Voting Age To Be Lowered To 16 By Next Election
Good idea or not?
Comments
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A big thumbs up from me 👍️
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Yup! Out with the old, in with the new!
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Would it change the way the country is run tho members of the public are mearly the rowers of a boat steered and dictated by the rich up on deck
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Absolutely - if they're old enough to pay tax, they're old enough for an opinion on how that tax is used.
Those who are currently 16 years old are the ones who will have to live with the decisions being made (predominately) by pale, stale males who dominate HoC and HoL at the moment.
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My 20 yo youngest daughter is very politically aware. She often emails her MP (Andrew Bowie -West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, goodness knows who votes in the tories, must be all the farmers).
Her school pals would have put many much older people to shame with their understanding of politics and current affairs; I would have been absolutely fine with them having a vote.
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Definitely not - should be increased to 21 or even 24
Give the kids a vote and it will be turmoil - sweets will be free and scooters will be legalised and child benefit will be paid up to age 21. Taylor Swift will be compulsory too !
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@Ranald
Yep, that's my experience of young people too. My younger relatives and their friends are all politically engaged and motivated.
Say what you like about the SNP, but they have certainly reinvigorated what was always, imo, a Scottish bent towards collectivism, social responsibility, and forward-thinking.
Hopefully, those young people now being offered the opportunity to engage will do so and make this very important commitment to their future.
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And 'influencers' will make up the Cabinet lol.
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Depends on the 16 year old , some are more clued up and interested in politics than others. Although I read article that a lot of 16 years old are turning to reform. Time will tell if its a good idea or not
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when i was 16 i had no interest in politics whatsoever, my mates were more important back then to be honest
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Compared to the baby boomers they're such a small amount of the vote that their opinion will never matter.
That's democracy for ya!
🤣
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Before the www i imagine? Kids today are so much more engaged. Both my daughters and their peers grew up hearing about climate change and had images of war and suffering on their social media feeds etc.
They look to their politicians, perhaps nievely, in the hope of finding answers and reassurance that something is being done. I'm very glad I had my formative and adolescent years back when, and not in these uncertain times.
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16 year olds will take decisions based on their limited knowledge - such as global warming - being bad - without realising that it is just as much the fault of China and India and even Russia because we share the atmosphere with the rest of the world - with China still commissioning a new coal fired power station every month.
Why should it be down to UK to cut the CO2 emissions to zero when others are still increasing theirs ? The tiny percentage that UK produces will make no difference at all to global output.
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Why indeed? Thing is, we spent 200 years polluting, and it's a bit rich to tell the developing world to stay in the rice paddies and travel by donkey, in the interests of global warming.
Yes I know there is a vast, and growing middle class in both the countries you mention, but outside the cities, there is still much to be done for people.
I rather think those two massive countries, with 3 billion people between them, i believe they will be able to work it out before long.
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If adults knew enough about politics, global warming, referendums….oh never mind!
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Mate, adults voted for Brexit, and Boris Johnson, I don't think 16 year old can do any worse.
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It's interesting, or perhaps obvious, to see how this is supported by parties that 16-17 year olds as a group are more likely to vote for.
Whether or not this correlates with actually believing that they deserve a vote is a separate issue
When I studied the Suffragettes I came across the same thing… A lot support within the (male dominated) political class came from people who had no interest - or even were against - the idea of suffrage for women, but they saw it as free votes in their favour
Whether it matters, I don't know? In the end both the newly eligible voters and the political parties achieve their goal, even if it wasn't given to them graciously
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I was doubtful about this as a policy years ago, then I worked in a 16-18 FE college as a support assistant for disabled students. I was working there around the time of an election and the implications of the tory win on that occasion - the Brexit referendum - were not only understood by my students but they had very strong views both on the govt and the referendum.
…If we had let 16 year olds vote in those things we would be in a better place as a country. I'm not ageist in the least, but when people in their 90s are voting against things that the people who are 16 are going to have to live with for decades, maybe it's fair to let the 16 year olds into the voting discussion as well.
I'm in favour, this is a good thing.
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So true!!
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Genuinely laughed at this!!
But overall I agree the age should be lowered, whether I think I'd agree with their votes is irrelevant, like @Girl_No1 said, "if they're old enough to pay tax, they're old enough for an opinion on how that tax is used."
Doesn't everyone base their votes on their own limited knowledge? Doesn't matter if you're 16 or 92, you'll vote based on your understanding and beliefs
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