(Adnkronos) – It will be possible to vote from the age of 16 in Great Britain, where the government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer has proposed to lower the minimum voting age by two years. Around 1.5 million sixteen and seventeen-year-olds will therefore be able to cast their vote in the next general election. This is a key Labour party pledge made during the election campaign and that lowering the voting age from 18 to 16 in all UK elections. For the government it is the “biggest change to UK democracy in a generation”. The last time the voting age was lowered, from 21 to 18, was in 1969.
“We are taking steps to break down barriers to participation, so we can ensure more people have the opportunity to engage with UK democracy, supporting our Plan for Change and delivering on our manifesto commitment to give 16-year-olds the right to vote,” said UK Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner. Until now, it was already possible to vote from the age of 16, but only for local council elections in Scotland and Wales and for Senedd and Scottish Parliament elections.
