Young people more concerned about cost of living than immigration, poll finds

ComRes have done polling of 18-24 year olds for Radio1’s Newsbeat that has some pretty revealing statistics about what they think when it comes to politics.

More than 6,000 young people were surveyed and when they had to choose the top three priorities for the government, out of a list of 12, the NHS, with 42% of the vote came up top. This isn’t hugely different from the general population – 50% of whom think the NHS is the most important general election issue.

However, it’s a bit more interesting the further down the list you go. 33% of young people are concerned about keeping the cost of living down, compared to 23% of the population. And although controlling immigration comes in third, that’s with 28% thinking it’s top-three priority, in contrast to 49% of the general public.

Unsurprisingly, improving the education system gets a larger proportion of the among young people (24% to 9%) as does improving housing affordability (23% to 11%).

Meanwhile, when it comes to voting intentions, only 26% said they were certain to vote and 21% said they were likely to. However, 15% said they “definitely won’t” or are “very unlikely to vote”.

In terms of party politics, there seems to be little appetite for any of the main party leaders. 20% think Cameron is most likely to tell the truth, compared to 13% for Miliband, 12% for Bennett, 10% for Farage and 7% for Clegg. Meanwhile, 22% want to see Cameron running the country, and 16% would rather Miliband did.

Interestingly, when asked who they least want to see running the country, Farage comes out with the highest percentage (36%) while Cameron is three points ahead of Miliband on this one – 16% and 13% respectively.

None of these stats are a resounding endorsement for any of the party leaders.