"A bit surprisingly for me was the gap in the pensioner vote
They’re welfare recipients as well"
It shouldn't really come as a surprise that older people who've seen the downfall of many different countries that went down the socialist path won't vote for the left. See, they aren't short sighted like so many young people, they realise a few $ extra now is not worth it if the govt won't be able to afford to pay them the pension in a few years time. Sensible, long sighted voters with the benefit of many decades of watching how the world really works
