Labour doubles poll lead over Conservatives among voters under 25, new poll shows

But only 57 per cent of them say they will definitely vote

Harriet Agerholm
Tuesday 30 May 2017 07:48 BST
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Conservative sources have said they expect to fall behind Labour in polling before voters head to polling booths in June
Conservative sources have said they expect to fall behind Labour in polling before voters head to polling booths in June

Labour’s lead among voters under 50 is growing, marking an increasing generational divide ahead of June's election, according to a poll by YouGov.

The party is 57 points ahead of the Conservatives among voters under 25 years old, according to the poll, compared to 28 points shortly after the snap vote was called in April.

Across all the age groups, the survey for The Sunday Times showed Theresa May’s lead over Labour had fallen to seven points as she re-launched her election campaign.

General Election polls and projections: May 29

While only 12 per cent of 18- to 24-year-olds said they would vote Conservative, 69 per cent of them would opt to elect Jeremy Corbyn to Downing Street, the poll showed.

Meanwhile, 44 per cent of 25-to 49-year-olds favoured Labour, compared to 34 per cent who would vote Tory. Mr Corbyn's 10-point lead among this age group was up from eight points in the first days after the election was announced.

Yet only 57 per cent of people in each young age group said they were absolutely certain to vote, compared to 66 per cent of 50 to 64-year-olds and 75 per cent of over 60s.

Conservative sources have said they expect to fall behind Labour in polling before voters head to cast their ballots in June.

The Tories have slid in the polls after Ms May U-turned on a controversial proposal for a "dementia tax".

Tory peer Lord Lord Francis Maude said the manifesto launch "hadn't been a brilliant success".

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The general advice would be that if you're starting an election campaign 20 points ahead in the polls then you should be incredibly bland and generic and not say anything that might possibly upset anyone."

He added: "It hasn't been a brilliant success, I think it's fair to say."

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