In 1969, the voting age was decreased from the age of 21 to the age of 18 - some believe it should be lowered to the years of 16. This idea was rejected in 1999 and again in 2005. Surely many would argue that teenagers do not have the sufficient maturity or responsibility to vote in elections or that they are not educated enough in politics in order to understand the importance of a vote. Majority of people would not take life advice from a 16 year old, or allow a 16 year old to have full access to each area of society, so how can you than allow them to influence society as a whole?
Theresa May stated that “I continue to think it’s right for it to be 18” ; “of course we now expect young people to stay in educational training up until 18” - the Tories know their youth appeal is very low and if they allowed 16-17 year olds to vote, a large majority would vote Labour. The conservatives are a fragile enough party, so they see lowering the voting age as a severe threat to their party’s success.
Labour Leader -Jeremy Corbyn- stated that “we cannot allow this Conservative government to deny one and a half million people their full rights as citizens”. Politicians who advocate lowering voting age often argue that at 16, citizens have taken on enough responsibilities to deserve the chance to have their say. At 16 you are eligible to pay taxes - if 16-17 year olds can’t vote, then their paychecks shouldn’t be taxed at all, otherwise it’s taxation without representation. If the British government are not directly representing young people by not allowing them to vote ; any laws it passes taxing them are illegal under the Bill Of Rights (1689) and are a denial of their rights as citizens. At 16 you could also leave home, get married or register a civil partner, consent to sexual activity, buy lottery tickets and even join the armed forces. Opposition argue that if you can do any of these things, you are entitled to vote - you are entitled to have your say in the direction of your country, you are entitled to have your say on the key issues affecting your life. Decisions made by the government will often affect younger generations more than the older generations. The dominance of older generations in voting means that policies they support get looked at and passed, if the voting age were to be lowered to 16 they would of reconsidered decreasing the education budget. Why should old people have our future in their hands?
