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.

He's doing it because he said he would. He's got 4 more years to do the rest. Honestly, people have zero patience these days.

It's well researched and the tracking shows how the promises are being kept or not.

Why are you trying to make out it's incorrect? Is it because it doesn't match your bias?

there is minimum age for paying tax. The overwhelming vast majority of under 18s do not pay tax. However, all of them would have to do so if they earn enough. Therefore, if your argument is no taxation without representation you are arguing that everyone should have the right to vote from birth - unless you are arguing that only those who actually pay tax should have the right to vote, which would mean a 16 year old earning more than £12,570 a year would get the vote, but a 16 old studying for their A levels wouldn't get the vote.

Young people should have the vote. They are most affected by policy as they will be around the longest. Rather than us old coffin dodgers who are only interested in the next few years......

I'm really pleased

You could give the sour grapes brigade on here chapter and verse and they still wouldn't believe you. It's hilarious that they go on and on about how biased, blinkered and blinded by ideology this cohort of young voters will be - mote, beam.

Do you mean Labour want the higher unemployment, inflation, negative growth and the likelihood of raising taxes when they said they wouldn’t?

Plus the welfare cuts and u turns on WFA

A political party doing something in their manifesto. I am ok with it.

But you said I did not say they are doing things they were not elected on.

For the love of God, make up your mind. This is like trying to nail a jelly to the wall.

'They are in power until 2029, so right now they don't have to do anything to stay in power.' It's a long game. Labour have seen the rise in Reform and will take steps to help secure their own future. This is one of them.

'Even if every single 16/17 vote Labour at the next GE, it won't be enough to keep Labour in power' Correct. There are 1.6M 16-17 year olds, I'm sure many wouldn't even bother, but every little helps. It is still tapping into votes that were previously inaccessible and young people are generally more liberal. What other possible reason would Labour have for wanting to reduce the voting age.

How else will labour stay in power.... 😂

I find it so very intriguing how some people take pride in being ageist.

If you still have age and health, I suggest finding what is legally possible for you to achieve what you want instead of being a keyboard warrior.

Have you ever thought about pursuing high-paying jobs and careers instead of harboring resentment toward older people? Or even worse, waiting for them to pass away so you can celebrate and seize their properties?

For anyone who is ageist, how old are you? How can you overlook the reality that you're aging and might eventually face disdain for being older? To teenagers, anyone over 30 might already seem ancient, irrelevant, and disposable. Have you ever considered that?

It is based on real data.

I don't think its "hyper-controlling" to accept that time brings with it maturation in young people.

Maybe the people you think are "hyper-controlling" just have a different yardstick as to what constitutes fully mature.

Of course some 16 year olds will be more mature than some 18 year olds; but the general trend will be that there are more immature individuals in a sufficiently large group of 16 year olds than an equally large sample of 18 year olds. Unless something is going backward in the development of an individual, there is an upward trend. Im not sure why that is being debated.

It would be a whole other can of worms to allow only the "sufficiently mature" 16 year olds to vote and hold others back ...

Don't worry: that poster is just hangry!

I hope you are right - but Farage and friends have been very good at exploiting Tik Tok etc. in a way that is beneficial for them.

Try as hard as he might, but Starmer - or most of his team, to be honest, do not and will not appeal to younger people. They have no reach or appeal.

For whatever reason, Farage does - and you can bet he'll make the most of this to appeal to disengaged youngsters.

The potential fly in the ointment for Farage is that at the moment it's a one-man band, and I can't see a 16 y.o. voting for the repellant Lee Anderson.

Least we can put the 'brain development at 25' crap back in the box it came from!

Initially, I had reservations, but now I am fine with it.

My kids voted as soon as they could. At the age of 16, one would have been very politically informed and engaged and would have been desperate to vote. My hope is that the more clueless one would have educated himself and tried to understand and learn something about politics, if he had the vote.

Let’s be realistic, many adults don’t vote. And of those that do, I’m not sure I particularly want them all to vote…

My hope is that the parties would create manifestos that would give tangible and positive results to young people. More help for young people to buy properties, financial support for higher education, more opportunities for apprenticeships and learning a trade at 18, better minimum pay for young people etc.

I worry so much about the future and how my young adult kids will manage. I would be delighted if parties would make changes that directly improve things for the young people and give them a better future, in return for votes. So it’s a yes from me.

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

re; politically homeless

You said you were not going to vote labour going forward and so are effectively voting de facto for Reform or the Tories.

MPs will have to do dance routines on Tik Toc to win their votes! Next door neighbours kid said today he would vote for Andrew Tate if he was standing!

There are over 12 million over 65s in the UK. 1.6 million 16/17 year olds are not going to change the outcome of a GE.

why do you and he think that going to vote will stop him having a childhood?

The "increase voting age to 21" argument, based on brain development would need to be balanced by removing the vote from 60+ due to cognitive decline.

Yes, they can at 16 in Scotland with parental consent, and at 17 whether their parents consent or not.

This is a change to voting in UK-wide General Elections, not just England & Wales, although that clearly hasn't registered with those who never recognise that the "UK" and E&W are not one and the same thing.

It’s just so obvious it’s because youth are less likely to vote liberal and more likely to vote labour. As a parent of 18 year old twins just about to go to uni - it’s unbelievable to think the uk thought them only enough to vote at 16 or 17.
Most 16 / 17 year olds are only just starting to work and understand how their choices affect their own budgeting let alone how their choices affect the uk’s economy.
This country is really going to pots.

I think if they do get the vote it will swing in the favour of Reform.