To Win Over Gen Z, Politics Must Fix the Broken Social Contract, Not Just the Feed

5 hours ago7 min read

Labour’s headline pledge of a £500m national youth strategy, featuring new youth clubs and a digital push, lands with a thud of political stagecraft. It is a tactical response to a profound strategic crisis: a generation that has lost faith in the foundational promise that hard work leads to security.For Gen Z, navigating astronomical rents, precarious work, and climate anxiety, the old social contract isn't frayed—it's void. In this reality, the digital economy where attention is currency often makes more sense than traditional politics.The spectacle of a creator leveraging support for Nigel Farage to boost her traffic isn't an anomaly; it's a rational adaptation to a system where 'rage-baiting' can offer more tangible returns than dutiful civic participation. A youth club, however well-intentioned, cannot compete with the algorithmic pull of polarisation when the pathway to a stable home or a living wage remains blocked.The current political approach risks treating symptoms—boredom, a lack of 'positive activities'—while ignoring the disease: a deep and rational disillusionment. True outreach requires policies that directly renegotiate the broken contract: committing to radical housebuilding, overhauling exploitative rental and employment markets, and delivering a green transition that creates jobs, not just guilt.Until young people see a direct line between political engagement and material change—a secure home, a habitable planet, a fair wage—they will remain a captured audience for those who channel their legitimate rage. The battle for this generation isn't won with 'StarmerTok' or even in community centres, but through a fundamental, unequivocal shift in national priorities.

#editorial picks news

#Labour Party

#youth strategy

#Gen Z

#social contract

#Keir Starmer

#political engagement