Policy Lab
Fancy debating in the same room as many future world leaders did when they were 19?
The Inaugural Vox Pop Policy Lab is a six week programme where you will have a chance to research, write, and debate real policy at the Oxford Union.
ApplyWHAT IS THE POLICY LAB
Our policy lab programme is betting on this hypothesis: tech is going to revolutionise the way we can access democracy, and young people will lead.
The people writing the policies that shape your life were trained in spaces most young people never get access to. Private School. The Oxford Union debating chamber. The Houses of Parliament. The offices of civil servants and ministers.
We are changing that.
Using our app, when collecting data for your policy briefs people will be able to add their lived experience, all through a couple
The Vox Pop Policy Lab is a six-week programme for ambitious young people aged 16 to 19 who want to do more than talk about politics. You will research a live policy issue, write a professional policy brief, run a public campaign, and debate your proposal live in the Oxford Union chamber. Your paper will be submitted to your local council. Your voice will reach people with the power to act on it.
This is not a simulation. This is the real thing.
2026 THEME: REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE
This year's Policy Lab is built around one of the most significant political moments in a generation. The Representation of the People Bill is currently making its way through Parliament, with the government having announced legislation to give 16 and 17 year olds the right to vote in UK general elections for the first time. Politics is finally catching up with young people. The question is whether young people are ready to shape what happens next.
That is what the Policy Lab is for.
Teams will choose their own angle within this theme. Votes at 16, voter registration reform, political literacy in schools, representation of marginalised communities, housing and democracy, the barriers that stop people from engaging with the political process. Every team takes a different approach. Every paper makes a different argument. The debate in Oxford is where those arguments meet.
HOW IT WORKS
Six weeks online. One day in Oxford. A lifetime on your CV.
The programme runs from late June 2026 with the Oxford Union finale day on 22 August 2026. Here is what those seven weeks look like.
Week one: you choose your policy angle, form your team, and post your first question to the Vox Pop Policy Arena to start gathering evidence from young people across the country.
Week two: a researcher or academic delivers a masterclass on how to find and use evidence the way policy professionals do. You map the landscape of your issue, who benefits, who is harmed, and who has the power to change things.
Week three: a campaign expert delivers a masterclass on how to build public support for a political argument. Your campaign launches this week, directing young people to your Policy Arena questions and building the evidence base for your paper.
Week four: a civil servant or former special adviser delivers a masterclass on how policy proposals actually land in government. You write your full first draft.
Week five: an MP or councillor delivers a masterclass on political viability. You redraft, peer review, and post your final Policy Arena question.
Week six: your co-founder and Oxford Union debating veteran Michael Ayodeji leads the debate preparation workshop. Papers are submitted. You prepare for Oxford.
The Oxford Union day: all participants gather in Oxford for a full day. The six highest-scoring papers debate live in the Oxford Union chamber, watched by the full cohort, local sixth formers, and a national digital audience via the Vox Pop app. Winners have their paper submitted to a national parliamentary body, and are considered for a visit to PMQs in the autumn.
WHO IS THIS FOR
The Policy Lab was built for young people who are not supposed to be in these rooms yet.
You should apply if you are studying Politics, Government, History, Economics, Law, or Sociology at A-level or equivalent and want a real policy writing experience that goes substantially beyond the classroom. If you are considering applying for PPE, Politics, Law, or a related degree and want something genuine to write about on your personal statement. If you are 16 to 25, live anywhere in the UK, and believe your perspective on how this country is run deserves to be heard by the people running it.
You do not need to know anyone. You do not need to have done anything like this before. You need to be willing to put the work in over six weeks and show up in Oxford ready to make your argument.