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Article from YouGov showing from survey results how Britain voted.
https://yougov.co.uk/news/2017/06/13/how-britain-voted-2017-general-election/

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YouGov conducts one of Britain's biggest ever post-election surveys to chart how the nation's political character is shifting

Since last week's election result YouGov has interview over 50,000 British adults to gather more information on how Britain voted. This is part of one of the biggest surveys ever undertaken into British voting behaviour, and is the largest yet that asks people how they actually cast their ballots in the 2017 election.

The bigger sample size allows us to break the results down to a much more granular level and see how different groups and demographics voted on Thursday.

Age

In electoral terms, age seems to be the new dividing line in British politics. The starkest way to show this is to note that, amongst first time voters (those aged 18 and 19), Labour was forty seven percentage points ahead. Amongst those aged over 70, the Conservatives had a lead of fifty percentage points.

In fact, for every 10 years older a voter is, their chance of voting Tory increases by around nine points and the chance of them voting Labour decreases by nine points. The tipping point, that is the age at which a voter is more likely to have voted Conservative than Labour, is now 47 - up from 34 at the start of the campaign.

Despite an increase in in youth turnout, young people are still noticeably less likely to vote than older people. While 57% of 18 and 19 year-olds voted last week, for those aged 70+ the figure was 84%.

Class

As noted at the start of the campaign, the class divide in British politics seems to have closed and it is no longer a very good indicator of voting intention. Despite dramatic voter movements towards Labour over the past few weeks this theme has held reasonably consistent: Labour is now 4% behind amongst ABC1 voters and 2% behind amongst C2DE voters.

The picture is a bit more mixed if we split this out further, with Labour doing best amongst DE voters (semi-skilled and unskilled manual occupations, unemployed people and those in the lowest grade occupations) and the Tories doing best amongst C2 voters (skilled manual occupations).

Education

Alongside age, education has become one of the key electoral demographic dividing lines. We saw it was a huge factor in the EU referendum campaign and, after the last general election, we made sure we accounted for educational qualifications in our methodology. In last week's vote, while the Conservatives' support decreases the more educated a voter is, the opposite was true for Labour and the Lib Dems.

Amongst those with low educational qualifications (defined as GCSE or equivalent or below) the Conservatives beat Labour by 22%. However amongst those with high level educational qualifications (defined as degree-level or above) Labour led by 17 percentage points. Part of this relationship is down to age - the expansion of education means that, on average, the young have more qualifications than the old, although the Conservatives still have a "graduate problem" even after accounting for this.

Gender

There was only a small gender gap between men and women, with women being equally split between Labour and the Conservatives (43% to 43%), and men slightly more likely to have backed the Tories (45% to 39%).

Employment status

Given the importance of age and voting it is not surprising that there is also a link between people's employment status and who they cast their ballot for. The Conservatives are 39 points ahead amongst retirees and Labour are 45 points ahead amongst full-time students.

Labour is in fact ahead amongst those in work: 4 points ahead amongst those working part time and 6 points ahead amongst those working full time, illustrating how the Conservatives are increasingly relying on the grey retired vote.

Newspaper

Beyond standard demographics, our data also shows a wide variation in voting behaviours based on the newspapers people read. The most pro-Conservative newspapers are the broadsheet Telegraph (+67), but also the "blue-top" Express (+62) and Daily Mail (+57).

The most pro-Labour newspapers are the Guardian (+65), the now fully-online Independent (+51), and the Daily Mirror (+49). This is based on the newspaper that respondents say they read "most often".

Photo: PA
See the full results here

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How Britain voted at the 2017 general election | YouGov

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Since last week's election result YouGov has interview over 50,000 British adults to gather more information on how Britain voted. This is part of one of the biggest surveys ever undertaken into British voting behaviour, and is the largest yet that asks people how they actually cast their ballots in the 2017 election.

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Web page explaining importance of voting.
http://massvote.org/the-importance-of-voting/

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Young voters, class and turnout statistics for the general election 2017.
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Young voters, class and turnout: how Britain voted in 2017

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The 2017 general election was swung by young voters and high turnout according to the Ipsos Mori How Britain Voted survey

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Survey results post election results by age

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A useful Government Website

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Why use Rock Enrol!®?

There has never been a better time to engage young people in the democratic process, encourage them to be active citizens and register to vote. The Rock Enrol!® resource pack creates that opportunity by using fun, interactive activities.

