EU Referendum: Turnout of young people
There is a myth going around that only 34% of 18-24s voted in the Referendum.
This figure is being used by some Leave supporters to rebut the accusation that older people – who voted Leave disproportionately – ignored the wish of most young people to remain in the EU.
That figure is not true.
It is based on a misinterpretation of this SKY DATA Tweet:
% who got through our final #EUref poll turnout filter by age group:
18-24: 36%
25-34: 58%
35-44: 72%
45-54: 75%
55-64: 81%
65+: 83%— Sky Data (@SkyData) June 25, 2016
The 36% in this Tweet is the SKYDATA estimate for turnout of 18-24s in the 2015 election. It is NOT the turnout of young people in the Referendum.
Until now there have been no data for Referendum turnout by age. (though Ipsos Mori tell me they will publish it).
However today I was alerted to this new poll:
http://www.thecanary.co/2016/07/04/looks-like-youth-turnout-eu-referendum-much-much-higher-first-thought/
The two LSE academics who commissioned the research (Professor Michael Bruter and Dr Sarah Harrison) suggest that turnout for 25- to 29-year-olds was around 67%.
“While the media wasted no time in criticising young people for their perceived lack of voting – some even going so far as to blame them – it seems that actually, they went above and beyond. ‘Young people cared and voted in very large numbers,’ Bruter and Harrison said. ‘We found turnout was very close to the national average, and much higher than in general and local elections.’ Considering over 70% of 18-24 year olds who did vote opted for Remain, it really does seem true that the older generation – who voted overwhelmingly to leave – have saddled them with a future of uncertainty.”
