Young Scots back UK Government decision to lower voting age
So what do young Scots think about the decision to expand voting rights, and which party could benefit most?
SNP activist Alex Gill said a "stronger youth voice" could convince the UK Government to pursue more progressive policies.
The 22-year-old said: 'This will reshape the electorate and elevate issues that matter most to younger citizens such as action on climate change, access to affordable housing and opportunities for fulfilling work.
'Successive UK governments have shown little appetite for strategic, long-term policymaking, too often chasing short-term optics. With luck, a stronger youth voice will hopefully pressure them to start rectifying that failure.
Read more:
Shane Painter, a Scottish Conservative who was one of the youngest parliamentary candidates in 2024, is also in favour of expanding the franchise.
He said: 'Lowering the voting age to 16 is a good move. It might finally force parties to speak to young people's concerns. In Scotland, 16-year-olds can already vote and they take it incredibly seriously.
Painter had strong words for his own party's positions on young people, noting: 'Conservatives must stop being the party of pensioners, back housebuilding, scrap the triple lock & WFP, and invest in the future and young people if we ever want to be in government again.'
Painter's position is somewhat unique among members of his party.
Former Tory MP candidate Shane Painter. (Image: Aberdeen Conservatives) In the House of Commons on Thursday, Conservative shadow housing, communities and local government minister Paul Holmes told MPs: 'This strategy has finally revealed [Labour's] ambition for allowing a 16-year-old to vote in an election but not stand in it, probably because young people are being abandoned in droves by the Labour Party.
'So, why does this Government think a 16-year-old can vote but not be allowed to buy a lottery ticket, an alcoholic drink, marry, or go to war, or even stand in the elections they're voting in?
That position was echoed by Joshua MacLeod, the chair of the Scottish Young Conservatives, who told The Herald: "This is just another rushed headline with no serious thought behind it. It's yet another case of Labour trying to rewrite the constitution to suit their own electoral interests.
"If voting is meant to reflect adult responsibilities, then let's have a proper debate about adulthood. Not just a spontaneous change to mask their political weakness."
Calum Mackinnon, who was unable to vote in the 2019 general election due to his age, says extending the franchise would be a step in the right direction.
He told The Herald on Sunday: 'I was literally weeks away from turning 18. It felt like my almost 'mature enough' voice was going to be missed out on by about 60 days. In 2016, Brexit focussed my mind firmly towards independence, having been more sympathetic towards a No vote in 2014.
'Even as a young S2, I still remember 2014 so clearly and how it changed Scotland forever. Having lived and studied in the EU post-Brexit, I am a fierce advocate – despite its imperfectness, so I would have 100% voted in the 2019 general election.'
Ellie Gomersall, the Scottish Greens activist and former president of the National Union of Students Scotland, also spoke out in support of the change, which she says is long overdue.
Gomersall noted: 'From cracking down on their right to protest, to stripping them of their disability benefits, Westminster governments have consistently failed to represent the needs and interests of young people.
'This change means that young people will be able to have their say in the decisions Westminster takes that have a huge impact on their lives.
However, Gomersall believes the government should go further, and introduce legislation to abolish 'the utterly undemocratic first past the post system' and 'replace the unelected – and overwhelmingly old and male – House of Lords.'
Scottish Greens activist Ellie Gomersall. (Image: Ellie Gomersall) What about concerns raised by some that teenagers aren't mature enough to make informed decisions about who to vote for?
Mackinnon, now 23, concedes that 'nuance' is often lacking at 16.
'It's a tough one,' he says. 'I think that nuance is difficult to obtain at 16/17. That being said, young people are always getting more and more aware and involved in our politics.
'I think, on balance, the young people who vote are probably interested enough to 'do the research' on what they want their politicians to achieve.'
University student Caitlin Kelly, 20, shared similar thoughts.
'At 20 do I think differently than 16?' she queried. 'A bit less naive maybe but I largely vote the same. I think it is important to encourage young people to be part of the future of our country, and that is what voting at 16 does.
'When I was 16, the desire to vote was all the more prevalent except I then had the skills to read and research critically, and so being Scottish I was lucky enough to vote.'
Fred Byrne, a student at the University of Aberdeen, agrees.
'Many 16 year olds have better informed political beliefs than their parents and grandparents,' he told The Herald.
'At 16, British youth can join the army or attend university, so it's only right they have been granted their long overdue right to vote. Young people are the biggest stakeholders in our future and will cast their votes for a just and sustainable world.'
Will 16 and 17-year-olds be persuaded to vote for Keir Starmer's Labour?
