Could lowering the voting age turn around youth apathy towards politics?
It’s a disturbing fact that more 18-to-24-year-olds voted for Big Brother than turned out at the last General Election. This lack of interest shown by young people in the UK has become a huge concern for many people involved in the political system. That’s one of the main reasons behind a campaign calling for votes for 16-year-olds, which was launched at Westminster in January this year. The campaign is being co-ordinated by the Electoral Reform Society, with the support of various children’s rights groups. It’s also backed by the Liberal Democrats. They’re hoping that reducing the voting age will make more young people feel politics is relevant to them. But is it what we want? We asked young people from across the UK if they thought it was a good idea and as expected their views were wide and varied. Jonathan Hudson, 16, from Birmingham has been involved in organising the campaign and is very much in favour of lowering the voting age. He likens denying 16 and 17 year olds the right to
