Labour’s plan to lower the voting age is admirable – but it doesn’t go far enough

Lowering the voting age alone won’t necessarily improve voter turnout and engagement among young people but teaching democracy classes in all schools would help, says Emma Clarke

When Harold Wilson’s Labour government lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 in 1969, the UK became the first major democratic country to do so. And although the topic has come up at various points since – not least after the 2016 EU referendum – it is only now, 55 years on, that it could actually be lowered to include 16- and 17-year-olds.

Now, if Sir Keir Starmer and his colleagues do in fact bring forward legislation in the next parliamentary session, as has been reported, the cynics – and the opposition – will likely view it as a move to secure more influence and votes, rather than a means to reflect the new age of adulthood in the UK. Others will also no doubt say that 16-year-olds aren’t ready for such responsibility – that they are children.

However, just as the Representation of the People’s Act didn’t spell disaster or sway future elections (since then we’ve had a total of four Labour PMs and seven Conservative PMs), lowering the voting age to 16 won’t mean the end of the world as we know it. And, frankly, if 16-year-olds can drive a car, get a job, and consent to sex, they, too, are old enough to vote and have a say in their futures.

But lowering the voting age is also only part of the issue.

Just by giving younger people the vote, it won’t necessarily fix voter apathy or even increase voter turnout – which has always been notoriously low amongst these groups. In order for that to happen – and for this to really work – younger voters need to understand why they should vote in the first place, and how the political system works. And that only really comes with education and engagement.

My first time voting was in the 2010 general election, when I was 18. I came from a working-class family and lived in an impoverished seaside town, which also happens to be a Tory safe seat. Had I not been studying politics at sixth form at the time, I am not sure I would have been motivated to vote – not because I didn’t hold political views, but because I had been made to feel as though it wouldn’t make a difference; that my vote would be wasted because the outcome in my area was always the same.

Still, like many young voters at the time, I was galvanised by Nick Clegg’s performance in live TV debates and his party’s promise to not raise university tuition fees. The desire to protect our futures and to prevent higher education from becoming even more elitist than it already is spurred me on.

Of course, we all know what happened next (I promise you I’ve never voted Lib Dem since). But had young voters not mobilised then, the Lib Dems would have never secured 23 per cent of the vote – nor would they have formed a coalition government with David Cameron’s Conservative Party and been given their first taste of power since 1922. To me, it demonstrates how powerful the young vote can be – if that group is engaged by politicians.

The importance of voter turnout amongst younger age groups was then accentuated six years later, following the EU referendum. Although research by the London School of Economics somewhat dispelled the myth that turnout was low among 18- to 24-year-olds in 2016, the outcome was still very much dictated by older voters – with 64 per cent of over 65s voting to leave the EU and 71 per cent of under-25s voting to remain. Notably, education was another major factor in the result, with 70 per cent of leave voters having only attained GCSEs or lower.

There’s no doubt in my mind that had more younger voters turned up at polling stations – or, indeed, could have voted back then – we’d still very much be part of the EU. Nor is there any doubt in my mind that age, education and voting are inextricably linked.

But it’s not about impacting how people vote – but, rather, giving them the necessary tools to make informed decisions, and making sure they understand why exercising their right to vote matters.

Regardless of political preferences and even age, voters should know what’s at stake, what each party and candidate stands for – and the potential fallout from their decisions.

By introducing politics to the national curriculum – perhaps in the form of democracy lessons – and engaging people from a young age, it will not only mean lowering the voting age is more effective and worthwhile, it will also benefit society more in the long run. After all, knowledge is power.