All 16-year-olds will be given the right to vote in all UK elections as part of seismic changes to modernise UK democracy. Young people, who already contribute to society by working, paying taxes and serving in the military, will be given the right to vote on the issues that affect them. This will bring UK-wide elections in line with those in Scotland and Wales, marking a major step towards meeting Labour’s manifesto commitment and ushering in the biggest change to the franchise since 1969, when the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18.
A global look at youth participation in democracy
Nowadays, countries that allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote include Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, Guernsey, Greece, Indonesia, Isle of Man, Jersey, Nicaragua, North Korea and Timor-Leste. Some countries and territories, such as Estonia, Germany, Israel, Puerto Rico, Scotland, and Wales, allow 16 and 17-year-olds to vote in at least some elections, such as local or state elections. In the US, 17-year-olds can vote in the presidential or congressional primaries or party caucuses in some states if they turn 18 before the general election (UNICEF, n.d.).
Young people aged 16 in Belgium, Austria, Germany and Malta, and those aged 17 in Greece, are allowed to vote in European elections. The voting age for national elections in EU countries is 18, except for Austria and Malta. In Austria, several regions lowered the voting age in regional and local elections since 2000, and in 2007, the voting age for national elections was lowered to 16.
Malta lowered the voting age to 16 for local elections in 2014, and the voting age for general elections was lowered after legislation was passed in March 2018. In Germany, local and state elections vary, but some states and municipalities allow 16-year-olds to vote (Johnston, 2025)
The UK adopted a proposal to lower the voting age to 16
There are approximately 1.3 million 16- and 17-year-olds in England and 48,000 in Northern Ireland (based on 2022-23 estimates). Although not all are eligible to register to vote, as not all meet the nationality requirements, a large part of them will be entitled to the right to vote as from the next general elections, which should be held by August 2029 at the latest (Johnston, 2025).
In fact, the Government of the United Kingdom (UK) adopted a proposal to lower the voting age to 16 for all elections. This proposal is linked to the 2024 Labour Party’s election manifesto, which pledged to lower the voting age to 16 and give Britain one of the lowest suffrage ages in the world (Mason & Crerar, 2025). It is also one of the measures foreseen by the UK government in the “Restoring trust in our democracy” strategy, which is aimed at protecting, promoting and adapting democracy to the new challenges (Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, 2025).
It is the biggest change to the British electorate since 1969, when the voting age was reduced from 21 to 18 (BBC, 2025). This proposal will bring England and Northern Ireland in line with Scotland and Wales, where those aged 16 and 17 have been able to vote in Holyrood, Senedd and local council elections for some time (Mason, 2025).
The Government of the UK pledged to enable registration from age 14 to help young people to be fully registered as soon as they reach voting age and ensure they have the opportunity to vote even if an election falls on or shortly after their 16th birthday. The minimum age to stand as a candidate will remain at 18 years, mirroring the approach taken by the governments of Scotland and Wales and ensuring consistent approaches to both voting and candidacy across the whole UK (Communities & Local Government, 2025).
Why did the UK government choose to give the vote to 16-year-olds?
The government’s arguments for electoral change are all about increasing democratic participation and restoring trust in the political system. The UK government recognised that in each generation there must be a national conversation about how to protect the democratic system and culture.
The world is changing, but the political system has not kept pace. Declining turnout and low voter registration numbers show that many UK citizens have lost confidence that they are being listened to. Evolving security risks, ever-increasing levels of intimidation and harassment, and concerns around foreign interference in the UK elections all contribute to this generational challenge
The UK Government recognised that 16- and 17-year-olds across the UK are engaged and focused on the key issues affecting the country both domestically and internationally. They work, pay taxes, serve in the military, and contribute in different ways to society.
In this sense, the UK Government fully upheld that recognising 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote is a matter of fairness (Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, 2025). Moreover, encouraging younger people to vote at an age when they are still largely in education will persuade them to make it a lifelong habit (Mason, 2025).
