Mansfield filmmaker’s bid to tell true story of town's historic Tory swing

Director and producer Jay Martin says Mansfield shocked the nation when it became one of the first ex-coalfield constituencies to abandon its Labour heritage, which stretches back almost 100 years, and replace Labour incumbent Sir Alan Meale with Conservative Ben Bradley.

He has turned to Kickstarter to raise £2,500 which will pay to license archive footage used in the 20-minute REDt’BLUE, and the campaign goes live on June 1, for two weeks.

Jay, 21, who attended Brunts Academy, said: “To many, I think even those who voted for this change, electing Mansfield first ever Conservative MP, came as a huge surprise.

“The story behind how and why Mansfield finally turned from redt’blue, is fascinating, full of twists and turns, political players all vying for control, new revelations that the public may not know, and within it all, a story of where we’ve come from, and where we are now.

“Over the past year, both myself and my crew have worked tirelessly to develop this documentary, and we are almost there. Unlike most Kickstarters you will find on the site, our film is nearing completion and after investing over £2,500 of my own savings into this project, there is just one more hill left to climb.”

The film, which aims to be politically neutral, will feature archive footage showing Mansfield back in its heyday in the 70’s and 80’s, a “vast array of news footage”, and interviews with local politicians and supporters.

Jay, who studied film production at Confetti in Nottingham, has been rmaking promotional videos and commercials since 2017.

He says that those who donate will “help to give Mansfield a voice, and help to establish us as a Midlands filmmaking base.

“It’s my hope, that REDt’BLUE will help create a more perceptive, and engaged voter base in Mansfield, but also help launch several other stories I know Mansfield is just waiting to tell.”

You can follow the film’s progress on Facebook here, and donate to the campaign here.