Was that the most depressing item ever on the Today prog?
BBC reporter goes to Wolverhampton South West and finds not one student interested in voting

Early morning listeners to Radio 4’s Today programme are still recovering from one of the most depressing interviews they have ever heard on the show. It concerned students and how their votes might dictate the results of the general election in some marginal seats.
Based on this report, aired shortly before 8 am today, their votes won’t swing anything at all.
The BBC visited Wolverhampton South West, a marginal Tory seat with a population of 20,000 students who hold the fate of Conservative MP Paul Uppal in their hands. Uppal stole the seat from Labour's Rob Marris in 2010 by the slenderest of margins and now Marris is fighting to retake it.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But BBC reporter Sima Kotecha was unable to find one student who was interested in voting in the election. Students she interviewed ranged from those who were barely aware of the election – “I don’t really follow politics” – to those who would not be voting because none of the parties appealed.
Yet Wolverhampton South West isn't just any old seat – it's the one held from 1950 to 1974 by one of the most infamous backbenchers in post-war politics, Enoch 'Rivers of Blood' Powell.
Only one student interviewed – Abdul Kadir - named any politicians, and then only to say: "David Cameron hasn't kept me in his interests, Nick Clegg has lied [about tuition fees], and then Labour hasn't come out to say anything about student tuition fees or anything regarding us so I'm probably going to abstain."
Whatever happened to youthful idealism? Yes, tuition fees are a huge issue, but does not one student at Wolverhampton University have concerns beyond their own finances - about Germany’s bullying of Greece, say, or about the possibility of war over Ukraine, about immigration and jobs, about austerity vs growth?
I'm inclined to start a sit-in - well, a lie-in, anyway - until the Today programme finds a student who cares about someone other then themselves.
PS: By the way, Abdul, Labour has "come out to say" something about student tuition fees: Ed Miliband has proposed cutting them from £9,000 to £6,000, though a lot of people are not convinced it will benefit students in the long-term - a political debate that might be of interest.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Nigel Horne is Comment Editor of The Week.co.uk. He was formerly Editor of the website until September 2013. He previously held executive roles at The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Times.
-
How will Trump's megabill affect you?
Today's Big Question Republicans have passed the 'big, beautiful bill' through Congress
-
Scientists are the latest 'refugees'
In the spotlight Brain drain to brain gain
-
5 dreamy books to dive into this July
The Week Recommends A 'politically charged' collection of essays, historical fiction goes sci-fi and more
-
Is the G7 still relevant?
Talking Point Donald Trump's early departure cast a shadow over this week's meeting of the world's major democracies
-
Angela Rayner: Labour's next leader?
Today's Big Question A leaked memo has sparked speculation that the deputy PM is positioning herself as the left-of-centre alternative to Keir Starmer
-
Is Starmer's plan to send migrants overseas Rwanda 2.0?
Today's Big Question Failed asylum seekers could be removed to Balkan nations under new government plans
-
Has Starmer put Britain back on the world stage?
Talking Point UK takes leading role in Europe on Ukraine and Starmer praised as credible 'bridge' with the US under Trump
-
Left on read: Labour's WhatsApp dilemma
Talking Point Andrew Gwynne has been sacked as health minister over messages posted in a Labour WhatsApp group
-
New Year's Honours: why the controversy?
Today's Big Question London Mayor Sadiq Khan and England men's football manager Gareth Southgate have both received a knighthood despite debatable records
-
John Prescott: was he Labour's last link to the working class?
Today's Big Quesiton 'A total one-off': tributes have poured in for the former deputy PM and trade unionist
-
Last hopes for justice for UK's nuclear test veterans
Under the Radar Thousands of ex-service personnel say their lives have been blighted by aggressive cancers and genetic mutations