Make voting compulsory as first step to new ‘democratic citizenship’ that rebuilds trust in nation, says IPPR

• Fines for failing to vote in national elections, with option to support none of the above', to raise turnout and engagement 

• All 16 and 17-year-olds should attend classes and take part in new Democratic Citizens Service before leaving school

• New schemes to encourage old and young to mix more, including pilot for intergenerational care project

• £100,000 cap on private political donations to curb oligarchs' sway and more proportional voting system also urged by report 

A crisis of pride in the UK and growing disillusion with the current political system mean it's time for a new understanding of what it means to be a citizen alongside a radical overhaul of our democracy, says IPPR in a major report today.

A new model of democratic citizenship' is needed alongside reforms that will rebuild trust in the UK's political institutions and bring people together, to counter the radical right's efforts to redefine national belonging in exclusionary, racial terms, the IPPR think tanks says. 

Its report, with a foreword by former MP Jon Cruddas, co-chair of the Independent Commission on Community and Cohesion, calls for voting to be made compulsory for all eligible citizens as a first step, alongside improvements to citizenship education and a new form of universal 'citizenship service' as part of young people's transition to adulthood. 

Calling for a more compelling account of what it is to belong as a citizen of a pluralist UK, IPPR argues that the citizenship debate has focussed too narrowly on issues of migration and who is entitled to welfare benefits. Instead, it says, the fundamental question is what it means to belong to the nation. Problems of integration are downstream of the problem that we don't know who we are, or what unites us.

The report found that over the 12 years from 2013 public pride in Britain's history, democracy, economy and influence in the world all declined by at least 20 percentage points, with pride in its sporting achievements and in arts and literature falling by an average of 12 points.

Even though interest in politics has risen over that same period, overall levels of voting have declined, especially among young people.

New analysis by IPPR has found that the growing divide between voting rates by age group  which barely existed 60 years ago  means that at the last election only 56 per cent of 18-24 year olds voted, compared to 81 per cent of those aged 61 and above. There was a 20 percentage point gulf in voting between those with the least educational qualifications (60 per cent turnout in 2024) and those with university education (80 per cent in 2024). 

To counter this, IPPR calls for far-reaching changes aimed at deepening democracy, developing citizens, renewing the public sphere, bridging generational divides and resisting the growing influence of the super-wealthy including Big Tech' oligarchs over politics. Reforms that it argues would raise democratic engagement by citizens include: 

• Compulsory voting for all eligible UK residents, with a £10 fine for failure to cast a vote, and an option to vote for none of the above. The paper says taking part in elections is the most minimal responsibility of a democratic citizen. Since a similar system was introduced in Australia in 1924, turnout has fallen below 90 per cent only once.
• A more proportional voting system, to recognise the fragmenting of the two-party system and the need to build a politics of mutual compromise and negotiation in a more pluralistic UK.
• A £100,000 cap on private political donations, to challenge the threat of big money in politics and to be lowered gradually to £10,000, alongside an outright ban on non-UK taxpayers donating to political parties. Both measures would help reasssure ordinary voters that their views also carry weight.
• A universal Democratic Citizens Service for all 16 and 17-year-olds, organised within the school system, and based on the core experiences a new citizen should take part in. These would extend beyond volunteering to include political participation and democratic decision-making, and would be coupled with broader citizenship education in schools.
• A pilot scheme locating nurseries and childcare within adult care communities, to create new spaces that bring children, parents and older people together and build understanding between generations.  

In his foreword Jon Cruddas, who was Labour's policy coordinator for three years, says: IPPR makes a big argument, commensurate with the challenges of our times: that to resist the forces of ethnonationalism and reanimate the left, progressives must articulate a radical framework of democratic citizenship that enables every person to contribute, live securely and flourish. 

Lead author and IPPR senior research fellow Dr Nick Garland said: 

The fundamental building block of collective progress is citizenship. Without a new, shared ideal of democratic citizenship, our politics is reduced to a zero-sum game of haggling between rival groups and voters' narrow financial self interest. 

Mainstream politicians have ceded too much ground to the radical right, which wants only to talk about who can be a citizen, and not the rights and duties we all share in as citizens. The failure to offer a more robust idea of citizenship is one of the factors behind declining democratic participation and political trust.  

To change that,progressives must be much bolder about changing how our democracy works, and making a big argument about the way we can live together. 

Harry Quilter-Pinner, IPPR executive director and a co-author, said: 

The populist right is championing a vision of British identity and citizenship which is ethno-nationalist. This is not supported by a majority of people in this country who rightly see it as exclusionary and divisive. The left must make a counter argument: that Britishness comes not from blood or the colour of your skin, but through shared values, shared identities and your contribution to the success of the nation. That citizens can be made, not just born.  

We need to combine these arguments with a reform agenda which encourages citizens to contribute fully to the success of the nation and demonstrate shared British values. This is why we call for a much bolder citizenship education, citizenship service for young people, compulsory voting, and more resources to enable local communities to collectively buy and transform local assets. Together this makes up a bolder reform agenda capable of defeating the right's divisive nationalism. 

NOTES TO EDITORS  

1. Turnout data is based on IPPR analysis of British Election Study data and the data on pride on Britain is based on IPPR analysis ofIPPR-YouGov polling, 2025 and the British Social Attitudes Survey 2023.
2. IPPR'sDecade of National Renewal programme is a major initiative to rethinkprogressive politics in a time of great change and challenge. Read more about it here: ippr.org/research-and-ideas/our-major-programmes/decade-of-national-renewal

The programme's launch report in May 2025, Facing the future: Progressives in a changing world is at https://www.ippr.org/articles/facing-the-future-progressives-changing-world