The British government has announced plans to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in general elections—a landmark decision that will make the United Kingdom one of the countries with the lowest national voting ages in the world.
The proposed change follows a key campaign promise by the ruling Labour Party ahead of their election victory in 2024. It forms part of a broader package of democratic reforms aimed at tackling declining voter turnout and restoring faith in the political process.
Why the Change? “If You Pay In, You Should Have a Say” – PM Starmer
Prime Minister Keir Starmer defended the proposal, stating that teenagers old enough to work and pay taxes should also have a say in how their money is spent.
“I think it’s really important that 16- and 17-year-olds have the vote because they are old enough to go out to work, they are old enough to pay taxes… and if you pay in, you should have the opportunity to say what you want your money spent on,” Starmer said.
Electoral Reform: What’s Changing in the UK?
Lowering the Voting Age
If approved by Parliament where Labour holds a comfortable majority this policy will mark the first major change to the national voting age since 1969, when it was lowered from 21 to 18.
Currently, only a handful of countries such as Austria, Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, and Cuba allow 16-year-olds to vote in national elections. Scotland and Wales already permit voting from 16 in their regional elections.
Automated Voter Registration
Another major shift will see the introduction of automated voter registration, already used in countries like Australia and Canada. This is expected to significantly expand the electoral roll.
New Forms of Voter ID
The government also plans to accept UK-issued bank cards as valid photo identification at polling stations. This move follows criticism of the previous Conservative government’s voter ID law, which reportedly led to 750,000 people being unable to vote in the 2024 election due to lack of accepted ID.
Democracy “In Crisis”: Reform Aims to Add 9.5 Million Voters
Harry Quilter-Pinner, executive director at the Institute for Public Policy Research, hailed the reforms as “the biggest reform to our electoral system since 1969.”
He emphasized that lowering the voting age and automating registration could bring an estimated 9.5 million new voters onto the register.
“Our democracy is in crisis, and we risk reaching a tipping point where politics loses its legitimacy,” Quilter-Pinner warned.
Labour ministers argue that these reforms will align general elections with existing practices in devolved parliaments and bring the UK’s democracy in line with modern expectations.
