The turnout of young people in elections in this country is consistently low and while this issue often receives minimal attention, I believe it is one of the great political challenges of our time. Many of us feel disempowered, yet the low participation of our generation has a range of implications. Let’s discuss why youth turnout is so low, the impact young people could have on politics and ways to draw young people to the polls.
The UK has witnessed a decrease in turnout across all age groups since the 1990s. Once averaging around 80% in the 1950s, turnouts since the turn of the century rarely top 65%. However, the 2019 election saw a 76% turnout for over 65s, whereas the turnout for 18–24-year-olds was a dismal 52%, notably lower than the national average of 67%. Even in the 1960s, when overall turnout was still high, the youth vote was significantly lower. In fact, a 2013 report found that the UK has one of the most pronounced voting disparities globally. So why is this the case? Some academics have attributed the worsening of youth turnout since the 1990s to the UK’s involvement in multiple wars and the increase in higher education costs which led to young people becoming disenchanted with politics. There is also the issue of voter registration. Previously registration could be done at a household level, with parents able to ensure that their teenagers were registered. In 2014, however the government enacted a new system in which voters must be registered individually, resulting in a fall in the number of young people registered to vote. This in turn negatively effects turnout. Another key concern is that young people lack basic political understanding, with current school provisions on the matter not being sufficient. A final factor behind the poor turnout of youth voters is that, as I have heard from many of my peers, young people are convinced that they can’t change anything in politics and therefore there’s no point trying. This final issue, however, is categorically untrue.
There are many ways that young people can positively impact politics, and there are also many ways that the poor youth turnout has negative impacts. One of these is party policy. Political parties know that young people are less likely to vote and as a result they put significantly more effort into winning the votes of older people, since that is what will win them the election. This means that both parties, but particularly the Conservatives who receive more of the elderly vote, create policies geared towards older people and ignore the needs of young people. This means that protection of pensions and care homes is prioritised over schools and graduate jobs. Even Labour, who have historically been the party of the young people, show a disregard for us. In November 2024, the Labour government announced a 3.1% increase in tuition fees, a policy that greatly affects us but that they can get away with because they know that, come the next election, the young people won’t use their vote to punish them for it. If the youth turnout was greater then parties would be forced to take us into account, creating and implementing policies that would secure our vote.
Another impact of young people not voting is the outcome of referendums. Brexit was decided on the narrowest of results, with just over 50% voting leave. Despite the enormity of the decision and the huge ramifications that leaving the European Union will have on our future, only 53% of 18–24-year-olds voted. Yet, of those that did vote, 73% of them voted remain. While it cannot be said for certain, it is not improbable that, had more young people voted, the UK would have seen a different result.
So how can this problem be changed? It falls on schools to be the driving factor here. Research suggests that voting is a habit, meaning the challenge is getting the 18- and 19-year-olds to their first election. In terms of registration, secondary schools or sixth forms could do as my school did and set aside an hour when all students, aided by teachers if necessary, register to vote. This removes the risk of young people simply forgetting to register before it’s too late. Additionally, there desperately needs to be more political education in schools. This could take the form of bringing in guest speakers, dedicating some assemblies to it, making it part of the key curriculum or even setting students some political research as homework. Even though this may be unpopular with some students, it is essential that schools stimulate a base level of political understanding and engagement. Finally, once young people have been registered and submitted an email address it would be useful to send out email reminders as an election draws closer. Those emails could contain the key information on candidates for a constituency or could be as simple as a ‘save the date.’ They could also send reminders on the final day that a postal vote is allowed, as the most recent election in July suffered from many voters being abroad at the time.
To conclude, there is an ongoing problem of low youth turnout in the UK. This is caused by a combination of disenchantment, disempowerment, less registered voters, and a lack of political understanding. Yet, despite what many of our generation belief, our vote can and does matter. If changes are made and the youth vote is stimulated, then we can have a significant impact on party policy and on the results of future elections and referendums. All young people need to recognise the power of their vote, and it is down to schools and to those of us that do vote to help them recognise this.