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1. The Scottishindependencereferendumshowedonce andforall that 16- and17-year-oldsare more
than capable of takingimportantpolitical decisions. The argumentsagainstvotesat16 are now in
tatters,thanksto the way inwhich16- and17-year-oldsconductedthemselvesinthe Scottish
independencereferendum.Howcanwe now denythese new votersandtheircontemporariesthe
chance to helpchoose theirlocal MP? The nextgenerationof votersare the firsttohave received
citizenshipeducation,yetare beingdeniedtheirfull rightsascitizens.Loweringthe votingage to16
wouldallowaseamlesstransitionfromlearningaboutvoting,electionsanddemocracytoputting
such knowledgeintopractice.
The firstgenerationof voterswhohave neededtostudyourdemocracyare deniedthe righttouse
thisknowledge inaGeneral Electionforatleasttwofurtheryears,upto a possible sevenyears.And
that's a missedopportunity.The Electoral ReformSocietyisafoundingmemberof the Votesat16
coalition.Since we launchedsupportforloweringthe votingage canbe foundamongstpoliticians
fromall political parties,the House of Lords,the WelshAssemblyandthe ScottishParliament,as
well asthe entire leadingyouthsectorandyoungpeople’sorganisations.
The propositionsupportingthe loweringof the votingage forall publicelectionsacrossthe
UnitedKingdomhasgainedconsiderable political momentumoverthe pastdecade or so,
largelydue tothe concertedcampaigningof some leadingyouthorganisationstogether
withan increasingnumberof youngpeopleandpoliticians.Withthe majorityof
mainstreampolitical partiesnowsupportingthe introductionof ‘votesat16’,it isa
proposal whose time appearstohave come.That16 and17 year-oldswill be able tovote
on the constitutional futureof ScotlandinSeptember2014 suggeststhe ‘genie isoutof the
bottle’andthe move towardsa universal loweringof the votingage to 16 across the UK is
imminent.
Such a viewshouldhoweverbe temperedbyanumberof issuesthatmightcompromise
the adoptionof votesat 16. First,the Conservativesappearsteadfastlyopposedtoits
introductionandare unlikelytoadoptthe cause if theyformthe nextgovernmentin2015.
Second,twonoteworthyUKgovernment-sponsoredindependentcommissionson
loweringthe votingage overthe pastdecade – The Russell Commissionof 2004 andthe
Youth CitizenshipCommissionof 2008-9 - have bothfoundagainstthe proposition.Both
commissionsraisedimportantquestionsaboutthe increasinglyfracturedage limitsfora
range of rightsand responsibilitiesandalsoquestionedwhether‘votesat16’ wouldinduce
greateryouthpolitical literacyandparticipation.Finally,there isevidence of widespread

2. oppositiontothe move fromadultstoloweringthe votingage to16. Moreover,the last
sizeable surveyof the viewsof youngpeople themselvesbythe YouthCitizenship
Commissionin2009 suggestedonlyaslightmajoritysupportedvotesat16.