Labour has today bulldozed ahead with a controversial plan to give 16 and 17-year-olds the vote — a move critics have slammed as a cynical and desperate attempt to shore up support from easily influenced youngsters.
Under new legislation announced by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, the voting age will be lowered in time for the next General Election, meaning current 12-year-olds will be eligible to help choose Britain’s next government.
In a move that has been branded “shameless”, Labour will also introduce automatic voter registration, meaning teens will be signed up to vote whether they apply or not.
Rayner claimed the measures would “rebuild trust in politics” and make democracy more inclusive. “We are taking action to break down barriers to participation,” she said. “This will support our plan for change.”
But many believe the true motive is far less noble: to lock in Labour support from a younger, more impressionable age group that typically votes left – and to tip the electoral scales in their favour for years to come.
Keir Starmer, attempting to defend the radical overhaul, told ITV News: “They’re old enough to work, to pay taxes – and if you pay in, you should have a say in how the country is run.”
But critics weren’t buying it – and the backlash was fierce.
Dan Wootton, political commentator and broadcaster, tore into the plan:
“In the UK today, as a 16-year-old, you cannot get a tattoo, enter a nightclub, have a credit card, gamble or even use a bloody sunbed.
But Slippery Starmer – in his deranged bid to make Labour the forever party of government – has today given 16-year-olds the vote.
SHAME ON HIM.”
Tory MPs and commentators alike accused Labour of “political manipulation” and said the change was both irresponsible and incoherent.
Paul Holmes, the Conservatives’ shadow local government minister, added:
“Why does this Government think a 16-year-old can vote but not buy a lottery ticket, drink, marry, go to war or even stand in the elections they’re voting in?
Isn’t the Government’s position on adulthood just hopelessly confused?”
Behind closed doors, Conservative strategists are seething, warning that the policy could open the floodgates to partisan campaigning in schools and drag teachers into political debates. One MP said, “We’re on a slippery slope to classrooms becoming Labour recruitment centres.”
Starmer’s plan means hundreds of thousands of teens, most of them not yet adults in the eyes of the law, will be able to influence the outcome of General Elections, referenda, and local government decisions. Yet these same teens are still banned from even entering a casino or signing up for a mobile contract without parental permission.
It’s the latest example, critics say, of Labour playing fast and loose with the fundamental structures of democracy, not to empower the people, but to secure their own grip on power.
For now, Labour is celebrating the move as a step forward for “youth engagement”. But with trust in politicians already at a record low, many see this as yet another cynical ploy from a party more interested in future ballots than future generations.
And with Keir Starmer at the helm, it seems nothing, not even common sense, is safe from being sacrificed for votes.
