UK to allow 16-year-olds to vote in biggest electoral change since 1969

Australia Broadcast Center

4 days ago

The British government plans to give 16 and 17 year-olds the right to vote in all UK elections in the biggest electoral reform in more than half a century.
The plan would see the voting age drop from 18, allowing some 1.6 million young people the right to cast their vote in the next general election, which will be held at the latest in 2029.
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the move would boost trust in democracy.
"They're old enough to go out to work, they're old enough to pay taxes … and I think if you pay in, you should have the opportunity to say what you want your money spent on, which way the government should go," Mr Starmer told Britain's ITV News.
Sixteen year-olds can already vote for representatives in parliaments and local councils in Scotland and Wales, but not in England or Northern Ireland.
Sixteen year-old Iona told the ABC she supported the move.
"Young people are going to be stepping up more in politics in the next couple of years, we can already see it happening, so it's good that we have that choice," Iona said.
"We deserve that responsibility as we're more aware of what's going on in the world."
Ollie told the ABC he was a little nervous at the prospect of voting.
"It's quite a bit of pressure, but I think it will be OK," he said.
As part of the changes, UK-issued bank cards would become legal forms of voter ID, while the deadline to apply for a postal vote will extend from 11 to 14 days.
The UK's democracy minister, Rushanara Ali, said the government planned to address concerns around foreign interference by introducing checks on £500 donations from unincorporated associations and shutting off loopholes used by shell companies.
"By reinforcing safeguards against foreign interference, we will strengthen our democratic institutions and protect them for future generations," Ms Ali said.
All changes are expected to pass parliament, given the Labour Party's large parliamentary majority following last year's general election.
Some 48 million people were eligible to vote at last year's poll, but voter turnout was the lowest since 2001, with 59.7 per cent of voters casting a ballot.
The Conservative Party, which was comprehensively defeated at the 2024 election, criticised the government's plan for being inconsistent.
Conservative spokesman on community matters, Paul Holmes, described the proposal as "hopelessly confusing".
"Sixteen-year-olds will be able to vote in an election but not stand as candidates, and they will be able to vote but not permitted to buy a lottery ticket, consume alcohol, marry, or go to war," Mr Holmes told the House of Commons.
Despite its big win, the Labour Party sits second in most opinion polls behind the right-wing Reform UK party, headed by Nigel Farage.
Mr Farage also did not support the proposal, saying voters should not be able to cast a ballot in elections they can not legally stand as a candidate in.
Candidates need to be 18-years of age or older in the UK to run for election.
He also took issue with bank cards being used as voter ID, because there were no photos on the cards to confirm the cardholder's identity.
Political sociologist at the University of Sheffield, Dr Christine Huebner, told the ABC it was "a big day for young people in the UK".
"Democracy is not going to die, nothing bad is going to happen," Dr Huebner said.
She said research in countries that had lowered the voting age, including Brazil, found that trust in democratic institutions rose.
"If we think about protecting our democracies from attacks from different angles, that could be a good longer-term outcome in the UK as well."
She said research in countries that lowered the voting age like Austria, Scotland and Wales found the younger cohort turned out in slightly higher numbers at the ballot box than those aged 18, 19 and 20.
"That's plausible when you think about 18-19-20 being a time when people move out of their family home, maybe start working, go to university, that's an extremely transient period in young people's lives," she said.
"Voter turnout is an issue in the UK, and so we hope that that will go up and during the voting age to include 16 and 17-year-olds, especially when it is coupled with good civic education and support for young voters."
She said while compulsory voting was one key difference between the Australian and British electoral systems, she believed the evidence found in other countries would also flow on to Australia.
"There are opportunities to really make this work for increased trust in democratic institutions, for example, and at the end of the day who to include in the franchise is a political decision," she said.