{"id":937089,"date":"2026-05-04T12:29:31","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T12:29:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/937089\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T12:29:31","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T12:29:31","slug":"left-behind-and-losing-faith-inside-salfords-fractured-politics-ahead-of-the-local-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/937089\/","title":{"rendered":"Left behind and losing faith: Inside Salford\u2019s fractured politics ahead of the local elections"},"content":{"rendered":"

The pleasant springtime sun bakes an eerily quiet shopping square in Little Hulton.<\/p>\n

The suburb is on the fringes of Salford, bordering Bolton towns and for years it has battled the stigma that comes with regularly featuring in lists of the most deprived areas of England.<\/p>\n

In 2019 it was identified as a \u2018left behind\u2019 place because of the lack of social infrastructure. Speak to the locals milling about and they say not much has changed.<\/p>\n

However, with the local elections looming the people of Little Hulton, and the rest of Salford, will have the chance to voice their opinions via the polling booth.<\/p>\n

Currently, the Labour party dominates Salford Council, holding 50 of 60 seats in the chamber.<\/p>\n

The Tories are the closest competitors with seven seats.<\/p>\n

This year, the Conservatives, the Green Party, Labour, and Reform UK are all standing candidates in every single area.<\/p>\n

Each party have earmarked points of weakness in the Labour stronghold, the Lib Dems are gunning to win new seats in the Quays and Ordsall where they have been successful in recent years.<\/p>\n

The Greens fancy their chances in Blackfriars and Trinity, in part thanks to the growing popularity of Zak Polanski and Hannah Spencer\u2019s triumph in the Gorton<\/a> and Denton<\/a> byelection.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Zak was elected, he gave a different dynamic to the Green Party with him being a local lad from Salford,\u201d said David Jones, the Green Party candidate for Blackfriars and Trinity.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s been a member of the party for 12 years and has watched its fortunes change from a \u2018fringe\u2019 outfit popular in Bristol to a legitimate player in local and national politics.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cWhen I started it was always a struggle to get someone to stand in the local election, now we\u2019ve got someone everywhere and the membership has exploded.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been campaigning on the Eastern fringe because that\u2019s where our active members have been historically.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince I was a kid and long before Salford has been the bedrock for Labour, Salford is the bedrock on which the foundation of the red wall was built, and it\u2019s been like that for a long time.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut that\u2019s changing now. People have a choice.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve come in at this time and we\u2019ve had a huge influx of new members so we can stand everywhere, and we\u2019ve got viable alternatives.<\/p>\n

\u201cA few years ago, we were just a fringe party and weren\u2019t going anywhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cEspecially after what happened in Denton and Gorton, people in Greater Manchester are seeing that the Greens can win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reform are targeting areas like Little Hulton and Walkden on the outskirts of the city.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Little Hulton (Image: Jason Roberts \/Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n

Lewis Croden is the candidate for the constituency, his campaign is centred around lofty ambitions of an elected Greater Manchester Assembly and to bring the Summer Olympic Games and FIFA World Cup to Manchester and the North.<\/p>\n

As well as addressing the cost of living crisis, focus on ‘real investment’ in the suburb and restoring ‘pride in the community.’<\/p>\n

He told the M.E.N that he\u2019s running in the election because people in Salford and Little Hulton \u201chave been left behind for too long and people here are fed up with it,<\/p>\n

\u201cFed up with being taken for granted by Labour and the Conservatives, who\u2019ve had years to fix things,”<\/p>\n

However, for Emma Webb, 43, Reform isn\u2019t the answer to Little Hulton.<\/p>\n

\u201cI won’t be voting for Labour or Conservatives, but I can\u2019t vote for Reform either,\u201d she told the M.E.N.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like Reform is slightly racist and the other two are just awful. It\u2019s been years of them blaming each other and meanwhile nothing gets better, really.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of things that I don\u2019t agree with Reform, I feel like they\u2019re a continuation of the Conservative Party. This is why I don\u2019t vote; I don\u2019t know if agree with any of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Little Hulton has seen recent investment procured by its Labour run council. Funding was released to develop a \u00a3500,000 new look public square and some \u00a3240,000 has been allocated to revive the once dilapidated Peel Park.<\/p>\n

