Labour accused of hypocrisy after giving 16-year-olds the vote – while banning them from becoming local party bosses
Sir Keir Starmer's party is introducing a new rule raising the minimum age for constituency association chairs, treasurers and secretaries to 18 years old.
1
It was signed off by the party's ruling national executive on Wednesday with several Cabinet Ministers in attendance.
It came just days after the PM announced controversial plans to let 1.5million 16 and 17-year-olds participate in general elections.
He claimed they were responsible enough to pay tax and join the army so should be able to cast ballots.
A Labour Party insider said: 'We just look totally ridiculous now because it has made the entire logic behind the policy incoherent.
'We can't say 16-year-olds are mature enough to decide who is the next prime minister, but in the same breath that they can't take the minutes at a local party meeting. It's just staggering hypocrisy.'
Sir Keir's plan to lower the voting age has widely been seen as a cynical ploy to boost his chances of re-election.
Polling shows they would mop up about a third of all 16 and 17-year-olds if an election were held today.
However social media-savvy Reform is also polling well in that age bracket as are left-wing parties like the Greens.
A Labour spokesman said: 'Electoral law doesn't currently protect under-18s from legal liability. This change to the Party's rules will protect young people.
'That has nothing to do with votes at 16 and is a total false equivalence. It's right that those who pay tax and fight for our country can have a say in its future.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News
an hour ago
- Sky News
Kemi Badenoch says she no longer identifies as Nigerian
Kemi Badenoch has said she does not see herself as Nigerian and no longer has a passport for the country she grew up in. The leader of the Conservative Party was born in the London suburb of Wimbledon but was raised in Lagos, Nigeria. When Nigeria's economy collapsed in the 1990s, Ms Badenoch, then aged 16, moved back to the UK to live with a family friend and continue her education. Speaking to former MP and television presenter Gyles Brandreth on the Rosebud podcast, Ms Badenoch said as most of her life has been in the UK, she "does not identify" as Nigerian. "I'm Nigerian through ancestry, by birth, despite not being born there because of my parents... but by identity I'm not really," the North West Essex MP said. "I have not renewed my Nigerian passport, I think, not since the early 2000s." Ms Badenoch added that her home is now where her family is, which includes her extended political family. On Nigeria, she said: "I know the country very well, I have a lot of family there, and I'm very interested in what happens there." "But home is where my now family is, and my now family is my children, it's my husband and my brother and his children, in-laws. The Conservative Party is very much part of my family - my extended family, I call it," she added. Ms Badenoch said on her return to Nigeria after her father, Femi, who was a GP with his own clinic, died, she faced a "big fandango" to get a visa. She also said her early experiences in Nigeria shaped her political outlook, including why she doesn't like socialism. "I remember never quite feeling that I belonged there," she added. Last year, Nigerian vice president Kashim Shettima accused Ms Badenoch of disparaging the country, adding that she has "every right to remove the Kemi from her name". The criticism came after Ms Badenoch spoke about her life and childhood in Nigeria during the Tory leadership race. A spokesperson for Ms Badenoch responded to Mr Shettima at the time, saying the Conservative leader was "not the PR for Nigeria".
ITV News
an hour ago
- ITV News
India rejects UK parliament report on transnational repression
India has launched a blistering counterattack against a UK parliamentary report that accused it of waging 'transnational repression' on British soil and misusing global policing tools like INTERPOL to silence political dissidents. In a strongly worded statement on India's foreign ministry denounced the allegations as 'baseless,' 'politically motivated,' and 'drawn from dubious and discredited sources.' 'The deliberate reliance on unverified inputs from proscribed entities with a long record of anti-India hostility calls into question the credibility and objectivity of the entire report,' said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, dismissing the claims as an orchestrated smear. The rare diplomatic rebuke was triggered by the release of a hard-hitting report titled 'Transnational Repression in the UK' on July 30 by the UK Parliament's Joint Committee on Human Rights — a powerful cross-party body comprising lawmakers from both the House of Commons and House of Lords. The report accuses multiple foreign governments of targeting exiled dissidents, activists, and journalists who have sought refuge in the UK, creating what it describes as a 'chilling effect' on diaspora communities. India was named among 12 countries, including China, Russia, Iran, and Saudi Arabia, allegedly involved in such practices. While the report reserves its sharpest criticism for what it terms the 'three most flagrant perpetrators' — China, Russia, and Iran — India's inclusion, particularly the accusation of abusing INTERPOL's Red Notice mechanism for political ends, has sparked sharp pushback from New Delhi. The committee's findings draw heavily from evidence submitted by UK-based Sikh advocacy groups, including the Sikh Federation (UK) and Sikhs for Justice. These groups allege that Indian authorities have sought to weaponise international policing tools to harass and intimidate diaspora voices, especially those supporting the Khalistan separatist movement — a claim India has long dismissed as misinformation propagated by extremist elements. While the report has reignited debate within Britain over how to protect residents from foreign interference, India's sharp reaction signals a potential diplomatic flashpoint — particularly amid already sensitive ties following the killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada last year, which also raised questions around cross-border intelligence operations. As both countries navigate a delicate relationship shaped by strategic partnerships and domestic political pressures, the fallout from this latest allegation is likely to echo beyond Westminster and Raisina Hill.
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Miliband refuses to publish details of green energy deal with China
Following the decision, the Ministry of Defence raised concerns that the Chinese could use the turbines as spy sensors – but the Treasury was said to be resisting attempts to block the deal because of a desire to encourage inward investment. In Freedom of Information disclosures, the Government revealed that while Mr Miliband had been in China from March 13 to 17, Ofgem officials stayed until March 21. The officials, including Mr Brearley, used four temporary 'burner' phones while in the country, a standard security precaution government visitors are advised to take while in China. An Ofgem spokesman said: 'We always seek to keep expenditure as low as possible to deliver the best value for money and we regularly review our business travel and expenses policy in order to minimise the number of flights Ofgem staff take.' The group's food, local transport, and accommodation costs were paid for by the Foreign Office, the British embassy in China and the UK Integrated Security Fund, they added. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero insisted it was 'misleading' to suggest memorandums signed with other countries are made 'publicly available'. A spokesman said: 'The MoU is not about encouraging Chinese investment or involvement in the UK critical national infrastructure. 'Instead, it renews a partnership that has been in place for over ten years, and which facilitates the sharing of research and ideas to support the global clean energy transition.'
