1st
Student Fees
2nd
Smoking
3rd
Third World Debt
4th
War in Iraq
Joint 5th
Fair trade; Global warming
International issues appear closest to the hearts of young people, after student fees.
Participants were asked to respond 'yes' or 'no' to a question on each of their five chosen issues, with the top ranking results as follows:
1. Should University education be free?
Yes: 91%; No: 9%
2. Should smoking be banned in public places?
Yes: 92%; No; 8%
3. Should developed countries cancel the debts of developing countries?
Yes: 89%; No: 11%
4. Should British troops remain in Iraq?
Yes: 25%; No: 75%
5. Should trade rules be tightened to protect poorer countries?
Yes: 95%; No: 5%
5. Should the UK do more to lobby for reductions in carbon emissions?
Yes: 96%; No: 4%
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Also in the top ten priorities of the young people surveyed were:
Same-sex marriage
80 per cent believe that gay and lesbian people should have the right to marry.
Euthanasia
92 per cent believe that seriously ill people should be allowed to choose to die.
School meals
93 per cent believe that all schools should have a compulsory ‘healthy’ eating menu.
Immigration
68 per cent believe that Britain’s borders should be open to all.
Fox hunting, reducing the voting age to sixteen, capital punishment, 24 hour licensing laws, recycling, GM foods, reform of the House of Lords, and the health risks of mobile phones all had much lower levels of interest among the young people surveyed.
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