Oldham MP Jim McMahon will introduce a private member’s bill (PMB) to lower the voting age to 16 on Friday to Parliament.
The bill which has the backing of the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish Nationalist Party will almost certainly need the backing of some Conservatives to get to the second reading stage when it can be scrutinised by MP’s
The Conservatives remain stubbornly opposed to extending the voting age and at a Prime Minister’s Questions earlier this year, Theresa May confirmed her opposition to extending the vote to 16 and 17 year olds. She justified her position stating: “We expect people to continue in education or training until the age of 18, and I think that is the right point for the voting age.”.
Earlier this week, McMahon told the news website Buzzfeed that:
“A lot of the arguments that are being made to deny 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote today were the same arguments being deployed 100 years ago to deny women the right to vote,”
“Now, they’re not comparable – gender equality is not the same as age equality in that sense – [but] if you think of the arguments that were used: ‘women aren’t educated enough to use their vote appropriately’; ‘it would be a ruin to the democratic process’; ‘it would create chaos in the system’.
The bill also aims to counteract the notion that 16-year-olds aren’t informed enough to understand the voting system,by seeking to amend the national curriculum to ensure children are taught about democracy and civil society from the age of 11.
The bill is supported by the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn who says that Parliament cannot deny the vote to the one and half million people who at sixteen can pay tax, get married and join the army.
Cat Smith MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Voter Engagement and Youth Affairs said:
“It is ridiculous that 16 year olds living in Scotland can vote in local elections, but are denied the right to vote in UK General Elections. With the Welsh Labour Government also looking to extend the franchise to young people, the UK Government must act now.
“It is vital that politicians listen to the voices of young people. That is why Labour is supporting Jim McMahon’s campaign to extend the franchise to 16 and 17 year olds.”
