Blue-Rinse Bouffs and Spring Blossoms
How Significant is Intergenerational Inequality?
From Planet 237
Editorial by Emily Trahair
Reflecting back on the 2019 general election, what seems particularly stark is the widespread gulf between the voting preferences of those over and under their forties, as depicted in UK-wide polls by Lord Ashcroft and YouGov, with older people far more likely to vote for the Tories and younger people for Labour. This generational difference has increased since the Tories have moved to the right and Labour asserted a more overtly socialist policy programme. The constituency map of Wales is now awash with a shade that those over a certain age could understand as ‘Blue Rinse’, with the Tories gaining six seats. However, the extent to which age substantially determines the political values of the average voter in Wales remains both uncertain and contested, especially as, despite an ageing population, Labour remains the most popular party, with the Tories second. (The picture is further complicated by the complex phenomenon of English in-migration: retirees moving to the Welsh coast, commuters moving just over the border and students to many towns and cities.)
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