What do Tory heartland voters want? A view from East Sussex

The election campaign rumbles on with the polls continuing to show a Labour majority as the likeliest outcome.
To get a sense of public opinion we’ve been deep into the traditional Tory heartlands of East Sussex to board the historic Bluebell railway.

[@pj1471]

Love the train driver! Spot on.

[@dat581]

So you are just as delusional as the train driver then. He thinks the Torys are right wing and they aren't in the slightest. The are only slightly to the right of the woke hard left Labour. If you think you can't afford anything now, wait until Labour get in, increase all the taxes and drive prices up.

[@leedavis6000]

Russell the train driver spot on.

[@harveybrown37]

Bye Bye Tories! It's been horrible knowing you.

[@TheHookahSmokingCaterpillar]

It's been... emotional.

[@gordonstrong5232]

The tories have left a shattered country behind them that will take a generation to fix. But sadly, if Labour don't manage to fix everything in 5 years, the British electorate will probably vote the tories back in again. Or worse, they'll vote in the even nastier manifestation of the Tories known as Reform.

[@frogandspanner]

The problem is we will not be saying _bye bye_ to the fundamental problem - the neoliberalism that Thatcher introduced, and the concomitant destruction of industry and meaningful jobs.

[@aclark903]

@@frogandspannerExactly. Kier is Blair 2.0 without the smart.

[@pipoo1]

​@@aclark903so basically Starmer is the grown up in the room. You don't get to go to Oxford and then to the highest office in the legal profession without being a grown up and very intelligent.

[@carltontweedle5724]

Every one wants a grown up to rule but the tories voted in Boris. Then the party voted in Truss then again Sunak. The tory party needs adult voters.

[@anthonyrybicki1000]

Yes adult voters who can check their tax privileges please.If you want public services that work then you have to contribute more which does mean a less comfortable existence in Sussex and the other home counties. Rightwing nutjobs only exist because right leaning citizens vote for them. Boris Johnson and Liz Truss were overwhelmingly voted for by the Tory rank and file.Will this party learn any lessons?

[@tangerinebabe1]

The country voted for Boris. NOBODY voted for Truss or Sunak.

[@Red1Green2Blue3]

No, the problem is they've got too many adults... over 70 years old

[@gordonstrong5232]

The train driver gets my vote, top lad 👍

[@jeongbun2386]

Love that traindriver ❤

[@BinaryRoberto]

Nice to see a fairly broad range of people speaking respectably about the state of UK politics.

[@edwardbernthal160]

@GaryS-gi9fk what a respectable comment.

[@johnnydeath2]

"Hope for the best" lol 😂😂😂

[@roderickmain9697]

I used to live in that area, Rishi did not do himself any favours with his early homecoming from the D-Day commemoration. Add in some Brexit disenchantment, some partying while people were dying, funneling funds for PPE into doners pockets who couldnt produce a wet paper bag let alone PPE - remind people of this stuff and disillusionment must be high.

[@sadjaxx]

Post Office horrors!

[@grahamkearnon6682]

Love it, speaking for myself I quit Britain as the local council chased me down for Poll Tax ( I'd been abroad for 18 months) i was a falklands veteran and, utterly disgusted with how a working man could be treated. Ive been waiting a very long multi decade for the populous to wake up, now it has, Thatcherism will finally be turned back, sanity. I remember when life was so much more then money, profit, greed!

[@kizzmiaz]

Unfortunately Boris kicked all the grown ups out of the party for not demonstrating blind allegiance to Brexit. And here we are.

[@Reprogrammed_By_SEGA]

The train driver Russell nailed it.

[@Plumduff3303]

The British deserve so much better. We need a new national identify and be proud again. The tories have wrecked the joint.

[@dat581]

The Tories are Tory in name only and really are nothing more than Labour Lite. Their real crimes have been failing to reverse the damage done to the country by Labour and their socialist policies since 1945.

[@rb1062]

VOTE REFORM 🇬🇧

[@SqwarkParrotSpittingFeathers]

All the things Britains hold dear has been given to us by Labour.