Engaging young people in decision-making through education partners
The government of the UK not only pledged to legislate to lower the voting age, but it also aims to work with partners – including local and devolved governments, the Electoral Commission, electoral administrators, schools and colleges, charities and youth groups, and more – to take practical steps to help the education sector to support the implementation of votes at 16.
Engaging young people in decision-making is at the core of the government’s Youth Strategy, which has been co-designed with young people and recognises the value of empowering young people to shape the communities and societies they are part of. Youth and civil society groups stand ready to work with the government to build awareness and engage with young people to ensure the success of votes at 16 (Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, 2025).
The “Restoring trust in our democracy” strategy also foresees steps to encourage more voter registration. An increasingly automated voter registration system will make it easier for people to register to vote and reduce the need to fill out their details across different government services on multiple occasions (Government of the UK, 2025).
Promoting transparency and accountability in politics
Major changes will boost transparency and accountability in politics by closing loopholes that would allow foreign donors via “shell companies” to influence UK political parties. Meanwhile, new requirements on unincorporated associations will mandate checks on donations of over £500 to tackle foreign interference and protect UK democracy from those who attempt to undermine it (Government of the UK, 2025).
Alongside this, the reforms will allow the Electoral Commission to take action and enforce heavier fines of up to £500,000 on those who breach political finance rules and enable tougher sentences for those who abuse election campaigners (Government of the UK, 2025). For instance, the government plans to change the law to ban those found guilty of intimidating or abusing a candidate from standing themselves in future (Mason & Crerar, 2025).
Finally, the UK government also considered the potential effects of online mis- and disinformation, which could affect the newly enfranchised young people. In fact, the UK Government is implementing the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA), which foresees duties on social media platforms and search engines to take action against illegal mis- and disinformation on their services.
With the entry into force of the OSA’s Protection of Children Codes in July 2025, the risk assessment guidance became enforceable, meaning that services such as social media and search engines are required to conduct a children’s risk assessment at least annually, to assess the risk of harm to children on the service from various types of “content that is harmful to children” (Hishon et al., 2025). Further duties will come into force over the coming years to bring an enhanced level of safety, transparency and accountability to online services (Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, 2025).
Old enough to vote, too young for many other choices
Recognising the right to vote for 16-year-olds is an important step forward in improving their participation in matters affecting them. However, it should be noted that 16-year-olds are still restricted from many activities considered part of adulthood. For instance, they cannot get a tattoo, buy alcohol, or drive a car, and while they may join the Army, they need parental consent to do so (BBC, 2025).
In England and Wales, they must also wait until 18 to marry, though in Scotland, they may do so at 16, as well as in Northern Ireland, even if they need parental or guardian consent to do so. 16-year-olds are also barred from standing as election candidates, even where they can vote (BBC, 2025).
Finally, the law treats them differently in criminal matters. The minimum age of criminal responsibility in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is 10, meaning children between 10 and 17 can be arrested and taken to court if they commit a crime. In Scotland, the minimum age of criminal responsibility is 12. As for which prison young people are sent to, anyone over 18 may be sent to an adult prison. If they’re aged 18-21, they might, though, instead be sent to a young offender institution (BBC, 2025).
Will lowering the voting age change UK politics?
There is also an unspoken belief among many in Labour that the change may benefit the left, given that younger people have historically tended to be more left-wing. The Conservatives were not keen on the policy, saying it was “confusing” that the age group would be able to vote but not stand as candidates and do plenty of other things (Mason, 2025).
The impacts of the change, however, are far from certain. Polling of 500 aged 16 and 17 conducted by Merlin Strategy for ITV News showed Labour had the most support with 33%, ahead of Reform UK on 20% and the Conservatives on 10%.
But half of them thought they should not yet be allowed to vote, and only 18% said they would definitely vote if there was an election tomorrow. Only half said they had a positive view of democracy, and more than a fifth said they viewed a military strongman with no government or elections positively (Mason, 2025).
