Reply #11: Young 'not learning how to vote' [View All]

[Mnemosyne]

Young 'not learning how to vote'

A generation of young adults is not learning the habit of voting, a report from the Electoral Commission says.

The overall turnout in May's general election was 61.4%, up slightly on 2001, but the third lowest since 1847.

But a poll of 10,986 adults for the commission found that for 18 to 24-year-olds the figure had fallen from 39% to 37% during the last four years.

For those over 65 this year it was 75%. A commission spokeswoman said the young were losing a "sense of duty" to vote.

They were "active" and "interested" in issues but "disillusioned" with Westminster politics, she added.

The report - Election 2005: Turnout, How Many, Who and Why? - said there was a "neighbourhood" effect, with turnout lower in urban areas and among socially deprived groups.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4357482.stm