Today, voters choose Basingstoke's next representative. After a very personal campaign, many votes have been changed by the personalities of some of the party leaders.

We spoke to people in South Ham to see which was more important: party or policy?

Stuart and Rita Shuttleworth, 55 and 63, said they voted on two different issues.

Stuart said: "For me, half of it is about pensions. I voted Conservative, because they were the only ones who mentioned them."

He and his partner also voted on their Brexit stance. "We want some to follow through with the what happened at the referendum. We knew who we were voting for from when the election was called."

However, Rita said she could have voted for another party based on personality: "If [Nigel] Farage was standing here, I would have voted for him. He talks sense."

Stuart works in construction, and said a lot of the sites he works on involve a majority of workers from eastern Europe.

Rita disagreed over free movement, and the couple debated the issue as they headed home.

Kerry, 46, said she had chosen the best out of a bad bunch. "I don't trust Jeremy Corbyn as far as I can throw him.

"I think the whole antisemitism thing and his links to some extremist groups have really turned me away.

"I voted Conservative, because anyone else would be a wasted vote."

Basingstoke Gazette:

Two separate voters voted different ways, but both said they saw the election as a choice between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn.

Rather than voting for the one they liked, both said they voted to defeat the other leader.

A 60 year-old woman and 59-year-old man who did not wish to be named said they had voted Labour to increase government spending.

He said: "Austerity is an ideology, and compared to the rest of Europe, under-investment here is madness."

Janet Ball, aged 70, works in the town's hospital. "The NHS definitely needs more money, but some of the promises people were making just weren't practical, they weren't realistic.

"At the end of the day, we are going to need a new hospital, not just some quick fix.

"Other than that, I vote based on parties. A leader can change, but the whole party is what you vote for."

Despite this, she said she was 'upset' by some of Jeremy Corbyn's affiliations, and had decided to vote Tory.

One voter was eager to talk to the Gazette. "I'm a labour voter through and through, and I was in the party for a short time, but I voted Conservative today.

"If this was a local election, I would have voted differently. The Labour candidate [Kerena Marchant] sounded brilliant, and I would vote for her, but...

"On this election, I voted because of Brexit. I voted remain before, but just on democratic grounds, I want Brexit to happen because of the referendum."

Two Labour councillors, Sean Keating and Colin Regan, voted with their party. Sean, 74, will retire next may after sitting for 21 years.

He said: "It's always difficult to sell the leaders to people. They create the issue themselves, and it is an issue. It's stupid to pretend it's not."

Colin agreed, saying: "If someone says to me on the doorstep that they can't vote for Corbyn, it's quite simple. I ask them 'Would you rather have another five years of Boris Johnson then?'."