‘Largest-ever’ children’s election puts Labour first, followed by Greens
Melanie May | 3 July 2024 | News
Ahead of this Thursday’s General Election, around 23,000 children in England and Wales took part in ‘Our Generation. Our Vote.’. Described as the largest-ever children’s election, it was organised by a coalition of organisations including Save the Children, UK Youth, The Politics Project, the Association for Citizenship Teaching and Girlguiding, and inspired by similar events in Norway.
32% of the 23,000 participants voted Labour, 29% voted for the Green Party and 13% for the Liberal Democrats. Reform UK received 10% of the vote, followed by Conservatives on 9%.
In Wales, Labour won 30%, followed by Green Party (22%), Reform UK (14%), Liberal Democrats (10%), Plaid Cymru (9%) and Conservatives (8%).
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Across both nations, children cited education (22%) as the policy area that influenced their vote the most, followed by health (18%) and climate and environment (18%). 16% named the cost-of-living and 12% safety. Immigration and refugees came bottom with 8%.
More than 530 schools and youth groups from across England and Wales signed up to ‘Our Generation. Our Vote.’ which is a political literacy project to help under 18-year-olds build their understanding of the democratic process, the different parties and their election manifestos, and local candidates standing in their areas. The project culminated in a mock election aimed at preparing children – particularly those from marginalised communities – to exercise their democratic rights when they reach voting age.
Matilda, 14, cast her vote in the ‘Our Generation. Our Vote.’ election at her school in Worcestershire. She said:
“I think politicians overlook young people because we don’t have the vote, so it was exciting to have the opportunity to cast my ballot and have a say, after learning about the different parties. In the past, I’ve heard from my parents about the party they support so it was interesting to learn about what all the other parties are offering in their manifestos this election. It was really educational.”
A spokesperson for ‘Our Generation. Our Vote.’ said:
“Democracy is the lifeblood of the UK and it’s vital that children across the country feel inspired to play their role as citizens, whatever their background. We’re always striving to give children a platform for their views about the issues that affect them most. The run-up to this election allowed them to speak to politicians and hear first-hand about the policies of the main parties.
We have no allegiance to any party, but as a coalition, Our Generation. Our Vote is delighted with the support it’s received from schools, teachers, parents and, of course, the children themselves.”
Full details of how children voted, including a regional breakdown of the data, can be found here.
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About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.