Making every vote count in the battle of the economists

Labour’s Alistair Strathern tells Archie Mitchell he’s winning the support of life-long Tories in the market town of Hitchin

- Archie Mitchell

In the picturesque Hertfordshire market town of Hitchin, the Tory and Labour general election campaigns have been neatly summed up. Contesting the seat for Labour is 34-year-old exBank of England economist Alistair Strathern, who proudly describes himself as an acolyte of “Sir Keir Starmer’s changed Labour Party”.

Hoping to hold the seat for the Conservatives is 38-year-old former HSBC executive Bim Afolami, the Treasury economic secretary elected to parliament in 2017. Leaflets for Mr Afolami’s campaign, seen by The Independent on a visit to the constituency, show he is hoping to win as a strong local champion for the area. But voters spoken to by this paper said the minister’s close association with the Conservatives nationally, as he is often wheeled out to defend the party on broadcast rounds, has tarnished his reputation in the area.

Mr Strathern has his own challenges to overcome. Elected in the Mid Bedfordshire by-election to replace Nadine Dorries in 2023, he was criticised for standing in this general election for Hitchin, with news outlets at the time describing the move as a “chicken run”. A boundary change meant his house, where he lives with his partner, was actually within the new constituency.

When The Independent met Mr Strathern in the middle of a sunny day of door-knocking he talked about his time representing Mid Bedfordshire and his plans for the area if he is re-elected. Mr Strathern said one of the biggest differences after taking that seat for Labour for the first time since it was created in 1918 was the area having a visible MP.