UK Plans to Lower Voting Age to 16 Before Next General Election
The lower voting age will bring UK-wide elections in line with those in Scotland and Wales, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said on Thursday in a statement. The current voting age in national ballots is 18, and the changes to the law will be brought in through a new elections bill. The next election could be held as late as mid-2029.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
26 minutes ago
- Fox News
Secret Service must 'course correct' after alleged smuggling episode on Trump trip, former agent says
The Secret Service must move to "course correct" after reports a Secret Service agent attempted to smuggle his wife onto a Secret Service cargo plane accompanying President Donald Trump on his trip to Scotland, according to a former agent. Tim Miller, who served as a Secret Service agent during the administrations of presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, said the alleged incident was unusual and that the agency must "step up" to address growing threats against Trump. "The threats to the President are serious and growing," Miller said in an email Thursday to Fox News Digital. "This agency must step up to address these threats. … Imagine a world where our elected leaders are not safe to lead the critical issues facing our world? "The mission that they have been given requires the absolute best people available who have the highest level of commitment, experience, professionalism and skill." While Miller predicted conduct like this would have previously resulted in a suspension or firing of the agent, Miller said that is unlikely given that the Secret Service did not fire those on duty during the assassination attempt against Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024. The agency did, however, announce that it suspended six of its agents due to their response to the attempt. Likewise, Miller said he anticipates an investigation into the Scotland incident will be handled meticulously. "I am confident that they will thoroughly investigate this matter," Miller said. "To that end, the Secret Service must course correct and hold agents accountable for these types of errors in judgment. The current threats are too high. It's time for high levels of accountability and a return to mission focus. The lives of our elected leaders depend on it! This truly is a 'no fail' mission!" Even so, Miller said the agency did the right thing in identifying the threat and fixing the problem. "The bottom line is there is more to this story and, with the exception of one agent's extremely poor judgment, the Secret Service did a good job identifying and correcting this issue," Miller said. RealClearPolitics first reported that a Secret Service agent attempted to smuggle his wife aboard a Secret Service cargo aircraft during Trump's travels for his Scotland trip. Trump told reporters Tuesday he had just heard about the alleged incident, describing it as a "weird deal." He also told reporters the agency is handling the matter. "I don't know, that's a strange one. I just heard that two minutes ago. I think Sean's taking care of it. … Is that a serious story?" Trump told reporters on Air Force One Tuesday, appearing to reference Sean Curran, Secret Service director. The White House confirmed to Fox News Digital Wednesday that Trump had been briefed on the matter and that an investigation was ongoing. "The U.S. Secret Service is conducting a personnel investigation after an employee attempted to invite his spouse, a member of the United States Air Force, aboard a mission support flight," a Secret Service spokesperson told Fox News Digital Tuesday. "The aircraft, operated by the U.S. Air Force, was being used by the Secret Service to transport personnel and equipment," the spokesperson added. "Prior to the overseas departure, the employee was advised by supervisors that such action was prohibited, and the spouse was subsequently prevented from taking the flight. No Secret Service protectees were aboard, and there was no impact to our overseas protective operations."
Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Peaceful protest outside Epping asylum hotel
A peaceful protest has taken place outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Epping. Essex Police said a group of people protesting against The Bell Hotel in Epping formed at about 6pm on Thursday. Officers then facilitated a march in the town's High Street, by the same group, and no arrests were made. Multiple demonstrations have been held outside The Bell Hotel since July 13 after an asylum seeker was charged with allegedly attempting to kiss a 14-year-old girl. Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, who was charged with sexual assault, denies the charges. He is due to stand trial in August. Chief Superintendent Simon Anslow said: 'The calm and peaceful nature of tonight's protest meant that we have not arrested anyone during the march, and I want to thank those who attended and made that possible. 'As a force, we will continue to facilitate the right to protest when it is both peaceful and lawful.' Police put a dispersal order in place ahead of the protest from 3pm on Thursday to 8am on Friday, giving officers the power to direct anyone suspected of committing anti-social behaviour to leave the area. A Section 60AA order, which prevents people from wearing face coverings, is also in place from 3pm on Thursday until 3pm on Friday. Essex Police previously said 14 people have been charged in connection with recent protests at the site and there have been 23 arrests. Concerns about the use of the Bell Hotel to house asylum seekers were expressed in an open letter sent to the Home Secretary from political leaders in Essex on Wednesday. In the letter, the politicians say housing migrants at the site is 'proving to be entirely unsuitable' and 'placing an unsustainable strain on police resources'. Protesters also gathered outside the Stanwell Hotel in Spelthorne, Surrey on Thursday. Spelthorne Borough Council previously said it had 'expressed strong opposition' to the Home Office's intention to change the client group at the hotel to provide only for male asylum seekers. In a letter to the Home Secretary, Councillor Joanne Sexton said the council was 'determined to avoid circumstances that could lead to civil unrest'. Spelthorne Borough Council said on Thursday that the Home Office had agreed to speak to the council on Friday to 'discuss the proposals in greater detail'. In a statement, the council said: 'We want to reassure residents that the council is fully aware of the concerns expressed by the community and is committed to raising these directly with the Home Office during the meeting.'
Yahoo
43 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Fox News Had Only 3 Minutes of Epstein Coverage in the Last 4 Days – and 85 Minutes of Sydney Sweeney's Jeans Ad
The news channel mentioned the controversial American Eagle campaign 62 times since Monday, Media Matters reports The last four days have seen Fox News dedicate much more time to covering the 'woke mob' online outrage surrounding Sydney Sweeney's American Eagle jeans ad than the latest developments around President Donald Trump and his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein — 85 minutes compared to three minutes, to be exact. According to a Thursday report by Media Matters, the news organization logged 85 minutes of time breaking down the online reaction to the actresses' viral jeans ad. Comparatively, Fox News spent a meager three minutes talking about Epstein and new comments the president made about the disgraced financier during his trip to Scotland. More from TheWrap Fox News Had Only 3 Minutes of Epstein Coverage in the Last 4 Days – and 85 Minutes of Sydney Sweeney's Jeans Ad Shirley Halperin Exits Hollywood Reporter for Rolling Stone, Maer Roshan Becomes Sole EIC of THR Daily Beast Deletes Article Alleging Trump Met Melania Through Epstein Relations Bobbi Althoff Ends Her 'Really Good Podcast': 'Some Things Happen in Life for a Reason' | Video The minute count was gathered using SnapStream's video database and calculating mention count through Kinetiq and timing the segment. Fox News mentioned the jeans ad 62 times compared to only 14 mentions for Epstein. Other networks broken down for the two topics included Newsmax (180 for Epstein, 42 on Sweeney), CNN (638 for Epstein, six for Sweeney) and MSNBC (756 for Epstein, 0 for Sweeney). The report also points to how the two topics were discussed. Epstein's three minutes were reached in the brief in-passing mentions he received as part of smaller stories. Sweeney's American Eagle ad was a part of a number of larger discussions and segments that brought her count up to the 85 total minutes. Sweeney's jeans ad earned backlash after some online called the ad tone-deaf and even racist, saying it celebrates Sweeney's whiteness and physique. Many viral comments deriding the ad brought up arguments suggesting that it's not only supposedly promoting white supremacy, but also eugenics, nazism and master race propaganda. 'Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color,' Sweeney says in the ad. 'My jeans are blue.' After weeks at the center of the news cycle following the DOJ and FBI's memo that they would not be releasing any more information on Epstein, Trump's latest comments on the matter came during his trip to Scotland and had him theorizing that Epstein 'stole' accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre while she worked at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago. 'I think she worked at the spa,' Trump said. 'He stole her, and by the way, she had no complaints about us, as you know, none whatsoever.' The post Fox News Had Only 3 Minutes of Epstein Coverage in the Last 4 Days – and 85 Minutes of Sydney Sweeney's Jeans Ad appeared first on TheWrap. Solve the daily Crossword
