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UK Lowers Voting Age
The UK government is planning to lower the voting age from 18 to 16. They plan to introduce this by the next election in 2029.. The UK government is doing this to encourage more people to engage with politics.
A general election is a process that allows voters to have a say in who will run the country, according to a BBC article. General elections are usually held every five years in the UK, but the government can trigger an election even earlier.
Lowering the voting age is not altogether a new idea. Countries such as Scotland and Wales have already lowered the voting age to 16. The UK is reducing the voting age because it wants to encourage younger people to be more interested in politics. They also want them to have a say in how the country should be governed. The Labour government is all for this idea.
Prime Minister of the UK, Keir Starmer, thinks that if 16 or 17-year-olds pay taxes, the UK government should lower the voting age. “I think if you pay in, you should have the opportunity to say what you want your money spent on, which way the government should go,” Starmer says.
Some parties, such as the Conservative Party, don’t like this idea. They think that younger people aren’t mature enough to vote. They also worry that the younger people might vote for certain parties rather than others, affecting the outcome of the vote altogether.
“Why does this government think a 16-year-old can vote but not be allowed to buy a lottery ticket, an alcoholic drink, marry, or go to war, or even stand in the elections they’re voting in?” Paul Holmes, a Conservative Party politician, asked.
But will this new legislation have a big impact on election results? Experts say no, as 16 and 17-year-olds make up only 1.5% – 5% of people in the UK, according to Mint. In other countries, such as Scotland, where people aged 16-17 voted in a variety of ways, it didn’t change the outcome of the vote. But do you think the UK should lower the age limit?
Sources
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/articles/cly87q9x638o
https://www.npr.org/2025/07/17/nx-s1-5471304/uk-lowers-voting-age-16
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c628ep4j5kno
​​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9KCMit-5-w

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Alexander Li