By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter
Labour’s Vernon Coaker held the Gedling seat for 22 years before his service to the constituency came to an end in 2019.
The result in Gedling was one that was reflected nationally, with the Conservative Party’s vote share the highest since 1979 when Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister.
Vast numbers of voters opted to give a new inset of Conservative MPs a chance in constituencies such as Gedling, and the swing can largely be put down to Brexit.
Then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson had made promises to “get Brexit done”, while the Labour Party had been ambiguous as to whether it was pro-Leave or pro-Remain.
Many of Labour’s seats were lost in the Midlands.
The Conservative’s Tom Randall stepped in from here on, and Lord Coaker was made a life peer in 2021.
However, importantly, Gedling’s swing from red to blue was the most marginal in Nottinghamshire.
Mr Randall snubbed Lord Coaker by just 679 votes.
On July 4 this year, Labour-run Gedling Borough Council’s deputy leader, Michael Payne, is looking to retake the seat and the polls suggest this could be the case.
Results in 2019 – Conservative GAIN – Tom Randall
Turnout: 70 per cent
Electorate: 71,336
Majority: 679
Questioning the candidates
Dominic Berry – Green Party
Why should people vote for you?
“It is not so much voting for me it is more about voting for the Green Party. I am not so naive as to think I can win here. I would be lucky to get 10 per cent of votes. The main thing is putting some pressure on the main two parties.
“It is most definitely going to be Michael Payne in government and they have already gone back from £28bn on climate to £8.3bn.
“It is not just about the vote itself, in the current system it is quite hard for small parties to get in, the only part of our system that is proportional is funding. So say if we get 10 per cent of the vote, we get a certain amount of funding for that.
“It also means if we get a decent vote this election it will build up every time. You look at the results in Brighton Pavillion, it starts off small but in four elections’ time you might get a win.”
What are the most important issues in Gedling?
“I’m not going to pretend I’m a local with in depth knowledge. What I do have is an open ear and what I have heard from friends in the Green Party who live here and people who have come up to me is flooding and housing.
“Housing is not so simple to fix. The Green Party has an approach to try and build 150,000 council homes every year and ending the right-to-buy, so hopefully that would make a dint.
“As for flooding it is more of a difficult one. It is not so much about building more infrastructure, it is about using the natural resources, flood plains, re-wilding, giving farmers incentives to do that.”
What has Gedling got going for it?
“Just look around. You have the high street, Mapperley Top, all the parks around here, Gedling Country Park. The main draw as to why me and my partner want to move here is the location.
“It is pretty perfect, it is inward facing towards Nottingham so you get all the amenities, and then you also have the outward facing side where you get more of the countryside. We are quite close to Sherwood Forest constituency which has Newstead Abbey, all the nice places around there.”
Simon Christy – Reform UK
Why should people vote for you?
“I think we’ve arrived at the point in British politics where people realise that the only way that they’re going to get any change or improvement in their life is to vote for a new party, with the fresh ideas, that is not take everybody down the same route that they have in the past.
“That’s why I believe that this is an ideal opportunity for people to vote for Reform and have a different perspective on how people’s lives can be improved.”
What are the most important issues in Gedling?
“There’s a slight distraction in that we’ve got two leaders who are absolutely, unbelievably charismatic, very, very good at their job, they’re just fantastically believable people with great ideas.
“Now the problem with that is that you can end up coming to Arnold, or Gedling or Carlton and talking about national issues. Now, one of the main issues in Arnold, Gedling, Carlton, every city and town, is crime and anti-social behaviour.
“The Reform Party has pledged at least 300 policemen [per 100,000 people in the population] because it is the thin end of the wedge. Shop-lifting first, then knife crime – the whole thing escalates until you end up with a similar situation with, say, San Francisco where the town is taking over.
What has Gedling got going for it?
“It’s very, very easy in the United Kingdom at the moment, probably post-Brexit, to get this idea that the British public are at odds with each other and they’re fighting over everything and they have different views on things.
“All the statistics from the big London universities that actually look into this sort of thing say that the British people very tolerant and they get on perfectly well with each other, even though they’ve got diverse views.
“However, there is a group of people, possibly some in the media, some in business, who want to try and create division.
“I think the biggest asset that people of Arnold, Gedling, Carlton, the UK have got, is it we’re generally very kind, empathetic people who get on. We do get on and long may it stay like that.”
Michael Payne – Labour
Why should people vote for you?
“After 14 years I think it is time for change here in Gedling.
“Too many crimes are going unpunished, we can’t even fix the potholes on our roads. The Conservative-run County Council has lost control of our roads and our potholes here.
“People can’t see a GP here in Gedling. Children can’t get into an NHS dentist. The economy has been tanked by Liz Truss, Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak, David Cameron, and I think it is time for a fresh start, time for a change.
“I am proud to be from Gedling, born and brought up here in Arnold, and if I am elected as the MP here in Gedling in a few days time, I’ll proudly fight for our area.
