Bill to allow 16 year olds to vote to be debated in parliament

Last year my grandsons friends ( middle class quite academic) were saying they’d vote for Reform because they thought Farage was ‘funny’.

Meandrogrog

It might backfire. Starmer presumably thinks 16 year olds are more likely to vote Labour, but this may not be the case.

Hmmmmm.....I wonder if 16 year old girls, in particular, might be influenced to vote for whoever Harry Styles recommends.

I'm not being facetious or flippant - I truly think media figures may have influence on some individuals who are, as yet, incapable of taking life seriously.

And some never do.

eazybee

Too young, and some will be influenced by school teachers; not allowed , but it does happen, increasingly.
18 is the age.

The age used to be 21. The world kept turning when it was reduced and probably will again.

I think it should remain at 18 but think that people who have lost capacity should also lose voting rights.

I can’t recall which election it was, 2017 or 2019 GE, definitely after the EU referendum.

As I was leaving the polling station, there was a small group of old people standing outside watching a group of teenage girls walking towards the polling station. The station is only metres away from one of the top-ranking grammar schools in the country; obviously A level students, coming to vote for the first time.

I heard one of the old people say, This is what we were dreading. They won’t vote with us.

Now, leaving aside that they will not have known how each young woman was planning to vote, it showed the fear didn’t it? That young people might vote differently.

The over 65s is a demographic of which almost 70% have consistently voted Tory (or Tory/Reform in 2024).

They were responsible for Brexit and 14 years of Tory austerity.

If giving votes to younger people means we might start to see some real social change in my lifetime and a better deal for them, I’m all for it.

mum2three

Too young.....but then too many adults make their choice for the wrong reasons. People are too easily influenced. Few take the trouble to find out the facts about a party. Personalities shouldn't come into it but sadly, people will vote for someone because they 'seem nice', or they like the way they dress.
In short, the truth is that many adults are really not competent to make an informed choice.

I would say that at there are those who make assumptions about big issues based on prejudice and a sense of superiority which somehow convinces them that they know how others are motivated and how competent they are. That's democracy though 🤷

Too young.....but then too many adults make their choice for the wrong reasons. People are too easily influenced. Few take the trouble to find out the facts about a party. Personalities shouldn't come into it but sadly, people will vote for someone because they 'seem nice', or they like the way they dress.
In short, the truth is that many adults are really not competent to make an informed choice.

😂 mazieD

For context:

In 2024, the total registered electorate was 48.2 million.

researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-10009/CBP-10009.pdf

Latest release about lowering the voting age.

There are approximately 1.3 million 16- and 17-year-olds in England and 48,000 in Northern Ireland (based on 2022-23 estimates). Not all would be eligible to register to vote as not all would meet the nationality requirements to register.

So it’s a very small proportion of the overall electorate.

Most other parties in the House of Commons support lowering the voting age. The Conservative Party and the Democratic Unionist Party are opposed. In response to the policy paper Nigel Farage said he was not in favour.

researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN01747/SN01747.pdf

commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn01747/

The Tories never want any kind of electoral reform. They are the one party that has never wanted PR.

That Farage isn’t in favour is probably because he knows that his voter base is predominantly old people. One only has to look at who attends his tent rallies to see that. Ben Habib’s new party is the same.

You Gov Voting Intention poll shows Reform is not popular with young people. Labour support is declining. They favour the Greens.

ViceVersa yes you can go to a Forces College at 16.

GrannyGravy13

Doodledog

What has marrying (a personal matter which impacts only on those concerned) to do with voting? People always bring it up when anything to do with age is mentioned. That and joining the forces. Apples and oranges.

18 is the age of majority. Before that age people are minors with limited responsibility in law. If posters want marriage at 16 to be disallowed they should focus on that, not assume that it means that 16 year olds are therefore adults- they are not. Anyway, I thought marriageable age was now 18? Whether is is 16, 18 or 37 is till irrelevant to voting age though.

I can only speak for myself , I think that there should be one age where people are legally recognised as an adult for purposes such as voting, fighting for your country (you can join the forces at 17 but cannot go into a war situation until 18) marrying and purchasing alcohol.

You can actually join the army at 16, not 17 - but cannot be deployed in a combat role until you are 18. If you join at 16, you go to army college.

16 - 24 year olds are more likely to vote Green than Reform according to the poll result shown on Peston last night (I didn't actually see the programme, just saw a clip of it on BlueSky)

IIRC Green had the highest rank, Labour was second, Reform third, tories and LibDems trailing at the bottom. I have no idea whose poll it was.

I think this is a really funny (ha ha) comment:

Too busy looking at porn & computer games at that age.

If not doing that were made a criteria for having the vote an awful lot of the electorate would be immediately disenfranchised...

Rosie51

^And it isn't as if adults make the right call, is it - or chose what is best for young people. Ten years since the EU referendum, the result of which has limited their futures. The majority of people who vote to leave were old.^

And if all those younger people that were entitled to vote but didn't had actually bothered to go to the polling booth and voted remain we'd still be in. We bothered to ensure we could cast our remain votes by post because we knew we'd be abroad on polling day.

