David Vance SubstackRead More
Well then, it looks like 16 year olds will be able to vote in the UK 2029 General Election! The cynicism of the Labour Government is off the scale!
Sixteen and 17-year-olds would be able to vote at the next general election, under government plans to lower the voting age. The minimum voting age is already 16 for local council elections in Scotland and Wales, and elections to the Senedd and Scottish Parliament.
So let me get this right. At 16, you cannot buy alcohol, you cannot buy tobacco, you cannot buy a Lottery ticket – but you can decide on Government policy? Oh, and when the advocates for this lunacy say that you can serve in the Army at 16, they are misleading you. NO soldier is deployed into any frontline role until they are 18!
I think allowing 16/17 year olds the vote is ethically wrong in so many ways.
In fact I think the voting age should be INCREASED, not reduced. In 1969, it was 21 but the Labour Government of that time decreased it to 18. And now, history repeats.
In 2029, there will be around 1.5m 16-17 year olds in the UK. At this point, they are all aged 11 now. So how are they likely to vote then?
Well, in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, self-reported turnout among 16- and 17-year-olds was approximately 78%, compared to 58% for 18- to 19-year-olds (who first voted at 18). Cohorts who first voted at 16 or 17 showed sustained higher turnout in subsequent elections (e.g., 73–78% for 20- to 24-year-olds who started at 16, vs. 53–67% for those who started at 18), suggesting a lasting positive effect on electoral participation.
So the stats indicate that they will VOTE -but then the big question is – for whom?
Younger voters tend to favour left wing parties like Labour (47% among 18- to 24-year-olds in 2024 polls). And it is THIS which Starmer is banking on. He thinks that he will capture this vote and win in 2029.
But I think he is WRONG and there are two main reasons why this is the case.
Firstly, these young idealistic voters are much more likely to vote for even MORE Left wing parties like Jeremy Corbyn/Zarah Sultana’s new party. It is much more likely to gain a significant section of the teen vote. But then there is Reform. Reform is already the 2nd most popular party among 16-17 year olds and in the next few years that is likely to grow. So it seems to me that this new voting base will split between Labour, Reform and Corbyn/Zultana. There will be no net benefit to Labour BUT the electorate will be further infantilised. Perhaps that is the plan?
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