Fourteen years of cuts, chaos, sleaze and blundering have broken Britain and made us all poorer.
The average person is £10,000 a year worse off in real teams than in 2010 and the toll that nearly a decade-and-a-half of successive Tory governments has taken is evident everywhere. It is a legacy of records – but not the good kind. An NHS waiting list at an all-time high of 7.5 million, 4.3 million kids living in poverty, 3 million people using food banks, 4 million children going to school hungry.
Mismanagement of our cash by PMs Cameron, Johnson, Truss and Sunak has crippled public services, bankrupted councils, crumbled schools and caused massive mortgage hikes for hard-working families. Yet while the poor have got poorer, those so-called leaders handed billions to their cronies and allowed energy company bosses to profit from our misery by taking home huge windfalls.
It is time for change and a fresh start. Ahead of what is set to be a historic General Election on Thursday, six people from around the UK explain why they believe it deserves better and what will help it rise again: a Labour government led by Keir Starmer.
Kids hungry and cold at school
“The last 14 years have been the worst of my teaching career. Continued lack of funding and an increasingly dismissive and disrespectful attitude from government have eroded any trust and significantly impacted the lives of thousands of kids. My school has seen a 10% increase in the number of children eligible for free school meals in the last three years alone, and a steady increase over the time this government has been in office.
“Last winter my children sat in coats and gloves in their classrooms because the heating doesn’t work and neither the school nor the local authority can afford to fix it. It isn’t good enough. I’m convinced only Labour will bring the change we need.”
I’ve witnessed decline of NHS
“I can’t remember seeing ambulances queuing outside A&Es when I first started working – under a Labour government. Today, it has become normal to have 20 ambulances waiting outside an acute hospital, all with patients in the back, and you can be there for five to six hours. It means fewer ambulances responding to 999 emergencies and you see people deteriorate much more quickly when they are waiting for hours to be admitted. It’s one of the consequences of 14 years of Tory government, in which I’ve witnessed a massive decline in NHS services and a gradual erosion of grassroots care. In the last five years, things got much worse. A Labour government can’t come soon enough.”
Fuel bills up and cash flow down
“I know a lot of small business owners and they are all saying business is slowing down. Some are even struggling to put food on the table. Fuel bills have increased, cash flow is down. And in the past few years we’ve seen the Tories acting appallingly and not in the best interests of business.
“The way the lockdowns were handled made running a business harder. And as someone on the LGBTQ+ spectrum, I abhor the way the Tories are treating trans people. This government has lurched further and further to the right and it’s causing a more obvious level of tribalism. We need to boot the Tories out and stop Reform from creeping in. That’s why I’m voting Labour on July 4.”
End the cruel war on single parents
“Almost everything parents, especially single parents, rely on has been destroyed under the Tories. Healthcare and social services have been strangled, housing is a mess and vital support groups have shut due to lack of funding. It’s such a battle to access decent services.
“Rishi Sunak says the economy has turned a corner but none of us can see that. Food and fuel bills are sky-high, childcare costs are through the roof. The Tories have made it harder – and hardest for single working parents. Rather than relieve some of the strain, they did the opposite, bringing in the two-child benefit cap and universal credit, which disadvantages so many. I hope Labour will prioritise people like us, who just want to work and bring up our children.”
Sunak does not understand us
“When the last Labour government got in, and after years fighting for my children to get the support they need, I finally felt listened to and cared for. Within weeks of the election, David Blunkett, the Education Secretary, wrote to my LEA telling them if they didn’t provide for Hanna, they would have him to answer to – and I will always be grateful for that.
“But in the last 14 years of Tory government I’ve had to fight for my family again. Rishi Sunak doesn’t understand normal people. His pool costs more to heat than most people get in benefits. That’s why we need a Labour government – to get back to compassionate politics.”
Covid behaviour just unforgivable
“Tory cuts pre-pandemic were bad enough but their behaviour in Covid was unforgivable. They didn’t care about the people they were supposed to be responsible for. Early 2020, my gran moved into a care home and got Covid. She sounded delirious in our last call. I told her, ‘You know we all love you very much’, and she replied, ‘I know, darling’.
“I never saw her again, as two days later she died. When I heard about Partygate, I was furious. And the way they’ve dealt with the Covid Inquiry, none have behaved like they learned lessons. They breached their own rules and made sure their friends and family made money out of a situation that left so many mourning loved ones. We should never forget that and it’s why we should vote Labour on July 4.”