The Alpha Vote

It’s been just over two weeks since it was announced that England and Northern Ireland will join Scotland and Wales by lowering the voting age to 16 for all UK elections, meaning around 1.5 million 16 and 17-year-olds will be able to vote at the next general election in 2029.

If you’re in local government, or any public sector organisation for that matter, how might this influence your engagement of Gen Alphas*?

*those in ‘Generation Alpha’ are born from 2010 onwards. Right now children aged 12/13 will be voting by 2029 for the first time.

Britain really did lead the way when it came to lowering the voting age back in 1969 when it was the first major democracy in the world to lower it from 21 to 18. This time around in places like Austria, Argentina, Brazil and parts of Germany, as well as Wales and Scotland, 16 and 17-year-olds are already allowed to vote in some or all elections.

One of the oddest debates since the announcement has been around what young people can and can’t do as almost a verification on whether a vote is deemed appropriate. 

“You can’t gamble or drink  at 16 and 17”… but that’s a pretty depressing definition of ‘adulthood’ surely? There’s so much more to society and (let’s hope) to the decision of who you’d prefer to govern the country.

At 16 you’re able to pay taxes, join the army and make medical decisions for yourself. You’re experiencing education (some of which was through the pandemic), you’ll be looking ahead to driving lessons (and waiting on a test!), considering what’s next after college/sixth form and experiencing the costs and opportunities of studying further. You’ll also probably be looking at finding a job, renting a flat or house or saving. As Sam Carling, one the UK’s youngest MPs, said in a testing BBC interview – life experience isn’t just about age.

Another common argument from those against the move is that teenagers are too immature to have a say. Rest assured, wisdom and idiocy are spread equally across age groups! 

Research from Germany and Austria shows that 16 and 17s are able to pick a political party or representative that best represents their views to the same extent as other, slightly older voters. 

Activism has always been synonymous with youth – what they’ve lacked is agency but as with most aspects of growing up in the UK, socioeconomic factors impact access. Ofcom’s Media Literacy Report 2025 found that children living in urban areas and in ABC1 households are more likely to have searched, shared or discussed news stories, written posts about causes they care about, followed activists or campaigners and/or followed or interacted with political parties.

Gen Z are already the most likely generation to boycott a product or company because of a political, social or environmental stance, and this applies to how they decide on where to work as well. Alpha’s will echo this as they mature but this time they will have opportunity to use their voice with a vote sooner.

Having dug into the patterns surrounding Gen Z news media habits in my CIPR research, What Does News Media Mean to Gen Z?, we’re seeing Alpha’s come up behind them with even less affinity to news media brands and access to the 24/7 cycle of news via social media. 

In the latest Ofcom Media Nations 2025 report, 16-25s are the most likely of all age groups to consume news via social media (75%) and social media is the most popular media activity among 15-24s with 94% using services each month. 

Driven by convenience and cost, the growing challenge of social-first news journeys is the erosion of trust for all sources and knowing what is real or fake. Ofcom’s Children’s Media Literacy Report 2025 found that 72% of parents are concerned that their child would be unable to distinguish between the real and fake online.

Unlike traditional media, news on social is not under the same scrutiny, verification and checks and individuals and political parties also enjoy the same freedom. Although another voting change denotes that any false or misleading declarations will constitute a criminal offence. 

Consumption of news and content on social media is largely an individualised and solitary experience too, from algorithms to watching through your phone – there’s therefore less discussion with family and friends about what’s been seen. 

While radicalisation is one extreme end of the spectrum there are warnings of children and young people being influenced by influencers and groups through social media and being radicalised often through gaming sites. Sweden’s migration minister Johan Forssell shared his shock earlier this year over his teenage son’s involvement in far-right extremist groups after following influencers and engaging with content online, saying it should be a warning to parents over what content their children are seeing.

While the headlines may have you believe younger generations want something different in society, it is (of course) more nuanced than wanting to ditch democracy. 

Channel 4’s Gen Z: Trends, Truth and Trust highlighted the dip in trust of institutions and over half of 13-27-year-olds agreed that “the UK would be a better place if a strong leader was in charge who does not have to bother with parliament and elections.” 

While the headlines portrayed this as favour for authoritarian view it perhaps is more in line with research from the London School of Economics that found people who experience an epidemic between the ages of 18-25 are likely to harbour negative attitudes towards the government and elections for a long time after it’s over. 

There’s definitely a difference in wanting a ‘strong leader’ vs a dictator. Research from Kings College London earlier this year found that “just 6% of 13-27-year-olds agree that the UK would be a better place with a dictator who does not face control from MPs in Parliament and does not have to hold elections.”

