General election: Five key issues in Scarborough and Whitby that will impact the result

The general election on Thursday, July 4, will see residents in Scarborough and Whitby choose a new Member of Parliament as Sir Robert Goodwill is to stand down.

During the course of the campaign, various issues have been raised by residents and candidates – these are some of the issues that have come up most often and will influence the result.

The environment and coastal pollution

The causes and impacts of coastal pollution have been a focus of both national and local election campaigns.

In Scarborough and Whitby, residents have raised concerns about the quality of bathing water in places such as Scarborough South Bay, which has been rated as ‘poor’ by the Environment Agency.

The causes of pollution on the coast are currently being investigated and companies such as Yorkshire Water and McCain have pledged to reduce discharges.

Local campaigners have also called for tougher sanctions against polluters.

Issues around coastal erosion and protecting greenfield sites and farms have also been discussed, as well as the wider economic impact of climate change and pollution, especially on the tourism and farming sectors.

On a visit to Filey last year, Labour’s shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said that if her party wins the general election it will force water companies to pay for the sewage “mess”.

Bus travel and transport links

Many candidates have spoken out about improving transport links and creating more regular train services.

Plans to introduce a half-hourly service between Scarborough and York have been raised several times.

Residents have also regularly asked about candidates’ plans for better bus services and about proposals to improve connectivity between different modes of public transport.

It comes amid concerns from voters that not having access to a car leaves them “trapped” in towns and villages and fears that further cuts could exacerbate the situation.

Jobs and living standards

Locals’ concerns about employment opportunities come amid the announcement of more than 100 job cuts at Anglo American’s fertiliser mine in Whitby.

Residents have called on candidates to take a tough stance to try to limit job losses at the mine, and several candidates have held meetings with Anglo American.

The impact of inflation and the cost of living crisis on living standards has also been raised many times by residents and candidates, alongside issues regarding anti-social behaviour in town centres.

On a visit to Scarborough’s construction skills village in January, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that Scarborough was an “example of a place where the Government has invested”.

Housing and Investment

A lack of affordable housing has been described by many as the reason they are struggling to live on the coast, with young people in particular speaking out about high rents and the difficulty of getting on the housing ladder.

Businesses have also said that a lack of affordable housing has made finding employees more difficult, especially seasonal workers for tourism-related jobs.

Residents have raised concerns that they are “being forgotten about” economically and that coastal towns might be missing out on the investment received by other areas.

Millions of pounds have been pledged from the Government’s Towns Fund projects but some locals have called for more commitments from candidates about attracting new businesses and employees to the area.

Access to healthcare services

Some residents have said that creating healthcare services has not kept pace with the scale of some new housing developments in coastal areas and have cited issues with other services such as education and childcare.

In April, the trust that runs Whitby Hospital confirmed that following a change of provider, its out-of-hours GP service would be provided via telephone from Scarborough Hospital which has also been a topic of discussion.

Candidates and residents have spoken about attracting more dentists and cutting down NHS waiting lists as well as waiting times for urgent and emergency care.

The parliamentary candidates standing in Scarborough and Whitby are:

• David Bowes, Reform UK
• Lee Derrick, Yorkshire Party
• Thomas Foster, Social Democratic Party
• Annette Hudspeth, Green Party
• Alison Hume, Labour Party
• Asa Jones, Social Justice Party
• Robert Graham Lockwood, Liberal Democrats
• Roberto Weeden-Sanz, Conservative Party