Just 36% of young people believe life will be better than parents’, poll finds

Less than two fifths of young adults expect they will have a better life than their parents – with the number who think they will achieve this down by almost half in a year.

The second annual UK Youth Poll, which questioned some 2,000 16 to 29-year-olds across the country, found only 36% believe their lives will eventually be better than their parents’ – with this down from 63% in last year’s survey.

The research, carried out by the John Smith Centre at Glasgow University, also found that half (50%) of young people would not be prepared to “take up arms and go to war for Britain” in any circumstances.

More than half of the young people (56%) agreed that “democracy in Britain is in trouble” – with only 13% disagreeing with this.

The research, which was sponsored by the Nationwide Building Society, also found that 53% of young people believe that politics in the UK has become too divisive.

However the number who say they would prefer dictatorship to democracy has fallen, from 27% in the 2025 survey to 17% this year.

Young people said the most important issues affecting the UK currently were inflation and the cost of living, the affordability of housing, healthcare, immigration and asylum, and jobs and job security.

And on the issue of immigration, just over half (51%) of those surveyed believed this had improved their communities.

Speaking about the research Eddie Barnes, director of the John Smith Centre, said: “The idea that the next generation will have it better than previous ones has been a founding belief for decades.

“Today’s poll shows that the majority of this generation of young people no longer believe it to be true. And it reveals their loss of belief is collapsing at speed.”

He stated: “On the upside, young people remain broadly optimistic about their future and want to engage in politics and public life.

“But locked out of the housing market, pinned down by low wages, loaded by student debt, and increasingly worried about the rise in AI, young people today feel a growing sense of unfairness about the world around them.

“In those circumstances, it should be little surprise that 50% say they wouldn’t fight for the country under any circumstances. Or, as many young people might put it: why fight for a country that isn’t fighting for you?”

In the wake of the polling he called on governments across the UK – and all political parties – to “set out the practical policies that will restore young people’s faith in the future”.

His plea came as project lead Dr Elisabeth Loose said: “The message from young people in this poll is clear: they want politicians to deliver policies that will provide them with some financial security, and they want a more honest politics that engages seriously with the challenges they and the country faces.”

Dr Loose added: “The narrative around young people has to change, away from a generation that is lazy and drifting to the extremes towards a generation made up of multitudes of views and beliefs by people who are trying their best to find their way in life but who are hindered by a political and economic system that works against them. ”

Dame Debbie Crosbie chief executive officer of Nationwide meanwhile said: “This report is a call to listen carefully and act collectively.

“By taking young people’s experiences seriously, we can rebuild confidence, fairness and hope – and ensure the next generation has a genuine chance to prosper.”