The British government announced on Thursday that it plans to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in general elections, marking a landmark shift that would give the UK one of the world’s lowest voting ages.
The move fulfils a promise by the ruling Labour Party, which pledged to lower the voting age before coming to power last year. It is part of broader efforts to reform the democratic system amid concerns about declining voter turnout and public disengagement.
“This is about fairness,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said. “If you’re old enough to work and pay taxes, you should have a say in how your money is spent and which direction the government takes.”
To implement the change, the government will introduce legislation in parliament, where it holds a strong majority.
Currently, only a handful of countries, including Austria, Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, and Cuba, allow 16-year-olds to vote in national elections. Austria was the first EU country to lower its voting age to 16 in 2007.
Labour ministers say the change will modernise the UK’s democracy, align general elections with the voting age already used for elections to the devolved parliaments in Scotland and Wales, and help boost participation among young people.
Additional reforms under consideration include the introduction of automated voter registration, similar to systems in Australia and Canada, and allowing UK-issued bank cards as valid photo ID at polling stations. This follows concerns over a previous voter ID law introduced by the former Conservative government, which the Electoral Commission found prevented around 750,000 people from voting in last year’s election.
Harry Quilter-Pinner, executive director of the Institute for Public Policy Research, described the reforms as the most significant changes to the electoral system since 1969, when the voting age was lowered to 18. He noted that the combined changes could add 9.5 million people to the voter register.
“Our democracy is in crisis, and we risk reaching a tipping point where politics loses its legitimacy,” Quilter-Pinner warned, urging support for the reforms.
