Massive surge in young voters registering for General Election as deadline approaches

There has been a huge spike in young people registering to vote for the June General Election before tonight’s deadline.

More than 714,000 younger voters have registered since the snap election was called by Theresa May in April after a huge campaign spread across social media.

Figures show than under 25s have sent off nearly 16,000 more applications than any other age group – roughly a third of the 150,000 who registered on the day the election was called.

Emma Hartley, head of campaigns at the Electoral Commission, told the BBC: “It’s really encouraging that so many young people have registered to vote recently, as our research shows that along with students and recent home movers, they are particularly less likely to be registered.”

The deadline for registration is 23.59 GMT this evening and Jeremy Corbyn is hoping the youth vote will at least boost his chances of a higher vote share, if not an election win.

Labour can boast of a poll lead over the Tories in people under 40 – the group that is reportedly the least likely to vote.

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Just 43 per cent of 18-24-year-olds voted in the 2015 general election, compared with 78% of people aged 65 or over, according to polling by Ipsos Mori.

However, boosting the youth vote would have only a marginal impact on the result of a General Election, according to a new report.

The research poured cold water on expectations of a transformative impact, finding that just 11 of the 573 constituencies in England and Wales would have had different results in 2015 if the 18-34 turnout had matched the 78% of over-65s who cast their ballot.

Voters over 55 outnumber younger voters in 445 English and Welsh constituencies, according to researchers from the International Longevity Centre UK.

ILC-UK assistant economist Dean Hochlaf said: “While attempts to get young people to vote are encouraging, we need to do more to stimulate active engagement in politics.”

You can register to vote on the Government website.

Top pic: Rex