Recent elections and referenda in the UK have implied a growing intergenerational divide. Older people have voted in larger proportions than younger cohorts leading to vocal concerns from journalists, politicians, and academics that older people are having an increasingly dominant impact on UK politics.

The public debate is getting angrier. The argument goes that older people are benefitting while younger people are finding themselves increasingly politically and socially excluded. Following the EU referendum, The Independent ran a story “How old people have screwed over the younger generation”. Huffington Post ran another under the headline “Young ‘Screwed By Older Generations”.

But how real is this intergenerational divide? During this debate we explored:

• Why are younger people poorly engaged in elections?
• What does an ageing society mean for the future of participation by younger people?
• What are the policy solutions: How can we get young people more engaged in elections