From the leafy suburbs of Conservative stronghold Wimbledon, South London, a man who could be Britain's oldest voter reminisced about Margaret Thatcher's day.
John Holmes, 100, will be 101 on May 31. The elderly gentleman spoke to Gulf News from the comfort of his home, where he lives with wife Edna, 87.
"British politics hasn't been the same since Thatcher," he said.
"She was a god-send. I didn't always agree with what she said, but she had courage and common sense. But I'm afraid that I agreed with nearly everything she said," he laughed.
Holmes turned 18 in 1927 and — as far as he can remember — has voted in every general election since.
"I took it as a duty — it's proper that a personal vote should be used," he said.
So what does he think of David Cameron, current Conservative leader? "He hasn't got the impact [that she had]. I was impressed by Thatcher: she never forgot that she was a grocer's daughter."
Holmes didn't listen to the historic televised debates (he was unable to watch as his sight is failing), because the three modern politicians "all look alike to me".
The Yorkshireman moved south to London in 1946 — a year after World War II ended. In the North he was employed at a glassworks, which made every kind of glass "except bottles".
He then moved to London after being offered a job as a research assistant in lighting, where he related "everything to what it would be if it were made of glass", he said.
Although he at first joked that he didn't take an interest in politics, the clued-up pensioner knows the issues the parties will face today.
Tactical voting, he said, makes sense, because people will vote against the other candidate: "Sometimes it's more important to keep in the ones you do want as much as the ones you don't want."
Voting process
However, he was a little critical of the voting process. "I don't really believe that the majority is always right, but that doesn't stop me voting." After all, he continued, the "first past the post" system isn't a bad rule.
Holmes met his wife Edna in 1946 at a Church meeting of which he was the chair. "I respected him from that time on," she said, taking a sip of coffee. Edna was a widow for 12 years before she met John — they have two adopted sons and two grandsons.
The results of today's elections are increasingly pointing to the likelihood of a hung parliament or the possibility of a coalition government.
This, Holmes said, would be a good thing "if they could find something to agree about. This fits with my belief that the majority is not always right".
Having chaired numerous meetings, he didn't always accept a majority vote, and would announce so to the church committee before the voting started. "It's the chairman's privilege" to make up his own mind, he said proudly.
Although they don't have a car any more, they are often taken to church by other worshippers.
This, however, hasn't stopped both of them voting by post. Thatcher aside, Holmes admitted that he was actually a liberal, "not because of what the Liberals are, but because I prefer to be one of them."
However, "they haven't been the same since the gang of four tried to separate off" he said quietly of the founders of the Social Democratic Party that later merged to become the Liberal Democrats.
Whatever this election's outcome, the Holmes' are proud to have made their vote count.
