Why would anyone think 16 year-olds should be allowed to vote?

[MsAmerica]

Be honest - think back to when you were 16. Did you have an understanding of a broad range of issues? Did you pay serious attention to national news? Okay, even many adults may lapse on the score, but still, it seems crazy to me.

In the U.S., voting age had been 21 and the only reason it was lowered to 18 was that teens were being drafted to fight in Vietnam, and it was felt as unfair for them to have no say.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voting_age

How many adults in this country are 'smart and engaged'?

I'd like to think I am, but Thick Barry down the pub who thinks that COVID was staged by the WEF and that 'boat people' get a new iPhone and a 5* hotel as soon as they touch grass in Dover, he has a vote that counts exactly the same as mine.

My partner's 90 year old grandparents vote for the same party every time because "That's what we've always done". They haven't got a clue about modern politics or an appreciation for how their vote impacts others. I'd be happier with the vote being removed for that generation.

Don't get me wrong, I'd like to see 16 year olds get a bit more political education to complement this move, but that's a can of worms in itself.

Ultimately though, as the people who are going to be impacted the longest by major political decisions, I'm happy for them to have their say.

"I repeat: There is no logical reason why people want to keep moving the age of adulthood and responsibility to an earlier and earlier age."

There is a certain irony is that posters like this and the OP have confidently claimed that

1. there is no reason for the voting age to be reduced
2. no evidence that it increases political engagement
3. that this agree group is too unaware/ uninformed to be voting

then other posters have highlighted how uninformed they are and provided evidence that all three are demonstrably untrue based on other countries that have already lowered the voting age.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jul/17/16-year-olds-vote-countries-turnout-political-change

Exactly.

I also don't think I agree that voting is some big responsibility which 16 year olds aren't ready for.

When adults vote for Mr Bucket Head or the Monster Raving Loony Party, we smile and call it part of the great democratic process. When adults vote for Brexit and then say on TV the next morning, "I don't actually want to leave the EU, I never actually thought leave would win, I just wanted to stick two fingers up at David Cameron!" or "I voted leave but I'm not really sure what the EU is, to be honest", or "I voted leave because my mate Steve said it was a good idea", we sigh and complain that people who couldn't be bothered to inform themselves properly exercised their vote in a stupid way, but we don't talk about taking their right to vote away until they've demonstrated that they will use it wisely.

If 16 and 17 year olds had been given the right to vote in the EU referendum (which many people said at the time should happen), who knows, we might not have left the EU. Those 16 and 17 year olds might have actually stopped the 50+ year olds from making a stupid, irreversible decision on behalf of the whole country.

At an individual level, your vote has little to no impact, especially in a general election under a first past the post system, as opposed to a referendum where every vote counts. An individual is very unlikely to do any measurable damage with their vote. They cannot kill or injure anyone with their vote. Most of the time, the consequences of your vote are not permanent.

Driving is a huge responsibility and yet we let 17 year olds get behind the wheel and drive completely unsupervised despite the fact that we know they have a high accident rate. This is because when they are 18 many of them will go out into the world of work and they will need to be able to actually get to work. The age is set at 17 due to the impact on 17-18 year olds who don't live in major urban areas of not being able to get to work easily on public transport. It's not because we actually believe that 17 year olds are mature enough to get behind the wheel of a car and drive it safely.

Having sex is a big responsibility which carries the risk of STDs, injuries and pregnancy. 16 year olds are generally not emotionally mature enough to be doing it but the age of consent takes into account the fact that we cannot actually stop teenagers from having sex, so we set it at a level which only criminalises the kind of sexual relationships which really should not be allowed in a civilised society, and allows teenagers to seek sexual healthcare more easily. I believe it is also designed to ensure that all teenagers are in education at the time they reach the age of consent and can receive timely and relevant sex education. Surely the same principle can be applied to voting.

Anecdotally, in Australia, where voting is compulsory and voting age is 18, young people are generally quite politically engaged for their first few elections. Being included in such decision-making is bigger than you might think, and this might be elevated in countries where voting isn’t compulsory.

One concern I have is that given my daughter's Englsih literature syllabus includes the like of an inspector calls and a Christmas Carol there is a definitely a left leaning bent to education and world views at the age of 16. Cynically allowing more 16 year olds to vote will help left leaning parties of which Labour is one (the conservatives have nonsense in power many times and not broached this). Allowing extension of the franchise to benefit one particular party or ideology does raise some suspicions with me.

