7 months ago
Young Women Leaning Green in UK Politics
In the UK, young women are increasingly voting for left-wing and Green Party candidates.
This shift is partly due to their strong opposition to Brexit and austerity measures.
Young women are also more likely to be university graduates, which often correlates with left-wing political views.
Additionally, they feel more alienated, lonely, and economically pessimistic compared to their male peers.
This political divide between young men and women is becoming more pronounced and could shape the future of UK politics and social dynamics.
Young women in the UK are increasingly leaning towards left-wing and Green Party candidates.
44% of women aged 18 to 24 intend to vote Green, compared to 30% of men in the same age group.
Gender differences in attitudes towards Brexit are a significant factor in this political shift.
Young women are more likely to be university graduates, which often correlates with left-wing political views.
Young women feel more alienated, lonely, and economically pessimistic compared to their male peers.
- Who
- Young women in the UK, particularly those aged 18 to 24.
- What
- A significant shift in political preferences, with young women increasingly supporting left-wing and Green Party candidates.
- Where
- United Kingdom.
- When
- This trend has been observed in recent elections, particularly post-Brexit.
- Why
- Factors include gender differences in attitudes towards Brexit, higher education, and economic pessimism among young women.
Key facts
- Gender Divide
- Young women in the UK are increasingly leaning towards left-wing parties, particularly the Green Party.
- Voting Preferences
- 44% of women aged 18 to 24 intend to vote Green, compared to 30% of men in the same age group.
- Brexit Influence
- Gender differences in attitudes towards Brexit are a significant factor in the political shift among young women.
- Education Factor
- University graduates, who are more likely to support left-wing parties, are 57% female in the UK.
- Economic Optimism
- Young women in the UK have a low net economic optimism score and feel more alienated and lonely than their male peers.
Quotes
Gaby Hinsliff
Journalist at The Guardian
“British politics is more volatile than ever, said the BBC, with traditional party loyalties in decline. But one clear trend is the gender divide: in a 2025 UK Youth Poll survey of 16- to 29-year-olds, 20% of women said they were left-wing, compared with 13% of men.”
theweek.com
“Now, though, there’s a growing consensus that, as the worldviews of young men and young women become ever more starkly polarised, the driving force behind that split is women becoming sharply more liberal, not men becoming radically more right-wing.”
theweek.com
Scarlett Maguire
Journalist at The New Statesman
“This crucial gender divide will not only continue to shape our politics but could also alter our social fabric, as women increasingly feel they have less in common not just with older generations but with men their own age.”
theweek.com
“We’ve had countless opinion pieces, documentaries and dramas about young men moving to the populist right. But at the last election, young women moved to the populist left considerably more.”
theweek.com
Rosie Campbell and Rosalind Shorrocks
Politics professors
“It seems more tied to changing events: gender differences in attitudes towards Brexit, in particular, are a potentially more powerful explanation.”
theweek.com
