Like most coal mining communities, Rother Valley is a solid, safe Labour seat. Yet beneath the veneer of bucolic south Yorkshire countryside, an ideological battle is raging to turn this historic working-class heartland blue.
Rother Valley may have been held by the Labour Party ever since its creation in 1918, but residents believe that the demise of Ukip may prove pivotal — and could even swing it to the Conservatives.
The little-known seat is the southernmost seat in south Yorkshire and where the former foreign secretary William Hague, now Lord Hague of Richmond, grew up. It is historically working class, with its mining heritage never far from the forefront of voters’ minds.
A huge 67 per cent of constituents voted for Brexit. Many think that Jeremy Corbyn is a “muppet” and Theresa May just “another Maggie”. Nonetheless, with Brexit voted through, there is a belief that many Ukip votes will…
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