'Giving the Vote to 16 Year Olds Is a Big Step Forward - Now Give It to Migrants Too'
Support our mission to provide fearless stories about and outside the media system
Packed with exclusive investigations, analysis, and features
SUBSCRIBE TODAY
When the Scottish Parliament introduced votes at 16 for the 2014 independence referendum, there were those who argued that 16 and 17-year-olds weren't mature enough to think seriously about the world. Some Conservatives complained that this was a partisan move, designed to drive-up support for the 'Yes' side.
But during the referendum debate, everyone in Scottish politics witnessed the profound way that older teenagers engaged, taking the subject seriously and coming to their own conclusions.
High schools and colleges hosted debates, and the politicians who attended, on both sides, often reported back that they had been involved in some of the most rigorous grillings they'd had.
A year later, when the Scottish Government proposed that the voting age for Holyrood and local elections here should be permanently reduced to 16, the vote passed unanimously - even the previously sceptical Conservatives accepting that the experience had proved them wrong.
Wales followed a few years later, and, in the 2021 Senedd elections, 16 and 17-year-olds were able to vote for the first time. The fact that it's taken England and Northern Ireland - and so Westminster elections across the UK - so long to catch up is a shame. The fact that the Government has finally done so is excellent news.
The principled case for lowering the voting age is obvious - 16 and 17-year-olds have a stake in society, and should get to shape it. Since, on average, they will live longer than the rest of us, they arguably have more of a stake. It's often said that they can pay taxes and join the army, and, of course, that's true, but even those who don't do either are part of the community.
Those who worry that they don't have enough experience of the world miss the point, too. Democracy doesn't demand that we are experts in anything but our own experience - it functions by pooling our collective perspectives.
Stark Figures Reveal How Many Londoners were Turned Away Due to Voter ID in General Election
Well over a thousand people 'denied a vote' due to issues with mandatory photo ID rules in the capital
Josiah Mortimer
Every 16-year-old is more of an expert in what it's like to be 16 in Britain today than I am. And that's the only qualification they need. Forcing politicians to ask for votes from those currently in the school and college system, or the care system, is a good thing. Arguably, it's helped increase the prominence of education and care in Scottish political debate.
Academics who have studied voting habits in Scotland since the change didn't just find that older teenagers are perfectly well equipped to engage in the political process, they've also discovered that those given the right to vote at 16 continue to be more likely to vote than the cohort before them were at th
Packed with exclusive investigations, analysis, and features
SUBSCRIBE TODAY
When the Scottish Parliament introduced votes at 16 for the 2014 independence referendum, there were those who argued that 16 and 17-year-olds weren't mature enough to think seriously about the world. Some Conservatives complained that this was a partisan move, designed to drive-up support for the 'Yes' side.
But during the referendum debate, everyone in Scottish politics witnessed the profound way that older teenagers engaged, taking the subject seriously and coming to their own conclusions.
High schools and colleges hosted debates, and the politicians who attended, on both sides, often reported back that they had been involved in some of the most rigorous grillings they'd had.
A year later, when the Scottish Government proposed that the voting age for Holyrood and local elections here should be permanently reduced to 16, the vote passed unanimously - even the previously sceptical Conservatives accepting that the experience had proved them wrong.
Wales followed a few years later, and, in the 2021 Senedd elections, 16 and 17-year-olds were able to vote for the first time. The fact that it's taken England and Northern Ireland - and so Westminster elections across the UK - so long to catch up is a shame. The fact that the Government has finally done so is excellent news.
The principled case for lowering the voting age is obvious - 16 and 17-year-olds have a stake in society, and should get to shape it. Since, on average, they will live longer than the rest of us, they arguably have more of a stake. It's often said that they can pay taxes and join the army, and, of course, that's true, but even those who don't do either are part of the community.
Those who worry that they don't have enough experience of the world miss the point, too. Democracy doesn't demand that we are experts in anything but our own experience - it functions by pooling our collective perspectives.
Stark Figures Reveal How Many Londoners were Turned Away Due to Voter ID in General Election
Well over a thousand people 'denied a vote' due to issues with mandatory photo ID rules in the capital
Josiah Mortimer
Every 16-year-old is more of an expert in what it's like to be 16 in Britain today than I am. And that's the only qualification they need. Forcing politicians to ask for votes from those currently in the school and college system, or the care system, is a good thing. Arguably, it's helped increase the prominence of education and care in Scottish political debate.
Academics who have studied voting habits in Scotland since the change didn't just find that older teenagers are perfectly well equipped to engage in the political process, they've also discovered that those given the right to vote at 16 continue to be more likely to vote than the cohort before them were at th
Activity