things which come in one hand get taken away by another hand. The taxman will always get it back.”
On a cold, grey day, Nichols was enjoying a bracing walk with her partner, Raymond Wise, at Hartlepool marina. Both were underwhelmed as the Guardian reeled off the headlines from Jeremy Hunt’s budget.
“A cut in national insurance is better than nothing,” said Wise. “But everywhere you go, things are more expensive. I’ve got daughters and the cost of childcare is like half a week’s wages for an average person.
“I’m a self-employed decorator and the price of materials is just ridiculous. I used to buy paint for £60, it’s now £90 since lockdown.”
Nichols agreed. “We sit in the cold at home, we don’t put the heating on very much at all … We can’t afford to.”
If the Tories hoped to excite voters with the budget, the evidence from Hartlepool was that they will be disappointed. But so might Labour. Many said they had lost faith in all politicians.
“I don’t know if Keir Starmer will be any better,” said Nichols. “They all promise things, but you never see it. They need a bomb up their backsides.”
Another headline from the budget was a vaping tax. Tom Curry, a 22-year-old shop worker who was outside vaping on his break, said he understood why it was happening and had mixed feelings.
“I use vaping to genuinely stop smoking cigarettes and I’m going to be affected by it,” he said. “I know people who’ve said they’re going to go back to smoking if it gets too expensive.”
Curry wasn’t very excited by the national insurance news. “It’s good that it’s being cut, but it’s not enough … People can’t afford even basic things at the moment.
He said he and his partner were not struggling as such, “but we’re not doing as well as my mum and dad were at our age”.
Curry is lucky relationship-wise when it comes to property, but “most of my friends? I can’t see them getting on the property ladder for another 10 years … more. When you’re my age, you shouldn’t be thinking like that, you should be thinking it’s something to work towards. But at the moment, there is no point.
“I think the country is a shambles. I didn’t ever like David Cameron, but you look back now and think, ‘Actually, he wasn’t that bad.’ That’s saying a lot.”
No one approached by the Guardian had much enthusiasm for the Tories. People talked about the lockdown parties, the cost of living, energy prices. They pointed to the number of closed shops, pubs and restaurants.
The downbeat tone was a stark contrast to just three years ago, when the town elected a Tory MP for the first time in 62 years.
The 2021 Hartlepool byelection will be remembered in history books, probably illustrated with pictures of a 30ft Boris Johnson balloon bobbing above the real Johnson’s head as he beamed at the victory.
It was a humiliating defeat for Labour, and according to Tom Baldwin’s new biography of Keir Starmer, the Labour leader seriously considered resigning after the result. But it was also a turning point for Starmer, making him more determined to succeed.
“We have been talking to ourselves instead of the country and we have lost the trust of working people, particularly in places like Hartlepool,” Starmer said. “I intend to do whatever is necessary to fix that.”
Starmer needs to do more to win back trust, voters told the Guardian. And the job to revive places like Hartlepool will be huge one, they said.
“In Hartlepool there are shops closing everywhere,” said Steve Vaughan, behind the till in a houseplant shop. “Look at it – the place is just dead. Why would anyone want to come to Hartlepool? For the shopping centre? I don’t think so.
“It’s not just our town. You’re talking every town. The high street is just dying. I think something drastic needs to be done.”
Maurice Roe, a retired miner and a youthful-looking 70, agreed, and pointed out that the national insurance cut meant nothing to him.
Not that it would win him over. “I have no faith in this government. Rishi Sunak is rubbish. Boris Johnson was no good. I wouldn’t ever vote for them – the Tories are a joke to me.”
Mary Purnell, who cares for her husband, said Wednesday’s budget was pure electioneering. “They’re trying to buy people’s favour to get them to vote for them. They are just trying to win votes and get back in, which I hope they don’t.”