Our younger prospective voters have experienced turbulence throughout their childhood; Brexit, Covid-19, cost of living crisis and the ever-breaking promise of studying hard leading to a secure career and life. As the Edelman Trust barometer puts it this year, Gen Z are in ‘Grievance’ as a response to a world under threat – and their younger peers are no different. They are “disproportionately aggrieved and disillusioned with traditional systems, as they see them as outdated, unequal and unresponsive to their needs.”

There’s a lot of speculation over the impact of a younger vote – whether that it will be more liberal or that far right politics has grown in favour, particularly among young men. 

Lowering the voting age adds about 3% to the electorate and analysis by thinktank More in Common found this small proportion of the electorate were unlikely to shift the dial politically at a national level. However, in a fragmented political landscape, even small changes may have large local effects. 

Researchers from the University of Sheffield have looked at what lowering the voting age has led to across other countries and expect the turnout to be similar to other voters and slightly more often than other first-time voters (aged 18-20). They found that those aged 16 and 17 are more likely to vote for the first time than those at age 18 because those in full-time education and still living at home can make for better, more engaged first-time voters than those 18-20 who are often in a really transitional point in their lives. 

This is more than just giving young people a voice. Adult turnout has been the lowest since universal suffrage (where the vote was extended to all adults over 21 in 1928!) – just 52% of British adults voted at the 2024 general election, according to the Institute for Public Policy Research thinktank.

There are several key aspects you should be moving on if you’re wanting to build the foundations for stronger youth engagement and voting. 

Educational Outreach

With children and young people in education until they’re 18 in the UK, schools and colleges have a significant part to play in engaging young people with politics and getting ready to vote more than ever before. 

• Start early. Youth elections, school visits and lesson plans can help introduce democratic processes and ideas with good effect. In Scotland, young adults who remembered taking classes in school in which political issues were discussed were more likely to turn out in elections throughout their 20s. (This research from the University of Edinburgh explores further).
• Wider outreach and intergenerational opportunities. Austria combined lowering of the voting age with a big reform of and investment in civic and citizenship education. (Some research on that here).
• Audience insights and listening; what matters to them, how to relate wider society to issues in their lives they can use their vote to address?

Representation

Political parties and media that engage with younger voters will do better, whether that’s through attractive policy proposals or media that looks and sounds like its audience. 

• BBC Scotland created a diverse panel of first time voters to provide input into programmes, were panellists on productions on different political topics and audience members for the final referendum TV debate in 2014. You can find their research here
• Young people also carry influence into the home. Being able to participate in the election, means they have the potential to shape political discussions within the family or household and this inter-generational opportunity is important – particularly in an ageing society. 
• Are there ways youth voices are given the opportunity to have a say or input into your work/channels/projects etc in any way?

Treating “young people” as a valid audience

Young people are often talked at or about and, from politics to wider media, this often leads to a disconnect with younger audiences. Simply put, if you’re wanting to truly engage a younger audience, you need to take them seriously as an actual audience for your communications. 

• Involve youth voice in developing your content: the channels, themes, co-creation. Have you already got a youth panel, could you get one, could you engage with groups who already have different young people within them to input?  
• What do they care about and how do they want you to show up about it? This isn’t about Alpha slang or dragging your leaders onto TikTok in a desperate (and usually failing) attempt to be cool and relevant. How can you consistently show up and speak to (not at!) them. 
• What value can you offer; yes there’s things like work experience, paid internships, apprenticeships or offering vouchers/pay for their time. BUT there’s also content and advice they may value. Are they concerned about finding work, getting a driving test, getting ID sorted (which will help them to vote)? This can influence the content they’d value from you.  
• What engagement works, is realistic and ethical? Review all of your channels, agree where social media sits and when (i.e. ideally over 16), see where other parts of your organisation are putting content out towards them – how is that? Inconsistency will really undermine things so taking a whole approach can be critical. 

So while the political dial may not shift dramatically overnight, a new generation of voters is on the horizon, armed with unique perspectives shaped by a world of rapid change and digital connectivity.

For any organisation, this isn’t simply about preparing for a new demographic—it’s about building a foundation of authentic engagement and trust. The key isn’t to chase fleeting trends or speak in a language that’s not your own. Instead, it’s to listen, involve, and genuinely value their input. From educational outreach and inter-generational dialogue to co-creating content and policies, the focus should be on creating a space where young people are heard, not just spoken to.

This isn’t just a political shift; it’s an opportunity to create a more inclusive, representative, and relevant society. How will you show up for the next generation?