Stoke-on-Trent Election Special

Review and Analysis of all potential Stoke-on-Trent North, Central and South MPs.

By Hannah Hiles, originally published by The Lead

The general election is in seven days. If you’re in a Stoke-on-Trent constituency, here are the people you could be voting for with links to their profiles (where we could find them).

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The city of Stoke-on-Trent is made up of six towns – Burslem, Fenton, Hanley, Longton, Stoke and Tunstall – and is split into three constituencies, each with its own character and challenges.

From Stoke-on-Trent North – which includes part of the neighbouring borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme – through to Stoke-on-Trent Central, where you find the designated city centre, Hanley, and Stoke-on-Trent South, which takes in leafier areas like Trentham, it’s an area with a proud local identity and a working class background historically rooted in pits and pots.  

Stoke-on-Trent was traditionally a Labour bastion until the Red Wall crumbled in the 2019 election, which saw three Conservative MPs elected in the city for the first time. And just three years earlier, the city had earned itself the tabloid title of the UK’s Brexit capital when 70 per cent of residents voted in 2016 to leave the EU.

Whether either of these decisions have benefitted the city is questionable.

It’s no secret that Stoke-on-Trent has high levels of deprivation, with above average levels of unemployment, health inequality and poverty and lower than average educational attainment. Shockingly, nearly 40 per cent of children in Stoke-on-Trent Central and North were living in poverty in 2022/23, almost twice the UK average.

And this figure has soared in less than 10 years, with 26.5 per cent of children in the constituency living in poverty in 2014/15, compared to 15.4 per cent nationally.

The rates aren’t much better in Stoke-on-Trent South (34 per cent), and across the three constituencies almost a quarter of people now live in fuel poverty, compared with an England average of 13 per cent.

Many working families are relying on food banks as the cost of living crisis and austerity measures continue to bite in the city. 

Tunstall Road Photo by Leonardo Zorzi

Stoke-on-Trent North candidates

Karl Beresford – Reform UK

Karl is a self-described ‘staunch Brexiteer’ who was born in Derbyshire but raised in Staffordshire. He and his wife Jen own a small business that ‘provides water engineering services to the care sector’.

Karl is a former member of both Labour and the Conservatives and says he is now standing for Reform UK because he has ‘had enough of the mediocre representation and broken promises by successive governments of all colours over many decades’.

Jag Boyapati – Independent

A North Staffordshire-based GP who has been working in Tunstall for more than 10 years, Jag decided to stand as MP because he had seen the social, economic and health challenges faced by his patients.

He says: “I am not restricted by the narrative of any political party. I want to focus on the priorities of the people of Stoke-on-Trent North and work to improve the conditions in our constituency.”

Jonathan Gullis – Conservatives

Jonathan was elected as MP for Stoke-on-Trent North in 2019. A former teacher, the outspoken deputy head of the Conservative Party was also briefly Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for School Standards under Liz Truss.

His campaign highlights projects like the re-opening of Kidsgrove Sports Centre, the pump track at Newchapel Rec and the redevelopment of Tunstall library and baths.

He says: “I’m the only candidate who lives in Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke. I have a record of delivery. Let’s continue to work together by lending me your vote so I can carry on standing up and delivering for Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke.”

Josh Harris – Green Party

Midlander Josh joined the Greens in 2015 and also works for the party. He previously stood in a local election in North Warwickshire.

He is campaigning to tackle the cost-of-living crisis and climate emergency, as well as supporting the Green Party’s Right Homes, Right Place, Right Price charter to improve the area’s housing situation. 

He says: “Westminster is broken and people are fed up with politics not working for them. That's why I'm standing, making sure people can vote for real hope and real change instead of the failed business as usual.”

Lucy Hurds – Liberal Democrats

Business consultant Lucy is a three-times Lib Dem parliamentary candidate in Herefordshire, where she is chair of the local party branch. At the time of writing it was not possible to find any details of her campaign in Stoke-on-Trent North online.

Nationally the Liberal Democrat priorities include affordable, safe and clean housing, good schools and opportunities for all children and high quality healthcare for all. 

David Williams – Labour Party

A Stoke-on-Trent-born city council cabinet member, David came second in Stafford in the 2017 general election. 

He works as business development director for a prominent local charity and has worked on employment schemes, affordable housing and projects to tackle food poverty and holiday hunger.

He says: “As your MP I will continue to support people, increase police on our streets, invest in our high streets, support local businesses and deliver more doctors, GPs and dentists.”

Photo by Nirmal Rajendharkumar

Stoke-on-Trent Central candidates

Alirom Alirom – Independent

Business owner Alirom also stood as an independent candidate in last year’s local elections. A poster shared on social media states that his priorities are the economy, transport, NHS, business, housing and anti-social behaviour.

He says: “I am committed to supporting local businesses and ensuring that our community thrives. By voting for me, you are supporting a candidate dedicated to making our local area a better place for everyone.”

