The cult of youth undermines democracy

Should a young person’s vote count for more than an old person’s? Perhaps people under the age of 25 should get two votes and people over 50 just one. After all, the under-25 person will have to live with the consequences of political decisions for far longer than the over-50. On something like Britain’s relationship with the EU, shouldn’t the voice of those who have just entered adulthood carry more weight than the voice of those who occasionally find themselves thinking: ‘I wonder how much a stair-lift costs’?

To most of us, this is a horrific idea. An ugly, misanthropic proposal. It would destroy the very heart of democracy — ‘one person, one vote’ — and dehumanise the old into the bargain by treating their vote, the core expression of their citizenship, as lesser somehow. And yet as part of the political class’s ongoing meltdown over Brexit, there is now a strong implication at least that the concerns of the young should override the concerns of the old.