The Anxious Generation - Youth Emigration

Poll finds that young Brits are deeply anxious about their financial prospects, with many considering leaving the country altogether. 

New polling of British 18-30 year olds, conducted by Adam Smith Insights as part of its Anxious Generation series, reveals serious concerns about housing, personal finances and their future in the UK. According to the nationally representative survey, over a quarter have seriously considered or are actively planning to leave the country. 

This shocking figure makes sense when set against the backdrop of widespread pessimism about the UK’s future. Nearly two-thirds of young Britons believe finding affordable housing will become more difficult over the next five years, while half say that most of their peers are struggling financially.

These concerns cut across political divides. Voters from all major parties express similar fears about housing and financial insecurity, signalling a generation-wide erosion of confidence in the UK’s economic future.

This latest data comes amid growing concerns about intergenerational inequality. Sluggish growth, a broken planning system and a sky-high tax burden have left many young people feeling worse off than their parents, unable to build independent lives. 

With young people feeling increasingly disenchanted, it is clear that meaningful change is needed to prevent them from joining the UK's ongoing wealth exodus.

KEY FINDINGS:

 Emigration Pressure

• 28% are either actively planning (8%) or have seriously considered (20%) emigrating.

• Another 30% have briefly considered it.

• Only 35% say they have never thought about leaving the UK.

Housing 

• 65% believe it will become more difficult to find affordable housing in the next five years.

• 38% say “much more difficult,” 27% “somewhat more difficult”.

• Just 21% think it will get easier.

• 63% of young Conservatives, 65% of Labour, and 68% of Reform UK voters say housing access will worsen.

Financial Strain

• 50% say most people their age struggle to make ends meet.

• 43% say some do and only 5% think most do not struggle.

• Again, there is broad consensus across parties with 54%  of Conservative, 50% of Labour voters and 49% of Reform UK saying most struggle.

Methodology:

Adam Smith Insights ran a poll on behalf of its sister think tank, the Adam Smith Institute, of a nationally representative sample of GB adults:

• Nationally representative poll of UK 18 - 30 year olds in the UK.

• Poll conducted via online panels

• Field dates 8 July – 10 July 2025

• N = 1338

• Poll weighted to population targets to match GB 18-30 year old population profile across age, gender, region, ethnicity, and 2024 general election vote using ONS 2021 Census data, age-by-vote distributions derived from Ipsos’s post-election analysis: “How Britain voted in the 2024 election”, national vote share data from the Electoral Reform Society’s 2024 general election results, and YouGov/BES polling.

• The poll results, with a median completion time of approximately 5 minutes, has a margin of error of ±2.7%.

• Respondents were filtered for completion quality (e.g., straight-lining, speeding), and responses with incomplete or invalid data were excluded from analysis. No imputation was applied.