U.K. government moves to lower voting age to 16
July 17 (UPI) -- The United Kingdom is moving forward on plans to lower the voting age to 16, as well as other changes to voting and the contributions candidates can receive.
The U.K. Labor Party, to which Prime Minister Kier Starmer belongs, announced on X Thursday that, "By the next general election, 16- and 17-year-olds will have the right to vote, ensuring young peoples' voices are heard."
"Today we're delivering on our promise to give 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote," Deputy Prime Minister and Labor Party member Angela Rayner posted to X Thursday. "Young people already contribute to society by working, paying taxes and serving in the military. It's only right they can have a say on the issues that affect them."
The British government has also promised to move toward automatic voter registration, expand the forms of permissible voter ID and clamp down on rules in regard to political donations, in order to guard against foreign intrusion.
However, not every member of Parliament is on board with a lower voter age.
"Giving 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote is an attempt to rig the political system," said MP Nigel Farage, leader of the U.K. Reform Party on X Thursday. "If this goes ahead, [the Labor party] could be in for a shock."
Farage posted an accompanying video, in which he claimed he was against people under 18 voting for reasons such as that candidates must be personally over 18 to run, and alleged that the British school system is biased to the left, which would purportedly stack voters in favor of the Labor Party.
Conservative Party MP Neil O'Brien alleged on social media Thursday that the Labor Party raised the legal age for "buying cigarettes, sale of knives, buying fireworks [and] using a sunbed" to 18, and that Starmer has supported raising the age to get married and utilize assisted dying at 18, "But now they want to *lower* the voting age to 16."
Conservative MP James Cleverly said Thursday on X that lowering the voting age "opens a can of worms with regards to other rights and responsibilities for 16- and 17-year-olds."
The proposals made by the Labor Party Thursday will have to make their way through Parliament before becoming law.
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