Should 16 year olds be allowed to vote?

Yes.

you can't say someone is too immature to take part in voting but mature enough to hold down a full time job

The two are not even remotely comparable; you really can't equate them.

No. This grey area around 16-18 yo needs clearing up. It's all so arbitrary as to what they can and can't do.

They'd vote extremists or ridiculous options just for the meme. DS16 has admitted as much.

Yes they are really politically aware and savvy and would bring a great youth voice into the national debate

Yes. When I was sixteen I’d have put way more time and energy into researching who to vote for than I (or most adults) do now.

I actually think you should have to pass a quick test to be able to vote, a bit like how you have to pass the driving theory test to do the practical exam. So many people vote for parties because of some weird tribal loyalty vibr while having no idea what their policies are.

No. Most 16-year-olds are still in full time education. They are not treated as adults in the criminal justice system

Unless the age of criminal responsibility is lowered, I see no reason for them to vote. Either they are fully mature adults or they are not.

Yes. You can get married at 16 in Scotland, and go to uni (although few people do nowadays)

Yes.

No.

This is an issue on which my view has changed, because society has changed since I was a teenager back in the 1980s. In those days, most 16 & 17 year olds had left FT education and were working, contributing to society, earning money and paying taxes. They were mini-adults with some adult responsibilities and a degree of financial independence from their parents.

These days, many 21 year olds have yet to attain that level of independence. Adulthood has been postponed by up to five years in many cases. My view is that the voting age should remain at 18, but case for putting it back to 21 is now stronger than the case for lowering it to 16.

No way!

Yes

I do though think 18 is just right.

No

Yes, they can vote on the Isle of Man at 16. Teenagers are often more involved and interested in politics than many an adult I know.

No, it's inconsistent with the other things they can/can't do at 16. They're not adults. I discussed this with my 16yo son the other day. I said "you would vote for [infamous right wing populist] if your mates did, just to see whether he'd get elected, wouldn't you DS". Him, big grin "Yes".

@BigWoollyJumpers

My Ddad was a politics teacher, and had firmly schooled me in the main concepts, so I still knew more than 99% of people

Some of the comments on this thread have made me laugh.

Raising the age to 25 because brains continue developing lots til then, 16 year olds can't have reasoned debates/arguments etc.

Fwiw I don't see the point in changing it at all, 18 seem about right. But as for brain development, there must be an awful lot of older people whose brains never really developed much, given so many seemed to have voted for Boris for no other reason than 'he seems like a good bloke and he's funny'. On that reasoning, I can't see 16 year olds doing much worse tbh.

I knew more about politics at 16 than 99% of 18+ in the UK (Politics A-level ).

I say yes, as long as government and politics is introduced into the curriculum so teenagers are given a chance to understand how it works.
I would argue that at 16 I had a better understanding of how and what politics is than I do now at 30 because I was interested in learning although this is because my parents are very politically engaged.

However I would argue at 16 that my views and opinions were still to a degree coloured by my parents which could impact how 16 and to be fair anyone still living with their parents may vote...

No

There is no logic to letting 16 year olds vote in Scotland. The SNP tried to push through legislation to have a “Named Person” as a legal guardian for all under 18 year olds as it regards them as children in need of protection. At the same time as giving them the vote. Ridiculous- they can’t have it both ways.
Sixteen year olds are schoolkids. They have no experience of being taxpayers or any responsibility in running a home or doing a job. Their knowledge of politics is likely to be limited to propaganda on independence from the SNP, with no idea of the dire economic consequences. Of course they should not have a vote.

No. I would raise it.

Yes they should. Government policies affect them far more than some other demographics that can vote.

I'm not sure. I do think everyone deserves representation. They are impacted by lots of political decisions but obviously most won't have any work experience yet which is important.

In reality the decision will probably be based on what party the polling shows they would vote for. Any amendments made to voting criteria are usually done for the sake of growing support for a particular party. It's never about what's right unfortunately.