[@grahambarlow1308]

What Mass immigration legal and illegal by Blair? Brown selling off all the gold reserves' at $240 and ounce , currently $2300 per ounce?9.4 million of working age not working but on benefits? Trade Union power allowing the trains to go on strike in the lunch hour so London could not get home after work? This is just for starters We could go on all night with the ruination of Britain.

[@jackbaynes3959]

​@Millie.com232They meant NHS...

[@djslybacon]

@Millie.com23214 years…… and this hasn’t changed either so stfu

[@Adywebb123]

Yes but not the current labour. They are so anti British. They will destroy this country forever. Open borders mass immigration and higher taxes.

[@Munkenba]

@Millie.com232 Glad the tories have kept those things at bay since 2010 then

[@knockshinnoch1950]

The whole sorry mess began with Thatcher. Can I vote for the Train driver?

[@whysa4]

She sorted the mess left by Liebore and their winter of discontent

[@knockshinnoch1950]

@@whysa4 She set in play the politics of greed and sold off Council Housing stock which led to the absolute housing crisis we now face in the UK.

[@WH-hi5ew]

The whole sorry mess began with the introduction of Agriculture around 6,000 years ago in the UK. Prior to that we were happy hunters and gatherers with no wealth inequality. We should have been left alone like the people of the Andaman Islands. Instead we were invaded by successive waves of Europeans... Beaker people, Romans, Celts, Vikings, Normans etc etc. Hopefully how we have Brexit done we can get back to hunter-gatherer lives within a few generations.

[@dat581]

@@knockshinnoch1950 Incorrect. The housing crisis is due to Tony Blair opening the floodgates of mass immigration. Britain was already overcrowded and suffering from a skills shortage so what does Labour do? Flood the country with unskilled third world people. It made everything worse.

[@sadjaxx]

"Nothing works properly anymore" Let the grown ups back in the room.

[@blackcatdungeonmastersfami5311]

And who are they? Red Kier Starmer? Thickie Dianne Abbott? Are you forgetting why people voted in the Tories with a landslide in the first place?

[@DavoInMelbourne]

I'd vote for the train driver.

[@josephinebrevig8748]

In a heart beat

[@7kristianneknights704]

I absolutely love trains!!! ❤❤❤❤👌👍

[@stephenwalker2924]

trains are the best 😍

[@LuzDoSol-yr5bv]

I was about to say how English is beautiful, but the trains make it ever more charming.

[@JeremyNQSM]

I'm with the driver. Top man! Top ride too; an SE&CR class 01.

[@fintamaria2429]

I am glad that there are still wise people, because in the leadership positions they have completely disappeared🎉

[@jandavies4400]

Vote reform UK Nigel Farage, we need a change

[@hughjohns9110]

So many people think the whole Brexit vs EU membership thing is just about ease of travel between the UK and EU countries. Very small minded. Also they seem to forget that we always had passport control between the UK and EU, we never had what they refer to as open borders.

[@robtheplod]

That train driver is the view i hear everyday from those around me....

[@josephinebrevig8748]

Me too

[@mauromatos3124]

The train driver is the kind of Brit that you don't often hear from. Good man.

[@JOzzie-u8z]

Anyone voting Torie at this point is either stupid or ruch because the rich haven't been effected by rishi sunak and while weve all gotten poorer rishi sunak and his wifes fortune increased by 122 million he gave several government contracts to his friends

[@GraemeRoberts]

Just a shame it wasn't train fan Michael Portillo doing the interviews and squirming at the responses. Lots of Portillo moments coming soon. 🤞

[@sebastianohalloran9093]

Usual balanced selection of interviewees. Not that I want the Conservatives, but I was looking forwards to hearing what May have swung Conservative voters.

[@EuroGhgkj]

The train driver is spot on 👏

[@akoot]

"forthright train driver" aye thats an accurate description, love him tho

[@johnhill5357]

vote labour at your peril

[@Non-Doctors-Music]

I'm definitely with the Russel the train driver.

