Youth vote to play big role in British election

LONDON — Young people may play a decisive role in Thursday's general election in Britain.

Nearly three quarters of the 6.8 million 18- to 24-year-olds in the country are registered to vote, and they are expected to cast ballots in the tight race that may end inconclusively Friday, forcing either the Conservative or Labour parties to scramble to form a coalition government with more minor parties.

The number, from the youth volunteering charity VInspired, is 14% higher than at the last general election in 2010, when just 44% of people in that age group voted. The total turnout that year was 65.1%.

Since the Conservative Party and Liberal Democrat coalition government came into power in 2010, people in this age group have been exercised by a number of issues including university fees that have tripled from around $4,600 to $14,000 and services for teenagers have been cut by councils around the country.

As a result, groups such as Vinspired, Bite the Ballot and the National Union of Students have made it their mission to try to encourage the youth to ensure their voices are heard.

"You can argue that because the over-65s are more likely to vote, we were just an easier demographic to let down," said Jazza John, digital manager for the not-for-profit organization Bite the Ballot, referring to the raised fees and other issues. "We set out to change that."

Bite the Ballot tries to encourage young people to vote through initiatives including visiting schools and social media. It also has a voter assistance tool called Verto, which enables people to compare their views on various issues with those of the political parties on their smartphones, tablets and desktop computers.

Has it worked? "We really hope so," John said. "We'll find out (when we get) the exit polls."

It's not just young voters who want to get their voices heard — several young adults are hoping to be elected as members of parliament today.

Oliver Middleton, 20, who is standing as a Labour Party candidate in Bath, southwestern England, says the youth are underrepresented in politics.

"This is largely a result of low voter turnout but it is also vital that parliament is fully representative of all aspects of society," he said. "I believe that parliament and politics alike should represent a cross-section of society in order to be fully representative, this must include young people, as well."

Taylor Muir, 19, a student as well as a Conservative Party candidate in Scotland, told the BBC: "I think young people deserve representation. No one understands issues facing a student, for example, (better) than an actual student."

A survey by the market research firm YouGov and the British Youth Council stated that 34% of the 18- to 24-year-olds surveyed late last month said they would vote Labour, followed by 26% for other parties (mainly the Green Party and the Scottish National Party), followed by the Conservatives with 23%, the United Kingdom Independence Party with 10% and the Liberal Democrats with 7%.

In the last days before the election, Labour has found a champion in the form of Russell Brand, the comedian, self-styled revolutionary and ex-husband of U.S. singer Katy Perry.

After initially advising his legion of followers to abstain from voting, Brand interviewed Labour Party leader Ed Miliband recently and changed his mind.

"You've got to get the Conservative Party out of government in this country so that we can begin community-led activism, so that we can be heard continually ... on housing, on poverty, inequality, on working," he said, in a video on his YouTube channel.