Why Young People Don't Vote

These are words you will be hearing everywhere, especially at the moment but do they mean anything to you?

Evidence has shown that young people are interested in elections and politics way more widely right now. They are interested in voting, they do care about who's elected so why have they been so disengaged up until now?

Unfortunately, in recent General Elections, many young people think that the candidates haven't been able to demonstrate the points above effectively.

This has led to young people feeling marginalised and alienated from formal electoral politics which resulted in a low turnout of young people.

So, what does this mean?

Getting out and voting could, therefore, force politicians to start taking notice of young people.

In the current election, massive amounts of young people have registered to vote which as already spurred some political parties to start promoting the issues that young people care about.

Now, here's the stats...

Older people vote for the issues that affect them and this is evidenced through the fact that 42% of the welfare budget goes on pensions.

But what issues could young people change?

Social media influencers like Hannah Witton and Russell Brand have been encouraging young people to vote and take ownership of their futures.

Even if you haven't managed to register to vote in time for this month's General Election you can still register here and never miss out on voting again!

Thanks to Professor Matt Henn and Senior Lecturer Martin Monahan from the School of Social Sciences for providing us with the research and statistics for this post.