Lack of financial literacy among voters is a 'threat to democracy'

As the May election draws nearer, a Post-Crash Economics society poll shows how voters struggle with concepts like GDP, quantitative easing and deficit

With a pre-election budget only a couple of days away, full of terms like deficit and GDP, Manchester University students have provided a useful reminder of how little voters understand of the economic terminology economists, politicians and the media throw around.

According to a poll of more than 1,500 adults, around 60% failed offer the correct definition of GDP when given five choices. A quarter said they did not know.