‘They always promise you the world’: Middlesbrough ward where hardly anyone votes
“I don’t vote and that, me” is not a surprising response when chatting to residents in this part of town.
The 2027 local elections are less than eight months away and in some east Middlesbrough neighbourhoods, hardly anyone votes, with limited signs that this is going to change come next May.
The ward of Brambles and Thorntree holds an unwanted record – it has the lowest turnout of any Middlesbrough ward in local elections in both 2023 and 2019. In the most recent set of locals, nearly three and a half years ago, less than one in seven eligible residents voted – a turnout of 13.7%. Going back even further, a 2018 by-election saw an even more measly voting record, which dropped below 10%.
Just off The Greenway – by the shops in Shelton Court – the people of Thorntree and beyond were asked why they thought voter turnout in the area was so low and what, if anything, could be done about it.
Outside One Stop, Martin Clark explained that he had never voted but described the turnout – one of the lowest in the country – as “mad”. He said that there wasn’t a particular reason for his non-voting, while another chap who joined the conversation was more blunt, saying: “They [politicians] all p*** in the same pot, they always promise you the world, you get **** all.”
Not only does Brambles and Thorntree make headlines for its low turnout, it was alsocrowned the strongest Brexit-backing ward in the country, where more than 80% voters cast their ballot in favour of leaving the EU a decade ago.
Martin didn’t think there was anything that could convince him to vote, saying: “The world’s gone to s***, really I think, well the UK at least, getting worse as well.” He didn’t think this was a problem specific to Middlesbrough, but happening everywhere.
A different perspective was offered by 22 year old Netherfields resident Nathan MacSween. He did try and vote at the last set of elections, but he wasn’t registered. Nathan didn’t think that many people care for politics in this part of the world, adding: “It’s quite a left leaning county, but not many people vote at all”, discussing the divide between Reform and Labour. He said none of the young people in the area “care enough” to go out and vote.
Netherfields currently sits as part of the Park End and Beckfield ward (which also sees consistently low turnout in elections) but when new boundaries are implemented at the next set of elections, it will feature as part of Brambles and Thorntree.
The divide Nathan spoke about hasn’t yet been spelt out at the ballot box in Middlesbrough – at the last set of local elections in 2023, there was not a single Reform candidate for the council. There are now two Reform councillors, one through a December 2025 by-election and another resulting from a defection. Two other independent councillors have party membership of Reform. Nathan plans to vote in 2027, and floated voting Labour or independent, he wasn’t keen on Reform, describing them as “Conservatives in disguise”.
Megan Boddy, 41, had a similar view on why turnout is so low, saying: “I don’t think people around here care.” She explained she had lived in the area her whole life and both her 75 year old parents also live locally. As for the state of politics, Megan wants people to do “deeper” research on matters rather than simply forming an opinion based on what someone has said online.
“Born and raised here” resident Nicola Jaffray said: “It doesn’t matter who or what we vote for, nothing seems to change.” The limited things that have changed are for the worse, as far as she is concerned, explaining: “At least I had a youth club to go to, I was 16 before I stopped going to the youth club.”
The 43 year old mother of four, thought the systems in place in society aren’t working for her or her kids. A resounding “no” was the answer when asked if she planned to vote in the upcoming elections in May 2027. Nicola, who has a cleaning job at a local school, wants something for the young kids in the area to do, saying there’s nothing for them to do, so “they’re going to get up to no good”.
A Thorntree resident for 36 years, Jane McDonald is a former voter, but stopped about five years ago. She was a Labour backer at the time, but only voted in general elections, and never bothered with the locals.
Her reason for not voting? “Because it makes no difference really if I vote or not. It doesn’t make anything any better. It’s just been the same year after year.” The 58 year old carer didn’t think any message could convince her to go out and vote in the local elections, in seven months time.
Newcastle-based Grace Hudson, who works locally in Middlesbrough on a mental health support team, discussed how the area is “deprived in a lot of ways”, acknowledging how this could be linked to low voter turnout. The 24 year old Northumbria Uni grad said people in the area have “lots of things on their plate”, and spoke of having worked with families in a similar position in Newcastle.
After a council scrutiny meeting on Monday, September 21, two of the current councillors for the Brambles and Thorntree ward spoke to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) about the state of voter turnout in their ward. Labour Councillor Stella Tranter said that she couldn’t get into the minds of the residents of her ward, but pondered whether they are “disillusioned”.
She said: “I used to be one of those people that wouldn’t vote, because for me, they’re all much of a muchness.” Her viewpoint changed when she got involved in the democratic process herself, “if you want things to change in your area, the only way you can do is by getting involved, really.”
MICA Councillor Graham Wilson said: “It’s getting the bums of the settee, no matter how many leaflets you put out, if they don’t want to vote, they’re not going to vote.” He said the area used to be very good at voting, but not anymore. He said in years gone by, it was a “Labour ward”, but things are now changing.