In the abandoned mining villages of Doncaster North there was a palpable sense of apathy today over their constituency MP, Ed Miliband's election as Labour leader.
"Nobody's ever seen him around here," said a middle-aged woman in Skellow Grange workingmen's club, where people queued for a lunchtime carvery amid the pungent whiff of overcooked vegetables. A young woman at the bar said: "Well I've seen him, but that's only because I was in town." A white-haired man chipped in: "He is not a Yorkshireman and he's telling bleeding lies claiming to be so." Miliband, does in fact, have a home in the constituency where his 2010 majority over the Conservatives was 10,909 votes.
A woman who said she was called Mrs Robinson, added: "Most people around here vote Labour no matter what. But we do think that he should be a bit more visible. How can he properly be our MP when we have never met him or seen him?" In another room, not a single person wanted to speak and the mood was vaguely hostile and grumbling. "I'm too old to be interested in politics," said an elderly man sat alone with his pint.
At Carcroft Sports Club, a few miles away, the Bolton versus Manchester United match was showing in reverential silence. The ebullient boss, who declined to give his name, said it was "a given round here that people vote Labour and you probably won't get a safer seat. It has always been Labour." He was vaguely critical of Ed Miliband because "he's not a Yorkshireman and has been specifically placed here as it was a safe seat".
At the Highwayman pub in Woodlands, which was bustling with families, the deputy manager, Ann, welcomed the selection. She said: "I'm currently working 85-hour weeks so I haven't had much time to follow the Labour leadership campaign. But I am pleased that our MP is the new leader. I think it will be good for the area having him in the job and hopefully he'll be a breath of fresh air."
She said she would have preferred a leadership contest before the general election, as the outcome may have been different. The big issue facing the constituency, she said, was unemployment after the closure of the mines. "A lot of people had lost faith with Labour because of Gordon Brown and some were toying with the Liberals," she added.
Mick Hayward, 29, who is retraining to be a plumber, said he had always voted Labour over the past decade. "I am very happy with Ed Miliband and pleased that he's been elected as leader," he said. "I was aware of him previously and he has captured my attention at times which must be a good thing. Although he was in the old government hopefully he will have learned a lot from that experience."
Rae Swan, 69, a retired youth service worker, thought Ed Miliband looked very young and maybe a little inexperienced to be leader, but she was otherwise optimistic. "Hopefully because he is the MP for Doncaster North he will be in touch with the common person," she said. "I'm pleased overall that the new leader is someone who represents Yorkshire."
Louise Murray, 31, admitted she hadn't a clue who Ed Miliband was because she had never voted. "I know that women died under horses for the vote and I promise I'm going to vote next time," she said sheepishly. "But I have always felt that what is the point in going to vote if you do not know what the people you are voting stand for?"