As a young person, a Labour majority gives me concern for the future

With the election today and the expectation that the Conservatives are going to face significant losses, I can’t help but dwell on how I feel about the prospect.

On one hand, as a young voter at 27 years old, I’ve been looking forward to a Labour government since I could vote. The initial reports of an expected Labour “supermajority” and the idea of the Conservatives getting destroyed in the polls excited me at first.

Yet I can’t help but wonder what this means for centre-right politics.

Although I don’t subscribe to these views, being a “centrist” voter leaning slightly left, I can appreciate the need for a good, stable and sensible opposition.

I’m aware that a good chunk of the UK population does subscribe to the Conservative’s philosophy, many of whom I know are fairly moderate in their views and are struggling to decide who to vote for in this election.

I don’t believe the Conservatives will finish third overall but I am desperately hoping they can regroup, replan and move towards the centre ground as a good, sensible voice for those on the right, who are stuck between disillusion and the extremity of Reform.

Ross Tyrkot

Address supplied

By the time this letter is published, we will likely be welcoming a newly elected UK Labour government with a very large majority.

The repercussions for the Conservatives will largely depend on how many MPs are elected and whether they have a sizeable advantage in the popular vote over a Nigel Farage-led Reform party.

Under 100 seats and it would be clear the Conservative brand has become so damaged they could end up being superseded by a new right-of-centre party.

Many will, of course, feel that the reason for the Tory’s demise is because of Brexit. However, I think that is oversimplifying the issue. The heart of the problem is the fact that the Conservatives have become inept, poorly managed and have literally run out of steam.

In my opinion, it was when Rishi Sunak decided to go to Manchester to announce the curtailment of HS2 that the party finally went off the tracks. As for American and French politics, perhaps we leave that for another day’s discussion.

Martin Stroud

Address supplied

I once voted Conservative but I now hate what they have done to our nation, isolating and turning the electorate on itself with dog whistle politics, corruption and cronyism which has led to their current unpopularity.

I am however uneasy at the thought of a Labour majority on the scale being indicated by polls. Such power is corrupting, and it would serve Labour well to look back for a moment on the relative position of the main parties between 2019 and 2024.

In the 2019 election, the Conservatives won 365 seats, compared to Labour’s 202. At dissolution in 2024, the Conservatives still held 344 seats, compared to Labour’s 205. That is still a stonking majority, but it hasn’t stopped the Conservative Party from falling into what appears to be a potentially terminal decline!  

For the long term, it is not the majority that counts, but what a party does with it!

Arthur Streatfield

Address supplied

I agree with The Independent’s stance that the Tories have to go and that Labour is, realistically, the only alternative on offer.

But, (and it’s a big “but”) Keir Starmer has said that he has no plans to abolish our first past the post voting system. This failure of democracy is the main reason that the Conservatives acquired enough seats, and hence enough power, to land us in the mess that we’re in.

If Starmer really intends to lead a government of change, electoral reform is where he should start.

Susan Alexander

South Gloucestershire

I am puzzled by the decision by many to enthusiastically support Labour in today’s general election. I have just read that Keir Starmer has ruled out returning the UK to the European Union “in my lifetime”.

If he really wants economic growth, the only way, in my view, is in Europe.

I have hated the way the Tories deprived me of my European citizenship, and engaged in economic self-harm when “getting Brexit done” in the middle of a costly pandemic.

While Labour may offer the professional and cultural change we need, they need to seriously consider undoing the mistakes made by the dominant party over the last 14 years.

Simon Fisher

Sellindge, Kent