Study shows students cannot name Labour leader

A poll has indicated that a third of students are unaware that Gordon Brown is the leader of the Labour Party.

The survey, carried out by student accommodation providers Unite, also showed found that a similar proportion failed to identify David Cameron as leader of the Conservative Party.
The figures will come as a worry to those concerned about the level of interest in national politics amongst the nation’s younger generation.

And although The National Union of Students have denied students are completely unconcerned with political matters, the poll also suggests that almost half of students will not bother voting in the upcoming general election.

President of the NUS, Wes Streeting, told the BBC: "In many seats up and down the country the student vote has made a decisive difference in previous general elections and will do so again.

“There is a wealth of evidence to show that students care about politics and realise its impact upon their lives such as fees and housing, particularly when it comes to those who seek to charge them more for less.

"Last year, research by Opinionpanel showed that a political party's position on tuition fees would affect how 79% of students would vote in a general election. This is hardly indicative of an apathetic and out-of-touch student population."

In an interesting find, the survey also discovered a quarter of students believed actress Joanna Lumley and business mogul Sir Alan Sugar would do a better job running the country than the current candidates.

(Solent Speaker, 2010)