Half of young people would never fight for Britain

Half of young people say they would never take up arms for the UK, a poll has found.

Asked whether they would be willing to go to war for Britain, 50 per cent of those aged 16 to 29 said that “under no circumstances” would they go to war.

Only 38 per cent said they would do so “under some circumstances”, while the rest did not know.

It is the latest survey to suggest that Gen Z is much less patriotic than older generations, and exposes the generational divide over questions of identity and national pride.

The poll of 2,000 people aged from 16 to 29, commissioned by the John Smith Centre at Glasgow University, found that the number expecting their lives to be better than their parents’ had halved in a year – from 63 per cent to just 36 per cent.

Only 25 per cent said they felt the political system treated them fairly.

‘Why fight for a country that isn’t fighting for you?’

Eddie Barnes, the director of the John Smith Centre, said younger people were unwilling to fight for a country that was not fighting for them.

“The idea that the next generation will have it better than previous ones has been a founding belief for decades,” he said.

“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.

“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.

He added: “In those circumstances, it should be little surprise that 50 per cent 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 poll, young people ranked financial concerns, job insecurity and housing instability as their top-three worries.

They ranked better wages, affordable housing and more career opportunities as the top three things that would make them happier.

The impact of AI on jobs was ranked as a top-three threat by 55 per cent of young people.

Other findings in the poll showed that only 13 per cent disagreed with the statement that “democracy in Britain is in trouble”, while 56 per cent agreed.

Most believe immigration has improved their communities

Asked whether politics in the UK had become too divisive, 53 per cent agreed and only 13 per cent disagreed.

And asked which political leader best represented British values, 45 per cent failed to name any current leader.

The number of young people who said they preferred dictatorship to democracy has fallen compared to last year, from 27 per cent last year to 17 per cent this year.

Young people believe the UK has some responsibility to intervene overseas, particularly in cases of human rights abuses. They are also open to paying reparations for former colonies, with 66 per cent saying “yes” or “maybe”.

More than half (51 per cent) believe immigration has improved their communities.

Large majorities said respecting UK laws (86 per cent), speaking English (85 per cent), and holding citizenship (76 per cent) mattered for being “truly British”.

One 22-year-old man said: “A growing sentiment among me and peers is why should we even try to uphold a social contract that will never work for us in the future? We will never be able to own homes or even retire at this rate.”

A 29-year-old woman said: “I’m terrified for the future of not being able to buy a house, not being able to have a family.

“It’s kind of scary that I’ve been working outside of uni for eight years and I have a degree and I’m still struggling to get a job. I live with my parents now and I’m grateful that I can live with my parents, but my parents can’t support me financially.”