Voters in Britain are allowed to vote from the age of 16.
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Voters in Britain are allowed to vote from the age of 16.
Voters in the UK are allowed to vote from the age of 16, before they reach the legal age of majority.
Keir Starmer’s Labour government has introduced an electoral reform bill aimed at increasing turnout and banning foreign donations as a measure against “foreign interference”. A reform promised during last year’s campaign, it is also seen as an attempt to regain support from young people in the face of the rise of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
The bill was introduced in Parliament by Deputy Prime Minister Rushanara Ali and was hailed as a “necessary step to modernise British democracy” by Starmer and Angela Rayner, the most progressive member of the government. The aim is for the reform to come into force before the 2029 election, with a Labour majority expected to pass it easily.
The conservative opposition is calling for an in-depth review of the bill after Parliament’s summer recess (July 22 – August), expressing concerns about the impact on the older electorate.
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“It is right that 16 and 17-year-olds should be able to vote, work, pay taxes and join the army,” Starmer and Ali stressed.
The lowering of the voting age is the biggest change since 1969, when it was lowered from 21 to 18. This brings England into line with Scotland and Wales, but remains an exception in Europe, where only five countries (Austria, Malta, Greece, Germany, Belgium) allow voting from the age of 16.
The bill also includes facilitations for identification documents and automatic online registration, to halt the decline in participation that last year fell below 60 percent, the lowest level since 2001, ANSA reports. KosovaPress.