UK elections: Voters wonder if their votes will make a difference

A lot of politicians have promised change to voters in Hartlepool, a wind-whipped port town in northeast England.

For decades, Labour Party representatives said they would fight for working people, even as well-paid industrial jobs disappeared. Later, Conservatives under then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson vowed to bring new money and opportunities on the back of Brexit.

But as British voters prepare to elect a new government Thursday, Hartlepool's many problems persist. It has higher unemployment, lower pay, shorter life expectancy, more drug deaths and higher crime rates than the country as a whole.

Opinion polls put centre-left Labour well ahead of the governing Conservatives nationwide, but many voters remain undecided and even more are jaded.

To regain power after 14 years, Labour must win back disillusioned voters in Hartlepool and other northern towns where decades of economic decline have spawned health and social problems, and a deep sense of disillusionment.

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