Editing Generation X (section)

===== Political evolution =====
[[Ipsos MORI]] reports that at the [[1987 United Kingdom general election|1987]] and [[1992 United Kingdom general election|1992]] general elections, the first [[List of United Kingdom general elections|United Kingdom general elections]] where significant numbers of Generation X members could vote, a plurality of 18 to 24 year olds opted for the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] by a small margin. The polling organisation's figures suggest that in 1987, 39% of that age group voted Labour, 37% for the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservatives]] and 22% for the [[SDP–Liberal Alliance]]. Five years later, these numbers were fairly similar at 38% Labour, 35% Conservative and 19% [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]], a party by then formed from the previously mentioned alliance. Both these elections saw a fairly significant lead for the Conservatives in the popular vote among the general population.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|date=12 May 2010|title=How Britain Voted 1974 - 2010|url=https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/how-britain-voted-october-1974|website=Ipsos Mori|access-date=2 August 2021|archive-date=2 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210802140820/https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/how-britain-voted-october-1974|url-status=live}}</ref>

At the 1997 General election where Labour won a large majority of seats and a comfortable lead in the popular vote, research suggests that voters under the age of 35 were more likely to vote Labour if they turned out than the wider electorate but significantly less likely to vote than in 1992. Analysts suggested this may have been due to fewer differences in policies between the major parties and young people having less of a sense of affiliation with particular political parties than older generations.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Foster|first=Katie|date=23 September 2016|title=Turnout gap between young and old voters could be Tony Blair's fault|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/tony-blair-turnout-gap-young-old-general-elections-1997-voters-2015-election-new-labour-a7326131.html|access-date=2 August 2021|website=The Independent|language=en|archive-date=2 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210802140818/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/tony-blair-turnout-gap-young-old-general-elections-1997-voters-2015-election-new-labour-a7326131.html|url-status=live}}</ref> A similar trend continued at the [[2001 United Kingdom general election|2001]] and [[2005 United Kingdom general election|2005]] general elections as turnout dropped further among both the relatively young and the wider public.<ref name=":68">{{Cite web|title=Voter turnout in the UK 1918-2019|url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/1050929/voter-turnout-in-the-uk/|access-date=19 June 2021|website=Statista|language=en|archive-date=4 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210504175331/https://www.statista.com/statistics/1050929/voter-turnout-in-the-uk/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|date=December 2018|title=Increasing Youth Voter Turnout|url=https://www.lse.ac.uk/PBS/assets/documents/Increasing-Youth-Voter-Turnout.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210607110218/https://www.lse.ac.uk/PBS/assets/documents/Increasing-Youth-Voter-Turnout.pdf |archive-date=7 June 2021 |url-status=live|journal=London School of Economics and Political Science}}</ref>

Voter turnout across the electorate began to recover from a 2001 low until the [[2017 United Kingdom general election|2017 general election]].<ref name=":68" /> Generation X also became more likely to vote as they entered the midlife age demographics. Polling suggests a plurality of their age group backed the Conservatives in [[2010 United Kingdom general election|2010]] and [[2015 United Kingdom general election|2015]] but less overwhelming than much of the older generation.<ref>{{Cite web|date=21 May 2010|title=How Britain Voted in 2010|url=https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/how-britain-voted-2010|access-date=2 August 2021|archive-date=4 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104013908/https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/how-britain-voted-2010|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Kellner|first=Peter|date=8 June 2015|title=General election 2015: how Britain really voted|url=https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2015/06/08/general-election-2015-how-britain-really-voted|access-date=2 August 2021|website=yougov.co.uk|language=en-gb|archive-date=2 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210802140818/https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2015/06/08/general-election-2015-how-britain-really-voted|url-status=live}}</ref> At the [[2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum|2016 EU membership referendum]] and [[2017 United Kingdom general election|2017 general election]], Generation X was split with younger members appearing to back remain and Labour and older members tending towards Leave and Conservative in a British electorate more polarised by age than ever before.<ref>{{Cite web|date=5 September 2016|title=How Britain voted in the 2016 EU referendum|url=https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/how-britain-voted-2016-eu-referendum|website=Ipsos MORI|access-date=2 August 2021|archive-date=29 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210629014501/https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/how-britain-voted-2016-eu-referendum|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Curtis|first=Chris|date=13 June 2017|title=How Britain voted at the 2017 general election|url=https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2017/06/13/how-britain-voted-2017-general-election|access-date=2 August 2021|website=yougov.co.uk|language=en-gb|archive-date=2 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210802140820/https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2017/06/13/how-britain-voted-2017-general-election|url-status=live}}</ref> At the 2019 general election, voting trends continued to be heavily divided by age but a plurality<!-- Plurality means the largest minority --> of younger as well as older generation X members (then 39 to 55 year olds) voted Conservative.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Curtis|first=Chris|date=17 December 2019|title=How Britain voted in the 2019 general election|url=https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2019/12/17/how-britain-voted-2019-general-election|access-date=2 August 2021|website=yougov.co.uk|language=en-gb|archive-date=2 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210802070549/https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2019/12/17/how-britain-voted-2019-general-election|url-status=live}}</ref>[[File:BerlinWall-BrandenburgGate.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|The [[fall of the Berlin Wall]] in 1989 was a landmark event in Generation X's formative years.|297x297px]]