The only guarantee that Eastbourne would receive a promised £20 million over the next ten years is if there is a Conservative MP in the town and a Conservative government after the general election, a hustings meeting heard.
In contrast, the Labour candidate called the Government’s Towns Fund “an absolutely corrupt scheme” and said it would be scrapped by a Labour government.
The six candidates in Thursday’s general election took part in a well-mannered but lively debate at a hustings meeting, above, organised by the town’s Chamber of Commerce last night at the Birley Centre in Eastbourne College in front of an audience of 125 people.
There was general agreement across many issues, such as crime prevention, dealing with water companies, and generating jobs in the town.
“You allocate public funds based on need … it should not be based on the colour of the MP’s rosette”
Paul Richards, Labour candidate
But whether the town would still receive up to £20 million over the next decade under the Towns Fund, part of the current Government’s Levelling Up agenda, prompted disagreement. The money was pledged to Eastbourne by the Conservative Government in its Budget in March.
The candidates were responding to a question from Richard Garland, below, former president of the Chamber, who chairs a newly-convened town board of 12 members to decide on where the £20 million, if it materialises, should be spent.
Mr Garland asked: “If you are elected but are not the party in power, how will you ensure that Eastbourne gets its share of support / funding. For example, will the recently awarded Town Fund still come to Eastbourne, even if your party is not in power?”
Paul Richards, for Labour, said: “It is an absolutely corrupt scheme: there is a correlation of MPs of a certain stripe and where the money went. That is no basis on which to allocate public funds.
“You allocate public funds based on need … where there is poverty and you need people to be lifted up. It should not be based on the colour of the rosette the MP wears.
“Scrapping the Towns Fund would be one of the first things we do. A government should be committed to levelling up everywhere, regardless of who the MP is.”
Caroline Ansell, the Conservative candidate, said: “I have worked hard for Eastbourne’s place in this funding. What underpinned that success was my access to ministers – I lobbied the Chancellor and ministers. I was relentless but I was connected.
She said if Labour won on Thursday, Eastbourne faced “a harsh reality”.
“The Conservatives have pursued a strong focus on coastal communities … that was what regenerated and restored the Winter Garden, for example.
“A Labour government does not have the same heart for seaside towns in the south such as ours. That is the choice: there isn’t a scenario where a Lib Dem MP would have that influence and that voice.”
When asked to clarify if that meant the only guarantee the money would be received was if both she and the Conservatives nationally are re-elected, Ms Ansell said she could guarantee it in that situation. “Under another government, I would fight to secure investment for Eastbourne,” she added.
Mr Garland gave a pragmatic response: “We will be inviting the MP to join the board in a week’s time, so we either look forward to a long and fruitful relationship – or a very quick conversation.”
Liberal Democrat candidate Josh Babarinde said: “The role of an MP is to be a local champion for our town regardless of the colour of the government. As far as I’m concerned, the Government has made a commitment and that commitment should be seen through.
“My number one act on election would be to write to the minister responsible … to say one colour of government made these commitments before the election, and we expect those to be seen through.”
The candidates are (in ballot paper order – alphabetical order by surname):
- Caroline Ansell (Conservative)
- Mark Ashdown (Reform UK)
- Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat)
- Ian Garbutt (UKIP)
- Mike Munson (Green)
- Paul Richards (Labour)
Mr Ashdown said he thought the Towns Fund was not a good idea because it was “borrowed money” with the current high levels of Government debt. “People need to think about how they can raise the money themselves. We need to go back to basics,” he said.
Mr Garbutt agreed, saying he was brought up to believe you can only spend what you have earned. “I see too many people and organisations think they can put their hand out and somebody will put the money in. We need to spend and live within our means.”
Mr Munson said that saying ‘if you vote for me, the town will get this money’ did not sound like the kind of politics we should have. He called for more investment in health services and social care, and urged people to vote for policies they wanted, because whoever became MP would take note and represent them at Westminster.
The candidates responded to other submitted questions, summarised here.
