Elections
ESRC SCHOOL BRIEFINGS
Young people – a wasted vote?
Winston Churchill famously remarked that democracy was the worst form of government except for all those other
forms that have been tried. First time voters in Britain in the 21st centur y would seem to agree. Dr Matt Henn and
Dr Mark Weinstein from Nottingham Trent University researched newly qualified voters after the 2001 election
vote.They found them to be cynical about politics and politicians, but supporters of the system as a whole. Many
would have liked to be more involved, but felt powerless to make a difference.
Researching more than 700 eighteenyear-olds through a postal questionnaire,
Drs Henn and Weinstein found that
nearly half (48 per cent) were interested
in the 2001 general election, while only
17 per cent had no interest at all. More
than half expected to discuss politics
with friends or family in the future.
“These results seem to run counter to
popular thinking that young people are
dismissive of political matters”, say Drs
Henn and Weinstein.
Of their respondents, 82 per cent
believed they had little or no influence
on politics and political affairs, while only
three per cent felt they had any
influence at all. However, “despite
feelings of general political
powerlessness, young people do appear
to have faith in the democratic process
itself, and are generally suppor tive of the
notion of elections – the key means
open for people to formally par ticipate
in politics.The data revealed that more
people said they were satisfied (31 per
cent) than were dissatisfied (26 per
cent) with the way democracy works
(although 28 per cent held an
ambivalent “Neither Satisfied Nor
Dissatisfied” view)”, say Drs Henn and
Weinstein.
Never theless, these young citizens did
plan to vote in the next general election
(67 per cent to 16 per cent).
The challenge for political par ties is to
win young people’s confidence. Most
respondents did not think politicians
were any good at communicating with
the younger generation.They felt that:
• It’s embarrassing when the par ties try
to appeal to young people during
election campaigns (agreed 44 per
cent: disagreed 26 per cent).
Although half believed that elections
matter, this did not stop them from
feeling sceptical about their outcomes.
The majority, 60 per cent, felt elections
didn’t really change anything.Tellingly,
when asked whether elections help to
keep politicians accountable for the
promises they make, young people were
split: 42 per cent said yes, 36 per cent
said no.The implication that four out of
10 young people did not believe this key
principle of representative government
actually works in practice “is a stark
indictment of the ability of the system to
win the confidence of young citizens”.
Further information
Contact: Dr Matt Henn
Nottingham Trent University
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: +44 (0) 115 848 8156
ESRC award number : R000223598
First-time Voters’ Attitudes Towards Party Politics in Britain: Briefing Paper
http://www.gsr.ntu.ac.uk/esrcresults.htm
• Political par ties do a good job of
listening to young people’s concerns,
and then responding to them
positively (agreed 7 per cent:
disagreed 63 per cent).
• Governments don’t really care what
young people like me think (agreed 39
per cent: disagreed 26 per cent).
“Young people in Britain today are
engaged sceptics”, Drs Henn and
Weinstein conclude, and political par ties
should make more effor t to connect
with them. “This group is much more
likely to respond to approaches from the
political par ties that are more direct,
par ticipative and transparent, in which it
is possible for young people to gauge
the extent to which their voices have
been heard, listened to, and acted upon.”