Readers have written in response to a recent article on the uncertain future of the Preston model, with some arguing that concerns over its potential unravelling may be overblown and others highlighting successes elsewhere in the North.
Gerrard Raven of Teddington, London, said he believed the writer Andy Beckett was worrying unnecessarily about Reform UK potentially capturing Preston City Council. He noted that Reform currently has just one seat on the council, and that while 16 of the 48 seats are contested in May, including that one, predictions suggest Reform will win only two seats.
Misia Newsome of Oxford said she and her Barnsley-born husband found the town transformed on a recent visit, citing the new health hub and thoughtful regeneration. She said the town centre had been modernised and the legendary market was alive and well, but observed that Reform UK was canvassing in the town centre while there was no Labour stall to remind people of the changes. She expressed hope that local people would not “flip to Reform” and would instead recognise the efforts of councillors over many years.
Austen Lynch of Garstang, Lancashire, drew attention to the house in Winckley Square where suffragette Edith Rigby lived and made homemade bombs, which he described as being in a shameful state of boarded-up dereliction. He noted that the Harris Museum had recently taken delivery of a bronze statue commemorating Rigby, and that the city council had served an urgent works notice on the owners of the Grade II-listed property. He said the graffiti on the house – “Edith deserves better than this!” – spoke more loudly than any bronze memorial.
