Newyddion

Education, austerity and elitist political language: the rise of UKIP in understanding the Brex-factor

This article looks at the reasons behind the ‘rise of UKIP’ since 2013 and applies it to our data on young people and the EU referendum under three headings: employment and education; austerity; and political language. The findings show a divide in support between those who left school at 17 or 18 and those still…

Measuring trade union membership: Harder than it may seem?

Declining levels of trade union membership is often cited as evidence that trade unions have become less relevant within the modern UK economy. In 2012, particular attention was given to this issue as levels of union membership among TUC affiliated unions fell to beneath 6 million members for the first time[i].  The recent development and…

What’s devolution got to do with it? Youth (dis)engagement in the run-up to the EU referendum

With the dust settling on the devolved election results last week and showing a 3% increase in turnout in Wales, now is a good time to explore the links between devolution and political engagement, particularly among young people, and ask what can we learn from this in the run-up to the EU referendum? In terms…

Schooling and the rights of young people in Wales

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is intended to address the political, civil, economic, social and cultural rights of children everywhere in the world. In 1989, this Convention was widely adopted by governments worldwide in recognition of children’s rights and in making a political promise to acknowledge those rights in their…

Letters from Barcelona: A conference report

  The 20th-23rd April marked the 7th Biennial Surveillance and Society Conference, held for the second time running in Barcelona, courtesy of Eticas Research & Consulting. Coming from a background in surveillance studies, these conferences are something of a pilgrimage for me.  There is a thriving and international research community concerned with surveillance in all its various guises.  The Surveillance…

What makes Millennials less likely to vote – low interest or loss knowledge?

  As the official referendum campaign gets underway, polling continues to highlight the vital role Millennials will play in deciding the outcome. They are becoming (albeit slightly) even more supportive of EU membership, even though overall levels of support have remained relatively stable, and young people who support EU membership are – unlike their elder counterparts – more…

Young EU supporters are more likely to turnout on the day

  We know support for continued EU membership is heavily concentrated among younger citizens with 60% under 30 who support REMAIN, compared with only 24% who support LEAVE. Among the Pre/Post-War generation 54% support LEAVE and 35% support STAY. We also know young people are less likely to vote with 70% highly likely to vote compared with 88% among the oldest generations. What we didn’t know is…

Young people are becoming steadily more supportive of EU Membership – but it could all come apart in an instant

Depending on your perspective, the campaigns for a remain/withdrawal vote in the EU referendum have had between six weeks (since David Cameron announced the date of the referendum on 20th February) or more than two years (since David Cameron announced that the plan to hold a referendum would be in the Conservative Party manifesto for the…