When Nic Gorton received the keys to her first home, it was a moment of pride. The single mum finally had her foot on the housing ladder and was optimistic about the future.
Two years on, her mortgage payments have more than doubled and she’s struggling to make ends meet.
“I thought being a homeowner should make you better off, but it’s gone terribly,” said Ms Gorton, a hairdresser. “Everything is more expensive, so even though I’m earning alright money, I’m no better off. I shouldn’t be struggling but I am.”
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She’s far from the only one. Millions of homeowners saw their mortgage costs spiral as interest rates soared in the wake of Liz Truss’s catastrophic mini-Budget in October 2022.
Almost two years on, many like Ms Gorton have still not forgiven the Conservative Party. When she heads out to vote in the general election later this week, she will be doing so with change in mind.
She says she is desperate to see the back of the Tories so will be voting Labour. “The country has just gone to pot,” she said. “Everything is cr*p.
“If you want a doctors appointment, you can’t get one. If you are in hospital, you’re waiting 13 hours.”
Ms Gorton explains that her 12-year-old daughter has been on NHS waiting list for an ear operation for four years. “In the time she has waited, she has gone deaf,” she explained. “That could could affect her life choices, it’s not fair.
“Something has to change.” On a sunny morning speaking to voters in Bury town centre, the word ‘change’ comes up often. On the need for it, the consensus is almost unanimous, but where people disagree is on who can make things better.
Apathy towards the Conservatives and Labour is everywhere, even among those who say they are backing either of the main two parties.
When it comes to politics, Bury has long been a town split. Formed in 1983, Bury North has historically been a bellwether constituency, with the victorious party tending to end up in government.
The one exception came in 2017 when Labour’s James Frith won the seat. The Tories regained it just two years later as the party secured a huge majority across the country following Boris Johnson’s decision to call a snap general election.
In Bury North, it was a much closer contest than it was nationally. Conservative James Daly beat Mr Frith by just 105 votes following a recount, making it the most marginal seat in Britain.
The two will battle it out again this time around. Although pollsters are predicting a comfortable Labour victory, it could be tighter than some expect.
Despite his precarious majority, Mr Daly – an ex-criminal defence solicitor and the Conservative Party’s deputy chair – is held in high regard by many who voted for him last time around.
“He seems to be the only person who has done anything for this town,” says Karen Bruce, 60, taking a break from serving customers at Cup ‘O’ Rosie on The Rock.
“He’s a nice bloke. He comes in here and does a lot for the local businesses.” Ms Bruce, from Walmersley, voted for the Conservatives in 2019 and plans to do so again. She says she ‘doesn’t trust’ Labour and its leader, Sir Keir Starmer.
She added: “If Labour get in, where are they going to get their money from? There’s no magic money tree so where is it coming from? They promise you the earth. Will it make any difference to me whoever gets in? I don’t think it will.”
Others who backed the Tories last time have had enough. Smoking a cigarette outside Rayners pub in Haymarket Street, Tony Watkins described Mr Daly a ‘good guy’ but said he could not bring himself to vote for him again.
“He has done well for Bury, but he is fighting a losing battle,” Mr Watkins explained. “I’d love to vote for him because he has been a good MP, but his party is finished.”
Mr Watkins is one of many in Bury who will turning their back on the two main parties at this election. “I’m sick of both of them,” the 64-year-old explained. “I’ve always voted Conservative but not this time.
“The only one I can hear talking like a normal person is [Nigel] Farage. Labour are going to get in and we’re doomed. They say they are for the working people, but they’re not.”
He argues that the key issue at this election is illegal immigration, but described the Conservatives‘ plans to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda policy as ‘a gimmick’. He is impressed by Reform UK and while he has not heard from the party’s local candidate, Lynda Rosewell, he says he will be thinking of ‘the bigger picture’ when he enters the booth on polling day.
“It needs change desperately,” he said. “It might be a mistake, but things have to change.”
Terrence Yates, 76, has voted for both Labour and the Conservatives in the past, but is also backing Reform this time. He too is a fan of the party’s leader, Nigel Farage.
“He talks a lot of common sense,” said Mr Yates. “I’m only voting because I have a democratic right. These people who don’t vote, why have that attitude?
“I was born and bred in Bury and I’ve never known the place as big of a dump as it is.”
Bury North’s reputation for swinging with the political winds means it is typically a key battleground for both Labour and the Conservatives at a general election.
