Division of Labour

Is the Labour Party losing the universities?

One of the defining characteristics of the 2017 general election was how well the Labour Party did in university towns in England. In part this was put down to its promise to abolish tuition fees and the so-called “youthquake”, which saw student voters turn out to back Jeremy Corbyn’s party.

However, the British Electoral Study has questioned this assumption, providing evidence that the participation of the under-24 age group was no greater in the 2017 election than in previous national polls. What does become clear from the BES analysis is the support for Labour among the under-40s.