Election day panel: the undecided on how the campaign shaped their vote

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/may/07/election-day-campaign-vote

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Val McDermid, author

I was the third generation of women in my family to vote Labour. Before that, we didn’t have a vote. But for the first time in my life, I have approached this election feeling that might be about to change. Labour, it seems, is obeying the received wisdom that we grow more conservative with age.

Returning to Scotland last year after a long absence, I found a country electrified by politics and possibilities. Although the referendum provoked small pockets of rancour, it mostly generated passion and a willingness to explore what kind of country we wanted to live in. The big question was whether that engagement would last once the dust had settled. I’m pleased to say that seems to be the case and in Scotland politics is what everybody is talking about. No, really. Everyone. Not just the chattering classes. Everyone.

There have been standout moments galore in this campaign. David Cameron and his career-defining revelatory gaffe; the female leaders’ group hug at the end of the challengers’ debate; the English discovering what the Scots and the Welsh have known for some time – that having female party leaders does alter the shape and tenor of the discourse; Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson, knowing she’s on a hiding to nothing, joyously seizing every chance for a fun photo op; the growing miasma of desperation that engulfs both Nigel Farage and Nick Clegg; interchangeable men in suits dumbing down their accents in a bid to demonstrate they’re in touch; and of course, the march to the top of the polls by Nicola Sturgeon, the star of the show who isn’t even standing.

Along the way, I made a decision. I’m still voting for progressive change. It’s not me, guys. It’s you.

Musharaf Asghar, student and campaigner

I am very excited to be voting for the first time this week. Now I’m 18 I can actually make a difference, my opinions count for something.

Saying that, I didn’t really know which party would be best placed to run this country, although my family has always voted Labour so I thought I would too. I have been increasingly gripped by the campaign and it has helped shape who I will vote for.

The aspect of the election debate that I have found most interesting is university fees. As I will be going to university soon, I was unsure how students like me would be able to afford it. I was surprised when the Labour party promised to reduce fees and this really appeals to me. I watched the interview with Russell Brand and Ed Miliband, and I was pleased to see that Miliband understands how people like me feel with regard to the inequality between the rich and working class people of this country.

But there are Tory policies that are striking too. In the Conservative manifesto, some of the pledges on education, particularly to do with failing schools, caught my eye. I have friends who are at schools that don’t really help them achieve the grades they need, while it was the support from teachers I received that helped me get to where I am now. To see that the Conservatives are willing to help these schools is hard for me to ignore.

I’m still unsure who I will vote for when the moment comes. My heart says Labour but where the economy is concerned my head says Conservative.

Kirstie Allsopp, broadcaster

At the start of the campaign I was feeling very open-minded. As I go up and down the country looking at houses for people I get involved in their stories. I’ve seen the things that are disturbing families and I was looking to find the party that recognised the worries of these people wanting a good school for their children, an affordable home, to feel part of a community. But I didn’t find it.

It probably hasn’t helped that I’ve been staying up until the early hours watching all the coverage. There was a debate this week about benefits with Rachel Reeves and Iain Duncan Smith. During it Reeves said Labour is going to reduce the use of food banks, without explaining how. That sounds absolutely fantastic – wouldn’t that be the number one thing you’d want to do? But you can’t just say you’re going to reduce the use of food banks without saying how. Who is going to get people out of the food banks? Employers.

The Edstone was a low point, partly because I’m a passionate crafter. The idea of paying someone to write a load of woolly bollocks in stone … if you’re going to make a promise, make a promise.

I would have liked to see more of the real David Cameron. I don’t think he nailed the NHS lie. He should have said, as he did in his conference speech in September, that he has no intention of dismantling the NHS. We know that the amount of NHS contract work that has gone to private companies has only increased by about 1% during the coalition. It’s not rampant privatisation.

But if we genuinely want the money to put into the NHS, to implement a higher minimum wage, for more housing and everything else, we have to do that with a secure economy. Frankly, I don’t see that from Labour and the SNP.

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