[@LuzDoSol-yr5bv]

I love England countryside. Beautiful!

[@soton5teve]

Vote Lib Dem for opposition

[@olivere5497]

No.

[@Boghopper9999]

Would prefer to see them in coalition with Labour, but as the opposition would be a good second prize

[@dominicchallis2928]

@@Boghopper9999Having them in opposition would politically marginalise the Tories and ensure that there is a moderate opposition agenda being set, leading to pressure on electoral reform and better welfare spending. That is the power of voting tactically for the Lib Dems in marginal Tory-Lib Dem seats, we have this key moment to detoxify the national political narrative if the Lib Dems get more seats than the Tories.

[@GeoffV-k1h]

Bojo nor Truss had zero clue how ot run the UK. Cheers to the driver.

[@safirahmed]

Reform are rightwing hardline Thatcherite Tories. Reform are more Tory than many Tory MPs. Reform demand NHS privatisation, privatisation of public services and the abolition of human rights.

[@Boghopper9999]

Reform are the BNP with better PR IMHO

[@sarangistudent8614]

Vote for NF (Nigel Farage), get the NF.

[@DrumToTheBassWoop]

​@@sarangistudent8614Le National Front ?

[@AH-te5gs]

I woudld ask Farage supports Trump. How can you support a supporter of a criminal? But if you support the abolition of human rights you'd support him in anything

[@URBeingLiedTo]

Who told you all that...and why did you believe them?

[@brianferguson7840]

1) CHECK VOTER REGISTRATION✅️ 2)CHECK VOTER I.D.✅️ 3)CHECK FRIENDS AND FAMILY ✅️✅️✅️

[@DavidHubball-x2q]

Sunak-too isolated in his own little Tory world to come in from the rain-when he has a 2.6 millions pound communication centre in No 10!-as to leaving the D Day ceremonies......that sums him up entirely!

[@brianferguson7840]

When it comes to TORIES, It's just like harmful drugs, the safe bet is, "JUST SAY NO" !!

[@johnberesford9906]

I'd like to see a similar report from Richmond and Northallerton constituency. Probably the most Tory constituency in England.

[@Evemeister12]

They want Cameron and Osborne back.

[@Infernal460]

So not Labour.

[@joshuamurray-nevill9127]

Mid-Sussex has been Conservative since it's inception as a constituancy, it also voted strongly in favour of Brexit - even if Labour actually managed to come second there it would be an achievement.

[@discostoo]

Cozzy livs mate innit. Get the tories out at the genny lec asap.

[@fabulous-dy7kq]

I'm voting for my self😊

[@anpj2006]

Maybe voting Conservative again this time will make the country a better place for everyone, but then again the definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

[@PassiveAgressive319]

Russell ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@lindabennett6597]

Love the train driver❤ best brain ive heard for years

[@strikeforcealpha9343]

But according to Rishi, a everything is fine, never doing better and b the plan is working.

[@rb1062]

Re the Frenchwoman, I remember having to show our passports at the border before we broke from the EU. Can anyone tell me when we get fingerprinted when we travel? Is she one of our brightest imports?

[@kirishima638]

Gotta be very well off to live in Surrey. Will always vote Tory.

[@bluebellsalmon]

We have food banks in Surrey (something I never thought I'd see)... but I'm not sure what Surrey's got to do with it, since the Bluebell line is in Sussex.

[@janewright2800]

Train driver said it all!

[@mariusb5150]

Why nit let the man say what he realy thinks? Saved by the whistle, you say? What good journalism , but for a whistle is my impression.

[@adecirkett5351]

Live in Mid Sussex.two Lib Dem councillors, the area voted remain, Labour neck and neck

[@mountainracer69]

Reform all the way. No way Labour. While most of Europe moves to the right, it would be daft if we went left.

