By Chloe Baldry, Intern at Unlock Democracy

As a sixteen-year-old, I am becoming more aware of how I am affected directly by decisions made by the government, alongside those made by voters, whose choices affect me and my peers. Having very limited opportunity to participate in democracy as a young person makes it frustrating watching voters and decision makers disregard the younger generation and ignore their interests.

Voter Apathy

A recent poll found that 1-in-4 voters thought that voting does not make a difference (FGS Global Radar Report). This rapidly decreasing engagement in politics has a direct impact on the outcomes in elections, with the 2024 General Election voter turnout being only 59.7%, which was the lowest at a general election since 2001. It is confusing to hear pessimistic comments about UK politics from the same people who do not vote or educate themselves on their available choices.

From a 2025 poll of 2000 eligible voters, 64% agreed that “the UK is in a period of steep decline.” As a young person who cannot vote, I can only wonder why anyone who complains about politics would not exercise their right to vote and at least attempt to make a change? Why would they not do what younger people do not even have the opportunity to do? The ongoing democratic deficit in the country has repercussions on the younger generation whose lives will be affected by the lack of action from nearly two-fifths of the electorate.

Another poll found that 19% of people aged 18-24 would rather have an unelected leader than one who is democratically elected (FGS Global Radar Report).  From my position as a teenager, I am shocked at this poll because the people should choose who leads the country. An unelected leader would be harder to hold to account and people would be left unrepresented. 

Why the apathy?

One reason why people believe their vote does not count is that First Past the Post (FPTP) is not a proportional voting system, and it means that votes are wasted across the country. Millions of voters are not represented in parliament by who they voted for. In the 2024 General Election, the Green Party, Reform UK and the Scottish National Party (SNP) received 6.7 million votes combined, yet they only won 18 seats total in parliament. The Liberal Democrats received 3.5 million votes, significantly less than the combined total of Reform UK, the Green Party and SNP, yet have four-times the number of seats in parliament with 72. 

74% of votes were wasted (Make Votes Matter) in the last election which leads to voters feeling unrepresented by their MP and therefore they do not feel encouraged to vote in later elections because of the past proof that their vote didn’t matter. Whether an MP was elected by a majority of just one or thousands, there is only one party who wins the seat.

This is why the UK needs a more proportional voting system. It will prevent the dominance of the two-party system and more accurately represent the public’s views and allow for fairer, more legitimate elections. Voters will be able to see their vote have an impact on the makeup of parliament, rather than being wasted in safe seats. 

Another reason for voter apathy is due to the chaos, sleaze and rule-breaking seen in politics in recent years. Having three different Prime Ministers lead the country in under two months, alongside stories of elected and government officials breaking the Covid restrictions, was a particularly low point. The news of politicians throwing parties throughout the pandemic caused a decline of trust in politics and rightfully left people angry with the hypocritical behaviour of those running the country. When politicians are constantly in the news with issues of cronyism and sleaze, people are not likely to want to vote for people they cannot trust. Why cast your vote for people who do not abide by their own rules?

The Government could start to regain the trust of the public by establishing the Ethics and Integrity Commission. This should be an independent body with powers to ensure high standards in Parliament.

Getting young people engaged 

Lowering the voting age to 16 would start to fix this apathy. The voting age being 18 alienates the younger generation from politics and makes it more difficult for them to engage and understand the importance of voting. As a GCSE Citizenship and A-Level Politics student, I feel well educated about politics and voting, however other students I have spoken to do not properly understand why it is important to vote. This is because it is associated with one of the many things you gain when you become an adult which can seem so far away as a student. Lowering the voting age will bring more awareness to voting and encourage education on it. As a sixteen-year-old at the 2024 election, knowing that by the next time I will be able to vote in a general election I will almost be twenty-two, and being incapable of making any sort of change, was so frustrating.

In Scotland, 16-year-olds were given the right to vote in the Scottish referendum in 2014 and other Scottish elections since 2015. Research shows that Scottish adults given the right to vote at 16 have continued to vote in higher numbers than those who had to wait until age 18. This shows that being given more freedom to be involved in politics from a younger age has a direct impact on voter turnout in elections and could reduce the ongoing problem of voter apathy.

Lowering the voter age will involve the future generation more in politics and allow them to have a say on the issues that will affect them the most. Educating students about voting and actually giving them the opportunity to involve themselves in politics can reduce voter apathy rather than keeping them so separate from the adult world and bring up a generation of people who are not interested in voting or politics.

Overall, people are becoming more apathetic towards politics in recent years and voter turnout is low. Involving younger people in politics will teach them that their vote matters, but also a proportional and democratic system is needed in order to allow proper representation of the public. Being part of the younger generation, I believe that we should have more ability to be involved in politics, and politicians should keep our interests in mind.