THE LABOUR VOTER
Teresa Gale, 62
Hampshire, originally from Galway
Care Assistant and mother-of-three
THE BIG ISSUE: Welfare, Benefits & Pensions
Teresa Gale is originally from east Galway, between Ballinasloe and Loughrea. She emigrated to Britain in 1973.
At the beginning of this week she was one of a minority within the British electorate — as many as 10 per cent according to some polls — who hadn’t made up their mind which way to vote. This undecided group, when it comes to polling day, normally breaks on behalf of the incumbents — the government party of the day.
But it seems Teresa will buck this psephological trend.
“I think it will probably be Labour I’ll go for. I’ll definitely vote,” she says, “but I’m still not absolutely sure who for. In the end, I think it’ll probably be Labour. The sector I work in, as a care worker, would probably get more funding under Labour. And we really badly need that in our work.”
Teresa, however, remains disillusioned with politics and politicians.
“Sometimes I think they talk just for the sake of talking. I’m very lukewarm about Ed Miliband — I think that all he can do is talk. Having said that, I think pensions and standard of living for working people is also safer under Labour. But I am struggling to understand what they’re all talking about half the time, all the politicians. They all look and sound alike.”
Teresa lives in Hampshire. “I've three daughters — they all live in the south west, Devon, Cornwall, Hampshire, and I've nine grandchildren. So education is a concern for us, and I believe that, on balance, Labour will probably deliver better in that area too.”
When Teresa first arrived in Britain in 1973, the IRA bombing campaign had begun, and many Irish people were victims of anti-Irish prejudice.
“I didn't come across a whole lot of it, but it definitely existed,” she say. “I worked with a lot of Irish people, so that probably protected you from it. Where I live now, in Hampshire, there aren't many Irish people. But I have no problem on that score. My three daughters are all married to English chaps, and I’d say they’re fully integrated into the community.”
With this background, it’s unsurprising that Teresa has no time for UKIP — and neither would most of the people in her constituency, she believes. “It’s a Conservative place but I don’t think many people would have any truck with the likes of UKIP. I certainly wouldn’t.”
Teresa lives in the constituency of East Hampshire, where the sitting MP is a Conservative — coincidentally, a Catholic with Irish roots, Damian Patrick Hinds. He is defending a massive majority of over 13,000. At the last election the Labour candidate came a distant third — the Lib Dems took second place.
