Voters streamed into a polling station Thursday morning in Portsmouth, a city on England’s south coast known for its naval base and historic dockyards. Poll workers welcomed them warmly.
Elderly couples walked hand in hand into the local church, where a makeshift ballot box had been installed, alongside parents pushing strollers and young people rushing to work.
One by one, they expressed their views on the future of the country, and polls suggest this vote could be the end of the The Conservative Party led the government for 14 years..
“I just want to see change,” said Sam Argha, 36, who stood outside a polling station Thursday morning. “I really want to see us do something different.”
It is also a microcosm of the broader national challenges facing the governing party: Conservative seats long held by popular candidates are now at risk of being lost, while voters are largely disillusioned, expressing frustration with their quality of life and what many see as a lack of leadership.
Portsmouth North has long been held by Conservative MP Penny Mordaunt, who played a key role in the coronation of King Charles III last year. She wields a heavy ceremonial sword encrusted with jewels.her steadiness and composure attracted the attention of the international community.
Mordaunt’s political future now appears uncertain after she was first elected as an MP in 2010 as part of a coalition government between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. Mordaunt is seen as a potential contender for the Conservative leadership and is widely popular in Portsmouth, where many of her supporters say they have no intention of changing direction.
But polls show Labour voters in the constituency are likely to outnumber Conservatives in Thursday’s votedespite its traditional loyalty.
The Liberal Democrats – considered Britain’s third most popular party – and the far-right Reform UK party could also steal votes from the Conservatives.
“I hope the government will be more compassionate from Friday,” said Grahame Milner, 62, who was walking downtown with his husband of three decades on Wednesday afternoon.
The couple sat on a bench on the once-bustling street, surrounded by many shops that were empty or boarded up. Graffiti was painted on the walls of closed department stores. Mr Milner said there was little to attract people to the area except for bookmakers, charity shops and small shops selling e-cigarettes.
He originally came here to serve in the navy — the city is home to the country’s largest naval base — and was posted as a cook on a warship during the Falklands War in the 1980s. He said he was kicked out of the military because of his sexuality and became deeply involved in union work after returning to civilian life. He voted by mail last week.
“Austerity has been an absolute death blow to working people,” Milner said, noting that many workers are relying on food banks to get by. “This is not the Britain I saw when I was in the army, and it is not the Britain I have witnessed in person.”
Her husband, Carl Milner, 64, acknowledged that whichever government came to power would face a difficult task. But he said of the Conservative government’s plans to reduce inequalities between communities in the UK: “We have been talking about ‘levelling up’ for a long time and it has only gotten worse.”
Foremost among many locals’ concerns are the hollowing out of the NHS, the cost of living crisis that has left many struggling, the immigration debate and the impact of Brexit.
They described the deteriorating fate of themselves and their hometown.
Others said they had no plans to vote at all because they were frustrated with political parties and politicians and felt they were out of touch with reality.
