16 & 17 year olds to be given the vote

[Whereishenow]

Just seen this announcement on BBC now. Amazing news!!! Now we just need to try and get youngsters out USING those votes.

And we all know why that is, how predictable.

Brainwashed children.

16 year olds are children. We should not be putting this on children.

They can legally have sex and bring children into the world. Voting is the least of their worries.

Gerrymandering. It will be giving votes to non citizens next in order to stuff the ballot boxes with Labour votes.

People have their entire lives to vote. An extra 2 years doesn't make much difference to wait.

A lot of adults aren't well equipped to vote. So that probably goes double for 16 year olds.

I'm guessing 16 year olds are treated as adults when the authorities want them to stuff the ballot boxes, but not re other things, such as child support and minimum wage.

I think this just makes the age between 16 and 18 even more of a grey area.

@PrincessASDaisybut they cannot buy alcohol, drive a car (at 16) or be named in a court of law for serious charges as they’re classified as minors.

It is absolutely disgraceful. These are children. Not old enough to drive at 16, or buy a lottery ticket, alcohol or get married. Because society accepts that they are not responsible enough to do so. But let them vote on how our country is run because of course that's different. No it isn't...it's because the Labour Party recognises they are prime for manipulation.

That's usually a big mistake too.

I think its a good thing. We complain that younger generations aren't politically active - that's because they've been told their opinions don't matter.

What we need to do is bring politics into the national curriculum so we can educate younger generations to have a voice, use their voice and learn what their vote will mean.

For those who believe it's wrong, why is a 87 year old's opinion on the coming 4-5 years more valid than a 16 year old?

I think this argument could have been valid, say, ten years ago. But I think times have changed. Younger people often express more extreme views, left or right, than older people. So I think the 16-18s will be more drawn to extreme left wing parties such as Corbyn's proposed new party or the Greens, and (yes) Reform/other racist parties on the right-wing. I don't think this will help Labour directly at all, but it will make them focus on policies for young people.

I imagine only the more switched on and engaged 16yos will head to the polls. The kind of kids who read about politics, and are probably just as clued up as or id not more so than the average adult.

I’m all for it. It’s their future, not like we’ve done such a sterling job so far. Get in there, youngsters.

The logic that a 16 year old can be responsible enough to decide who runs the country, but not choose whether they can buy a lottery ticket or drink alcohol is seriously screwed up.

Totally agree. I am shocked at the reaction on here, we need more people to be politically aware and I think this is a great idea.

They can legally have sex, join the military, get married and have children.

This is long overdue.

and go to work and pay tax…

I think Reform will do well out of this.

Edited to say I am supportive of 16 year olds getting the vote. But I dont think it will play out as Labour intend (i work a lot with young people).

The gerontocracy is crumbling 🫶🏼

I think this is a dreadful idea and I'm not a right wing voter. 16 and 17 year olds think they know things but they don't, at that age they are very impressionable to extreme left and right positions. I thought I was grown up at 16, I wasn't and neither were my friends and we all had jobs etc alongside study. 16 and 17 year olds don't have the life experience to make those sorts of decisions. Mind you a lot of older voters don't either. I think this just shows that Labour are scared of reform, so rather than trying to do something to change things and win back around a lot of former long term supporters this is the route they will take. I'd always been a labour supporter until recent years and now find myself politically homeless.

Are you genuinely asking why a fully grown adult with decades of life experience to draw on is more entitled to vote than a child who is still probably at school?

It will probably boost Reform.

I'm interested in the venn diagramm here.

Mumsnet was notoriously anti brexit, with fucking years of people complaining that the vote had ruined their child's future.

It's also been massively argumentative over the power that pensionners have on politics - the triple lock, WFA etc and we've literally seen how powerful the pensionner lobby can be.

I'm pleased that younger generations will finally have a say and a voice about their future.

Probably 87 years of accumulated life experience.

I remember what I was like at 16. I had quite a lot of raw intelligence. But lacked experience, the ability to understand other peoples lives and viewpoints and the struggles others might have. Things like what workplaces are like, the experience of job security, the difficulty of bringing up kids etc.

Very few 18 year olds bother to vote so I can't think it will make any difference. If Labour think 16-17 year olds will all vote for him he is deluded. NF has over a million followers on Tiktok between 16-17 years old.

Two things can be true at once, no?

16 year olds must pay tax if they earn enough. Why do they not have a voice to state what they would like to happen with that money?

Reading comments on social.media from grown adults proves that life experience doesn't preclude ignorance and stupidity.