New UK Poll Sees Conservatives Drop, Labour Popular with Youth

As polls continue to shift in the run-up to the United Kingdom’s June 8 election, a new survey by YouGov polling firm released Wednesday show decreasing support for Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May, while Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn is gaining ground with young people.

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The YouGov model suggested May would lose 20 seats and her 17-seat working majority in the 650-seat British parliament — meaning May would be well short of the 326 seats needed to form a government. This means she would be forced to strike a deal with another party to continue governing either as a coalition or a minority government.

When probed by a reporter Wednesday if she would resign if she lost seats, May dodged the question.

Her conservative austerity agenda doesn’t seem to sit well with the U.K.’s younger generation. According to predictions from the same polling company, the party is 57 points ahead of the Conservatives among voters who are under 25 years old, compared to just 28 points shortly after the elections were called in April.

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While only 12 percent of 18 to 24-year-olds said they would vote Conservative, 69 percent would vote for Corbyn.

"Support for Labour among younger voters has gone up and gone up dramatically but then the crucial question is whether these young people will come out to vote," said John Curtice, a leading psephologist who is president of the British Polling Council.

While Corbyn enjoys the support of many leftists in the U.K., some are cautious of his proposed policies, such increasing police presence in the country. Others are also critical of his past, citing examples such as when he gave Labour Party MPs a free pass to vote on bombing Syria.

As a lawmaker, Corbyn has consistently voted over the years against the use of U.K. military force abroad, including voting against the U.K.'s involvement in the Iraq War.