If the hype is to be believed, the May 2017 general election may have ushered in a new era for youth political engagement. With the heat of election night over, excited chatter on social media began to point to a completely unanticipated shift—the young were finding their political feet. Figures from Ipsos Mori show that 54 per cent of all 18-24 year olds turned out to vote—an increase of 16 points on 2015. While it’s important to keep perspective—they are some way off being as engaged as older citizens—the figures have raised a huge of number of questions. Importantly, is this a temporary aberration, or a trend we can expect longer term? And how can we build on the momentum?
Demos’ new research with the British Council published this week may help shed some light. Against the backdrop of Brexit, the Next Generation UK research has explored the attitudes and aspirations of young people in the UK, and is seeking to boost political and social engagement at a time of change. It’s a large study, including a representative survey of 2,000 18-30 year olds conducted by Ipsos Mori, focus groups across the UK, social media analysis, and an Advisory Board of young adults shaping the research and driving the recommendations.
The research, conducted in late 2016 and early 2017, suggests the political appetite amongst young people had been building; and, likely stirred by the EU referendum, was very much there to be unlocked in the—then unanticipated—general election by suitable political forces. One of the biggest surprises of our survey was that as many as three-quarters of young adults in the UK thought it important to be engaged in traditional Westminster politics. So not just an interest in “social issues” or community action, as important as these are to young people—actual engagement with the establishment.
Yet our findings also suggest how precarious youth political engagement may turn out to be. Recent improvements cannot be taken for granted.
“Just 37 per cent of young adults said they believe that British politics reflects the issues that matter to them”Our research confirmed some longer-term trends that this election is unlikely to have radically shifted and must still be chipped away if there is to be lasting change. First of all, that young people on the whole really don’t trust politicians; and feel let down by what they perceive to be a self-serving elite. The mooted “Jeremy Corbyn effect” aside, we found this to be true at all levels of the political establishment, and across the regions of the UK. Asked to give a trust score out of 10 (with 0 equal to no trust and 10 equal to complete trust), the average young adult scored local councils 4.7, the UK parliament 4.1, and the government 3.9. Just 37 per cent of young adults said they believe that British politics today reflects the issues that matter to them.
Furthermore, while young adults are hungry for change—with as many as a quarter believing that the entire way society is organised should be radically changed—the majority feel let down by the traditional tools at their disposal. With the exception of voting (which came in surprisingly high), the current arsenal of political tools is simply not seen as effective in bringing about change. Less than half of those we surveyed thought contacting MPs or councillors, joining a party, signing a petition, or engaging in online activism were effective in bringing about change. This perception may have an inhibitive effect, with even fewer having actually tried engaging in one of these ways.
Social media and the news environment also present both new opportunities and challenges for political engagement—that both excited and frustrated the young people we spoke to. Our research suggests that social media has become the dominant means of accessing political news for 18-30 year olds (63 per cent access news this way), continuing the decline of more traditional media such as newspapers. Yet news accessed this way is the least trusted. While social media can provide an important new arena for debate and political opinion-forming, up to a third of young adults find it difficult to tell the difference between truth and falsity on social media.
And then, behind our headline findings, there are clear distinctions between the engagement levels of groups of young adults from different backgrounds. Unsurprisingly, we found that it tends to be those with degrees and secure jobs who are most engaged in traditional politics. They are also more likely to feel the system has worked for them, and to feel positively about globalisation, and so on, lending weight to the “left behind” narrative that, while frequently discussed in parliament, is too little addressed.
“Before long today’s 18-24 year olds will give way to the next school leavers—who may not feel the same motivation from the EU referendum result”So what to do to build momentum for youth political engagement? To save it from precarity? There is no silver bullet. Our research asked this of both our survey respondents and Youth Advisory Board. Perhaps influenced by the experience of the EU and Scottish referendums, the most popular answer in the survey was enabling young adults to vote on a greater number of national and local decisions. Another priority might be innovative forms of engagement, with a sense that politicians need to “go to where young people are,” pulling back the screen of obscurity, including face-to-face contact beyond surgeries and making real in-roads into new digital forums.
Our Advisory Board focused squarely on the role of political education in increasing engagement, too. There is palpable frustration that despite Citizenship education being “technically” compulsory in schools, little is done to teach young people about politics, and provision is of patchy quality. And it’s not just lessons in the classroom that could help. As important is supporting youth social action opportunities and activities such as debating that can help to develop political capital and the agency required to fully participate in the democratic system. In line with the above, a premium was also attached to critical thinking in schools in an era of “fake news.”
In all of this, it’s clear that momentum is building. Our Next Generation study suggests that the majority of young people want to participate, but also have substantial frustrations with the status quo that limit their engagement. And of course, before long today’s 18-24 year olds will give way to the next school leavers who may not feel the same heat of disappointment, and motivation, from the EU referendum result. New venues for political engagement, platforms for younger people to be heard and taken seriously, better political education—these will all be key.
