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xPlans to lower voting age to 16 across UK unveiled in new elections Bill
Date: 22nd July 2025
Category:
General measures of implementation, General principles, Civil Rights and Freedoms
The UK Government has announced plans to lower the voting age to 16 as part of a new Elections Bill aimed at modernising the voting system and increasing participation.
The proposal, which would bring UK-wide elections in line with those in Scotland and Wales, marks the biggest change to voting rights since the age was reduced from 21 to 18 in 1969. Currently, 16 and 17-year-olds can already vote in local elections in Scotland and Wales, but not in UK general elections or local elections in England or Northern Ireland. The National Union of Students welcomed the move, calling it “a major victory for young people” and urged the government to make it easier for them to vote by removing voter ID requirements, introducing automatic voter registration, and teaching political literacy in schools.
The Bill also proposes other changes, including allowing UK-issued bank cards as valid ID at polling stations, and creating an automatic voter registration system. Currently, people must register manually to vote, and nearly eight million are either wrongly registered or missing from the electoral roll especially private renters and young people.
To support the successful rollout of Votes at 16, a new report titled A Roadmap to Votes at 16 has been launched. Co-designed by 40 organisations from the education, youth, and democracy sectors, including teachers, youth workers and young people themselves, the report outlines 16 key recommendations. These include providing a minimum entitlement to democratic education, modernising the curriculum, supporting educators, expanding opportunities for young people to lead and participate, and running communications campaigns to encourage youth engagement. The report offers a clear, cross-sector vision for making Votes at 16 a reality and success across the UK. It has been coordinated by The Politics Project and funded by The UK Democracy Fund.
In its latest Concluding Observations to the UK, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended that the minimum voting age be lowered to 16 in all parts of the UK. The Committee emphasised that this would strengthen children and young people’s participation in political and public life, in line with Article 12 of the UNCRC, which upholds every child’s right to be heard in decisions that affect them.