16 and 17 year old getting the vote.

[Pixxie7]

Is it me or is the idea of 16 and 17 year olds worrying. Where does it lead and are we destroying their childhood. Whilst I appreciate there a few who understand the implications of a vote many do not.

My 17 year old is very interested and informed about politics. More so than some adults I know! I actually agree with lowering the voting age. Yes some 16/17 year olds might choose not to use their vote, or vote for the same party as their parents, but that’s just as likely to be the case for those 18+, so I’m not sure that’s a good argument against.

I don't think there's a definitive age when people become responsible enough to vote. Some will be at 16 (or even younger) - some people might never be.

But in a democracy, everyone must have a say, whether 'responsible' or not, so really it's not about levels of awareness, intelligence or duty - it's about having to draw a line somewhere, and 18 being when, for the majority of legal purposes, you are considered an adult.

It's worth noting that, if the age was lowered, only those who were 16/17 this year would get a vote. Due to timings of elections, I was in my early 20s before I had my first chance to vote in a GE.

I agree that there are a lot of discrepancies that we ought to sort out at some point.

In England, we don't allow 16 and 17 year olds to make the decision to marry. They need parental consent for that. They are treated as children as far as safeguarding goes. We do not allow them to buy alcohol. It seems rational to me to have one single age, when children stop being children and become adults capable of making all decisions, and having a say in who runs the country.

I tend to the view that 18 is probably the best single age, but do think a sensible debate about it would be a good thing.

I don't think expats should be allowed to vote- surely there are hundreds of thousands of U.K. expats all over the world. Many have no interest in returning so it seems risky to give them a vote.

It is an odd system. My DD just turned 18 and has lived in the US since she was 6, and has no intention of ever living in the UK. Yet she will be allowed to vote in this General Election. This will probably be the only GE she votes in, as once you've been out of the country for 15 years you can no longer vote. (Although I wouldn't be surprised if there were more GEs before 2022 actually...)

Also even if they do have that knowledge, they don't have any life experience and I think that's important. My political views changed drastically once I joined the working world and had personal experience of things like the benefit system.

And my elderly aunt who voted Leave has no experience of actual life in the world today. She hasn't worked in decades, she's rich because of her DH's job so is protected from the world, she lives in a white MC enclave. Apart from carers I'm very sure she hasn't spoken to a person of colour or a working class person in years. She spouts views which went out of favour about 1950. Benefits? Ha! Not the slightest clue. And she 'hates' Europeans. Yes, all of them. Despite not having visited mainland Europe in decades either. Give me a 16 yo any day.

If it keeps the bloody Tories out then Im all for it!

Ideally schools would teach more about current affairs to help their votes be informed decisions.

That's the problem. How do you police the teachers to ensure that they're unbiased?

Its a whole load of smoke and mirrors to gain publicity. How can they say on the one hand that Shemima Begum was too young to know what she was doing when she joined ISIS and then say that 16 years olds are sufficiently worldly wise to vote. You can't have it both ways.

As the parent of two 16 year olds I don't think it's such a great idea. They get all their information from Reddit and YT and believe it all as true fact. They don't have much experience of the world beyond what happens at a school. Mine have a pretty cosseted life
For every politically engaged 16 year old, there's probably dozens who couldn't give a monkeys.

For every politically engaged 16 year old, there's probably dozens who couldn't give a monkeys.

So better than the average adult then.

For every politically engaged 16 year old, there's probably dozens who couldn't give a monkeys

You could say the same about many adults. There's plenty of voter apathy and it isn't confined to one particular age group.

I've been astonished how little adults know. Really basic facts about the country and the world.
For example, many people don't seem to know -
What the UK is.
What Britain is.
The difference between the government and parliament.
What the single market and customs union are.
What the WTO is.
Who the different parties are in Ireland, Unionists/Nationalists etc.

I the public's defence, I was never taught any of that stuff in school so maybe most people weren't. Hopefully children and teenagers are taught this stuff now. Anyone know?

I work in a school and I think 16-18 year olds now are more politically aware than I was at that or perhaps even then I am now. I know social media has played a part in that rightly or wrongly.
I know social media has played a part in this and that news is more widely available. Whether it's fake or not is another matter. But I know it's put current affairs into the conscious of adults.

And yes I do think 16 year olds should get the vote

I'm sure there was a documentary/investigative programme about this a while back on TV and the combined experts/talking heads concluded that the voting age should actually, if anything, be raised to 21 (but, obviously, never would be).

They concluded that, yes, some 16-18 year olds are very well informed but, on the whole, young people are less "involved" and have less stake in society and in the "real world" than their predecessors who predominantly starting working at 15-16 and paying tax, rented property earlier, married earlier and had children earlier. Basically, there's a massively extended childhood these days which doesn't justify lowering the voting age at all.

People always quote getting married at 16...I know you can in Scotland but not England and Wales without parental consent...Does anybody know anyone who got married before 18 in the last 2-3 decades? I don't.

Hopefully children and teenagers are taught this stuff now. Anyone know?

No, they're not.

When I was 16 I believed that I was mature and politically aware enough to vote... but I had severe doubts about my peers . By the time I was 26 I’d moved on and accepted that as many 16-17 year olds would vote thoughtfully (if not always wisely) as any other age bracket. And 20 years on from then, I’d still be happy for 16 year olds to have their say.

But when I asked my 16 year old dd her views last night, she was very dismissive of her peers ability to vote sensibly, and opposed the whole idea of a lowered voting age. It will be interesting to ask her again in a decade.

16 and 17 year olds were allowed to vote in the Scottish referendum

I'm in favour, because the irrationality of teenagers would balance out the willed ignorance, fear and hatred of the elderly. As I approach 60, I'm growing increasingly exasperated by my peers. 30 years ago they might have Tories, but they could explain why and were amenable to argument. Now it's like listening to the Daily Fail on crack, full of lies other people have filled them with.

I think 18 is the right cut-off point (for getting married as well as voting).

Most of the sixth formers I know understand a fair bit about politics. They are interested and read around the news more. They are also going to be impacted by the results quite substantially too on various ways.
Some know an awful lot more than many older adults I know, and would make a more informed choice rather than just ticking the same box each time without actually reading any policies, etc.

Definitely not worrying - I think they would make some much better choices for themselves than a lot of adults.

Whilst I appreciate there a few who understand the implications of a vote many do not.

Many adults do not understand the implications of their vote either, but we don't stop them from voting because of this.

My dd is 14 and has a much better grasp of the issues than many adults. She may be unusual but by 16, I think most are aa aware as the rest of the electorate.

I don't think it would destroy their childhood, but I know many young people who are concerned that the rest of us may end up destroying their future.

I'd love to see 16 and 17 year olds get the vote.

When I was 16 I believed that I was mature and politically aware enough to vote... but I had severe doubts about my peers

I feel like that at 46!

I think 18 is right at the moment

I could be persuaded by some arguments im sure

But a list of things a legal child can do at 16 in some parts of the uk is not a good argument

If we were to bring in voting at 16/17 then i agree with other posters that a better education in politics and law would be helpful. Again I appreciate that this does happen in some schools...but its not in all of them

Oopsie

I would have no problem with voting at 16 in potential referendums