Susan Winge: “What do the candidates plan to do to reduce the level of criminal activity in the centre of Eastbourne at nighttime?”
Richards: The coalition government [Conservative / Lib Dem from 2010 to 2015] took 20,000 police off our streets. Fewer police breeds criminality: foot patrols should be restored.
Ansell: There has been significant investment in infrastructure such as lighting and CCTV, and there is partnership working between police, street pastors and door supervisors. She called for youth hubs on empty sites such as Debenhams.
Babarinde: There must be enforcement with more community policing. He would scrap the Police and Crime Commissioner, branding it “the biggest waste of money”. Safe spaces should be created for young people to put them at the centre of society.
Munson: Funding for youth services has been cut by this and previous governments. Alcohol and homelessness create situations that can scare people and these need to be tackled.
Ashdown: The whole country has got too soft. The bulk of crime is drug related, according to the police. We should get rid of PCSOs and have proper police on the streets.
Garbutt: Even with more police, the courts are letting us down. We have lost a respect for the law and adults, which has created problems in the town centre.
Karin Morrison, sea swimmer: “As a sea swimmer, I am concerned about the water quality in Eastbourne. Southern Water has put profit above services and failed to invest which has resulted in sewage spillages in our seas. The system is under added pressure from new households and climate change. What will you do to change the system to prioritise human health and nature?”
Munson: Water privatisation has been an unmitigated disaster. Nobody should profit from a public utility. The Greens would put 30% of the land and sea under the highest levels of environmental protection, compared with 5% currently.
Babarinde: It is a total disgrace. We need to transform water from an industry into a service for us and the environment. Ban bonuses for company executives, impose a ‘sewage’ tax, strengthen Ofwat and restructure water companies as public benefit companies.
Ansell: Tough new legislation is in place and requirements of water company bosses. Our water quality in Eastbourne is ‘good’. She blamed ‘misconnections’ at a seafront building on a decline in water quality in recent years but said Southern Water had worked on the connections and the water had improved.
Richards: A keen sea swimmer, he said Southern Water should be held to account through a local system, which was how to get a change in behaviour.
Garbutt: Ofwat needs teeth: they dish out minute fines to a company turning over the amount of money they are. [The moderator pointed out that Southern Water had been fined a record £90 million in 2021]
Ashdown: A private company will try to make money through loopholes in legislation. Water should be 50/50 privatisation / nationalised. The legislation needs to be updated to see if it’s working.
Adam Callaghan: “I’m 17 and doing my A-levels. What would you do to ensure a variety of skilled well-paid jobs locally so I don’t have to move away?”
Ansell: Though digital and creative industries, we could provide those skills and jobs. The Conservatives have tax incentives to help these sectors. We should also develop ‘green’ jobs relating to renewable energy.
Babarinde: Digital is a good investment opportunity for our town. There is an interesting intersection between digital and tourism: there is no reason why the next booking.com or Airbnb could not come from Eastbourne. It is critical that the MP tries to bring investors and entrepreneurs to the town.
Ashdown: He has been involved in the construction industry and renewable energy. We need apprentices because there are not enough skilled trades: you are never out of a job if you have a trade.
Richards: He joked to Adam: “If Rishi wins, you will be doing National Service as well!” We need a skills revolution and more apprenticeships: the best way of learning anything is to be doing it.
Munson: One route to a high-quality job is to study for a degree. But the amount of debt people have after university is a huge disincentive and can be a mental health strain. Eastbourne has the lowest percentage of ‘green’ jobs, which needs investment.
Garbutt: Only go to university if you have a clear path of something worthwhile you want to study that will give you a job at the end. Consider an apprenticeship.
Dr Sean Brink, GP at Victoria Medical Centre, Old Town: “As a general practitioner for 10 years and a doctor employed by NHS Trusts since 2000, I have seen ongoing enduring reports about patient access to primary care appointments. What action will you take to retain primary care staff and make Eastbourne a place where they want to work?”
