“We needed a change”.

This is the most popular thought from Bracknell shoppers after the country woke up to a new prime minister and political party in this year's General Elections.

On Thursday, July 4, thousands of people from across different constituencies headed out to their local polls to cast their vote on the new government.

Since waking up after a nail-biting night of counts, residents in Bracknell haven’t been shy about expressing their voices on the change in Government rule.

In Bracknell Forest, a conservative party has dominated the constituency for decades, with James Sunderland representing Bracknell between 2019 and 2024.

In a close vote, labour won with 34 per cent of the vote in Bracknell Forest compared to a well fought 32 per cent by the Conservative party.

Peter Swallow will now serve in Parliament to represent the people of their constituency for the next five years.

The Bracknell News went out to speak to locals in the town centre to gage their views on how they thought the general election went.

Lisa, a 53-year-old M&S worker from Bracknell said: ”We needed a change. I didn’t read a lot into the candidates' manifesto but we’ve always had a conservative government and I think people are fed up not seeing a lot of action from the local MPs.

“I voted labour this year, but I have always voted labour so this year isn’t any different. I just hope that they can get things done that will be more effective than the last government and that they will be more consistent in their actions.”

Despite Labour and Conservatives going head to head in many constituencies, some residents, who have lived in the area for many years went in a completely different direction.

Carol Saddington, 67, explained: “In this election, I actually went another way and voted for the local Reform candidate. The only reason I did this however is because I do not agree with any of the top parties – Labour or Conservatives – and I do like Nigel Farage and the different views that he has raised.

“Although I didn’t want to vote for the two main parties, I feel that it was so important to vote especially for my grandchildren. This is their future we are talking about here and I don’t want them to be growing up in a broken system.

“We need to stand up and say that the things that are being proposed need to be actioned instead of just talking about them.”

Various issues that Carol and other residents have outlined as trouble spots include housing and SEN for both adults and children

She added: “Peter seems to have already started actioning different things that he has promised. I just hope he can keep it up.

A 19-year-old Bracknell girl, who goes to university in Bristol returned to her home town to vote in this year’s general elections.

She said: “The vote was quite close this year, and I think it comes down to some people wanting a change but others wanting to vote for that safe Conservative vote that Bracknell has always had.

“I have a feeling that many people my age voted tactically because even though we wanted to vote for another party, it was clear that Labour or Conservative would get the highest votes.

“I voted for Labour basically because of this reason, and because everyone was looking for a change away from a Conservative rule in Bracknell Forest.

“I honestly don’t think though that any MP’s will commit to the pledges that they have promised to uphold."