'Let us make a choice': Weariness in the Black Country at latest PM contest saga
There has been a feeling of weariness and inpatience among shoppers and store holders at a city market at the current Conservative leadership contest and the current state of politics.
The race to succeed Liz Truss as the Prime Minister has been hotting up, with names such as former Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, former Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, and current leader of the House of Commons, Penny Mordaunt, putting their names forward.
It means that less than two months after Liz Truss became Prime Minister, there will be a new name on the door at 10 Downing Street after the leadership contest concluded next Monday.
At Bilston Market, set in a working-class area and one of the more deprived areas of Wolverhampton, people shopping and selling their goods have spoken of their frustration with the current system and what they think should happen next.
At the Demonstration Spot, store owner David Smith from Bloxwich and his friend John O'Toole said they wanted a general election and a chance to make their own choice.
Mr Smith said: "I think there should be a big election and let the public decide right now as we don't need people going behind closed doors and making the decision themselves.
"Right now, I wouldn't pick any of them as we've had two now and it's time for a change and time for the public to decide and, I think, it needs to be somebody who's not had anything and started from scratch.
"The state of politics, right now, is disgusting as they're all out for themselves and don't care about the working class."
Mr O'Toole said: "You look on television and all you see is rich people and people who don't understand the working class, so I think politics is a real mess at the moment.
"They want to take everything off us and make themselves richer, so I'd want to see a general election to let us make a choice."
The feeling of frustration at the current state of the Government was echoed by Julie Emery, owner of JDB Produce, who said she was getting fed up with the way things were going.
She said: "I'm not sure who I'd want to see as the next Prime Minister as I and I think a lot of people are just fed up with it all and whether it's Boris or someone else.
"Speaking to a lot of the community and people who shop here, they all seem very down about it at the moment and politics is just very deflating at the moment."
Among the shoppers at the market was Dennis Southwick, who was out shopping with his wife Dorothy, and the 92-year-old from Sedgley said he would have picked Boris Johnson, but wasn't happy with the way things were.
He said: "I'd probably go for Boris Johnson as he's got his eyes on the ground and he talked sense and while I wouldn't necessarily vote for him, it's difficult to find someone else as there's not a good lot at the moment.
"I'm also annoyed at the way Liz Truss was treated by the media, as she came in with what she thought were good ideas, but which didn't work, and now she's gone and there was a lot of hatred directed towards her.
"The state of politics right now is the worst I've ever known as I am 92-years-old and I've never known politics to be so hateful and detestable in all my life as everyone is thinking about themselves and not for the country."
The state of the economy was also a subject of concern for people trading at the market, with Harvey Singh, owner of GK Trading Wolverhampton Ltd, saying he just wanted the next Prime Minister to bring stability.
He said: "The next Prime Minister should be somebody who can calm the markets down and put stability in, whoever it is.
"Boris is alright if he comes back, but we're going to have the same situation again, whereas if Rishi comes in, at least the markets will be happy and we can pay our mortgages and have less interest rates.
"Prices are going up all over the place, with mortgages going through the roof and everything costing more and I think Liz Truss was a joke as she came in with plans, but you can't do that with public money and she's destroyed that."
