The votes have been counted, the results declared and Scunthorpe has a new(-ish) MP.
Labour’s Sir Nic Dakin has regained the seat of Scunthorpe, with a majority of 3,542. Conservative Holly Mumby-Croft, who took the seat off him in December 2019, came second, and Reform UK was in third.
Along with his own comeback, Melanie Onn also returned to be the MP again for Grimsby, as well as now representing Cleethorpes in the new Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes constituency. With Labour triumphant overall, what are the major tasks facing Scunthorpe’s MP?
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In this piece, we consider some of the challenges Sir Nic Dakin faces over the next Parliament to make a difference to Scunthorpe.
Proposed Scunthorpe General Hospital changes
When Grimsby Live asked Sir Nic Dakin himself shortly after the result what will be first in his in-tray for Scunthorpe, he picked out the future of the steelworks and health services locally. In the latter, he is referring to NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) proposals to pool service elements to Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital, Grimsby, rather than shared out between there and Scunthorpe General Hospital. This originally included overnight emergency surgeries and children who require a more than 24 hours stay in hospital.
The proposals have received universal opposition from politicians locally. Consultation feedback on the Humber Acute Services review, as it is known, is to be considered at the next ICB meeting on July 10.
Sir Nic said he would represent the “serious concerns” local people have about the proposals. Whether he and collective local political opposition can shift the proposals significantly remains to be seen.
(Image: GrimsbyLive/Donna Clifford)
Steelworks’ future
On the steelworks, Scunthorpe’s new MP said Labour would want to pick up ongoing government negotiations with British Steel’s owners Jingye Steel about a support package. Unions have expressed fears of more than 2,000 job losses if the coke blast furnaces are closed, as planned, and replaced by an electric arc furnace.
He said he thought a Labour government would want to pick up the discussions with Jingye and “bring about a deal that will work for the company, the country and work in the interests of workers and their families”. Avoiding a cliff edge of job losses and helping ensure a sustainable future for the steelworks will be a key test of success for both the town’s MP and the new Labour government.
Cost of Living
As a constituency MP and part of the governing party, a major task for Sir Nic will be to help constituents hit hardest by the cost of living. Inflation is now at a low rate, but wages have for years not kept pace with costs.
The Trussell Trust’s data on the number of food parcels it has issued in North Lincolnshire highlights the increased difficulties for many to put food on the table. Between April 2018 and March 2019, there were 3,347 total parcels distributed in North Lincolnshire. This had doubled by April 2023 to March 2024, to 6,717, and the number of parcels for children had also doubled in the same time, to 2,325.
Before the election, the Household Support Fund was due to end in September, a fund to councils to help people struggling to pay their bills or afford food. Measures taken in North Lincolnshire using the funding include energy payment help and healthy cooking classes.
The new Labour government will need to consider what funding help, beyond ensuring a stable and growing economy, is needed.
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Revitalise the town centre
Scunthorpe’s town centre is marred by empty shopping units. It is not a problem unique to the town, as Grimsby can evidence also. But North Lincolnshire Council has been awarded tens of millions of Levelling Up investment and plans to convert some town centre premises into housing. It is also currently advertising for a marketing officer for its ‘Cultural Futures’ programme, with the £2.5m Discover@20-21 children’s science and tech museum planned at St John’s Church.
It will be the new MPs job to work with the council and hold its feet to the fire to encourage and ensure more events and businesses come into the town centre, and more investment. During the campaign, he said on how he would like to see the area changed in five years time: “Most importantly, I hope that when I talk to local people, in five years’ time, they will say they are no longer struggling but are thriving, and the area around them is thriving with new things happening.”
Original artice: https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/all-about/scunthorpe
