It's one of the 'coolest places to live in the UK', but some people in this Greater Manchester area feel left behind

Nathan Dean stands at the bottom of a hill leading up to Stockport's historic marketplace. The independent shops, bars and restaurants that have sprung up in recent years, have seen the town develop something of a reputation.

In March, it came out on top in a Times poll of the best places to live in the north west. Its newly-found bohemian vibe has even seen it dubbed 'the New Berlin'.

"They say it is, but it's not," Nathan says with a wry smile, which soon disappears. For 25-year-old, the tag has an impact which isn't helping.

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The rent on the one-bed town centre apartment close to the Red Rock cinema complex, which he shares with his girlfriend, has jumped up from around £500 a month to over £900. "It's a lot better here, don't get me wrong," he says of the town centre, which is currently in the middle of a £1bn redevelopment surge.

"And it could be even better if they get the right things in the right places. It's okay building all these new places, but it's no good if they just end up filled with offices, or charity shops, or casinos.

"There is an issue there though. I'm on about £30,000 a year. But if we weren't together, I wouldn't even be able to afford to rent a place. The idea of buying a place is just a fever dream. The prices have just shot up.

"People are moving up from London and choosing to live here. I'm originally from Salford and the same has happened there. Ardwick, near the Etihad, right out to Old Trafford is also gentrifying now.

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"How can they say one minute 'this area is worth £500 a month', then the next say it's worth nearly a £1,000? People are going to be driven out."

Sue Carroll, 70, from Edgeley agrees. "It's better than it was," she says glancing behind her at the work continuing on Merseyway shopping centre.

"But I don't think there's enough social housing. I own my home, its a two-bedroom terrace. But if I hadn't paid my mortgage, I could not afford to live in my house. I could not afford to rent it.

"It would be about £1,000 a month to rent it, which is just ludicrous. I don't know how young people are expected to get on the property ladder.

"You can build as many houses as you want. Say you build 1,000 houses and they are all priced so someone can't get one, it doesn't matter if you're building one or 1,000. They need to make them properly affordable."

Lifelong Labour voter Sue says she'll vote again for the party again at the general election, but thinks most politicians are out of touch with the issues facing real people.

"I remember George Osborne saying 'we're all in this together'. Well, we might all be in it together if we're multi-millionaires, but we're not, so we're not. They have got no idea.

"Rishi Sunak definitely doesn't. I think Keir Starmer is slightly more in touch than the others, but I'm not sure he's totally in touch. I just wish people would tell the truth, but it's never going to happen. They tell you what you want to hear until they get into power."

Fatai Ogunsola, 41, says his living situation is making his life a misery. He moved to the UK from Nigeria in 2010 and has lived in a housing association flat with his family in nearby Brinnington since 2016.

He says he has raised numerous issues, including a broken lift that leaves his wife having to carry their young child up and down the stairs in a pram.

"It is difficult," he says. "We don't get the support. We have been reporting issues for years and nothing happens. My partner has to carry the buggy. She has fallen two or three times, it's not safe.

"We have been bidding to move since 2018 but... nothing. We don't move. Housing is the biggest issue. There's not enough social homes. We need more."

Fatai, who tells the Manchester Evening News he lost his job as hospital porter last year due to an issue with his paperwork, adds: "I would move into a private house if I could, but they are so expensive. We can't afford it.

"So I am relying on social houses." He says he will be voting Labour, as he has done since being in the country and being eligible to vote, as 'we need a change'.

"I think they are going to change things more," he says. "The Conservatives have made everything harder and the fees and costs for immigrants like me so much more expensive. I'm not talking about the asylum people in hotels, I mean people like me who have been working and paying our taxes."

The Stockport constituency, which includes Edgeley, the Heatons and Brinnington in its boundaries, is considered a safe Labour seat, having been held by the party since 1992. They will expect to keep hold of it come early July.

Housing is just one of the issues that has left Nathan, Sue, Fatai and many others feeling uneasy ahead of next month's poll.

Another is crime and anti-social behaviour. Nathan says he has recently reported six crimes to the police's 101 number and 'not even had a phone call'. "The police need more resources and more powers," he says. "I work in a shop and we've had massive issues with shoplifting. There's no deterrent so people get sentenced, and then a few months max and are back doing it again."

He says he will vote Labour as 'we need something different', adding: "I voted for the Greens in the local elections as they were the only ones that came to my house and spoke to me. But a vote for them in the general would be a wasted vote. I want a change of government. Everyone I know is the same. We need to at least give them [Labour] a chance."