[@ThePeaches3335]

lol I live along this line at one of the stops, they deffo chose the most unique people to interview. Tories will still win here

[@sirsurnamethefirstofhisnam7986]

0:41 That surname is something else😂

[@cyberzeero1]

Don't hope for the best when whomever gets in once the votes are counted, keep contacting you MP's office and make sure they know your concerns and expectations, democracy isn't just a vote every couple of years. And if you don't lobby your elected representative someone else will, do you think the hotel industry bodies are lobbying for tighter immigration rules knowing how much the government has been paying them the last few years to shelter all those coming over!.

[@Rich-ng3yy]

The bluebell railway is for leisure and interest, it doesn't transport locals unless they too want a nice day out.. It would be a bit like mistaking tourists at disneyland paris for parisians. It runs through a tory stronghold but there are constituencies with Labour areas in the towns within the villages.

[@JRM-1301]

The Tories: The perfect example that there is a difference between being an adult and grown-up.

[@mariusb5150]

And the Tories have been voted in, election after election ...

[@leonblittle226]

Dense train driver wants to vote for the people who won't let him have coal .... union man if there ever was

[@BossySwan]

Conservatories

[@christill]

Seems a bit odd that the two people who seemed to me obvious Green Party voters weren’t asked in the clip who they would be voting for. But with the others, they did mention, or the narrator mentioned that they’d be voting Labour or probably Lib Dem.

[@jmshrrsn]

Do trains “canter”?

[@freddymzungu]

Brexit exit asap.

[@rotnem0017]

I think me and that political geek could best of friends i would love to have a friend that shares the same interests in politics and i would gladly do an all nighter on the 4th of July 😂

[@kb4903]

Votes tories then complains about state of public services. What do they expect?

[@sarangistudent8614]

Then will vote reform. Oh well, always the immigrants (brown faces) to blame when nothing works.

[@englishlit0171]

You can't be on the right & be a good person .

[@Pioden-j9q]

Labour hope for the best 😂😂😂 So naive

[@robbiethepict2783]

You're going to take the kick.

[@Hoots_Maguire]

Train driver absolute boss. More sense in 30 seconds than with 3 hours of Starmerbabble.

[@blazzz13]

Starmabbable hasn't been in power for the last 14 years. How you've managed to try and conflate his criticism of Richi to Starmer is quite laughable.

[@gdwlaw5549]

Brussels bubble has gone …….next😊 ….couldn’t make it up

[@PaulGappyNorris]

Ex RAF geezer…🙄

[@joshuqlewisham8086]

Voters

[@JoannaHammond]

The tories are just, erm, fucked.

[@Onemicrosoft]

7-11

[@Uno-1968]

Vote R.e.f.o.r.m. 🇬🇧

[@TheHookahSmokingCaterpillar]

Net Zero Tories 👍

[@GrandpaVince]

We want grandpas at the helm

[@Christinebanks11]

As a proud yank born and raised , i want the tories to win, i wantn rishi sunak to win.

[@JungleJeffarnold]

Reform we want Reform

[@keithewright]

What do you mean we, Paleface? Reform are almost as bad as the joke that is the punchline to

[@JungleJeffarnold]

@@keithewright Was your dad a toolmaker?

[@richardbarton2709]

Deform Deform

[@gordonstrong5232]

​@@JungleJeffarnold You seriously want an even more severe version of George Osborne era austerity and another go at Trussanomics? Because that's what reform are offering.

[@JungleJeffarnold]

@@gordonstrong5232 Reforms offering tax starting at 20k what's wrong with having an extra £1500 in your bank? Of course that won't appeal to Labour voters that never work . . .

[@danmchale1558]

Vote Reform

[@blazzz13]

DEFORM 🤣

[@Home-t4y]

Reform has my vote. Red and Blue have destroyed everything that was good . New party new politics.

[@gordonstrong5232]

Reform are just a worse version of the Tories.

[@goych]

You do realise they’re a hard right wing facist organisation right? Right?

