Bolton West’s Lib Dem parliamentary candidate has expressed concern about low voter turnout among younger people.
The counting for all three Bolton constituencies has begun and, following a national trend, all three constituencies have seen a drop in voters.
Despite Bolton South and Walkden being a new constituency, the turnout has been lower than it was for both parts in 2019 – with Bolton South East’s turnout at 58.7% and Worsley and Eccles South’s at 59.4% in 2019 compared to 46.5% this year.
Voter turnout in Bolton North East has also dropped over 10% since 2019 – from 64.5% to 54.4 – and Bolton West has had a smaller drop in voter turnout, from 67.4% to 59.79%
Liberal Democrat candidate for Bolton West Donald McIntosh said: “The thing that concerns me most about the election is the lack of turnout from the younger generation.
“It’s a question of getting them engaged in the process and showing the relevance of policies.”
Voter turnout also dropped in Bolton from the 2017 to the 2019 general elections.
McIntosh spoke of frequently hearing young people ask “Why does it affect me?”
His answer to this is that the impact spans from being drafted for war to being able to get on the property ladder.
“Everything in life is affected by politics and you have to be in it to win it, you have to actually get involved in the process to actually make a change.
“And if you don’t do that, don’t whinge afterwards.”
@mancunianmatters Donald Mcintosh shared his reaction to low voter turnout in #Bolton for #generalelection2024 ♬ original sound – Mancunian Matters
