John Smith Centre launches UK's first polling course
Published: 13 January 2026
In a UK first, the John Smith Centre has launched a new course that will give students an introduction into the science and art of polling.
In a UK first, the John Smith Centre has launched a new course that will give students an introduction into the science and art of polling, before getting the chance to put it all into practice.
The first seminar of the UK Youth Poll course was attended by honours students at the University of Glasgow.
Questions they design on subjects they see as important to young people will be included as part of the John Smith Centre’s 2026 UK Youth Poll. They will then present those findings when the second UK Youth Poll is published in April.
For the inaugural UK Youth Poll in 2025, the John Smith Centre partnered with leading UK pollster Focaldata to carry out in-depth conversations with young people aged 16-29 across the country, and to publish a poll of their attitudes and priorities. This was sponsored by the Nationwide Building Society.
Findings showing concerns over the future of democracy and social media use had a hugely positive reception across the country.
The Youth Poll course was designed by the Centre’s new lecturer, Dr Joe Greenwood-Hau.
He said: “This is a very exciting time, especially as it is the first time we have been able to offer teaching at the John Smith Centre. Our hope is that questions designed by students in the next few weeks will become the UK’s headlines for the spring.
“The Youth Poll was always intended to be “for young people, by young people”. We’ve hoped that it would be 16–29-year-olds in charge, ensuring that the issues they care about are examined and dealt with.
“With the start of our new course this week, we can say that this plan is now coming to fruition.
Eddie Barnes, Director of the John Smith centre, added: "We are hugely indebted to the Nationwide Building Society who, as with last year, are once again sponsoring this year’s UK Youth Poll. It’s a source of great pride to us that one of the UK’s great mutual companies is on board with the Centre’s mission to provide opportunities for young people to get into public service and public life, particularly those from socially excluded backgrounds.”
James Kanagasooriam, chief research officer at FocalData and visiting professor at the University of Glasgow, will give a guest lecture as part of the course.
This March, the Centre will be once again joining forces with Focal Data to run in-depth online interviews with hundreds of young people across the UK to get a 360-degree perspective on the issues and priorities they have.
The poll will be published in the days leading up to the crucial May elections in Scotland, Wales and parts of England.
First published: 13 January 2026