Brexit: How new young voters in Newham might help turn the tide in a People’s Vote
The union and European flags. Picture: Kirsty O'Connor - Credit: PA Wire/PA Images
A new younger generation of voters is emerging in east London since the Brexit referendum which could help change the result if there was another People’s Vote, statistics reveal.
Young voter on EU march to Westminster in 2017. Picture: Mike Brooke - Credit: Mike Brooke
Another 4,600 teenagers become eligible to vote in Newham alone by the end of this year which would likely boost the ‘remain’ vote since the 2016 poll taking us out of the EU.
Three-quarters of young voters cast their ballots at the time in favour of staying in, data reveals.
The People’s Vote campaign is pressing for a fresh ballot on EU membership so that these youngsters’ futures are decided by them, not for them.
“I watched helplessly as my future was decided for me,” the campaign youth movement’s Kira Lewis said.
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“A whole generation were deemed old enough to drive, serve in the Armed Forces and get married—but not trusted to make a decision on our futures.
“We now know the costs to the UK economy and our sovereignty, whatever deal Parliament decides. So it’s right and fair that young people and the rest of the country get an opportunity to have their say in a People’s Vote.”
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The number of those turning 18 since the EU referendum and eligible to vote by December 1 this year is 4,619 in Newham alone, Office for National Statistics show.
They are seen as likely ‘remainers’ in nationwide polls, with three-quarters of 18 to 24-year-olds saying they would vote to stay in the EU in a second referendum.
More than a million teenagers across the UK will have become eligible to vote by December. This could affect the result of another referendum, baring in mind just 1.26 million votes across the nation that decided the 2016 referendum outcome.
Prime Minister Theresa May opposes a second referendum, saying the public has made their decision. Votes in the Commons on April 1 showed 280 MPs wanting a ‘confirming’ second referendum, narrowly defeated by 292 against, while 66 abstained.
The people of Newham voted in 2016 in favour of remaining by almost 53 per cent, a clear margin of 6,000.
