UK: Fewer than a third of first-time voters in the UK say they will definitely vote on Thursday, largely because they cannot be bothered or do not believe it will make a difference, a new poll warns.
The findings will reinforce fears across all parties that turnout is in permanent decline, having fallen from more than 70 per cent in 1997 to below 60 per cent in 2001. Only 31 per cent of those surveyed by ICM were sure that they would vote, compared with 38 per cent in a similar survey in 2001. Asked why, 32 per cent said they could not be bothered, 30 per cent said they did not believe their vote would make a difference, and around 20 per cent said they did not know enough about politics.
But the poll, conducted for BBC Radio's Newsbeat show, found that first-time voters identified crime, tax, employment and the country's health service as crucial issues. More than half also said they would be more likely to take part if they could vote online or via a text message. Declining turnout among young voters has driven party officials to invest heavily in targeting seats with high student populations.
Opposition parties have given their youth organisations "fighting funds" amounting to thousands of pounds to help target key constituencies.
Paul Bristow, the chairman of Conservative Future, the party's 15,000-strong youth wing, said the Conservatives were targeting 20 seats across the UK, where they believe there is a real prospect of unseating Labour. He said attitudes towards his organisation had "changed 100 per cent" since he began working within it five years ago. "We didn't do very well amongst 18 to 24-year-olds at the last election and the Tory party sees this as a real problem."