Uneven voting patterns have been a prominent feature of UK elections since the turn of the Millennium—especially voter turnout. The standout contest was the 2001 General Election where turnout collapsed and has remained low since, especially amongst the unemployed, those from lower social classes, and those from British minority ethnic groups. But age differences in electoral participation rates have been particularly stark, with young people significantly more likely than their older contemporaries to abstain in recent elections. Why should this be the case? Here, we present evidence to show that the ‘Supply’ of politics has been critical. At the 2001 and 2010 UK general elections, the main GB-wide/national parties failed to reach out to young people, leaving many feeling overlooked and subsequently shunning the polls. However, things changed at the 2017 ‘Youthquake’ election—with young people turning left and voting in huge numbers for Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party. In this chapter, we look at what is behind such developments.

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The (Dis)Connection of Young People from Electoral Politics in Britain

  • James Sloam,
  • Matt Henn,
  • Ana Isabel Nunes

摘要

Uneven voting patterns have been a prominent feature of UK elections since the turn of the Millennium—especially voter turnout. The standout contest was the 2001 General Election where turnout collapsed and has remained low since, especially amongst the unemployed, those from lower social classes, and those from British minority ethnic groups. But age differences in electoral participation rates have been particularly stark, with young people significantly more likely than their older contemporaries to abstain in recent elections. Why should this be the case? Here, we present evidence to show that the ‘Supply’ of politics has been critical. At the 2001 and 2010 UK general elections, the main GB-wide/national parties failed to reach out to young people, leaving many feeling overlooked and subsequently shunning the polls. However, things changed at the 2017 ‘Youthquake’ election—with young people turning left and voting in huge numbers for Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party. In this chapter, we look at what is behind such developments.