Tune in, Turn Out - Voting UK

8/10/2019 Tune in, Turn Out - Voting UK

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In 2015, young peoplecould find themselveswith more electoral powerthan ever before

TUNE IN, TURN OUT

Jonathan Birdwell

Charlie Cadywould

Louis Reynolds


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Demos is Britains leading cross-party

We produce original research, publish

thinkers and host thought-provoking e

have spent 20 years at the centre of th

debate, with an overarching mission to

politics closer to people.

Demos is now exploring some of the m

persistent frictions within modern polit

especially in those areas where there is

significant gap between the intuitions ordinary voter and political leaders. Ca

politics also be a popular politics? How

address widespread anxieties over soc

such as welfare, diversity and family lif

a dynamic and open economy also pro

jobs, empower consumers and connec

to the communities in which they oper

Our worldview is reflected in the meth

employ: we recognise that the public oinsights that the experts do not. We pr

ourselves in working together with the

are the focus of our research Alongsid


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First published in 2014

Demos. Some rights reservedMagdalen House, 136 Tooley Street,London, SE1 2TU, UK

ISBN 978 1 909037 79 3


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TUNE IN, TURN OUTJonathan BirdwellCharlie CadywouldLouis Reynolds


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Contents

Acknowledgements

Foreword, John Bercow

Foreword, Kenny Imafidon

Executive summary

Introduction

1 Will young people turn out in 201

2 What issues do young voters car

3 What policies will motivate youn

4 Can social media mobilise voters

5 What reforms will motivate youn

Conclusions and recommendatio

Technical appendix


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Acknowledgements

First and foremost we are very grateful to vsupporting this research, without which thhave been possible. We would like to thanClaire Hutchinson, Janqui Mehta, HannahMoss and Rachel Stroud for their helpful c

the research and on early drafts. We thank Hannah Mitchell in particular for helping groups that we undertook for this research

We also thank all the people who toogroup, and Tiziana Del Bene, Paula Bucklfrom Populus Data Solutions for their assi

At Demos, this report benefitted fromsupporting research of Peter Fitzsimons. Whelpful comments from Alex KrasodomskiMacpherson, Carl Miller and Ralph Scott,Puska for expertly guiding the report thro

Any mistakes or omissions are the au

Jonathan BirdwellCharlie CadywouldLouis Reynolds

December 2014

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Foreword, John Be

9

It is a real pleasure to be able to write a fewthis pioneering piece of work by Demos, avInspired. Young people are the future of too often they are written off as disengagedcaricatured as one simple collective mass, wlife is far more complicated than that. The is that it shines a light in this direction.

There is much in here that representsthe traditional political order. It is for us in

to change to meet the demands of new votround. This will not be a straightforward texcuse for not undertaking it. If we do notdemocracy will atrophy and while it will nosome of its meaning.

Two aspects of many findings that arme as particularly significant.The first is that young people are not

electoral participation is concerned. A largi d d h i bl i


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Commons to examine means of employing nebetween citizens of all ages (but with a particthe young) and the House of Commons as anconclusions with be published shortly. I hopewhen aligned with this report we will have a c

compelling blueprint for how to encourage yoonly to be voters in an active sense of taking ppermanently more engaged politically.

Rt Hon. John Bercow MPSpeaker of the House of Commons

Foreword


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Foreword, Kenny Im

11

When young people hear the word politicmind? Most young people associate politic

BoringThe thing Russell Brand keeps on b

nowadaysSomething for people not like meCorruptionA waste of time because things will nBut politics is far from a waste of tim

changed as changes are happening now inare the days when the Conservative and Laonly contenders in the race to get into gov

With the rise of political parties suchthe Greens, and the decline in support for

Democrats, we could see another coalitionPolitical parties are beginning to wakthe youth vote is a very powerful voting blalmost 200 seats in the 2015 general electio


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as a significant majority of them say they inteMay 2015.

This report makes bold, innovative and recommendations, which I support in their enbe taken seriously by politicians, as they will

many barriers of youth engaging with politicsWhile the report calls for measures suchof online voting and same-day registration, I the Government needs to go further and consindividual voter registration (IER), and instevoter registration for students and for parentschildren up to the age of 25, to be implement

This last recommendation is particularlysince the registration system changed from horegistration to IER, registration rates among have dropped and in places such as Oxford, r

wards with large student populations fell by 6change to IER.1

Finally, this report also highlights the imsocial media platforms such as Facebook and increase young peoples participation in polit

Although attempts are being made by pengage with young voters via social media thras Bite The Ballots #LeadersLive, more still nbring the excitement that young voters had inh f d h f h

Foreword


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Executive summary

13

The British political system is being shakenfor at least 70 years. The Conservative anddominated parliament for generations, yet are declining, and their memberships are afaces an existential challenge in Scotland, wparticularly the Conservatives, are leaking Independence Party (UKIP). Meanwhile ttraditionally the main alternative to Laboutives, are polling at less than 10 per cent: 2

closest and most unpredictable election in It is in this context that todays youn

referred to as Generation Y, could find theelectoral power than ever before. We couldfundamental realignment of British politic

with distinct concerns and policy preferencchance to shape it.Despite this opportunity, young peop

vote than older generations, and many are di i l li i l l P i D


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and political issues shows that the opportunitdoes exist, if only politicians can tap into thoshow they are addressing them. Moreover, as below, the narrative suggesting that young peand are therefore not worth politicians effort

politicians ignore the youth vote at their peril

This report

Before the 2010 election, Demos partnered vIthe reportAn Anatomy of Youth, which dissecteissues young people were facing at the heightthe birth of social media.4 This year Demos amake young people a vital component of the determine which subjects are foremost in theiup to 2015 and what if anything would m

likely to vote. The research presented in this rto inform vInspireds Swing the Vote campaigto give young people a platform to help ensurthey care about are front and centre in politic

To understand voter intention among 18

surveyed over a thousand young people in thacross the UK, allowing us to provide a map obeliefs, concerns, policy preferences, and viewpolitical reforms. We also ran two focus groud l d d d f h l

Executive summary


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half (52 per cent) of young people say theygeneral election, with a further one in fourprobably vote. With next years election oupoliticians cannot afford to dismiss young young people are undecided about whom

vote is still up for grabs.

