I know this country needs a change, so I couldn’t help but be disappointed when I saw that the general election is going to be held on the 4 July – just two months from my 18th birthday.
Like many other young people across the country, I feel helpless when watching the actions of this government, knowing that I have no say over the decisions being made. Instead, we’re forced to watch older members of the public– especially the oldest, who turn out at the highest rate – cast their vote on what will ultimately impact us the most.
This is perhaps most stark in the case of global heating. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a person who was a child in 2020 is projected to experience a nearly four-fold increase in extreme events during their lifetime under a 1.5°C increase of global temperature, and a five-fold increase under a 3°C increase, while a person aged 55-plus will not experience any of those changes in their remaining lifetime under any warming scenario. Despite this, 16- and 17-year-olds do not have a say in how the government tackles climate change. Instead, we have to sit back and watch as the UK grants 100 oil and gas production licences for the North Sea, and as Rishi Sunak flies in a jet from Leeds to London, a journey that would only take about two hours by train.
While 16- to 17-year-olds can’t vote, they are, however, deemed mature enough to work, pay taxes and join the army; 17 year-olds can drive a car and donate blood. This is an argument that Keir Starmer made recently: if 16- and 17-year-olds are old enough to contribute to society in these ways, then how is it fair that aren’t able to have a can’t say in how that society is run? His comments suggested that Labour might make extending the vote to younger people part of its election manifesto.
A voting age of 16 can already be seen in Scotland for local and Scottish parliamentary elections, where the outcome has been overwhelmingly positive. A report led by the University of Edinburgh’s School of Social and Political Science found that those who had been able to vote from 16 went to the ballot in greater numbers, and were more likely to continue voting as they entered their 20s, compared with those who had been able to vote from 18. Lowering the voting age would drive long-term behaviour – something that is desperately needed when it comes to general elections in the UK, after 32.7% of those eligible did not cast a vote in the 2019 general election.
Similar results were seen in Austria, the first and still one of the only European countries to have a voting age of 16 in nationwide elections, where political interest among young people aged 16 and 17 increased after they were granted the right to vote, with the turnout of 16- and 17-year-olds exceeding the turnout of older first-time voters by eight to 10 percentage points in some regional elections. Current political science research shows that voting is a habit acquired early on in life, and is rarely broken once it has been formed.
Many young people see politics as boring and corrupt, and therefore waste their vote, meaning that their voice isn’t heard. Lowering the voting age to 16 would encourage political engagement, a vital part of democracy. The expression of opinions, particularly by young people who have the power to effect change, is now more essential than ever to ensure that the future of the UK offers everyone equal opportunities and a safe living environment.
The Conservative party has consistently failed young people over the course of its 14 years in power, with more than 270,000 children waiting for mental health treatment; an inflexible curriculum that drains the creativity out of children; and tuition fees that have risen from £3,000 to £9,250 per year, while repayment thresholds have been lowered, burdening students with debt and discouraging education.
Yet the Conservatives seemingly continue to demonise our generation, promising to bring back national service, a somewhat Dickensian proposal, in order to “get young people out of their bubble”, when really all we need is to be treated with respect and allowed an electoral voice. In primary school, we are taught to speak up for ourselves, be curious and make our own decisions. Well, now is the time to practise what you preach, and let us have our say.
Beth Riding is an A-level student in Cornwall
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• This article was amended on 30 May 2024. An earlier version suggested that 16-year-olds in the UK could give blood and drive a car when you must be 17 to do these things. It was further amended on 31 May 2024 to clarify that young people in Scotland can only vote in local and Scottish parliamentary elections. Also, tuition fees have risen from £3,000 to £9,350 under the Conservative government, not from £1,000.
