Election 2015: Economy among key issues for readers

The Herald and Gazette has teamed up with its sister titles around the country to launch a special election website, ‘What Matters to Me’.

By logging on to www.whatmatterstome.co.uk readers can view videos of people around their area, tracking the key issues for voters in the run up to May 7.

And three of the readers asked on Thursday felt the state of the country’s finances should be the main election battleground.

Michael Davis, 18, of New Road, Durrington, said he thought more people his age would vote if they had more awareness in the economy.

“I think there needs to be more focus on the country’s spending plans and national debt,” he said.

“I feel many people my age would vote if they had more awareness of the economy. I feel many of them are disengaged.”

Ian MacInnon, 24, of Dominion Road, East Worthing, agreed.

He said: “The economy should work for everyone. At the moment I think it is too business-centric.”

But while he thought the economy was important, Mr MacInnon believed politicians often appeared too similar in their policies.

He said: “I think many politicians are out of touch, I feel they’re all too similar to one another.”

Most members of the public were adamant that people should vote and that it should not be wasted.

Others thought more should be done in schools and colleges to educate students about the voting process and the importance of taking part.

Richard Vinall felt strongly that people should exercise what he called their ‘democratic right’. Mr Vinall, 69, of Rockwood Park, Horsham, said: “It’s important to use your vote. If you don’t you can’t complain about who was elected after the event.”

Mr Vinall was also concerned that many people did not vote on global issues such as global warming, instead they only voted for what mattered to them.

He said: “Everyone votes with their own pockets, they look at the parties and ask, ‘what’s in it for me?’.”