Research by News UK has found that young people are more interested in politics than they may be given credit for.
Some 1,000 young people (aged 16-24) took part in a poll conducted by the publisher in the run up to the general election.
It found that 67 per cent of 16 and 17-year-olds said they were interested in the outcome of the election and 77 per cent of 18-24-year-olds said they take an active interest in politics.
The poll was carried out as part of a series of pre-election activities carried out under the umbrella of the News Academy – a UK-wide journalism training initiative run by News UK and aimed at six-formers.
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According to News UK, around 100 first-time voters aspiring journalists took up an invitation from the News Academy to submit articles about the election.
Several were published, including an opinion piece from 19-year-old Josh McStay which appeared on the Times website about why he was voting Conservative.
Robert Bruce wrote an article for The Sun about a teenager who planned to mark his 18th birthday by voting Conservative.
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Shingi Mararike wrote a piece for the News UK website about taking part in the Sun in The Stocks project – a stunt were voters in marginal constituencies were invited to throw wet sponges at people wearing Miliband, Cameron and Sturgeon masks.
News UK is currently accepting applications for a free week-long News Academy journalism summer school which is open to students aged 16-18.
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