To ask what the key issues in the upcoming election are?

[worrieddaughter97]

I'm a 25 year old young professional, in training, on a low wage. It's going to increase in the next 2-3 years. Hopefully by quite a lot. I live at home, but hope to move out by the next election in 2029.

Over the last year or so, I have curated my list of things that will decide who I vote for:

• Housing
• Minimum wage increases
• Immigration
• NHS

But I still feel quite torn. The last 2 elections were ones where I didn't really have "skin in the game" so to speak - I voted how my parents said they wanted me to, as they had convinced me that anything other than a Tory government would be disastrous for us as a family.

Obviously now I'm voting with my head, but I'm still pretty indecisive. So I'm just wondering what other people view as their key issues in the election.

If we're believing the rubbish about "balancing the books" then a non-brutal wealth tax would sort that out.

Because that carries the risk of Russia entering into a power struggle/vacuum, and huge destabilisation which we don’t want with an already errant nuclear superpower. Not only that, but at this stage in events, what makes you think his replacement would be any better? This sort of change would have to happen at the hands of the Russian people.

It’s all about getting rid of the Tories for me.

For most ordinary people, and in no particular order :
Cost of living
NHS
Housing
Immigration
Three of these issues are interconnected, of course, as uncontrolled mass immigration is creating levels of demand which are overwhelming both the NHS & the availability of housing.

For people on the Left:
Climate change
Identity politics & minority rights.

For people on the Right:
Defence
Tax
Free speech.

For many people on MN :
Womens’ rights & transgender issues.

For me….

Crime

NHS (including ensuring better management)

Kept Animals Bill

Women’s safety and rights

Immigration

Welfare system

Climate change

Justice system

For me the overriding issue is women's rights and the definition of a woman.

Then:
Housing costs
NHS
Education including the right to home educate
Provision for sen children and young adults
Fair taxation

But due to the main issue I'll be voting conservative or spoiling my ballot, because labour is letting us down on women's rights and we all know it's a two horse race (plus lib Dems and the greens don't know what a woman is)

Blaming immigration on that is just scaremongering. The Daily fail would have you belive its because of illegal immigration. If they are illegal then they can't work or claim benefits to pay for housing. High rent is cause by greedy second home owners falsley inflating markets. Blame the Tories for not taxing people properly for owning multiple properties. Ultimately until the govt step in to regulate the private rental market then landlords will charge what they want, as the economy is so fucked, those that can't buy will have to rent

NHS

environment, which includes waterways

Education

Housing

Cost of living, I include the obscene profits energy generators have made on the back of Putin's aggression.

Pensions.

Labour intend to reverse the recent changes to LTA if elected, so if you're not retiring in the next 2 years and you have a decent pension (appreciate not everyone does) then Labour might prove to be a very bad deal for you

The environment - water quality, water supply, air quality, wildlife. All in crisis.
Climate change - adaptation and mitigation
Schools, education. Teacher numbers. Support.
Social care, elderly care.
Healthcare / nhs
Tax evasion
The housing crisis - bringing empty homes back into use, brownfield development, a fit for purpose rental system.

Op there will be quizzes out there that help you to vote by policy, not party.

So much is wrong with this country after 14 years of Tory rule. I cannot see how anyone can want more of the same, unless they are very selfish or very brainwashed. I'll be voting for whoever is most likely to get the current government out in my constituency.

In no particular order
NHS
Cost of living
Climate change
Affordable housing
Affordable childcare

I'd ideally like to see us live in a country where we don't mind paying taxes because we trust that our government will use those taxes to improve the lives of all citizens as opposed to just making their wealthy friends wealthier.

I also think it's worth remembering that a coalition government is talked about like it's a disaster when in many countries it's the norm and seen as a positive thing because it keeps political parties on their toes and ensuring they're working for the electorate.

Deterrence, deterrence, deterrence

My daughter's future.

That's it, that's my issue.

I want her to be safe and to not feel like the lowest rung of societies ladder.

What kind of society is there going to be in 3/4/5 years with Labour at the helm?

One of law? One of rules? One of well funded police, hospitals and schools?

I doubt it.

Education, especially early years and SEND. It’s fundamental to a successful society. I’d like more joined up approaches and social support for schools at all levels. They are dealing with far too much. A slimmed down curriculum too perhaps with real alternatives from age 15ish ( numeracy and literary to remain).

Infrastructure such as rail, water, roads. I don’t see how we can be successful without.

Healthcare. I’d like more joined up approaches e.g if seeing a specialist, let them prescribe and update records. I don’t know exactly what happens, but I know we get sent back to our GP, using appointments we don’t need, so that that there can prescribe the recommended treatment. Lots of letters back and forth.

I agree with all the posters saying education-if there were genuine reforms with the curriculum slimmed down, Ofsted reform and workload addressed, I might not leave teaching next year

The only things I’ve heard from Labour are pitched at ‘early years’ education which appears to be sorting childcare out and making schools responsible for wraparound care so that parents can work.

I’m all for sorting out childcare, but we need some actual changes in school as well and that can’t be their whole education plan.

Childcare/wraparound care so parents can work is one thing-and I don’t think just saying it’s the job of schools to sort it out from 7-6 and all through the holidays is good enough there either!

Schools and what curriculum they teach (and if they’re going to have anyone left inside them to teach it) are a huge pressing matter and I really hope there are some actual plans here. Finding 40,000 new teachers (which is a drop in the ocean) is one thing-but how will they be persuaded to stay.

We need to remember, there is not a lack of qualified teachers in England, there is a lack of teachers prepared to work in schools. I want some people in government to work out why (that should take about half an hour tops) and then make some actual big changes to stop the rest leaving. Who knows, you might encourage some back!

I don't know who to vote for.

I don't like or trust Starmer
The Greens are nuts about women's rights, likewise Lib Dems
The Tories deserve a clear out and a long hard think in obscurity for a decade
Reform - hard no.

You're going to vote for the party that has halved the prosecution of rapists, closed women's refuges, underfunded the NHS, left councils so broke they can't accommodate women with children anywhere other than a b&b and pushed millions of women into poverty because of "women's rights"?

I can't vote for any party that thinks men can be women because that will be completely disastrous for women and children. It's a complete deal breaker for me.

If parties don't know what women are then they can't provide services for us, they can't and won't protect us. So things will only get worse for women under parties which think men can be women.

More disastrous than if they're dead because of austerity economics? www.gla.ac.uk/news/archiveofnews/2022/october/headline_885099_en.html

Two things can be bad at the same time.

I think that long term changing the definition of women to include men will completely erode society and cause incredible damage to women and children, because it is patriarchy taken to the extreme.

Removing women as a sex class is much harder to reverse than austerity, which I agree is a bad thing. But labour weren't a total success when last in power, there's a reason they were voted out. In my opinion none of the parties will do a good job, far from it, therefore I'll go with the one that will preserve the definition of women as actual women as that's the only way our rights can be protected.

Once rights are given/taken away, it's almost impossible to get them back. Hence it's a deal-breaker.

Policies around benefits etc are much more easily reversed.

Because the Tories have such a great record. It’s under their auspices that rape’s essentially been decriminalised.

Has it? Why is that?

Let’s take a ‘routine’ rape complaint.

Very often there are no witnesses.
Very often there is little forensic/DNA evidence.
Very often there are slight confusions in the complaint or inconsistencies.
His account often mirrors that.
A lot of the time it comes against a backdrop of a toxic or bad relationship, with lots of insults and accusations flying from one party to the other.

Go ahead and tell me how you would persuade a jury that the person accused should be convicted beyond reasonable doubt.