to tell people that the Conservative party are only really popular amongst older voters

[chomalungma]

The headline figure is 40% support for the Conservatives. But that hides a real truth - support is low amongst younger people and higher amongst older people.

And older people are more likely to vote.

This is from You Gov - it's based on 11,500 people - so a much bigger survey - and more reliable.

yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2019/10/31/2019-general-election-demographics-dividing-britai

So basically, if you want to get rid of the Conservatives, get younger people out to vote.

It's also interesting to look at the support for the Green party and how that varies.

We really need a different voting system in this country.

No great revelation there!

Be assured that they are not popular with ALL older voters but unfortuately this is true (God knows why) so younger people need to be encouraged to vote.

And thus it ever was.

As an git I am sickened by this. Never voted Tory and can't see me ever doing, but I am tarred with the brush of my contemporaries.

Me too Hinge me too.

Where my parents live it's been Labour since time immemorial and I can't see it changing. My folks are late 60s / early 70s.

I'm 29, Welsh and a lone parent and am a conservative supporter.

Yeah I know I go well against the grain. 😂

Labour safe seat though so it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things.

I thought it was a well known fact that more young people tend towards Labour than Conservatives.

This is pretty well known... yawn.

I'm going back to the MIL thread, much more fun.

Where my parents live it's been Labour since time immemorial and I can't see it changing

I think the demographics when you get to different areas are fascinating as well.

Once you start cross tabulating - e.g. Voting intention by age and gender, voting intention by age and location, it becomes very interesting.

I hope the era of party politics will soon be over. I wish everyone had the opportunity to get behind a local independent who supports their local constituents without needing to be loyal to a party.

so younger people need to be encouraged to vote

I was chatting to 20 year today. He was quite happy to volunteer that he's going to be voting Conservative.

Labour safe seat though so it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things

This is why I think we should have a different voting system. I have lived in a safe Conservative seat before and thought my vote didn't count.

20 year old

He was quite happy to volunteer that he's going to be voting Conservative

Well obviously there are some young Conservatives....remember William Hague at the Conservative Conference many years ago!!!

Isn’t there an old saying?
If you don’t vote Labour when you are young you haven’t got a heart. If you do vote Labour when you are old you haven’t hit a brain

It’ll be interesting to see how the December election will affect turnout across demographics, and who benefits. Will Labour gain because older voters are less able to get out in winter? Will the tories because younger voters are too busy doing Christmas stuff? Will the LibDems lose out because their usual army of leafletters and canvassers can’t be motivated? I’d assume turnout across the board will be low, given a combination of these factors, uninspiring options and a huge number of people being sick to death of the whole thing.

Maybe it’s a case that young people (and I’m talking very young, as in late teens) are a bit gullible and swallowed the BS fed to them by Corbyn at the last GA when he was telling them their student loans were going to be wiped out if he got in. The older people laughed their arses off at that one because it was an impossible promise to deliver on, but the young fell for it; hence the way they voted in their droves to vote him in.

It’s especially baffling that such an overwhelming majority of old people, who are more likely to be reliant on the NHS, insist on voting for a party which underfunds it....

Aren't you suggesting that because your vote doesn't decide the winner then you want a different voting system so that it does.

Who has more wisdom the young idealists or the older population with a lifetime of experiences and education.

Isn’t there an old saying?
If you don’t vote Labour when you are young you haven’t got a heart. If you do vote Labour when you are old you haven’t hit a brain
Yes and like a lot of old sayings, it's utter shite.

Aren't you suggesting that because your vote doesn't decide the winner then you want a different voting system so that it does.

That's exactly what I am saying - my vote has counted for fuck all most years and I am 57

I've voted Tory since I was 18, and am now 53, so go figure. From a teen to adulthood, to middle aged.

Aren't you suggesting that because your vote doesn't decide the winner then you want a different voting system so that it do

A different system such as a PR based system would be better compared to the current FPTP system.

Who has more wisdom the young idealists or the older population with a lifetime of experiences and education

Depends on their experiences of issues like current education, housing, the job market, environmental concerns...

Just look at the support for the Green party. Other countries with different voting systems actually have quite a lot of Green MPs in their Parliament. Yet a country like ours where there is a a lot of support for the Green party only has 1 Green MP.

And yes - that also has implications for the far right support as well.