Latest news with #InstituteforPublicPolicyResearch
Boston Globe
4 days ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Britain plans to lower voting age to 16
The move comes alongside wider reforms that include tightening campaign financing rules to stop shell companies with murky ownership from donating to political parties. Democracy Minister Rushanara Ali said the change would strengthen safeguards against foreign interference in British politics. Advertisement There will also be tougher sentences for people convicted of intimidating candidates. Additionally, the government said it will introduce automatic voter registration and allow voters to use bank cards as a form of identification at polling stations. The previous Conservative government introduced a requirement for voters to show photo identification in 2022, a measure it said would combat fraud. Critics argued it could disenfranchise millions of voters, particularly the young, the poor, and members of ethnic minorities. Elections watchdog the Electoral Commission estimates that about 750,000 people did not vote in last year's election because they lacked ID. Turnout in the 2024 election was 59.7 percent, the lowest level in more than two decades. Advertisement Harry Quilter-Pinner, head of left-leaning think tank the Institute for Public Policy Research, said the changes were 'the biggest reform to our electoral system since 1969,' when the voting age was lowered to 18 from 21. The changes must be approved by Parliament, and the next national election must be held by 2029. 'For too long, public trust in our democracy has been damaged and faith in our institutions has been allowed to decline,' Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said. 'We are taking action to break down barriers to participation that will ensure more people have the opportunity to engage in UK democracy.' Stuart Fox, a politics lecturer at the University of Exeter who has studied youth voting, said it's 'far from clear' whether lowering the voting age actually increases youth engagement. 'It is right to help young people be heard,' he said. 'But there are other measures which are more effective at getting young people to vote — particularly those from the poorest backgrounds who are by far the least likely to vote — such as beefing up the citizenship curriculum or expanding the provision of volunteering programs in schools.'
The Hindu
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Britain to lower voting age to 16 in bid to increase democratic participation
Britain will lower the voting age from 18 to 16 before the next national election as part of measures to increase democratic participation, the government announced Thursday (July 17, 2025). The centre-left Labour Party pledged before it was elected in July 2024 to lower the voting age for elections to Britain's Parliament. Scotland and Wales already let 16 and 17-year-olds vote in local and regional elections. Britain will join the short list of countries where the voting age is 16, alongside the likes of Ecuador, Austria and Brazil. The move comes alongside wider reforms that include tightening campaign financing rules to stop shell companies with murky ownership from donating to political parties. Democracy Minister Rushanara Ali said the change would strengthen safeguards against foreign interference in British politics. The government also said it will introduce automatic voter registration and allow voters to use bank cards as a form of identification at polling stations. The previous Conservative government introduced a requirement for voters to show photo identification in 2022, a measure it said would combat fraud. Critics argued it could disenfranchise millions of voters, particularly the young, the poor and members of ethnic minorities. Elections watchdog the Electoral Commission has estimated that about 750,000 people did not vote in last year's election because they lacked ID. Turnout in the 2024 election was 59.7%, the lowest level in more than two decades. Harry Quilter-Pinner, head of left-leaning think tank the Institute for Public Policy Research, said the changes were 'the biggest reform to our electoral system since 1969," when the voting age was lowered to 18 from 21. The changes must be approved by Parliament. The next national election must be held by 2029. 'For too long public trust in our democracy has been damaged and faith in our institutions has been allowed to decline,' Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said. 'We are taking action to break down barriers to participation that will ensure more people have the opportunity to engage in UK democracy.'
4 days ago
- Politics
Britain will lower its voting age to 16 in a bid to strengthen democracy
LONDON -- Britain will lower the voting age from 18 to 16 before the next national election as part of measures to increase democratic participation, the government announced Thursday. The center-left Labour Party pledged before it was elected in July 2024 to lower the voting age for elections to Britain's Parliament. Scotland and Wales already let 16- and 17-year-olds vote in local and regional elections. Britain will join the short list of countries where the voting age is 16, alongside the likes of Ecuador, Austria and Brazil. The move comes alongside wider reforms that include tightening campaign financing rules to stop shell companies with murky ownership from donating to political parties. Democracy Minister Rushanara Ali said the change would strengthen safeguards against foreign interference in British politics. The government also said it will introduce automatic voter registration and allow voters to use bank cards as a form of identification at polling stations. The previous Conservative government introduced a requirement for voters to show photo identification in 2022, a measure it said would combat fraud. Critics argued it could disenfranchise millions of voters, particularly the young, the poor and members of ethnic minorities. Elections watchdog the Electoral Commission has estimated that about 750,000 people did not vote in last year's election because they lacked ID. Turnout in the 2024 election was 59.7%, the lowest level in more than two decades. Harry Quilter-Pinner, head of left-leaning think tank the Institute for Public Policy Research, said the changes were 'the biggest reform to our electoral system since 1969," when the voting age was lowered to 18 from 21. The changes must be approved by Parliament. The next national election must be held by 2029. 'For too long public trust in our democracy has been damaged and faith in our institutions has been allowed to decline,' Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said. 'We are taking action to break down barriers to participation that will ensure more people have the opportunity to engage in U.K. democracy.'