Analysis by the thinktank “More in Common” found that newly enfranchised teens made up such a small proportion of the electorate that they were unlikely to shift the dial politically at a national level, but in a fragmented political landscape, even small changes could have large local effects. The real question is whether this change will be popular, considering that the public opposes lowering the voting age by a 48% to 27% margin, which means this topic is not near the top of many Britons’ priorities (Mason & Crerar, 2025)
The move to extend the franchise in Scotland and Wales has led to mixed results. According to Stuart Fox, Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of Exeter, it was far from clear that a lower voting age would increase youth engagement. He was more in favour of adopting other measures, such as more citizenship education (Mason, 2025).
Other authors, such as Harry Quilter-Pinner, executive director of the Institute for Public Policy Research, consider that every possible attempt should be made to encourage voting at a time when barely half of those eligible cast their ballot at the last election. According to him, lowering the voting age to 16 and introducing first steps towards automatic voter registration could eventually bring up to 9.5 million new people into the democratic process, which is a necessary for rebuilding trust in the system and pushing back against the forces of populism (Mason, 2025).
A valuable lesson for the UK and the rest of the world
Although the impact of lowering the voting age in the UK is uncertain, experiences from other countries provide useful guidance. Research has shown that there has been no impact on the results of elections in those countries which lowered the voting age to 16. But, on the other hand, young people enfranchised at 16 are more likely to vote than those enfranchised at 18 (Johnston, 2025).
This argument is one of the main reasons to lower the voting age to 16. The measures adopted by the government of the UK are aimed at increasing democratic participation and restoring trust in the political system. To be able to respond to the challenges of the present, it is important to listen to all the people who are affected by those challenges, including young people.
In this sense, Humanium is strongly committed to supporting children’s rights to vote, and it campaigns to lower the voting age throughout its online content. In our work, we support the principle of inclusion and participation by promoting best practices and examples which testify children’s voices can be heard. If you want to support our work, please consider making a donation, volunteering or becoming a member.
Written by Arianna Braga
References:
BBC (2025). Buying a pint, getting a tattoo and joining the army – how old do you have to be? Retrieved from the BBC at https://www.bbc.com/news/live/c93kkg37n3kt, accessed on 22 October 2025.
Government of the UK (2025). Press release – 16 year olds to be given right to vote through election reforms. Retrieved from the Government of the UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/16-year-olds-to-be-given-right-to-vote-through-seismic-government-election-reforms, accessed on 22 October 2025.
Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (2025). Policy paper – Restoring trust in our democracy: Our strategy for modern and secure elections. Retrieved from the Government of the UK, Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/restoring-trust-in-our-democracy-our-strategy-for-modern-and-secure-elections/restoring-trust-in-our-democracy-our-strategy-for-modern-and-secure-elections, accessed on 27 October 2025.
Hishon, R. et al. (2025). UK Online Safety Act: Protection of Children Codes come into force. Retrieved from White & Case at https://www.whitecase.com/insight-alert/uk-online-safety-act-protection-children-codes-come-force, accessed on 28 October 2025.
Johnston, N. (2025). Research Briefing – Voting age. Retrieved from the House of Commons Library at https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn01747/, accessed on 22 October 2025.
Mason, R. (2025). Lowering the voting age: a boost for UK democracy or a shot in the dark? Retrieved from The Guardian at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jul/17/lowering-voting-age-impact-uk-democracy-analysis, accessed on 22 October 2025.
Mason, R., Crerar, P. (2025). Voting age to be lowered to 16 across UK by next general election. Retrieved from The Guardian at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jul/17/voting-age-to-be-lowered-to-16-in-england-and-northern-ireland, accessed on 22 October 2025.
UNICEF (n.d.). Should children vote? Retrieved from UNICEF at https://www.unicef.org/innocenti/should-children-vote, accessed on 28 October 2025.
