Let’s be honest – it hasn’t been a great start to 2025 for democracy.

From Donald Trump’s second inauguration to Elon Musk’s interference in UK politics, I know I’m not alone in feeling worried about the future.

But perhaps most disturbing has been the recent news that over half of Gen Z – those aged 13-27 – think the UK would be a better place if a strong leader “who does not have to bother with parliament and elections” was in charge.

In other words, a big chunk of the next generation would be happy if we had a dictatorship.

It’s a shocking figure – AND a scary prospect. History tells us that dictatorships are brutal, oppressive and violent – not least for minority groups and those used as scapegoats by authoritarian regimes. Dictatorships strip citizens of their rights, and take away people’s choices about how to live their lives.

And with billionaire tech bros popping up here in the UK to try and skew our fractured politics towards the authoritarian right, we should be incredibly worried about how a disaffected generation of young people might provide fertile ground for the snake-oil salesmen dressing up their own self-interest as an answer to the country’s problems. 

It is scary – but it isn’t actually that surprising that this generation has lost faith in our democratic leaders to provide a good life for them.

This generation, let down and ignored by politicians, is ripe for the charms of a charismatic “strong man” leader – despite the fact that such a leader would certainly not have the interests of most young people at heart.

This is a generation for whom moving out of their parents’ home often seems an impossible dream, let alone even renting a place to themselves without multiple flatmates – and never mind owning a home!

From rent to food, from commuting to the price of a pint, the cost of living has skyrocketed at a time when many Gen Zs are just trying to get into work and make a living for themselves, while wages have rarely kept pace.

For most of this generation’s lives, they have only known austerity and governments that offer them little.

Given the litany of challenges facing young people today, you would think that politicians would be lining up to sell Gen Z their vision of the future. Instead, in recent years, Labour and the Tories have seemed content to compete over the votes of older people, leaving young people’s interests in the dust – and leaving a generation wide open to seduction by the authoritarian right.

So we can’t blame many young people for feeling disaffected with status quo politics, when last year’s election saw politicians lining up to bash the young in a misguided attempt to win over older generations – remember the Tories’ proposal to bring back national service for young people?  Ironically, under a dictator, there would probably be plenty of military service to go around!

Labour may not have been so outrageous in their ditching of the young in order to chase the swing voters they needed to win. But Keir Starmer’s message to young people has rung out loud and clear since his election win: actually, things just can’t get better, sorry! 

From failing to tackle skyrocketing energy costs or spiralling rents, to capitulating to the ‘non-dom community’ on tax, Starmer’s inaction on the things that really matter to people only plays into the idea that politicians can’t fix it  – a dangerous message to be sending to young voters, as this polling shows.

Meanwhile, constant political scandals, u-turns and leaders visibly playing politics with important issues only erode trust in our politics further – to no-one’s gain except the authoritarian right. 

It is not difficult to see a populist right-wing government defeating Starmer at the next election, and this polling is a wake up call.

But we need action.

Not least on climate – 70% of Gen Zs believe that climate change is the biggest threat to civilisation, and many young people are suffering from acute anxiety about the consequences of the climate crisis.

They’re absolutely right to be worried – but our government simply isn’t responding with the urgency that the crisis requires. 

Rachel Reeves signalled her support for a third runway at Heathrow last week, despite the fact that many of us believe aviation expansion would be catastrophic for the UK’s emissions targets.

In this context, with too many of our politicians sitting back and shrugging, acting like there’s nothing more they can do when it comes to tackling the biggest challenges we face, is it any wonder some young people are attracted to the idea of a strong leader with the power to sort it all out?  

Let’s be clear – the only way to create a just society, and the future we want, is through a democracy that we can all participate in. Where everyone is able to make their voice heard, and be listened to.

But when politicians spend so long telling the public that their hands are tied, and they don’t have the power to make the changes that people want to see – sooner or later, people will start to believe them. 

If we are to tackle the worrying drift amongst some of the younger generation towards authoritarianism, we need to show them that democracy works.

That means politicians using the power they have to make the changes that matter: taxing wealth to fund public services that work, taking action to bring down the cost of living through measures like rent controls, and taking meaningful climate action so that young people have a future they can genuinely look forward to. 

If we decide instead to keep offering them nothing, the outcome could be more dangerous than we imagine.