Young women, and young people who are not inor training (NEET), report less interest in politivoter intentionOur survey suggests there are considerablemen and women, and between young peopeducation, work or training, and NEETs. Awomen are more likely to participate in socwomen respondents to our survey reportedinterested in politics and they are less likely

this point in the election cycle (57 per centcompared with 48 per cent of women). MoNEET young people said they planned to compared with 52 per cent of overall youth

Young people cannot easily be characterised as Young peoples views transcend what woulconsidered left and right. On the one hayoung people placed themselves on a spec

d d l b l d f

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candidate was from their local area, mirrorlocalness highlighted in other recent rese

Young people say they would be more likely to vonline, if politicians were more effective on soci

knew that their friends and families were votingThe use of social media is a way to get the young people, but politicians need to learneffectively, and the message needs to be rigopportunity for the political system to engconnects with them effectively online. Twoyoung people felt that they would be morecould vote online; one-quarter (25 per centmore likely to vote if politicians were moremedia, and if they knew via social media thfamily had voted.

Celebrity endorsements add little value in gettinJust 19 per cent said they would be more licelebrities and musicians they admired toldvote, with 18 per cent saying it would make

vote. Among women and NEET young peleast likely to vote, this kind of celebrity enput off more potential voters than it engagparticipants were similarly sceptical about

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a reduction in the cost of higher education, an incrthe national minimum wage, and better provisionhealth servicesPolitical parties need to present a positive plaaddress young peoples concerns. Negative ca

likely to put young voters off. As well as offerpolicies, political parties should seek to createmedia-friendly summaries of the policies theythat young people care about, and promote ththrough social media marketing. These summshareable policy proposals need to be short, ilanguage, use infographics, and include videostyle lists.

All MPs should hold regular internet-based surgerihall meetings, and attend meetings in schools, you

university campusesWhile some MPs already do this, all MPs shothey hold surgeries to include places where yotheir time, such as university campuses, schooin order to increase youth attendance. MPs sh

hold more online surgeries and virtual town hthese should be widely promoted to local conmedia platforms.

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Executive summary


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Recommendations to third sector organisati

platformsThird sector organisations working to mobilise vsocial media platforms specifically to target wompeople on the issues they care aboutWomen and young people who are not in

employment or training are less likely to uthan men and those in education or emplogreater risk that the issues they care about the political debate. Political parties and thorganisations that focus on voter mobilisatmedia advertising tools to micro-target th

material specifically tailored to them and t

Social media companies such as Facebook and to run voter campaigns (such as Facebooks I vday and should seek to develop these further

These approaches have been used in the Uin the Scottish independence referendum, increase turnout. While it is unclear whethplatforms plan to do the same thing in the Demos recommends that these initiatives s

standard practice at election time, and furtshould be explored.

Politicians need to prioritise their social media h k d l bl

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Third sector organisations should draw on the impinfluence, social sharing and new technologies to epeople to voteOur research suggests there are several ways tbarriers to voting. Nearly two out of five (38 p

respondents to our survey said they would beif they had someone to go to the polling statiopolling day. Similar numbers (39 per cent) samore likely to vote if they received a text mespolling day. One in four young people said thlikely to vote if they knew via social media tha

family had voted.

Recommendations for reform of the political sy

The House of Commons should introduce a code of

Ministers Questions (PMQs) as a sign that politicneed to change their behaviourMost MPs work very hard for their constituenthe 2010 intake of MPs work an average of 69However, public perceptions of MPs are taint

the unruly behaviour often exhibited at PMQbelieves that PMQs plays an important role indemocracy, reforms should be considered. Mrobust code of conduct for PMQs that would

Executive summary

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authorities visited schools to register eligibcouncils ran referendum activities, includinand mock referendums.8Activities in schoa factor in the high turnout among 1617-yScottish referendum compared with 1824

long-time supporter of votes at 16, and theScotland provides further support for this

The Government should investigate the potentiavoting and same-day registration in the long ter

While serious security concerns remain, on

potential for increasing turnout. The goveestablish a commission on online voting toconsideration of the various options availaintroduce pilots in local council elections, results. The government should also strong

same-day registration. Voters currently havdays before the election.9 Research shows presidential election states that allowed vopolling day had higher turnout rates than there is no doubt same-day registration wo

logistical challenge, the potential benefits worth the investment in the long term.

A none of the above option should be includedll h h l l

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Executive summary


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The Government that wins in 2015 should hold a pconstitutional convention that goes beyond devolutlarger reformsThe devolution debate provides a once in a geopportunity to discuss basic questions about institutions. A wide-ranging constitutional cothat incorporates questions about our electorfunding of political parties, the structure of pof direct democracy, digital democracy, and tour democratic institutions.

Executive summary

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Introduction

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The 2015 general election is shaping up to uncertain elections in a generation. The frapolitics that led to a coalition government unsettle the system even further in 2015. U

National Party (SNP) and the Greens are tgrowing anti-establishment mood in the UConservative and Labour parties 100-year

For the past five years, anti-establishmmovements across Europe and North Ame

media platforms effectively to achieve elecinclude the Tea Party Movement in the USStar Movement in Italy, and Syrizia in Greof the success of these groups has been themedia to mobilise people who are disaffect

the elites. Often, young people make up athese groups online support base.The same anti-establishment mood m

tapped into is now currently playing out atUK Wi h R ll B d ll f d

Introduction


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years, should they choose to exercise it. Manypassionate about having a positive impact onlocal community, but they see politics as sclertouch. Instead of voting, they are taking direcvolunteering, joining a political demonstratiosupporting a campaign on social media in greprevious generations. Nonetheless, voting is acritical. As a society we need to devise ways oyounger generations with the act of voting.

An anatomy of youthFour years ago, Demos and vInspired partnerinvestigate the key concerns of young people general election. The reportAn Anatomy of Youmany young people felt powerless in the face

recession, excessively negative media narrativtouch political class.11 Four years on, their futwith obstacles.

Youth unemployment still weighs heaviyoung people. Though the figure is down fro

million at the end of 2011, over 700,000 younlooking for work. In response to these poor lconditions, many young people have decidededucation for longer, potentially getting into d d ff b f h h f h

Introduction

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their democratic right,15

which suggests thin the ability of government and politicianthey are concerned about.

This report

This report aims to map young peoples cofrustrations, to understand how they are enthat concern them, and to explain why youdisengaged with the political system than p

We surveyed over 1,000 1825-year-olds, a

interest in politics, what concerns they havchanges that might persuade them to vote two focus groups in order to gain a more dof young peoples concerns, how they engaand why they are so fed up with traditiona

our research, we make recommendations fothat would encourage young people to plathe traditional democratic process.

Generation Y should I vote

In May 2013, the Hansard Society launchePolitical Engagement.16 The results were wshowing a sharp drop in voter turnout in r

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Introduction


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t oduct o

Figure 1

The percentage point difference in vocountries between those aged 55+ an

recent general election

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

NLD

DEU

SWE

ISL

HUN

CHL

DNK

ESP

CZE

MEX

OECD

NOR

CAN

NZL

USA

F R A

EL A

US

Percen

tage

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and 17-year-olds voted in the referendum, amotivation did not extend to 1824-year-olfocusing on for the 2015 election. Among tcent turned out to vote.20 The reasons for tclear at this stage, but the engagement andheld in schools, as well as the role of familiplayed an important role.

