The youth for today: the 2017 election changed UK’s political landscape

The “youthquake” was a key component of Corbyn’s 10-point advance in Labour’s share of the vote  exceeding even Blair’s nine-point gain in his first 1997 landslide. No official data exists for the scale of the youth vote but an NME-led exit poll suggests turnout among under-35s rose by 12 points compared with 2015, to 56%. The survey said nearly two-thirds of younger voters backed Labour, with Brexit being their main concern .

Overall turnout was up 2% at 69%, the highest since 1997, with 85% of seats seeing an increase in voters. The top five seats with the highest turnouts of 78-79% were Winchester, Twickenham, St Albans, Wirral West and Wirral South. The first three featured fierce Lib Dem/Tory battles, including Vince Cable’s successful fight in Twickenham.

Ten seats that saw the largest 10%-plus increases in turnout included Newcastle upon Tyne East, Ilford South, Foyle, Rossendale and Darwen, Lewisham East and Staffordshire South. It is likely the youth vote had a decisive influence in seats such as Manchester Central, Canterbury and Cambridge, which are also in the top 22 seats for increased turnout.

London experienced the biggest concentration of seats with above average turnout, 39 being above the national 69% benchmark. The largest turnout falls came in Scotland, where 20 SNP-held seats recorded drops of up to 8%, marking a turn in the nationalist tide. Only two seats in Scotland saw increased turnout – Orkney and Glasgow.

Source : The guardian

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