Renters' vote could swing 2015 election

Private renters could hold the deciding vote in 86 parliamentary seats at next year's General Election, according to new research published today.

Campaign group Generation Rent commissioned a ComRes poll and analysed the findings. The poll of 1,004 private renters found that 35% say that they tend to change which party they vote for between different General Elections, making them potential swing voters. With nine million people in the private rented sector in England, and rent their largest living cost, there are electoral rewards for any party that can address their concerns.

The group's analysis identified 86 parliamentary seats where the overall majority is less than 35% of the private renter population - that proportion who say they change party allegiance between elections. This means that the next Prime Minister could be decided by private renters.

Generation Rent revealed last week that two-thirds of private renters (67%) say they are stuck renting because of the cost of buying, and more than half (52%) consider the cost of rent to be their biggest problem. The group says rent is so expensive that two in five private renters (39%) say that they have had to cut back on heating their current property because of the cost of rent, while a third (33%) say that they have had to cut back on food.