Low turnout in elections signifies widwith traditional politics and political partie(for example, over tuition fees) have not hdisconnect runs deeper. More and more, y

see traditional politics as relevant to their l2014 survey, only a quarter of 1624-year-oname and party of their local MP. In the sacent said they were fully engaged in the pocompared with 46 per cent saying they wer

Young people are also less likely than in ththemselves as a supporter of any political psay they are interested in politics (droppin2011 down to 24 per cent in 2013).22

To some extent low voter turnout am

should not be surprising. Young people inless likely to vote in elections. Sociologists or lifecycle effect. But on top of this lifecalso cohort and period effects. Cohort h h ff h l b

Introduction


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right at the start of their political lives. It wasmany young people that MPs as a group had spotlight, and it is likely that the scandal had on their perception of politicians. Together, tpresent a dangerous cocktail of disillusionmeaffects Generation Y.

Dont vote, cant complain

Many commentators have cited the lower elecyoung people as a cause of political bias in fa

people, particularly when dishing out spendinpeople have benefited from the triple-lock oand ring-fenced NHS spending; in contrast stthe abolition of the Educational Maintenancetripling of tuition fees and cuts to youth servi

Numerous studies show that young peopowerless. In a recent Survation poll of youncent of respondents felt their voice was heardcompared with 44 per cent who tried to have heard but do not feel listened to, and 42 per c

to make themselves heard.25

Similarly, a 2011 olds conducted by the University of Exeter focent of them felt the government treated younwith 52 per cent disagreeing. More than half b

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Yet, the perception of out-of-control,outdated. Research shows there have beensmoking, drinking and drug taking amongthe past decade. For example, prevalence odrug use is down considerably among 111four 1630-year-olds now reports never driparty-goers, a recent ComRes survey indicpeople are anxious about their futures, conhealth, and spend more time at home sociainternet than going out.29 One commentatrise of the anxious, health-conscious youth

educated to higher levels, as the Hermionthe well-behaved and studious friend of Hasimilar allusion to popular culture, Fraser referred to young people as the Ab Fab gprogrammeAbsolutely Fabulous with its fa

Eddy and the prudish, sensible daughter S

Out with the old, in with the new

In the same way that young people are find

entertain themselves they are also finding nwith the world around them and have a posociety. InAn Anatomy of Youth we argued tpeople are disillusioned with traditional po

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innovations have also revolutionised the way information about the world, and how we intother and with politics.

There is now a more natural openness aamong young people towards non-electoral foengagement which has increased across the population in the past 30 years, according to

Attitudes survey.34 In a comparative study of participation in Germany, France and the UKStockemer found that while young people arethan older generations they are the thrust be

levels in demonstrations.35 Political actions spetition, joining in a boycott, or participatingor political march are activities that are more younger generations than older generations. protests of 2010/11 included occupations and

university campuses across Britain, and a marinvolving an estimated 52,000 demonstrators

The preference for new forms of politicareflected in a variety of recent surveys. The AuSurvation poll found that voting was still seen

young people to have an influence on politicsHowever, when asked what were effective wayonly 8 per cent said joining a political party, 6standing for elections themselves, and just 4 pl bb h f l h d

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being separate to, but also impacting on antraditional politics and political institutionthat a new type of citizen, the self-actualisemerging, for whom voting is less meaningpersonally defined, acts such as communittransnational activism. This new type of cinetworks of community action maintainedinformation technologies as a way of positworld, rather than relying solely on particisystem every four or five years.39

This new type of citizen engagement

attitudes of younger teenagers as well. In tIntroducing Generation Citizen, we surveyed 500 teachers. Both groups felt that todaysconcerned about social issues than previouteenagers: 88 per cent of teachers said teen

or as likely to, volunteer for good causes asgenerations.40 The annual Community Lifthese findings: 1625-year-olds are now moother age group to be involved in volunteethey had volunteered at least once in the la

survey, up significantly on previous years.4

new actors and methods for having an impdirect, practical action than politicians. Fowere significantly more likely to see charit

h

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maintenance of representative democracy. Fostudy by Exeter University showed that suppelections among 18-year-olds was up since 20saying they would get a sense of satisfaction fper cent saying elections give voters an opporpoliticians what they think is really important

Nonetheless, the rise of disillusionment politics has left space for the likes of Russell Bpromises of revolution, and telling people nstyle of anti-politics has been widely criticisedinto something that party leaders have so far

respond to. When asked which party had the young people, the most popular response ampolled by Survation was dont know on 32 p24 per cent, and none and the Greens tied o

However, it is interesting that while you

increasingly disillusioned with politicians andall share Brands antipathy towards the systemtruth in the stereotype of rebellious youth fiestablishment. A 2012 YouGov poll showed thare more likely than older people to trust jud

BBC journalists, civil servants and people whcompanies to tell the truth.45

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Will young people turn out in 2015


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65s were twice as likely to be absolutely certai) 8 ld ( )

Figure 2 The proportion of respondents who s

the May 2015 general election

Source: Demos survey, conducted by Popul

0

20

40

60

Yes Probably Probablynot

Male

Perce

ntage

Female

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hi hli h id i di i f

Figure 3 The proportion of respondents wh

May 2015 general election, by whe

work or neither

Source: Demos survey, Populus Data Sol

0

20

40

60

Percentage

Yes Probably Probablynot

Education Working NEET



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in politics, compared with one in two men (48four in ten of those in education, work or traiGiven these disparities, the concerns an

these groups should be taken into account as to increase youth turnout. As we argued inLimedia advertising tools can be used to identifengage with these different demographics in amake them more likely to vote, for example, bissues they are most concerned about identifiimportant to note that while fewer young wominterested in politics, research by Ipsos MOR

Office shows that they are more likely to be inaction.50Again, this is further evidence that lintention and interest in politics do not implysocial issues.

A referendum effect

British Futures May 2014 study Voice of a gestrong evidence for a referendum effect in Scper cent of young Scots said they would defin

general election compared with just 33 per cetheory is that the referendum galvanised younpolitical awareness, which will transfer over, athe general election. This is partially discredit

h h

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those we surveyed said they knew who theythere was a general election today. Few of oparticipants identified with a party, and soknow anyone their age who was a member Many felt this was the fault of politicians, w

f l O h i l d

Figure 4 The proportion of respondents wh

would vote for if the general electi

0

20

40

60

Yes

Male

Percen

tage

Female



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were non-definite voters, even among those ceper cent of women did not know who they wocompared with just 10 per cent of men.

Why dont young people vote?

