As the UK prepares to extend voting rights to 16- and 17-year-olds nationwide, new research from the John Smith Centre highlights a striking gap in political readiness among this group. The poll of 500 young people reveals widespread feelings of confusion and disengagement, with many citing a lack of education and understanding as key barriers to participation. While a majority express support for democracy and a willingness to vote, the findings underscore the urgent need for stronger citizenship education and clearer communication from political leaders to ensure these new voters feel confident and informed.
The top answer for why 16-17 -year-olds find it hard to get involved in politics is ‘Politicians don’t listen to young people’ with 42%. The three following reasons are all related to a lack of understanding: 34% – ‘I don’t understand how it works’, 31% – ‘It’s too complicated or boring’, and 28% ‘I don’t know where to start.’ Just over a quarter (26%) also note that they don’t trust politicians.
Young men and women broadly agree on this ordering, but a few differences jump out. Young women appear to find politics significantly more overwhelming than young men (30% to 18%). On the other hand, young men feel more that they’re too busy and have other priorities (25% to 12%).
Intriguingly, those young people who state they are likely to vote at 16-17 agree more to the following obstacles to getting involved in politics than those who are unlikely to vote:
In contrast, those who are unlikely to vote agree more to the following challenges:
Evidently, those who feel more strongly that they lack knowledge of how politics works or feel overwhelmed by it are less likely to vote. In contrast, those who are more unhappy with the makeup or type of politician they see are more likely to vote. The outlier in the latter group is the option ‘I don’t know where to start’, which might be explained by voting being a more straightforward way of getting involved in politics.