Rochdale by-election: Do constituents feel Westminster cares about them? Source: Original
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00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:03 It's not self-dividing.
00:08 We're always asking, and they're always willing.
00:10 I'm here in Rochdale for by-election day,
00:12 which is proving to be a major headache for the Labour Party.
00:15 Well, this by-election was triggered
00:17 when Tony Lloyd, the Labour MP for this constituency,
00:20 died in service in January this year.
00:22 Then Labour's current candidate, Azhar Ali,
00:25 suffered a high-profile condemnation
00:27 from his own party.
00:28 After making comments about Israel in February.
00:31 But with all this conversation happening in Westminster
00:34 about Rochdale, I came down to this constituency
00:37 to talk to people on the streets about whether or not
00:40 they think Westminster actually cares.
00:42 And do they care about Westminster?
00:44 I don't care about Westminster.
00:46 I don't think they do anything for me.
00:48 Well, they probably don't care about me,
00:49 but I do care about politicians.
00:51 I think everything stops at Birmingham, and then after that,
00:54 yeah.
00:54 Do you feel like this area is being levelled up?
00:57 Well, I haven't seen anything yet, I don't think.
00:59 But they said it's going to be.
01:02 There's quite a lot of funding coming into Rochdale
01:04 for arts and culture.
01:05 No, I don't think it is being levelled up.
01:07 Obviously, the police aren't doing nothing.
01:08 The government's aren't doing nothing.
01:10 If you were elected an MP tomorrow for this area,
01:14 what would be the first thing that you'd change?
01:16 Well, the town hall's nice, but generally, the shops
01:19 have run down, haven't they?
01:20 Migration.
01:21 I wouldn't be an MP.
01:23 (gasps)