UK Youth Poll 2025 Launched

A major new survey of young peoples’ attitudes and priorities has found that while young people believe in democracy over dictatorship, they believe UK democracy is in trouble. The University of Glasgow’s John Smith Centre partnered with leading UK pollster Focaldata to carry out in-depth conversations with young people aged 16-29 across the country, and to publish a poll of their attitudes and priorities.

The UK Youth Poll 2025, sponsored by Nationwide Building Society, also found that:

Young people’s anxieties are overwhelmingly due to financial issues and material needs.
There’s a strong call for ‘better politics’: more honest, more open, that delivers on young peoples’ basic needs.
Gen Z isn’t one united generation: views on politics and democracy vary hugely depending on peoples’ backgrounds.
Young men tend to be more right wing than young women, but most sit in the centre-ground.
Those in work or with a degree are far more optimistic and engaged than those who are long-term unemployed, or less well educated.

While young people backed democracy over dictatorship by two to one, 63% agreed that ‘democracy in the UK is in trouble’.

Social media for under 16s should be banned, according to 67%, and 67% say toxic masculinity is becoming more common. Seventy three percent believe racism is a significant issue in UK society, and 51% agree immigration has changed their communities for the better.