Sky News AU
4 days ago
- Politics
- Sky News AU
'We are taking action': UK lowers voting age to 16 allowing upwards of 9.5m people to vote in next general election
The United Kingdom has lowered the voting age from 18 to 16-years-old, in the biggest election reform in 56 years. This means children aged 16 and 17 will be able to vote in the next UK general election. Up to 9.5 million more people in the country will now be able to cast their vote, the Institute for Public Policy Research said. Latest figures show 48,208,507 people are registered to vote. The Starmer government said the reform to the voting system will "boost democratic engagement in a changing world and help to restore trust in UK democracy". The last time the voting age was changed in the UK was in 1969, when the age was reduced from 21 to 18-years-old. Spiked Online Editor Tom Slater told Sky News the government's decision to change the voting age may "backfire". "This is something that Labour had been talking about for some time – for the obvious reasons that they think it will help them electorally," Slater said on Thursday. "Generally speaking, there is this assumption that younger voters tend to skew left ... but I think it just makes a mockery of the franchise. "It's just generational gerrymandering on behalf of left-of-centre parties." Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said the change to the voting system will allow more people the opportunity to engage in UK democracy. "For too long public trust in our democracy has been damaged and faith in our institutions has been allowed to decline,' Rayner said. "We are taking action to break down barriers to participation that will ensure more people have the opportunity to engage in UK democracy, supporting our Plan for Change, and delivering on our manifesto commitment to give 16-year-olds the right to vote. "We cannot take our democracy for granted, and by protecting our elections from abuse and boosting participation we will strengthen the foundations of our society for the future." A digital Voter Authority Certificate will be created to ensure electoral registration officers, who maintain registers of electors and absent voters, will be able to accept digital forms of ID. Currently, the veteran card and UK driving licenses are allowed, as they are set to become digitised in time for the next general election. The last UK general election saw a 59.7 per cent turn out in 2024, being the lowest attendance since 2001. The result saw Keir Starmer become the 58th Prime Minister on July 5. Several countries allow voting from the age of 16. These include Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Cuba, Austria, and Nicaragua. Earliest vote-granting nations tend to be concentrated in central and South America, though smaller countries like Malta, Jersey, the Isle of Man, and Guernsey also allow 16-year-olds to vote. Four countries allow voting to begin at age 17, including North Korea, Greece, Timor-Leste, and Indonesia (which allow married people of any age to vote). More than 85 per cent of nations around the world have a voting age of 18-years-old.
Powys County Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Powys County Times
Davey vows to challenge Farage and calls for ‘Swedish-style' budget changes
In a wide-ranging speech, the Liberal Democrat leader accused his Reform UK rival of having 'no answers' to the problems facing Britain and said voters 'can't bank on anything that man says'. He also set out calls for a major shake-up of economic and net-zero policy, including a Swedish-style approach to the Government budget whereby MPs are allowed to debate tax and spend changes before it is finalised. Speaking at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) in central London, Sir Ed said his party had considered its proposed reforms carefully beneath the headline announcements. Asked if a focus on technical detail would cut through to voters enough to combat a populist threat in the polls, he said: 'The truth is, Nigel Farage has no answer, right? 'Nigel Farage will tell you about all the problems, but when you ask him about his answers, he's just got nothing to say.' He added: 'We've got to hold these people to account for getting away with their snake-oil sales… the difference with us is we have thought through the policies underneath the headlines, which is why people can bank on them. 'They can't bank on anything that man says.' Asked if he saw Reform UK as the main political threat, Sir Ed said: 'He has to be taken on… I think he keeps misleading people.' The Lib Dem leader said Mr Farage's approach to renewable power 'would only benefit foreign dictators like Vladimir Putin'. He unveiled a package of pledges which he claimed could cut energy bills in half within 10 years, including a proposed switch of all green power contracts on to a subsidy scheme guaranteeing generators a fixed price. Such contracts for difference (CfD), awarded at a Government auction, would mean the 'link can be broken' between electricity costs and market fluctuations caused by the price of gas, Sir Ed said. He also proposed an Office for the Taxpayer, based in Parliament and designed to hold policy-makers to account to go alongside a Swedish-style approach to the budget. 'The Swedish Parliament gets to debate the Government's budget – and can propose alternatives and amendments – before it is finalised, and gets a proper period of scrutiny and accountability in the months that follow,' he said. 'And now, Sweden's debt is down to 30% of GDP. 'So I think we should put more power in MPs' hands to hold the Treasury and every Department properly to account on behalf of our constituents.' However, shortly after Sir Ed's speech Reform hit out at the use of CfDs and said it would axe contracts awarded in the upcoming auction – Allocation Round 7 – if it won power, claiming they would be too costly. In a letter to energy companies on Wednesday, deputy leader Richard Tice MP said he was giving firms 'formal notice' that his party would seek to tear up the deals, adding: 'Let me be clear: if you enter bids in AR7, you do so at your own risk.'
