STAITHES, North Yorkshire – Labour won the U.K. general election with 412 seats, a victory described as a “landslide”, ending 14 years of a Conservative government. However, my experience of the election in rural North Yorkshire is probably different to most.

 In some areas, including my constituency of Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, the results were closer than the news might suggest. In my constituency, Labour won for the first time since 2017, with a majority of 214 votes.

 I did not vote for Labour, for one I could not bring myself to support the party’s policies and position on issues such as the conflict in Gaza and human rights, but I was aware I would potentially have to make a tactical vote. The Conservatives have a strong following in my area, especially among the fishermen and farmers, and I was aware the voting would be close as there was no Reform candidate. However, there was another big reason I did not vote for Labour: the lack of campaigning.

 I live on a constituency boundary, my home village divided in two by an imaginary line. This means that most of the village is part of the Scarborough and Whitby constituency, but 30 of us vote for Middlesbrough South. Our nearest polling station is less than a mile away, however the nearest polling station for our constituency is a three-mile drive away.

 In the lead up to the election, the three streets in my village that form part of the Middlesbrough South constituency were seemingly forgotten about by the candidates. We received no post from them, save one letter from the Conservative candidate. However, we received leaflets from all the Scarborough and Whitby parliamentary candidates, for whom we could not vote. I talked to the Conservative candidate for the Scarborough side of the village at work, but no candidate I could vote for dared venture to the boundary of their constituency.

 Out of frustration, I emailed the candidates I was considering voting for – Labour, Lib Dem and Green. The Lib Dem candidate replied within twelve hours, however the Labour candidate, Luke Myers, did not reply at all.

 Some of my biggest concerns were the dumping of raw sewage into waterways throughout the U.K., an issue that affects my seaside village immensely. I was also concerned with the lack of opportunities and career paths in my area, the lack of funding from the government, the rural poverty, and the NHS being run into the ground. Country wide concerns, but also specifically local concerns.

 My emails largely ignored and no visits from any candidate, I was made to feel as if my voice was not important, as if my very real concerns were not important.

 I knew more about Scarborough and Whitby’s candidates than my own and I often wondered if there was any point in me voting in my first general election. Was my vote worth less than someone living in Middlesbrough? Was my vote worth less than someone living in London? With a small victory margin of 214 votes, perhaps the outcome could be different if candidates had paid attention to the small villages on constituency boundaries. Our concerns, our voices and our votes are as valid as anyone else's.