Adam Colclough – Green Party

Charity worker Adam previously ran for the Greens in Stoke-on-Trent Central in 2017 and 2019, as well as standing in a number of local elections.

His main focus in this election is improvements to public transport and investment in green jobs.

He says: “We need a new approach to politics, one that addresses the challenges posed by social inequality and climate change, that seeks to rebuild our public services and improve the quality of life of all citizens.”

Navid Kaleem – Independent

Navid is a pharmacist who decided to stand for MP after seeing the response of the main political parties to the war in Gaza.

His main concerns are crime and drug dealing, education, a ‘decimated town centre [which is] partially derelict’, the NHS, infrastructure and roads.

He says: “What we do with our vote can help change our future and our children’s future for the better. We will show that we can build a new kind of political life. Our campaign is focused on community; the answer to our problems will come from us.”

Chandra Kanneganti – Conservatives

Chandra is a local GP in Stoke-on-Trent and a city councillor, as well as the city’s former Lord Mayor. He came second in the 2019 election in Warley in the West Midlands. 

His priorities for Stoke-on-Trent Central are jobs, the NHS, the reclassification of monkey dust, infrastructure, antisocial behaviour, the High Street, transport and the economy. 

He says: “Stoke-on-Trent residents gave me the opportunity to be their GP and their councillor and many of them treated me as their friend and extended member of their family. I wish to repay them their gratitude with my hard work as their MP.”

Laura McCarthy – Liberal Democrats

Councillor Laura is deputy leader of the Lib Dems in Solihull. Her main concerns are good schools, access to a doctor or dentist, policing and cost of living support.

She says: “Our government has let us down badly. Nobody should have to choose between heating and eating. You deserve better. You deserve a fair deal. If elected, I would work hard to get that for you.”

Andy Polshaw – Independent

Community activist Andy is standing as an independent with the backing of a ‘general left’ group called the Potteries Party.

The former Labour member’s key issues are heritage and the environment, support for carers and people who cannot work due to ill health, education and miners’ pensions and justice. He would also like to see a different political system, such as proportional representation, in place.

He says: “There are whole communities in this city let down by Labour and Conservatives. We need something different, and we should send a message to parliament that they cease to represent us.”

Luke Shenton – Reform UK

Luke joined the army at the age of 16 and served for seven years, including a short tour in Afghanistan. He returned to his home in Stoke-on-Trent and has been working in sales for a telecoms company for the past three years.

He decided to stand for Reform to ‘show the people of Stoke-on-Trent that there is a real alternative’, saying “for a long time, like many, I was politically homeless and I have watched from the side-lines as the two main parties have destroyed this great country. Now is the time that I have decided I need to do something about it.”

Gareth Snell – Labour and Cooperative Party

Gareth was previously the MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central from 2017 to 2019, and he is also the former leader of Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council.

He blames the Conservative government for an increase in poverty, crime, vacant shops and homelessness in a city ‘which used to buzz with pride’.

He says: “I did not shy away after the 2019 general election and I am more determined now to see Stoke-on-Trent get the jobs, the homes, the investment and the respect we deserve.”

Stoke-on-Trent South candidates

Michael Bailey – Reform UK

Michael describes himself as an ‘adopted son’ of Stoke-on-Trent although he no longer lives in the city, having moved to the countryside near Eccleshall after being ‘driven out by crime’. 

His immediate focus, if elected, would be to tackle the city’s drug problems. He’s also focusing on education and the rights of motorists and is calling for less government interference in citizens’ lives.

He says: “I am standing for Parliament because I want my grandchildren to enjoy and feel the same freedom that I felt growing up as a child, benefitting from living in a society that is basically decent, honest, and caring and in which you feel safe, be it on the streets, or in your bed.”

Jack Brereton – Conservatives

Stoke-on-Trent-born Jack first elected as the MPfor Stoke-on-Trent South in 2017 and was re-elected in 2019. He has also served in a number of Parliamentary Private Secretary roles.

His campaign highlights funding secured for regeneration and transport improvements and the creation of jobs and apprenticeships, while his stated priorities are ‘local jobs, local transport, local opportunities, our local NHS and our local communities’. 

He says: “For seven years it's been an honour to represent the area I'm from, have lived my whole life, and now live with my young family. My mission is to keep improving our area, securing yet more investment that works for local people.”

Allison Gardner – Labour Party

Former teacher and lecturer Allison lives in the constituency and now works with the NHS as a senior scientific adviser for artificial intelligence. If elected, she says she would work towards recruiting more doctors, nurses, police and teachers, as well as supporting local businesses and working to expand apprenticeships.

She says: “With a powerful vision for the future I will be an effective MP who will listen to you and speak up proudly for Stoke-on-Trent South and our villages. Together we will build a healthy, skilled and prosperous future.”

