SWING IN AGE GROUPS WAS DIVIDING FACTOR IN GENERAL ELECTION RESULT

AGE divided the nation at the General Election more than in any other vote since the 1970s, a study suggests.

Research by Ipsos Mori suggests Labour’s vote share was swelled by the under-44s, with the biggest swing among 25 to 34-year-olds.

This coincided with a swing to the Conservatives among the over-55s, resulting in the biggest age gap since Ipsos Mori’s records began in 1979.

The polling firm found that turnout among young people was up on the 2015 election, matching the EU referendum.

This swing in age groups came at the same time as a reversal in traditional voting patterns between different classes. There was a swing among the middle classes to Labour, while working classes moved to the Conservatives, with both parties achieving record vote shares in these groups.

Attraction

Kully Kaur-Ballagan, of Ipsos Mori, said: “We know that the Remain voters did go to Labour and, certainly with the working class vote, we saw the collapse of Ukip and a lot of them did go to the Tories.

“But I think what we also noticed throughout the campaign – there was some attraction to some of the policies of the Labour Party.

“For example, we know education was the third biggest issue that people voted on and that may have attracted some of the middle class voters.”

Education was another clear divide in voting patterns, according to Ipsos Mori.

The Conservatives had a 17-point lead among those with no qualifications and a smaller seven-point lead among those educated to below degree level. Among graduates, though, Labour had a 15-point lead.

Labour peer Lord Adonis, speaking on BBC4’s Today programme, said he will table a private members bill in Parliament to lower the voting age to 16.