The Labour Government has announced that the voting age will be lowered to 16 across the UK for the next General Election, a change pledged in the party’s manifesto last year.
With Labour languishing in the polls behind Reform, and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer facing dire approval ratings and growing opposition in his own party, the move is being viewed as a cynical ploy to boost the Labour vote in 2029 and distract from the Government’s woes.
Opinions on the change have largely split down party lines, with the Right arguing that 16 and 17 year-olds are still minors who are yet to attain the full rights and responsibilities of adulthood, such as marrying, going to war or even standing in elections. While the Left insists that the change is a logical step giving those paying into the system the right to have a say on what their money is spent on.
But how many 16 and 17 year-olds actually pay tax? To pay income tax they would have to be earning above the £12,570 threshold – something highly unlikely for most in low-wage part-time jobs. Young people aged 16-17 are required by law to be in education or training and may only work up to 20 hours a week, leaving very little scope to earn enough to pay any income tax at all.
I am 16 years old and it’s obvious to me that handing the vote to teenagers is not sensible. From my own personal experience, many of my peers have not matured: they waste money, sleep in all day, play games and pay little attention to what is happening around them. During the last election, some at my school did not even know who Keir Starmer or Rishi Sunak were. In fact, a 2022 report by the Electoral Commissionfound that only around 37% of 16-17-year-olds in the UK said they felt “confident” in their understanding of how the political system works. A youth poll last year found that 70% of 8-17 year-olds surveyed did not know the name of their local MP, with 79% unaware of their MP’s key priorities. It makes no sense to give us the, vote when most of us have no clue who or what we’re voting for.
The move also risks politicising education even more than it already is, with schools turned into political battlegrounds rather than a place to be educated. And do we really trust Labour and the Left-wing education blob to ensure schools remain strictly impartial during elections?
Starmer may hope to win lots of support among the newly enfranchised youth; whether he will or not, is another matter entirely. According to a poll for ITV News, 20% of youngsters would currently vote for Reform, while a 2025 youth poll of 16-19 year-olds showed 60% would consider voting for independents. Starmer himself would only gain 1,800 new votes in his constituency.
Lowering the voting age may not help Starmer, and it could even backfire. Teenagers like me aren’t a reliable target; our views are often ill-informed and we can be easily swayed. We still need time to mature in our understanding before we should be trusted with decisions as serious as whom to endow with state power.
The policy reeks of desperation from a Prime Minister panicking about clinging to his majority and his seat. It’s an irresponsible move, and one that, with any luck, will backfire.
Jack Watson is a 16 year-old schoolboy in Year 11. You can read his Substack about following Hull City FC here. Follow him on X here.
This piece was first published in The Daily Sceptic, and is reproduced by kind permission.
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My worry is how 16 -18 year olds (and younger) will be heavily influenced by the attitudes and agendas of their teachers, and by the way the now government – I use the word loosely – is seeking to politicise the curriculum leftwards, even going so far as to dictate how and what will be changed so that trainee teachers will be obliged to take a certain line. It’s bad enough in the classroom as it is.
Then we have the so called ‘ethnic minorities’ (not minority for much longer) in our society, who not only have large families, but where the eldest male in the family will be the one who says who will vote, and who they will vote for. No doubt Starmer is expecting them to all vote Labour, but he may get a nasty shock if they vote for independents. It’s already happening, but in the future will this hasten the takeover, and make things worse all round?
We have another four interminable years to see what he will bribe 16 years old with to try and secure their votes. Are this age group aware enough to recognise the destruction of our country and culture? I’m not sure whether or not at that age I noticed or gave a damn about politics – it didn’t really affect me. I had little responsibility, no money to speak of, and was more interested in doing reasonably well at school, and having a good time. Looking back it seems like a different Universe. Does anybody have a ‘good time’ these days, or am I the only one worried and angry all the time?
Good for you Jack I notice your comment about election year politics in schools it shows a great understanding of what sort of twit Starmer really is no thought for the Country just all for him,I hope that you have a very good career you sound more sensible than the entire government.