Is 16 Too Young to Vote?

“Please miss, can we leave school early today? It’s election day.”

“I beg your pardon, Jimmy? Oh, yes voting, of course. Off you go, but don’t forget your plimsolls and make sure your mother is at the gate to collect you.”

Pokemon cards and ballot slips don’t mix. Giving the vote to 16-year-olds is like giving your kids a Hush Puppy, switching off Nintendo parental controls and expecting a calm bedtime. 

It will backfire. 

The UK government has announced that the voting age will be reduced to 16 for all elections across the country as part of a broader reform of the electoral system.

It stated that young people “work, pay taxes and serve in the military” and so should have the right to vote on decisions that directly impact their lives. 

Fair point. Some of them do. 

Now remember, I am a dinosaur. My baseline is me at 16. I was into Jean-Claude Van Damme movies, karate lessons and photography. I hated my economics A-level class and took more interest in computer games. I was still a kid.

But I had ideas. I remember my own father and his fishing mate, Rex, challenging me on my views. I held ideals about the environment and sharing the wealth around. 

“Just wait until you start work,” they said, smiling. I remember hating their responses. 

When I talk to my own sons, (9 and 10) they’re interested in politics - and not from any prompting at home. Their school is challenging them to think and research. 

In last year’s election, they asked about every party. We had to delicately tell them it was a matter of voting for the least awful of them - and it was hard. 

But where this goes, no one can see. The polls suggest Corbyn - who’s launching a new political party - is the 16-year-old's GOAT (greatest of all time) right now, but that could all flip after a couple of TikToks and a chat behind the bike sheds.

For instance, young Germans are increasingly backing the far-right AfD, with up to 21 percent of 18–24s supporting the party, rising to 38 percent in eastern states.

Reform will be watching this. It's patronising to think that 16-year-olds would automatically vote for Labour.

Pensioners fear the move. Already on Labour’s naughty step - along with businesses and disabled people - over 65s will likely see the 16-year-old’s vote as another move away from their interests. This could push more of them to vote away. 

How will the UK’s youth respond to the harsh economy and difficult society they inherit?

I’d argue 16 year-olds today are better informed than I was at that age - so why not. They can't do any worse than kprevious voters, but it won't be a home run for Labour.