The British government has announced plans to lower the voting age to 16 for general elections — a historic move that would make the UK one of the countries with the lowest voting ages globally.
The reform, unveiled on Thursday, fulfils a key campaign promise by the ruling Labour Party ahead of its electoral victory last year. It is part of a broader package of measures aimed at revitalising a democratic system that many critics say is “in crisis,” citing declining voter turnout and growing political disengagement.
“I think it’s really important that 16- and 17-year-olds have the vote, because they are old enough to go out to work, they are old enough to pay taxes, so (they) pay in,” said Prime Minister Keir Starmer. “And I think if you pay in, you should have the opportunity to say what you want your money spent on, which way the government should go.”
To implement the change, the government will introduce legislation in Parliament, where it holds a strong majority. If passed, the UK would join a small group of countries — including Austria, Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, and Cuba — that permit 16-year-olds to vote in national elections. Austria was the first EU nation to lower its voting age to 16 in 2007.
While the Labour government says the move will “modernise our democracy” and boost participation — especially among young voters — the proposal is likely to be divisive. Critics have argued that the reform is politically motivated, with younger voters generally seen as more inclined to support Labour.
The voting age reform also aims to align UK general elections with voting rules in Scotland and Wales, where 16- and 17-year-olds are already eligible to vote in devolved parliamentary elections.
Other proposed changes include the introduction of automated voter registration — a system already in use in countries like Australia and Canada — and expanding the list of acceptable voter IDs to include UK-issued bank cards. This follows a controversial electoral law introduced by the previous Conservative government, which mandated photo ID for voting and reportedly prevented around 750,000 people from casting ballots in last year’s general election, according to the Electoral Commission.
Harry Quilter-Pinner, Executive Director of the Institute for Public Policy Research, described the reform package as “the biggest reform to our electoral system since 1969,” when the voting age was reduced from 21 to 18.
He said the combined effect of lowering the voting age and automating registration could expand the voter roll by 9.5 million people. “Our democracy is in crisis, and we risk reaching a tipping point where politics loses its legitimacy,” Quilter-Pinner warned, voicing support for the government’s proposals.
