Labour tops polls among young people

Among children taking part in the Our Generation. Our Vote initiative, 32 per cent voted for the Labour Party, closely followed by the Green Party in second place with 29 per cent of the vote.

The Liberal Democrats gained 13 per cent, Reform 10 per cent, with the Conservative Party in last place on nine per cent.

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Across Wales, Labour also won, the Reform vote increased to 14 per cent and Plaid Cymru received nine per cent of votes.

Regionally in England the Green Party pushed Labour into second place among young voters in Birmingham, the South West and London.

Reform’s vote was highest in the East of England and Yorkshire and the Humber.

Education was named by a fifth of children across England and Wales as the most influential policy area for them, followed by almost one in six citing health and the same proportion mentioning climate change.

The cost-of-living crisis was mentioned by one in six, safety by one in eight and immigration had the least impact on their vote, cited by just one in 12 children.

The Our Generation Our Vote initiative is inspired by a similar youth vote scheme in Norway and has been organised by a coalition including Save the Children, UK Youth and Girlguiding.

“I think politicians overlook young people because we don’t have the vote, so it was exciting to have the opportunity to cast my ballot and have a say, after learning about the different parties,” said 14-year-old Matilda, one of those who took part in the election at her school in Worcestershire.

“In the past, I’ve heard from my parents about the party they support so it was interesting to learn about what all the other parties are offering in their manifestos this election. It was really educational.” 

Saeema Akhtar, head of citizenship at Little Ilford School in Newham, London, which took part, said pupils who voted were “excited to take part and feel like their voices will be heard”.

Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens’ manifestos include pledges to reduce the voting age in elections from 18 to 16 if elected.

“Democracy is the lifeblood of the UK and it’s vital that children across the country feel inspired to play their role as citizens, whatever their background,” said a spokesman for Our Generation. Our Vote, who stresses that the initiative has no allegiance to any political party.

“We’re always striving to give children a platform for their views about the issues that affect them most. The run-up to this election allowed them to speak to politicians and hear first-hand about the policies of the main parties.”  

• Listen to an special election episode of the CYP Now Podcast to hear young people's views on the campaign so far.