General Election 2015: What it's like living in 10 Downing Street - in the West Midlands

Since the start of the election campaign, the front door of Michelle Barrett's council home has been a magnet for television crews, canvassers and reporters

Downing Street in the Halesowen and Rowley Regis constituency is “very close and Labour might take it back” (Colin McPherson)

Michelle Barrett propels her 18-year-old daughter Molly towards the front door. “She can talk to you,” said the mother of four. “I’m done with talking about the election. Try a first-time voter instead. She’ll [Molly] vote even if I have to drag her down to the polling station.”

There is a reason Ms Barrett, 46, has grown tired of talking about the election: she lives at 10 Downing Street in Halesowen, a town in the West Midlands. Since the start of the election campaign, her front door of her council home has been a magnet for television crews, canvassers and reporters.

She gives The Independent on Sunday a warmer welcome because this newspaper got to know the Barrett family 15 years ago when it spoke to the residents of this smart cul-de-sac over several months in the run-up to the 2001 election.

Downing Street in Halesowen is made up of about 35 council-built semis and terraced homes (Colin McPherson)

Ms Barrett says she no longer poses for photographs, though. “It’s too depressing to look back on them every election,” she said, asking her excited children and grandchildren to put their smartphones down, turn off the television and “talk politics”. She knows the drill, and informs her family that The IoS is here because the Halesowen and Rowley Regis constituency is “very close and Labour might take it back”.

---

Are you undecided about who to vote for on 7 May? Are you confused about what the parties stand for and what they are offering? Take this interactive quiz to help you decide who to vote for...

Click here to launch

---

Downing Street is made up of about 35 council-built semis and terraced homes. A new constituency in 1997, it gave Labour a 10,000-plus majority and since then has blown back and forth with the political wind. The incumbent is Conservative James Morris who is defending a vulnerable 2,000-vote majority from young Labour challenger Stephanie Peacock.

For its part, the family at 10 Downing Street has always been what Ms Barrett describes as “working-class Labour voters”. But Ed Miliband won’t be getting at least one vote from No 10 this year: Molly Barrett has decided to vote for Ukip.

“I don’t like their [Ukip’s] policy of race – I think they are probably racist – and I think it would be a disaster if we left the European Union,” said the hair and beauty student, who has hopes of a career as a singer. “But I think we need a change. We need things to be shaken up.”

At this point Michelle, a lifelong Labour voter, jumps in and mother and daughter become embroiled in a debate about Nigel Farage’s views and whether immigrants are really to blame for social housing shortages and pressures on the NHS. It’s easy to imagine they will still be arguing about politics when they cast their votes on Thursday. Two elections ago, when this newspaper first visited Downing Street, crime and jobs were the key issues raised by residents. Today, few mention crime; at No 24 it is the future of the NHS that concerns 61-year-old catering assistant Susan Taylor.

“I don’t like the idea of our pensioners being cared for in private care homes,” said Mrs Taylor, who back in 2001 told The IoS she was worried about petrol prices in the wake of the fuel protests that briefly paralysed Tony Blair’s government. “It isn’t right, so I’ll be voting Labour. I want to protect the NHS from more cuts too. I don’t see why we need private firms making money off it.”

She is joined on the doorstep by her daughter Sarah, 24, and boyfriend Declan Whittingslow, 25. The young couple are saving to buy their first home and hope to stay in the area, but unlike Susan, they (or at least Declan) are attracted to David Cameron’s economic pitch. Mr Whittingslow says: “I like Conservative policy on stamp duty and the promise not to raise taxes. We are saving hard and we need all the help we can get.”

Back at No 10, the debate over Nigel Farage’s alleged racism is still raging. Molly and Michelle haven’t been impressed by the leadership debates and were disappointed that the bedroom tax, which they claim has been costing the family £11 a week since Molly’s elder brother left home, has not featured more prominently in the campaign.

“It might not sound like a lot to some people,” said Ms Barrett, who has declined offers to take part in an election-based reality TV show. “But we struggle to find it. It’s so unfair as this is our home; we’ve been here more than 20 years and spent our money doing it up. It’s not like there is anywhere else for us to go.”

The IoS 2001 story, when one voter joked that the reporter would need a translator to “understand the Black Country dialect”

She doubts if Mr Cameron could “get by” on benefits and offers to trade places with the PM “for a week or two”. “We wouldn’t mind living in a fancy house with police protection for a week,” she says.

Back in 2001, one Downing Street voter joked that The IoS’s reporter would need a translator to “understand the Black Country dialect”. The make-up of the road has changed considerably. Many of the council homes have moved into private ownership and the street is more diverse, thanks to the arrivals of second-generation immigrant families, many of whom studied at nearby universities.

Desta Hagoes, 38, who has popped home briefly prior to collecting his children, says the street is a friendly place to live. He came to the UK from Eritrea more than a decade ago, went to university and now teaches computing at the local college. This will be only the second time he has voted in Britain. “I’ve been watching the election very closely and watched the debate on Thursday night. I haven’t decided how to vote yet, but let’s just say there is one particular party I don’t want to do well,” he said, in a veiled reference to Ukip.

Like the pollsters, Mr Hagoes is well aware that if Halesowen and Rowley Regis goes back to Labour, it means Ed Miliband is likely to become prime minister this week. But that doesn’t make his choice any easier. “I will definitely be voting. If you don’t vote, your voice isn’t heard, but it’s hard to know which promises to trust and know which ones will survive any coalition,” he added.

Oddly, given how tight the race is and how important the seat is, few political posters grace the windows of Downing Street and residents say they have seen few candidates. One exception is Ukip’s Dean Perks, who seized the opportunity to pose for a selfie by the street sign as he knocked on doors last week. Likewise, few on the street knew that George Osborne had been spotted campaigning in the constituency on Friday, the same day The IoS visited.

Molly Barrett and her niece Ceri-Leigh (Colin McPherson)

What the residents of Downing Street have noticed is the unstoppable influx of party leaflets. Nearly all of them commented on the waste of paper in the age of the internet. At No 1, Farhana Ahmed Zoarder, 38, a financial services worker, offered a simple solution. “I’m putting them all in the recycling,” she said. “My sister is a Labour activist and is trying to sway me but I’m not sure yet exactly how I’ll vote.” Like her neighbour Mr Hagoes, she says she’s finding it “impossible” to tell which “political promises are genuine”.

Next door, accountant Stephen Brayshaw, 44, is putting out rubbish sacks weighed down with political leaflets. “I’m definitely voting Conservative,” he said, but wondered aloud why residents hear nothing from local politicians “for years”, then receive a deluge of pamphlets in just a few days.

Mr Brayshaw is moving home tomorrow, so he won’t be bothered by reporters again. At No 10, Ms Barrett is resigned to more reporters. “See you again soon,” she said. “Especially if there’s a second election.”