Disenfranchised

Every time a group of people is disenfranchised, the arguments justifying it are often the same – that they are too immature to vote, that they are politically ill-informed, that they themselves don’t care enough to participate in public life even if they were allowed to.

It was the same when women and working class people were denied the vote, and it was the same nearly 50 years ago, when those under 21 were not allowed to have their say.

Now, again another group of people – 16- and 17-year-olds – are being denied the vote, again because they’ve been told they can’t handle the responsibility.

But Labour is leading the way – fully supported by every other political party except the Tories – in making full political participation for young people a reality.

Labour MP Jim McMahon’s private member’s bill on reducing the voting age to 16 in all elections had its second reading this afternoon (November 3) –  but the vote was blocked after Tory MPs purposely talked out the bill and time ran out.

Despite the Tories’ cynical sabotaging tactic, lowering the voting age to 16 has received widespread support for decades now and many believe that the time for change has come.

Unite Community co-ordinator Jamie Caldwell, who is from Scotland, said the decision to lower the voting age to 16 for the Scottish referendum three years ago was a huge turning point in the fight for youth enfranchisement.

“There was a lot of scepticism about reducing the voting age but much of that disappeared after the referendum.”

Indeed, a year after the referendum in 2015, Scotland extended the right to vote for those 16 and older in Scottish and local elections. The Welsh government is now consulting on doing the exact same thing.

Caldwell described the atmosphere of optimism and engagement from 16- and 17-year-olds when they were first allowed the vote.

“Young members were heavily involved in the campaign at the referendum and it was brilliant to see so many people so engaged,” he said. “It was frustrating that the very next year, at the general election, these same 16 year olds weren’t allowed to vote.”

Caldwell explained that while many young people maintained engagement following the referendum in Scotland, for others that interest faded the next year when they no longer had a say.

Unite community member Chris Rimicans, 18, was 16 when he first voted in the Scottish referendum.

He remembers the campaign and the day of the vote well.

“I was already very interested and engaged in politics but it was exhilarating to see so many other young people who might have previously not taken much interest become politically involved.

“It was disappointing that the following year we were again disenfranchised. There’s often this criticism levelled against young people that they’re disengaged with politics but if the Scottish referendum showed anything it showed that when young people are given the opportunity to have a say, they’ll take it; they’ll become engaged.”

Indeed, the turnout for 16- and 17- year olds in the referendum was a full 75 per cent.

‘Scandal’

Rimicans called the hypocrisy in denying younger people the vote “a scandal”.

“It’s absurd that 16 and 17 year olds can go to war, can work and pay taxes but they can’t have a say in how their country is run,” he said.

Caldwell believes that lowering the voting age will provide the impetus to improve civic education.

“It will be an opportunity to engage and educate young people in school on political theory and democratic participation,” he said. “People criticise young people saying that they aren’t informed – well it is our job as a society to educate them.”

Labour MP Jim McMahon slammed the government for filibustering the bill.

“I would respect the government who says, we’ve heard the debate, we’ve taken into account the points that have been made, we’ve seen the evidence base but ultimately we’ve arrived at a different conclusion – I would respect that,” he said.

“What I don’t respect is a government that works in the shadows, that is scared of having a parliamentary vote because they know they can’t win. That is not a government in charge – that is a weak government.”

Shadow minister for voter engagement and youth affairs, Labour MP Cat Smith agreed, saying the Tories’ sabotaging of the bill was “hugely disappointing”.

But she added that today was only the beginning in Labour’s fight to extend the franchise and strengthen democracy.

Despite the bill being blocked, she said Labour will now fight to get the bill back on, or attempt to put forward another similar bill before the end of the parliamentary session.

“The time for reducing the voting age has come,” she told UNITElive. “At the last general election, young people came out in droves to register and vote – it was the highest youth turnout since 1992. There’s a huge appetite and interest in politics among young people now.”

Unite assistant general secretary Steve Turner also criticised the Tories’ for blocking the bill.

“No wonder the Tories oppose the right to vote for 16-and 17-year-olds – they know that a larger electorate means loosening their grip on power, a power they’re only able to wield if as few people as possible vote,” he said.

“We saw this idea play out with the Tory government’s rushed introduction of Individual Electoral Registration, when millions fell of the register right before the election and we see it again now in their opposition to enfranchising a group of people who participate in public life in every other way possible – 16- and 17- year olds can work, they pay taxes and they can even die for their country in war.”

“Reducing the voting age is especially important now, as we leave the EU. Young people, who will be most affected by the fallout from Brexit, must have a say in what their future will look like,” he added.  “Unite fully supports Labour in its fight to engage more people in the democratic process.”

Watch the debate this afternoon here.

Want to send a loud and clear signal to the government that the voting age should be lowered? Sign Labour’s petition here.