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XEPOSÉ E THE UNIVERSITY OF EXETER’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1987
Exeter bleeds... blue? 5 MAY 2015 | ISSUE 638 | TWITTER: @EXEPOSE | WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/EXEPOSE | FREE
Students reveal General Election voting intentions Conservatives most popular party overall Green support four times higher than national polls
James Beeson & Sarah Gough Editors
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Science & Tech Check out the launch of our brand new section Pages 22-23
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Music: Muse’s surprise Great Hall home-coming gig reviewed Page 14
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Comment All Exeter General Election candidates interviewed Pages 6-7
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N Exeposé survey has revealed the voting intentions of Exeter students ahead of the General Election on 7 May. The results indicate that the most popular party among students is the Conservatives, with 30 per cent of the 912 respondents stating they will be voting for the party. This is followed by 25 per cent backing the Labour party. The Green party receive 20 per cent of student support – a figure four times higher than national polls. The Greens also enjoy the greatest increase in support, with 15 per cent more people intending to vote for them in comparison with the last General Election. 37 per cent of previously ambivalent voters are also now backing Natalie Bennett’s party. The Liberal Democrats see the greatest decrease in popularity, with 14 per cent fewer students supporting them. Of defecting Liberal Democrat voters, nearly a third have switched to Labour, while 27 per cent have moved to the Green party.
Support for parties outside of the traditional ‘big three’ is higher than the national figures. Nearly 40 per cent of respondents indicate they will support one of the smaller political parties, or are undecided about their voting preference. This is in contrast with BBC opinion polls, which suggest minority party support represents only a quarter of nationwide polling figures.* Interestingly, more students who identify themselves as being working class intend to vote Conservative rather than Labour or Green. 32 per cent of these voters will be backing David Cameron’s party, alongside 28 per cent support for the Greens. Despite Labour’s reputation as the party of the working class, only 22 per cent of working class students surveyed intend to vote for them in the election. Of the students planning to vote Conservative, 65 per cent consider themselves to be middle class, whilst nearly a quarter identify as being from a working class background. Both the Labour and Green parties also have overwhelming support from middle class students, with 75 and 63 per cent of their supporters coming...
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