Youthquake rumbles to a stop? Support for the left falls among New Zealand’s young voters
Bucking global trends, polls find young voter support higher for National and right coalition than Labour as election nears
When New Zealand’s Labour party was elected in 2017, commentators heralded the “youthquake”. Jacinda Ardern had brought a dose of progressive energy and charisma to New Zealand politics – as well as a youthful face for Labour, and promises of transformative change. When the results rolled in, voter turnout was up across the board – but the biggest increases were among younger voters: turnout rose by 6.5% for 18- to 24-year-olds, and 5.5% among people aged 25-29.
Now, New Zealand could be seeing evidence of a move in the opposite direction, with indications that leftwing support among young people could be sinking – a result which, if it holds, would buck international trends. Polling released this week in the inaugural Guardian Essential poll found that among New Zealand’s 18- to 34-year-olds, just 20% were voting for Labour, the major centre-left party, compared with almost 40% supporting the centre-right National party. Support was not being distributed further left – the Labour-Greens coalition accounted for 34% of millennial votes, compared with a National-Act coalition sitting at close to 50%.
＼ 最新情報をチェック ／