But Emma feels as though that money should have been spent to address the structural issues that plague Little Hulton.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve lived here about five years,\u201d she explained. \u201cI went from a council estate to a private house and I miss the council estate to be honest.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was more community and things for kids to do. I feel like money isn\u2019t pushed up this end.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis new square feels like all the money that\u2019s been spent on Little Hulton. I feel like that could have been spent elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know they\u2019re doing up Peel Park but it\u2019s not somewhere I would let my children go really. There\u2019s just so much anti-social behaviour there.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey do it and then within two weeks it\u2019s all broken and vandalised.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there\u2019s more for the children to do, I know there\u2019s the youth club in Salford, but for teenagers to get to it\u2019s hard. They get new stuff and then they just break it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI honestly feel like the people in the area will vote Reform, but I think that\u2019s because they don\u2019t know enough about what\u2019s happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

Councillor for Little Hulton, Teresa Pepper, who will be standing in the election, sees that investment as examples of the work that local councillors can achieve when they are given the time and funding.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat sort of thing doesn\u2019t come if councillors aren\u2019t there speaking for the local residents,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe park has been dilapidated for some time; I have delivered new play equipment. It\u2019s hard work to do that. It\u2019s not a five-minute job.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started on that project four years ago when I was elected. The first job is to secure funding and then to get that through the approval stages that are necessary when spending public money.<\/p>\n

\u201cTransport and infrastructure is something that needs work, but that\u2019s quite a long term project.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s being there at those meetings where that\u2019s being discussed and having listened to your residents about what they\u2019re telling you they want, making sure you\u2019re voicing their opinions at those meetings.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alan Ashton, 80, is from Walkden. Alan said he hasn\u2019t made up his mind about who will get his vote just yet, but he finds himself leaning towards the Reform candidate because of Nigel Farage, immigration, and stagnation in his local area<\/p>\n

He said, “I’m a pensioner, they stopped our winter fuel and I’ve lost my trust in them since then. They come on the television and they just waffle.”<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re building houses in the area but where the schools?<\/p>\n

He also noted his loss of “trust” in Labour, citing a litany of high-profile scandals like the one involving the council’s deputy mayor Jack Youd.<\/p>\n

The candidate for Walkden North who was at the centre of an affair and deleted emails scandal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know nothing about my local councillors,\u201d he intimated. \u201cYou\u2019re voting for people you have to trust to do something for your area. If there\u2019s any distrust it\u2019s very, very difficult to vote for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jurate Varanaviciene has lived in Little Hulton with her husband and daughter for eight years, for her safety is at the top of her list of what the area needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe plan was to wait for my daughter to turn 18 and then maybe I move to Liverpool,\u201d She half-joked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of crime in Little Hulton, if someone can help deal with that then I\u2019d vote for them. The new changes are nice, but I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Coronation<\/p>\n

Coronation Street, Ordsall (Image: Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n

Most of the people that the M.E.N spoke to were honest admitting their disconnect with local politics<\/p>\n

In Ordsall, some residents said they hadn\u2019t voted in years and don\u2019t intend to do so. \u201cNobody is looking out for people like us so why bother.\u201d A woman proclaimed.<\/p>\n

Not many people knew who the candidates were or the campaign promises. Instead, the people relied on their knowledge of national politics to inform their decisions.<\/p>\n

According to Bob Clarke, leader of the Salford Conservative group, some parties have banked on this reality to win votes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s one thing we avoid doing. This isn\u2019t a referendum on the government.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a referendum on the local council. There seems to be a trend now using local councillors as a bellwether to whether the government is doing well.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt should be whether local councillors are doing a job in their local communities. It should have nothing to do with Keir Starmer, the Tories or any other political party.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt should be about local issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

71-year-old Esther Platt from Eccles<\/a> is a self-described socialist who said that while she understands the allure of Reform, which saw neighbouring Barton and Winton vote for the city’s first Reform councillor, she can’t see herself following suit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been forgotten,\u201d She said. \u201cEven the charity shops are closing, there\u2019s nothing and nobody cares. Look at the state of the town centre, this is the best they could offer us, painted shutters.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be honest, I\u2019m voting for Liberal Democrats. I can see why people are voting for Reform, but to me that would be the equivalent of voting for Trump in America.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I know Liberal Democrats are middle of the road and I know they won\u2019t get in. Some people might say we\u2019ve wasted our vote, but at least we\u2019ve voted. I couldn\u2019t vote Tory or Reform.\u201d<\/p>\n

