The British government announced on Thursday its intention to lower the voting age to 16 for general elections, a significant move that would place the UK among the countries with the youngest electorates worldwide.
The reform follows a key campaign promise from the Labour Party, which came to power last year, and is part of a broader package of changes aimed at revitalizing the UK’s democratic system. Officials say the reforms are designed to address issues like declining voter turnout, which some have described as a sign of a democracy “in crisis.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer defended the decision, stating, “I think it’s really important that 16- and 17-year-olds have the vote, because they are old enough to go out to work, they are old enough to pay taxes. If you pay in, you should have the opportunity to say what you want your money spent on.”
The government plans to introduce legislation in Parliament to formalize the change—a process likely to succeed, given Labour’s current majority.
While supporters frame the move as a democratic modernization effort, critics argue it could be politically motivated. Younger voters are widely seen as more likely to back center-left parties like Labour, raising concerns of partisanship.
Currently, only a handful of countries—including Austria, Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, and Cuba—allow 16-year-olds to vote in national elections. Austria was the first EU member state to adopt the policy in 2007.
Labour ministers argue the change will harmonize voting rights across the UK. Sixteen- and 17-year-olds are already eligible to vote in elections for devolved parliaments in Scotland and Wales.
Additional electoral reforms are also in the pipeline. These include introducing automated voter registration, a system already in use in countries such as Australia and Canada, and allowing UK-issued bank cards as valid voter ID at polling stations.
The previous Conservative government had implemented stricter voter ID laws, which reportedly led to around 750,000 people being unable to vote in the last general election, according to the Electoral Commission.
Harry Quilter-Pinner, executive director of the Institute for Public Policy Research, described the changes as “the biggest reform to our electoral system since 1969,” when the voting age was last lowered—from 21 to 18. He estimates the new reforms, including voter registration automation, could add as many as 9.5 million people to the electoral register.
“Our democracy is in crisis,” he said. “We risk reaching a tipping point where politics loses its legitimacy.”
— AFP
