Southampton residents give their views on election campaign ahead of polling day

Polls for the general election open in less than 24 hours.

Candidates have spent the past six weeks vying for votes up and down the country.

But from 7am on Thursday, residents will be able to have their say.

Southampton will elect two new MPs, with both incumbents, Alan Whitehead and Royston Smith, standing down at this election.

On the eve of polling day, we asked residents for their thoughts on the campaign so far.

Referring to the national campaign, an elderly gentleman who wish to remain anonymous said: “They don’t inspire you. The level of the debate is like the school playground, they just insult each other.

"They all come out with negatives, trying to scare you. They have no positive policies; they don’t think about housing or the economy. The system is wrong, their only interest is to keep in power and do well for themselves.”

When asked about their ideal prime minister, they said: “I would like someone who reforms the system, the best thing they could do would be to introduce proportional representation which we don’t have.

"They grab power and do what they like. It’s a rubbish system, produces one selfish bunch after another. We have had the exact opposite of a strong government over the last 5 years.”

They then added that Darren Paffey, Labour Parliamentary Candidate for Southampton Itchen, "has the right ideas”.

Another anonymous resident said that they look for someone who has the right leadership skills and sticks to the promises they make.

“It’s been a worrying time, difficult to vote conservative over their history, the alternatives don’t seem to better.

“As far as proportional representation is presented, I don’t like it because you don’t have your own member of parliament to represent your views, it’s just a team.”

A third person explained the positive elements of the Labour party, which has won Keir Starmer's party their vote in this election.

They said: “In the past they put money into NHS and the stuff around them as well as in the city which is good.

“I want someone who supports the NHS because they need the help and to look after the country and to provide for us.”

With Rishi Sunak making an appearance in Hampshire in the final hours before the beginning of the election, one resident said of the Southampton-born PM: “He lacks the knowledge of actual communities because he is raised from a privilege background, doesn’t know what people need e.g. Southampton is lacking the funds for homelessness and deprived areas because we don’t get enough money from the central governments.”