Labour and Conservatives neck and neck among student voters

The two main UK political parties are neck and neck among university students, according to a new poll that puts both Labour and the Conservatives at 31 per cent support ahead of next month's general election.

The survey of more than 13,000 final-year students at 30 universities - conducted by recruitment analysts High Fliers Research - found that the Greens were the next most popular party, with 25 per cent support, followed by just 6 per cent for the Liberal Democrats and 1 per cent for the UK Independence party.

This represents a significant drop in Lib Dem popularity compared with the same survey in 2010, which found that 23 per cent of students were intending to vote for Nick Clegg's party.

Students have moved away from the Lib Dems after the party broke their 2010 election pledge not to increase tuition fees.

The poll also divided universities by their majority political leanings, showing that support for the Tories was strongest at Imperial College London, the London School of Economics, Durham, Bath, Exeter, and Loughborough - a key marginal seat held by the Tory education secretary Nicky Morgan.

Meanwhile, Oxford, Cambridge, Warwick, Liverpool, Lancaster, Manchester and Sheffield universities were all dominated by Labour voters.

The analysis suggests that students intending to vote Tory are most likely to have attended a private fee-paying school before starting their degree, are the most confident about finding a graduate job after university, and plan to work in management consulting, investment banking, finance or marketing. They also have the highest salary expectations, anticipating an average of £25,500 on graduation, and £44,900 within five years.

By contrast, student Labour supporters are largely from state schools or colleges and plan to work in areas such as teaching, the media and the charity or voluntary sector. On average, they expect to earn about £3,000 a year less in their first graduate job, compared with their Tory peers.

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Separate research published last year by an Oxford university politics professor and the Higher Education Policy Institute think-tank predicted that students could decide the outcome in at least 10 constituencies.

The analysis suggested that the Tories stand to lose six seats to Labour as a result of the student vote, but may win two from the Lib Dems. Labour was also projected to win two seats from the Lib Dems, the study suggested.

According to the National Union of Students, the rising cost of living is by far the biggest issue for students, with 80 per cent listing this as their area of greatest concern. Health provision and employment opportunities were also identified as important factors in deciding who to support.

However, it emerged last week that 800,000 people, including large numbers of students, had disappeared from the electoral roll since the last election as a result of changes to registration which disproportionately affect those who live in communal accommodation such as halls of residence.

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