
Voting age: 16 and 17-year-olds to be able to vote in future Stormont elections
The minimum voting age is already 16 for local council elections in Scotland and Wales, and elections to the Scottish Parliament and the Senedd (Welsh Parliament).However for other elections, including to the UK Parliament, local elections in England and all elections in Northern Ireland, it is 18.An Electoral Commission spokeswoman said: "The lowering of the voting age will apply to all elections in Northern Ireland, including Westminster, assembly and council elections."The change is expected to be in place for the 2029 Westminster elections, but it's unlikely to be implemented ahead of the 2027 assembly and local council elections in Northern Ireland."
What have Stormont parties said?
The Stormont assembly has twice supported a motion calling for changes to the voting age - first in 2012 and again last year, but without the support of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) leader Claire Hanna welcomed the extension of voting to 16 and 17-year-olds."At this age many young people are already out working part-time or contributing to our society in other ways and it's important this has been recognised in the form of voting rights," the MP for South Belfast and Mid Down said.In a post on X, First Minister Michelle O'Neill said she welcomed the news and that it was a "step forward for democracy and will enable young people to have a say in their future".O'Neill said she would "now be contacting the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, urging him to ensure that the right to vote at 16 applies to the 2027 Assembly and Council elections in the north".
Alliance Party assembly member Sian Mulholland said the "disenfranchisement of our society's young people" has been a "major democratic deficit"."However, time is of the essence and we need urgent clarification that it will be a priority to see this implemented in time for the next NI Assembly election in 2027. We cannot afford any further delay," she added.
DUP MLA Brian Kingston said it is "not clear how the Government can justifiably set the voting age at 16 rather than the current age threshold"."The prime minister's rationale for this move is essentially a 'no taxation without representation' argument," he said."It is high time the government applied the same logic to Northern Ireland, where taxpayers here have no say on laws imposed by the European Union," Kingston said.In April, Secretary of State Hilary Benn said the government was "absolutely committed" to changing the law in Northern Ireland, but he did not give a timeframe.The change is part of a raft of measures being introduced through a new Elections Bill, including changes to forms of voter ID and tightening rules on political donations to protect against foreign interference.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Independent
30 minutes ago
- The Independent
UK and India leaders Starmer and Modi set to sign a major trade deal
British leader Keir Starmer and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are set to sign a hard-wrought trade agreement Thursday that will slash tariffs on products including Scotch whisky and English gin shipped to India and Indian food and spices sent to the U.K. The two prime ministers are due to hold a signing ceremony at Chequers, the British leader's country residence outside London. The trade agreement between India and Britain, the world's fifth- and sixth-largest economies, was announced in May, more than three years after negotiations started, and stalled, under Britain's previous Conservative government. The U.K. government said the deal will reduce India's average tariff on British goods from 15% to 3%. Whisky and gin tariffs will be halved from 150% to 75% before falling to 40% by year 10 of the deal. Automotive tariffs will fall from over 100% to 10% under a quota. Britain said the deal is expected to increase bilateral trade by 25.5 billion pounds ($35 billion) annually from 2040 and add almost 5 billion pounds ($6.8 billion) a year to the British economy. Starmer said the agreement was 'a major win for Britain' and would create thousands of jobs. India's Trade Ministry said in May that 99% of Indian exports would face no import duty under the deal, which applies to products including clothes, shoes and food. Formal talks began in 2022 on a free trade agreement that then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed as a key goal after Britain's departure from the European Union in 2020. Johnson famously promised to have a deal done by the Diwali holiday in October of that year. The two countries held 13 rounds of negotiations without a breakthrough before talks were suspended while both nations held general elections in 2024. Modi was re-elected and Britain replaced the Conservative government with one led by Starmer's center-left Labour Party.


The Independent
30 minutes ago
- The Independent
Kneecap banned from Hungary ahead of appearance at major music festival
Irish rap trio Kneecap have been banned from entering Hungary, where they are due to perform at one of Europe's largest music festivals. The Belfast-based band – who regularly display pro-Palestinian messages during their gigs – were to take the stage at the six-day Sziget Festival, which begins on 6 August. Hungarian authorities have accused the band of using antisemitic hate speech and expressing praise for the militant group Hamas. They have caused controversy in recent months, including at Glastonbury Festival, where member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh – who performs under the name Mo Chara – accused Israel of committing war crimes. He is due to reappear in Westminster Magistrates' Court on 20 August to face a terrorism-related charge for allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag at an earlier gig. He denies the offence, with the band calling the accusations a 'carnival of distraction' from the war in Gaza. "Hungary's government has moved to ban Kneecap from entering the country and performing at Sziget ... citing antisemitic hate speech and open praise for Hamas and Hezbollah as justification," government spokesperson Zoltan Kovacs wrote in a post on X. Mr Kovacs later posted the official letters from immigration authorities banning the band for three years, claiming that their entry would "seriously threaten national security". Representatives of Kneecap did not immediately reply to requests for comment. The band has said previously that its members do not support Hamas or Hezbollah, and that it condemns "all attacks on civilians, always". Hungary's government had already asked festival organisers to drop Kneecap from the line-up at the week-long event, which draws several hundred thousand music lovers to an island in the River Danube each year. More than 150 artists and cultural figures, including Academy Award-winning director Laszlo Nemes Jeles, have also signed a petition protesting against Kneecap's participation. Sziget organisers, who said they had not been notified of the government's decision, have resisted the calls to scrap Kneecap's planned performance on 11 August. "Our festival remains true to what we have consistently achieved over the past 30 years: there is no place for hatred, incitement, prejudice, or any form of racism or antisemitism," they said in a statement last week. Sziget's other performers this year include Post Malone, Shawn Mendes and Charli XCX.


Sky News
31 minutes ago
- Sky News
AO chair Cooper interviewed for Channel 4 chair job
The chairman of AO, the online electrical goods retailer, has been interviewed to become the next chair of state-owned broadcaster Channel 4. Sky News has learnt that Geoff Cooper, a former boss of the builders' merchant Travis Perkins, is among the candidates in the running to take on the post in the coming months. Whitehall insiders said that Mr Cooper was now one of the shortlisted contenders awaiting news of whether they would get the nod from Ofcom, the media regulator and culture secretary Lisa Nandy. In recent weeks, Sky News has revealed that those vying to replace Sir Ian Cheshire include Justin King, the former J Sainsbury boss; Wol Kolade, a private equity executive who has donated substantial sums of money to the Conservative Party; Debbie Wosskow, a start-up founder who already sits on the Channel 4 board. Simon Dingemans, a former Goldman Sachs banker who sits on the board of WPP, the marketing services group, has also been shortlisted, according to the Financial Times. Sir Ian stepped down earlier this year after just one term, having presided over a successful attempt to thwart privatisation by the last Tory government. He was replaced on an interim basis by Dawn Airey, the media industry executive who has occupied top jobs at companies including ITV, Channel 5 and Yahoo!. The race to lead the state-owned broadcaster's board has acquired additional importance since after the resignation of Alex Mahon, its long-serving chief executive. It has since been reported that Alex Burford, another Channel 4 non-executive director and the boss of Warner Records UK, is a possible contender to replace Ms Mahon. A vocal opponent of Channel 4's privatisation, which was abandoned by the last Conservative government, Ms Mahon is leaving to join Superstruct, a private equity-owned live entertainment company. The appointment of a new chair is expected to take place by the autumn, with the chosen candidate expected to lead the recruitment of Ms Mahon's successor.