Why young people are 'terrified for the future' and believe democracy is in trouble
If democratic alienation is to be tackled, then governments must rebalance the political economy towards young people’s concerns
Only a quarter of young people across the UK believe they are being treated fairly compared with their parents’ generation. This is just one of a series of stark findings in new polling from the John Smith Centre which should be giving vote-hunting politicians on the stump this week cause for thought.
Our UK Youth poll, which surveyed the opinions of 2,000 16 to 29-year-olds across the UK, shows that to be young today is to be stalked by financial anxiety and economic uncertainty. From rising youth unemployment (up by 100,000 in the last year) to unaffordable housing and the impact of artificial intelligence on entry-level jobs, everywhere young people look they see obstacles to the security they’re seeking.
The basic promise that the next generation should always have it a little better than previous ones is being broken. We found only around a third of young people think their lives will be better than their parents, down from over 60 per cent in the space of just a year.
‘Stop buying avocado on toast’
We also spent time listening and talking to young people in interviews and focus groups. The mood was summed up by one 29-year-old woman who said: “I’m terrified for the future, of not being able to buy a house, not being able to have a family. I’ve been working outside of uni for eight years and I have a degree and I’m still struggling to find a job. I live with my parents and I’m grateful for that but my parents can’t support me financially.”
To then be told by older generations – as one young man put it – that young people simply need to “be grateful and stop buying avocado on toast” only adds insult to the economic injury that is being perpetrated on younger generations.
At the John Smith Centre, we work to support young people who wish to get involved in public and politics and are keen to play their part. We believe that nurturing tomorrow’s leaders is essential to the country’s democratic health and want young people to have opportunities to serve. But the clear danger exposed by our polling is that financial and economic unfairness could lead to a growing sense of political alienation among the young, deterring many from bothering in the first place. The road from economic unfairness to democratic disillusion is short and straight.
The alarm bells should already be ringing. Only 13 per cent of young people disagree with the statement “democracy in Britain is in trouble”. When asked which UK leader best embodies British values, nearly a half said either ‘none of the above’ or didn’t know.
A broken social contract
At its most fundamental – on the question of whether young people would take up arms to defend the UK – 50 per cent say there are no circumstances in which they would do so. One of our focus group attendees talked about the “social contract” between young and old essentially fraying to nothing. The risk here is that many young people will conclude that, since the country isn’t giving anything to them, they won’t bother giving anything to it.
Thankfully, we have yet to reach that level of civic cynicism among the young: our poll finds that most believe their vote matters, and still see plenty of merit in democratic engagement. But today’s political leaders need to radically change our political culture in both the style and substance if trust and faith in democratic norms is to be retained.
Firstly, on style: young people want to see our politics done differently. A majority told us that politics has become too divisive. The two biggest reasons young people cite for not getting involved is their lack of trust in politicians and a feeling that politicians don’t listen to them.
And the perceived toxicity of our politics means that many young people admit to hiding their political beliefs for fear of the reaction. If young people are to be encouraged to step forward and become active and engaged citizens, they need to see a political culture that doesn’t look so downright repellent.
We seek to push back against that toxicity at the centre: for example, by taking politicians into schools so pupils can hear of the good work that MSPs and MPs do behind the scenes and away from the cameras. But more systemic change is necessary. We need to call out the poison and vitriol, and rediscover a politics that knows the difference between an opponent and an enemy.
Time for serious politics
Secondly on substance: if we are to tackle democratic alienation, then governments across the UK need to rebalance our political economy towards young people’s concerns. This isn’t achieved by focussing on superficial policies like banning phones in schools, it’s by tackling the fundamental financial unfairness that young people face.
Take housing, which surged from young people’s ninth biggest worry in our 2025 poll to their third biggest this year (behind financial worries and job insecurity). Is it feasible, let alone morally defensible, to plough yet more billions into older generations’ back pockets through the pensions’ triple lock when young people can’t even dream of buying a house?
For political parties vying for the youth vote in the Scottish elections, the message from our poll is very clear: can you be serious please? If not, the risk isn’t that their votes will go elsewhere, it’s that, fed up with a rancorous system that doesn’t deliver, they won’t bother with it at all.
Eddie Barnes is director of the University of Glasgow's John Smith Centre. The John Smith Centre is hosting a special hustings for young people in St Giles’ Kirk, Edinburgh, at 6pm on Tuesday, April 28. The event will feature six young candidates from the main parties. Tickets are free.
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