David Pimlott, 82, from Great Moor, says: "There's a lot of money being spent in Stockport and it's good to see. And I hope it carries on. We live facing Stepping Hill hospital and the money being spent there is unbelievable, with new buildings and extensions and what have you.

"The main thing is police on the streets. Not so much near me but in Offerton and a lot of other places you get a lot car and bike theft. If you leave your bike out, it's gone within 10 minutes. Years ago you would have local bobbies who really knew their area, and knew all the villains. And if you had a problem, you knew who to go to.

"I'm a working class lad and from a mining family, so all my family voted Labour." He says he last voted for the party under Tony Blair, which turned out to be a 'massive mistake'.

"I'm undecided who to vote for between the Tories and Reform," he adds. "If Reform were a bit more established, maybe I'd vote for them. But I think Rishi Sunak has done okay to be honest."

Nicki Barns, 48, who now lives in Buxton, but was born and raised in Heaton Moor, agrees crime is the biggest issue facing the borough. "Where I live there is a real drug problem," she says. "It's druggy central. When you come down the A6 into town you can see them all, openly dealing. Which is a real worry as I have a 14-year-old. I don't think it's the police, it's the courts."

She doesn't think politicians have the answers. "I think they are all untrustworthy," she adds. "I don't think any of them represent us. I am a business owner and have always usually voted Tory in the general election. As Labour can't be trusted. But not this time. I think this is the first time I won't vote at all."

Just a mile and a half across the M60 and up the road is Brinnington. It feels like lightyears away from the shiny new tower blocks of the town centre. But the first issue to come up here is a familiar one.

"There is a lot of crime and anti-social behaviour," says retired former welder and bus driver Mike Barraclough, 78. "There's a lot of kids living around here and its rife. Those off-road bikes are everywhere. They are zooming up and down doing wheelies. Two came past the other day and one was standing on the seat. Someone is going get killed or maimed.

"It makes life a misery for people. I'm a pensioner and you're scared to go out at night because you think you might get mugged. It's a shame because the majority of Brinnington folk are good people. It's the minority who are making things awkward. We need more police. You do see them but they're sat in their cars. You don't see them out and about like you used to."

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Mike sits on his mobility scooter in the middle of the area's shopping precinct bemoaning the uncut grass. "I agree with what's happening in Stockport, it's about time it got rejuvenated," he says. "But they also want to spend some money on places like this. It could be nice around here."

On who he thinks is best placed to instigate change, he says: "I think whoever gets in will just try to line their own pockets. It's just promises and promises. Labour? I wouldn't trust them. Keir Starmer... I think he's got a head full of magic. I think the Conservatives are doing what they can in a difficult situation."

He says Rishi Sunak's early departure from the D-Day commemorations was 'unfortunate', but says 'he's apologised and that's all he can do', adding it wouldn't stop him voting for the Tories.

Others said they were feeling the pinch and vowed to use their vote to try and improve their economic fortunes. Muhammad Arshad, 32, opens his bag of shopping from the nearby convenience store containing a handful of items.

"I only bought four or five things and its £20," he says, exasperated. Muhammad, originally from Pakistan, moved to the area from Birmingham four-months-ago. He's a qualified doctor, but is currently working as a security guard while he saves up enough cash - between £5,000 and £6,000 - to take his medical exams over here.

He says inflation and the cost of living is making that extremely difficult. "Under Rishi Sunak, things have become so expensive," he says. "It makes you feel poorer. We need more support. They [the government] need to do something for the local community. They need to increase wages and control inflation. That's the biggest issue for me. There are also not enough jobs. It's very difficult to find one."

"I'll support Labour," he adds.

Muhammad isn't the only one feeling the pinch. Elaine Simkins, 61, says: "We're on benefits, we're disabled and we're struggling. I was working until five years ago, when I couldn't anymore because of my health.

"The gas and electric companies are putting their prices up. It's not so bad but over the winter it really was a case of heating or eating for us. And we only eat two meals a day as it is.

"And the prices the supermarkets are charging is just scandalous. The government need to step in. But they have had 14 years and have done nothing."

She says immigration is a big issue, adding: "The amount of people they are letting in, it's wrong and they need to put a curb on it. If they are going to let people in, they need to do proper checks. We're all voting Reform in our house.

"I'm not the only one, I know about 15 people who have said the same to me. The government is cr*p. Labour are cr*p. They are full of empty promises.

"I'm glad Nigel Farage has decided to stand, he's what we need. So I'll be voting Reform - to send a message if anything."