Young Voters On The Rise For General Election 2010

In the run up to the general election 2010 it seems that more young people are becoming involved and active in politics than in previous years. It has been predicted in an article by the Guardian that voter turnout amongst those aged 18-24 will increase from 40% in 2005 to 50% in 2010.

On Wednesday 21st April, young people scrutinised Gordon Brown over Labour’s policies on immigration and his expenses on Radio One’s Newsbeat, proving that young voters are politically involved and more than prepared to take a view. A full transcript of the interview can be found here: ‘Brown savaged by young Radio One listeners over Labour's record on immigration’.

However there is still a significant amount of young people who are highly likely not to vote. A survey by ComRes with first time voters (aged 18-22) found that 11% were certain not to vote and 33% were absolutely certain not to vote. When asked ‘why are you unlikely to vote in the general election?' they gave the following answers:

• Don’t follow anything like that/politics/not interested/don’t understand it: 44%
• No reason/not bothered/do not want to vote: 13%
• Never voted before/don’t usually vote: 12%
• Not been paying a lot of attention to their policies: 10%
• Don’t feel there will be any change/no difference between the parties: 7%

(from the article: ‘Young First Time Voters Not Won Over By Politicians’)

Some credit the rise of the internet and websites such as Facebook for the increased political involvement amongst young people this year. Others suggest that young people are angry at the current political system and have become more active partly as a result of the recession and expenses scandal.

What do you think is the main reason for the increase? Are there enough young people planning to vote? What do you make of their reasons not to?