In addition to demographic considerations thturnout, our focus groups provide insights inpeople might not be planning to vote. Three cited again and again in our focus groups: noby politicians, not feeling politicians could be

on their promises, and not feeling their viewsby the options available to voters.

Although most participants said that thvote, these concerns made them less inclined she might not vote unless there was someone

trusted and represented her views. Another wvoting as she felt the parties had merged togeso there was no real difference.

The issue of feeling ignored was particuparticipants in our focus groups. One, who sato vote, still felt that most parties targeted oldthey were known to vote:

Nobody listens to what weve got to say they think wel b ll

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Lack of trust was closely tied to Genewith the Liberal Democrats U-turn on tuitparticipant said she felt the Lib Dems wereto engage young people at the last electionthose voters once they got into power. Ano

I had friends at uni who voted Lib Dem. They said and read all the things and thought this was going tdidnt happen, so they gave up.

While feeling ignored and not trustin

spark frustration and anger among focus gwas the lack of representation that was mopeople switch off. The lack of relevance to came up persistently. One said:

A lot of people my age feel that politics isnt lookinghousing, education, all these different issues that peon the streets for in their hundreds and thousands aan eyelid.

Interestingly, young peoples politicadifference to their likelihood to vote, suggeall ideological persuasions are struggling tpeople. The biggest differences were amonh l f h d


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2 What issues dovoters care abo

In this chapter we present young peoples key political debates, which span the politihow these differ from other generations). Wfindings on the social issues they identify a

them ahead of the general election.Our results confirm that young voter

preference for individual responsibility oveYet, the issues that they are most concerneliving costs, unemployment, the lack of aff

NHS and the growing gap between the ricAnd these concerns are leading them to sufeature decisive action from government, s

job or apprenticeship for long-term unempor raising the national minimum wage.

Generation DIY

Previous studies such as Ipsos MORIs Ge

What issues do young voters care ab


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1945 and 1965) to believe that most people onfiddling in one way or another.57

While support for higher spending on wover time among all generations, Generation about welfare spending has helped to trigger in attitudes. In 1987 more than twice as many

extra welfare spending than opposed it. Todasentiment than support it.58

Our work in Generation Strains suggests trends in welfare are due to an increasingly inoutlook, whereby younger generations are mo

role of the state as a provider of skills and oppthan as a manager of risks. This has led somecast todays young people as Generation Rigis not quite accurate. First, as our research deshows, while more young people lean toward

individuals should take more responsibility foare nearly as many who believe that the state responsibility to ensure that everyone is provialso notable differences in young peoples viediscussed in our research depending on whetheducation, employment or neither.

As one might expect, young people alsoprogressive attitudes on gender and homosexprevious generations: they are most likely (alo

) b l h l l


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government cannot afford to do more to help(figure 6)

unemployed people should have to take any j

their benefits, than have the right to refuse a j

Figure 6 Respondents views on whether the g

do more to help needy Britons, by wh

work or neither, and gender

0 20 40 60

NEET

Should do more, even if it meansgoing deeper into debt

Working

In education

Female

Male

Total

42%

39%

38%

40%

39%

39%

41%

46%

46%

44%

46%

45%

Yet, combined with these tougher viewsgreater concern that more needed to be done

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In their own words

Like our survey respondents, a slight majoour focus groups believed that individuals should take more responsibility for providwere in favour of more action on rights forover half 12 out of 22 of the participant

f l h d d l h ld k

Figure 7 Respondents views on whether un

should be allowed to refuse work, education, work or neither, and ge

0 20 40 6

The unemployed can refuse work The

Total 42%

Male 45%

Female 39%

In education 38%

Working 39%

NEET 64%



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A lot of people in my age group have really high expecttheres no way Ill ever be able to afford the average howhatever, but there are houses out there that are a lot cnot in the area you want, or in the condition that you

Wh di i i h lf

Figure 8 Respondents views on whether Britain

changes needed to give ethnic minoriti

white people, by whether in education,

and gender

0 20 40 60

NEET

More change needed Changes already m

Working

In education

Female

Male

Total

49%

42%

55%

48%

49%

49%

34

45%

3

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Right now Im on benefits Ive just graduated fromyself when I go to the job centre, I feel a stigma people so much The focus gets put on benefits whethat we dont have any jobs.

Our focus group participants were al

concerned about inequality in various forminequality, the NorthSouth divide, and ex

When one participant raised the idea of a mexpressed strong support. One said:

Everything just benefits rich people, bankers youn

All these data show that young peoplhave discernible and measureable different

of older generations. However, it would bethat there is a shift towards more conservaamong young people. In the next section wissues that young people are concerned aboeconomic considerations around living cosare dominant, and subjects which are typicthose on the right of the political spectrumimmigration and the EU) are less importan

What issues do young voters care abo

Figure 9 The extent to which respondents feel v

social issues


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social issues

0

20

40

60

Living

cos

ts

Une

mploy

men

tNHS

Gapbetwee

nrich

&po

or

Tuition

fees

Onlinepr

ivac

y

Extrem

e

rcen

age

49


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The cost of living was the top issue opeople across gender and occupational divthe impact of the economic recession, and markets that are characterised by high leveflux, are weighing heavily in the minds of yHowever, it is also interesting to note that

that tend to get media and political attentiwelfare, extremism and crime were not hmore young people were concerned about any of these. The EU, transport and leisureat the bottom of the list of concerns across

groups (figure 9).

Youth divides on issues of concern

While economic issues were foremost in th

people, there were interesting variations inyoung people depending on whether they work, or neither. While NEET young peoplikely to be concerned about a given topic tendency towards a more general apathy), than those in education or work to be conc

the gap between rich and poor living costs

ff d bl h

What issues do young voters care abo



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whether in education, work or neither

0

20

40

60

80

Living

costs

Une

mploy

men

t

NHS

Gap

betwee

nrich

&poo

r

Tuition

fee

s

Onlinepr

ivacy

Extre m

Education Working NEET

Percentage

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Those in work were the group most labout:

care for the elderly the EU immigration

On the face of it, the distribution of tconcern across these three groups appears differences in immediate economic circum

While tuition fees understandably top con

at university, students are also more likely a range of subjects that are not economic inenvironment, discrimination and tax avoidperceived as being directly related to econohousing and immigration, are a lower prio

education than for those no longer in educdebate around immigration appears to be for young people who are in employment, concerned about care for the elderly perhconsideration of their own parents ageingappear to conform to the popular stereotypthese different stages of life and their differsociety, there are some findings which conFor example, NEET young people were le

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3 What policies wmotivate young

In the previous chapters we described the people care about, and whether or not they2015. Despite the rhetoric around the collaour survey suggests that up to three in fou

that they will vote or will probably vote. Mmostly concerned about issues the general about, namely living costs, housing and thIn other ways, young people are distinctiveare more concerned about online privacy t

the EU. And what they are concerned abouwhether they are in work, education or neiIn the next two chapters, we turn our

policies and broader political reforms that people more likely to vote. We consider ththat could cement the participation of you

already inclined to turn out, as well as imcould convince young people who are disilplanning to vote to change their mind.

