Gap in voting rates between young and old widest in Britain

New OECD data out today reveals the gap in voting rates between 16-35 year olds and those aged 55 or over is wider in Britain than in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States – and is three times the OECD average gap.

Difference-in-voting-rates-OECD
The “Society at a Glance 2011 – OECD Social Indicators” report also shows:

• Women in Britain spend two hours more per day doing unpaid work than men;

• Income inequality in the UK is the seventh highest in the OECD, and has been increasing at more than the OECD average rate.

• Poverty rates are little more than OECD averages, 11.3% compared to an OECD average of 11.1% in 2007;

• 57% of British people have volunteered time, given money, or helped a stranger in the previous month – the fifth highest in the OECD, whose average is 39%.

Finally, Mexicans work longer days than anyone else in OECD countries – devoting 10 hours to paid and unpaid work – and also do the most housework, at more than three hours per day.

http://twitter.com/status/status/ Duncan Stott

RT @leftfootfwd: Gap in voting rates between young and old widest in http://www.leftfootforward.org/2011/04/gap-in-voting-rates-oecd/
http://twitter.com/duncanstott/status/57834655642173441 Duncan Stott

RT @leftfootfwd: Gap in voting rates between young and old widest in Britain: http://bit.ly/gq2F8i reports @ShamikDas
http://twitter.com/buddini/status/57834782465335297 Simon Wiesenthal

RT @leftfootfwd: Gap in voting rates between young and old widest in Britain: http://bit.ly/gq2F8i reports @ShamikDas
http://twitter.com/shamikdas/status/57836965105647616 Shamik Das

#Yes2AV @YesInMay —> RT @trevdick: @leftfootfwd @ShamikDas Look at the excellent rate for Australia where AV is used: http://bit.ly/gq2F8i
http://twitter.com/tjhwallis/status/57839473140047872 Tom Wallis

RT @leftfootfwd: Gap in voting rates between young and old widest in Britain: http://bit.ly/gq2F8i reports @ShamikDas
Nick

Is that our young people are disproportionately unlikely to vote, or that our older people are disportionately likely to vote, or a bit of a both?
http://twitter.com/chrisgilmore/status/57852466179485696 ChrisGilmore

And how is allowing only over 45s in politics to solve this? RT @leftfootfwd: Age voting rates gap widest in Britain: http://bit.ly/gq2F8i
http://leftoutside.wordpress.com Left Outside

After a quick look at the data, our young are THE least likely to vote and our old are slightly less likely to vote than OECD average.
Northern worker

I’ve got four children ranging from 27 to 37. They don’t bother voting because they don’t think it’ll make any difference – and I quote. In addition, the two who have been to university (28 and 35) strongly believe that the three main parties are corrupt, completely divorced from reality and make no difference because unelected officials make all our laws in secret in Brussels. My wife and I always vote and always have, and we have tried very hard to convince them that the only way to make a difference is to vote. But it’s hard not to see their point.
Dave Citizen

My kids will be coming up to vote in a few years and I really worry whether they will want to vote and, if they do, whether it will have any effect. Our voting system is hardly designed to inspire them, unless they happen to want the same as the more senior voting majority. Voting for ‘minority’ parties, for example the Greens, is a complete waste of time in virtually every part of the country under first-past-the-post.

Whether it’s our voting system, tuition fees, house prices, or Britain’s disgraceful position of being the 20th most unequal European country out of the 21 in the OECD, most of our young people are being sold badly short. On the other hand, if you like the status quo, the current set up works very well to keep it!
http://twitter.com/ukelectionlaw/status/58126036126281729 UK Election Law

Gap in voting rates between young and old widest in Britain | Left Foot Forward – http://bit.ly/gg7Mn9
http://twitter.com/ndaprogramme/status/60663470508605441 NDA Programme

Hug gap in voting rates between 16-35 year olds and 55+, reveals OECD report http://bit.ly/e0X7Xa
http://twitter.com/duncanstott/status/60735955417567232 Duncan Stott

UK has by far the worst young/old voting gap in developed world http://trunc.it/g26rk How does this relate to tution fees? Chicken/egg innit
http://twitter.com/johnb78/status/60737568723046400 John Band

No bloody wonder the UK ended up with a government representing senescents: http://trunc.it/g26rk – vote next time, young people?
http://twitter.com/dnotice/status/60739789342769153 Gareth Winchester

RT @johnb78: No bloody wonder the UK ended up with a government representing senescents: http://trunc.it/g26rk – vote next time, young p …
http://www.leftfootforward.org/2011/04/local-councillors-unrecognisable/ Local councillors – could you pick them out of a line-up? | Left Foot Forward

[...] The age breakdown provides gives further support to the OECD data that revealed the gap in voting rates between 16-35 year olds and those aged 55 or over is three times wider in Britain than the OECD average gap as Left Foot Forward previously reported. [...]
http://simonkillane.mycouncillor.org.uk/2011/04/15/535/ » MY NEWS ARTICLES | Councillor Simon Killane | Wiltshire Councillor for Malmesbury

[...] The age breakdown provides gives further support to the OECD data that revealed the gap in voting rates between 16-35 year olds and those aged 55 or over is three times wider in Britain than the OECD average gap as Left Foot Forward previously reported. [...]