Are voters in Conservative stronghold disillusioned?

Attleborough is one of the main towns in the Mid Norfolk constituency

Voters in Mid Norfolk are feeling disillusioned ahead of the general election as they face growing costs of living, candidates claim.

The Green Party, Labour, Reform UK and the Liberal Democrats are hoping to unseat Conservative George Freeman.

Mr Freeman has held the seat since 2010, but says he feels like a change could be coming.

Here are the candidates, listed in alphabetical order according to last name.

George Freeman, Conservative

George Freeman is hoping to defend the Mid Norfolk constituency for the Conservatives

Mr Freeman, 56, has served in the last three governments, most recently as minister of state for science, technology and innovation.

He is campaigning on issues such as the rural cost of living and high energy prices, calling for fairer funding for rural areas.

But he acknowledges voters are disillusioned with politics on the doorsteps.

"It's tough,” he said. "Everyone is paying more for less.

"I suspect we will end up with a Labour MP because I think a lot of Conservatives are disillusioned and won't vote or they’ll vote Reform.

"But I'm not going to gift this seat to anyone. I want to make sure that whoever wins wins because they've had to work really hard and promise people that they will do the job."

Ash Haynes, Green Party

Ash Haynes is standing for the Green Party in Mid Norfolk

Currently a Green Norwich city councillor, Ash Haynes, 33, is standing for the party in Mid Norfolk.

She hopes to tackle issues such as rural transport and a lack of affordable housing in the area.

Ms Haynes said the Greens offered voters hope for the future.

"Unfortunately, the government is giving us complete shambles most of the time at the moment," she said.

"People aren't feeling hugely inspired by what Labour has to offer either, or people voting for them because they feel they should, not because they want to.

"So I think if we’re offering hope, we’re offering change and that’s really resonating with people and somebody they can trust, somebody who's actually knocked on the door that they feel they can trust."

Stuart Howard, Liberal Democrats

Liberal Democrat candidate Stuart Howard said voters were struggling with every day costs

A chartered accountant, Stuart Howard, 53, is standing for the Liberal Democrats.

He says many voters are struggling with access to NHS services as well as problems with rural infrastructure and transport.

He said: "Listening to people, you can see it's really marginal pounds that impact their daily lives and I don't think we're appreciating that enough when we talk about interest rates.

"People don’t relate to that. People relate to have they enough money to buy milk? Have they enough money to buy food? Have they enough money to get on the bus to go to work?

"Real, everyday issues that really impact people."

Kabeer Kher, Reform UK

Kabeer Kher is standing for Reform UK

Originally from Northern Ireland, Mr Kher is a mortgage advisor who moved to Norfolk with his family in 2015.

He says a "rapid growth" in Norfolk’s population is putting pressure on public services.

He claimed the Conservatives "aren’t being taken seriously" by voters.

"The biggest problem they have is that anything they promise is not taken seriously because they have to run on their record," he said.

"After 14 years, you've got to run on the record and they’re refusing to run on the record because it's so bad.

"But we also want those Labour supporters as well. We've got many working people, traditional Labour voters who are going to be voting for us this time and they can see that what we offer is meaningful change."

Michael Rosen, Labour

Michael Rosen, a former director of children's services at Norfolk County Council, is standing for Labour

A former director of children’s services at Norfolk County Council, Michael Rosen, 65, is standing for Labour.

He says he is campaigning on national issues in this election, pledging to invest in public services and boost job security if elected.

He said voters were open to a fresh start on the doorsteps.

!There’s a really interesting mixture of anger and hope," he said. "People start angry and you talk to them about what the plans are and what Labour's offer is and they come round from anger into hope.

"It's a really emotionally engaging experience for a candidate to be able to have discussions with people on the doorstep and take them from feeling anger, disillusion, hopelessness and say 'but we could be doing this' and inspiring them."

A full list of candidates can be found here.