Turnout could be the lowest in modern electoral history

Poll shows Labour leader is struggling to capitalise on Tories' miserable campaign, say David Maddox and Alicja Hagopian

- David Maddox and Alicja Hagopian

Britain is heading for the lowest general election turnout in modern history, pollsters have warned, with the main parties and their leaders leaving many voters “politically homeless”.

The warning of mass apathy follows Techne UK polling this week that suggests even in the middle of an election campaign with just a month to polling day, 20 per cent of people have already decided not to vote.

The poll of 1,645 voting-age British people by Techne for Independent Media reveals that while the “won’t vote” percentage of the population is normally high in non-election periods, it is expected to drop significantly during the short campaign (the period between the dissolution of parliament and election day).

Apathy is particularly high among young voters, who say their problems on issues such as housing have not been addressed by the major parties in the campaign. Among Generation Z and millennials, 38 per cent have decided not to vote, almost double the national average.

And according to Techne, 30 per cent of 18-to-34-year-olds are not even registered to vote. Leading pollster Robert Hayward, who is also a Tory peer, noted that many people who say they will or may vote will also not end up at polling stations on 4 July. He believes this is because many Conservative voters in particular are angry with their party, while “Keir Starmer has failed to seal the deal and convince people he is a prime minister in waiting”.

He said: “While 80 per cent say they will or may vote a lot of those people will not vote. So the 20 per cent figure of those who do not vote will be bigger. I have felt that we may have a record-low turnout because it is clear that a lot of voters look politically homeless. The key to this though is how many people asked would normally vote. If a high proportion of them would normally vote then 20 per cent is a very high figure.”