By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor
New research has revealed that over seventy per cent of young Londoners want the UK to remain in the EU. The survey by YMCA, the largest youth charity on the planet, showed that 71% of 16 to 24-year-olds polled across London said the UK should remain in the EU.
Only 14% said they were in favour of a “Brexit.” It appears that youngsters in the capital are much more in tune with European project, than the wider UK population. The YMCA figures do not reflect the wider survey findings from all age groups; the latest overall poll showed the referendum being far too close to call. It could come down to the wire like the Scottish Referendum.
A total of 2,005 people from across England and Wales were polled by the survey. The majority of young people were in favour of remaining a member of the EU across all regions of England and Wales (at least 65% support in each region).
Denise Hatton, Chief Executive of YMCA England, said: “Despite statistics showing that young people are less likely to vote than ever before, this survey shows that, not only do they care about politics, but also that they care strongly about the future of the UK in Europe.
“It is young people who will be affected most by the vote to stay in or leave the EU and our findings clearly show they would favour a ‘yes’ vote.
“It is all too easy for decision makers to perceive young people as being disengaged from politics but the 16 to 24-year-olds we spoke to showed this is far from the truth.
“What’s more, given the impact this vote will have on their futures and with such strong opinions on the issue, it is interesting to see how engaged 16 and 17-year-olds were in the referendum, with only 15% from across the country offering no personal insight into the EU vote.
“This is an important debate and it is essential that, through all the noise, young people’s voices are still heard.”
Fieldwork was conducted across January and February 2016 by YouthSight, the specialist youth research agency. In total, 295 Londoners were among those polled.
For more information on YMCA England, visit www.ymca.org.uk
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