Little Layton voters left unmoved by £2m a year scheme

Little Layton voters left unmoved by £2m a year scheme

- Josh Halliday North of England editor

If Blackpool were a stick of rock, Little Layton would be a ribbon of pink in the middle.

To its west, the deep red of rundown bedsits near the promenade. To its east, the plush green streets of Poulton-le-Fylde, where £1m mansions overlook a well-tended golf club.

That is to say, Little Layton is one of the nicer parts of Blackpool. Yet it is one of 169 places across the UK awarded up to £20m over 10 years as part of a £5bn government programme to spruce up parks, pubs and public buildings.

Labour hopes the fund will help it tackle the threat of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, whose popularity is growing in many of the places allocated money yesterday. For many in Little Layton, however, a bit of money to jazz up the high street would not necessarily sway their voting habits.

“They don’t care if there’s a new lamppost or a flower basket,” said Jakki Garner, 61, a former English teacher who teaches cooking at Layton Together, a community project. “Parents can’t buy shoes for their children or winter coats because they’re spending all their money on food. This feels like a sticking plaster initiative.”