93% have registered and over half want Corbyn for PM
AROUND 93 per cent of students who are entitled to vote have registered to do so and most say they will vote Labour, a survey revealed yesterday.
With Jeremy Corbyn as leader, Labour has the support of 55 per cent of students, up from 23 per cent in 2005 when Tony Blair was in charge.
And the Liberal Democrats are still struggling to recover from their broken promise on tuition fees seven years ago.
Their vote share used to be between 30 and 40 per cent, making them one the most popular parties among students, until their U-turn on fees while in coalition with the Tories. The party now trails at 12 per cent.
Student support for the Conservatives is at 18 per cent and Theresa May, who is more unpopular than her predecessor David Cameron, is cited as one of the reasons. The Greens are on 6 per cent and SNP 3 per cent.
The survey of 1,000 fulltime undergraduates, published on Thursday by the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) and YouthSight, found students were most concerned about the EU and the NHS.
Asked to pick their top three issues facing the country, twothirds of students (66 per cent) highlighted both the EU and the NHS, followed by education (30 per cent), jobs (24 per cent), the economy (22 per cent), terrorism (17 per cent), housing (16 per cent), immigration (14 per cent) and the environment (13 per cent).
The student vote took a hit when the government introduced individual electoral registration in 2014-15. A drive to boost registration is likely to benefit Labour the most.
Holding the election in June, rather than in May, means that more students will be in their home constituencies, which could reduce the student vote in those marginal constituencies where campuses are located.
Hepi director Nick Hillman, said: “There are over a million undergraduates entitled to vote at this election and they are concentrated in certain constituencies. They are an important group of voters, but only if they choose to wield their power. “An overall majority of students who have made up their mind support Jeremy Corbyn.”
YouthSight managing director Ben Marks said: “The Lib Dems will have to work a lot harder to try and cleanse their brand of the damage inflicted by their volte face on student fees seven years ago.”
Read also:
45% of Young Americans Want Socialism | 30% of Young French have voted for Mélenchon
French Leftist Students attracted by Abstention
