I've voted Tory all my life...but it's Labour for me now - MANDY SNELGROVE, 77

A LIFELONG Tory voter told Keir Starmer she is switching to Labour for the first time, following a horrific hospital visit.

- ASHLEY COWBURN

Ex-business owner Mandy Snelgrove, 77, said the government under Rishi Sunak was a "big mess" and had left the NHS in tatters.

Ms Snelgove said she waited 12 hours at a hospital in September last year before being sent back home at 2am without being seen.

She returned the next day and waited for another six hours without being seen.

Ms Snelgrove, who had symptoms of acute diverticulitis disease, a digestive condition affecting the intestine, added: "They finally sent for me in December - four months later."

The pensioner, who said the NHS was one of the reasons she would now vote Labour, told the Mirror: "My father voted Conservative, so I voted Conservative all my life."

She met Mr Starmer and Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall at the Bridge Coffee cafe in Bolton, Greater Manchester. Ms Kendall warned that the chaos inflicted by the Tories after 14 years in power is ruining the quality of retirement and urged pensioners to look at their wallets and "vote this rabble out".

Last week, Mr Sunak unveiled a "triple lock plus" to raise the tax-free pension allowance.