By Tess Rushin

Leicestershire residents have made clear what they believe are the main priorities for the country as the General Election looms.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) ran a poll asking readers for their views on nine key areas: crime; conflict in the Middle East; education; the economy; the environment; housing; immigration; public transport; and the NHS.

Immigration was most frequently chosen as voters' top priority, with 38 per cent of respondents saying it was their key concern. Next was the NHS, at 30 per cent, followed by the economy, at 14 per cent.

With regard to the NHS, an overwhelming majority – 84 per cent – said they believed it had declined in the past decade.

In addition, 62 per cent of respondents said they would not be voting for the same party they backed in the 2019 General Election, and even more – 79 per cent – said they did not think Rishi Sunak had done a good job as Prime Minister.

People were also asked how happy they were with life in Leicestershire compared to five years ago on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being most happy. Nobody chose 10, with one (least happy) and five (about the same as five years ago) gaining the highest number of votes, and around 20 per cent each. The next highest numbers of votes went to 2, 3, 7, 6, 8 and, finally, 9, with 3 per cent.

With regard to transport, when asked which area people felt most needed to be improved in Leicestershire out of buses, roads, light rail, trains and cycling, 58 per cent said roads, and buses came in second with 29 per cent.

More than half – 55 per cent – of people completing the survey said they feared being a victim of crime as they went about their daily lives. The same proportion said they did not feel they had enough money to live on.

Nearly half – 49 per cent – said they felt Brexit had made life worse, while 35 per cent said it had not made any difference. Leicester was one of the few areas of the country which wanted to stay in the EU.