Students turn to the Liberal Democrats

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Fri 6th Aug 2004

A new survey for the Times Higher Education Supplement by Opinion Panel Research has shown nearly half of all undergraduates plan to vote for the Liberal Democrats at the next General Election. The Liberal Democrats have 47%, with the Conservatives second on 23% and Labour trail in third on 20%.

A third of students questioned said that their party-political sympathies had changed because of the Government's plans for fees. Labour could count on about 39 per cent of the student vote before the fees vote, but this has dropped to 20 per cent since the Government got its way on fees. The Liberal Democrats opposed the introduction of fees (both tuition and top-up).

Liberal Democrat Leader Charles Kennedy said:

"This is very good news for the Liberal Democrats, and I welcome a new generation of voters to a new era of politics. I would urge them to not simply vote for the Liberal Democrats, but to join our Party. Their involvement as members, and as future MPs and MEPs could very well shape the future of British politics."