Labour Vows to Lower Voting Age to 16

In a move being described as a craven attempt to “rig the electorate”, the Labour Party’s National Policy Forum’s final report released late last week states: “Labour will introduce votes for 16- and 17-year-olds, in line with Scotland and Wales, so that young people feel empowered and can fully engage in our democratic processes.

“Those who contribute to our society should have a say in how it is governed.”

According to calculations from The Times of London, the move would add around 1.5 million people under the age of 18 to the voter rolls, marking the largest expansion of the electorate since the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18 by the Labour government of Harold Wilson in 1969.

Given the tendency of younger people to back left-wing parties, the move would likely disproportionately help Labour. According to a YouGov survey, the party currently holds a 43 per cent advantage over Conservatives among voters between the ages of 18 and 24, compared to the 21 per cent lead it holds among all voters.

It is blindingly obvious that Labour only want to lower the voting age for their own political advantage; Everyone knows adulthood starts at 18 – that’s when you can get married, start drinking, and smoke. 

A Labour spokesman defended the idea, saying: “At the age of 16, many young people are paying taxes, working, and engaging in all parts of society — it is right that they get a say in who governs them.”