Only 18% of Teens Would Vote Tomorrow – And We've Given Them No Reason To

What's the point in lowering the voting age if we don't increase political education?On 17 July 2025, Labour announced a landmark decision: 16 and 17-year-olds will be able to vote in the next General Election. The BBC reports that this amounts to over 1.5 million extra people, and solidifies a promise Labour made in its manifesto back in 2024.In theory, this seems like a great idea — more democracy is always a good thing, right? But in practice, things are a little more complicated.A poll by Merlin Strategy (via ITV) found that just half (49%) of 16-17-year-olds agreed that the voting age should be lowered, while only 18% said they’d vote tomorrow if there were an election. So, while lowering the voting age is all well and good, it means little if approximately 750,000 of them aren’t interested. Things get worse once you realise that if there were an election tomorrow, just 270,000 out of 1.5 million young people would be willing to vote. When we put hard figures next to these percentages, things suddenly don’t look so optimistic. It reveals the underlying problem when it comes to politics and young people: a lack of engagement.In data released right before the 2024 election, Opinium found that 70% of people under 16 didn’t know the name of their MP. Likewise, 59% were unable to name the party to which their local MP belonged, and 79% were unaware of the issues that mattered most to their MP. ‘Why does that matter?’ you may ask. After all, they aren’t the ones voting. But the crucial thing to remember is that they will end up voting one day – and, by the looks of things, we’re not sending them out there with much preparation.As lawmakers, activists, and teachers have argued in the past, the real problem here is education. Back when I was in school, I was taught next to nothing about politics. I lived in a privileged, predominantly white Tory stronghold, and looking back, it feels like everything we learned was within this little bubble of ’Oh, this doesn’t really affect us.’ We were taught not to care, and while a handful of well-meaning teachers tried to combat this once we became teenagers, it was already too late by then.It wasn’t until I went to university that I came face-to-face with politics and actual critical thinking for the first time. I know it’s a cliche for university students to be radicalised, but that’s truly what happened in my case. While I experienced a baptism of fire, I don’t think I fully understood politics until I approached my 20s. Before that point, all I knew was that everything sucked and I hated the monarchy. And while I still stand by those sentiments, they aren’t really enough to make informed votes alone. I was woefully underprepared to vote in the Brexit referendum and at my first general election. All the information I got from campaign leaflets, the internet, and the news all sounded like gibberish to me because I didn’t have that underlying knowledge. Many will argue that it’s the parents’ job to educate their kids on politics, but, if we’re being honest, most of them are just as clueless as we are. Voting turnout for the most recent general election was the lowest it’s been since 2001, with only 60% of adults voting. This suggests that the lack of engagement in politics isn’t just a generational issue; it’s systemic. They likely got even less political education than we did.Talking from experience, young people are like sponges. They absorb everything around them, and the younger they are, the more they absorb. The current curriculum isn’t taking advantage of this enough, and the most frustrating part is that young people actually do want to learn more about politics. Data by the Electoral Commission found that 72% of young people want to know more about politics. Yet, less than a third said they heard about politics in schools. But the most damning indictment comes from a 2024 poll answered by 6,000 teachers. The results show that 84% of school teachers don’t think that the national curriculum in its current state adequately prepares young people to vote. Let’s be real – these numbers paint a pretty bleak picture about the future of politics, but the good news is, there’s time to do something about it.It’s also worth noting that in the world we’re in now, learning about politics, critical thinking, and general media literacy has never been more important. This is because the rise of AI and general misinformation on the internet has gone out of control, and will undoubtedly become worse by the time the next election rolls around. We can’t assume that young people have sufficient media literacy knowledge to combat this simply because they use TikTok. Ultimately, the government lowering the voting age isn’t just insufficient – it’s completely and utterly pointless. As their review of the curriculum in England continues, it’s essential that they lay the foundation for young people’s political education. Otherwise, they’ll be left with an empty, performative gesture. So, it’s time we start educating: our future depends on it.Related...MP Gives Voters An Important Reminder About Nigel Farage's Brexit PastEven Some Reform Voters Think Nigel Farage Is An 'A******e', So What Is His Appeal?Most Young People Unlikely To Vote Reform, Despite What The Party Claims

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