I’m in my later 60s and have never voted Tory and never will, to be honest, its an unusual thing to do for someone of any age in Tottenham. However the Tories do have an age problem both amongst their membership and those that vote for them.
Of course they have done a great deal to create the problem themselves. Thanks to Boris Johnson and his mishandling of the pandemic its estimated that around a million people who voted Tory in 2019 are no longer with us.
The pandemic aside this is a natural process. As more senior voters depart so they are replaced by younger ones. The problem the Tories have is this is not happening at anything like the rate needed to maintain their vote.
On 14th August 2024 YouGov reported the following:
The age at which voters are more likely to become a Tory instead of voting Labour is now 63.
Analysis of last month’s general election result by YouGov found the median age of Tory supporters has risen by 24 years since the previous national poll.
The crossover point at the 2019 general election was 39 as Boris Johnson won a landslide victory for the Conservatives, down from 47 in 2017.
It had fallen to as low as 34 at the 2015 general election as Lord Cameron won over young voters.
But an exodus under Rishi Sunak’s leadership resulted in the tipping point rising to 63.
As of the previous leadership elections in 2022, the average age of a card-carrying Tory member base was 57, meaning the party has an older membership than any of its main rivals.
The median age of a Labour voter is 46, a Liberal Democrat voter 48, a Reform UK voter 56 and a Green Party voter 39.
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