BIRKENHEAD'S new Labour MP Alison McGovern has promised “to get the basics right” as part of a plan to “make massive progress” and turn the town around. Mrs McGovern made the pledge as she unveiled her new constituency office on Argyle Street.

Mrs McGovern was one of four Wirral MPs elected at the general election held on July 4 which saw a Labour government voted in at a general election for the first time since 2005. She currently holds a ministerial position within the Department for Work and Pensions and was previously the Wirral South MP from 2010 until that constituency was abolished in 2024.

During the election campaign, she talked about what a Labour government could do to change things in a town that according to people on its high streets and in its parks has seen a steady decline in recent years. According to independent research unit Centre for Cities, Birkenhead performs poorly in relation to productivity and jobs despite having a strong employment rate.

Before the election, Mrs McGovern said a Labour government would bring forward policies to help speed up the town’s regeneration, including 1,200 new homes, more powers for councils to buy up land, insulation upgrades, promises to ban zero hours contracts, and breakfast clubs in every primary school.

In a speech announcing her new constituency office in the recently-refurbished Make Hamilton building on Argyle Street, Mrs McGovern said Birkenhead had “significant” problems but added: “I hope you get a sense that this is an area that is moving on, that is doing creative things and I couldn’t be more proud to be a part of that.” She said she had chosen the location due to its close links to public transport and visibility.

She said: “I think people deserve to know where you are. They deserve to know where to find you,” adding: “There’s a lot wrong with politics but the thing that’s right is it’s that relationship between the people who make decisions and the people affected by those decisions.”

She added: “We need to do the basics well and really deliver for people. That’s why I thought about the plan for Birkenhead being split into three simple things that make life good. Basic things that everyone needs and that is a home to live in, a job to do, and some fun at the weekend.

“That I think are the things that everybody wants but as I would see it working class people especially need because that way if you’ve got a home, a good job, and something to enjoy at the weekend, that is a good platform for life. That is how we get real achievement for people, that’s how people can fulfil their ambitions.”

Referring to the government’s plans to build 1.5m more homes in the UK, she said she wanted “a good share of those to be in Birkenhead.” For Wirral, the government has upped the proposed housing target for Wirral by more than 1,000 homes a year which has raised cross-party concerns about the plans.

She said: “We know Birkenhead has to grow. We want to see more homes here,” adding: “There’s so much more we can do to provide good homes for people. When I think about how this town was built going from that small monk’s priory to that big town, the growth of the shipyard and the great journey of people after the Great Hunger in Ireland coming over to Birkenhead to build ships and to build this town. We need to do exactly as that generation did. We need to give people the basics, a good home and a good place to live.”

As Minister of State for Employment, she said the government had been working on arrangements for statutory sick pay, workers’ rights from day one of employment, and banning zero hours contracts, adding: “I know we’ve got masses of people on the Wirral and in Birkenhead who work in social care and we’ve got to get a better deal.

“It’s about looking at the work people do and making sure it’s as good as possible so a hard day’s work for people in Birkenhead delivers what they need to have a decent life.”

Outside of jobs, she said she would be pushing forward the bid for UNESCO World Heritage status for Birkenhead Park, the first publicly-funded park in the world, as well as an upcoming bill on football regulation, an issue supported by Birkenhead-based club Tranmere Rovers.

She said: “There’s a whole host of things that are going on here that are great fun,” adding: “We are here because we want Birkenhead to be that fantastic place where people can have a real sense of enjoyment. That in the end is how people achieve. If you do the basics well, if you give them a platform on which to stand, you can reach high.”