Why do so few people vote in UK elections now?
Posted on 20 June 2005
A generation gap in British democracy is one of the reasons why turnout in UK elections has fallen, according to a survey by students at the University of York.
The study revealed that while most older people use the ballot box, the younger generation of voters, though interested in politics, is disillusioned with political parties.
Turnout at the general election in the City of York constituency was 61.7 per cent - only slightly greater than the national figure of 61.3 per cent in which Labour was returned to power with the support of less than a quarter (21.6 per cent) of UK voters.
So why has turnout fallen so low? To answer this question, a cross-section of more than 600 residents of York was questioned by students from the University's Department of Politics. They sought to test arguments that low turnout could be explained by the lack of a clear gap between the Labour and Conservative parties and the idea that the result was a 'foregone conclusion'.
The students discovered that few people had 'forgotten' to vote. In most cases, it was a deliberate decision. Over a third (36 per cent) chose not to vote because "it wouldn't make a difference". But the main reason for not voting (cited by 80 per cent of non-voters) was because people failed to see any difference between the main parties. As one young man said: "The parties are all brands nowadays. Brands of the same product." There was also widespread disenchantment with all politicians: "Politicians are no better than children in my view: they certainly behave like them".
There was a wide difference between older people and today's new generation of voters. A total of 92 per cent of pensioners reported that they had voted, compared with less than half of the new voters. They voted out of a sense of duty. Many were critical of today's young people. As one pensioner commented: "They didn't have to fight for their freedom. They don't care. I want my comrades who died on D-Day to be remembered. This is a way to salute them".
But the survey showed that young people did care about politics though they felt alienated by the political parties. They were especially angered by the Iraq war. They were also more likely to regard the electoral system as unfair: half the younger people would vote if a "fairer" system were introduced.
Some 44 per cent of non-voters believed that their vote would not make a difference as the opinion polls all pointed to a Labour victory: "Forecasts put me off: it's like watching Match of the Day where you already know the scores...people don't care about something that's already been pretty much decided".
Overall, the results showed again that the attitudes of York people are similar to the UK as a whole. The greatest cause of concern was that a third of the non-voters reported that they had abstained in previous elections.
Speaking on behalf of her colleagues, first-year student Jenny Stevens from Brighton thanked the hundreds of York residents for answering the students' questions and for the "very forthright manner in which many of the older residents expressed their views of the national political parties".
Notes to editors:
- The survey was undertaken in the city centre of York between 9 May and 4 June 2005 by 112 first-year students studying Politics, Sociology and Economics as part of the Undergraduate Research Training Workshop module. The students worked in 14 teams as part of a project designed to develop transferable skills in information collection, interviewing and analysis and to give them practical experience of working in teams.
- Three student representatives will be available tomorrow (Tuesday, 21 June 2005) to answer questions at 10.45am in Vanbrugh College Room 123 at the University of York, Heslington, York. They are:Jenny Stevens, aged 20, from Brighton studying Politics and Sociology; Sebastian Taro Groth, aged 22, from Tokyo (where he was born and raised by his Swedish parents) studying Politics; Graeme Dawson, aged 23, from Sunderland studying Politics.
- For further information, please contact the lecturer-in-charge: Dr Roger Pierce, Department of Politics, University of York on 01904 433543 (office) or 07841 479699(mobile).