Should 16-year-olds have the vote?

Partners:

Under plans being drawn up by the Labour government, anyone over the age of 16 will be allowed to vote in the next UK General Election. According to Keir Starmer, ‘seismic’ change is necessary to ensure young people’s voices are heard. Do you agree?

There are longstanding arguments for and against lowering the voting age. However, critics claim Labour is motivated by partisan advantage, as age has become the biggest demographic divide in British politics, with younger people being more likely to vote Labour.

Opponents argue 16-year-olds are not allowed to drink alcohol unsupervised, get a tattoo, consume pornography, watch explicit films, play violent video games or even lie on a sunbed. Most importantly, anyone under the age of 18 must be in some form of education or training, even if they also work. If they are treated like children in these instances, is it not inconsistent and hypocritical to treat them as adults when it comes to voting?

In contrast, supporters of lowering the voting age argue that 16 is the same age at which you can legally marry, have sex, join the army, leave home and pay taxes. In the German federal states, Austria, Argentina and Brazil, research shows 16- to 18-year-olds are highly engaged and turn out in higher numbers than 18- to 20-year-olds.

Will lowering the voting age to 16 disproportionately benefit Labour and Greens as some suggest or is the answer far from clear? Evidence from recent elections in Austria and Brazil indicate young people voted quite similarly to other age groups. In recent EU elections in Germany, the right-wing AfD did very well among 16- to 24-year-olds. Likewise, in France, young voters turned out in large numbers for Marine Le Pen’s National Rally.

What it is to be a citizen and an adult in 2025? What are the political and philosophical arguments for lowering the voting age? What is motivating the government to lower the voting age? Would you trust 16-year-olds with the vote?