What policies will motivate young vot

Figure 11 The percentage of respondents who sa

vote for a political party


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Reducing transport costs for y

Guaranteeing jobs/apprenticeships for long-term unemployed y

Raising the national minimum wage for y

Lowering the vot

Increasing spending on mental health provision for y

Reducing the cost of higher education (eg throu

Investing in youth clubs and yo

Strengthening citizenship education and teaching of polit

Enforcing minimum wage paymen

Banning t

Improving careers advic

None of the above would make me more l

Rein

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The three most popular policy ideas respondents were guaranteeing jobs or appyoung people in long-term unemploymentreducing the cost of higher education (41 pthe national minimum wage for young peoGiven the top concerns of young people hi

previous chapter, it is not surprising that ptackle these issues feature highest in our lismargin compared with the other options.

One worrying finding is that the fourpolicy was increased spending on mental h

young people, with one in four saying thatmore likely to vote for a party. Young womlikely to cite this policy (33 per cent compaof men) (figure 12). The fact that this policlevels of support substantiates recent repor

Princes TrustMacquarie Youth Index) suggehigh levels of mental health problems amoparticularly those who are long-term unem

Our focus groups broadly replicated most popular policies were reducing the co(14 out of 26) and raising the national min

26). Next down the list came a jobs guaranthe national minimum wage for interns (8)transport costs for young people (7).

h d h l


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57


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reducing transportation costs for young pecareers advice in schools.

Those in work were more likely to suminimum wage for young people, while Nto support raising housing benefit for undapprenticeship guarantee. This fits in with

more than three-quarters (76 per cent) saidthey felt it would make a difference to theisaid they would be more likely to vote if thdifference to the subjects they cared aboutcan interpret the decline of youth voting as

growing apathy among young people, but the failure of politicians to understand the about and to offer policies that seek to tack

Transport is a good example of a submotivate young people to vote if policies away that is relevant to them. Transport appof young peoples concerns when presenteHowever, when asked to choose from a listpolicies that would make them more likelyper cent chose a policy to reduce transportpeople, making it the fourth most popular

sceptical youth seek concrete, relevant polimore likely to respond to a targeted propotransportation costs for young people than

f

What policies will motivate young vo


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Figure 13 Whether respondents would be motiv

policies they agreed or disagreed witgreat extent, or a sense of duty, by no

definite voters

0

20

40

60

80

100

Percen

tage

A policy or set ofpolicies that you

strongly disagree with

A policy or set ofpolicies that you

strongly agree with

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with, or out of a sense of duty. Overall, you

young women, were most likely to vote becpolicy platform. Importantly, though, we fvoters were far more likely to vote positiveout of a sense of duty. Disengaged voters afor tactical reasons, or out of a sense of dut

likely to consider voting if they feel that a ppolicies that will have an impact on their li

Our focus group participants were spwould vote primarily because of support fostop another party getting in. Few mention

in voting:

Im going to vote Labour, but Id rather vote Greenat stake.

If you dont vote, you cant complain because you hchange something. If you dont speak out, no one wtheres no party that ticks all your boxes find the por otherwise you might end up with a party thats cyour beliefs.

Give them something to vote for

Young people want policies that work for ti i d b h f f f h


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4 C i l d

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4 Can social medmobilise voters

Growing up in a household of voters has awhether you vote or not. Without these ne

about politics is lacking and this goes to thdont engage: they dont feel they have enocannot tell the difference between the parthow voting can have an impact on their livout of four young people said that they wovote if:

they felt that voting would a make a differ(77 per cent)

they felt that voting would make a differencare about (76 per cent)

they had clearer information about what p(74 per cent)

there was a clear difference between what dd f ( )

Can social media mobilise voters


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year-olds spend more than six hours a day usi

compared with 10 per cent of over 65s.64 Theytwice as likely to think social media most adeqviews and concerns (45 per cent) compared wmedia such as newspapers and television (18 p

This matters for voter turnout because y

much of their information about the world frand because traditional means of contacting vwork with young people. Many dont have fixthus cannot be polled or canvassed over the pwho have never registered to vote will not app

register, and so cannot be reached unless andthat crucial first step. The internet provides ato get around these issues, as well as the oppothe barriers to voting bulleted above.

Issues engagement

As noted above, three out of four people saidlikely to vote if they felt it made a difference tissues they cared about. Social media provideunderstand what they are, and to communica

people about them.This is especially important for young p

suggests that young people are more likely th

Clearer information: where do they stand?

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Social media can also be used to provide in

parties stand for, and help people understabetween the parties, for example through tapplications. Our focus group participantssentiments stated above, that lack of informto engagement. Many said they did not kn

party policies, and felt they were all the samVoter advice applications (VAAs) are

quizzes that help users determine which poare most closely aligned to their views on kused extensively across Europe including i

research suggests they can increase engagevoting. Research on voter turnout in Finlaeven after controlling for demographic vartools were 21 per cent more likely to vote, amore likely, as a result of their use of a VAAsurveys in Germany after the 2005 electionNetherlands after the 2003 election, 8 per

VAA users respectively considered voting aof VAAs.67 In Switzerland, the VAA has benational political landscape.68

Social influence

As noted above, our social networks have ai b h i Th h i h

Can social media mobilise voters


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their friends and families had voted. There is

evidence from the US that backs this up. UniSan Diego and Facebook partnered to run a rtrial with 61 million Facebook users.69 The tritest groups, including a control group (whichan information group (which saw a message s

election day and included a link to find the nestation), and a test group. Those in the test grwith an interactive I voted button, and it listeach of their friends who had clicked that thetotal number on Facebook who said they vote

research showed that those who were in the telikely to vote, equating to approximately 300would not have otherwise done so. This reseathe importance of social influence and the abto utilise this influence. Those who received aencouraging them to vote without seeing whihad voted were no more likely to vote than thno message.70

In 2012, the Obama campaign adopted strategy on Facebook, in which supporters gathe campaign to see their friend list, and were

online content. The rather passive act of clickgave the campaign access to more than 5 millmeasurable results: people who were sent reqh f d l k l d

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service could have an impact on youth turn

sorts of initiatives do need to tread carefulland put people off further. In our focus grparticipants hated the idea, and said they wmore spam. Many said they would be happmessage on polling day if they had signed

previously, but not otherwise. Still, given tin our survey who say they would be more of intervention should be tested in 2015.

