Gosport residents have their say on general election issues

As the town prepares to head to the polls, residents have been sharing what they would like the next MP to focus on, as well as which way they will be voting.

While Brexit remains a hot topic, the town appears to just politicians to ‘get on with it’ – but not to the detriment of other key issues.

For young people, housing seems to be the biggest issue, as they come to terms with the likelihood of moving out of Gosport to find a home.

Meanwhile others would like to see their MP lead the charge for a revival of the high street.

Courtney Weir, 20, says her hopes of finding a house in Gosport are being destroyed by the current government.

She said: ‘Housing is a really bad issue here – there’s not enough affordable housing for everyone and the waiting list for a council property is far too long.

‘Your only option now is to go private, which is ridiculously expensive – it stops people my age from getting onto the housing ladder.

‘The government needs to make sure these houses are actually built for us.’

Her friend Lucy Clements, also 20, added: ‘I’ve basically been told I’m never going to get a house unless I go private; it doesn’t feel like young people get a chance to have their own home.

‘There’s a lot of homeless people around here too and I wonder if having more cheap homes would help them out.’

Molly Broughton, 22, and 23-year-old Jack Jennings have been dating for four years.

While they are fiercely divided over Brexit, they both hope whoever is elected can see other issues past that, for the town’s benefit.

Molly said: ‘We’ve got no police station in Gosport and there’s just not enough police to deal with what's going on now.

‘I’m going to vote for Labour because they’re going to do a second referendum, which would be the final nail in the coffin for Brexit.’

Jack said: ‘At the end of the day, all politicians are just as bad as each other – no matter who you vote for there will be broken promises.

‘I’m going to vote for the Conservatives because I just want Brexit over and done with.’

Simon Walker, 47, believes many people are simply tired of hearing about Brexit.

‘The impression I get from people I know is they just want it to be over with,’ he said.

‘Everyone is just fed up of the dithering and delays from the original date – whether people voted to leave or remain, we’re sick of hearing about it.

‘I think the NHS around here needs a stronger support network and I don’t think the current government is able to provide that.’

Gillian Pearce, 68, said: ‘We want more shops in the high street and the MP needs to encourage businesses to take an interest in Gosport.

‘I’m not interested in Brexit, but instead what they can do to help our town.’

But some will go to the polls with the same voting intentions as they’ve always had, casting their ballot out of loyalty.

Reg Plowman, 96, said: ‘I’ve always voted Conservative and so will do so again.

‘Brexit is quite complicated so I don’t really understand it too much, but the Tories have always had my vote.’