John Curtice says UK heading for 'one of the lower turnouts' since WW2

JOHN Curtice has predicted this election has seen “one of the lower turnouts” in the post-war period.

The polling expert said there had been a “widespread expectation that turnout would fall” and that early results were bearing this out.

Asked whether low turnout would affect the final result, Curtice said: “Well we don’t know whether it’s a contributing factor (to the final result) but I think there has been a widespread expectation that turnout would fall and these first two results are at least consistent with that expectation and to that extent at least we may well discover that we’re heading towards one of the lower turnouts in general elections in post-war electoral history and, you know, that’s what the polls are anticipating.”

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He suggested that the apparent certainty of a Labour win and a lack of distinctiveness between the two main parties were to blame.

Curtice (above) said: “It’s what you would expect in an election in which the polls were suggesting it’s pretty clear who was going to win and where there wasn’t that much difference despite both parties’ denials – not that much difference between Conservative and Labour in much of what they were offering the electorate.”

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It comes after an exit poll predicted a massive Labour landslide of 410 seats for Keir Starmer’s party.

According to the research, which came with major caveats for Scotland, the Tories would win just 131 seats.

The survey, overseen by Curtice and a team of researchers, predicted the LibDems would take the SNP’s place as the official opposition with Ed Davey’s party on 61 seats.

It also suggested that the SNP could be reduced to just 10 seats, three behind Nigel Farage’s Reform.