Your support helps us tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to big tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the finances of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word,’ which shines a light on American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know the importance of analyzing the facts of messaging. .
At such a critical moment in American history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to continue sending journalists to tell both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to block Americans from our reporting and analysis with a paywall. We believe that quality journalism should be available to everyone, and paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes a difference.
Wat Harold Wilson’s Work the government has reduced voting aged 21 to 18 in 1969. Great Britain became the first major democratic country to do so. And although that topic has appeared at various times since – not only after 2016 EU referendum – only now, after 55 years, it could be reduced to 16 and 17 year olds.
Now, if sir Keir Starmer and his colleagues are actually tabling legislation in the next parliamentary session, as reported, cynics – and the opposition – are likely to consider a move to secure more influence and votesrather than a means of reflecting the new age of adulthood in the UK. And others will no doubt say that 16-year-olds are not ready for such responsibility – that they are children.
However, just as the Representation of the People’s Law did not lead to disaster or affect future elections (since then we have had a total of four Labor prime ministers and seven Conservative prime ministers), lowering the voting age to 16 will not mean the end of the world as we know it. And, frankly, if 16-year-olds can drive a car, get a job, and consent to sex, they’re also old enough to vote and have a say in their future.
But lowering the voting age is also only part of the problem.
Just giving younger people a voice won’t necessarily fix voter apathy or even increase voter turnout – which has always been notoriously low among these groups. For that to happen – and for it to really work – younger voters need to understand why they should first of all vote and how the political system works. And that only comes with education and engagement.
I voted for the first time in 2010 general electionswhen I was 18 years old. I came from a working-class family and lived in a poor seaside town, which also It happens to be a Tory safe seat. If I hadn’t studied politics in the sixth form at the time, I’m not sure I would have been motivated to vote – not because I didn’t have political views, but because I felt like it wouldn’t work. difference; that my vote will be in vain because the outcome in my area has always been the same.
Yet, like many young voters at the time, I was fueled by Nick Clegg’s performance in live TV debates and his party’s promise not to raise university fees. I was motivated by the desire to protect our future and prevent higher education from becoming even more elite than it already is.
Of course, we all know what happened next (I promise you I have never voted Lib Dem since). But if young voters hadn’t been mobilized at the time, the Lib Dems would never have secured 23 per cent of the vote – nor would they formed a coalition government with David Cameron’s Conservative Party and got their first taste of power since 1922. To me it shows how powerful young voices can be – if that group is engaged by politicians.
The importance of voter turnout among younger age groups was then highlighted six years later, after the EU referendum. Although research from the London School of Economics went some way to dispelling the myth that turnout was low among 18- to 24-year-olds in 2016, the outcome was still largely dictated by older voters – with 64 percent of over 65s voted to leave the EU and 71 percent of under-25s vote to remain. Notably, education was another important factor in the result, with 70 per cent of voters who went out to vote having only achieved GCSEs or below.
There is no doubt that more younger voters went to the polls – or, indeed, could we voted then – we would still be part of the EU. Nor do I doubt that age, education and voting are inextricably linked.
But it’s not about influence how people vote – but give them the necessary tools to make informed decisions and make sure they understand why exercising your right to vote.
Regardless of political preference or even age, voters should know what’s at stake, what each party and candidate stands for—and the potential consequences of their decisions.
By introducing politics into the national curriculum – perhaps in the form of democracy lessons – and engaging people from a young age, this will not only mean that lowering the voting age is more effective and cost-effective, but will also benefit society in the long term. After all, knowledge is power.