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.

What do you think about people at the end of their lives, with cognitive impairment still getting to vote?

Or is that ok because they'll vote the way you want?

Meanwhile adults are being indoctrinated to hate immigrants.

I don't know what the fuss is about. This means that the voting age is now consistent across the UK Parliaments. Sensible decision.

Now we need PR.

Straw man. 🙄 The vast VAST majority of 16-17 year olds will NOT be married, and will not have children. And most of them will not be 'in the forces.' And the vast majority will not be paying tax. They will still be at bloody school!

Nope still doesn’t make sense to me. You say that they’ll be giving non citizens the right to vote next but you don’t have to be a British citizen to vote, the list of countries is already extensive.

It’s almost as if.. Labour WANT Reform to win the next election.

Because that is Exactly what’s going to happen with this shower of shit in the gvt at the moment.

I really hope it does, but to have a chance we need to follow the OPs sentiment and encourage younger people to vote.
While pensioners make up the largest group in the country and also have a strong propensity to vote then they'll continue to have a strong influence over parties and the policies they will and won't countenance.

I'm not sure where I stand on 16yos having the vote but I do think we need politicians to start making decisions with the future generations in mind.

I'm going to respectfully disagree with you.

There are fucking idiots of any age voting. Many of whom don't understand what they are voting for, or the implications of who they vote. The difference between someone who is 17 and 345 days and an 18 year old is neglible.

16 and 17 year olds can vote in scotland and wales without any harm, why shouldn't they be able to vote in England?

I think its a good thing. As a PP said why should the view of an 87 year old on how the next 4 years will run, count for more than a 16 year old? Young people have more of an investment in the future rather than just voting to keep their (unearned) wealth to themselves. Its about time somebody started looking at the young people and stopped pandering to the votes of the elderly. Of course the next challenge is to get the young actually out and voting! I suspect it wont necessarily go in Labours favour, but I guess time will tell.
Also my teen kids are hugely politically knowledgeable and they regularly tell me things I didnt know, to write them all off as stupid or uneducated is just rude. I think great swathes of the population are completely ignorant but we dont stop them from voting. Thats democracy and its better than the alternative.

I agree with the voting age being lowered to 16, and I would like 16 year olds to be allowed a bit more responsibility and autonomy generally so they can have more of a gradual transition to adulthood. They may legally be children but they are certainly on the cusp of becoming young adults.

I'm sure that lots of 16 and 17 yos do know nothing about politics/economics/ what's going on in the news etc, but lots of adults know nothing about those things either. Are you suggesting that we should take away their votes?

At 16, I would say that my dd was far more politically engaged than most adults and had a better understanding of the issues that you mention than many voters.

Are you suggesting that there should be some kind of knowledge test to screen out who can vote and who can't?

Do we apply your rules to other categories of voter?

16/17 yo's are expected to be mature enough to make decisions on which subjects to study, which University, College or career to pursue.

These choices will have huge impacts on their lives.... but they can't be allowed to vote because they are too immature...

Sounds a good idea to me. Balances out all the older people voting to pull up the drawbridge on the free education, cheaper housing and being able to live in other countries they or their kids benefitted from, while pensioners in million pound houses keep their winter fuel allowance.

When they had Question Time for teenagers it was one of the most erudite and interesting editions in terms of audience participation.

I'd love it to mean that left wing parties get more of a vote but I don't think it will if you look at some of the leading lights in the Reform party who look about 12. But I think young people of this age should get to have a say on their future and how the world is going to look when they are in middle age.

Plenty of teenagers I know are thoughtful and reasonably well informed. The same can’t be said for plenty of adults. It’s their future, so why not give them a say? A vote isn’t a huge say, but it’s something.
I don’t think they will all vote Reform!

I think it’s a very obvious conclusion. And your comment is rude and shows a lack of intelligence.

Perhaps they do?

Perhaps they think that letting the shitshow of Reform unfold is the only way of lancing the far right boil once and for all.

It would be an incredibly risky strategy but it is plausible.

Corbyn will be happy. And Reform.

They will be all flocking to Jeremy Corbyn’s party. They will be trying to get younger people as no one is crazy enough ( apart from the deluded communist voters) to vote for such people.

I think this is really unfair to be honest. My voting and political stance really hasn't changed very much since I was 16 and now I'm 2 decades older. A lot of political standpoints are value based and young people have values. Mine also didn't equate to my parents values and I'd never vote for who they vote for even as a teenager.

What I do think is that young people now need to be provided with a more robust and neutral political education and a more accessible way to get clear information on each party and what they're providing. I also think it might make our local politicians more attuned to the needs of young people they represent.

I do think it's important young people have a say since they're the ones likely to be living with the consequences of votes. Take brexit for example, there was a large proportion of leave voters who were older, but younger voters were more likely to vote remain, at least in the area where I'm from. Why shouldn't they have a say that's equal to people who may not even be around to have to live with the consequences of a vote as awful as that sounds to say.

They can’t get married in England and Wales anymore and that’s a good thing. If they can now vote why not just change the age of majority to 16 instead of 18?
I don’t care hugely - the world is full of idiots of all ages who are allowed to vote. Not all 16 year olds are left wing despite what the 40 year olds who consider themselves part of “the younger generation” think. Weren’t those Reform boys about 19 when elected as councillors recently?

No. I think it is an unfortunate consequence of ageing, along with things like driving capability. How to deal with the issue becomes difficult.

I think a lot of people who are that cognitively impaired to a high degree probably don't vote anyway and those that do probably vote the same way they always did, but that is probably a side issue as it is more about cohorts than individuals.

I also don't think that there is any logic behind the argument that because the system is to some degree imperfect (giving people with cognitive impairment the vote), it's somehow a good justification to make it even less perfect (giving 16 year olds the vote).

Two year olds must pay tax if they earn enough. Making tax paying a prerequisite for voting is a dangerous path towards disenfranchising the vulnerable.

Doubtful. When a far right gvt get in, they pull up the draw bridge. All bets are off. No more debate. If Labour don’t understand that, they’re much worse than any of us even considered.

I think a lot of 16yr olds are more political than we were at 16 .
They should have a right to vote on their future I think its a great thing .

Then they should be allowed to drink and smoke too.

Cynical political opportunism at its very worst.

I imagine turn out in this age group will be very low so is a pointless change.