The Leave and Remain campaigns have been accused of failing to speak to young people just hours before the nation decides the fate of the UK’s union with Europe in a referendum.
An online survey carried out by NME, which also took to the streets of the capital to gauge young people’s perceptions of the campaigns, found more than half feel neither has been relevant to them.
The economy, at 36 per cent, came out as the biggest area of concern for this audience, followed by immigration at 22 per cent, with travel and housing ‒ both four per cent ‒ being least important.
One respondent, Bethany Horak-Hallett, 26, told the survey: “I don’t feel like I’ve been given the information I need. There’s been a lot of political game-playing: both sides have skewed the facts and misrepresented figures. I don’t trust either side to represent the situation truthfully.”
Another, Emmanuel Okuny, 24, said: “I think both sides are a bit of a joke really. In a way, it’s been funny to watch the scaremongering that’s been going on, but neither side has run a great campaign.”
Young people prepare to vote Remain in EU referendum:
Overall, Remain has won over this audience with the majority ‒ 59 per cent ‒ of respondents planning on voting In, compared to just 32 per cent who say they will vote Leave. Only 5 per cent said they will not be voting on Thursday, while four per cent still remain undecided.
Respondent Alice Thomas, 19, said: “So many knowledgeable people have said it’s better to stay. I’m opposed to the idea of not letting in any more immigrants. It’s great the UK is so multicultural.”
The survey has come shortly after another by graduate career app, Debut, revealed a staggering 81 per cent of students out of 12,000 will be voting for the UK to stay in the EU, while just 10 per cent will be voting Leave, suggesting for the first time that the student contingent could swing the campaign in the opposite direction.
Debut’s chief executive described how people expect students to be “apathetic” towards political and societal issues, insisting that survey has shown otherwise.
President Barack Obama’s intervention was viewed as more decisive than first realised, with the US president having more influence over British students’ political decisions ‒ 55 per cent ‒ than the likely candidate for Tory leadership and former London Mayor Boris Johnson at 37 per cent, highlighting “a further blow to the Brexit campaign,” said the poll.
