Yahoo News Voters in Newcastle put off voting Labour because of candidate’s 'controversial views'
Voters in the newly-formed constituency of Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend have voiced concerns over the candidate put forward for the seat by Labour because of her views on same-sex marriage, LGBTQ+ rights and abortion. We are speaking to voters all over the North East in the run-up to July 4.
Mary Glindon is the Labour representative for the seat, after formerly serving in the constituency of North Tyneside. The constituency is now part of Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend after the boundaries were changed for the upcoming election.
Jack, who lives in Heaton, said: “This is a heavy Labour area and the problem we have is that the Labour representative has controversial views on equality and diversity.” This view was echoed by Jane, a business owner who cited Ms Glindon’s voting record as the main issue concerning her in the run-up to the election.
“She’s voted consistently against equal rights for queer, gay people. She voted against same-sex marriage which doesn’t align with what I believe in.
"She’s voted consistently against women having access to abortion facilities. Women should be able to make their own decisions about what happens to their bodies.”
Ms Glindon’s voting record can be found here. Labour declined to comment on these views.
Jane was also critical of Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, saying: “His stance on Gaza-Israel is abominable. I don’t trust him.” Other voters were unsure of what the former barrister stands for.
Alice said: He’s hard to get a grip on, he’s not very charismatic and he doesn’t have a good profile. Peter added: “I don’t know whether I believe him. In opposition he can pull things apart, whether he can take it forward is another.
However, the leader of the opposition did have support from others in the constituency. Jackie Martin described Starmer as: “Solid. He seems to have morals and he’s sorted out the issues in the Labour Party.”
Ruth Heyman shared this view. She said: “I have been fairly impressed. He’s doing his best to position the Labour Party to one that appeals to a maximum number of people. There’s more he could do, but if he hasn’t got any power then he can’t do anything.”
Opinion on the current Prime Minister was unanimous. Words including “incompetent, chancer, out of touch, untrustworthy, privileged and temporary” were used to describe the leader of the Conservative Party by voters in Newcastle East, and Ruth Heyman, Jane and Peter all said they feel they cannot trust him.
Yesterday saw the second highest number of people registering to vote in one day - over 630,000, which posed the question ‘Should it be compulsory to vote?’. Half of the residents agreed it should.
Jack said: “Yes, it is important that everyone has a voice and opinion. People who aren’t voting are doing themselves a disservice.”
Jackie Martin believes voting should be compulsory, and Alice agreed, saying: “Absolutely, think of the people who died for your right to vote.” But Thomas disagreed. He said: “I don’t think it should be compulsory to vote, some people may feel that they have been left unseen by both parties.”
Graeme added: “People should be given a choice. Politics today is a disgrace, you shouldn’t be made to vote for something you might not believe in.”
Ruth Heyman also agreed, saying: “People should have the option of deciding whether they want to or not. I would encourage them to, but if people are so disillusioned with politics that they don’t want to vote, then that’s up to them.”
