Residents in Blyth, Northumberland, say "shoplifting and drug abuse" are rampant in their town and that they desperately need basic retail services to return. The town, which has a population shy of 40,000, is littered with derelict buildings and boarded-up shops.

Blyth, part of the traditional Red Wall, voted for Labour at the last General Election, having backed Boris Johnson in 2019. However, despite supporting Sir Keir Starmer's party, locals say they feel "forgotten" by his government. Robert Millican, 42, said he will be voting for Reform UK at the next election and said: "The Government has destroyed Labour values such as looking after pensioners. The Winter Fuel Allowance has disappeared.

"They are more like the Conservatives. There isn't a massive gap between the two parties. People didn't get what they voted for with Labour. They said they wouldn't raise taxes, but they have used stealth taxes instead with the National Insurance contributions. We've just swapped one for the other, they are all the same", the unemployed resident told The Sun.

The town is receiving a £90m investment as part of a development which will see a new cinema built. However, the project has been widely mocked by locals who say they don't need a cinema when they have an absence of everyday shops. To add insult to injury Keel Row Shopping Centre was demolished last year.

"They're building a cinema in the centre, but why?" one woman asked the newspaper. "There used to be four cinemas in Blyth and they all closed. They have knocked down the shopping centre. We need shops, a thriving market. Not three cinema screens.", she added.

Robert said the main issue in the town was drugs and crime: "The biggest issues in Blyth are shoplifting and drug abuse, and there are no resources to tackle them. It's a heroin and a cannabis problem. The addicts beg outside of Morrisons, you know they aren't homeless, they are just looking for money to fund their drug habit.

"We should have put money into that, instead of the cinema", he added. "The unemployment rate is really high. There is no industry here, we've lost all of the pits and shipbuilding yards."

Glen Sanderson, the leader of Northumberland County Council, told the paper: "Blyth is becoming a hive of activity and renaissance."

"The Port of Blyth is hugely important to the North East and NCC have just landed the Data Centre campus investment worth £10billion - the largest ever seen in the county, which will provide thousands of new jobs close to the town.

"In addition, NCC and the [previous] Conservative government have invested in re-opening the Northumberland Line - closed 70 years ago - with around 250,000 journeys already taken in just five months, benefitting Blyth significantly", he added.