If Peter Lamb, Labour’s prospective parliamentary candidate for Crawley, ever wants to swap a life in politics for something else, he would do worse than becoming a tour guide. On my visit to Crawley yesterday, he showed me around his town with a blend of pride, passion, and knowledge for the people and places.
I was struck by the statue ‘Family Group’ by Richard Browne on the old Co-op building in The Broadway. It symbolises the growth of Crawley after the war, and the connections between all of us as citizens. As Orwell said, we are a family – with the wrong members in control.
Crawley was designated a ‘new town’ by the Labour Government in 1947, following the New Towns Act the previous year. The idea of planned communities, with transport, homes, schools, shops, and entertainment all in perfect equilibrium, has its roots in the Co-operative ventures of Robert Owen and the great Victorian philanthropists. It requires enlightened local leadership, central government investment, and proud champions such as Peter.
I met some lovely people – a lady from Algeria, a chap from Romania, a few well-wishers, and a few who were not backwards in coming forwards with their views on geopolitics. We chatted with retailers and small business owners, with the same stories of antisocial behaviour, graffiti, drugs deals around the Band Stand, and robbery. One said they did see police on the streets, but most liked Labour’s idea of more neighbourhood police teams on foot patrol. It struck me that Crawley is a great town, with a strong community, but needs more coppers. The new town needs a new start.
Peter showed me the ‘hub’ in the high street, near the George Hotel. For the uninitiated, these are boxes with ‘police’ written on the side which have appeared in some Sussex town centres. They are empty and locked most of the time. If you seek a metaphor for Tory policy on policing, an empty box in your town centre might be it.
Later in the day, the news came through that Tim Loughton, the Conservative MP for East Worthing and Shoreham, is not standing at the next election. That makes over 60 Tories who have decided to retire at this election. I reckon that number will hit 100 as the election looms. If you want to see an example of pitch-perfect, grown-up politics it is the Labour candidate Tom Rutland’s generous tribute to Loughton.
Change is coming.
