US EditionU.K. Government Moves to Lower Voting Age to 16
UNITED KINGDOM, JUL 17 – The UK plans to enfranchise approximately 1.5 million 16- and 17-year-olds and introduce automatic voter registration to increase democratic participation, following a record low 59.7% turnout in 2024.
- On Wednesday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Democracy Minister Rushanara Ali announced enfranchising approximately 1.5 million 16- and 17-year-olds, introducing a new Elections Bill to modernise the UK’s electoral system.
- Currently, 16-year-olds vote locally in Scotland and Wales, and Labour’s July 2024 manifesto pledged to lower the voting age, aligning with existing practices in Scotland and Wales where 16-year-olds already vote.
- A poll by Merlin Strategy for ITV News found 49% of 16- and 17-year-olds oppose the change and only 18% would vote, while the economy ranks as top priority at 30%.
- Critics immediately voiced concern, with Conservative MP Paul Holmes warning `There will be no opportunity for parliamentary scrutiny until September`, and Reform Party leader Nigel Farage called it `an attempt to rig the political system`.
- The future reforms will set the next UK general election to be held by 2029, with the legislation aligning voting rights across the UK and introducing automatic registration and bank cards as ID.
122 Articles
122 Articles
The British government has announced radical electoral reforms, and the right is protesting.
In a historic electoral reform, the British government announced on Thursday that it plans to give 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote in all UK elections.According to Sky News, this is the largest reform of the electoral system since 1969.The government said the proposed changes were part of an effort to increase public confidence in democracy and would align voting rights throughout Britain, where younger voters already participate in decen…
Radio France Internationale
L'OpinionVote at 16 years of age, democratic advance or premature decision? In the United Kingdom, the debate is relaunched after a major reform of Prime Minister Keir Starmer's right to vote.
Failing British PM Starmer and His Labour Party Lower the Voting Age to 16 To Try To Perpetuate Themselves in Power
Highly unpopular British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his train-wreck Labour government are moving to lower the voting age by two years to 16 in all UK elections.
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