Asif Mehmood – Independent

Lecturer Asif is basing his campaign around the cost of living crisis, investment opportunities, youth engagement, education, the NHS, improving roads and support for Gaza.

He says: “Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire have been let down by the two main parties. I will stand up for Gaza. I will work for change. I will secure better jobs and crack down on drugs.”

Carla Parrish – Independent

Business owner Carla grew up in Bentilee and has been self-employed since 1993. Her campaign priorities include the cost of living crisis, affordable housing, an end to ‘uncontrolled mass immigration’, the NHS, pensions, animal rights and a change to the voting system.

She says: “I feel that the people of Stoke and surrounding areas have been betrayed and ‘gaslit’ by mainly the Tory Party and Labour who have proved to be no credible opposition.”

Alec Sandiford – Liberal Democrat

Stoke-on-Trent South resident Alec is a Stafford borough councillor and stood as the Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Stone in 2019. He also stood as the Lib Dem candidate for Staffordshire’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner in 2024.

He pledges to fight for funding, public services and transport, and be a ‘local champion for rural communities’. 

He says: “What I can guarantee is that, unlike the other candidates, I will be truly independent. I will not vote against residents' interests out of fear of upsetting party leaders. I will always do what is right and principled.”

Peggy Wiseman – Green Party

Warwickshire-based Peggy appears to work as a field organiser for the Green Party in the West Midlands. At the time of writing it was not possible to find any details of her campaign in Stoke-on-Trent South online.

Nationally, the Green Party manifesto includes commitments to housing, the NHS, the economy, energy, transport, education and justice.

Analysis

The previous general election saw two Tory gains and one hold. In Stoke-on-Trent North, Jonathan Gullis took the seat from Labour with a 6,286 majority, while Jo Gideon snatched the Central seat by just 670 votes and in the South Jack Brereton held on with a 11,271 majority.

Jo Gideon announced in February that she had decided not to stand again - and at the beginning of June she posted a bruising statement in which she said that she had been subject to ‘persistent bullying’ from local party officials since 2019.

At the time of writing, polling experts YouGov are predicting a safe Labour victory in Stoke-on-Trent Central, with the party predicted to get almost 54 per cent of the votes – which would see Gareth Snell return to Parliament in the seat he previously held from 2017 to 2019, beating Stoke-on-Trent GP and Tory councillor Chandra Kanneganti into second place.

Jonathan Gullis looks set to lose his seat in Stoke-on-Trent North to city councillor David Williams, who is predicted to score 45 per cent of the vote. However, it looks like a much closer race in Stoke-on-Trent South, where Labour are predicted to get 40 per cent of the vote to the Conservatives’ 36 per cent.

Reform UK appear to be trailing in third place in all three constituencies – and look unlikely to be able to catch up sufficiently in the polls to cause an upset.

The importance of Stoke-on-Trent as a campaign battleground was demonstrated when Rishi Sunak himself rocked up at Churchill China in Tunstall at the end of May to speak to an audience of parliamentary candidates, party activists and pottery workers, some of whom looked less than impressed.

Many voters in the city feel like Stoke-on-Trent has been left behind, with the city centre facing the very visible connected challenges of homelessness and drug addiction, particularly monkey dust.

And despite the city receiving £56 million of levelling up funding in October 2021 for regeneration projects, only one scheme - the Goods Yard development, next to Stoke-on-Trent railway station - has made real progress.

Land earmarked for the stalled Etruscan Square project, which could have included a 3,750-seat entertainment venue, housing, a hotel and a multi-storey car park, now lies empty in the middle of the city centre, providing a metaphor for the challenges many voters feel the city is facing. 

Proposals put forward by the then Conservative-run city council in 2022 for a very light railway network - which promised to ‘revolutionise transport’ in the city - also appear to have gone quiet. Bus services have been cut, making it almost impossible to get around by public transport in the evenings and having a knock-on effect on the night-time economy.

The decline in traditional industries has seen unemployment run well above the UK-wide rate of 3.9 per cent - 6.6 per cent of residents in Stoke-on-Trent Central, 6.2 per cent in Stoke-on-Trent North and 4.8 per cent in Stoke-on-Trent South claim unemployment benefits - and the city council is in financial dire straits. This is due partly to the large proportion of terraced housing, meaning fewer possibilities of raising funds through council tax, and the high costs of adult social care and children’s services.

Additional pressures were placed on some services after the Home Office and Serco struck a deal to use two prominent Stoke-on-Trent hotels to house asylum seekers, in a city which had already welcomed ‘more than its fair share’ - to quote former council leader Abi Brown - through the asylum seeker dispersal scheme.

The successful candidates will be the ones who voters feel can best deliver the change they so want to see. Stoke-on-Trent deserves MPs who can deliver infrastructure improvements, bring investment in businesses and job creation, raise aspirations and tackle some of the deep-seated challenges which many feel are bringing the city down.

But to do that they will also need to overcome the sense of apathy which saw a turnout well below the national average across the city.