voting age to be lowered to 16 by the next general election

For the first time,those under 18 will be able to vote in a general election (Picture: In Pictures via Getty Images)

People aged 16 and 17 will be able to vote in the next general election,after Labour announced a major move to lower the voting age.

Last year’s Labour Party manifesto committed to lowering the England voting age to 16,in order to ‘increase the engagement of young people in our vibrant democracy’.

It means that voting in the UK general elections will now match the voting age in Scotland for the Holyrood elections and Wales for the Senedd elections.

Today’s announcement comes alongside other election reforms,including extending voter ID to include bank cards and the introduction of new rules against foreign political interference and abuse of campaigners .

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said: ‘We are taking action to break down barriers to participation that will ensure more people have the opportunity to engage in UK democracy,supporting our Plan for Change,and delivering on our manifesto commitment to give 16-year-olds the right to vote.   

‘We cannot take our democracy for granted,and by protecting our elections from abuse and boosting participation we will strengthen the foundations of our society for the future.’

Young people should have a say in elections because they are old enough to ‘pay in’ through tax,the Prime Minister has said.

Sir Keir Starmer told ITV News: ‘I think it’s really important that 16- and 17-year-olds have the vote,because they are old enough to go out to work,they are old enough to pay taxes,so pay in.

‘And I think if you pay in,you should have the opportunity to say what you want your money spent on,which way the Government should go.

‘So I’m really pleased we are able to bring more young people into our democracy and give them a chance to have a say over how their taxes are paid and what they are going to be used for.’

When is the next general election?

The next general election is due to take place before August 2029,as the last one took place in July 2024.However,the Prime Minister is able to call one at any point before that date.That is currently unlikely,as Labour holds a considerable majority in the House of Commons.In Scotland,16 and 17-year-olds have been able to vote in local and Scottish Parliament elections since 2014. They have also had the right to vote in Wales since 2021.The voting age is still 18 in most of Europe,though it is 16 in countries including Germany,Belgium and Austria.Darren Hughes,Chief Executive of the Electoral Reform Society,welcomed the government’s move.He said: ‘Bringing in votes at 16 will end the absurd and unfair situation where teenagers can already vote in Wales and Scotland but not in England and Northern Ireland purely by dint of where they live.‘Voting at 16 will also help more young people to cast that all-important,habit-forming vote at a point when they can be supported with civic education.’But Conservative minister Paul Holmes said the policy had been ‘announced in an attempt to avoid parliamentary scrutiny and without consultation’.He added: ‘Sixteen-year-olds will be able to vote in an election but not stand as candidates,and they will be able to vote but not permitted to buy a lottery ticket,consume alcohol,marry,or go to war.‘This is a hopelessly confusing policy from Labour,who appear uncertain themselves about what they want young people to be allowed to do.‘This is a brazen attempt by the Labour Party whose unpopularity is scaring them into making major constitutional changes without consultation and it shows with their inconsistent approach to what a young person can or can’t do.’

Scotland has allowed voting at 16 for more than a decade. How has it gone?

The first time 16 and 17-year-olds were allowed to vote in Scotland was in the 2014 independence referendum,which resulted in the country choosing to stay in the UK.

From 2015 onwards,this lowering of the voting age extended to local and Scottish Parliament elections.

A report from Edinburgh University published following the 2021 Scottish elections found that people who first voted aged 16 were more politically engaged than those who first voted at 18.

It said: ‘There is a significant follow through effect in voter turnout among young people who experienced and were allowed to vote in their first election at ages 16 or 17.

‘This suggests a lasting positive effect of being allowed to vote from 16 on young people’s voter turnout as they grow up.’

A poll released earlier this week found 49% of 16 and 17-year-olds didn’t think they should get the right to vote.

The ITV News poll,conducted by Merlin Strategy,revealed they are almost exactly split down the middle on the issue,with 51% saying they do think they should be able to vote.

Only 18% of the 500 young people included in the survey said they would definitely vote if there was a general election tomorrow.

The same poll found 33% of those in that age group would vote Labour,while 20% would vote Reform. They were followed by the Green Party on 18%,the Lib Dems on 12% and the Conservatives on just 10%.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has been spearheading the efforts (Picture: Peter Byrne/PA Wire)

Ahead of last year’s general election,a More in Common poll found 47% of the public opposed the plans to lower the voting age with just 28% in support.

Alistair Jones,an associate professor in politics at De Montfort University,told Metro: ‘One of the interesting things,looking at history as the franchise has been extended,is whether the party that extended the franchise,did they benefit,or did they lose?

‘And most of them appear to lose. It’s one of these weird quirks – there’s a whole host of other factors that come into general election results,turnout being one of them.’

He pointed out that the last time the voting age was lowered was in 1969,when the Labour government made the UK the first democratic nation with a voting age of 18.

Edward Heath’s Conservatives won the general election which came the following year.

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