By Richard Clark of South East Cornwall Labour Party

Local Labour Party members are out canvassing every week across South East Cornwall. We hear again and again that many people who voted Conservative in 2019 feel extremely let down, and are switching straight to Labour, putting Labour neck and neck with the Tories in this constituency. I’d like to share some of their reasons why they have made the switch.
The problems caused by 13 years of Conservative misrule and incompetence are everywhere. We talked to older people who say the NHS is failing, leaving them on “endless” waiting lists. A couple in Liskeard told us they are both in pain and waiting years for operations. There are eight million people on NHS waiting lists, many suffering, and unable to work, which harms them and harms the economy.

Wages have been going down compared to inflation since 2010 and taxes are the highest for 70 years. Many are worried about climate change. Wherever you look, things are crumbling. Swimmers and surfers talk about raw sewage pouring into rivers and the sea, while water companies make billions. Shopkeepers say they are overwhelmed by shoplifting. Tory austerity policies delivered huge cuts to the police and prison service – the prisons are full but crime went up 8% last year.

Families tell us they’re working hard, some in good jobs, but struggling to find a house they can afford to rent, let alone buy. South East Cornwall has long suffered from low wages and high housing costs. And this was made even worse as a direct of our local MP choosing Liz Truss for Prime Minister, which led to people who were already struggling facing mortgage and rent increases of hundreds of pounds a month.

The whole country is crying out for change – and that change is Labour. But how will Labour get us out of this mess? The short answer is to tackle the deep problems facing the economy, cost of living and services. An incoming Labour government has pledged to build 1.5 million houses, bring down NHS waiting lists (Labour took waiting lists from a record high in 1997 to their lowest in 2010), tackle antisocial behaviour, impose automatic fines on water companies polluting our rivers, invest £28 billion a year on projects to reduce carbon and create jobs. If the economy was growing as fast as it did under the last Labour government, GDP would be almost £200 billion higher than it is today – that’s around £6000 for every household every year.

From speaking to voters on the doorstep, Labour and the Tories are clearly neck and neck in South East Cornwall, while the Lib Dems are 20% behind. Anyone thinking of voting Lib Dem at the next general election should ask themselves if they really want their actions to deliver another five years of Tory incompetence, corruption and neglect. Labour is listening, it represents the values of the majority, and it is ready to govern.