Strikingly little publicity for a move that brings the rest of the UK in line with Scotland that brought in votes at 16 back in 2014
This really should have been part of an oral statement to Parliament, and given far more publicity by the media because it is such a significant change – even though it was in Labour’s General Election Manifesto. (That means the House of Lords cannot block it because it’s ‘The will of the people’). Note also the briefing note from the House of Lords Library on Citizenship Education.
“We will increase the engagement of young people in our vibrant democracy, by giving 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote in all elections.”
Labour Party Manifesto (2024) pp 108-109
This has been followed through by this letter from Minister Alex Norris at the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government to returning officers and those responsible for administering elections across the UK.
“The government has made clear we will be giving 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote in all UK elections. We want to increase the participation of young people in our vibrant democracy and give them the ability to have their say on the issues that affect them and their future. We know this represents a significant change to the franchise for reserved elections and we are determined to do this right.
“We will work closely with a wide range of stakeholders to ensure we have a complete understanding of how best to achieve this goal, and the experience of our colleagues in Scotland and Wales, where 16- and 17-year-olds already have the right to vote in devolved elections, will be invaluable as we develop the necessary policy and processes.
“We are not expecting to introduce the legislation required to make this change immediately, but we do intend to have this in place to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in the next UK Parliamentary General Election.”
“Will 16 & 17 year olds have the vote in time for the county council elections?”
That would be fun, but it doesn’t look like it for England. At the same time, it indicates we are likely to see the prioritisation of citizenship education in schools – something Michael Gove deprioritised when he became Education Secretary back in 2010. There is a lot that needs to be repaired – something I continually ask of people in the lifelong learning sector regarding democracy education for adults. My hope is that this will be picked up by the new Education Select Committee as and when they decide what issues to scrutinise. (I’ve already asked one of the new members – Jess Asato MP – to pick up on the adult education and lifelong learning side of things)
The UK Youth Parliament and Cambridgeshire – why such little participation from our county?
When it comes to youth engagement in politics, Cambridgeshire’s record is woeful.
“Only 145 year 11 students took the GCSE Citizenship Studies in 2022 in Cambridgeshire”
It has risen slightly in the past couple of years to 625 entries for GCSE Citizenship Studies in 2024. Furthermore, I hope in future years Cambridgeshire’s offer of National Citizen Service can be improved significantly to build on what the students learn – with some of the firms involved in the work lead by the Lord Lieutenant on Cambridge 2030 (who I spoke to last night about learning the essentials of democracy and citizenship) stepping up and participating. That the Minister for Democracy has made this intervention so early on in the new Parliament should provide the impetus needed for local councillors and civic society to respond. Because involvement in the UK Youth Parliament shows we have a challenge. A big challenge.
When the UK Youth Parliament / National Youth Agency surveyed teenagers across the country about what their priorities were, the variation in turnout was striking. In Essex, a quarter of the county’s eligible population responded. In Peterborough, it was over a third at over 24,000 individuals. In Cambridgeshire? Just eleven individuals out of over 62,000.
Above – Make Your Mark (2024) p11
Question: Who is going to do what in Cambridgeshire to change this?
“Will votes at 16 make much of a difference?”
Have a read of Scotland’s experience between 2014-21.
Above – by Jan Eichhorn and Christine Huebner, Votes at 16 in Scotland (2021)
I’m not going to pretend it will be the magic wand that the media all too often ends up presenting as the solution to all of society’s ills – anymore than the latest ‘clampdown’ on ‘bad stuff’ has the same desired impact on any policy area you choose to pick.
I hope that Cambridgeshire can start making preparations now for votes at 16 as and when Parliament is invited to legislate for it.
Food for thought?
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Below – GCSE Citizenship Studies – get yourself a second hand copy on the cheap and browse through the content – the ones published *before 2016* cover some of the major the rights we had pre-EU-Ref.
The Cambridge Town Owl 