UK to lower voting age to 16 – a once-in-a-generation opportunity to secure the future health of British democracy

By Andrew Mycock, Chief Policy Fellow, University of Leeds

The UK government has announced that the voting age will be lowered to 16 at the next election as part of a wider effort to restore trust in and “future-proof” democracy.

Votes at 16 has grown from a niche concern to become a salient – if contentious – issue supported by most UK political parties and electoral reform groups. The Conservative party remains a holdout – but has never acknowledged the contradiction of its continued opposition to the…

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