Hope Merriweather, who recently graduated from Dundee University with a degree in law, says she isn't sure if the change would boost voter turnout.
'I don't know if it would increase participation,' she told The Herald on Sunday, adding: 'I do think that the 16-year-olds that care should get to participate.
'I have some questions about 16-year-olds' ability to think critically, so I would want some level of education around it to prevent their parents from influencing their opinions too much.
'However, overall I think 16 and 17-year-olds have plenty of capacity to think and vote for themselves, as long as they are given the tools to do so.
'That goes for the entire population, the most important issue with voting right now is a lack of voter knowledge. If we could increase that across the board it would improve participation.'
Will extending the franchise shift the balance of power, potentially giving Labour a bulwark from which to combat the rise of Reform among working class voters?
A leading pollster believes it may.
Luke Tryl, executive director of More in Common told the Mail: 'Given young voters tend to lean to the left, we should expect the Greens and Labour to be the bigger winners of extending the vote to 16 and 17-year-olds, with Reform doing well among young men, and the Tories the big losers.'
Read more:
Meanwhile, Reform's Nigel Farage has hit out at the move, accusing Labour of attempting to 'rig the political system.'
Gill believes that the lowering of the vote age could be a boon for the SNP.
He said: 'The latest polling shows that 75% of Scots aged 16 to 29 back independence, and support is likely even stronger among 16 and 17-year-olds.
"Therefore, expanding the franchise will certainly be a positive development for pro-independence parties.'
Of course, with the next general election not scheduled until 2029, the UK's political parties will have ample time to court young people ahead of what could be one of this nation's most consequential electoral contests.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
16 minutes ago
- The Independent
Stephen Flynn jokes he'll be ‘washing hair' when Donald Trump visits UK
Stephen Flynn joked he will be washing his hair when Donald Trump is in the UK for his state visit in September. The Scottish National Party's (SNP) Westminster leader, who is bald, told Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg that he will find "any excuse possible" to avoid meeting the US president on his visit to Scotland. While insisting it was 'absolutely right' that First Minister John Swinney meets Mr Trump, Mr Flynn quipped that he'd be 'looking after his own toddlers' while the Republican is in the country.
Daily Mail
17 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE How Labour is 'taxing the high street into bankruptcy': Family-run pubs, bakeries and shops are hit with sneaky 200% hikes in business rates
Labour was today accused of 'taxing the high street into bankruptcy' through their punishing 'stealth' levy on small firms. Since Rachel Reeves quietly reduced much–needed reliefs last autumn, family–run pubs, bakeries and restaurants have been battered a rise in business rates. Startling figures recorded by one council reveal an independent pub was stung by a 226 per cent hike in fees, costing them almost £17,000 for one year. Meanwhile, supermarkets escaped with rises of as little as one per cent in business rates, which are similar to council tax for non–domestic properties. Although MailOnline has only obtained business rate rises for Central Bedfordshire Council (CBC) – an area that covers Leighton Buzzard, Dunstable and Biggleswade, experts warn the situation will be mirrored up and down the country. Cllr John Baker, who controls the pursestrings at CBC, said: 'The government seems totally incapable of controlling public spending, clobbering business to fund its profligate behaviour. 'If the Chancellor is serious about improving the poor economic climate, reversing those outrageous hikes in business rates and allowing businesses to hire more people would be a sensible first step.' Department stores and supermarkets are also in the firing line in the Chancellor's next Budget. In hope of clawing back billions, Ms Reeves is expected to increase business rates for bigger firms – despite warnings it will only accelerate the decline of the high street and lead to price rises. In last autumn's budget, Ms Reeves boasted that she was extending business rates reliefs for retail, hospitality, and leisure. But she actually reduced the Covid-era discount from 75 to 40 per cent – capped at £110,000 across an entire business. Smaller businesses are typically the biggest beneficiaries because they have fewer locations to spread this discount across. During the same budget, branded a 'disaster' by critics, Ms Reeves hiked employer National Insurance contributions and cut the threshold at which firms become liable to pay them. The minimum wage also rose to £12.21 an hour. The Federation of Small Businesses warned the triple whammy posed 'an existential threat to the future of the high street'. Paul Wilson, the FSB's policy chief, told MailOnline the 40 per cent relief was 'scant consolation for a squeezed business owners trying to find thousands of pounds'. He said businesses couldn't fight back by hiking their own prices because customers 'can only afford so much'. Job cuts and shorter opening hours – caused by businesses trying to claw back cash – risked handing bigger players an even greater advantage, Mr Wilson claimed. He said: 'The feedback were are hearing is that businesses are having to take those difficult decisions to scale back. High street businesses are questioning whether they can genuinely afford to keep competing with online.' The FSB's latest survey showed a record 41 per cent of small businesses now believe the tax burden is a top three barrier to growth. In Bedfordshire, local pubs and restaurants have seen their rates more than double. Data provided by Cllr