Young voters still influenced by traditional media

More than half ( 55%) of young voters would vote online if they were given the choice.

The survey, conducted for Lightbox by Dipsticks Research, found that 18- to 24-year-olds are engaged with the general election with four in five ( 78%) planning to vote and just 5% saying they ‘don’t care’ about voting.

However, registering votes may be more problematic with one in two unable to name the election date and 20% still unsure which party to support. This poll suggests that Labour is leading the youth vote, with 30% of 18- to 24-year-olds intending to vote for the party, ahead of the Conservatives ( 14%) and the Green Party ( 12%).

But when asked who they want to lead the country, David Cameron come out on top, ahead of Russell Brand, Boris Johnson, Ed Miliband and Jeremy Clarkson.

Helen Rose, head of the7stars’ Lightbox, said: “These results show young people in Britain are far more politically engaged than we perhaps give them credit for. UK political parties would do well to leverage the mentality of this new generation of voters – Facebook proved more influential than newspapers among British youth and one in five wish they could vote online, preferably via social networking sites.”

The total sample size for the survey was 1099 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken April 17-21 2015. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults aged 18- to 24-years-old.