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.

Any stats to back that up? Under 25s voted overwhelmingly to remain, I don't see why 16 and 17 year olds would have voted much differently. (Ignore the 45-55 box, not sure why that popped up on my screenshot!)

I have not seen any compelling arguments on here. A lot of subjectivity and anecdotes, including mass distraction about what old people are and are not allowed to do, but not much that would swing me either way.

The primary for seems to be that it would give them a greater interest in politics and a stake in the future than currently.

The primary against seems to be that they don't have enough experience or knowledge of life to make their vote informed.

I don't find either of these arguments hugely compelling or supported in good evidence.

So my feeling would be to leave the whole thing as is until a more compelling reason could be found to change it.

Pensioners are a poor group and many are still working, not that this makes much of a difference. They have lived through decades of different political landscapes and experiences

We have an age of majority in this country and all adults have the vote. I dont agree with non adults voting

On the one hand a 16 year old cant take a financial contract out, on the other they can vote.
On the one hand a 16 year olds parents are responsible for ensuring they must attend school, on the other hand they can vote
On the one hand a 16 year old has restrictions on the number of hours they can work, on the other hand they can vote

For all those saying you can get married, no, have a baby, probably not without state support/parental oversight support.

We have thread after thread after thread on here about how brains arent developed properly and you cant ask too much, they're sleepy most of the time, they cant work and study at the same time, I cant leave him alone at home, 'thats a safeguarding alert!!!', 'he/she's being groomed, they're so vulnerable because they're only teens' - but now?

Yeah great idea lets adult them some more but not expect any actual other responsbilities apply.

yup id leave well enough alone too.

Out of interest, what arguments would you find compelling?

Also how many parents in actuality encourage 16 year olds to have babies or get married?

Corbyn’s party doesn’t even exist and I very much doubt it ever will. I expect I’m one of the very few people who remembers Change UK - that lasted oh, all of ten months.

And dont get me started on university, being babied and paid for. Parents feeling that they need to provide thousands of pounds for living and accommodation costs rather than the young person work and being guilted into being a guarantor.

You're either an adult or you're not. At 16 we have decided they're not. The cut off has to be somewhere legally

During the nationwide Mock Elections last year, Reform got 18% of the vote and Greens came in second with 23%. Labour barely won at 27%.

Bearing in mind that:

• Starmer's approval rating has collapsed
• Farage has over 1M TikTok followers
• Today's 12 year olds (16 during next GE) have spent a lot of time absorbing content that is infused with Bro culture (right wing) and chaos for fun

I wouldn't be surprised if this creates one of the following scenarios:

1. Landslide victory for Reform
2. Reform/Tory coalition to stave off Greens/Corbyn's new party
3. Green/Corbyn coalition

Another political own goal in the making I think...

The results of the nationwide 2024 Mock Elections

Why Gen Z Men Voted for Trump

How a Gen Z gender divide is reshaping democracy

Most 16-18 year olds are more switched on and compassionate than the rest of the adult population! They want a world that isn’t going to burn them and their future families alive. They want a future where they can get jobs and afford homes.

They absolutely Should having voting powers. This is a big win.

I can tell you now most 16 year olds would have voted for Brexit.

Do you have any evidence for that bizarre statement?

I don't think anyone wants those things.

Not wanting something and actually solving it are two totally different things.

This with bells on. In theory I think it’s ok for 16 year olds to vote. But when I employ one I have to do extra risk assessments because they’re so vulnerable - either they are mature enough to enough to cope with the big bad world or they’re not.

I also think k this will backfire on Labour. A lot of college kids I know won’t vote Labour, it’d be reform all the way. Then all the private school kids!

I think it is a really interesting question and very difficult to answer.

I think if simple compelling evidence existed on either side it would be presented.

I think there is a lot of useful information to be had on thinking about why we impose other age limits and why we choose for example 17 to be the driving age for cars and 18 for consumption of alcohol but (now) 16 for voting to inform us. I think there is information to be gained in these comparisons, but nothing to be gained from the comparison of why we allow older people to vote which is a distraction.

What I'm interested in is something joined up and coherent across age restrictions that as far as possible is objective based.

It would take maybe some time to go through all of those current restrictions and understand the current justifications for them, and what they inform us on what other age restrictions should be. There is probably a wealth of data for example to support driving, but much less to support some other restrictions.

It would be a big project. But I think if I saw someone carrying it out or had carried it out I would feel more confident it was done for the right reasons and not just a quick vote grabber.

This is a shit example. University ends up costing students tens of thousands of pounds as it is. Most of those parents - and grandparents - could have got either free university education (often with a grant for living costs!) or very VERY subsided. So yeah students now need more support. Doesn't mean they're not politically engaged. On fact one could argue that if politicians were courting the youth vote then university fees would likely be looked at again.

Yep

I actually don’t think they do. Most people on the property ladder don’t want to see a crash.

Most people want to keep their little luxuries despite the damage it causes the planet. We’re older and don’t want to change as we know we’ll likely be ok over the next few decades. Those with 80+years left on the planet must feel pretty worried.

I can tell you now most 16 year olds would have voted for Brexit

@soupyspoon

"Under-25s were more than twice as likely to vote Remain (71%) than Leave (29%)"

Why would 16 yr olds voted for Brexit?

It really is such bollocks.

The thread is proof that a large number of adults are idiots...

Pensioners are a poor group and many are still working

@soupyspoon any evidence that pensioners are a poor group?

What do you mean by many?

Yes. I’d like to know why being old entitles you to more of a say than being young.

lol, that’s the voice of privilege speaking. I don’t know anyone whose parents paid for them through uni.

I was more talkinga bout the infantilisation of them, not whether they are political or not. By the time I went to Uni (completely out of character for our family where leaving school at 15 was the norm) I had been living independently for a couple of years and worked throughout. My parents certainly didnt have the money to pay but neither would I expect them to

What I read on here makes my eyes water.

Gerimandering !!! Interviews of kids on the bbc news and they thought. - they didn’t know much about the parties- they don’t watch the news - they’ve only just done their GCSEs and too young - etc etc. Full Brain development ie the frontal lobe hasn’t been achieved by that age. In fact it’s just too far off with some, mainly girls having it only by 18. So. Logically No this is a stupid idea and as @Colliemad79 stated we all know why. This could be very bad news for the country.

Theres a big assumption that because 18 to 25s were more in favour of remain than other groups that it therefore translates to earlier years, but anecdotally, younger people are quite conservative, often with a big C.

I dont have a privilege, where did you get that from in my post?