Recent research claims young people are attracted to authoritarianism, populist politics and ‘strong man’ leaders

They have been dismissed as idealistic and over-sensitive snowflakes, obsessed with healthy living and social media. But generation Z – those born between the mid-to-late 1990s and the early 2000s – has recently been accused of something far more sinister.

A Mail on Sunday poll of 18- to 27-year-olds found 67% were in favour of chemically castrating sex offenders and 45% supported the death penalty. A study for Channel 4 found 52% of gen Zers thought “the UK would be a better place if a strong leader was in charge who does not have to bother with parliament and elections”.