'It's good news!' Praise - and forgiveness - in Reeves's Yorkshire seat
The Guardian|October 31, 2024

In a vape shop in Bramley town centre, the popular flavours can sell out quickly. The area is a smoking and vaping hotspot - high above the national average - and it is in Rachel Reeves's constituency of Leeds West and Pudsey.

Robyn Vinter
'It's good news!' Praise - and forgiveness - in Reeves's Yorkshire seat

"Have you got any blueberry, love?" one customer asked, telling the Guardian that she had been smoking since the age of 11 and was much happier vaping instead. She was not pleased to hear the price of vapes would be going up 2% above the retail prices index, but said: "It's still cheaper than cigs."

The cashier said the shop was especially busy with older people who had quit smoking due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD. As well as having high rates of the lung condition, Bramley has above average levels of heart disease, obesity and mental health problems.

An old industrial part of Leeds previously dominated by mills and factories, the ward is one of the more deprived in the city and in desperate need of the chancellor's promise to "invest, invest, invest".

Outside Greggs was Steve Cook, who is retired but works part-time driving the "Happy Cab" for the charity Bramley Elderly Action, ferrying older people around for days out and shopping trips.

"They go in happy and come home ecstatic," he said.

Having previously loved Reeves, who got 49% of the vote in this historically Labour area, Cook said it had been "knives out" among his friends when the winter fuel payment was cut.

この記事は The Guardian の October 31, 2024 版に掲載されています。

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この記事は The Guardian の October 31, 2024 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

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