Stoke-on-Trent has been dubbed the Brexit capital of Britain – and with good reason. Almost 70 per cent of voters in the Staffordshire city voted to leave the EU last June, and Ukip leader Paul Nuttall hopes to harness the anti-EU – and anti-Westminster – sentiment that drove that crushing majority into a by-election victory. Meanwhile, Labour’s candidate Gareth Snell has attracted unwanted media attention for his unsavoury past tweets about women.
Labour, however, have reason to be optimistic. Tristram Hunt, who has vacated the seat for a cushy job at the Victoria & Albert Museum, was the only latest in a string of Labour MPs to hold the seat since 1935. Despite Snell’s online embarrassments, the row over the veracity of Ukip leader Paul Nuttall’s Hillsborough recollections has given Labour hope that they can mount a successful defence of the 5,179 majority they won in 2015. But what are the key issues at stake in the Potteries?
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