University students. Photograph by Victorgrigas
Opinion polls can often vary wildly from month to month, especially outside of an election year when people’s votes harden, but the latest YouGov results [PDF] show a vast change in how young people say they plan to vote, with the Tories leading Labour 44% to 36% in the 18-24 year-old category.
Younger voters are traditionally more left leaning, with voters becoming more conservative as they get older, with the 60+ age group normally showing the strongest Tory support. However, for some reason the Tories appear to be winning over younger voters.
The recent surge in support for the Conservatives from younger voters could be down to the signs that the economy has finally started to improve, or could it be because young people are in support of the government policy to censor pornography online? It is maybe more likely that the swing in support has more to do with the current issues of legitimacy facing Labour leader Ed Miliband as he tries to reel in the unions, but whatever the reason for the swing, it is certainly something for Labour to investigate.
