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Source: Getty

In The Media
Carnegie Europe

The British Election Study Claims There Was No “Youthquake” Last June. It’s Wrong

The authors of the British Election Study have upended one of the most widely held beliefs about the 2017 UK general election.

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By Peter Kellner
Published on Jan 30, 2018
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Source: Prospect Magazine

As a rule I enjoy attempts to debunk conventional wisdom. It is not done enough. However, I am not sure the authors of the latest such exercise have proved their case.

This is how the authors of the British Election Study (BES) have upended one of the most widely held beliefs about last year’s general election:

“The Labour ‘youthquake’ explanation looks to become an assumed fact about the 2017 election. The Oxford English Dictionary even declared ‘youthquake’ their word of the year. But people have been much too hasty. There was no surge in youth turnout at the 2017 election.”

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This op-ed was originally published by Prospect Magazine.

About the Author

Peter Kellner

Former Nonresident Scholar, Carnegie Europe

Kellner was a nonresident scholar at Carnegie Europe, where his research focused on Brexit, populism, and electoral democracy.

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Peter Kellner
Former Nonresident Scholar, Carnegie Europe
Peter Kellner
EUPolitical ReformEuropeWestern EuropeUnited KingdomIran

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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