The conflict in Gaza appears to be a key factor in how some people in Lancashire will vote in the general election.
People in some parts of Preston told BBC North West Tonight that they wanted politicians to take a stronger position on the conflict.
This could see Ronnie Clarke, a former youth worker and former Labor voter, shift his traditional loyalties.
He said he felt “uncomfortable” with the main party leaders’ position on the Israel-Gaza war.
Mr Clarke, who said he ruined his ballot in frustration at the last local election, said his “heart leans to the left” but he no longer felt his views were represented.
Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas have been at war since early October after Hamas fighters launched an unprecedented attack on Israel and a military campaign followed, killing thousands of people in the Palestinian territory.
Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has repeatedly called for “a humanitarian pause” to allow aid to enter Gaza, and backed a “long-term, sustainable ceasefire.”
Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer has also called for “a ceasefire that lasts”, and backed the government’s position in calling on Israel to pause its action.
Both have also called on Hamas to release the hostages captured during the October 7 attacks.
But after he refused to call for an immediate ceasefire last year, Labor councilors in Pendle and Burnley called on him to resign, with ten councilors quitting the party in protest.
Pro-Palestinian campaigner Naima Adam and first-time voter Jawaharah Bodi also spoke to the BBC while visiting the Chai Stop cafe on St Paul’s Rd in the Deepdale area of Preston.
Ms Bodi said the upcoming elections were “the most important election of our lifetime”.
For her, issues such as the cost of living, housing and employment were linked to the fate of Gaza’s civilians.
“Foreign policy and domestic policy are both linked,” she said.
“For example, we cannot advocate for women’s rights if we do not look at the women in Gaza who lose their children every day.”
Ms Adam is a trainee campaigner and therapist and has organized pro-Palestinian marches.
She said she should have “voted Labor” all her life, but she began to feel insecure about the situation in Gaza.
“We’ve had kind of a shift in that belief and narrative because at the end of the day you know we want the people in power to be forced to do something,” she said.
Zain Ishrat, leader of the Chai Stop, said pro-Palestinian marches in the northwest of England showed “that together we are strong.”
But Paula Keaveney, a senior lecturer in politics at Edge Hill University, said Gaza is unlikely to be the “sole significant factor” behind voting decisions in the territory.
“For a general election, there are so many other things in the mix, although I think that will influence people’s mindset.”
Across town, at a community center, entrepreneur Mustaq Patel said he would change his vote because of what was happening in Gaza, but he said he would also think about other issues.
“Clearly it can’t just be about one issue: the cost of living, the community service, everything has gone downhill,” he said.
But he said the situation in Gaza had a major impact on him, adding: “When you see the news, it obviously affects you.”
For Naima Adam, however, her decision was clear.
She said she would use her vote at the ballot box to support the party that aligned with her views on what was happening in Gaza.
“I wouldn’t call it a protest vote, [but] what else do we have in the end.”
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