Last week on Thursday, July 17, 2025, the UK government lowered the voting age to 16. In the past few years, several other governments, like Austria’s, Belgium’s, and Scotland’s, have lowered the voting age. Now, the UK government has also decided to lower the age for general elections. The government says that if young people can pay taxes, join the army, and work, they should have a say in who governs them.

The UK government is run by several parties. The main parties right now are the Conservative Party and Labour Party. Right now, the Labour Party has most of the power because they have most of the votes. They have decided that they would lower the voting age in a general election. General elections are when the people choose representatives from each part of the UK to serve in the House of Commons. Now, because the government has lowered the voting age, 16 and 17-year-olds will be able to participate in the elections to choose who will represent them in the House of Commons. The last general election happened last year, in 2024, so the next election will likely be in 2029 unless the government decides to run an election earlier. Unlike the U.S., general elections don’t have a fixed date. Instead, the government can decide when to call elections and on what day.

Although the Labour Party has already set the rule that 16-year-olds will be able to vote in general elections, other parties have their own opinions on this topic. The Conservative Party is against this change of rules. “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?” Conservative lawmaker Paul Holmes asked Thursday in the House of Commons. Several others, including Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform UK party, said that the Labour party was trying to rig the system.

Although younger people may not be allowed to vote, they still have many other rights that do not include anything to do with politics. For example, those in the UK can express their opinions and feelings openly and form their ideas with no limits. This is listed in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.