The system worked so why change it? I think turnout in this group will be quite low especially with local elections and those that do feel like voting will probably be on the left. I would feel more confident in this move if more right wing views were allowed to be expressed in a typical secondary school as you would have reassurance going people have been exposed to opinions across the political spectrum.

"The system worked so why change it?"

Given the trajectory the country has been on / voted over the last 20 years I'm not sure I agree the system "works"

The Tories also changed the system to require voter id when the statistics said voted fraud was a non issue but if does favour them as poorer cohorts / younger people were less likely to have I'd required ( or their id was not included)

Governments also redraw voting constituencies which can often favour them.

This has not unique to the UK either....

It's all part of the system that "works".

Young people are the ones we will all rely on to continue paying ever increasing taxes so seems fair they get a say.

Please tell me how many 16-18 year olds are going to vote Tory so can we possibly view this as clever but cynical gerrymandering?

One concern I have is that given my daughter's Englsih literature syllabus includes the like of an inspector calls and a Christmas Carol there is a definitely a left leaning bent to education and world views at the age of 16.

Interesting 🤔 these books are social commentary not political manifestos!

Given how much we are letting future generations down on issues like climate change, and how much we let them down on Brexit, I think it's high time they got the vote at 16

Scotland, Wales, Jersey, Sark and the Isle of Mann to start with places close to home.

I'm surprised at you asking this question - you're usually quite prolific at starting threads with links to posts so I'm sure your internet based research skills are well honed

Well, it's happening. There's not much anyone can do. Another rubbish idea from a rubbish government that few people voted for. Another distraction from the issues that actually matter in this country. Just to try and scrape a few votes away from Reform. It's pitiful.

Reading the news this morning about the huge rise in antisemitism in schools and then thinking that 16 year olds are ready to vote. Funny. Let's get ready for a few more pro Gaza MPs.

Zonder

JB Priestley was left wing and a member of a number of left wing groups. An inspector calls directly links Inpsector Goole's monologue to socialism. I think an Inspector calls definitely has a political bias against capitlaist a (unfeeling bastards) and the middle class (decadent hypocrites with out empathy for the working class). The play was initially released in communist Russia where nothing would be put on that did not support the view of a ruthless middle class oppressing the nameless masses.

as for Sickens me was very much influenced by poverty in London and angered by its causes. The character of scrooge can be taken as a stereotype where a wealthy capitalist is doomed to have no feeling for fellow man and to be destined to a life of lonely obsession with money. It's a good thing he didn't have an obviously sounding Hebrew name and didn't celebrate Christmas is there may have been some inference of anti semitism thrown in.

most authors of stature were left wing and I think maybe we should review the Englash curriculum for balance. An autobiography of Thatcher maybe 😉

What party do you think they could vote for that has their interests at heart? Bearing in mind which parties have been in government in the last 100 years that have let them down? That presumably writes off the Conservatives and Labour. So it's Reform and the Greens. And pro Gaza parties. (I obviously don't count the Lib Dems as they don't know what they stand for).

Your last paragraph sums it up.

"A Christmas Carol" is woke tosh ?

Your question implies that excluding 16 and 17 years is therefore already gerrymandering of a different stripe.

Surely what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander ?

A Christmas Carol isn't woke, it's a brilliant novel but I think there is a theme of anti capitalism in there by the portrayal of someone who wants to increase their wealth as uttely unlikable until their redemption.

Lord Mann & Penny Moudants report into this shows Antisemitism has increased dramatically, most starkly in the workplace...... so of the age that has the vote.

The NHS, the Police and the Arts being the most public areas most affected.

Some Christian primary school teachers using stereotypes in lessons too.

I don't think the report has said anything about lowering of the voting age.

Anti Capitalism?

Its about greed and treating people fairly.

Makes little mention of how he made his money....

I will attach the Telegraph article I read this morning if you have an account?.Over half of Jewish teachers reporting abuse. Swastikas etc.too. And it's since October 7th.

I'm sorry..it's absolutely shocking.

So, no vote for 16-17 year olds because they are too woke?

Yes I have to agree. It's a book showing the dangers of being a tightwad. Not the dangers of being rich.

They sound like they are the opposite of woke these days with such a marked rise in racism in schools.