What Do Voters Actually Want? Graphic Unpacks Each Age Group's Key Issues
Voters care most about the cost of living and the NHS ahead of this general election, according to a new word cloud.
JL Partners and the Rest Is Politics podcast asked some members of the electorate what policies they wanted to see in the upcoming political manifestos.
For those between 18 and 34, the most common words which came up were “living cost”.
The next age bracket up, 35 to 49, also said “living cost”, but more voters pushed for policies related to the NHS, too.
For those between 50 and 64, the NHS seems to be the most pressing issue, following by “living”, “cost” and “immigration”.
Finally, for those aged 65 and over, the NHS is the priority by a clear margin, following by immigration.
What policies do each age group want to see in a manifesto?
Younger voters <- Tackling the cost of living crisis
Older voters <- NHS and immigration
From @JLPartnersPolls / @RestIsPoliticspic.twitter.com/oH1QMYScO2— Julian (@JulianGallie) May 30, 2024
Many believe the prime minister chose to call a snap general election last Wednesday because he wanted to base his campaign on the economy.
His announcement came hours after the Office for National Statistics (ONS) confirmed that inflation had fallen to 2.3%, the lowest rate since late 2021.
Sunak claimed that is a sign that “the plan is working and that the difficult decisions we have taken are paying off”.
The cost of living crisis is still going though, with food and energy prices still 20% higher than they were in 2021.
Meanwhile, Sunak’s pledges to grow the economy, to reduce government debt cut NHS waiting lists and to stop small boats – all made at the start of 2023 – are yet to be fulfilled.
Labour leader Keir Starmer said earlier this month that if his party were to win the election, his priority would be delivering economic stability, clean power, cutting NHS waiting lists and launching a border security command to stop small boats.
He also would look to introduce more neighbourhood police officers and recruit more teachers.
