Election 2019: Gary Younge returns to his childhood town of Stevenage – podcast
The Guardian columnist returns to his home town to see how the bellwether constituency views the election. And: Micha Frazer-Carroll asks whether there will be a ‘youthquake’ in Thursday’s vote
Gary Younge grew up in Stevenage, a town in Hertfordshire, north of London. It’s a bellwether constituency. In every election since 1974, Stevenage has voted for the party that formed the government. It voted by 59% to leave the European Union.
Gary tells Anushka Asthana what it was like to grow up in the country’s first new town, and discusses the change he noticed the town had undergone when he recently returned. Stevenage is now like much of the rest of the country. With a food bank and one in four children in poverty, many are struggling under the impact of austerity. Furthermore, residents seem undecided as to which way they are going to vote.