With the General Election just one week away, we decided to poll our readers to see which party Southampton students are voting for- or whether you all think voting is “wank“.
With well over 500 responses, our figures suggest there is a significant lead for the Conservatives, holding 33% of the vote, with Labour a distant second on 21%.
Despite the Conservative’s lead, the spread of responses highlights an ideological split among students. 14% support the Greens, amid popular suggestion that many Green supporters are being forced to vote tactically for Labour to avoid another Tory-led government.
At the other end of the spectrum, a surprising 8% of young Southampton voters plan to vote UKIP, which is encouraging for a party which won just 3.9% of the overall vote in the 2010 Election in Southampton Test, and 2.6% in Romsey and North, and traditionally relies on an older voter base (they were polled at just 15% for voters under the age of 40 in 2013, compared to 71% for voters over 50).
The Conservative lead appears to be in keeping with the National trend, with High Fliers Research publishing a national poll last week confirming a swell of support for the right-wing establishment party, despite the traditional public perception of students as being socially liberal.
Managing Director Martin Birchell claimed in the report that “the country’s top universities are set to vote for Labour and the Conservatives in almost equal numbers”.
Of the 22 Russell Group universities polled by High Fliers, both Labour and Conservative have nine universities each in which they are leading.
Students from two universities predominantly support the Greens, with the rest of the Group rounded out by support for the SNP in Glasgow and Sinn Fein in Belfast.
What do you think of the results? Are Labour still safe in Southampton? Let us know in the comments!
classic champagne socialists at Oxbridge
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No none option. F U tab!
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I believe that’s covered by ‘Will not vote’, unless these party names are getting a bit too wild.
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I did vote, but for no one. There’s a distinction between that and not using your vote what so ever.
And the soton tab catagory does not address that!
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http://www.votenone.org.uk/none_of_the_above.html
If you need help understanding what the difference between voting none and not voting is.
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Something tells me our beloved comrades at the Solent Institute for High Learning shan’t be voting in the same manner.
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LOL
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Who the bloody hell is voting Conservative?! Hate to break it to you but Test is quite a safe labour seat. Sorry toffs!
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Sorry to break it to you, but not everyone who attends UoS lives in Test. Heard of Itchen – one of the most marginal seats in the country – where a great many students live (and where UoS even have student housing).
Sorry Justine
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Actually, Southampton Test isn’t that safe, it’s somewhere around the hundred mark in the list of most marginal seats in the country.
Also, I’m not even remotely ‘toff’, and I am a conservative voter.
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Test is very safe. Labour held it with a ~2k majority from the Conservatives last time, and since then Labour has improved vs the Conservatives in the polls. Unless the polls are miles off or this seat is ridiculously anomalous, Labour will hold it comfortably.
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My local Consevative candidate in Southampton North is absolute bae.
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Isn’t it interesting how the universities of Oxford, Cambridge and UCL all polled as the majority voting Labour…
Get your act together, Southampton, you’re making us look stupid.
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Yes, because St Andrews, Durham, LSE, Imperial, et al, are not well known for attracting intelligent students. Only Oxford, Cambridge and UCL are …
Looking stupid indeed.
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Oh, come on, Oxford and Cambridge are known world-wide as being the best universities in the UK. Yes, there are some other good ones, but Oxbridge is known for being for the elite.
It probably is true we should take note of what the smartest people in the country are doing.
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If one were to follow through with your argument, then one would have to elect a Conservative government to ensure that we again have a cabinet that is 50% Oxbridge. Instead of taking “note of what the smartest people in the country are doing” we can actually be lead by them – how lovely!
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Collectively they make up a group of smart people… also I’m not saying Cameron is not smart, as he is smart. It’s just some people choose to use their brains for evil instead of for good, and he is one of them.
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Would you care to enlighten us on how exactly Mr. Cameron is evil? Or would that interfere with your infantile black and white attitude to politics?
A world where students vote conservative is a depressing world.. If students aren’t against the system then who the fuck will be?
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If they aren’t against the system, they’ll run this system.
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Some of us don’t want to trash the economy again – you know, the one we will be paying into soon.
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You mean by voting Conservative?
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Hopefully it will be ok, maybe only tab fans are Tory?!
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I get the impression that the tab attracts right wing people
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How did you arrive upon that conclusion? Do you have evidence from another poll that has contrary results – or are you just bitter?
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Ooooo burn, mainly because the commenters on political pieces tend to complain about “the left”
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Right, so just bitter.
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What’s bitter about anything I’ve said?! Just trying to support my hubby
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Unfortunately tactical vote would not work this time as on local or general election ! This time is between Tories or Labour, voting Greens or Lib Dems is wasted vote
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If tactical voting isn’t an option, then voting Lib Dem or Green is not a wasted vote.
If two parties are neck and neck in your constituency, you could argue that voting for anything other than your favourite of those two is a wasted vote. Where that isn’t the case and the winner of the seat is essentially a foregone conclusion (e.g. Test is a very safe Labour seat,) voting for anything other than the party you most agree with is a wasted vote.
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UKIP
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