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.

This

I work in FE and have plenty of experience of working with 16-18 year olds and yes it's just my experience, but I would say they are definitely ready to vote and would take would take it seriously.

If we're going down the route of questioning whether young people are mature enough to vote, maybe we ought to ask whether some older people with memory impairments should be allowed to vote... Or perhaps we ought to have a cut off age at 85 as you're not likely going to be around to see the impact of your vote...

Why quote me twice and completely misinterpret what I said! I've never voted reform or Tory!

I'm been voting since I was 16 so well overdue. I doubt it'll help Labour much though, young people are becoming more conservative - it's my generation that are the wokey libs. Having said that, I'm still all for it even if they do flock to Reform.

There are always a few who "don't give a shit" even in much older age brackets, We cant get around that short of people having to pass an assessment of some sort to vote.

But IME some of those politically switched on teens can hold some fairly eye-raising views that they tend to move from in later teens. That's not a criticism: its how we learn. We try on and test out extreme ideas until we find where it feels right.

I actually agree with a cut-off in some cases!

Isn't everyone liable for tax, it's not something that just happens at 16. It's NI that you pay at 16.
I not really bothered either way if they have the vote but people have to pay tax at all ages

Are there stats for what percentage of 16 and 17 actually used their vote in wales?

that’s the point. If you pay tax, you should be able to vote. Same with NICs.

unless you believe the vote should only be for people paying tax at a certain rate?

I think this is great news. Too many decisions in the past decade have had a long lasting, arguably negative, effect on the future for young people, and it is no surprise they feel disenfranchised. Political engagement is poor within the under 24s and I would hope this would get them a bit more interested in having a say about their futures. Yes, 16 is young but the outcome of an election stays with them until they are 21, or 22 for 17 year olds. It is their future that matters and we should be giving them a say. It really isn't a fair franchise when an elderly person with dementia can vote, but not a young person anxious about the future.

And all the electoral officials will need DBS checks and safeguarding skills.

How will they get round the idea that the 12 year old won't be allowed in the voting booth without their mum ?

Hopefully next they’ll stop OAPs having voting rights, they’re so out of touch with everything…

After all, older people in USA voted Trump in 😂

how much worse can the world get with more educated young people having a say?

Young people (ie barely through the back end of puberty) are entranced by the idea of change. Its a time of huge change in their own lives. They are also at an age of learning to debate at a much higher level and as part of that tend to like to cut their teeth on more extreme viewpoints.

I think 18 is much more sensible.

Great!

Goes at least some (small) way to letting younger people have a say in the generational decisions that are made by politicians, and which often have the greatest impact on the young who have no say, like:

• who we go to war with / against and who will have to do the fighting
• the piling up of debt (that our future citizens will have to pay for)
• prioritising spending on education vs. pensions or social care

How about 12-16 yo's next?

but that would mean that anyone of any age who pays tax should be able to vote. For example, child actors like those in the new Harry Potter series would be able to vote despite being only 11.

But you can pay tax under 16, they haven't got the vote

My DS - actually 16 and highly politcally engaged, thinks it's a terrible idea. He thinks it should be raised to 21. His response when I texted him on this was
"FFS Keir, you prick. Has it actually passed? Imagine a green-reform parliament - it's going to be a punch up every pmq". (I did say politically engaged rather than eloquent).

He sees, as we all should, that 16 year olds are a. highly polarised because of the algorithms on social media and b. extreme.

‘Controversial voter ID requirements will also be radically watered down so people only need to have their bank card to be able to take part in elections.’ Evening Standard

Pathetic. Labour really are scraping the barrel to get votes. If a person can’t get voter ID, wth should they be trusted to actually understand who to vote for.

@Digdongdoo quote function won't work on my phone.

Your benchmark is "major life decisions". So which major life decisions do we allow children at 16 to make? I know of precisely none. My benchmark is adulthood; 18 when we actually allow people to make major life decisions.

There is life transition between 16 and 18. As I said, I'd follow the science about brain development and make the voting age older rather than younger, but that's not on the table so no point discussing it. Ignoring what we know in this respect is absolutely ludicrous

16 & 17 year olds have been voting in Scotland for the past 10 years, and they also voted in the 2014 referendum.

I feel very confident my 17 year old would vote & ensure he is well informed about all the options but he does take an interest in politics & he knows to research & critique things you see on Tic tok etc. I hope by having 16-17 year olds voting the government will focus more on opportunities for young people.

I can see why that might be tempting, but next you will be asked to take IQ before you can vote...

Can you prove that Labour's core vote is "state subsidised families"? What exactly do you mean by this? Families who receive child benefit?

The entire Voter ID legislation should be repealed. There is no, and never has been a Personation issue in the UK. It was nothing but a cynical ploy by the Tories to further disenfranchise already marginalised groups who they know would never vote Tory in any case. They even admitted as much.