The Anxious Generation - An Authoritarian Turn?
New polling reveals young people are deeply pessimistic about the future of the UK.
As part of a series of polls into 18-30-year-olds, dubbed the Anxious Generation, Adam Smith Insights has explored young Britons’ views of our political system.
The nationally representative poll of 18-30-year-olds reveals shocking levels of disillusionment with both political leaders and democratic institutions. The findings show that a significant number of young people no longer believe democracy is working and many would prefer a system where leaders can act without checks and balances.
According to the polling, a full third (33%) of 18-30 year olds say they would prefer an authoritarian system led by a decisive figure, even if it meant sacrificing some democratic freedoms. Just under half (48%) express clear support for the current democratic system.
Across all parties polled, young Labour and Conservative voters are on the same page. Over a third of 18-30-year-old voters from both parties say they would prefer an authoritarian system to our democratic one. But Reform voters are more adamant - half of them would prefer to sacrifice some freedoms for an authoritarian with fast decision-making ability.
It is unsurprising that so many young people feel disillusioned with the status quo. 59% of 18-30-year-olds believe politicians are not addressing the issues that matter most to them.
And this dissatisfaction cuts across party lines. Among 18-30-year-olds, 54% of Labour voters, 52% of Conservative voters and a striking 66% of Reform voters expressed discontent with how politicians are handling the most important issues.
KEY FINDINGS:
A third of young people prefer authoritarianism over democracy
33% would prefer an authoritarian system with a strong leader who can act quickly, even at the cost of democratic freedoms.
48% still prefer the current democratic system, while 20% remain undecided.
Support for authoritarianism is strongest among young Reform voters
50% of 18-30-year-olds who voted for Reform in 2024 would prefer an authoritarian system with a leader who could make decisions quickly, even at the cost of some democratic freedoms.
Only 33% of 18-30-year-olds who voted Reform in 2024 prefer the current democratic system.
34% of 18-30-year-olds who voted Labour in 2024 and 39% of 18-30-year-olds who voted for the Conservatives would support an authoritarian system.
59% of 18–30-year-olds feel that politicians are not addressing the issues that matter most.
White 18-30-year-olds show the highest levels of disillusionment, with a 62% expressing dissatisfaction with politicians.
Black 18-30-year-olds show the highest levels of satisfaction with only 34% expressing dissatisfaction with politicians.
Among young people, this disillusionment is cross-party.
54% of 18-30-year-old Labour voters are dissatisfied with how politicians address key issues.
52% of 18-30-year-olds Conservative voters share this dissatisfaction.
66% of 18-30-year-olds Reform voters feel the same way.
Methodology:
Adam Smith Insights ran a poll on behalf of its sister think tank, the Adam Smith Institute, of a nationally representative sample of GB adults:
Nationally representative poll of UK 18 - 30 year olds in the UK.
Poll conducted via online panels
Field dates 8 July – 10 July 2025
N = 1338
Poll weighted to population targets to match GB 18-30 year old population profile across age, gender, region, ethnicity, and 2024 general election vote using ONS 2021 Census data, age-by-vote distributions derived from Ipsos’s post-election analysis: “How Britain voted in the 2024 election”, national vote share data from the Electoral Reform Society’s 2024 general election results, and YouGov/BES polling.
The poll results, with a median completion time of approximately 5 minutes, has a margin of error of ±2.7%.
Respondents were filtered for completion quality (e.g., straight-lining, speeding), and responses with incomplete or invalid data were excluded from analysis. No imputation was applied.