Both Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer have visited Bury during the run-up to the election and activists from both parties have flooded the area in recent weeks. They have called at Zaffar Ali’s house on an almost a daily basis, he says.
With just days to go, he is yet to make up his mind. Gaza is a key factor for him and he hopes whichever party gets into power will call for a ceasefire.
“People are getting killed for no reason,” the 71-year-old said. “Two wrongs don’t make a right. Any war, I’m against it. If they can call for a ceasefire, that would be a vote-winner for me.”
Mr Ali says he also wants to see increased investment in housing and jobs, as well as support for small businesses.
“We’ve got to invest more money in Greater Manchester,” he said. “This area used to be thriving but every third shop is a charity shop now. They need to bring business rates down.”
While it is likely to be another straight fight between red and blue in Bury North, smaller parties will be hoping to capitalise on the lack of faith voters have in the two main parties. Liam Keogh, 23, is not keen on either Labour or the Conservatives and plans to vote for the Green Party.
He said reducing pollution, improving public transport, investing in the north of England and “more equality, especially for LGBTQ people” were important considerations.
“I don’t really like any of them,” he said. “I don’t really want the Tories in again, they are just forgetting about the north.
“I don’t agree with certain things Keir Starmer says. He’s saying some quite questionable things considering he’s the leader of the Labour Party.”
Josh Smith only moved to Bury recently but says he is thinking of voting for Labour on Thursday.
“The Conservative Party don’t really care for the people,” the 29-year-old said. “They’re about looking after the small percentage rather than the greater people.
“Rishi Sunak is putting money into the communities that already have the money rather than those that need help.”
As well as Bury itself, the Bury North constituency also includes the neighbouring towns of Ramsbottom and Tottington. Boundary changes have also seen Radcliffe North and Ainsworth – a traditionally Tory ward but where grassroots party Radcliffe First currently hold two of the three council seats – brought into the constituency.
In the past, the leafy suburbs to the north of Bury have been safe territory for the Conservatives. But even that appears to have changed amid growing dissatisfaction with Rishi Sunak’s party.
At May’s local elections, Labour sprung a shock victory in the once-safe Tory seat of North Manor, which is made up of wealthy villages such as Greenmount, Summerseat and Hawkshaw.
Four miles north west of Bury town centre, voters in Tottington are equally unenthusiastic. Ann Bradley, 72, is ‘not thrilled’ by any of the main parties and says she is still undecided on how she will vote.
Ms Bradley explained: “With Labour, I don’t know what to expect and the Conservatives have not done a good job, have they?
“Rishi means well but he has been a total disaster. Keir Starmer is an unknown quantity but hopefully he will be strong. My concern is Labour get a massive majority and there is no opposition.”
Husband and wife Anthony and Hanya Faulkner own Sew Impressed, a clothing alterations business on Tottington’s main high street.
While Anthony has not voted since 1987, Hanya normally backs the Conservatives. She says she is likely to do so again, even though she has toyed with the idea of voting for Reform. However, she fears the latter would be a ‘wasted vote’.
“I like Farage but I don’t think he will get in,” she said. “It’s hard to say who we should vote for this time.
“I don’t think we should vote for any of them. They all skirt around the issues. We need a strong leader. I don’t like what Starmer stands for and Rishi is a puppet.”
Should Labour get into power, Mrs Faulkner says she is concerned about the impact it could have on her business.
“Small businesses will suffer,” she predicted. “The last few years have been difficult and we are just getting out of it. It will knock us back if Labour get in.”
After a turbulent decade, Philip Harris said he hoped the upcoming election will bring “stability for the country”. The 75-year-old is backing the Tories and James Daly, who he says ‘speaks common sense’.
“I’m scared stiff of Labour,” he said. “They believe in putting taxes up.
“We’ve not had any real stability with the pandemic and Brexit. We need a stable economy now.”
Calling at the post office on her lunch hour, Holly McPheat is more optimistic about the prospect of a Labour government. She works at the health centre in Tottington and is a fan of Labour’s promise to deliver an extra 40,000 NHS appointments every week.
The 28-year-old said she’ doesn’t like Rishi Sunak or the Tories’.
“They don’t live in the real world,” Ms McPheat said. “I’d like them to see things from our point of view, not just Westminster.”
Later this week, she may well get her wish, if only fleetingly. With its knack for reflecting the mood of the nation, all eyes will be on Bury North come election night.
