Giancarlo RinaldiBBC Scotland
BBC
Sophie Wright said there were a whole range of political issues which affected young people
It’s 10 years since the voting age was lowered to 16 in Scotland and this year a new generation of teenagers are preparing to head to the ballot box for the first time.
Ahead of next year’s Holyrood election, potential first-time voters from the south of Scotland have been putting politicians of all colours through their paces.
Representatives of the SNP, Labour, Conservatives, Lib Dems, Scottish Greens and Alba were at an event in Dumfries, organised by the Royal Society of Edinburgh, designed to engage young people in politics.
Some members of the teenage audience spoke to BBC News about the issues that are important to their generation.
The session at Easterbrook Hall hosted pupils in S4, S5 and S6 from schools and colleges across the south of Scotland.
The aim was to “bring politics closer to the lives of young people and provide tools to engage in further political discourse”.
Among their number was Nandi Szilagyi, 16, whose family is from Hungary but moved to Scotland over a decade ago.
He said he had found it useful to hear from the politicians in person on subjects of interest to young people like mental health, free bus travel and free school meals before voting for the first time next year.
More than 15% of Scots aged between 16 and 24 reported having a mental health condition, according to data from the 2022 Census.
It has led to pressure on the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, which had a Scotland-wide waiting list of 4,385 at the end of June 2025.
Nandi Szilagyi intends to be a first-time voter next year
Nandi said that other people his age should get more involved too.
“I think even if you’re not interested in politics, you should be interested in issues,” he said.
“Even if you don’t get involved politics directly, maybe in the local community you can get involved, or in your local schools or areas and tell them your concerns.”
He added that if people feel national governments don’t affect them, “then the local one should and it should be there to improve life for you”.
Philip Halling
The event was held at Easterbrook Hall in Dumfries
Sophie Wright, 15, was also impressed by the event as a “very good opportunity” to ask questions of politicians.
“I think there are many issues around bus travel, young carers, free school meals, things like that,” she said.
“It was good to just hear what the MSPs were doing to help us with this.”
Since 2022, everyone aged between five and 22 has been entitled to free bus travel in Scotland.
Free school meals are available for children from P1 to P5 and for older pupils if the family is in receipt of certain benefits.
Sophie, too, will be a first time voter next year but knows that a lot of her generation are less engaged than she is – but her message to peers about politics is quite clear.
“I think it definitely does affect young people,” she said.
“If it doesn’t affect you, it will definitely affect people around you.
“There are so many issues – like housing – that affects older people would also affect younger people, so it is important to get involved.”
Greg Dunsmuir said his interest in ‘making a change’ meant he was interested in politics
Greg Dunsmuir will be too young to vote next year but still felt the event was worthwhile and answered some questions he had.
He said that he could see the impact the issues discussed could have on everyday life as a teenager.
“I think I’m interested in politics because it’s relevant – because it’s issues that are affecting young people,” he said.
“I think there’s not many young people who are actually willing to advocate it and willing to say that they’re being affected by it.
“But actually making a change is important as well and I think that’s why I’m mainly interested in politics.”
Stewart Attwood Photography
Dr Alicia Greated co-chaired the session in Dumfries
Dr Alicia Greated, a fellow of the RSE who co-chaired the session, said she had been “very impressed” by the “knowledge and confidence” of the young people who had attended.
“There is no doubt that all the parties heard loud and clear that young voices should be listened to when designing policies that affect them,” she said.
“This event was designed to provide young people from across Dumfries and Galloway with the opportunity to develop their understanding of the principles of democracy and citizenship through experience of critical and independent thinking.
“They were also able explore and evaluate different types of sources and evidence to become more politically literate. I feel those objectives were achieved.”