[@username5502]

@@goych, almost everything is labelled fascist nowadays. Even the pro-mass migration Conservatives. Even if Reform were fascist what is the problem? We need a strong leader more than ever who can take back control. We have been plagued by weak and inefficient leadership for far too long.

[@belkentens]

Reform seems to be the obvious choice

[@richardbarton2709]

[@gordonstrong5232]

Why? They want to cut 50 billion quid from public services, reform are going to bring back an even more severe version of Tory austerity and double down on Trussanomics. They'd be a disaster for the country!

[@Tsunamiash80]

For what?

[@Onemicrosoft]

_.

[@kanedNunable]

you think sunak is nice? wtf you smoking dude?

[@colinthompson3111]

Are any of the people, available for interview, born after Waterloo? Harry Potter?

[@whysa4]

Vote REFORM to save our country

[@kadenmarsay3276]

Nope.

[@gordonstrong5232]

The country is already on life support, Reform would pull the plug.

[@WH-hi5ew]

Nigel Farage is a total chancer.... wouldn't trust him to run the country.

[@p-james]

These are Nigerian and Russian bots don't engage with them​@@kadenmarsay3276

[@JungleJeffarnold]

This was a party political broadcast for the Labour party

[@mattbrown-mb]

Tories record in power is a party political broadcast for any other party including Labour.

[@stephenwalker2924]

Kind of, yeah.

[@richardbarton2709]

😂

[@Onemicrosoft]

สวัสดีคับ

[@Jerry21238]

Just need a goverment which is going to get rid of illegal boat crossings and get rid of the cash windfall which is known as universal credit that 6.1 million people are on.

[@Onemicrosoft]

ฮาครูระ

[@maneshipocrates]

Sitting in a train oozing carbon monoxide and complaining about the environment.

[@stephenwalker2924]

In general train travel emits around 66 to 80 percent less carbon than planes and cars.

[@sirsurnamethefirstofhisnam7986]

As opposed to cars that don’t pollute? What exactly would you say the alternative here is? Seems a little far to walk

[@maneshipocrates]

@@sirsurnamethefirstofhisnam7986 Take a ride in a 'modern train'.

[@jandavies4400]

Reform Uk

[@dualampa]

Tactical.vote

[@sherbertufo5247]

oh yes, make a total mockery of democracy why don't you, and keep the 2 party train rollin', just vote for the policies you like!!.

[@benedictcowell6547]

Not for Farage!. If I was obliged with the choice between Conservative and Reform I would choose Conservative. I know their problem and it is a lack of spine and guts, in the face of an onslaught from a crooked, complicit media and from the resentful nursing the grievances of their own folly but they clearly have learned nothing, they miss every point, they shut their eyes and then perpetuate their folly with people yet worse, People that think a rapist and a Fraud is what the world need. It is not only absurd, it is despicable, and the comments below reveal the extent our crisis is as much due to a corrupted, mentally idle electorate, stupid, as the politicians they elected, not once, not twice but thrice. Five prime minister in a decade, but they carried on and voted,. .I am sorry but it serves us right for credulity, for obstinacy, for ignorance and eventually for a vicious triumphalism over themselves How absurd, We are ridiculous,, but there is no dignity in that, Heroes to people with neither judgement or integrity. If that is the common sense they vaunt, you can stuff it. It is as worthless as those that make their well deserved exit, but to see the chimps leave just to be replaced by the Parrots, is no great shakes, I don't ask for my money back but I shall not stay for the end of the show, It ca only get worse when you see the cast! Faraj?, Tice?, Anderson? As Eyeore said Is that what politics is? Something Rabbit knows?,

[@richardbarton2709]

A Giraffe.

[@kingpig8732]

Is there even a difference between the conservatives and reform at this point though..

[@jambudvipi]

*Conservative U.K. + Reform U.K. 🇬🇧*

[@richardbarton2709]

BOOM 🤣

[@kingpig8732]

@@richardbarton2709 Thats the sound of Britain crumbling to the ground if that happened, We'd live in a huge post apocalyptic movie set but in real life.