When speaking to the M.E.N, a 28-year-old dad of two from Eccles said he was finding it difficult to find someone that represents him on a local level.<\/p>\n

After telling the M.E.N that he plans to abstain from his vote, he added: \u201cIf I was to vote, I\u2019d probably go Green, but I don\u2019t believe that Greens have the potential to make much of a change.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you go around here, you\u2019d get more right-wing opinions. We\u2019ve moved into a time where people raising the English flag is almost a racist remark at this point.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are conflating legal immigration with asylum seekers and illegal immigrants. There\u2019s no world where people should be having their shops burned down or being chased out of the areas that they legally live in.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Eccles<\/p>\n

Eccles town centre <\/p>\n

A 75-year-old Eccles resident, who preferred to remain anonymous, was blunt when he gave the reason as to why he was a staunch Reform supporter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not voting Labour because it\u2019s a black man, sorry to say that,\u201d He said. \u201cIt\u2019s because I\u2019m racist, I always have been and I am.<\/p>\n

\u201cFarage said he\u2019s going to get it done, get them all out. Nobody\u2019s going to vote Labour around here I don\u2019t think.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked about the local issues, he conceded that he welcomed the regeneration plans.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve started pulling it down, and the whole lot wants coming down. There\u2019s no shops, all we\u2019ve got is charity shops.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Monton resident, who has lived through the boom of the area said he is leaning towards Reform due to the hot topic issue of immigration.<\/p>\n

\u201cLabour are doing their best, if you go to Monton now you can\u2019t believe it. It\u2019s heaving,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not into politics that much but he seems to tell the truth Farage, that\u2019s my opinion.<\/p>\n

\u201cImmigration is the big thing for me. There\u2019s too many boats coming and it\u2019s telling with the roads and other things, all the houses built on the greenery.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Farage's<\/p>\n

Farage’s leadership of Reform has proven popular among some Salford residents (Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

In Broughton, fed up residents are just looking for someone to address the potholes that have been wreaking havoc in the area.<\/p>\n

One resident said: \u201cWe\u2019re in England, they don\u2019t fix potholes. Rod Stewart has a Ferrari, and instead of waiting on the council to fix potholes, he and his mates went around did it themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Salford City Council really want to apologise to anybody who\u2019s paid road tax in the last three years, they should give a refund.\u201d Added another resident.<\/p>\n

\"Potholes<\/p>\n

Potholes on Wellington Street West in Broughton, Salford(Image: Copyright Unknown)<\/p>\n

\u201cI just feel like councils need to do stuff when they\u2019re in power, have you seen the state of the roads?\u201d Said Simon Phili, a 52-year-old resident who works at the local butchers, M.H Meats. \u201cMy top priority in this area is to fix the potholes. I avoid roads now; these roads are absolutely abysmal. I\u2019m very apathetic when it comes to voting, but I do vote, I just have to look at someone\u2019s policy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Kasia<\/p>\n

Kasia Starashurka <\/p>\n

Kasia Starashurka said she loves living in Broughton, but as a new business owner, the cost of living crisis is getting to her and she’s looking for a local councillor who can help address that. She said, “I live with my husband; I\u2019ve opened my local business and fingers crossed everything is okay. \u201cWe both work full time; we don\u2019t have children and we don\u2019t have a major problem. But when I look at my account, it doesn\u2019t grow. \u201cI spend more than I save.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The pleasant springtime sun bakes an eerily quiet shopping square in Little Hulton. The suburb is on the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":937090,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,1025,393,23941,220274,4884,14144,33944,528,11518,31147,2465,86321,38824,1290,27605,30580,520,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-937089","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-denton-and-audenshaw","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-gorton","12":"tag-gorton-and-denton-by-election-2026","13":"tag-great-britain","14":"tag-green-party","15":"tag-jeremy-corbyn","16":"tag-labour-party","17":"tag-liberal-democrats","18":"tag-little-hulton","19":"tag-manchester","20":"tag-monton","21":"tag-ordsall","22":"tag-salford","23":"tag-salford-council","24":"tag-salford-quays","25":"tag-sir-keir-starmer","26":"tag-uk","27":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116516315056279766","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/937089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=937089"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/937089\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/937090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=937089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=937089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=937089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}