Mortar Bored Posted May 7, 2016 Share Posted May 7, 2016 My overriding feeling of this election is, similar to a few posters. That is, lines are more so becoming entrenched along the Unionist / Nationalist rhetoric. I'm not claiming that this is the only reason for votes, but that it is an increasing factor on the ballot paper. So, with this in mind, it stands to reason that new voters are the best way to buck the trend of entrenchment. I think the SNP managed to engage with the younger voters in the ref, this continued onto the General Election but weren't able to motivate them this time round. I've not seen the breakdown but suspect lower turnout is this. I understand that voting ages were different in the referendum.... What does it take to keep the young electorate engaged? My opinion is that the more political savvy teenagers are pretty much single issue, rather than political philosophy. I don't want to restrict this to the SNP, what can any party do to engage young voters? Apologies for the punchy style of this post.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergeant Wilson Posted May 7, 2016 Share Posted May 7, 2016 I thought Ad Lib had started a gang when I seen the title. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyerTon Posted May 7, 2016 Share Posted May 7, 2016 Will 16 year olds in Scotland be able to vote in the next British General Election or is that for Scottish elections only? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilky1878 Posted May 7, 2016 Share Posted May 7, 2016 The voting age for the referendum and this holyrood election was 16+ for last year's General election it was 18+ fwiw most 16-21 year olds I know are snp supporters. I, myself am a green supporter and I am also thinking of joining them as a member soon. Most of my friends I know in the 16-21 age bracket I think voted as Well so not sure you can put the blame on an low turnout to young voters on my experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mortar Bored Posted May 7, 2016 Author Share Posted May 7, 2016 They're not allowed to vote in the Brexit, AFAIK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mortar Bored Posted May 7, 2016 Author Share Posted May 7, 2016 The voting age for the referendum and this holyrood election was 16+ for last year's General election it was 18+ fwiw most 16-21 year olds I know are snp supporters. I, myself am a green supporter and I am also thinking of joining them as a member soon. Most of my friends I know in the 16-21 age bracket I think voted as Well so not sure you can put the blame on an low turnout to young voters on my experience. Fair enough, not blaming the low turnout on young voter apathy, just wondered if it contributed to the lower turnout. I was pretty political in my younger years, shop-steward at 18 etc. But I was also impulsive and wanted immediate results (couldn't see the long game). I may be way off the mark, but is it possible the young vote was motivated by immediate change in the ref? Then those who turned 18 in the intervening months wanted to register their disappointment in the result at the GE? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banana Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 I don't want to restrict this to the SNP, what can any party do to engage young voters? Bit of a conundrum, not just for young voters. It'd be better to go to the root and focus on what could be done in general to engage young voters, separate from political parties. Promote critical thinking, introduce some form of proportional representation so that a vote is seen as more meaningful, introduce more avenues for direct influence on decisions, etc. On the other hand, 18 year olds generally don't have a fucking scooby about the workings of and realities of the world, so not sure it'd even be a good thing to work towards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingTON Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 Erm, turnout was substantially higher than in 2011. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bairn Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 Erm, turnout was substantially higher than in 2011. But still far lower than it was for the referendum and in UK general elections. There's a substantial proportion of the Scottish electorate that vote sometimes but for whatever reason they tend to sit out Holyrood polls. It could be staunch unionist types that don't think there should even be a Scottish parliament, but if that was the case you'd see a big jump in the Tory vote in WM elections. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lambie's Pigeon Feed Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 Referendum offered immediate life altering change, huge stakes, high turnout. Westminster still controls all of the BIG things and the result was up in the air, significance of SNP victory huge. Scottish parliament a foregone conclusion and no prospect of anything significant changing in near future. Sliding scale of importance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thumper Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 But still far lower than it was for the referendum and in UK general elections. There's a substantial proportion of the Scottish electorate that vote sometimes but for whatever reason they tend to sit out Holyrood polls. It could be staunch unionist types that don't think there should even be a Scottish parliament, but if that was the case you'd see a big jump in the Tory vote in WM elections. Both of those were massive events that promised tectonic changes in the way the country was run. You'd have to look awfully hard to find anyone who thought such an outcome was remotely likely this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bairn Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 Referendum offered immediate life altering change, huge stakes, high turnout. Westminster still controls all of the BIG things and the result was up in the air, significance of SNP victory huge. Scottish parliament a foregone conclusion and no prospect of anything significant changing in near future. Sliding scale of importance. Okay the referendum was an outlier but I'm still rather surprised about the noticeable difference between UK and Scottish elections, especially with Holyrood now being such a powerful devolved parliament. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Granny Danger Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 Even though voting was up on 2011 I'm a bit disappointed at the turnout. I suppose people who are politically engaged find it hard to understand the mindset of those who are less so, in this respect I'm struggling to understand those who voted SNP at the GE with such incredible, historic results not turning out this time around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thumper Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 I suppose people who are politically engaged find it hard to understand the mindset of those who are less so, in this respect I'm struggling to understand those who voted SNP at the GE with such incredible, historic results not turning out this time around. So they could secure basically the same result as when they didn't bother their arses the same time four years ago? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshbairn Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 Those who got most of their news from the UK wide media could easily not have known there was an election on, all the focus has been on Brexit. Nicola complained about the timing when it was announced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antlion Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 Those who got most of their news from the UK wide media could easily not have known there was an election on, all the focus has been on Brexit. Nicola complained about the timing when it was announced. It worked really well for David Coburn though. Oh wait... 😂 I clicked on the UKIP Scotland Facebook page and a look through the few people who comment on its updates revealed them to have shared "go back to your own fucking country" memes and assorted Union Jack paraphernalia. Delighted they got nowhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sergie's no1 fan Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 Even though voting was up on 2011 I'm a bit disappointed at the turnout. I suppose people who are politically engaged find it hard to understand the mindset of those who are less so, in this respect I'm struggling to understand those who voted SNP at the GE with such incredible, historic results not turning out this time around. Unless it was a case of tories voting for the SNP up here to give Labour a bloody nose in the GE? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RussellAnderson Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 If you could vote online they youth vote would soar IMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doulikefish Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 I did see an interview with some youth voters in which one of them said they voted for the tories and she was really impressed with there plans for education Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bishop Briggs Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 I did see an interview with some youth voters in which one of them said they voted for the tories and she was really impressed with there plans for education You need some too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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