{"id":2463123,"date":"2025-07-17T17:39:01","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T21:39:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/britain-to-lower-voting-age-to-16-ahead-of-next-election\/"},"modified":"2025-07-17T17:40:49","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T21:40:49","slug":"britain-to-lower-voting-age-to-16-ahead-of-next-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/britain-to-lower-voting-age-to-16-ahead-of-next-election\/","title":{"rendered":"Britain to lower voting age to 16 ahead of next election"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbritain-to-lower-voting-age-to-16-ahead-of-next-election%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2463123&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The British government plans to lower the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-jerseys-biggest-city-grants-voting-rights-to-minors\/\" title=\"Minors in New Jersey&#039;s largest city now have voting rights\">national voting age<\/a> from 18 to 16 ahead of the next general election,marking the first change in voting age since 1969. This initiative aims to expand voting rights and strengthen society by enabling younger individuals-who already contribute through work, taxes, and military service-to have a say in political matters affecting them. The Labor Party, which currently holds a majority in Parliament, supports this reform as part of a broader election overhaul, including easier voter registration and relaxed voter ID rules. While <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >supporters emphasize increasing democratic participation<\/a>, opponents argue the move seeks to gain political advantage by enfranchising a demographic thought to favor labour. The change will require legislation to pass through both houses of Parliament before implementation.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">British government to lower voting age to 16 years old ahead of next election<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2168300\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>The&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/united-kingdom\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">United Kingdom<\/a>&nbsp;is preparing to lower the national voting age to just 16 years old ahead of the next general elections.<\/p>\n<p>Government offices announced the initiative on Thursday in an effort to expand the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/voting-rights\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">right to vote&nbsp;<\/a>and &ldquo;strengthen the foundations of our society for the future.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3474792\/pope-leo-gaza-ceasefire-israeli-forces-hit-catholic-church\/\">Pope Leo calls for Gaza ceasefire after Israeli forces hit Catholic church in region<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/defense\/3474573\/volodymyr-zelensky-usa-ukraine-drone-deal\/\">Zelensky reveals US and Ukraine on verge of drone &#8216;mega-deal&#8217;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3474492\/personal-info-spies-special-forces-among-britons-uk-afghan-data-leak\/\">Personal info of spies and special forces among over 100 Britons included in UK Afghan data leak<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;This will mean young people, who already contribute to society by working, paying taxes and serving in the military, will be given the right to vote on the issues that affect them,&rdquo; the government said in an<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/news\/16-year-olds-to-be-given-right-to-vote-through-seismic-government-election-reforms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> announcement<\/a>, calling it &ldquo;the biggest change to U.K. democracy in a generation.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>It&rsquo;s the country&rsquo;s first change in minimum voting age since 1969, when the cutoff was lowered from age 21 to age 18.<\/p>\n<p>The decision is not a total surprise. The Labour Party promised to lower the voting age to include 16 and 17-year-olds in its&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/labour.org.uk\/change\/serving-the-country\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2024 manifesto<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Opponents assert that the decision is an obvious attempt to expand their own support base by offering suffrage to a demographic that consistently leans in their favor.<\/p>\n<p>There is not much data on the voting intentions of 16- and 17-year-olds, but a survey published in January of this year found that 36% of voters between the ages of 18 and 25 favored the Labour Party.<\/p>\n<p>Interestingly, just under 20% of the same age cohort expressed support for the alternative right-wing political party Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage.<\/p>\n<p>Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, who published a statement celebrating how the change will &ldquo;break down barriers to participation&rdquo; in democracy, dismissed criticism of how the expanding electorate might affect election outcomes in an interview with the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/politics\/2025\/jul\/17\/voting-age-to-be-lowered-to-16-in-england-and-northern-ireland\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Guardian<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;You can&rsquo;t turn around and say: I don&rsquo;t like what democracy is going to give, so I&rsquo;m not giving you democracy. That argument is, to me, a cul-de-sac,&rdquo; Rayner said. &ldquo;What we have to do is engage with people about the importance of democracy and the importance of them exercising their democracy, and our argument of why we&rsquo;re the right people to do the job.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Lowering the voting age is only one part of Labour&rsquo;s multifaceted&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/voting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">elections overhaul<\/a>, which includes increased automation in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-puts-susan-rice-in-charge-of-effort-to-expand-vote-by-mail\/\" title=\"Biden Puts Susan Rice in Charge of Effort to Expand Vote by Mail\">voter registration processes<\/a> and stricter penalties for harassing or intimidating candidates.<\/p>\n<p>The U.K. will also be loosening voter ID regulations, allowing those seeking to cast a ballot to use bank cards from domestic institutions or digital credentials. Veteran cards will also be accepted.<\/p>\n<p>The adoption of the new voting age will take some time as the government prepares to push a bill through the House of Commons and House of Lords. Labour holds a firm majority in the House of Commons, and the unelected upper house tends to take a hands-off approach to election laws.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3474492\/personal-info-spies-special-forces-among-britons-uk-afghan-data-leak\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">PERSONAL INFO OF SPIES AND SPECIAL FORCES AMONG OVER 100 BRITONS INCLUDED IN UK AFGHAN DATA LEAK<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Labour took control of the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/british-parliament\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">British Parliament<\/a>&nbsp;in last year&rsquo;s general election, ending over 14 years of Conservative Party rule.<\/p>\n<p>The government has until August 2029 before the next required general election.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_2168300\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"2168300\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UK to reduce voting age to 16 before next election<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3468,"featured_media":2463124,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/AP24186624178949.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[13035,3728,59353,59354],"class_list":["post-2463123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-britain","tag-election","tag-voting-age","tag-youth-voting"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/AP24186624178949.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2463123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3468"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2463123"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2463123\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2463127,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2463123\/revisions\/2463127"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2463124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2463123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2463123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2463123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}