Key battleground Ashfield will be a seat of huge interest in the election

For generations voters had stood firmly behind the Labour Party, owing to Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government’s decision to start closing the pits from the 1980s.

Yet, there was a turning point many years later in around 2016, when almost 70 per cent of voters in Ashfield opted to leave the European Union, having been promised much-needed growth as a stronger, independent nation.

In 2019 the Red Wall crumbled, and Lee Anderson, a former miner himself and displeased former Labour councillor, was thrust into his new role as an MP representing the Conservatives.

He quickly became the party’s deputy chair but was then suspended for refusing to apologise for his claims ‘Islamists’ had ‘got control’ of London mayor Sadiq Khan.

This led to him leaving the Tories and becoming the first MP for Reform UK – the re-branded Brexit Party, which has Nigel Farage at the helm.

And he is looking to retain the seat for Reform in the face of a renewed challenge from both Labour and the Tories and the Ashfield Independents, who dominate the local picture on Ashfield Council.

Hoping to regain the seat for Labour is Rhea Keehn.

She said: “We’ve got a really exciting group of actions that we can take that would directly benefit people in Ashfield – getting more NHS dentists, tackling anti-social behaviour on our streets, filling our teacher vacancies and, of course, getting our potholes fixed.

“There’s a whole host of things people are saying they’re concerned about and I’m not surprised because it has been 14 years of Conservative Governments breaking their promises, so a lot of people are angry.

“A lot of people feel unsafe on our streets and in our neighbourhoods.

“Then a lot of people are concerned they cannot get an NHS dentist appointment for their kids.

"There’s also just generally people who feel fed up with politicians and politics because for the last 14 years it hasn’t really worked for them.

"That’s why Labour has pledged that we will get more police on our streets, as well as introducing youth hubs so we can support our young people.

“There are so many fantastic things about Ashfield.

“We’ve got great places like Sutton Lawn and Brierley Forest Park.

"We’ve also got some really wonderful people in our community and it is about time we represented them properly and spoke up for them.

“In Ashfield we have a proud coal mining and textile industry history.

"Now it is an exciting chance for us to be part of the next wave of history.

"Under Labour we can invest in our towns and get the new GB Energy underway so we can get the investment and jobs we deserve.”

Standing for the Conservatvies will be Debbie Soloman.

She said: “The Conservative levelling up agenda, I think, is the best thing that any Government has put in place for this country.

"It is really targeted at places like Ashfield that need the extra support and the help.

“So far £62.6m has come into Ashfield through levelling up and regeneration of our towns, Sutton and Kirkby.

"I want to continue the job that has been started and there is a huge amount of things to be done.

“I’m a self-starter, I am really good at getting things done and I am very responsive to people and I am listening to what they want to achieve.

"I have only had a really short time to campaign but already I have put out surveys, I am talking with people, I am finding out what their priorities are.

“The messages that are coming back are really, really clear.

"People want pride back into the town centres, so we are working on that, but also health and crime seems to be really important for people.

“Health of adults and children in Ashfield is actually worse than the England average – that worries me.

"A lot of funding has already gone in, we have got a fantastic hospital at King’s Mill, but I have a plan to deliver more.

“I want one of our new community diagnostics centres coming into Ashfield.

"I have spoken to people about the difficulties they sometimes have with travelling and getting to Queen’s Medical Centre, so I want something in Ashfield.

“Also, dentistry is a really big concern – I want to bring in the funding to create an emergency dental facility there.

“Crime is something I am hearing a lot about.

"One of the things I would put in place is direct consultation with neighbourhood policing, so crime and anti-social behaviour summits, around different neighbourhoods.

“For me it is about making sure young people don’t get involved in drugs and have something to do so there is not a problem with anti-social behaviour.

“The other thing is the state of our roads, which are absolutely terrible.

The Government has put £270m more for the county council to fix our roads and we need to make sure it continues.”

Ashfield Council leader Jason Zadrozny is standing for the Ashfield Independents.

He said: “People are fed up with party politics.

“This is a scene clearly like the Rochdale by-election, where the big parties are completely out of it.

"Labour and the Tories are a wasted vote, it is me or Lee Anderson and here in Ashfield, I am the only person with a real record of action.

“I won’t have to answer to a big party boss, I only answer to local residents and whether it is parks, leisure centres, new council housing, I am the person who has shown they can really deliver and that’s why I hope they put their trust in my on July 4.

“There’s a lot of issues in Ashfield – crime is a real worry, access to NHS and education services, particularly dentistry, which is a massive worry.

“People have a fear of immigration and want access to good public services.

"A lot of those things come from 14 years of austerity.

"Of course, Lee Anderson was one of the most loyal senior Tories who voted for every one of those policies and it has harmed Ashfield.

“People voted Labour for generations, they never got any better.

"They lent the Tories their vote last time and it never got any better.

"This is a chance for a voice that makes Ashfield better and solves those problems like immigration, NHS, dentistry, access to good quality jobs.

“Ashfield is a great place, all my family live here, I’ve lived here all my life, and the strength of it is community.

"We have fantastic people, and they are really loyal and hardworking.

“What that means is we have a fantastic workforce, people who want to get on and aspire to something better.

"What they need is a slight leg-up because after the mines closed, and everything else, they need that support to make sure there are good opportunities here.

“There is £200m of regeneration happening here and some of the most exciting projects in England will be happening right here.

“Brand-new leisure centres, £5m on parks, Ashfield is the place to be.”

Lee Anderson will also be standing for Reform UK but declined the opportunity for an interview and the opportunity to provide a written statement.

Alexander Coates will be standing for the Green Party, while Daniel Holmes will be standing for the Liberal Democrats.

Both of these candidates were also contacted and did not respond to the option of an interview or the submission of a statement.