Do celebrities encourage young people to voOne possible way of encouraging young pparticularly those who are disengaged coadvocacy and influence of celebrities and pIndeed, while many young people disagreeas noted above, it is undeniable that his cobook have encouraged many young people

However, our research suggests that can go either way. Indeed, approximately tyoung people (19 per cent) said they wouldvote if celebrities and musicians they admi

as those who said that such endorsements likely to vote (18 per cent). Moreover, this endorsement is likely to put off more poten


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5 What reforms w

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5 What reforms wmotivate young

A focus on mobilising young people to votpolicies that address their concerns could lincreases in turnout in 2015. But in the lonare needed to address the deeper disillusio

asked young people what reforms would mto vote and have more trust in the politicalabout MPs behaviour and their backgroumedia, and the possibility of reforming thevoting. Of the reforms that we asked aboupopular were:

online voting (66 per cent) politicians setting better examples in deba

(62 per cent) having more MPs from working class back

Reforming the ballot

d li bilit f li ti F l

What reforms will motivate young vo


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and reliability of online voting. For example,

University of Michigan were able to access thColumbias online voting system in a test runTransparency is also a serious issue: the UK hto machine counting, instead sticking with thcounters in halls across the country, and party

laboriously checking every bundle. If we are nmachines to count physical ballots, the idea ocounting votes that dont exist in physical forgain public approval.

While there is no doubt that British elec

the most trusted in the world, there remains acynicism and mistrust among the public pascale, public sector IT systems.73 Given the poincreased turnout, this is a measure that shoucarefully, but one that comes with serious cha

None of the above

With levels of disaffection running high, it is reform the ballot box in order to include anovoters that is equivalent to none of the above

help allow us to measure the levels of disillusithe parties on offer in a very real way during enot include a question about this in our surve

Better codes of conduct and behav

In February 2014 it was reported that the s

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In February 2014 it was reported that the s

of Commons wrote to the party leaders cribehaviour at PMQs as yobbery and publitwittishness.74 He went on to say, I am nogood example to the next generation of vosuggests young people agree: 62 per cent o

respondents, including 56 per cent of non-that they would be more likely to vote if poexample in debates and discussions.

We played a word-association game wparticipants, asking them to shout out wor

when they thought about politicians. We rvolley of insults, either associated with finacorrupt, self-serving, slimy, money-moat politicians general demeanour. One paryou switch on the TV and they are having theyre not taking it seriously so why shou

This suggests that if politicians behaimproved, particularly the way in which thyoung people might be more willing to engdiscuss PMQs specifically, this might be onimpression politicians give could be impro

Societys recent Audit of Political Engagemtheir views on PMQs, finding that half of 1there was too much party political point-sch h i i f i d l i h h

background was no guarantee of quality but



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background was no guarantee of quality, but

that so many MPs seemed to have been to theschools, and had never experienced a life like

If they didnt all go to the same club at Oxford, that wowould be a good start. Just get some normal Oxford pe

Bullingdon Club people!

When presented with a range of ways pamade more diverse, one participant suggested

I think out of all of them, class is most important. But part. If government was more diverse, you are more liktrustworthy.

The survey results reflect this sentimentfar more concerned with class diversity than gbackground. More than half of survey responsaid they would be more likely to vote if therefrom a working class background. The secondresponse to our question on this subject was ayounger MPs (39 per cent), followed by more

per cent) and more MPs from ethnic minorityper cent).

By breaking survey respondents down ib d (d f d

71

Figure 14 Whether respondents would be mo


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K it l l

Figure 14 Whether respondents would be mo

there were more MPs from non-staby non-definite and definite voters

0

20

40

60

Percen

tage

If there were moreMPs under the

age of 35

If there were morewomen MPs

If there wethnic m

MP

While voters as a whole are more likely



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While voters as a whole are more likely

MP than the government or politicians, a 201showed that 1824-year-olds were considerabtrust their local MP than older people.76 Thisinstitutional or electoral reforms should protelink, and that political parties need to focus o

candidates for selection, rather than parachutsafe seats.

Conclusions and

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recommendations

Although it is a significant challenge to incturnout at the next general election substaattainable goal. Our research identifies thethe political establishment needs to make i

young people, as well as the kinds of camplikely to increase youth turnout. It also higimportant lessons for all parties about the are likely to resonate with young people.

Although we often refer to young pe

masse, we have tried to draw out the variouthem, depending on their gender, and wheeducation, employment, or not currently inparties and third sector organisations needheterogeneity. Some groups are more likelyin particular, women and young people noemployment or training need to be targeteefforts. Much of the narrative around younthem as synonymous with students, yet the

recommendations to address the way that pol

Conclusions and recommendation


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y p

themselves need to change in order to make yto vote.

Recommendations to political parties

Positive policies for young peopleNo political party can count on the youth votafford to dismiss young people. Instead, theyconcrete proposals, and explain how their pothe lives of young people. Our research sugge

policies for young people were a jobs guarantterm unemployed, reducing the cost of higheraising the national minimum wage. We founother policies were also popular among thoseincluding reducing transport costs for young mental health spending on young people, and

benefit for young people. Parties who offer thpolicies or other policies that seek to addresconcerns, particularly around employment to appeal to young people and encourage thecampaigning is likely to put young voters off

If parties want to show they are serious young people, they need to be explicit about so. We therefore recommend that political pa

tackles the issues they care about will be cr

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y

youth audiences in the run-up to the gener

MP surgeries online and on campus

During an event at one of the party confere

told the audience that given limited timealways choose to campaign where older voto colleges and universities because youncounted on to vote in the same numbers. Mschools and colleges in their constituencies

this suggest that more needs to be done to engagement with young people in the placmost likely to be. Indeed, our research sugpeople have more contact with MPs, they afaith in them and give them the benefit of definitely do not give to politicians as a wh

All MPs hold regular surgeries wheremeet them to discuss grievances, local issulobby them to vote a certain way in parliamthat MPs should rotate the location of thesinclude places where young people spend

university campuses, schools and youth cluincrease youth attendance.

The internet also has the power to sh

Shaking up the political class

The kinds of policies on offer and how they a



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p y

critical. But our research suggests that the baalso a significant consideration for younger vbelief that most MPs are from privileged backdisillusionment

Many parties have already introduced m

the number of female parliamentary candidatminority MPs, but as well as calling for more minority MPs, young people in our survey alsstrong desire to see an increase in the numbercandidates. At the heart of this was the desire

diversity of experiences in their lives, and comof backgrounds. There is a strong belief amonpeople we spoke to that most politicians (givegrounds and education) have no experience olive in the real world. This is also reflected inamong our focus group participants for morecoming from and living in the local areas they

As the lives and experience of MPs befoelected are taking on greater importance thanrecommend that political parties urgently refoprocedures to ensure a wider breadth of expe

candidates, and to encourage people from thefor office.

focus their efforts (including through the u

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advertising tools) on reaching those demogour research suggests are less likely to votepolitics: these include young women, and genders not currently in education, employthey need to do this by finding out what is

(which our findings highlight above), and issues to taking part in politics. Demos recdownloadable step-by-step guide to using advertising for third sector organisations totargeting campaigns. It can be downloadewww.demos.co.uk/files/GOTVAnnex.pdf.