“We need more investment in our town centres, we are stood here in Arnold town centre, right behind me is the new Arnold Market Place (AMP) and as deputy leader of the council for the last 12 years I’m really proud that we’ve invested in local areas.
“This is a Labour-run council, investing in Arnold town centre, but the travesty is we’ve had a Conservative Government that hasn’t given a single penny to places like Arnold or Netherfield or Mapperley or some other towns here in Gedling.
“So, I think in a few days time at the General Election, there is a clear choice here in Gedling. There are 679 votes between the current Conservative MP and myself, there is a chance to turn a page on the carelessness and decline of the last 14 years and elect a Labour government and a Labour MP here in Gedling that will fight people’s corners in the communities across Gedling.”
What are the most important issues in Gedling?
“Without a doubt, on every single door, people have been raising the shocking state of the roads and what’s unforgivable is three quarters of council tax here in Gedling goes to Conservative-run Nottinghamshire County Council.
“They’ve been running the County Council since 2017. I’ve lived in this area my entire life, the roads have never been worse.
“How on earth can you trust the Conservative Party to carry on running the country if they can’t even sort the potholes out on the roads here in Gedling and in Nottinghamshire?
“We have also had both of our police stations closed down as a result of Conservative cuts, there are far too few police on the neighbourhood here and there is a chance to elect a Labour government in a few days time who will do something about it.
“A million more potholes fixed every year, with new money from a Labour government, 13,000 neighbourhood police back on the streets, patrolling our town centres and our neighbourhoods.
“New dental appointments for children so that they can get in to see an NHS dentist, ending the 8am scramble for people trying to get a GP appointment and finally doing something about the nearly eight million waiting lists on our hospitals here at City Hospital and QMC and hospitals across the country.
“I think what we’ve seen in the last 14 years is promises made by a Conservative government, broken promises, a cost of living crisis hitting people here in Gedling, there is a big choice to make in a few days time at the General Election.
“It is a clear choice with us in Gedling between the Conservatives and Labour and I hope if people put their trust in me, they will see I’ll be a visible, hard working, strong talking, independent minded MP for the place that I’ve been proud to call home and I owe everything to.”
What has Gedling got going for it?
“I’m really proud of Gedling, the people here are amazing people.
“I wouldn’t have the opportunity to stand as a member of parliament were it not for the opportunities afforded to me by the community here in Gedling.
“Great local businesses, great local people, great community organisations. In the last few years one of the things I’m proudest of that we’ve done is to create the 588-acre Gedling Country Park, that was a Labour-run council here, of which I am the deputy leader, out of a former colliery site.
“We have some fantastic parks, some brilliant town centres; Mapperley high street, Arnold, Carlton, they need some extra investment but there are great businesses here, great people, and if I’m their member of parliament I’m going to argue tooth and nail for them.
“I’m afraid to say in the last four years with a Conservative MP, it has felt like he’s been Westminster’s voice in Gedling, not Gedling’s voice in Westminster.
“For me the job as the member of parliament is to go down to Parliament, argue for your area, rattle the doors to the Prime Minister, and the Chancellor, and Ministers, and make sure your area gets the fair share of funding that it deserves.”
Tom Randall – Conservative Party
Why should people vote for you?
“It has been an absolute privilege to have been the Member of Parliament for my home town, standing in my home town, of Arnold. Over the last four years we have achieved a lot locally.
“We have smashed our police recruitment targets. We’ve got money for Carlton that has just been secured but there is a lot more to do, so I am standing for re-election because I want to finish the job, carry on the projects that I’ve been working on to see them through to completion and serve the people of Gedling even further.”
What are the most important issues in Gedling?
“I’m standing on a six point programme which has been influenced by what people have told me. For me it is fixing our roads, getting more investment into our roads.
“That has probably been the top issue in my inbox over the last few years and I’m the only candidate who has secured extra funding from the treasury. I want to press on with that, getting even more money, but it is also things like improving how we get around Gedling, improving our transport connections, getting better health outcomes and getting access to the GP when you want it, and protecting our green spaces.
“Particularly here we are on the edge of our conurbation, we have got to protect our green spaces, which also means we can protect ourselves from flood risks.”
What has Gedling got going for it?
“I’m from Arnold and I’ve always thought this is a lovely place to live and work.
“It can be better and we can improve things. I’ve always thought we are in a quite fortunate position actually, we’ve got a fantastic city on our doorstep, Nottingham, but we’re near the open countryside as well.
“So we’ve got that sweet spot, I think, where we’re in a really nice position, lovely towns, lovely villages here in Gedling, but also in a great position as well.
“There’s lots of opportunity, we’ve got the freeport opening, lots of new jobs opening, lots of potential in our area and I think if we can capitalise on that we can make it an even better place to live.”
Tad Jones of the Liberal Democrats and Independent Irenea Marriott did not meet us in Arnold or provide statements answering our questions.