UK Parliament Considers Lowering Voting Age to 16 Across All Elections

The UK government has announced plans to lower the voting age to 16 for all elections before the next general election, citing that votes at 16 will strengthen democracy and empower young people to participate. This move would unite the voting age across the UK, currently varying between 16-17 years in Scotland and Wales, and 18 in England and Northern Ireland. The decision is seen as a way to bridge the age gap in party support, with younger people more likely to vote Labour and older people more likely to vote Conservative.

Key Takeaways:

• The UK government plans to lower the voting age to 16 for all elections before the next general election, citing that votes at 16 will strengthen democracy and empower young people to participate.
• The move aims to unite the voting age across the UK, currently varying between 16-17 years in Scotland and Wales, and 18 in England and Northern Ireland.
• Research suggests that lowering the voting age to 16 could strengthen electoral participation over the long term, with young people who first got the vote at 16 or 17 more likely to vote than people who experienced their first election aged 18 or over.
• The age gap in party support, with younger people more likely to vote Labour and older people more likely to vote Conservative, is a relatively recent phenomenon, emerging from around 2015.
• Factors such as the extent to which political parties adopt policies that appeal to young people, and the age at which young people reach milestones known to influence political attitudes and behaviors, could influence the age-based voting divide.
• The UK Youth Parliament argues that votes at 16 could "fulfil an ethical imperative" of allowing those with the longest life expectancy to have a say, especially "at a time when the main crises impacting the world require long-term thinking."
• There are concerns about the fairness of enfranchising young people at an age where they may already have other societal responsibilities, with some arguing that the legal thresholds for activities such as leaving full-time education, buying tobacco, and getting a tattoo should be consistent.
• Unicef argues that lowering the voting age to 16 should not be used as a justification for lowering other legal thresholds that exist to protect children.
• Research suggests that lowering the voting age could provide opportunities to address socio-economic disparities in democratic engagement, as schools could have an important role in providing democratic education.

Statistics:

• The most recent British social attitudes survey found age was the biggest demographic dividing line between the two main parties in the 2024 general election.
• Within the 65+ age group, 36% supported the Conservatives, six times higher than Conservative support among 18- to 24-year-olds.
• Labour fared better with younger voters than older ones, with 42% of 18- to 24-year-olds voting Labour, compared to 29% of over-65s.
• There are around 1.6 million 16- and 17-year-olds in the UK, equivalent to less than 3% of the UK's entire over-16 population.
• ONS analysis of the 2017 general election results found there were 88 constituencies where the number of 16- and 17-year-olds was greater than the winning margin, rising to 120 constituencies for the 2024 general election.

Sources:

• [1] UK Parliament news release, [no date]
• [2] Scotland and Wales devolved parliament and local government elections, [no date]
• [3] The government's argument that votes at 16 will strengthen democracy, [no date]
• [4] Sir Keir Starmer's statement during the 2024 general election campaign, [no date]
• [5] Labour's manifesto for the 2024 general election, [no date]
• [6] Conservative leader Rishi Sunak's statement on lowering the voting age, [no date]
• [7] Reform UK leader Nigel Farage's statement on lowering the voting age, [no date]
• [8] British social attitudes survey, [no date]
• [9] Conservative support among the 65+ age group, 2024 general election
• [10] Research by the British Election Study on reported turnout patterns in the 2015, 2017 and 2019 general elections
• [11] The British social attitudes survey on age differences in party identification, [no date]
• [12] Research on the extent to which political parties adopt policies that appeal to young people, [no date]
• [13] David Runciman's argument that no-one should assume they know how young people are going to vote, [no date]
• [14] Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures on the number of 16- and 17-year-olds in the UK, [no date]
• [15] ONS analysis of the 2017 general election results, [no date]
• [16] House of Lords Library analysis of the 2024 general election results, [no date]
• [17] The ONS's note on the impact of 16- and 17-year-olds on election outcomes, [no date]
• [18] Dr Christine Huebner and Dr Jan Eichhorn's statement on the actual number of constituencies with potential changes to election outcomes, [no date]
• [19] Sir Keir Starmer's implication about the fairness of enfranchising young people, [no date]
• [20] The UK's move to lower the voting age from 21 to 18 in 1969
• [21] Andrew Russell's argument that the legal thresholds for activities such as leaving full-time education, buying tobacco, and getting a tattoo should be consistent, [no date]
• [22] Unicef's argument that lowering the voting age to 16 should not be used as a justification for lowering other legal thresholds that exist to protect children, [no date]
• [23] Unicef's argument that there is a question of intergenerational equity in deciding where to set the voting age, [no date]
• [24] UK Youth Parliament's manifesto for 2024-26, [no date]
• [25] Research in Scotland and Austria on the impact of lowering the voting age on electoral participation, [no date]
• [26] Research on the higher turnout among young people who first got the vote at 16 or 17, [no date]
• [27] Huebner and Eichhorn's argument that most 16- and 17-year-olds still live at home, [no date]
• [28] The UK Youth Parliament's argument that more political education at school is an integral part of their manifesto campaign for votes at 16, [no date]
• [29] Huebner and Eichhorn's argument that voting age reform should be undertaken as part of a multi-dimensional process, [no date]
• [30] The lesson learned from the lowering of the voting age to 18 in 1969, [no date]
• [31] The government's strategy for elections published on 17 July 2025.