A quarter of construction workers who had registered to vote in the 2015 General Election failed to do so, according to new research.
In a poll of over 2,000 members of the construction industry, the research team of insurance provider Constructaquote found that 24% of those asked failed to cast their vote. When asked why, 62% blamed a lack of knowledge surrounding political parties and their policies, with a further 24% saying they had other priorities that kept them from taking to the ballot before the 10pm deadline on May 7.
Lyndon Wood, chief executive and creator of constructaquote.com, said: “In an industry such as construction, where the political party in charge of the country will have such a huge impact on how people are treated, both in terms of wages and health and safety standards, the fact that so many registered individuals didn’t vote is extremely disappointing.”
“I understand that for some people there may have been circumstances out of their control that prevented them from voting last week. However, those who didn’t take the time to read up on party manifestos or watch any of the extensive media coverage in the lead up to the election don’t really have an excuse. If you don’t vote and have your say on how you want this country run, then you really have no right to express your opinion on anything political.”
Of the construction workers that did chose to vote, the majority (78%) said one of the main motivations was to try and improve the state of the construction industry in light of recent claims that growth in the industry has slowed considerably.
Despite claims heading into the Election that voters would turn out in record numbers, only 66.1% of the UK electorate took part.
