Jeremy Corbyn is the most popular politician among 16 and 17 year olds, new polling has found.
On Thursday, the government unveiled plans to lower the voting age to 16 in time for the next general election, fulfilling one of their key manifesto pledges.
This will be the first time the voting age is lowered since 1969, when 18-year-olds were given the vote.
The move will apply across all UK elections, with 16 and 17-year-olds currently only able to vote in devolved elections in England and Wales.
But whilst Labour remain clearly the most popular party amongst this age group, the most popular politician was Jeremy Corbyn.
New polling by for ITV News asked 500 16-17 year olds for their thoughts on a range of political figures. Corbyn came out on top, with 12% saying they ‘strongly approve’ of him, versus 9% who said the same about Keir Starmer and Nigel Farage.
As rumours continue to swirl about a potential new party set up by Corbyn, it seems any new party would find plenty of success among the youngest voters.
Whilst Reform have tried to frame the voting change as a win for them, they are still far behind Labour among 16-17 year olds. Keir Starmer’s party poll at 33% in this age group, 12 points clear of Reform.
And when asked who would make the best prime minister from the leaders of the main parties, 39% said Keir Starmer compared to 26% for Nigel Farage.
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