As people picked up their daily essentials in Bilston Market, you could be forgiven for thinking they didn’t have a care in the world. But I spoke to people and two issues loomed large ahead of the 2024 general election.
Bilston, in the Wolverhampton South East constituency, is a battleground between Labour and the Conservatives. I spoke to more than a dozen people and the NHS and immigration issues were top of the list.
Rajinder Pellay, 58 has close links to the NHS and said the system needs changing. ”My niece works for the NHS, she is a paramedic and it’s awful, the ambulances, the waiting lists, people waiting for hours and hours and they have said the NHS is better? No it’s just getting worse.’
As I approached other locals in the market, they all had similar views and were outspoken when discussing current NHS issues, Keita Suibu 70, voiced concern over needing the NHS as he gets older.
”I care about the NHS mostly, maybe because I am getting older and it will matter if I need to get to the hospital.”
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For Keita, the importance of the NHS is making sure that he and the people closest to him get the care they need. ”It’s also for my neighbours who need the NHS more than before.”
Stephen, who was retired and in his 70s, also agreed and said that the NHS should be the government’s “top priority.”
”The NHS needs to be sorted first and foremost for everything that should be the top priority let’s get that sorted out first because everybody needs that,” he said.
Amongst the bustling market were locals with many views on immigration, Mark Cox, 52 showed a deep concern over this issue. ”There is not enough room for all of us and being up here in the Black Country it’s something you hear a lot.”
David Moss, 63, also agreed and said: ”We are getting too overcrowded and they are killing everything, there should be a cap put on it.”
When asked about the effects of Brexit, David said he used to do a job that did 9% abroad but unfortunately lost his job. He said: ”It’s all gone now but that life we are used to it in the area jobs come and go and that’s the way it is.”
Candidates standing in the Wolverhampton South East constituency are:
Labour Party: Pat McFadden
Conservative and Unionist Party: Victoria Helena Wilson
Reform UK: Carl Hardwick
Green Party: Paul Antony Darke
Liberal Democrats: Bart Ricketts
Workers Party of Britain: Atar Ahmad Warraich