Watch students and teachers explain the benefits of taking part in Rock Enrol!:
Benefits of taking part in Rock Enrol!
The sessions aim to develop political literacy and inspire young people to engage in democratic debate. They encourage young people to discuss what they care about and why they should register to vote. They use games and activities to get students discussing important issues, whether local or global. There is also an opportunity for students to make their voices heard by registering to vote.

What does Rock Enrol!® include?

The resource pack includes:

a core 45-minute lesson plan (session 1) with 3 additional lesson plans with more activities (sessions 2-4)

supporting audiovisual material

supporting guidance

lesson hand-out

publicity materials (poster and flyer) for running Rock Enrol!® sessions in your school, college or youth group

Welsh versions of the Rock Enrol!® resource pack - core 45-minute lesson plan (session 1) with three additional lesson plans (sessions 2-4), supporting guidance and publicity flyer *

an adapted version of Rock Enrol!® activities for people with a learning disability and supporting guidance developed with Mencap

The original Rock Enrol!® lesson framework, which includes the 'Vote with your feet' and 'Show me the money' activities, was co-created by the Cabinet Office and youth-led organisation Bite the Ballot. Session 2 and 3 activities - 'Critical issues', and 'Power game' are taken from the Youth Count! Democracy Challenge toolkit developed by UK Youth.

Who can use it?

Anyone including teachers, youth group leaders and young people themselves can use Rock Enrol!®. Sessions are straightforward to prepare and run.

The resources provide fresh ideas or innovative ways to engage young people. They are flexible and can be tailored to suit different groups and settings. Rock Enrol!® sessions are aimed at students aged 16+ but can be used for younger age groups without the registration element.

Although they are not subject-specific, the sessions are particularly useful for supporting:

personal, social and health education (PSHE) and the citizenship curriculum programme of study at Key Stage 3 and 4, and with students of GCSE citizenship studies

the revised citizenship curriculum's statutory requirements to help pupils learn how citizens actively participate in the UK's democratic system and think critically and debate political questions

post-16 learners - for example within tutorial programmes in colleges and school sixth forms and as part of units of work on personal and social development for foundation learners

How do I use it?

To begin with, follow the core 45-minute lesson plan (session 1). Why not then run the other sessions included in the Rock Enrol!® resource pack with young people?

Reusing the content

We encourage you to download and use the resource in the format it appears here. The Rock Enrol!® resources are protected by Crown copyright and not covered by the Open Government Licence. We welcome requests to extract, reuse or rebrand the content. Please contact the Democratic Engagement Team for more information.

If you run any of the Rock Enrol!® sessions, we'd like to hear about your experience. Please send feedback and any pictures from your event to DemocraticEngagement@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.

Tweet us about your session at @Signup2Vote or by using #RockEnrol.

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Rock Enrol!®: engaging young people in democracy

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There has never been a better time to engage young people in the democratic process, encourage them to be active citizens and register to vote. The Rock Enrol!® resource pack creates that opportunity by using fun, interactive activities. Watch students and teachers explain the benefits of taking part in Rock Enrol!: Benefits of taking part in Rock Enrol!

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Stats from the bbc

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Young people prefer Labour over the Conservatives, according to opinion polls. But the majority don't vote. So if they did, what would happen?

The turnout gap

In the 2015 general election, the gap between old voters and young voters was massive.

Just 43% of 18-24-year-olds went to the polls, compared with 78% of people aged 65 or over, according to Ipsos Mori. (To estimate how many old and young people vote at elections, you have to look at opinion polls). That's a huge gap of 35 percentage points.

There's been a similar gulf for the past 20 years, but it wasn't always like that.

As recently as 1992, the gap was just 12 percentage points. Then, 63% of 18-24-year-olds voted. The old aren't voting more now - but the young are voting far less.

In some ways, the low turnout isn't surprising. Young people are mobile and many are students who live away from home - groups which have among the lowest levels of voter registration, according to the Electoral Commission. They are often voting for the first time, so haven't developed a habit, unlike many older people.

Young people with quite high levels of political engagement also often distrust the established political parties.

But young people face a dilemma. Groups with low turnouts tend to be of less interest to politicians who want to be elected.

"It's a no-brainer. Why spend time chasing non-voters rather than concentrating all your energy and effort on those who do vote," says David Cowling, a political opinion polling specialist at King's College London.

But if young people turned out like old people, and 78% of 18-24-year-olds had voted in 2015, that would have equated to almost two million extra votes.

"If two million more 18-24-year-olds voted in elections do we really think that issues like housing, low paid, insecure jobs and student fees would not immediately move up the political agenda?" says Cowling.

