A generation is crying out for real change because ‘something doesn’t seem right’

Many young voters will not be able to remember anyone but the Conservatives in power.

Under David Cameron, the party came to power as part of the coalition government with the Liberal Democrats in 2010. Mr Cameron was succeeded by four prime ministers – Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss (albeit very briefly) and Rishi Sunak. – in what was a tumultuous period in power.

The party’s time in office saw years of brutal spending cuts as part of its austerity agenda, which were deeply unpopular with the vast majority of Merseyside voters.

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However, if opinion polls are to be believed, Labor is on course to win next week’s general election and end 14 years of Conservative rule. Sir Keir Starmer is looking increasingly likely to be the country’s next prime minister, promising to “fuel the fire of change” and rebuild Britain.

As polling day approaches, the ECHO spoke to young people in Labor strongholds Merseyside, some of whom will be voting in a general election for the first time, about the issues that matter to them and what they think about the prospect of a Starmer-led election. government.

Ansil Kharel is the owner of Momos – a Nepali street food joint on Lime Street in Liverpool city centre. The 21-year-old from Waterloo will be voting in a general election for the first time and has yet to decide whether his vote will go to Labor or the Green Party.

As a business owner, Ansil is concerned about the cost of living crisis. Increased operating costs remain a huge hurdle for the hospitality industry and he is concerned about the fiscal burden facing venues.

While he is happy to pay his fair share of tax, Ansil wants to see this translated into more meaningful investment in public services.

He told the ECHO: “I like paying tax, I want to help people. But there is hardly any visual assurance for people my age that our tax dollars are being used for things that will help or benefit us.

“The NHS is absolutely incredible, they are so underfunded. We pay so much tax that we want it to make a difference – the NHS is still underfunded even though we pay so much tax.”

The NHS and its proper funding featured heavily in the ECHO’s conversations with young voters. Filmmaker Jack McLoughlin, 26, from Kirkby, has family working in the health service and believes the Conservative Party has failed him.

He told the ECHO: “They (the Tories) have ground the country. You only have to walk around and see the cushioning effect they have made – in hospitals too.

“I have family members who work in the NHS. They come home and they’re devastated. There aren’t enough beds, people are lying in the hall, lying on the floor. I saw with covid – there wasn’t enough PPE. .”

Maisie McDonough, 25, from Aigburth, is a nurse in the health service and she saw firsthand how the service struggled under Tory austerity.

She told the ECHO: “I started working in the NHS in October as a nurse. Immediately (I saw) it is understaffed. We started as a band two and do a lot of the roles of a band three.

“I feel they are very stretched. I think that’s one of the biggest things with nurses right now. We’re really skilled but we have to stay in a band two because of how stretched the NHS is to pay a higher band’s wages.”

Among the “five missions” around which Labor built its manifesto is to “build an NHS fit for the future”. The party has promised to cut waiting times by a further 40,000 appointments each week, recruit 8,500 extra mental health staff and double the number of cancer scanners.

Maisie is encouraged by Labour’s missions but would like the party to be bolder. She explained: “It’s easy to come up with these five missions and say what we all want to hear.

“What they said is great for social progress. But when I read, I thought “are they going to say how they’re going to do that?”.

“They probably wouldn’t want to get into taxes because it would wipe out a lot of people who are quite happy being the richest they can be and they would feel a bit threatened by that.”

Labor has promised not to raise income tax, national insurance or VAT to fund its manifesto pledges, which have been accused of being cautious as the party looks to inherit a weak economy. Jack, who is a big fan of Jeremy Corbyn, would also like to see a bolder approach from Sir Keir.

He said: “I’m working class and have voted Labor all my life. Starmer he feels like another Tony Blair in a way.

“Whatever you thought of Jeremy Corbyn, I felt he was more for the people. People called him a Marxist and all that. But I think he was a true socialist at heart.

“I’ll probably vote Labour. There’s something that doesn’t seem quite right.”

Jack added: “Labour is a socialist party originally. He (Sir Keir) doesn’t have that, while Corbyn did.

The Green Party was cited as an alternative to Labor by those who spoke to the ECHO. Musician Harry McKenny, 21, from Huyton, is less enamored of Labour’s offer and would consider voting Green instead.

He told the ECHO he was not looking forward to going to the polling station next week, saying: “I’m sick of it all, to be honest. I think a lot of people our age are in the same boat. I don’t have many Opinions on any of them For as long as I can remember, I haven’t been able to relate to any of them.

“I’m very stuck. I want to vote, because I want them to vote. If I were to vote for anyone, it would be for the Green Party. But unfortunately it’s a bit of a hollow vote. It will come down to the day and probably I vote Labour. But it’s not interesting”.

Maisie also said she might be tempted by a vote for the Greens, while Ansil said environmental issues are very important to him and that might lead him to vote for them. However, he believes it is essential to ensure that people have enough money in their pockets and that the country has a strong economy so that they can invest in public services.

Ansil said: “I am Nepali and the community is very family oriented, we like to take care of each other. Now wages mean that people barely have enough money to live on.

“The Asian community likes to send money home. How do you want to support your family when people are struggling to support themselves?

“Inflation has gone up so much, taxes have gone up. It has to balance out. We’ve been open for two years and the bills have gone up quite a bit, it makes it so difficult for small businesses.

“Small businesses are what help the economy grow in this country, but the government doesn’t seem to care.”

While there was a sense of apathy towards Labour’s bid among those I spoke to, an alternative to the Tories would be most welcome in Merseyside. That said, Sir Keir stressed that Labor will need time to solve the number of problems facing the nation.

Maisie would be delighted if Labor forms a government on July 5, despite her misgivings with the party.

She said: “I would be very happy if Labor wins because it’s been 14 years with the Tories. But I’d also be skeptical – I’d like to see if it all plays out the way they say.

“The NHS would improve a lot and I would like to see how it all plays out. I think I read that they want to tax private schools and reduce the need for private education – I think one of the missions is to widen the barriers of opportunity I would like that and I’m excited about these policies.”

For Ansil, it’s a case of making sure there is meaningful change, which means Britain is working in the best interests of Liverpool’s young people and cities.

He said: “Things have to change. If not, my generation will be so disappointed – and so will the generation after me. I also think if you want to improve the government and the country, I’d like to see more young people in politics, people who care about the future”.

He added: “Liverpool is so big, it should have a lot of money to spend. The city should have so much funding, we’re a tourist destination, it’s so needed as a city, but the government doesn’t care because we’re a working class town.

“We’re one of the biggest cities in England and we don’t have the things that other cities get. I want to see more development in the city and more investment.”

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