First-time voters 'formed special relationship' with TV election debates

First-time voters in the UK "formed a special relationship with the prime ministerial televised debates in striking contrast to their more jaded elders", according to a new study from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.

The study suggests that more than half (55 per cent) of viewers aged 18-24 became "more interested in the campaign" after watching the debate, compared with less than a third (31 per cent) of 40-54 year-olds and just under a quarter (24 per cent) of those aged 55 and older.

Nearly three-quarters (74 per cent) of first-time voters considered that they had learnt something about the parties’ policies from the debates, compared with 63 per cent of those aged 55 and older.

Professor Stephen Coleman, professor of political communications at the University of Leeds – who delivered the results of the study in last night's Reuters Institute/BBC David Butler Lecture – said:

"Importantly, half of the 18-24 year-olds in our sample said the debates had helped them to make up their minds about how to vote. We note that turnout amongst 18-25 year-olds increased by seven percentage points in last year’s election, three points higher than the average increase in turnout compared with 2005.

"While I cannot claim that this was a direct effect of watching the televised debates, I doubt very much that it was an unrelated effect."

According to the research, two out of three "politically uninterested" respondents said that they watched the debates "to help make up my mind how to vote", compared with only 28 per cent of the "very politically interested".

However, the results also suggested that, after watching the debates, the "politically uninterested" were almost twice as likely as the politically interested to state that they were "none the wiser" about what the parties or candidates stood for.

The debates were criticised by broadcaster Jon Snow in the build up to the general election for overshadowing the party campaigns.

The total sample size for the study was 1,455 adults aged 18-80. The survey was carried out online (there were five surveys: before the first debate; after each of the debates; an after polling day).

David Butler of Nuffield College, Oxford, wrote or co-authored the standard election study of every UK election from 1945 to 2005.

He was an expert election analyst on BBC TV and radio and was the person who first introduced the ‘swingometer’ to UK election audiences.

Related articles:

Will the leaders' election debates engage first time users?

What format for the political leaders' TV debates?

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