Coronavirus case rates are falling more slowly across Red Wall seats than the country as a whole, research reveals. Labour studied data for 20 constituencies across the Midlands and North that once formed the party's heartlands but which were lost to the Tories at the December 2019 general election.
Figures on changes in seven-day average infection rates between January 7 and January 28 show cases dropped by 33.8% across the seats compared with an average 49.8% nationally.
On average, infections fell by 39.9% in the 20 most deprived areas of England compared with the wealthiest, where levels dropped by 57.2%.
Examining Covid-19 case numbers for parliamentary seats seized by the Conservatives at the last election, Labour pointed to Blackpool