Sir John Curtice: Damaged politics sees voter trust at record low

Geoff Telfer from Yorkshire wrote in to say that the most important issue to him was “the voting system in which approximately half the population is disenfranchised, an obvious result of first-past-the-post”.

“Some form of proportional representation is desperately called for, resulting in consensus policies and fairer representation,” Mr Telfer added.

Olivia, 19, from Ilkeston said many of her friends feel “in political limbo” with no choice “other than to vote to the lesser of two evils”.

Christopher Jerr-Delworth from West Yorkshire concurred: “The issue that concerns me most of all is that our electoral system is so flawed that we end up with governments that command the support of less than a quarter of the electorate,” he wrote.

Half of voters sampled in England (49%) said they favoured more devolution to regional authorities or an English parliament.

Sir John believes the findings represent a real challenge for whoever wins the election.

“It is likely to require a style and manner of governing that persuades people that the government has their interests at heart after all,” he says.