The party preference gap

Polling consistently shows that young people are more left-wing than older people. So if they were as eager to vote as pensioners, would Labour have a better chance of winning the election?

In 2015, 43% of 18-24-year-olds who cast their ballot voted for Labour, while 27% voted Conservative, 8% UKIP and 5% Lib Dem.

By contrast, 47% of voters aged 65 or over cast their ballot for Conservative, 23% voted Labour, 17% UKIP and 8% Lib Dem.

A recent poll of nearly 13,000 people by Yougov suggests 2017 is no different, with Labour 19 percentage points ahead among 18-24-year-olds and the Conservatives 4 percentage points ahead among the over 65s.

Cowling says there is some truth to the "cliche" that people become more right-wing as they grow older. But "it is not some iron law of human nature" as Labour could not have secured its massive 1997 victory without the support of millions of older voters.

He is also sceptical about the youth appeal of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

"Labour talk a big game in terms of Mr Corbyn's personal attraction to young voters, as well as their attraction towards more radical Labour policies in this election. But I see little evidence of any significant shift to Labour among young voters compared with previous elections, nor any greater enthusiasm to vote in 2017 than in previous elections," he says.

So what would happen if 18-24-year-olds turned out like pensioners, but kept their voting preferences?

We've already established a scenario where a turnout of 78% of 18-24-year-olds leads to an extra two million votes.

Assuming the two million extra votes are spread out among parties in the same proportions as the 2.5 million actual votes - a big assumption given it's difficult to predict the intentions of people who don't vote - all the parties would benefit, but Labour would get the biggest boost. They would receive an extra 860,000 votes. The Tories would gain 540,000 votes.

Overall, that would lead to a modest rise in the share of the vote for Labour, and a modest fall in the share of the vote for the Conservatives. But it would be less than 1% of the vote.

This might not sound like a lot, but it could mean five to 10 seats transferring from Conservative to Labour. And, in a tight election such as 2015, when the Tories ended up with a majority of 12 seats, it could make a big difference.

"We should be careful about our predictions but it seems the potential extra two million young voters could have changed the outcome of 2015, robbing the Conservatives of their fragile majority and forcing them to soldier on as a minority government or entering another coalition," says Cowling.

"In a close election every vote counts."

The figures assume that the extra votes are spread evenly across the country, but in real life, that is unlikely to be the case, as young people tend to live in more urban areas, and cities are more likely to vote Labour anyway.

In fact nine out of the 10 seats where young voters are the greatest share of the population, such as Sheffield Central and Cardiff Central, were won by Labour in 2015.

So a higher turnout among young voters could mean a slightly bigger share for Labour, but with many of those extra votes piling up in seats that the party would expect to win anyway.

Grey power

There is also another factor that makes it harder for young people to change the outcome of the election - the sheer volume of older people.

In 2015, there were 5.7 million aged 18-24-years-old in Britain, according to the Office for National Statistics. By comparison, there were 11.3 million people aged 65 and over.

So on numbers alone, the pensioners win out.

Even if we look at a larger group of younger people - 18-34-year-olds, which totalled 14.3 million people in 2015 - and apply the 78% turnout figure to them, it would still lead to only a modest rise in Labour's vote share. About 1%. Again, this could equate to about 10 seats.

That's because although there would be an extra four million votes by 18-34-year-olds, the 25-34-year-old age group is much more evenly split between Conservatives and Labour. In 2015, 36% of 25-34-year-olds who cast their ballot voted for Labour, while 33% voted Conservative.

The (Bre)X(it) factor

The 2017 general election has been dubbed the Brexit election, and yet how much impact the result of the EU referendum will have on the way people vote is relatively unknown.

Once again, age was a dividing line in the 2016 EU ballot. About 75% of 18-24-year-olds voted to Remain in the EU, while 60% among those aged 65 and over voted for Brexit.

How many young people turned out to vote is less clear, with polls suggesting a mixed picture.

There were also three million extra voters in 2016, compared with the 2015 general election, according to Cowling. Who they are is a mystery, but he suspects they were not made up of young Remainers in large part.

