AS A female independent artist I am voting Labour because I want to be part of a fairer society where, no matter your background, race, gender or sexuality, you will not be held back.

I want to be part of a society where education has the funding to provide children with the support they need, where schools can afford to invest in the creative arts and give kids the opportunity I was lucky enough to have, to express themselves through music, drama and art. That’s why I welcome Labour’s pledge to invest £160 million in arts in education.

I have seen the creative arts help children to develop socially and emotionally. I work in London schools delivering music workshops and witnessed at first hand the pressure they are under due to budget cuts under the Tories.

I have worked with a young autistic boy who, because of these cuts, no longer had a teaching assistant and so struggled to cope in the classroom. He came from an underprivileged background and was often hungry. His mother worked but still struggled to put food on the table and she couldn’t get the support she needed for her child as the local authority was so stretched.

This is not rare. This is a story that could be told for at least half of the children I have worked with.

I’m voting Labour because I believe that ordinary people deserve better, our NHS deserves better, our schools deserve better and the most vulnerable people in society deserve to be treated with dignity and kindness.

I'm voting Labour because there are thousands of people living on the streets in one if the richest cities in the world, while millionaires own multiple properties that stand empty. Labour will invest in social housing and work towards everyone having a roof over their heads.

I’m voting Labour because people with jobs are still queueing up at food banks, as they can’t get by on their low wages and high rents. Labour believes in a living wage for all and they want to protect workers’ rights.
 
Under this Tory government, we have seen budget cuts and austerity affect the poorest people in society while the rich get richer and are allowed to avoid paying the tax that they owe.

I’m on the side of the workers and the unions. I’m on the side of nurses and doctors and the NHS. I’m on the side of the disabled, the elderly, the poor and the homeless. I’m on the side of migrants and refugees. I’m on the side of ordinary people and so is Labour.

Things can be better. Things can change. But only with a Labour government will we see this change.

Vote for better. Vote for the many. Vote for Labour.