Maximising social influence

Social media companies such as Facebook already pioneered important innovations i

media to encourage voting. Evidence fromcongressional elections in the US cited abointeractive approaches that tap into socialinfluence of our friends and family for exinteractive I voted button can have a m

voter turnout.Given these findings, we recommend

platforms fully commit to the use of these

MPs on social media

Many MPs already have pages on Facebook o



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but use these platforms with varying levels ofmore internet-savvy politicians use their sociainteract with the public, allowing social medicasework in action. Research suggests that thMPs use social media to engage in two-way co

constituents, and to show their followers a motheir work and personality.We recommend that politicians should p

social media engagement as a core part of thesimply as a public relations add-on. One way be to link social media pages with websites suTheyWorkForYou, allowing constituents to eatheir MP voted on certain issues. This would ask questions about their MPs decisions, andspace for MPs to offer reasons for taking certCombining elements of these two styles on w

media sites could help to inform and engage political process, and help politicians put socheart of the way that they engage with the pudecisions they make and the policies they stan

Nudges to vote

There are a number of reasons why people doh fl f f l d f d d

We recommend that third sector orga

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voter mobilisation, or which work more gepeople, should design their strategies with mind, for example, encouraging young peoto vote together on election day, and adverthey voted on social media.

Recommendations for political syst

Setting a good example

Most MPs work very hard for their constitthe 2010 intake of MPs work an average ofHowever, public perceptions of MPs are tathe unruly behaviour often exhibited at PMpeople dislike the shouting, jeering and abthat MPs dont take their jobs and the counseriously. While Demos believes that PMQ

role in publicly holding the executive branaccount, reforms should be considered: ouyoung people want to see positive platformand do not like watching negative mudslinthat MPs should develop a robust code of

that proscribes and prohibits the worst off

people, and many councils ran referendum ac



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debates, hustings and mock referendums.79Amay well have been a factor in the high turnoyear-olds in the Scottish referendum compareolds. Demos is a long-time supporter of votesexperience in Scotland provides further supp

In future elections the government shouregister on the day of the election. Voters currregister at least 12 days before the election,80

that in the last US presidential election, stateto register on election day had higher turnoutstates.81 There are many challenges to be overToby S James from the University of East Angthere must be new, centralised technology to is not registered in two places, increased staffon the day, and a delay before announcing redetails of election-day registrants are verified.

voters who register on the day of the election with a provisional ballot that could be countevalidated, if the election result is close.82Whisame-day registration would provide a large lthe potential benefits are enormous, and wort

the long term.

for such a system, introduce pilots in local

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evaluate the results.

None of the above

Talk of disillusionment with politics domin

and radio programmes, and was apparent research. While we can measure levels of dsurveys of trust, and looking at voting turnmore needs to be done to allow us to consilevels of disillusionment that exist in differacross the UK. Many non-voter participansaid they would change their mind if thereabove option on the ballot. Demos recoma none of the above option as standard prballots, as this would allow us to measure ddisillusionment across the country. Moreov

be designed to trigger another election, or process, for example, if the none of the abcertain threshold. Research shows that votforming. If you vote once, you are more likthroughout your life. Providing a clear pro

form of a none of the above option couldnumbers of young people to the voting bootherwise never vote.

running so high at the moment, we believe th



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ranging, public debate is strongly needed. Bupost-election constitutional convention shoulensure a strong voice for all sections of the puparticularly the next generation of voters and

Conclusion: future politics

Politics needs to reform or it will lose the nexglobalised and interconnected world, governmpowerful than they used to be. There is little tgovernment can do to halt larger changes in tand labour market. As new technologies contthreaten new jobs and industries, feelings of paffect swathes of the population. Young peopthis diminishing power of government, and thdeclining relevance of political parties, turnin

actors and means to have positive impact on snew businesses, new social enterprises, new sodirect social action. Lower voter turnout maynew norm as the modern world becomes morgovernments lose the ability to control econo

nonetheless, it is essential that every effort is myoung people here and now about the importreport shows the kinds of policies that could

h l f h

Technical appendix

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The research in this report is based on a deexisting evidence, a survey of 1,000 1825-yfocus groups of 12 and 13 young people.

Demos researchers designed the survinput from vInspired. Where possible, we from other questionnaires (such as the Britsurvey and the European Values Study) in comparisons with other surveys. The full liis given below. We commissioned Populusrun an online survey between 28 August an

The fieldwork produced a nationally repre1,004 UK 1825-year-olds, of whom 492 wwomen; 404 of the sample were students, 4133 were NEET.

Results from Populus enabled a brea

region, and whether respondents were in eneither. Further analysis of the raw data alrespondents by their likelihood to vote. Th

( )

Survey questions

1

Technical appendix


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How much interest do you generally havein politics?

A great deal, quite a lot, some, not very much,

2 Will you vote in the next general election

Yes, probably, probably not, no, I dont know3 If the general election was today, do you k

vote for? Yes, no, dont know

Belief statements: answers on a scale from 5 t

most strongly with the first statement, and +5 awith the second statement.

4 Which of the following statements do youthe most?

Individuals should take more responsibility forstate should take more responsibility to ensure tprovided for

5 Which of the following statements do youmost?

People who are unemployed should have to taklose their benefits; People who are unemployeright to refuse a job they do not want

8 Which of the following statements do y

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most?Our country has made the changes needed minorities equal rights with white people; continue making changes to give ethnic minwhite people

9 To what extent do you feel concerned aissues?Extremely concerned, very concerned, someconcerned, not concerned

a The state of the public finances in Bb Tax avoidancec The future of the NHSd Care for the elderlye Tuition fees for university

f Leisure facilities/community spacesg Transportationh Environmental issues (e.g. climate c

environment)i The gap between rich and poor in th

j Unemployment/access to workk Living costsl Crime and anti-social behaviourm Online privacy

political party. If none would make you m

h l l f h b

Technical appendix


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then please select none of the abovea Guaranteeing jobs/apprenticeships for

unemployed young peopleb Reducing the cost of higher education

bursary schemes)

c Raising the national minimum wage fod Reducing transportation costs for youne Increasing spending on mental health p

peoplef Improving careers advice in schools

g Retaining housing benefit for under-25h Ensuring that sport and leisure facilitie

accessible for all young peoplei Enforcing minimum wage payments fo

could lead to fewer work experience op

j Reinstating Education Maintenance Alk Strengthening citizenship education anpolitics in school

l Investing in youth clubs and youth servm Lowering the voting age to 16n Banning the Mosquito (the device that

noises that only people under 25 can hepeople)

o None of the above would make me mo

12 To what extent would the following thi

lik l t t ?

