Beth Riding writes about primary school pupils being taught to speak up for themselves (Austria lowered the voting age for young people like me, and transformed politics. The UK should do the same, 29 May). Last week, my class of 10- and 11-year-old pupils wrote letters to their potential parliamentary candidates. They chose to write about their own vision for a better society. The topics included climate change (highlighting actions that would mitigate its impact), smoking and vaping bans, our treatment of immigrants, and measures to help those on lower incomes, such as free school meals and help with buying school uniforms.
They worked out for themselves that, although they are unable to vote yet, they may be able to influence how others in their family vote. They spoke of long-term plans, recognised that spending money now saves money in the future, and showed empathy for others’ situations. They did not write of their own needs, but reflected on what benefits society most. My soul aches for a time when those in charge show this maturity of insight.
Gill Redman
Aberdeen
• Beth Riding’s arguments, and the arguments of the activists she quotes, are eminently convincing. They also indicate the reasons for the intense resistance against propositions to lower the voting age. Empowering the most threatened sector of society to influence the political process directly endangers the most harmful industries and their political backers. Those backers have to this date successfully staved off any effective mitigation measures against the climate emergency, which indicates their power and reach across time and space. They will do everything they can to prevent such propositions from becoming law. All this seems self-evident to us, but a friend, when asked, disagreed completely; a mother of four, she considers young people to be generally incompetent to participate in politics.
So, what went right in countries such as Austria and Malta? Did the monster blink? Do they have a higher percentage of Beth Ridings than other countries, smart and well-educated young people who make themselves heard? Or does the degree of democratic representation in a country’s electoral system render the lowering of its voting age more likely?
Sabina and Alexander Lautensach
Chemainus, British Columbia, Canada
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