WIREDGOV

Tomorrow’s voters want Chancellor Osborne to slow the speed of the cuts and raise more revenue through taxation, according to new Demos research on how people aged 16-21 will respond to the Spending Review.

When it comes to welfare, they are strongly supportive of the Chancellor’s moves to cut universal benefits, like child benefit, and agree that the NHS should be protected. New YouGov polling ahead of the Spending Review asked 18-24 year olds to make trade offs between different areas of spending.  It found that:

•    77 per cent favour cutting unemployment benefits to 11 per cent who would cut pensions
•    43 per cent favour cutting education spending compared to 28 per cent who would cut health
•    57 per cent would cut overseas aid compared to 31 per cent who would cut defence
•    46 per cent would cut spending on children’s services compared to 33 per cent who cut policing


Kitty Ussher, director of Demos said:

“This is good and bad news for the Chancellor.  Young people understand and agree with what he is doing, but they question the speed at which he is doing it.  Our results show a level of maturity from these young people showing Osborne and Cameron would be smart to listen to their views.  These are tomorrow’s voters and they are ready to judge the Government on the decisions they make today.”

Demos polled over 1,000 18-21 year olds and carried out an in-depth consultation with over one hundred 16-18 year olds debating spending cuts proposed by the Government.
Thirty-two per cent of 18-21 year olds thought that 16-24 year olds would be the age group worst affected by the Spending Review with 28 per cent thinking those slightly older aged 25-34 would have to bear the biggest impact.

Teenagers are pessimistic about their employment prospects over the next five years, with 60 per cent of 16-18 year olds thinking that the chances of them getting jobs was ‘fair’ or ‘poor’.

Teenagers at the consultation were overwhelmingly in favour of targeting welfare at those most in need, with 81 per cent in favour of means testing or limiting universal benefits such as child benefits or free travel for older people. They prioritised the protection of benefits for the elderly over benefits for working age adults and benefits for children.

When asked about who the Government listens to, teenagers at the consultation thought that Government makes decisions with older rather than younger generations in mind. They blamed bankers and politicians for the poor state of the economy and felt that politicians were worst placed (compared to economists, the public and public sector workers) to make decisions about the economy.

Notes to Editors

Demos carried out a Young People’s Convention on Deficit Reduction and Public Spending with 100 people aged 16-18 on Saturday 16th October.  Demos also commissioned YouGov to poll 1,019 18-21 year olds between 6th and 18th October 2010.

The full report on the effect of the cuts on young people will be released later this year.

About Demos

Demos is a think-tank focused on power and politics. Our unique approach challenges the traditional, 'ivory tower' model of policymaking by giving a voice to people and communities. We work together with the groups and individuals who are the focus of our research, including them in citizens’ juries, deliberative workshops, focus groups and ethnographic research. Through our high quality and socially responsible research, Demos has established itself as the leading independent think tank in British politics. Our work is driven by the goal of a society populated by free, capable, secure and powerful citizens. 

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