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likely to vote?Definitely more likely to vote, probably mormore nor less likely to vote, probably less liklikely to vote

a If politicians were more active on sob If I had clearer information about wstand for

c If there was a clear difference betwepolitical parties stand for

d If there were more MPs under the age If there were more women MPsf If there were more ethnic minority Mg If there were more MPs from a workh If the candidate was from my local ai If politicians set a better example in

discussionsj If I felt that voting would make a dik If I felt that voting would make a di

care about

13 To what extent would the following thilikely to vote?

Definitely more likely to vote, probably morl l k l b bl l l k


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Notes

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1 G Dilnot, Thousands of student voters yetNews, 7 Dec 2014, www.bbc.co.uk/news/u(accessed 22 Dec 2014).

2 J Birdwell and M Bani,Introducing Generat2014, www.demos.co.uk/publications/gene(accessed 19 Dec 2014).

3 Electoral Commission, Scottish Independencon the referendum held on 18 December 2014, 2www. electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/179812/Scottish-independence-referendum19 Dec 2014).

4 C Hannon and C Tims,An Anatomy of Youtwww.demos.co.uk/files/AoY_webfile.pdf?17 Dec 2014).

7 G Rosenblatt,A Year in the Life: From member o

parliament Hansard Society 2006 www hans

Notes


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parliament, Hansard Society, 2006, www.hansresearch/strengthening-parliaments/a-year-in19 Dec 2014).

8 Electoral Commission, Scottish Independence R

9 I White, Timetable for the UK parliamentaryCommons Library standard note 06564, Sep www.parliament.uk/business/publications/repapers/SN06574/timetable-for-the-uk-parliamelection (accessed 16 Dec 2014).

10 Demos, Same day registration, factsheet, Febwww.demos.org/sites/default/files/publicatioFinal_1.pdf (accessed 16 Dec 2014).

11

Hannon and Tims,An Anatomy of Youth.12 JM Davies, NEET: young people not in educ

or training, House of Commons Library stanSN06705, 20 Nov 2014, www.parliament.uk/bpublications/research/briefing-papers/SN067

people-not-in-education-employment-or-trainDec 2014).

15 H Hill and S Ballinger, Voice of a generat

first-time voters think? British Future 20

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first-time voters think? , British Future, 20org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Voice-ofreport.FINAL_.Embargo-6.5.14.pdf (acces

16 R Fox and M Korris et al,Audit of Political E2013 report, Hansard Society, 2013, www.hawp-content/uploads/2013/05/Audit-of-Pol2013.pdf (accessed 16 Dec 2014).

17 Ibid.

18 R Fox and M Korris et al,Audit of Political Ereport with a focus on the accountability and coSociety, www.hansardsociety.org.uk/wp-co2014/04/Audit-of-Political-Engagement-11-Dec 2014).

19 OECD, Society at a Glance 2011, Organisatiooperation and Development, 2011, www.oeissues-migration-health/society-at-a-glance2011-en (accessed 16 Dec 2014).

20 Electoral Commission, Scottish Independenc

21 Survation, Sky Youth Poll, 2014, http://surva

23 E Segall, Three dimensions of time: an age-p

analysis of US spending patterns Yale Journai f ll h // j l i l

Notes


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analysis of US spending patterns, Yale Journaissue 1, fall 2013, http://econjournal.sites.yalethree-dimensions-time-age-period-cohort-analpatterns (accessed 16 Dec 2014); B Duffy et ala Demos and Ipsos MORI report on changing attiDemos and Ipsos MORI, 2013, www.demos.cgenerationstrains (accessed 16 Dec 2014).

24 R Edwards, Politicians dont care about younHuffington Post, 4 Apr 2014, www.huffingtonedwards/politicians-dont-care-abo_b_50920

19 Dec 2014); S Khan, Lowering the voting aenergise political debate,Evening Standard, 9www.standard.co.uk/comment/comment/sadthe-voting-age-to-16-will-reenergise-political-d(accessed 19 Dec 2014); M Thompson, Golde

Cameron favours the elderly because theyre tIndependent, 18 Dec 2012, www.independent.ccomment/golden-oldies-david-cameron-favoubecause-theyre-the-ones-who-vote-8423564.ht2014).

25 Survation, Sky Youth Poll.

26 M Henn and N Foard, Young people, politic

28 HSCIC, Smoking, drinking and drug use

in England 2013, Health & Social Care Ih i k/ t l /PUB

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in England 2013 , Health & Social Care I2014, www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB1452014); ComRes, Channel 4 News: Drinking hwww.comres.co.uk/poll/1305/channel-4-dr(accessed 16 Dec 2014).

29 ComRes, Channel 4 News: Drinking habits su

30 J Laurance, The Hermione Granger effectfinally starting to say no to drugs and alcoh

Jul 2012, www.independent.co.uk/life-style

families/health-news/the-hermione-grangeare-finally-starting-to-say-no-to-drugs-and-(accessed 16 Dec 2014).

31 F Nelson, Boozy, druggy adults. Sober, se

to Ab Fab Britain, Spectator, 9 Nov 2013, wfeatures/9074091/ab-fab-britain/ (accessed

32 Hannon and Tims,An Anatomy of Youth.

33 Birdwell and Bani,Introducing Generation C

34 BSA, Is there less interest in having a say irun? inBritish Social Attitudes 30, 2012, http

37 Survation, Sky Youth Poll.

38 WL Bennett Changing citi enship in the dig

Notes


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38 WL Bennett, Changing citizenship in the digBennett (ed), Civic Life Online: Learning how diengage youth, Cambridge MA: MIT Press, 200L Rantala, From seekers to activists,Informa& Society 12, no 5, 2009, pp 65877.

39 Ibid.

40 Birdwell and Bani,Introducing Generation Citiz

41 Gov.uk, Community Life Survey 2013 to 2014https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/cosurvey-2013-to-2014-data (accessed 16 Dec 201

42 Henn and Foard, Young people, political pain Britain.

43 R Brand, Russell Brand on revolution: We nluxury of tradition,New Statesman, 24 Oct 2www.newstatesman.com/politics/2013/10/rusrevolution (accessed 16 Dec 2014); Russell Br

has changed slightly since his initial statemennow encourages people to vote if they think party that represents their views; if they think


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59 P Franklin, Just how encouraged should we b

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79 Electoral Commission, Scottish Independence R

80 White, Timetable for the UK parliamentary

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