This! The number of young people who bewailed the result, but admitted that they hadn’t voted because they couldn’t be bothered, or were at something more important, e.g. a music festival, was shocking but probably entirely predictable.

I think raising the voting age would be a better idea than lowering it. A 16 year old is a child with zero concept of what it’s actually like to be financially and socially responsible, and often a very simplistic and romanticised view on how the country could be “improved”.

And it isn't as if adults make the right call, is it - or chose what is best for young people. Ten years since the EU referendum, the result of which has limited their futures. The majority of people who vote to leave were old.

And if all those younger people that were entitled to vote but didn't had actually bothered to go to the polling booth and voted remain we'd still be in. We bothered to ensure we could cast our remain votes by post because we knew we'd be abroad on polling day.

MT62

A lot of the younger generation around our way will vote for reform. I know a good few.
Especially when they hear “ boots on the ground “
We still have flags from every corner of our streets, & gardens, so they will, no doubt be persuaded by the parents to vote reform, or anyone else other that labour.

Yes this is a danger people dismiss but it is very real. Many young men feel let down. Not just 16 and 17 year olds their older brothers feel the same. Those calling them uneducated, knuckle draggers etc. etc. only reinforces Reforms pull. They will turn out and vote.

I think 16 is too young. The age of majority is 18 and the fact that they can't marry, obtain credit, be sent to war, buy sharp knives or alcohol is good enough reason for them not to have vote. They are considered by society not to be mature enough to do these things.

I do realise that 16 year olds can marry in parts of the UK and that a very small number are in the fortunate position to earn enough or have enough unearned income to pay tax.

Allowing them to vote is just away for one political party to up their share of the vote. It could well backfire big time. The Greens will work hard to secure the younger voters and Reform will push for the votes of the young particularly young males who feel left behind and let down.

I’ve heard that NJ13.
I think they could quite possibly get in around the Denton/Gorton area.
I really hope not.

16 and 17 year olds in Scotland and Wales can vote for their members of the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments, as well as their local councillors. Why should England be different?

electoral-reform.org.uk/campaigns/votes-at-16/

The prediction (by some) that young people will vote differently to how they chose to vote is irrelevant. It’s called democracy.

And it isn't as if adults make the right call, is it - or chose what is best for young people. Ten years since the EU referendum, the result of which has limited their futures. The majority of people who vote to leave were old.

In The Social Contract, Rousseau said that people voted selfishly, prioritising personal interests over the common good. If they didn’t, we would have a socialist government, wouldn’t we? Wasn't it Tony Benn who said that if people really cared about one another, we wouldn't need socialism?

16 and 17 year olds in the Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey, Brazil and Austria also have the vote, as well as for some elections in Germany, Malta and Norway.

A lot of the younger generation around our way will vote for reform. I know a good few.
Especially when they hear “ boots on the ground “
We still have flags from every corner of our streets, & gardens, so they will, no doubt be persuaded by the parents to vote reform, or anyone else other that labour.

This is heresy but I think raising the.voting age to 21 or more could be a good idea.

GrannyGravy13

Doodledog

What has marrying (a personal matter which impacts only on those concerned) to do with voting? People always bring it up when anything to do with age is mentioned. That and joining the forces. Apples and oranges.

18 is the age of majority. Before that age people are minors with limited responsibility in law. If posters want marriage at 16 to be disallowed they should focus on that, not assume that it means that 16 year olds are therefore adults- they are not. Anyway, I thought marriageable age was now 18? Whether is is 16, 18 or 37 is till irrelevant to voting age though.

I can only speak for myself , I think that there should be one age where people are legally recognised as an adult for purposes such as voting, fighting for your country (you can join the forces at 17 but cannot go into a war situation until 18) marrying and purchasing alcohol.

That makes sense, but it's still the case that we don't have that, and saying that because someone may legally do one thing should mean they are allowed to do another just doesn't.

For one thing, why assume that the age should move down, rather than up? Things are decided on an individual basis, so a universal age won't always be the best way. I assume that allowing marriage at 16 was because that is the age of consent, and allowing sex but not marriage under law would have been seen as immoral. Driving at 17 means you might have passed a test by the age of 18, so are legal on the roads, and so on. There are arguments for not allowing the sale of alcohol to under 25s, and in the US I think the age is 21 - or does that depend on the state? Anyway, my point is that these things are subjective, and one size doesn't always fit all.

MT62

No. I think Labour are getting desperate now.

No shouldn’t be allowed. Brains aren’t fully developed at that age.
Too busy looking at porn & computer games at that age.
If KS wants boots on the ground, I definitely wouldn’t want to vote for labour at aged 16

No. I think Labour are getting desperate now.

eazybee

Too young, and some will be influenced by school teachers; not allowed , but it does happen, increasingly.
18 is the age.

Really? What worries me is parents not hiding their copy of the Mail of Telegraph from them 😂😂😂