Young people and trust in politics

Information

In partnership with the Scottish Youth Parliament, Young Scot and the Scottish Youth Film Foundation

BSL- Interpreted

The Scottish Youth Parliament and Young Scot’s Young People and Politics report highlights the barriers young people face to meaningful political participation amid growing concerns about online misinformation and disinformation. Young people want support to make informed decisions and to be involved in decisions affecting their lives, but barriers to accessing trustworthy information is impacting young people’s ability to fully engage in democracy confidently and meaningfully. What do politics mean to young people today, where are they accessing information, and how does a distrust of information shape their understanding of key issues, influence their choices, and affect their full participation in local and national democracy?

Chair: Ellie Craig MSYP, Chair, Scottish Youth Parliament

Panellists:

Dr John Loughton BEM was appointed Chief Executive of national youth agency Young Scot in 2026. He has been a lifelong youth rights and anti-poverty campaigner, running his first campaign aged 11 in North Edinburgh. He is Founder of social enterprise Scran Academy, a Trustee of The Robertson Trust and a former Chair of the Scottish Youth Parliament.

Dr Sylvia Behrens is a Researcher at the University of Glasgow and ADR Scotland, working with administrative data on educational inequalities. She completed her PhD in Social Policy at the University of Strathclyde, investigating young people’s political participation in the UK.

Emilie Stewart is a journalism student at Edinburgh Napier University who worked with the Scottish Youth Film Foundation on the Future Proof citizen journalist project around the Scottish Parliament elections. The project examined the impact of AI-fuelled dis/misinformation on key election issues, in partnership with the organisation Full Fact.

Tom Mitchell-Sadler from the Scottish Youth Film Foundation is a student at Robert Gordon University currently studying film and media. He is passionate about media and the effect it has on culture and society. This led him to take part in the Festival of Politics in 2025.