The West London neighbourhood where Tories are being given 1% chance of winning - locals explain why

The Conservatives are predicted to have a torrid time at the General Election, but one constituency in London in particular is being touted as having virtually no chance of returning a Tory MP. Shepherd's Bush is part of a brand new constituency this election, but historically the area has been a pretty comfortably Labour-leaning area.

Shepherd's Bush's new constituency, Hammersmith and Chiswick, is forecast by Electoral Calculus to have a 1% chance of turning blue while Labour is given a 99% chance of success. Other parties aren't expected to get enough of a look-in to even register a percentage chance.

So how hostile is the West London seat for the Tories? We went to speak to residents to find out.

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Khalid Abdullah, 62, a stall manager at Shepherd's Bush Market, thinks that the UK has changed in recent times, for the worse. He said: "I'd like this country to be how it used to be. A lot of everything has changed - people were more trusting before. Before, it used to be nice - you go to the hospital and the NHS was nice, the doctor was nice, and their office was nice. But now everything has just changed."

His friend Khalid Joey, 43, gave a reason as to why he thought the change had happened: "Before there used to be fewer people, that's why."

Khalid Joey voted Conservative in the last election but now is going to change his vote and go for Labour. He explained: "It's just for a change, there've been 14 years of Conservatives now, so hopefully they will come up with different ideas."

Political personality matters

The personality of politicians went a long way for these two, with Khalid Abdullah saying he liked George Galloway and Khalid Joey saying Nigel Farage was 'straightforward'. Khalid Abdullah added: "People like that, whatever happens you can trust people like that because he just says it, he doesn't care."

Farage's party got more support from Pensioner Gail Habib, 71, who said she would vote for them in the election. She listed the top issues she wanted dealt with by the new government.

She said: "Crime, antisocial behaviour, homes that people can actually afford - not a two-bedroom flat for £450,000 part ownership - that's what the kids have got today. So more social housing and more opportunities for young people."

When asked to describe Rishi Sunak in three words, Gail said: "Boring, incompetent and out of touch." When asked the same for Keir Starmer, she said: "Boring, follows what other people say, doesn't appeal to me at all."

'They make a promise and they don't do it'

Tony Lakhi, a Shepherd's Bush Market stall owner for the past 40 years, said he was going to vote for the Green Party.

He said: "I'm not going to vote for either of them [Labour and Conservative] because they make a promise and they don't do it." He did not think they would win the election but said he dislikes how UK politics has become a two-horse race. He said: "Rishi Sunak did not win the election, he just came with the party."

Tony is due to retire soon and also expressed worries about how life would be under Labour with his pension. He said: "Labour were saying we'll put a tax on the pension, which is not good for old people - all their life they work, and then they have to pay tax."

Imad Birir, 60, another Shepherd's Bush Market stall vendor, was the only person to say he will be voting Conservative. When asked why he said: "I think they are good for the country and the economy. As a small business, I think they are better, in my view, than Labour."

He added: "Economy-wise, it's bad everywhere - it's not just England. I have family in America and they are having it tough as well."

"I'm not voting"

Pui Chung, 29, recently moved to the UK and has started her own jewellery-making business, which she sells at her stall in Shepherd's Market. She said: "I'm not voting because I'm quite new to this country, so that's why I'm not very sure about the system, I'm not sure about the politics. That's why I'm not voting."

As a local small business owner, she said she wanted more support for the market. She said: "After the pandemic, we lost a lot of people coming here so maybe we need more exposure."

Mr Singh, another Shepherd's Bush Market vendor said: "I think Labour is good. Under the Conservatives everything has gone up and become expensive, so we support Labour. Small business is very quiet now - it's very difficult to survive, just look at the Market."

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