Half a century since the national voting age was last lowered, Keir Starmer has decided the time is right to include more than a million 16- and 17-year-olds in democracy for the first time.
Like bringing in same-sex marriage, smoking bans or maternity leave, extending the franchise is a defining policy that will become part of this government’s permanent legacy for the country.
The thinking behind the move, promised in Labour’s manifesto, is that encouraging younger people to vote at an age when they are still largely in education will persuade them to make it a lifelong habit.
There is also an issue of fairness. Many young people work and contribute taxes, or serve in the military in non-combat roles. And it will bring England and Northern Ireland into line with Scotland and Wales, where those aged 16 and 17 have been able to vote in Holyrood, Senedd and local council elections for some time.
The government’s arguments for electoral change are all about increasing democratic participation, with Starmer saying all young people should have a say in the country’s future. “If you pay in, you should have the opportunity to say how your money should be spent,” he said.
There is also an unspoken belief among many in Labour that the change may benefit the left, given that younger people have historically tended to be more left wing. The Conservatives were certainly not keen on the policy, saying it was “confusing” that the age group would be able to vote “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”.
The impacts of the change, however, are far from certain. Polling of 500 aged 16 and 17 conducted by Merlin Strategy for ITV News showed Labour had most support with 33%, ahead of Reform UK on 20% and the Conservatives on 10%. But half of them thought they should not yet be allowed to vote, and only 18% said they would definitely vote if there was an election tomorrow.
Only half said they had a positive view of democracy, and more than a fifth said they viewed a military strongman with no government or elections positively.
The move to extend the franchise in Scotland and Wales has led to mixed results. Dr Stuart Fox from the University of Exeter, who has carried out research into how to encourage voting among young age groups, said it was far from clear that a lower voting age would increase youth engagement. He also suggested other measures such as more citizenship education.
“Supporters of the change will point to major successes like the Scottish independence referendum, in which the turnout of 16- and 17-year-olds was greater than that of 18- to 21-year-olds, and argue that a lower voting age will help young people get into the habit of voting earlier.
“Far less attention is paid to the case of Wales, however, which reduced the voting age to 16 for the last election in 2021: not only did most 16- and 17-year-olds not vote, barely half even registered to do so. Less attention is also paid to the fact that those Scottish young people who voted aged 16 or 17 are now voting in local and Scottish parliamentary elections at rates little different from their predecessors who weren’t able to vote until 18.”
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Supporters of the move, though, think it is worth a shot, and that every possible attempt should be made to encourage voting at a time when barely half of those eligible cast their ballot at the last election.
The executive director of the Institute for Public Policy Research, Harry Quilter-Pinner, said democracy was in crisis, and the country risked “reaching a tipping point where politics loses its legitimacy”.
He said lowering the voting age to 16 and introducing first steps towards automatic voter registration could eventually bring up to 9.5 million new people into the democratic process – a crucial step in rebuilding trust in the system and pushing back against the forces of populism.