Livingston MP welcomes change in voting age for Westminster elections
Livingston constituency MP Gregor Poynton has welcomed the announcement that 16 and 17-year-olds across the UK will be given the right to vote in UK general elections, as part of sweeping new reforms to modernise British democracy.
The changes, published today in a new government strategy paper, will bring Westminster elections into line with Holyrood and local elections in Scotland, where young people have had the vote since 2014. The reforms are being hailed as the most significant democratic update in a generation.
Gregor said: 'It's absolutely right that 16 and 17 year olds will now have a voice in UK elections.
'In Scotland, young people have been voting in Holyrood and council elections for over a decade and they've brought energy and ideas to our democracy. Young people already contribute to society by working, paying taxes and serving in the military.
'They've got a stake in the future, so it's only right they should have a say in it.'
Sixteen-year-olds were first allowed to vote in Scotland in the 2014 independence referendum. The normal voting age had been reduced from 18 just for the referendum.
It had been a long-held policy from the SNP to reduce the voting age for all Scottish elections and was supported by Labour, the Lib Dems and the Greens
In 2015, the voting age in Scottish Parliament and council elections was permanently lowered to 16. The bill passed unanimously in the Scottish Parliament.
This meant that 16 and 17-year-olds could vote in the 2016 Holyrood election. The lower voting age has stayed in place for all Scottish elections since.
The Welsh Assembly then followed suit in 2020 and reduced the voting age to 16 in Wales.
The changes are part of a wider Elections Bill, which will also introduce an expansion of accepted forms of voter ID to include UK bank cards and digital ID formats; tougher rules to block foreign interference in UK politics and close loopholes around political donations from 'shell companies' and stronger protections for candidates and campaigners, including action against harassment and abuse.
UK Government minister and Rutherglen MP Michael Shanks said: 'This is great to see and absolutely right that 16 and 17 year olds have a chance to take part in our democratic processes.
'They've been able to vote in Scotland for more than a decade and it's only been a positive thing.'
SNP Deputy Westminster Leader Pete Wishart added: 'We welcome this long-overdue change to the UK voting age, which comes more than a decade after the SNP lowered the voting age to 16 in Scotland - and follows years of campaigning by SNP MPs, activists and younger people.
'Thousands of 16 and 17-year-olds have voted in Scottish elections since the SNP changed the law in 2015. It is good to see the UK government finally following the SNP government's lead - so that younger people can have their say at the next UK election.
'Polling shows younger people agree with many of the SNP's key policies - including securing real change with Scottish independence, re-joining the EU, eradicating poverty, tackling the climate crisis, opposing Westminster austerity cuts - and helping young people with free tuition and bus travel.
'Regardless of how 16 and 17-year-olds vote at the next UK election - it can only be a good thing that they will finally have their voice heard.'
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