Tag: Votes at 16
Ed Miliband should recognise that 16 and 17 year olds can be part of our democracy even if they do not have the vote
Ed Miliband has recently backed a call from Democratic Audit and a range of youth organisations to lower the voting age in the UK to 16. In this post, the latest in our series on youth participation in democracy, Andy Mycock and Jonathan Tonge make the point that votes at 16 will not be a panacea […]
A referendum on lowering the voting age would generate a wider national debate about youth participation in democracy
A number of countries allow their citizens to vote at 16 in national or local elections, including Brazil, Argentina, Austria, Norway and Germany. In the latest post from our series on youth participation in democracy, Craig Berry suggests the UK should also consider lowering the voting age. Holding a referendum on this issue would, he […]
The Electoral Commission’s Jenny Watson on votes at 16, information for voters, and modernising our electoral infrastructure
The Electoral Commission is the public body responsible for regulating party and election finance and setting standards for UK elections. In the second part of a two part Q&A with Democratic Audit’s Sean Kippin, The organisation’s Chair, Jenny Watson discussed modernising our electoral infrastructure, the Electoral Commission’s remit, and the standard of electoral information availability. Similar PostsNHS […]
We should enfranchise young people at 16 while they are still living at home in a settled community
Young voters are less likely to participate in elections than older generations. In this extract from Democratic Audit’s new report, Richard Berry and Patrick Dunleavy show how this is linked to the high levels of mobility among young people above the age of 18, who tend to live in rented accommodation and to move home […]
The Austrian experience shows that there is little risk and much to gain from giving 16-year-olds the vote
Sadiq Khan recently called for the voting age to be lowered to 16 in the UK, as a way to increase the engagement of young people in politics. Markus Wagner and Eva Zeglovits examine arguments for and against, arguing that it is a reform that carries few dangers and can motivate schools to reach out to and motivate young people. […]
All parties need to commit to a plan for young voter engagement
Electoral turnout is among young people is falling, and the disparities between young and old is worse in the UK than any other OECD country. Yet the response of politicians to youth disengagement has been tepid, argues Izzy Westbury, who suggests learning from overseas and the embrace of an ‘educate first, vote second’ plan for […]
Votes at 16: what the UK can learn from Austria, Norway and the Crown dependencies
Implementing the proposal in Ed Miliband’s party conference speech to lower the voting age would make Britain one of only a few countries to allow 16 year olds to vote. In this post, Democratic Audit asks leading democracy experts to share findings from nations that have introduced this change, focusing especially on Austria, Norway and, […]
Votes at 16: democracy experts respond to Ed Miliband’s proposal
Ed Miliband used his speech to the Labour Party conference this week to announce his support for lowering the voting age to 16 for all UK elections. This follows the decision to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in the Scottish independence referendum. In this post, Democratic Audit asks leading experts and practitioners to respond […]
There is still a very long way to go before votes at 16 at general elections becomes a reality
The negotiations between the Scottish and UK governments over the terms of the Scottish independence referendum have resulted in a deal widely trumpeted as allowing 16 year olds to vote when the ballot takes place, probably in Autumn 2014. Unsurprisingly, this move has re-awakened the wider debate about lowering the voting age, with some arguing that it […]
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