Surge in voter registration applications as Boris Johnson pushes for December general election

Nearly 60 per cent of applications were from people aged 34 and under

Boris Johnson outside Downing Street on 28 October 2019 (Reuters)

Nearly two million people have applied to register to vote in the past eight weeks, as Boris Johnson continues to push for an early general election.

With speculation mounting over the prospect of a December election, government figures showed the number of applications has averaged around a quarter of a million every week.

In total, 1,966,876 applications were submitted in the eight weeks to 27 October – almost double the number for the previous eight weeks.

The new figures come as the campaign group “FckBoris” launched a major advertising scheme on the London underground, highlighting Conservative policy failures over the last nine years.

Each design includes a QR code encouraging commuters to register to vote. “As MPs consider a general election, theses ads are a small selection from Boris’s trash-heap of a track record,” a spokesperson for the group said.

They added: “We took the streets, and we are encouraging Tube users to register to vote so we can #KickBorisOut with every tool at our disposal.”

According to government data more than half – 58 per cent – of applications were from people aged 34 and under, with just seven per cent coming from those over the age of 65.

Considerable spikes occurred when the prime minister held previous votes on an early general election, including 3 and 4 September, with 64,485 and 82,442 individuals applying to vote respectively.

Mr Johnson failed in his bid to hold an early election last month, and lost a second vote on a motion on Monday evening to hold an election on 12 December.

But Downing Street is now ready to propose legislation to force a pre-Christmas election, by tabling a single-line bill, overruling the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, which was introduced by David Cameron in 2011.

The proposed bill will be “almost identical” to a separate motion from Liberal Democrats and the Scottish National Party drawn up with the aim of securing a 9 December vote, to ensure the election takes place before Brexit has happened.