Baker shows this costs businesses as much as £25,000 a year – more than a minimum wage full–time workers' annual salary. Award–winning pub, the Black Lion, on Leighton Buzzard High Street, was hit with a 226 per cent rise (£16,900) in its rates, from around £7,400 to £24,300. By contrast, many big supermarkets such as Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury's saw their rates raise by less than two per cent. Other firms have seen even bigger jump proportionally, including upmarket eatery Eileen's by Steve Barringer – a MasterChef: The Professionals finalist – where rates have shot up 260 per cent, from £300 to £1,080. What are business rates and who has to pay? Business rates are charged on most non-domestic properties, including shops, offices, pubs, warehouses, factories and holiday rental homes or guest houses. Rates are calculated by the Valuation Office Agency, part of HM Revenues and Customs, based on the cost of renting the business premises for a year, currently from April 2021. A rates 'multiplier' is then used to come to the final amount. This number has risen from about 34p in the pound in 1990 to 54.6p today for premises with a rateable value more than £51,000 or 49.9p for if it is less. Certain properties are exempt from business rates, for example farm buildings or places used for the welfare of disabled people. Other firms are entitled to discounts based on the nature and size of their business, for example, independent pubs and shops are likely to be eligible for at least one relief. Our analysis suggested that, on average, independent food and drink venues saw a 120 per cent rise in business rates, compared to an average of just one per cent for bigger firms. We have defined independent businesses as any which receives a relief designed to help what many would consider small or independent local firms. This is wider than just the businesses that get 'small business rates relief', which only applies to property with a rateable value of less than £15,000 and if the business has only one premise. Husband and wife Anthony and Anne Smith, who have owned and run two framing shops in Bedfordshire for the past 40 years, have been hit by a 150 per cent rise in their business rates. It will cost them more than £5,500 extra a year. Allframe, which employs half a dozen staff across the Leighton Buzzard and Dunstable sites, will likely have to raise their prices more than expected to cope, despite fears this could disrupt sales. Mr Smith told MailOnline: 'The problem you've got in any business when you get price increases is that you have to absorb the increase or put prices up. 'We've tried not to put our prices up as we're a luxury business. 'People need to go to to Tesco and Aldi to put food on the table... but don't need to get their pictures framed professionally.' The picture framer added that rates rises will 'ultimately go into it when we reevaluate prices'. Mr Smith added: 'Five thousands pounds is a lot to come off your bottom line in one fell swoop, when it's something you weren't expecting.' 'It will mean our prices go up more than we would have liked them to. It's going to impact on our profitability.' 'I think there's a general feeling that it's always small and medium businesses that that get hit,' Steve Watkins, cabinet member for business at Central Bedfordshire Council told MailOnline. 'These businesses have struggled since the pandemic and have not been able to get back to where they were before. 'The Government should target the big players in the market, rather than smaller businesses. Where's the huge tax increases on Starbucks and Amazon? 'If they want to regenerate town centres they are going about it the wrong way by making it harder for small businesses to survive.' He said the added costs are making it 'harder then ever' for small business owners, who are already facing skyrocketing rents, energy bills and wage bills, adding that they were at 'the end of their tether'. In Labour's manifesto, the PM pledged to replace business rates – which he said 'disincentivises investment, creates uncertainty and places an undue burden on our high streets' – with a new system. Business rates are calculated based on multiplying the 'rateable value' – an estimate of the annual rent in April 2021 prices – by a multiplier of 49.9p for the smallest of businesses, and 55.5p for all others. The Government announced last year it will permanently introduce a lower multiplier for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses with a rateable value of less than £500,000. The multiplier value is yet to be announced. Cllr Watkins accused Sir Keir of 'not being upfront with people' over the reduction in the rates relief, saying the announcement was the 'politics of spin'. He said the rates were a 'stealth tax' on business and were not as 'generous' as the Government claims, adding they 'absolutely have the possibility of taxing high streets and small businesses into bankruptcy'. Cllr Watkins added that if the direction of travel continues, it was hard to see how local businesses will still be around in a few years time, leading to an 'increasingly soulless high street'. 'If this is the first step to reforming, I dread to see what the next steps will be, as these ones have gone down like a cup of cold sick,' he added. 'Technocratic governments are big on five to ten year plans, but these businesses need plans now. 'The proof will be in the pudding... but the fact that they've not been upfront so far suggests we need to dig beneath the surface before I start clapping my hands.' A Government spokesman told MailOnline: 'Our reform to the business rates system will create a fairer business rates system that protects the high street, supports investment, and levels the playing field. 'A new, permanently lower business rates in 2026 will benefit over 280,000 retail, hospitality and leisure business properties and will be sustainably funded by a new, higher rate on the 1% of most valuable business properties.'
