
If a man is not a socialist by the time he is 20, he has no heart. If he is not a conservative by the time he is 40, he has no brain.
At first glance, this quote, attributed to Winston Churchill, appears to fit the evidence in Britain. A survey conducted during the 2019 general election reported in our recent book showed that 23% of respondents under the age of 30 voted Conservative and 55% voted Labour. In contrast, 59% of the over 65s voted Conservative and only 13% voted Labour.