A new survey examining the political views of students has revealed that almost half of them support the reinstatement of the death penalty, whilst the majority are unanimously in favour of nuclear disarmament.
The survey, published in The Times, polled 1,018 undergraduate students aged between 18 and 21. Of these, 47% of young Britons support the reinstatement of the death penalty, as 46% oppose it for all crimes. Opinions among young people are almost entirely in line with those of the general public, with 50% backing the death penalty and 45% opposing it.
The UK abolished the death penalty at the end of 1969, with Peter Anthony Allen and Gwyn Owen Evans being the last two men to be executed by hanging in August 1964. The death penalty is legally permitted and applied in around 55 countries worldwide, including China, the US, Japan and others.
In addition to the issue of the death penalty, students were asked about various military, political and social issues. Opinions among students on the militant group Hamas and the ongoing conflict in Gaza are divided. The attacks on 7 October were deemed “justified” by 28% of students, whilst 34% said they were “unjustified.” A further 37% said they were unsure on this issue.
Students were more critical of the actions carried out by the Israel Defence Forces: half of them described the country’s actions as “unjustified,” whereas only 18% took the opposite stance. These figures are closer to broader public opinion, as 45% of adults had previously stated that Israel’s retaliatory actions were unjustified.
Despite differences of opinion on many issues, young Britons were unanimous in their support for unilateral nuclear disarmament: 72% supported this notion, compared with just 11% of adults. In addition, around 70% of respondents expressed serious concerns that the growth of AI would lead to job losses in the future.
On economic issues, the survey found that six out of ten students support the introduction of a wealth tax. It is striking that just under half of the students intending to vote for the Conservatives and Reformists in the UK support a wealth tax. Meanwhile, the majority of supporters of Labour, the Liberal Democrats, the Greens, the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru backed this economic proposal.
In terms of social progress, young people were more liberal than the general public: a third of them supported transgender people using changing rooms in accordance with the gender identity they identify with. On the issue of historical justice, 47% support the payment of reparations for the slave trade, compared to 24% of the adult population nationwide.
Nick Hillman, Hepi’s chief executive and author of the report, said: “We decided to ask students for their views on a range of issues because of the idea that a ‘culture war’ has taken root and because universities and those who oversee them have been wrestling with new rules on free speech… on a small number of issues, students’ opinions are strikingly different. They are more sympathetic to the proscribed terrorist group Hamas, more supportive of reparations for the slave trade and more in favor of unilateral nuclear disarmament. Comparing the views of students with those of all adults is revealing because today’s students are tomorrow’s leaders.”