Ashdown: Some people go to Australia because they earn more money and people come here from other countries to work. Public sector staff should be valued and paid properly.
Garbutt: Many doctors say a five-minute appointment can take ten to 15 minutes because of the bureaucracy involved after a consultation. GPs deserve every penny they get.
Richards: He said patients’ rating of the NHS was at its highest in 2009 [the last year of the last Labour government] and it was now at its lowest. There has been chronic underfunding for over a decade: we need more doctors and nurses. We need to move towards prevention and healthier lives.
Ansell: GPs are offering more appointments than ever, but demand is at an all-time high with an older demographic. There has been a pivot to using pharmacists to take some of the pressure off GPs. We need to attract people with good schools and childcare in the town as part of a package of investments.
Munson: We should start treating people according to need, not want. GPs need more power over the type of appointments they can offer people. We would fund the NHS better by taxing the super rich.
Babarinde: After hospital treatment in April, he is still unable to book a follow-up GP appointment. There are social determinants relating to health to address such as housing and food. We would fund 4,000 additional GPs by changes to Capital Gains Tax.
And finally…
On a lighter note at the end of the two-hour session, the candidates were asked: what is your favourite place in Eastbourne.
Babarinde: Walking on the Downs and, ideally, ending up at a pub. He also said that Caroline Ansell was once his supply teacher and “she taught me everything I know!”
Munson: Originally from Yorkshire, he said he had found Eastbourne to be one of the most friendly and welcoming places he had lived.
Ansell: After noting that Bibendum bar and restaurant was high on her list, she said she loves the seafront, in any weather, and enjoys the sea air when she got off the train from London.
Richards: He enjoys the walk from Holywell to the Italian Gardens because that’s where he would take his children when they were younger and make up stories for them.
Garbutt: The walk from the Sovereign Centre to Holywell and back on a fine day is hard to beat.
Ashdown: He said he could not put his finger on anywhere precisely: “it’s just a really nice town”. But he added, to laughter: “Wetherspoons – the beer is cheap!”
Who has held Eastbourne?
The seat of Eastbourne was mostly held by the Conservatives for a century until 1990, since when it has flipped between the Tories and the Liberal Democrats.
Conservative candidate Caroline Ansell won the seat in 2019 with a majority of 4,331 over the Lib Dems. The constituency boundaries have changed leaving a smaller geographical area. Places such as Willingdon and Jevington are now in the Lewes constituency.
The major broadcasters and the Press Association have produced estimates of the 2019 general election result based on the new boundaries.
These notional figures suggest Ansell would have won the seat with a 2,168 majority over the Lib Dems.
This table shows the full comparison figures, which are available here on the UK Parliament website.
| Political party | Actual 2019 votes | Actual 2019 share |
| Conservative | 26,951 | 48.9% |
| Liberal Democrats | 22,620 | 41.0% |
| Labour | 3,848 | 7.0% |
| Brexit Party | 1,530 | 2.8% |
| Independent | 185 | 0.3% |
| Notional 2019 votes | Notional 2019 share | |
| Conservative | 24,137 | 47.1% |
| Liberal Democrats | 21,969 | 42.9% |
| Labour | 3,560 | 6.9% |
| Brexit Party | 1,408 | 2.7% |
| Independent | 185 | 0.4% |
Timeline of Eastbourne constituency
- 1885 – the parliamentary constituency is created and held by Conservatives until 1990, with the exception of four years (below)
- 1906 to 1910 the Liberal candidate won in a general election which resulted in the worst ever results for the Conservatives, leaving them with 156 seats
- 1990 by-election Lib Dem David Belotti won (after sitting Conservative MP Ian Gow was murdered by the IRA)
- 1992 to 2010 general elections: Conservative Nigel Waterson won the seat four times
- 2010 – general election: Lib Dem Stephen Lloyd won
- 2015 – general election: Conservative Caroline Ansell won
- 2017 – general election: Lib Dem Lloyd won
- 2019 – general election: Conservative Ansell won
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