General Election 2017: Young people are delighted their turnout counted

The youth vote may have had a big impact on one of the most unexpected general election results in decades. With the Conservatives failing to win a majority, resulting in a hung parliament and a coalition with the DUP, young voters turned out in unprecedented numbers.

Voter turnout for 18 to 24-year-olds on Thursday was 66.4 per cent, reports Sky News, which would be a big improvement on the 43 per cent for 2015 general election.

While some have disputed the figures, according to data from Sky, a massive 63 per cent of those aged 18 to 34 voted for Labour, compared to 27 per cent who opened for the Conservatives. In contrast, some 59 per cent of the 55+ age group voted Tory, while just 23 per cent voted Labour.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn capitalised on the disillusionment felt by many youngsters following the Brexit referendum to engage with them and garner support. Corbyn won backing from a number of celebrities, including artists from the UK grime scene who encouraged their fans to vote.

The Labour manifesto also focused on several youth-friendly policies including affordable housing and the scrapping of university tuition fees.

More than a million 18-24 year olds registered to vote since Theresa May called for the snap election in April.

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Many politicians and pundits took to social media to express their surprise and admiration for the unexpectdly large young voter turnout.

Some attributed the boost in turnout to Corbyn and his youth-friendly campaign.

Meanwhile, young voters expressed how delighted they were that their votes actually had an significant affect on the results.

Bookies are predicting another election before the end of the year.