Uninterested Youth? Young People's Attitudes towards Party Politics in Britain

Bibliographic Data

ID6345129
AuthorsMatt Henn (0000-0002-1063-3544, Nottingham Trent University), Mark Weinstein (0000-0002-5701-5663, Nottingham Trent University), Sarah Forrest (0000-0002-6957-741X, Nottingham Trent University)
Year2005
Volume53
Issue3
Pages556-578
Publication date2005-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePolitical Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0032-3217 • E-ISSN: 1467-9248
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1111/j.1467-9248.2005.00544.x
OpenAlexW2146852063
LanguageEN
Citations received122
References cited24

Following the outcome of the 2001 and 2005 general elections, when the numbers of abstainers outweighed the numbers of Labour voters on both occasions, much attention has focused upon the state of British democracy and how to enthuse the electorate, especially young people. Whilst the government is exploring ways to make the whole process of voting easier, it may be failing to tackle the real problem – that youth appear to find the business of politics uninviting and irrelevant. This paper examines data derived from a nationwide survey of more than 700 young people in order to shed light on what lies at the heart of young people's apparent disengagement from formal politics in Britain – political apathy or a sense of political alienation. The findings reveal that they support the democratic process, but are sceptical of the way the British political system is organised and led and are turned off by politicians and the political parties. However, there is no uniform youth orientation to politics, and the data indicate that views differ according to social class, educational history and also gender. However both ethnicity and region of the country in which young people live seem to have little influence in structuring political attitudes and behaviour

Alienation · American political science · Biology and political orientation · Democracy · Disengagement theory · Government (linguistics · Political economy · Political efficacy · Political science · Political socialization · Politics · Sociology · Voting · Voting behavior · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Social Media and Politics · Youth Education and Societal Dynamics

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