It remains to be seen whether, voting appetites whetted, those additional voters will return to polling stations in 8 June. And, if they do, what difference they could make.
Data journalism by John Walton and Daniel Wainwright. Methodology Figures from Ipsos MORI and the ONS were used to estimate how increased turnout among 18-24-year-olds might have had an effect on the 2015 general election. MORI's data was used to estimate the turnout of different age groups as well as which party they supported. The data from the ONS was then used to calculate the number of voters in each age group. In 2015 there were fewer than six million 18-24 year-olds in Great Britain, using a turnout figure from MORI of 43% this would give a rough figure of under 2.5 million actual voters in that age band. If their turnout was then boosted to match that of the over 65s (78%) this creates an extra 2 million voters. It was then assumed that the voting preferences of the imagined new voters were the same as that recorded by MORI for those in their age group who did vote. This gives all the parties a boost in voters, but due to its popularity with young voters in MORI's 2015 data in this scenario the Labour Party would have benefited the most.

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If young people voted bigly, would it change everything?

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Young people prefer Labour over the Conservatives, according to opinion polls. But the majority don't vote. So if they did, what would happen? In the 2015 general election, the gap between old voters and young voters was massive. Just 43% of 18-24-year-olds went to the polls, compared with 78% of people aged 65 or over, according to Ipsos Mori.

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A poll to show who is voting for who

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How an increase in youn voters could change UK Politics

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With the general election fast approaching, politicians, the media and older people will be talking about young people and our so-called "lack of engagement" with politics once again.

Whether you realise it or not, young people are not disengaged from politics. We are talking politics with our friends, when we are together, online and on social media platforms. We have opinions about the country and the world we live in, and we know what we'd like to see done about it. We are getting involved in campaigns, whether they're for gender equality, affordable housing or criminal justice reform. We are creating social enterprises to tackle the issues facing our communities and wider society. Youth activism over the past two years has shown that there is an appetite for social change among our generation.

The issue isn't that we are not active or do not care about politics, the issue is that not much of this passion or activism translates into votes or registration. This is due to a general lack of faith in the political system and our elected officials' inability to deliver solutions on society's most pressing issues.

Young people are one of the groups least likely to be registered and vote, and the consequences of this is evident. If we hold the belief that politics is about supply and demand, the argument that politicians will only supply where there is a demand would explain why issues facing young citizens rank low on the list of political priorities. Only 43% of 18- to 24-year-olds turned out to vote at the last general election.

Let's imagine for a moment that in this general election and in future elections, all eligible citizens aged 18 to 24 in this country registered and used their vote to help elect candidates that better represented them.

To start with we would have a voice, and a strong one in the ongoing Brexit negotiations. This is key considering that we will be the generation to live longest with the effects of Brexit. Second, a youth voting block would mean the issues directly affecting us could no longer be ignored. The days of us being pushed to the back of the line (like a Friday night club reject while "baby boomers" enjoy the benefits of the VIP lounge) would be over.

A full youth vote would drive active citizenship and the result will be a more sensitive, just and civil society

Instead, we would be a powerful political voice with the opportunity to push for policies and investments such as truly affordable housing, youth services and an education system that teaches the subjects that prepare students for life. Investing in services that we care about wouldn't just be given lip service, it would have to be a reality.

In a society where all young citizens vote, politics would be given the shake-up it desperately needs, with younger politicians getting elected, making parliament more diverse and bringing with them modern ideas and opinions. The end result would be a parliament that would be more innovative and willing to try out new things, implement better laws and overall make politics more accessible.

Interactive

A full youth vote would drive active citizenship and the result will be a more sensitive, just and civil society. Why? Because we would be a country whose voting system is based on the thoughts and voices of all its citizens. Young people would feel like we actually have a stake and say in society.

While we can't guarantee it would solve every issue we care about, a strong youth voting bloc would make us a force to be reckoned with. It begins with all of us ensuring our names are on the electoral register before the deadline at midnight tonight.

We all have a choice as young citizens concerning whether we want a place at the table or whether we want to continue to be "on the menu". No matter what age you are and even if you don't feel that any party represents your exact views, values or visions for change, there is always the option to spoil your ballot. It may not be ideal, but it is a way of sending a major message and declaring that you are ready and willing to vote but that no one on your ballot paper represents you.

This is not an election just on choosing which party we feel is best to negotiate Brexit, this is also an election about which party can solve some of the biggest issues facing the UK over the next five years. Which means that not turning up isn't an option.

* Please make sure you register before the end of today. Let's all #TurnUp on 8 June

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If young people vote, we can transform British politics | Kenny Imafidon

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With the general election fast approaching, politicians, the media and older people will be talking about young people and our so-called "lack of engagement" with politics once again.   Whether you realise it or not, young people are not disengaged from politics.

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Here's a website dedicated to increasing the amount of young voters in the UK.

