Seaside towns will be a priority in a Labour government pledges shadow tourism minister Jeff Smith on visit to Blackpool

Jeff Smith, Shadow Minister for Sport, Tourism, Heritage and Music, said the UK’s tourism industry had a key role to play in driving forward economic growth.

He also spoke with Blackpool Council leaders about challenges including the need for stronger controls of the airbnb sector during a visit to the Lightworks Depot in South Shore to highlight Labour’s plans to boost seaside towns.

Mr Smith said: “Blackpool is a really forward thinking city. It has a unique selling point, fantastic tradition and a lot to build on so I am very confident it will be successful in the future.

“I have had a look round the Illuminations factory which is fascinating and such a massive operation, and it is so important to Blackpool.”

Mr Smith, who was also in the resort to support Chris Webb who is Labour’s candidate in Blackpool South, said it was vital to learn first hand some of the challenges faced by seaside towns.

Before becoming an MP he worked in event management and as a DJ in clubs and colleges across the north of England, so has some personal insight into what a tourism economy requires to be successful.

He said: “Things like the sewage problems and the issue around airbnbs causing difficulties for local communities.

“They are the sort of things I have heard and not been surprised about as they are the sort of things we are committed to addressing.

“It’s really good to hear from the horses’s mouth and hopefully we can come up with some answers which will solve those problems.”

Blackpool has received £100m in Levelling Up funding and £40m in Town Deal funding from the current Conservative government for regeneration projects, including towards assembling the site for the Blackpool Central leisure scheme.

However Mr Smith warned this did not make up for financial support the council had lost due to Tory cuts.

He said: “It has had some individual funding but that doesn’t replace the £1.6bn it has lost in funding in the last 12 or 13 years as a result of austerity and the cuts.

“So what we need to do is get back to a situation where we have an economy that is growing and stable and where the government can invest in local authorities and invest in public services again.

“Town Deals and Levelling Up funding is fine, but you need consistent funding to be able to build an economy and that’s what we need to establish in this country, not just for Blackpool but across the country.”

He said tourism could play a key part in Labour’s plans to grow the economy if it wins power at the next General Election, and supported recent calls made in a House of Lords report for a dedicated ministerial role.

Mr Smith said: “I don’t think we give it the priority it deserves. In many countries it has a department all of its own and we spend less on promotion of the UK as a destination than many of our rivals, for example we spend a lot less than Ireland now.

“We’re not saying we are going to come in and spend lots of money, but what we need is a government which will give tourism the kind of priority as an absolutely key industry for the country that it deserves.

“I agree with the Lords, I think tourism does need a dedicated minister. Lots of other countries have it not just as a minister but as a Secretary of State in their cabinet which shows the importance.

“It’s such an important industry for the UK and I would support having a dedicated tourism minister.”

He believes proposed reforms of the apprenticeship levy could also benefit the sector.

Mr Smith added: “The apprenticeship levy which businesses pay at the moment has quite strict rules around it.

“What we are calling for is some flexibility so it can be used not just for apprenticeships but for other kinds of skills development and training, so half of that money we think should be able to go into different kinds of training.

“So where you have got particular shortages, for example a lot of tourist industry jobs have vacancies and we need people trained up for the tourism industry.

“That’s not necessarily about apprenticeships, that’s about developing skills and we are saying the apprenticeship levy should be reformed so it has more flexibility so businesses can use it to train for the kind of skills they need.”

Labours plan to get seaside towns booming again includes:

• Scrapping and replacing the current business rates with a more modern and fair system to boost high streets in our coastal towns
• Reform the Apprenticeship Levy to create quality careers in tourism and address workforce shortages in areas like Filey and Scarborough
• Crack down on sewage dumping into our rivers and coastal waters
• Allow councils to introduce a holiday let licensing scheme, so coastal towns will be able to reap the rewards of a thriving tourism but end the scourge of communities becoming ghost towns when holiday season ends.