Telegraph
17 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Labour stokes union anger by failing to curb outsourcing
Labour is facing backlash from unions as data revealed spending on outsourcers has surged since Sir Keir Starmer took office. Public sector spending on outsourcing contracts has risen 7pc since Labour secured the election victory last year, despite the party promising to crack down on public procurement. Data from Tussell showed the value of contracts awarded to outsourcing giants including Mitie and G4S has increased to £3.68bn since Labour gained power, compared to £3.45bn under the former Conservative government in the year before. The increase comes after Rachel Reeves in 2021 pledged to slash spending on outsourcers by ushering in the 'biggest wave of insourcing of public services for a generation' with the aim of saving money and improving public services. Trade unions have now hit out at Labour over its failure to cut spending following a series of clashes between outsourcing giants and some of Britain's biggest unions over contractors' treatment of workers. Fran Heathcote, general secretary of PCS, said: 'Before the election, Labour promised the biggest wave of insourcing in a generation, yet these figures suggest the tide is going out on that pledge. 'PCS represents thousands of workers on outsourced contracts who often suffer lower pay and worse terms and conditions … than those employed in-house. Labour needs to accelerate its commitment to insourcing.' A spokesman for Unison added: 'The Government has promised to bring privatised contracts back in-house. Unions will keep up the pressure to ensure this happens for the benefit of workers, the economy and communities across the UK.' Mitie in the spotlight Mitie has been the largest beneficiary of Labour's contracts so far, Tussell's figures show. Unions have repeatedly clashed with the London-listed outsourcing giant, accusing it of failing to pay staff adequately and mistreating workers. The awards have seen Mitie given £1.59bn worth of contacts since Sir Keir took office, including a £320m contract from HM Revenue & Customs for facilities management and a £1.08bn contract from the Department for Work and Pensions for security services. The contracts now risk further straining the Labour Party's relations with the unions that provide it with millions of pounds of funding each year. The Government is already facing mounting criticism over its relationship with Mitie after Britain's largest union, Unison threatened to picket a Labour Party drinks reception earlier this month, that was set to be held at Mitie's headquarters in the Shard. Trade unions had voiced concerns that the Mitie-sponsored event stood at odds with Labour's own plans to cut the Government's reliance on outsourcers. A source close to the Labour Party said: 'Commercial partnerships at events are a long-standing practice and have no bearing on party or government policy.' Mitie itself has repeatedly been subject to a series of strikes led by some of Britain's largest trade unions, including by Unison, which in February 2024 led a three-day walkout by 300 cleaners, porters and caterers from hospitals run by Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, in the West Midlands. On Friday, 200 cleaners and security guards represented by GMB voted to lead a separate strike over pay at the Sellafield nuclear facility in Cumbria, starting on Aug 1. A Mitie spokesman said: 'We are committed to helping our public sector partners build safer, stronger and more resilient communities, supporting people and places to thrive across the UK. Further clashes G4S, which has also clashed with unions, was the second largest beneficiary of Labour's spending on outsourcers, according to Tussell's figures, which show the security company has been awarded 16 contracts worth £1.05bn since Labour took power a year ago, including a £905m contract from the DWP. PCS is currently engaged a long-running dispute with G4S over pay for security guards working on the outsourcer's contract with the DWP for security at job centres. G4S was approached for comment. Sodexo has been the third biggest winner of contracts awarded under Labour, with the company winning four contracts worth another £615m since last July, including a £310m award from HMRC. A Sodexo spokesman said: 'Sodexo is proud to hold strategic supplier status as a preferred and trusted partner to Government.' A government spokesman said: 'The data referenced includes spending by devolved governments. 'Public sector bodies must already ensure any outsourcing decisions deliver on these priorities, but we are going further and consulting on a requirement that they carry out a public interest test before outsourcing any service – which would move the dial in favour of insourcing contracts.'
