Young people and politics in Britain
This study has been awarded funding by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). It examines young people's attitudes towards politics in Britain, and considers the widely-held view that today's generation of youth is increasingly reluctant to play a role in political life, and is dismissive of the formal political process and democratic institutions. This viewpoint is not new, and the issue of youth disengagement has vexed politicians and policy-makers over the course of the past decade. Indeed, there has been growing anxiety within government circles that, despite attempts to reform the political system and make it easier to access by citizens, the British public - and young people in particular - remain broadly disaffected from politics.
Our study follows on from a national survey completed by one of the researchers in 2002 that investigated the attitudes towards politics held by British 18 year olds. That earlier study identified a significant degree of disengagement amongst young people, of whom only 39% voted at the 2001 General Election. The current study focuses upon a new generation of young people a decade later, and examines whether and to what extent the views and political orientations of today's 18 year olds differ to or mirror those expressed by the young people that we researched in 2002.
Specifically, we consider the following key issues:
- young people's levels of interest in, and understanding of, politics and elections
- youth attitudes towards democracy in Britain
- the degree of faith that young people have in political parties and politicians
- the likelihood that young people will take part in differing political activities in the future, including voting at elections
- what the political parties need to do if they are to engage young people in the future.
