Sign of the times? Disillusion and apathy in election battleground
BBC"In all the years I've been doing it, this is the worst it's ever been."
These are the words of Nichol Dexter, a sign maker who runs her own business in Stapleford, in Nottinghamshire.
Her family have been making signs for businesses for decades, but their crown jewel is the illuminated sign at the entrance to Nottingham's iconic music venue Rock City, which has attracted world-famous names such as Nirvana, Rage Against The Machine and Guns N' Roses.
She says her business, Handy Woman Signs, has suffered in the current economic climate, partly due to other companies prioritising their online presence over shop fronts, and she's now considering giving it up altogether.
"I always ask for a deposit on a sign, and people are even struggling to pay their deposits. That's never happened before," she said.
Nichol works out of a workshop in the Broxtowe constituency - a key battleground at the general election.
A political bellwether, the seat has often passed back and forth between Labour and the Conservatives, depending on the government of the day.
It was held by the Tories at the 2019 general election with a majority of 5,331, but Labour gained control of the borough council at the local elections in 2023.
No surprise then, that it's high on Labour's target list this time around.
Nichol, 46, says a lot of businesses in the area are feeling the strain, and she's already taken a pay cut to keep her company going.
"I find it embarrassing that I'm not in a better financial position for all the work I've been doing," she said.
"Bills are way too high for what we're earning... the days go so quickly that before you know it, the bills are there to pay again."
Nichol is also on the waiting list for a hip replacement due to arthritis, and is worried about what will happen when she can't work.
She's been waiting for a procedure since November 2023, and is due to undergo surgery in September this year.
"I'm on the list and that's fine, everyone else is on a list... I just feel we're all being pushed to go private now," she says.
She says overall, she's feeling disillusioned with politics ahead of the general election.
"You just see them arguing on TV amongst themselves, and I feel they just don't have a clue what everyone is going through right now," she says.
If her feelings are anything to go by, parliamentary candidates here may struggle to convince people to vote for them.
That could make all the difference in an area characterised by fine margins.
A suburban constituency on the border with Derbyshire, Broxtowe has become very used to being a marginal seat.
No party has held it with a majority of more than four figures since the 1987 election.
In 2017, the Conservatives and Labour were separated by less than two percentage points - the Tories winning 46.8% of the total votes cast, to Labour's 45.3%.
Government money has been made available for Broxtowe, with £21m announced for Stapleford town centre and £16.5m for Kimberley - although Kimberley is now part of the Nottingham North and Kimberley constituency following electoral boundary changes.
But despite these promises of money and regeneration, one word came up a lot when speaking to people in this corner of Broxtowe - "struggling".
Nichol, a mother of one, followed her father Mike into the sign making business.
Now retired, Mike says he's encouraging Nichol to give the business up, despite the family's history in the trade.
"She puts everything into it," he said. "You could be working every day of every week all month and not necessarily get anything at the end of it."
He added rising overhead costs, such as energy bills, had hurt the business.
Both say a lot of people in the area are finding it hard to make ends meet.
"I'm making signs and fitting signs for other businesses. We talk, we chat. Everyone's finding it really difficult," Nichol added.
Just over 100 yards up the road from her workshop is one of the businesses Nichol designed and fitted signs for - Blend Barbers.
Co-owner Leon Ball says people are getting haircuts less often because of the rising cost of living, and appointments are inconsistent.
"People are living week to week," he said.
"The first week [of the month] is really good, the second is steady, the third one really tails off, and the fourth week is really bad, then the moment everyone gets paid again it just goes mad."
He says the business has downsized, employing two staff for part of the week rather than three.
He shares Nichol's apathy towards all politicians.
"I think they're all totally out of touch. Whatever they say in the election... when they get in nothing happens," he added.
Candidates standing in Broxtowe at the 2024 general election are as follows:
- Juliet Campbell (Labour)
- James Collis (Liberal Democrats)
- Dr John Doddy (Independent)
- Darren Henry (Conservative)
- Teresa Needham (Green)
- Joseph Oakley (Reform UK)
- Maqsood Syed (Workers Party of Britain)
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