'I want to be a strong voice for St Helens' - says David Baines

The days are ticking down until the general election and David Baines is discussing how his campaign is going and what voters on the doorsteps across St Helens North have been telling him.

Baines is the overwhelming favourite to take the seat that has been a Labour stronghold for decades. Even when Labour’s red wall crumbled in 2019, the St Helens seats stood firm and both the opinion polls and bookies' odds are strongly in his favour as the clock ticks towards polling day.

READ MORE: Full list of election candidates standing in St Helens' constituencies

Nevertheless, Baines, who stepped down as St Helens Council leader earlier this year to focus on his campaign to reach Westminster, won’t have any complacency and is instead focusing on talking to the voters from his hometown about their concerns, the state of the country and town, and what they want to see change.

Desperate for change

“The response [from the public] has been fantastic - they are desperate for change, have real concerns about the state of the country and public services - whether that’s over waits in A&E or desperate worries about what will happen if they call an ambulance in an emergency.

“I speak to families, they are worried about their children’s schools and the resources in their classrooms that they are having to ‘make do’ with.

“Everyone can see that things are worse than they were 14 years ago. I have been honest with people that [if Labour get into power] it won’t be a quick fix, but we have a long-term plan in our manifesto to clear up the mess.

“We need to stop the chaos that we’ve seen in the economy and we have plans to deliver economic growth and have fully costed measures to bring in more GPs and teachers... and we also need to start building affordable homes.”

David Baines out speaking to potential voters (Image: St Helens Labour)

Council challenges

Baines, who grew up in Haydock and worked for about a decade as a primary school teacher before deciding to pursue a passion for public service, was a relatively unknown politician until he took the helm at St Helens Town Hall in 2019, becoming a steadying hand over a Labour council that had been beset by infighting.

His time over the local authority was a challenging one, with the Covid pandemic, the energy price crisis, soaring inflation and the pressures on depleted council resources – at a time when there is demand on adult social care and children’s services like never before - among the many issues.

He is clearly pained by some decisions that the council has taken – such as the closure of some community libraries, but argues that is symptomatic of the position national government has left the country and local government in.

He robustly defends his time in the council - pointing to the major improvements in children's services, the St Helens Together response during Covid and the agreed plan – backed by a huge financial commitment - to transform St Helens town centre.

Experience

He also believes his time as leader – which saw him regularly engaging with city region mayors, shadow government ministers and the Labour party nationally – has given him the experience and confidence to head to Westminster.

The father-of-two says, if elected, he'll be the first Labour MP for St Helens North to be from the constituency.

“I am an optimist when it comes to St Helens - it is a great place to live. St Helens North and St Helens as a whole needs a strong voice - someone to champion its causes - I want to be that voice.”