Election countdown: Good Housekeeping readers put party leaders on the spot
Good Housekeeping speaks to millions of women every month in print and online about the issues that matter to them. GH women are a huge voting cohort – representing young parents and not-so-young grandparents; people who care, people who work, people who shop. So it’s no wonder that the leaders of the main political parties wanted to talk to GH in the run-up to a General Election.
Features Director Jackie Brown tracked down Rishi Sunak, Sir Keir Starmer and Sir Ed Davey and put your questions to them. Here’s what they said – and where they said it.
There’s a flashing red light behind Rishi Sunak’s head. I’m pretty certain he hasn’t noticed it and amazingly his campaign manager hasn’t either. I decide to keep quiet – we’re already past the allotted 10 minutes we’ve been given with the Prime Minister for a video interview, and I know we don’t have time to do it all again.
These were the final sweaty moments of my plan for a ‘Readers Ask The Leaders’ series, which would give Good Housekeeping readers the chance to ask the main political parties about the issues they’re most concerned about in the run-up to the General Election.
We asked for questions through the GH reader panel and they came through thick and fast. The same issues came up multiple times – anger over NHS waiting times and not being able to see a GP; high bills because of the cost of living crisis, and cynicism that politicians were only looking out for themselves.
There were three very different interview settings – but fair to say there was passion from the leaders when they responded. This is how they addressed the main issues.
Rishi Sunak - Conservatives
The snap election announcement on 22 May meant that the interview with the Prime Minister took many emails to finalise as his team tried to find time in his diary. We were allotted 10 minutes with him on the campaign trail in Derby. Originally it was due to happen in the surroundings of Denby Pottery factory, but a delayed train (ours) meant we missed that slot. Instead, we met him on a test train at a transport firm. Hence the flashing red light just behind his head.
NHS
“I come from an NHS family. My dad was a GP, my mum was a pharmacist. That left a lasting impression on me, and that’s how I approach this job. That’s why we’re investing record sums in the NHS, hiring more doctors and nurses. But I want to be honest with you: we haven’t made as much progress as I would have liked in tackling waiting lists and that’s something I regret.
“But now, our plans are working – over the last few months, waiting lists are starting to come down – and if we stay the course and I remain as your Prime Minister, we will continue to make progress.”
Cost of living
“It’s been a really tough few years for everyone. Covid, the war in Ukraine driving up energy bills, inflation being high […] That’s why my priority when I became your Prime Minister 18 months ago was to bring inflation down and we got it down from 11% back to target at 2%. […] And it’s because of those things that we can now start cutting your taxes. […] This year, for a typical person in work, you’re getting a tax cut worth £900, and if I continue as your Prime Minister, I want to keep cutting your taxes and everyone’s taxes to make everything that you described a bit easier.”
Sir Keir Starmer - Labour
Sir Keir Starmer was quizzed back in April. The election had not yet been called so we were able to meet him in the wood-panelled office allocated to the Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons. We met over a very strong cup of tea (almost undrinkable) which was served up, naturally, in a Labour mug.
NHS
“I’m shocked at where the NHS is. You know, it’s a fantastic institution, got brilliant staff, and it’s on its knees. [We need to] make sure that those who don’t pay their tax in this country pay their tax in this country, plus money that people are not paying in tax that they should be paying, and to put in place a plan for two million extra operations every year, just to take big chunks off that list. […] We’ve got to reform it, change it, but we’ve also got to instil a bit of respect into the staff of the NHS. Respect, proper pay and conditions and the opportunity for people to make their career in the NHS. And by bringing down the waiting lists, actually alleviating some of the pressure.”
Cost of living
“Whether that’s in the supermarket, whether that’s energy bills, running a car or whatever it may be, all those bills have gone up. […] So we’ve got to stabilise the economy and make sure that there’s real stability in those prices so people don’t feel ‘I’m losing control of my budget because every week or every month I’m paying more than I was. […] After having worked all my life, I can’t just lead the life I want to lead now. Or I can’t do things I even did a year ago.’ That’s the sense of insecurity, I think, that eats away at people.”
Sir Ed Davey - Liberal Democrats
Sir Ed Davey was surrounded for his interview by beautiful botanical flowers in the borrowed office of a Liberal Democrat supporter across the road from Westminster. It was probably his calmest interview in front of the cameras, given his campaign has been dominated by falling off paddleboards and riding rollercoasters.
NHS
“We want to make sure that many people who go to hospital don’t have to go to hospital by making sure they can see their GP. We want to increase the number of GPs by 8,000 and support local pharmacies so people end up getting that care in their local community and don’t have to go to hospital, relieving pressure on the hospitals.
“The second thing is we want to invest in care, so that people who are stuck in hospital – because there’s no care package for them or no care home place – can get out of hospital more quickly. That’s good for them, but it also frees up places so that we can tackle those waiting lists.”
Cost of living
“The cost of living crisis is hitting so many people. Higher mortgages, high rents, energy, bills and food bills. Food shopping has really hit people really hard. We’ve got two things we’d like to do on that. First of all, getting behind British farmers who have had the toughest of times. […] We also want to have a better trade deal with Europe. […] We want to make sure that children from very deprived backgrounds and poorer backgrounds get help with free school meals. I hate the idea of children going hungry. […] I think a more stable economy will bring interest rates down and I think we need to build more homes.”
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