Voting age may be reduced to 16 apparently. Good idea?

[Nanny0gg]

As it says in the title. Labour still seems keen on this idea. Personally I think it's bonkers - I look at my DGC and they are just not old enough yet.

AIBU?

Why not if they pay tax ?

NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION !!!!

It’s a very bad idea. Granted adults don’t always make the best decisions….. (as ironically evidenced by this particular idea) but even so, no, I don’t think it’s the way to go.

It's a ridiculous idea.

Since the election was announced my ds (16 in August) has wanted to discuss politics and all that is wrong with the UK.

Most of his 'facts' come from weird random AMERICANS on YouTube.

He thinks the only way to solve the UK's problems is to have a military coup, with him in charge. 😂

Only if they are working or in the military.

If they are paying taxes as an adult or serving their country they should get a say.

I think it's a cynical move by Labour as they suspect they will get more votes from the young just as the Tories do the same with older voters.
16 year olds are very variable, I had one who would have enjoyed voting, investigating and decision making (not to mention arguing about it!) but had another one who would have had no clue and, I suspect, would vote based on very spurious reasons.

Given that a presumed adult posted on here the other day, saying 'Tell me who to vote for, as if I'm a child', letting actual children vote doesn't seem like much of a stretch.

I think it’s a great idea. Some 16 year olds have better judgement than a lot of adults imo.

I had better conversations about politics with my dc and their friends as teens than I do with some of my generation or the older members of my family. It feels like they are less jaded and less scared of change.

I believe it’s a good way to get rid of the tories

Definitely a good idea.

Bring it on. Plenty of uninformed older people get to vote. I'm in favour of policy that encourages the young to be politically engaged.

My 17 year old is studying politics so probably knows more than me .

however it is variable .

I don’t think it’s the biggest issue right now and I hope there policies have more substance than this

So no votes for anyone claiming benefits then.

Righty ho.

Of course not @SerendipityJane. They need all the money they can get for their flat screen TVs.

Not my policy. And actually 16 year old won't be on benefits, the rest will be in education.

Parties of all stripes only want to extend or restrict the voting franchise because they think it will favour them. It's never a matter of principle. I have never seen an advocate of lowering the voting age who also argued that 16 year olds should also be treated as an adult by the prison system or under employment law.

And age has precisely zero impact on whether someone pays tax.

Young people vote less than older people. 1/3 of 18-24s voted in the Brexit referendum vs 90%+ of over 60s.

I think like the SNP this is an overton window thing. Lower the voting age and suggest other legal ages might be lower too. You know, in line with 'best practice' in European countries where the age of consent is 14.

Remember it's still legal in Scotland to get married at 16 when England and Wales have banned it.

Who remembers when suddenly the age to gamble - for the lottery - was dropped to 16 ?

Drop the silly ID check thing is my advice and keep it at 16. Introduce a proper ID card for those 18 yr olds instead of making them get a provisional license

Do you mean cadets? I'm trying to work out how someone can be in the military but not working.

How much work counts? Paper round? Saturday job?

It’s an idea. I’ll wait to see if it makes it into a manifesto before I pass proper judgement.
But, I can’t really see it as a problem. In fact, it could be argued that 16 year olds have just as much at stake (if not more) than other people with regards to who governs them - it is a critical time of life.

I believe 16 year olds can vote in some devolved parliament elections and it hasn’t caused any issues.

As others have said, if you’re old enough to work, pay taxes, start a family, etc you should be allowed a say in how things are run.

The argument that “they are too young and don’t understand” does not hold up unless you also accept that some people are also too old and don’t understand the modern world.

You'll have to ask Labour, it's their manifesto. This isn't my policy....

If people want a faired electoral system (spoiler alert: they don't) then a much easier change is to get rid of the FPTP system and introduce something which allows all votes to have an effect.

The argument that “they are too young and don’t understand” does not hold up unless you also accept that some people are also too old and don’t understand the modern world.

From many posts here about politics/the election, I'd go further than this and say that neither of those arguments holds up! Just as many in the age groups between 'too young' and 'too old' who clearly have no clue.

What taxes? Because my 10 year old pays VAT on the pocket money crap he buys.

Will children paying VAT on their school fees now be eligible to vote?

I think the number of children 16-18 paying tax on income is vanishingly small.

They cannot even work out what gender they are. Like buggery should they get a vote in who runs the country.

That is actually a very valid point.

Consumption taxes are taxes.