Among gift shops and goth day-trippers, meet the 'Whitby woman' who could influence the election

Sign up to receive the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox. Receive our free View from Westminster emailPlease enter a valid email addressPlease enter a valid email addressI would like to receive email about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policyThank you for signing up to email View from Westminster{{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later.{{ /verifyErrors }}

Retirees ride on mobility scooters, pirate-themed boats pass by, couples shake hands. Welcome to Whitby: the North Yorkshire seaside town which lent its name to a target voter in the general election race.

The so-called 'Whitby Woman', a term coined by the group of thinking about polls. Over in Common, is a conservative voter who remains undecided about who will get her vote on July 4.

With an average age of around 61, she owns a home and lives in a suburb or small town like Whitby, which voted for Brexit and is less likely to 'have gone to university.

And some expect her actions to have an impact on whether the Conservatives suffer a crushing defeat, suffer a narrow defeat, or hang on to power.

Sadie her age, Sadie Myers, who owns an antiques store in Whitby called Den of Antiquity, fits the profile of the “Whitby woman” perfectly.

“C “It's like opening a box of chocolates that look different but all taste the same,” the 49-year-old said of political leaders. "You're bored."

Ms Myers is not a fan of Rishi Sunak or Sir Keir Starmer and is therefore considering turning to Nigel Farage's reform.

" I’m proud of that fact that I still vote,” she says. "I think it's very important, especially for women. We won the right to vote and we have to keep it, you know. When you're not given people that you can be comfortable with, it makes the very difficult things."

Surrounded by figurines of Betty Boop and the Buddha, it is clear that Ms. Myers, born into the antiques and jewelry industry, has an encyclopedic knowledge of the many diverse objects that 'she's selling.

Meanwhile, as a 61-year-old lifelong Tory who voted for Brexit, Liz Richards...