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Are you an individual, a group of young people, or a youth organisation eager to influence the decisions made by politicians? If so, you can join The League of Young Voters and help us to help you make your mark on democracy!

The League of Young Voters is aimed at those both under and over the age of 18 (up to 25) - so whatever your age, whatever your views, by signing up today you're saying that you want to make a difference through the ballot box, and want to help us generate the numbers needed to challenge the status quo.

So join the one million young voters who already take part in these elections, or sign up as a prospective or willing voter for 18+ elections in the future, and let's change politics!

The League of Young Voters is not just an initiative to get young people to vote - it's a movement that brings together all young people who want to choose what decisions we locally in the UK and our politicians in Europe will make on issues that concern us.

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League of Young Voters - British Youth Council

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The British Youth Council is the National Youth Council of the UK. A youth-led charity, we empower young people aged 25 and under to influence and inform the decisions that affect their lives.

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some good supporting data on why young people should vote

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It gives you the power to create change.

Voting gives you the power to decide how the UK is run. If you have a complaint about the way the country is being run, voting is a way simple you can make a change. You can choose a candidate to suit to your views and they can represent your views at a national and local level. It's not the only way to participate but it's the quickest and easiest way!

Get politicians working for young adults.

It is an unfortunate truth that politicians will sometimes look at voter turnout before making key policy decisions. If a certain demographic's turnout is high then politicians may be more likely to make policy that benefits that demographic in order to please them and subsequently win their votes or retain their support.

According to IPSOS Mori more than 71% of over 65s voted in 2010, compared to only 54% of 18-24 year olds ().

Voting is important even if you don't think your candidate will win.

Living in a safe seat constituency doesn't mean your vote won't make a difference. The constituency of Crewe & Nantwich was a safe seat for over 25 years until 2008. If everyone just 'gives up' change will never happen.

Supporting a candidate who might not necessarily win has a number of other financial implications. Firstly, Political Parties are awarded 'Short Money' (funding) depending on the number of overall votes they receive, more votes equals more funding for the party to keep fighting elections with.

Candidates are also required to get a certain number of votes in their constituency to keep their deposit (the money they put down to appear on the ballot paper) if a party loses a lot of deposits it can have a big impact on their funding. Funding is important for parties as without it they can find it difficult to support candidates standing in elections. So by voting for a candidate you're also helping them to keep fighting elections in future.

Furthermore, the electoral system will never change to benefit third parties if only voters for the main parties turn out to vote, if you want to see a change then you must show that there is demand for other parties to be represented.

Many movements have campaigned to give you the right to vote.

Many campaigners within movements, such as the women's suffrage movement, even gave their lives to win the right to vote. Some say it is disrespectful to them to waste your vote.

The UK has seen a number of campaigns to spread voting rights over its history, including groups campaigning for the right to vote for women and working class men. (Read More)

MPs represent your local area in parliament and solve issues for local people.

Voting enables you to help decide who represents your local area in parliament, it's their job to raise local issues and support you as much as they can. You can go to them and ask for advice on certain issues or ask them to promote an issue in parliament.

MPs are able to help with a range of topics ranging from immigration status and support for local infrastructure to complaints about utility companies. Sometimes their help can really change people's lives for the better.

By voting you can select the person you want to represent you and help them keep their job, or by voting for other candidates you can help remove a sitting MP who you think isn't doing a good job.

Looking for something more specific to local elections? Take a look at some more reasons here.

Voting is a way to show support for Electoral Reform.

The Electoral System we have will never change if you don't speak out. There has been many calls to change the First Past the Post electoral system to a more proportional one. If you would like to see this change it is important to prove that smaller parties have the support, this will give them mandate to call for reform.

You can leave your ballot blank, or spoil it, if you do not agree with any of the political parties.

Of course, if you don't feel aligned to any of the political parties then you can spoil your ballot.

Staying at home just makes you another statistic, it is presumed you are just uninterested, by actively going to the polling station and not selecting any candidate before submitting to the ballot box, you become a voice for the disengaged.

Blank Votes and Spoiled Ballots are read out at the count, along with the results and are also included in subsequent reports. Your apathy towards the political parties will be heard not just forgotten.

If suddenly there are huge numbers of blank/spoiled ballots at election time, the major political parties will start to think more about what they need to do to reconnect with these voters.
www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

"One of the penalties of refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors"

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It gives you the power to create change. Voting gives you the power to decide how the UK is run. If you have a complaint about the way the country is being run, voting is a way simple you can make a change.