The Labour party’s long flirtation with extending the franchise to 16-year-olds smoulders on. As Starmer told this week’s Liaison Committee: ‘We will definitely get it done, it’s a manifesto commitment and we intend to honour it.’ If true, this will be the largest change to the electorate since 1969 when the voting age was reduced from 21 to 18. It will mean around 1.5 million potential voters being added to the electoral roll.
Seducing teenagers began when Labour was last in office. Back in 2007, Julie Morgan, then-MP for Cardiff North, used a Private Members’ Bill to suggest amendments to the Representation of the People Act which would lower the voting age. Despite receiving support from over 100 MPs, her Bill did not progress beyond a second reading.
But Labour’s ideas machine was not deterred. In 2023, its National Policy Forum came up with a pre-election pledge to introduce votes for 16- and 17-year-olds ‘so that young people feel empowered and can fully engage in our democratic processes.’
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