The battle for Bury North and why politicians should ignore young voters at their peril
Anna Youssef headed to Bury North to speak to some first time voters and small business owners to find out what they'll be looking for in the next government.
A number of key constituencies in the North West will a crucial role in determining the outcome of the General Election 2024.
None more so than the most marginal seat in Great Britain, Bury North, where just 105 votes separated the Conservative Party and Labour in 2019.
The marginal seat swings between Labour and the Conservatives and is considered a bellwether constituency because the winner of the seat has tended to win the General Election.
Bury North fact file
The seat was created in 1983 and currently around 77,499 people are eligible to vote
With a Conservative majority of 105 votes, it is the most marginal constituency for a sitting MP in the United Kingdom as of the 2019 general election
It’s been a bellwether constituency throughout most of its existence - the winner of the seat has tended to win the general election, with 2017 being an exceptional Labour gain, though it was subsequently regained by the Conservatives in 2019
The constituency of Bury North covers the towns of Ramsbottom, Tottington and Bury
I met with a group of A Level students from Holy Cross College in Bury who had kindly agreed to let me interrupt their revision just hours before their latest exam. Ironically - it was politics.
In a few weeks they’ll be swapping the exam hall for a polling station and whatever the result- it will have a bearing on their futures
First time voter Harry Burgess believes the parties are primarily concerned with attracting older voters.
Harry said: "It’s all about pensions. It’s all about supporting the elderly, which is fantastic but in the same breath, you can't then make things a lot harder for students and then talk about National Service and expect them to get your vote.
"No one wants that, they don't want to do it."
Holly Kalns, who is studying French, Politics and history, hopes to study abroad but believes Brexit has made it much harder.
She feels her generation has been let down and ignored.
"During the Covid pandemic - all the effects it had on young people - recuperations for that haven't really been made, yet Rishi Sunak comes out with the National Service policy," she said.
"Starmer came out with 'Votes at 16' a few weeks ago but young people haven't really been mentioned before the election was announced."
Yousaf Hussain also believes younger voters are treated as an afterthought.
He said: "It’s mostly the older generations that decide most of the things and they don't really care about younger generations until they want our vote."
Who is on the ballot paper in the General Election for Bury North?
Mark Alcock, Liberal Democrat
Shafat Ali, Workers Party
James Daly, Conservative
Spencer Donnelly, Independent
James Frith, Labour
Anwarul Haq, Independent
Lynda Rosewell, Reform UK
Owain Sutton, Green Party
Ellis Grayson has always been passionate about politics but told me he has become disillusioned with the "reality of politics."
Ellis said: "Obviously we've got this rhetoric by Rishi Sunak saying that Labour hasn't got any policy.
"I argue I think Labour does have policy, all be it not particularly strong policy.
"I would also argue that the Conservative policy isn't something that caters to me. I’ve decided I am going to vote strategically and I am probably going to vote for the Liberal Democrats."
While social media may help parties reach younger voters, Matilda Drape believes memes won’t translate into votes.
She said: " I think they need to take us more seriously. Memes aren't going to convince us to vote and this sort of petty beef they have with each other on TikTok isn't going to convince us to vote."
Many political experts would agree - this is an election which could go down to the wire and politicians ignoring the issues that matter to young voters do so at their peril.
Let's not forget Bury North is a key battleground.
Last time out the Conservatives beat Labour by just 105 votes – making it the most marginal seat in the country.
It’s been described as a genuine bellwether seat because the town’s population seem to have a remarkable knack of voting for the party that wins the general election. the question is - will that happen this time?
Kerry Khan owns Hearts for Homes - a gift shop and cafe in Ramsbottom. She admits the past few years have been a struggle as a small business owner.
The mum-of-three said: "Obviously you've got energy costs which have gone up significantly.
"The cost of everything we buy has now gone up as well and then there're other challenges as a business.
"VAT is a big one for us and the minimum wage as well, that's gone up too, which is great in many ways obviously but for a small business, it can be crippling really."
Stephen Redfern runs his own photography studio in the town. He's popped in with his family for a coffee and agrees with Kerry that the past few years have been challenging.
He told me whoever gets his vote will have to pledge to offer more support for small businesses.
Stephen said: "We're all small independent businesses in Ramsbottom so we need as much help as we can get so that will probably swerve us into which delegates we will go for."
Keen to whip up support in a key seat, the Conservative and Labour leaders have already paid campaign visits to Bury North.
With just under a month to go until the General election, who will end up with the biggest share of the vote remains to be seen.
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