Yvonne Ridley makes her case as an independent candidate with big plans to put Newcastle on the map. The North East stands as one of England’s most forgotten and deprived areas. As the general election approaches, everyone seems to know what the result will be. Everyone seems to accept the coming of a “Labour supermajority”. But perhaps not everyone. Independent candidate Yvonne Ridley has plans to put Newcastle on the map and make the next government dance to her tune.
Who is Yvonne Ridley?
Born in the North East and formerly working in Newcastle, Yvonne Ridley has been a lifelong supporter of Newcastle United through thick and thin. She is an award-winning journalist for national and international newspapers and has strong connections to the trade union movement.
Yvonne started as a teenager in the Labour Party but left over the Iraq war. The lure of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership failed to win her back however, as by then Yvonne had moved to Scotland and was campaigning for independence with a brief spell in the Scottish National Party. She sees virtually no difference between today’s Labour Party and the Conservatives and has not forgiven the Liberal Democrats for their time in the coalition with the Conservatives. Now a member of Alex Salmond’s Alba Party, Yvonne sees this general election as “very special” as she is “coming home” to Newcastle where she is standing for election as an independent candidate.
On her decision to stand in Newcastle, she said that an invitation to stand awoke emotional ties to the city and returned to the political scene with a positive welcome. Alex Salmond allowed her to remain a member of the Alba Party saying that “what she gets up to in another country is her business”.
Yvonne’s vision for Newcastle
Yvonne Ridley wants to put Newcastle on the map. Fizzing with ambition, Yvonne sees Newcastle’s future as the Silicon Valley of the UK. But what does that mean?
According to her manifesto, to turn Newcastle into a British Silicon Valley, Yvonne plans to re-focus the city as a national economic hub. This would include providing small businesses with financial and practical support to thrive as well as the setting up of youth employment programmes that are aimed at providing training and apprenticeships. She also promises to invest in schemes to reduce the employment gap for disabled people and commit to a right to disability responsive employment support.
“Get rid of the rubbish.” That’s what voters have been saying to Yvonne. Walking up the West Road, in back streets abundant are covered in rubbish. The bins are overflowing like a glass under a tap that is never turned off. The reality of what people are waking up to every day. Accusing Newcastle City Council of “running an apartheid cleaning system”, Yvonne points to how areas of Newcastle like Gosforth and Jesmond are well looked after and clean while the rubbish piles high on the West Road. Acknowledging that the rubbish and bins are a council issue, Yvonne says it is an issue for voters which makes it an issue for her.
Westminster will dance to a Geordie tune
Many across the country see a “Labour supermajority” as a forgone conclusion but not Yvonne who sees the Labour supermajority as scare stories being “manufactured by the Tories.” Yvonne predicts a coalition government and hopes for one too. Her ideal election result is “a coalition where the power of one becomes increasingly important”.
Yvonne plans to take full advantage of such an election scenario, citing the power of one vote which “can either secure a government or break it”. Should it be her vote to change the fortunes of the incoming government, Yvonne will not allow it to come cheaply. In supporting the government, her first question will be: “and what are you going to do for Newcastle?” Being a subscriber to the saying “shy bairns get nowt”, a saying used by Jamie Driscoll’s mayoral campaign, Yvonne will make demands for Newcastle and given she has no party to report to, she can make whatever demands she wants to make.
The election on the 4 July will prove a historic one. Candidates up and down the country are promising great things and each one claims to have the people and country at their heart. Yvonne Ridley wants to put Newcastle on the map and hold a coalition government to account by making demands for Newcastle. Will the voters of Newcastle Central and West put her in such a position or will Labour’s Chi Onwurah retain the seat for Labour?
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