LONDON – The UK will lower the voting age between 18 and 16 before the next national election, as part of a measure to increase democratic participation, the government announced Thursday.
The Central Left Labour Party pledged before lowering the age of votes for the elections that were elected in July 2024 to British Parliament. Scotland and Wales have already voted in local and local elections, with people aged 16 and 17.
The UK will join a short list of countries with 16 voting ages, along with Austria, Brazil, Ecuador and others. A small number of European Union countries, including Belgium, Germany and Malta, allow 16-year-olds to vote in elections for the European Parliament.
The move is in parallel with broader reforms, including tightening campaign funding rules to stop dark-owned shell companies from giving to political parties. Democracy Minister Rashanara Ali said the change would strengthen protections against foreign interference in British politics.
There are also harsher writing for those convicted of threatening candidates.
Additionally, the government said it would introduce automatic voter registration, allowing voters to use their bank cards as a form of identification at polling stations.
Previous conservative governments introduced a requirement in 2022 for voters to show photo identification. Critics argued that it could disenfranchisement millions of voters, especially the young, poor and ethnic minority members.
The Elections Committee estimates that around 750,000 people did not vote in last year’s election due to a lack of IDs.
The 2024 election voter turnout was 59.7%, the lowest level in over 20 years.
Harry Kilter Pinner, head of the Institute of Public Policy, a left-leaning think tank, said the change was “the biggest reform of the electoral system since 1969,” and reduced the voting age from 21 to 18.
The change must be approved by the Congress. The next national election must be held by 2029.
“For too long, the public’s trust in our democracy has been undermined and our faith in our institutions is allowed to decline,” Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said. “We are taking action to break the barriers to participation that ensure that more people have the opportunity to engage in British democracy.”
Stuart Fox, a political lecturer at Exeter University who studied voting for young people, said it is “not clear” whether lowering the voting age would actually increase young people’s involvement.
“It’s right to help young people listen,” he said. “However, there are other more effective measures to vote for young people, particularly those from the poorest backgrounds who are unlikely to vote, such as strengthening the citizenship curriculum and expanding the availability of volunteer programs in schools.”
