42% of young voters steered clear of snap General Election

LUKE CAMPBELL reflects on the general election results and says more must be done to engage young people in the democratic process:

A YouGov poll, published on Tuesday 13 June has suggested that UK-wide 42% of all eligible voters aged under 25 did not vote in the snap General Election of Thursday 8th June (writes Luke Campbell).

The survey, which involved 52,615 people, highlighted that despite the surge in youth support for Labour (much of which has been credited to Jeremy Corbyn), there remains a gulf in terms of political engagement between young people and the UK’s elderly.

A staggering 84% of those aged 70+ voted in the General Election, with 69% of these voters stating that they favoured for the Tory Party, compared to just 23% Tory support from the turnout of 60% from those aged 18 – 39. In sharp contrast, UK-wide the Labour Party received 64% support from 18 – 24 year olds, with the SNP polling just 30% of voters in this age category in Scotland (assuming consistent turnout throughout the UK). This represents a significant increase on the 42% of UK-wide 18-24 who voted Labour in 2015 (according to Ipsos MORIi).

Employment status was another area that respondents were categorised by, with 63% of retirees who voted UK-wide voting for the Tories, compared to just 19% of full-time students, and 40% of part-time workers. Labour were more popular with those in part-time work than the Tories (44% vs 40%), full-time workers (45% vs 39%), and with those currently not in work (54% vs 28%).

The June 2017 General Election produced some surprising results including the Scottish Tory party gaining an additional twelve seats with an increase of 323,852 votes; 21 seats being lost by the SNP after receiving 476,867 fewer votes than in 2014 (where they won 56 of the 59 MP seats following a post Independence Referendum 2014 surge); and the loss of several key figures in Scottish politics including former SNP Leader Alex Salmond and the SNP’s Deputy Leader Angus Robertson.

This election also saw far fewer candidates across Scotland than in the 2015 General Election (266 in 2017 down from 345 in 2015) with just three Scottish Green candidates including Lorna Slater in Edinburgh North & Leith (the Scottish Greens only one more than the Scottish Christian Party). Other parties contesting seats included ten UKIP candidates, the Women’s Equality Party who stood in Stirling, and ten independent candidates. Despite the suggested surge in support for Labour from young people in the UK, Scottish Labour increased their vote by less than 10,000 votes, with overall turnout down by almost 5% in Scotland.

Locally, the Edinburgh North and Leith constituency witnessed a five-way contest between the SNP’s incumbent Deidre Brock, Labour Leith ward councillor Gordon Munro, Harmony Employment Agency Director Iain McGill of the Tories, the Liberal Democrat’s Martin Veart, and the aforementioned Lorna Slater of the Scottish Green Party. Whilst the Lib Dems and Greens polled 4.6% and 3.1% respectively, the result saw an SNP hold by 1,625 votes at 34%, ahead of Labour (31.2%), with the Tories coming third at 27.2%.

Colin Fox, Scottish Socialist Party Co-Spokesperson and MSP for the Lothians region from 2003 – 2007 commented: “History will record that the 2017 General Election was the ‘Brexit’ election. Working people now find themselves facing another Tory Government, and regardless of whether May has a minority government or not, the Tory austerity agenda will continue to push working people further into poverty. Working class communities like those in North Edinburgh and in South Edinburgh will be the ones that suffer most.”

Much has been made of the ‘Corbyn Factor’ and the appeal of Labour’s ‘radical’ manifesto to younger voters. Labour may have attracted many 18-25 year olds in Scotland who voted for the SNP in 2015, but if there is credence to this theory then a significant number of older voters in Edinburgh and beyond have shifted to either the Liberal Democrats or the Tories. Indeed the turnout in Scotland dropping by almost 5% begs the question of how many young people actually turned out to vote?

The enthusiasm and political engagement witnessed post-independence referendum has largely waned. In an election which saw four constituencies decided by fewer than 100 votes (East Fife coming down to just 2 votes in favour of the SNP after three recounts), it would seem that work is still required to boost youth turnout not just in Scotland, but UK-wide.