Nigel Farage and Julie Maughan on how the Brexit Party can bring industry back to the North East

They were in Seaham on Sunday, November 24 as part of their General Election campaign and spent the day chatting with voters in the area and meeting with the media.

In an interview, they both told reporter Faye Dixon of their vision for Easington, Sunderland and the surrounding areas and expressed the support they have received in the North East.

Nigel Farage said: “It is the friendliest part of the country. No question about it. I can’t imagine what it must be like to live here. If you’re going through the newspaper, it would take you 20 minutes because everyone’s coming up to you to talk to you.”

He mentioned two key issues he wants to address. The first is delivering his promise to the public and the second is the lack of investment in the North East.

He said: “This is one of the strongest leave voting constituencies in the country and you talk to people and my goodness me they really mean it. Particularly these communities leaving on the coast.

“People’s feeling this is a breach of promise and a breach of trust is very strong.

“The phrase ‘the left behind communities’ as London dominates everything more and more is completely applicable here.”

Julie Maughan has concerns that the region is being forgotten about and she hopes to change that with the Brexit Party.

She said: “Sunderland was once the biggest ship building port in the world but that closed in 1988.

“We have a massive stretch of the North East coastline and there’s harbours right from Redcar to where I worked for a long time up in Berwick, Northumberland. They’ve all seen the fishing industry decimated. We can create free ports and trade jobs back to this region.”

Mr Farage believes opinions are changing in the North East and that Labour voters may be changing their minds. He added: “It’s the biggest story of the whole election in what’s happening in parts of the country like this.”

Watch the video to hear more of what they had to say.