Call for children to have lessons in how to vote at 16 in UK election

16 comments

1. They should also have lessons on how to spot misinformation then

2. Media. Literacy. 

   Twitter is not a source. Think critically about who is telling you the story, how they’re framing it. 

   And above all else teach them how government actually works. Or at least how it’s supposed to. And keep it all absolutely ideologically neutral. 

3. “It comes after Reform UK leader Nigel Farage claimed schools and universities are “full of left-wing prejudice” and “anti-Reform bias”.”

   Same old bullshit America did.

   Higher education generally leans progressive because that’s the way a person naturally leans if they’re exposed to more information on a subject.

   Wanting to “remain impartial” when it comes to educating young people is Farage’s dishonest way of pushing biggoted rhetoric by pretending that the two opposing viewpoints are as valid as each other.

   If the UK was more religious, I wouldn’t be surprised if said that creationism should be taught in equal measure to evolution.

4. I like to put a big cross next to the conservatives so that they absolutely don’t get in.

5. I cant wait to see
   this backfire on Labour and watch all the votes go to Yourparty and Reform.

6. I still think it was a wee misfire for Labour to lower the voting age for teenagers and block Pornhub in the same week

7. Are there any cynics here that think that such lessons should be extended to adults also?

8. I’m on the fence about 16 years old voting, but you only have to see some of the teenager subs to see that there are not in touch with real world. Multiple people saying keir and trump are worst then Hitler/Pol Pott/Mao etc

9. Lesson 1: Do NOT vote for Reform just because Labour (or the Tories) upset you a little. You WON’T “show them” in this way.

10. Lol, thats not going to be biased at all then is it.

11. And here it comes. If 16 year olds can vote there are 12 year old’s out there today that become the target for political indoctrination. Obviously I realise that’s not what this is about, but you can bet your ass that’s what people are planning. It’s abhorent. We should let kids be kids as long as possible.

12. Research shows that early voting rights contributes to more consistent and increased participation in voting/democracy during later ages.

    In the Scottish independence referendum in 2014, 16-17 year olds had some of the highest turnout rates, and were highly likely to continue voting in future elections.

    We need a healthier democracy in this country, one that’s not vulnerable to grifters and shills manipulating the public with propaganda.

    And it starts with teaching good habits to our youth.

13. It’s crazy to me how little education there is in the UK about how British government and democracy works.
    In France you’re taught how the French parliament works, about the French constitution, about how local elections work. You’re taught how the European Union works. I genuinely believe a large part of the reason why Brexit happened is because the British population simply had no idea how the European Union actually worked.

14. There’s definitely an issue with a democratic vote in that if a population can be easily misled or poorly informed they can vote for things that they didn’t really want or understand

    There’s a great video doing the rounds where a guy plays as a reform voter taking to other reform supports and once he starts listing off the things reform want to do none of them support it. They’ve been tricked but their vote still counts

    People are so scared of a system that requires a voter to be informed they completely ignore the dangers of a misinformed voter

    This is a good start but really everyone should be taught how to properly vote for what’s best for them without being lost in misinformation

15. Many schools already do this in PSHE, and it’s included in other subjects too. Many schools also have mock elections. So nothing really new here.

16. Maybe children shouldn’t be voting at 16. Maybe lessons should be given on how to vote when they are 18. Gives them 2 years to work out the world as most children have no clue what they want at 16 years old.

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