Political researcher Gergana Dimova and psychologist Lynette Thompson from Northeastern in London examine the decision to give more teenagers in Britain the right to vote.
The minimum voting age in the U.K. will be lowered to 16 by the next general election, which is expected by 2029. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)
LONDON — Sixteen-year-olds living in the United Kingdom cannot legally drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes or drive a car.
But they will be able to help elect the next British prime minister after the country lowered its voting age from 18 to 16.
It will bring England and Northern Ireland in line with Scotland and Wales, where 16-year-olds can already vote in devolved national elections. The change is due to take effect by the next general election, which is expected by 2029.
Gergana Dimova, associate professor in politics and sociology at Northeastern University in London, says lowering the voting age can boost turnout at elections and help start a lifelong habit of democratic participation.
“Research shows that younger people boost electoral turnout,” Dimova says, “and this is a long-term effect, which means that young people do not get excited about their first vote only, but continue to be engaged with politics later in life.”
That was seen in Scotland during its independence referendum in 2014. After the voting age was lowered in time for that vote, those ages 16 and 17 turned out in higher numbers during the referendum than those in the 18-24 bracket.
The decision to reduce the age of suffrage — the first U.K.-wide change since 1969 when the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18 — will make the country an outlier on the world stage. The majority of democratic nations grant voting rights at age 18 (including the U.S.) with only a small fraction (including Cuba, Brazil and Austria) allowing 16-year-olds to vote.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the move, a manifesto pledge that was recently confirmed as part of his center-left Labour government’s elections bill, was about fairness.
“If you can work, if you can pay tax, if you can serve in your armed forces,” said Starmer, “then you ought to be able to vote.”
But critics, particularly in right-wing parties such as the Conservatives and Reform UK, argue that the change is a naked political ploy designed to favor Labour at the ballot box. Dimova says that while there is evidence to suggest some 16- and 17-year-olds can be more liberal than the rest of the population, that is far from being a blanket rule.
“Some studies suggest that about 13% more of the youngest voters prefer left- to right-wing parties,” she says. “However, it is not clear whether these effects go beyond the first vote.
“Furthermore, it is unclear whether the youngest voters support left-wing parties or mostly rebel against the status quo. If the latter is the case, then any fringe parties, including far-right and green parties, will get a boost from the young vote.”
The shift will “not fundamentally change the voting landscape,” she argues, as family influence has historically been one of the strongest predictors of party vote among children of high school age. To put it simply, those aged 16 and 17 are likely to be heavily influenced by their parents and other family members in how they vote.
“As long as family socialization trumps other factors, such as university education and independent personal growth, the same voting patterns will reproduce themselves, with minor deviations to the two sides of the spectrum,” Dimova adds.
Lynette Thompson, an associate professor in psychology at Northeastern in London, says it is true that 16-year-olds are more likely to follow the lead of their peers.
“An adolescent has a big need to belong and is very influenced by their peers,” Thompson says. “I would say that the biology of whether the brain is ready to vote is probably not as much of a problem as the social side, in terms of the influence that is exerted over a 16-year-old.”
Thompson, who lectures in developmental psychology and previously taught high school, says the brain isn’t considered to be fully developed until a person is 25. But only the United Arab Emirates restricts voting to those that age.
Although the brain reaches full size by age 12 for girls and 14 for boys, it continues developing through puberty. At 16, hormonal changes and brain development can make emotional regulation difficult. As the prefrontal cortex matures into adulthood, impulse control and emotional stability improve.
That is not to say, Thompson adds, that 16-year-olds cannot make a rational decision when voting — but they may need more time to work it out.
“Recent studies have shown that a 16-year-old brain can make a decision in the same way as an 18-year-old,” Thompson says.
“But it has to be under conditions where there is not a lot of emotional arousal going on. If you ask a 16-year-old to make a decision on who they are going to vote for, giving them time to make that decision, they could make the same decision as an 18- or 19-year-old.
“But if you’re asking them to make a quick impulse decision, they’re probably going to change their mind every day. So all they need is time and then they could be on par with an 18-year-old.”
An area of concern, Thompson continues, is that teenagers can be “impressionable.” That makes them less likely to fact check their sources and are therefore more susceptible to accepting “fake news” that they come across on social media and other online platforms.
That will be an area that society, the education system and the government will have to guard against, she argues, when the voting age is brought down.
“Schools will have to make sure pupils are getting information from the right platforms and sources,” Thompson says, “because if you’re going to leave it up to TikTok and Instagram as the platforms where they educate themselves, they’re going to be wholly misinformed.
“Teenagers want instant gratification. They’re thinking, ‘I need information and I need it quick — and if you’re going to give it to me in 30 seconds, I’m going to run with it.’”
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