Among the souvenir shops and gothic day trippers, meet the ‘Whitby woman’ who could influence the election

P.ensioners zip around on mobility scooters, pirate-themed boats sail past, couples shake hands. Welcome to Whitby: the North Yorkshire seaside town that lent its name to a target voter in the general election race.

The “Whitby woman”, a term coined by polling think tank More in Common, is a Conservative voter who remains undecided about who will get her vote on July 4.

With an average age of around 61, she is a homeowner who lives in a suburb or small town like Whitby, voted for Brexit and is less likely to have been to university.

And some expect his actions to have an impact on whether the Conservatives are defeated in a landslide, narrowly defeated or remain in power.

Despite her age, Sadie Myers, who owns an antiques store in Whitby called Den of Antiquity, fits the profile of “Whitby woman” perfectly.

“It’s like opening a box of chocolates that look different but all taste the same,” the 49-year-old says of political leaders. “You get bored.”

Ms Myers is not a fan of Rishi Sunak or Sir Keir Starmer and is therefore considering turning to Nigel Farage’s reform.

“I’m proud to still vote,” she said. “I think it’s very important, especially for women. We won the right to vote and we have to keep it, you know. When you’re not given people that you can feel good about, it makes it very difficult.”

Surrounded by Betty Boop and Buddha figurines, it’s clear that Ms. Myers, who was born into the antiques and jewelry industry, has an encyclopedic knowledge of the many miscellaneous items she sells.

Meanwhile, as a 61-year-old long-serving Conservative who voted for Brexit, Liz Richards aligns herself closely with the Whitby woman.

Although she has voted Conservative all her life, she is adamant she will not get her vote this time.

“The main reason, to be honest, is Covid,” says Ms Richards. The independent behind the counter of his gift shop.

“And the way it all happened. The way they behaved. I lost someone very dear to me during Covid. My mother-in-law died alone, confused, not knowing where we were, two days after they had their parties.”

Ms Richards, whose shop is called Wind and Willow, says she is unsure who to vote for, not impressed by either party, saying many of her friends feel the same way.

She says she will probably reluctantly vote Labour for the first time, despite her fierce criticism of Sir Keir.

“I think he’s weak and I think he’s really just a conservative,” she said.

Ms Richards, who has lived in Whitby for six years but grew up on the south coast, was even more scathing of Rishi Sunak, whom she accused of being out of touch with real people.

“He really has no idea what it is, does he?” “, she says. “With all his and his wife’s money, I don’t think he has any idea what it is.” »

She cited the NHS and education as priorities, admitting she sometimes regretted voting for Brexit – which she said had a “huge impact” on the rising cost of living.

Woman from Whitby, man from Essex

Voting profiles similar to that of the Whitby woman regularly crop up at elections. The Mondeo man was a target for both the Conservatives and Labour in the 1992 election, while others have included the Essex man, the Worcester woman, the Waitrose woman and, most recently, the Workington man, a Brexit supporter who played a key role in Boris Johnson’s victory in the North East in 2019.

Scarborough and Whitby has been a Conservative seat since Robert Goodwill won it back from Labour in 2005. He is standing down this time, having won in 2019 by just over 10,000 votes.

Featured in Bram Stoker’s famous film Dracula Romantic and popular with goth day trippers, Whitby combines high levels of deprivation with chic souvenir shops and rising property prices.

Full of holiday lets, Airbnbs, quirky shops selling grumpy slogan T-shirts and children on school trips, the coastal town appears to be a thriving tourist hotspot. But beneath the surface, as in much of the country, problems persist – with premises undervalued and the nearest A&E having some of the longest waits in the country.

Luke Tryl, executive director of More in Common, warns that a Whitby woman’s decision on election day could lead to “absolute catastrophe” for the Conservatives. The risk, he says, is that she may choose not to vote at all.

Women who fit the Whitby woman’s profile can be found all over the country, he says, describing the target voter as “conservative with a small C” and “slightly skeptical of politics” with a “live-and-let-live attitude.”

The Whitby woman is “more sceptical about immigration” than the general population, but is not “hyper-political”, he says, adding that More in Common found that women make up seven in 10 undecided voters.

He said Whitby women’s top voting priorities were the issues facing the NHS, the cost of living crisis, pensions and strong economic management.

“Really ruined everything”

Joyce O’Keefe, who works in a cafe in Whitby, says she will definitely vote, but she doesn’t know for whom.

“I’m very confused,” adds the 62-year-old, who has lived in Whitby for eight years. “I don’t know who to vote for this year. I don’t think either one will make much difference.

Although she voted for the Conservatives in 2019, she won’t do so again because “they really ruined everything”, she says.

“We didn’t vote for Rishi,” O’Keefe added.

“We didn’t choose him to be leader of the party. It’s not working. I don’t like Keir Starmer and I don’t see him saying anything convincing. All I see him doing is arguing against what the Tories are doing, but I don’t hear any policy.”

Neither the prime minister nor the opposition leader “have enough personality” to convince her, she concludes, adding that she will not vote for the Reform Party either – a different view from the one expressed at the party meeting we attended the day before.

Ms O’Keefe, who lived on Teesside before moving to Whitby, says she voted for Brexit in 2016 but Britain’s departure from the EU did not work out as she hoped .

“I don’t think it made a big enough difference for us,” she says. “I think all we’ve seen from it is the negative aspects as far as travel and everything else. I don’t see any positive points.

Surrounded by beige fudge, technicolor rocks and strict signs warning that you must not feed the seagulls, an elderly man walks with his Nova Check walker, while a young woman sits in a stationary electric blue Nissan, knitting while giving advice to her friend on speaker phone.

“Anyone want to go out on the water today?” a man asks the spectators. “Sail on one of Whitby’s largest pleasure boats.”

Karen Noble, owner of a clothing store in the town, said she fit the Whitby woman’s voter profile, apart from the fact that she did not vote for Brexit because she wanted move abroad.

The 63-year-old Conservative voter said she ultimately decided she would vote Reform after feeling deeply unsure.

Discussions in the store over the past fortnight have been dominated by female and hesitant Conservative voters concerned about long A&E waits in nearby Scarborough.

“The other week I ended up in A&E and they wanted me to go to Scarborough,” Ms Noble said. “I refused to go because the last time I went I was in the corridor for 15 hours.”