Working hard for Retford | Votes at 16

Votes at 16

For several years Ian has been championing the rights of young people, whether it be on the Student Union or Bassetlaw District Council.

Ian is currently Bassetlaw District Councils Young Peoples Champion.

Councillor Campbell commented ''young people have a great deal to offer our area and have much to say about local issues.'' ''By giving them the opportunity to vote they are maximising their potential and helping to shape their community''.

However, much work would need to be done with regards to the education of young people and giving them the information they would need to actually go out there and vote for a candidate in an election.

Schools currently have citezenship classes which I never did at school and this gives a basic understanding of the political arena within the UK, but this is not enough and needs to be added upon.

At 16 years old the law allows a person to:

Give full consent to medical treatment
Leave school and enter work or training
Pay income tax and National Insurance
Obtain tax credits and welfare benefits in their own right
Consent to sexual relationships
Get married or enter a civil partnership
Change their name by deed poll
Join the armed forces

So why can't the Government allow them to vote?

Whilst recent Electoral Commission polls found, unsurprisingly, that the majority of adults did not support an extension of the franchise, it is important to remember that in 1969, public opinion polls showed that a majority did not support reducing the voting age to 18 years,and research suggests that a majority of men did not support extending the franchise to women before it happened. Although public opinion did not support previous changes to the franchise, few would now say that Parliament was wrong to press ahead with reform.

Young people have alot to offer our community and by giving 16 and 17 year olds the right to vote we will be letting them have a say on how their community is shaped.

It’s time we recognised the positive contribution that most young people make.