Industrial action is at the highest levels in this country since the 1980s. Schools are literally falling apart. Since 2021, the country has been suffering in a cost-of-living crisis. According to the Land Registry, since May 2010, when the Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition government came into power, the average house price in the UK has increased by 70%.

So, at last week’s Conservative Party Conference held in Manchester, during Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s speech, which issues did he decide to address the British public on? Of course, the smoking age and transgender rights. It seems to me that, in recent times, all that comes out of the Conservative Party is dangerous culture war rhetoric, which undermines the dignity of minorities living in Britain.
It’s a sorry state of affairs when the only claims that a party can make to campaign for re-election are falsehoods rooted in hatred – for example, health secretary Steve Barclay, announced plans to ban transgender people from same-sex wards in hospitals, stating that the NHS was “ignoring patients’ voices”. However, a recent investigation of 102 NHS trusts into complaints of transgender people on these wards found there had been none made, ever. Plainly speaking, it is not and has never been an issue, and the only outcome of policies like this is that transgender people are put at risk of assault on wards in which men are present. It is shameful that powerful senior Conservative politicians in our country can make such outrageous decisions for their own political gain.
However, change is on the way. With a general election round the corner, a South East Cornwall Labour MP sitting in government would be a real boost to us. The impact a member of parliament has whilst being part of a government can prove invaluable, especially when it comes to local funding, local support and local issues. A Labour government would bring in productive, sensible policies, coming from the only party at this election that knows they will be able to deliver on their promises. This includes creating a modern childcare system, putting 13,000 more neighbourhood police and PCSOs on our streets, and cutting waiting times by giving the NHS the staff and technology it needs.