By Michael Holmes<\/p>\n Claims about crime in Claremont – which Reform candidate Mark Butcher has branded \u201cthe Bronx\u201d – may not tell the full story, analysis of official police figures by The Blackpool Lead suggests.<\/p>\n While the area has been dubbed \u201cthe middle of lawless Britain\u201d by Butcher as he vies to take a seat at the town hall in a by-election early next month, The Blackpool Lead\u2019s analysis found that more than a quarter of police reports were linked to nightlife hotspots.<\/p>\n Some 27.7% (969) of the 3,499 reports to Lancashire Police from August last year to July this year were linked to Queen Street and The Strand, which are packed with pubs and bars, or nearby nightclubs.<\/p>\n And the most commonly reported offences over the past three years are those often associated with the nighttime economy – violent and sexual offences and anti-social behaviour.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, robberies have dropped by more than half, while burglaries, theft from a person and drug offences have also fallen.<\/p>\n The analysis adds context to figures recently released by a property data website<\/a>, which said Claremont had the highest crime rate in the north west, with 349 offences per 1,000 people, which Butcher said \u201cbacks up exactly\u201d what he has been saying on the campaign trail.<\/p>\n Making law and order a focus of his campaign, Butcher a week earlier gave an even higher figure – 427 offences per 1,000 people – and said Claremont has the \u201chighest crime anywhere in the UK\u201d.<\/p>\n In a video on the T Explore TV YouTube channel<\/a>, he said that \u201cafter nine, 10 o\u2019clock, this is the Bronx\u201d, saying it is the \u201cmiddle of lawless Britain\u201d and dangerous after dark.<\/p>\n Dressed in a patterned shirt and sunglasses, he said: \u201cYou cannot walk down this street, here.\u201d<\/p>\n For direct comparison purposes, Lancashire Police was asked for the latest crime statistics per 1,000 people, but the force did not provide them, initially saying they would need to be requested under freedom of information laws, before later saying they may not be held.<\/p>\n Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner Clive Grunshaw\u2019s office said it did not have the figures.<\/p>\n Blackpool Council said context \u201cis important\u201d when looking at crime rates, which are worked out per head of the resident population and according to where offences are recorded.<\/p>\n A spokesperson said: \u201cIn a major visitor destination such as Blackpool, these calculations do not take account of the millions of people who visit the town each year.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is particularly relevant in Claremont ward, which includes a number of busy visitor, nightlife and transport locations, including Walkabout, Queen Street, Ma Kelly\u2019s, Blackpool North railway station and the Metropole.<\/p>\n \u201cRecorded incidents associated with these locations will involve people who are visiting the area, but they are still counted locally against Claremont\u2019s resident population.\u201d<\/p>\n Butcher told The Blackpool Lead: \u201cWhen I compared conditions in Claremont to \u2018the Bronx\u2019, it was a forceful metaphor referring to the documented levels of crime, anti-social behaviour and environmental neglect affecting parts of the ward.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was not intended to insult residents. My criticism is directed at the problems residents are being forced to endure and the authorities\u2019 failure to address them – not at the people of Claremont.\u201d<\/p>\n He continued: \u201cI believe firmly in holding offenders accountable while also recognising that early intervention, stable homes, positive role models, education and proper addiction support can prevent young people from being drawn into crime.\u201d<\/p>\n Butcher\u2019s focus on crime has prompted questions, especially after his appearance in a documentary that described him and his family as having been \u201cfeared\u201d figures on the Grange Park estate.<\/p>\n A voiceover said: \u201cAs a child in Blackpool, Mark grew up far from the attractions of the seaside in the poorest parts of the town in the middle of the Thatcher years, when poverty had already exploded.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the time, the restaurateur and his family were feared offenders.\u201d<\/p>\n Butcher was then shown telling the makers of the programme, which is available on YouTube, albeit not in the UK<\/a>, that his family members were known as \u201cThe Butchers\u201d.<\/p>\n Walking through the area, dressed in a tracksuit top and body-warmer, Butcher told the TV crew: \u201cYou start off with petty crime; you\u2019re stealing bikes, you\u2019re robbing cars.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then you move on. You move up the ladder and you go from one stage to another.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd so that\u2019s what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/https:\/\/substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/images\/e266e980-0a37-4ad4-a208-6a2481aba97c_1200.jpeg\")
<\/a>Nightlife brawling in Blackpool.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/https:\/\/substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/images\/d4e96780-eac4-4924-aafa-f4ec1fb2d90e_994x.jpeg\")
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<\/a>Click to expand<\/p>\n