Voter registration applications since the election was called

The deadline for voter registration applications for the UK's 12 December general election passed at midnight last night, and as government data reveals, there has been a rush of applications from the younger end of the electorate since the snap vote was confirmed in parliament. On 30 October, the day after the House of Commons voted in favour of the 12 December election, there was a spike in registration applications. As our infographic shows, this was most pronounced in the more youthful of age brackets - under 25 and 25 to 34.

Indeed, over the whole period detailed here, young voters have been getting themselves on the electoral roll at a higher rate than any other age group. In total, there have been 1.4 million new applications from the under 25s and almost 1.2 million from the bracket 25-34. As we revealed earlier this week, this is the demographic which is most likely to vote Labour - a group which Corbyn et al. will need to come out in 'youthquake' force if they are to make any significant impression on this election.

Labour isn't sitting around merely hoping for this to happen though. On 12 November they launched a campaign on Facebook to encourage younger people to register. As the data shows, this worked, contributing to the second spike seen on this chart. Can this, combined with the youth-heavy last-minute flurries, be enough to push Labour over the line?

It certainly can't do any harm for the party's cause, but it should also be noted that these figures represent applications. Some will be from people not yet of voting age, or that are already registered. It is also fairly safe to assume that people in the older age groups are more likely to already be registered. What it does suggest though, is the existence of a politically engaged youth trying to make their mark in this most pivotal of general elections.