Poll: what young people think about politics


by Don Paskini    
2:54 pm - November 30th 2009

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YouGov and the Citizenship Foundation recently polled 3,994 people aged 14 to 25. There are many interesting findings:

Priorities

Their top five priorities are reducing unemployment, investing in the NHS, investing in education, being tough on criminals and tackling climate change.

They think the main priorities for the Labour Party are reducing unemployment and investing in education and the NHS.

They think the main priorities for the Conservative Party are reducing immigration, reducing spending on public services and being tough on criminals.

They think the main priorities for the Liberal Democrats are tackling climate change, promoting equal opportunities and investing in education.

They think the government should help poor people, young people and elderly people the most. 2% think the government should help rich people.

They think that the main groups that the Labour Party wants to help are the unemployed, single parents, immigrants and poor people.

They think that the main groups that the Conservative Party wants to help are “traditional” families and rich people.

52% don’t know which are the main groups that the Liberal Democrats want to help.

More young people think that community and campaigning groups and the trade unions should have influence on government policy than think the same of business, think tanks or the media.

Discrimination

The groups that they thought faced most unfair discrimination in Britain were young people; gay people; Muslims; immigrants and refugees and asylum-seekers.

The groups that they thought benefited from unfair advantages were people from private schools and those who are unemployed or on benefits.

Tory supporting young people were much more likely to claim that they were taught too much about the views and lifestyles of those from different cultural, ethnic and faith groups than Labour or Lib Dem supporters.

Information

71% learned about politics through the internet, more than TV, newspapers, radio or friends and family. 10% report that political blogs were their main sources of information.

The main issues which increased their interest in politics were the recession; then the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq; followed by the MPs’ expenses scandal, Britain’s relationship with Europe and climate change.

Participation and democracy

27% think that having a Young Mayor would be beneficial for the local area, 67% think it would not be beneficial.

44% think that the Youth Parliament and youth councils make a positive contribution.

The main reasons why they think that young people take part in youth parliaments, local youth councils and similar forums is because it looks good on the CV, because they are interested in a political career and because they are interested in political issues. 10% think it is because they want to help others.

The main reasons why they think that young people take part in organisations that campaign on single issues such as climate change, homelessness, poverty or a war that they see as wrong is to make a difference to their community or to help others.

67% have never voted on a TV show.

31% support lowering the voting age to 16, 54% oppose it (though 14-17 year olds are much more likely to support it than those who are older).

33% take part in voluntary, charitable or community work – Labour supporters are the most likely to, followed by Lib Dems, then Tories and then supporters of other parties or those who aren’t interested in politics.

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About the author
Don Paskini is deputy-editor of LC. He also blogs at donpaskini. He is on twitter as @donpaskini
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Reader comments


1. Lee Griffin

I find the most interesting thing is the lowering votes to 16, I’d like to know the reasons for that. Is it purely a “we have more rights now, it’s not fair to lower it, we didn’t get OUR say at 16..hmph” kind of view or something more constructive?

2. john b

The groups that they thought faced most unfair discrimination in Britain were young people; gay people; Muslims; immigrants and refugees and asylum-seekers.

The groups that they thought benefited from unfair advantages were people from private schools and those who are unemployed or on benefits.

That’s not good news for the BNP, or their “Very Real Grievances Of The White Working Class” fellow-travellers. Hooray yoof.

3. tim f

“They think that the main groups that the Labour Party wants to help are the unemployed, single parents, immigrants and poor people.”

Wow. I know not all this was meant as complimentary to the Labour Party but that made me proud to be a Labour member. I hope we can do better living up to young people’s expectations!

4. ad

Following the link to YouGov I find:

Which, if any, of the following political parties would you say that you like the MOST?
Conservatives 23%
Labour 18%
Liberal Democrats 18%
Scottish National Party (SNP) / Plaid Cymru 3%
Another party 9%
Not applicable – I do not like any of the political parties 13%
Don’t know 16%

5. Richard

“44% think that the Youth Parliament…”

Do 44% of young people even know that the Youth Parliament exists?

6. tim f

If they go to school, then they probably know of its existence. Of course, that doesn’t mean they necessarily know what it does.

7. Richard

How long has it been around? I was doing politics A level at the beginning of the decade and don’t recall it being mentioned or anyone getting a vote.

8. tim f

I’m not an expert on this and had to check Wikipedia. Seems it’s about 10 years old, but only 90% of LEAs take part, so either you were in the 10% that don’t, or fewer LEAs took part immediately after its formation and its become more widespread over time (perhaps after citizenship was introduced?).

It don’t remember anything about it either (I finished sixth form in 2002), but I remember my little brother talking about it, and he finished sixth form just over a year ago.

9. Daniel Hoffmann-Gill

Hooray for the yoof indeed! An interesting breakdown of some current concerns and ideas.


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