Young People’s General Election: Who should be PM?
Our final instalment of the Young People’s General Election is slightly late due election night recovery, but here’s this week’s questions and result!
Involving 5,700 pupils in 22 schools across the UK, we asked these questions…
Secondary question: Who do you think should be the next Prime Minister?
Result: Jeremy Corbyn
Involving secondaries in London, Manchester, Stafford, Lincoln and Tyne and Wear, it’s a win for Jeremy Corbyn.
It was a difficult night for Jezza and the Labour party, but let’s hope he can find solace in his strong showing in our Young People’s General Election. Taking 41% of the vote, well done Jeremy.
The victorious PM Boris Johnson performed solidly taking 36% of the vote. Not normally known for his appeal among young people, it’s something of a surprise and demonstrates his popularity.
On a positive note, only 7% said ‘I don’t know’. I think this is a positive message about how many young people being engaged and politically aware.
Primary Question: Should children be allowed to vote?
Inspired by the Head of Politics at Cambridge University, Professor David Runcimen’s suggestion that we should lower the voting age to six, we thought we’d ask primary and sen pupils what they thought.
Almost half of pupils thought they should vote, and a third saying they are too young.
Part of what we’re trying to do at Smart School Councils is to provide young people with the skills, confidence and environment within which their voice matters. This doesn’t stop with our election and is an important part of our continuing work.
If you’re interested in getting involved, get in touch!
About the Young People’s General Election 2019
Every week during the election campaign, we asked young people to discuss, debate on vote on different questions related to the General Election. Primary and secondary-focused questions cover everything from the latest developments on the campaign trail to what young people think should be in the perfect manifesto.
If you want to give the tool a go in your class, click below:
Check out Educate GE
EducateGE is a collaboration between 24 democratic engagement organisations who have come together to support schools and educators to engage young people in the 2019 General Election.
We have put all of our support in one place to make it easy to view, download and access content. All of our resources are free, non-partisan and have been designed to be classroom-ready.