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?

I think 16 yo should vote. They are affected by the policies and should be encouraged to engage in politics.

16 year old are no more or less competent at voting that some full blown adults.

My mum voted for Brexit hoping it would mean she would get tastier tomatoes (don't ask!)

People voting based on what their specific media outlet publishes rather than doing their own research is how we got Brexit 😂
Also whether or not she is voting because of her own beliefs or what she believes is best for the country, it's all heavily biased based on what she reads.
But yes of course she should vote how she wants, just wish she actually knew what she was voting for. My dad is also a Tory voter but very center right and based on his situation they are the better party. Based on my situation and my research I will vote for labour.

I think 16 year olds should be able to vote, no more or less able/sensible than any other group of people

Same arguments used for not allowing 16 year olds also used for women nit being able to vote in the past!

Sorry not rather than nit

So nothing from you then @BotterMon? Just a bitchplop.

Given the Tories have announced a new flagship policy that the 18 year olds of 2025 should be forced to perform unpaid labour for one weekend per month or join the military for a year, I would say it is now essential that 16 and 17 year olds gain the vote. They must have the right to indicate whether they consent to a reduced earning potential while they save for university, or for driving lessons/a car/other essentials to perform paid work, or to the reduction of their free time and ability to rest and recover after a week of studying and/or working.

I can see both sides of the argument, but there are so many adults out there who have the critical thinking ability of a gnat who are easily swayed by what they see on Tiktok (which is mainly far right propaganda as far as I can see) and their views leave a lot to be desired but they’re allowed to vote.

When I was 16, my friends and I were quite mature and loved to debate politics. I think the very basics, e.g. the electoral system, the basics of left, right, centre ideologies and critical thinking skills should be taught at school if this is to be a thing. There’s too much disengagement in politics now. Then those who aren’t interested or don’t know who they should vote for likely won’t bother anyway

I do think if this becomes a thing then it’s quite a clever move by Starmer though, as the 16 year olds will have just left an education system that has been completely decimated by the tories and they will know it 🤣

Maybe you could inform him yourself a bit?
We often talk about politics. My 17 year old is really engaged with it..more than many of my 50 year old friends.
I think this is where schools could help. Lay out the differences between the left and the right in factual ways. I would say leave it to parents but they are either misinformed, unengaged or very biased.

16 is old enough to work and pay tax, so it's old enough to vote.

@BringMeSunshineAllDayLong 'Maybe you could inform him yourself a bit?'

Don't worry, I do. 🙂

It's a regular and essential part of parenting, if only to counter the ludicrous views that bounce around Youtube unchecked. And to reassure.

I'm a teacher and I think the proportion of students I teach aged 16-18 who would vote in an informed way probably mirrors the rest of the population! Lots of adults pay very little attention to politics and then vote for ridiculous reasons. Young people have skin in the game. When I think about my parents voting (who are 70+) all they care about really is the NHS and then keeping as much of their wealth as possible to pass on to their grandchildren. So they don't care at much about housing, state education, the university sector - lots of areas in short that the conservatives haven't done much to improve and have actively damaged because people like my parents will vote for them anyway!

So it's a partisan move by labour (and they've supported it for a while now) but I do think it's important to add another chunk of the population to the electorate to get some action on key issues like housing which are making life harder for predominantly the under 50s. Governments only take action on controversial policy areas when they have support from enough of the electorate and demographics means that there have been enough voters over 45 to lead to basically stagnation in so many policy areas.

I'm actually pretty convinced by David Runciman's argument to give 6 year olds the vote, but obviously this will never happen.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/nov/16/reconstruction-after-covid-votes-for-children-age-six-david-runciman

Sounds good to me. Can’t see a single decent argument against it.

Of course some 16yos are ignorant of politics. So are some 26yos and some 76yos- we don’t take those people’s votes away. It’s enough to be a member of a group who generally could make an informed decision, and 16yos are certainly that.

In her last years, my mother used to ask her grandchildren how she should vote-because she felt it was their futures not hers that was being shaped.

I don't truthfully know the proportion, but the point is that children of that age could (and there is an argument - in an ideal would- should) be in education. That some end up earning enough up pay tax instead of being supported/being in education, doesn't change that.

As for Scotland, I simply think they are wrong to have such a low voting age. A certain level if maturity really does matter and most 16 year olds don't have it and many, many are not all the through even the main part of puberty and it's accompanying brain development.

Aside from raising the minimum age for marriage and civil partnership to 18, the government also extended the powers of Ofsted to inspect care settings for 16 and 17 year olds.

Yet apparently because they pay VAT in shops, we should abandon these safeguards.

My DD (just turned 19) would advocate for this. In reality, the vast majority will not be interested or knowledgeable enough to actually vote, but those that are (like my DD) would welcome it.

When I was 16 we had a school election to mirror the GE and the school results did exactly that (and Maggie got in).

It's the first and last time I'll believe what politicians say. Thinking back my naivity was excruciating.

Whereas I don't disagree that teens should vote I do think education on how to inform themselves is important.

It's a terrible, terrible idea. 16 year olds understand very little about the realities of economics, politics, business, about who pays for what and how, national defence etc. They are clueless idealists on the whole, and can be bought off with pie in the sky promises and free sweeties.

I can totally see why Labour would go for it though. It's a very sly and cynical way of ensuring they'll stay in for a second term, because young people believe the kumbaya bullshit. All they need to do second time around is lure the kiddies in with a trail of rainbow coloured breadcrumbs and they are home and dry. God help us.

And as for the 'no taxation without representation' well if 16 and 17 year olds almost exclusively only pay tax via VAT on stuff they buy, then they are buying that stuff largely with money given to them by parents and grandparents. So they haven't earnt it in the first place, someone else who already has reprepresentation has earned it. I don't think the VAT thing is a very strong argument for giving them a vote at all.