New Labour MP for Scarborough and Whitby vows to be ‘strong voice’ amid promise of ‘hope’ and fast changes

The Labour Party’s Ms Hume won the election in Scarborough and Whitby with 17,758 votes and Conservative candidate Roberto Weeden-Sanz came in second place with 12,350 votes.

It is only the second time the coastal constituency has had a Labour MP and Ms Hume is the first woman to represent the area in parliament.

Speaking after the results were declared, the award-winning screenwriter and disability campaigner said she would work to win people’s trust and be an “effective MP for everybody,” conceding that “people who have voted for me tonight may not ordinarily have voted for Labour”.

“Whether you live in Staithes or Scarborough, I want to get to know you better,” she added.

Ms Hume told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that “people are going to see a big difference […] hopefully within a few months”.

The results – which were announced at 5am on July 5 at Scarborough Sports Village – reflect Labour’s landslide victory nationally.

Locally, Labour took 40 per cent of the vote in a large swing, leaving the Conservatives on 28 per cent of the vote share.

The previous conservative MP Sir Robert Goodwill received 55 per cent of the vote at the last general election in 2019.

Alongside being sworn in next week, Ms Hume said her first priority would be to set up a constituency office.

Asked what the biggest issues facing the constituency were, she said: “I think the main thing that’s happened is the signature failure of the Government.

“We have a once-in-a-generation chance now to bridge that divide and reduce the inequality between North and South.”

Ms Hume added: “I’m looking forward to working with our new mayor [David Skaith], the combined authority, and the people of Scarborough and Whitby to bring money back into the area and bring economic regeneration and start to champion the area.

“There’s so much potential here and we need to give our young people those careers in the green energy industry, the creative digital spaces, the jobs, and affordable houses to live in.”

The new MP told the LDRS that a major increase in healthcare appointments, tackling antisocial behaviour in town centres with more PCSOs, and dealing with sewage in seas and rivers were also high on her list of priorities.

Nationally, the Labour Party has campaigned on pledges it said were fully costed and, with hundreds of new MPs soon trying to get money for their respective areas, successfully attracting Government investment is unlikely to be an easy task.

Asked what her pitch would be to Keir Starmer and chancellor Rachel Reeves, Ms Hume said: “We’re going to do proper levelling up where places that need investment get it.

“The main thing we have to do is grow the economy because it has flatlined for 14 years.

“I‘m going to be there along with all of the new MPs to make sure that we get the country moving again. “

The constituency’s 59.5 per cent turnout in the election – 7.3 per cent lower than at the 2019 general election – was a trend seen in areas across the country and politicians and experts have pointed to growing feelings of distrust about politics and politicians.

Asked what she would do to tackle disillusionment and deprivation in the area, Ms Hume promised residents: “I’m going to be standing up on the back benches in the House of Commons, speaking up for Scarborough.

“I’ll be speaking up for ordinary working families, speaking up for pensioners, and speaking up for people who have been overlooked.

“They have now got a strong voice, and I intend to use it.”

• Labour’s Alison Hume won the election with 17,758 votes (40 per cent)
• Conservative Roberto Weeden-Sanz came second with 12,350 (27.9 per cent)
• Reform UK’s candidate David Bowes, came in third with 9,657 votes (21.8 per cent)
• The Liberal Democrats’ Robert Graham Lockwood came in fourth place with 1,899 votes (4.3 per cent)
• Anette Hudspeth of the Green Party came in fifth place with 1,719 votes (3.9 per cent)
• The Yorkshire Party’s Lee Derrick got 477 votes and came in sixth place (1.1 per cent)
• Social Justice Party candidate Asa Jones came in seventh with 285 (0.6 per cent)
• The SDP’s Thomas Foster came in last place with 85 votes (0.2 per cent)