Votes at 16- It's a Question of Fairness

Written by Sarah Teather MP and published in Times/Chronicle Series on Wed 28th Apr 2004

Sarah Teather at 29 is the youngest MP

Last week the Electoral Commission published its recommendations on what age people should be allowed to vote. The report recommended that the voting age remain at eighteen with the age at which people should be allowed to stand for election (to Council and Parliament) should be reduced from twenty-one to eighteen. I was delighted that the Commission recommended lowering the age at which people can stand for election. However, I feel that the decision to keep the voting age the same is a missed opportunity.

I would like to see the voting age lowered to sixteen. For me lowering the voting age is a question of fairness. It seems wrong that at sixteen you can go to work, get married and join the army, yet you cannot vote.

It seems bizarre to me that you can pay tax - to the Council and Government, yet not have a say in how the government spends your money. You can join the armed forces that protect our country, yet cannot have a say in where and when those forces are deployed. When you have no vote you have no voice. If the Government expects young people to behave as grown-ups it should treat then as such and give them the right to a vote.

As the local MP, I have met many very capable and bright teenagers. An example that springs to mind is a local youth organisation called Hands Up that is run entirely by young people for young people. These young people are under eighteen and run citizenship classes in local schools. They have strong views and articulate them expertly however they are not allowed to have a say in the future of our country.

There are many other reasons why now is a good time to change the voting age. Young people are better informed than ever now that they receive citizenship classes in school. Other studies conducted by the Electoral Commission found that 16-18years olds are actually more interested in voting than 18-25 year olds. This is important, because even if you want to vote, the 18-25 year old group may find it difficult to do so. This age group is usually quite mobile - they live away from home and may not be registered to vote. The 16-18 year olds are more stable. If we can get people into the habit of voting young, they might continue to do so. If they never get into the habit, we have very little chance of persuading people that voting is important. That is bad for society and bad for democracy.

Some people suggest that sixteen year olds have very definite views that change later in their life. However many forty year olds also change their views in life yet we do not deny them the right to vote. Look at the result last year in Brent East where many disillusioned Labour supporters felt let down by a party that supports tuition fees, the closure of our local Post Offices and the war with Iraq. They wanted a party that would fight for our area. Many local people changed their minds and supported someone different in the by-election. They decided they liked what the Liberal Democrats had to say.

As the youngest MP I am acutely aware of how unrepresentative Parliament is of young people. At twenty-nine, I am the only MP who is aged between twenty and thirty, that is a huge section of our society hugely under represented. It is a problem that needs to be addressed. I believe that by lowering the voting age we will get more young people actively involved in politics. I disagree with people who say young people aren't interested in politics. When I have visited local schools and colleges I have found young people wanting to raise all kinds of local issues that affect them. That is politics. Young people are interested in politics, it is often politicians and political parties who they are disinterested in.

Related Link:

Votes at 16 campaign.