GENERATION GAP

Two polls in less than a year have exposed deep divisions between the youngest and oldest voters in the UK.

According to Lord Ashcroft’s postgeneral election age-breakdown poll, the Conservative vote skewed violently up the age scale, with 38% of its entire vote coming from the over-65s and just 2% from the 18-24 group.

Labour attracted far more younger voters but its support was not confined to them: its vote was much more evenly distributed, with 20% coming from the 35-44 group versus 11% for the Conservatives.

According to Yougov, in the European Union referendum, 71% of 18-24s voted to remain compared with 36% of over-65s.

In a Guardian piece about people too young to vote in the referendum, a 17-year-old commented: “I feel I’ve been let down by an older generation who won’t be affected by the volatility of these decisions.”