Half of the British adults voted at the 2024 general election, making it the lowest turnout by share of population since universal suffrage, according to a report.
As per the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) thinktank, just 52% of UK adults exercise their right to vote on 4 July, which is the lowest turnout since the vote was extended to all adults over 21 in 1928.
However, the IPPR stated that the figures are much lower as a share of the entire adult population, meaning if non-voting was a party, it would have the largest share of support by far.
Parth Patel, a senior research fellow at the IPPR and co-author of the report, called the report shocking and said; “approximately only one in two adults voted this year was really shocking.”
“If democracy is collective self-rule and only half of us are voting, we need to consider the other half, who are less represented in politics and policymaking as a result,” he said.
Due to concerns over low turnout, the Labour party is planning an elections bill next week after promising reform.
The party is likely to introduce automatic voting registration and lower the voting age to 16 from 18, to make it easier for people to come out and cast their ballot.
The IPPR report also found that constituencies with a larger share of older people, wealthy homeowners, and white individuals had much higher turnout rates compared to those with a smaller share of these demographics.
The turnout was 11% higher in constituencies with the highest proportion of over 64-year-olds, compared with the lowest, the report stated.
The IPPR report said, “The ‘haves’ speak much louder than the ‘have-nots’ in British democracy.
It added, “The newly elected government has the chance to break out of the democratic doom loop between political contribution and policy awareness.”
Survey suggested that more than 400,000 people may possibly have been not permitted from voting in the general election because they lacked the necessary ID.
Around3.2% said they were turned away at least once last Thursday (July 4), which across the UK would equate to more than 850,000 people.
Of those who were surveyed, more than half said they did not return or came back and were still unable to vote.
(With inputs from agencies)