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Blair floats idea of giving 16-year-olds right to vote
ALISON HARDIE POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT
THE voting age may be lowered to 16 in a ground-breaking move the government believes would re-engage young people in politics.
Tony Blair ordered a senior political ally to float the idea at the weekend to gauge how popular it would be.
The direct involvement of the Prime Minister is a sign of how seriously the proposal is being taken.
The government is increasingly concerned that the political process has alienated so many people at such a young age it must take drastic action to reverse the trend.
Lord Falconer, the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs, who is very close to the Prime Minister, said the debate was "vital" and part of the government’s agenda of reform.
He said: "We expect more and more of people in relation to personal participation; we expect more and more in terms of social responsibility, in my view rightly, from young people - particularly young people.
"If we want to engage young people and make them discharge their responsibilities then I think there has got to be a quid pro quo of letting them see greater influence in the political process.
"One might well be able to give teenagers the vote at 16 rather than 18. We need to have a debate about that," he added.
Lord Falconer’s statement follows comments from Mr Blair last week that he was undecided about the current arrangements for the voting age, suggesting he was no longer opposed to lowering it.
The Electoral Commission is due to report on changes to the voting age in the New Year.
The independent body, which advises ministers on how elections can be modernised, began consulting on the voting age in the summer following concern over falling turnouts among young voters.
At present, a 16-year-old can marry and join the army but cannot vote in elections until reaching the age of 18.
In addition, the bar on standing as an election candidate is set at 21 years.
At the general election in 2001, only 39 per cent of 18-24 year olds bothered to vote, according to the pollsters MORI.
That coincided with a survey by the British Household Panel which suggested nearly 30 per cent of 15-17 year olds said they were either very interested or fairly interested in politics - higher than the equivalent figure for the 18-20 age bracket.
Last week, Mr Blair told an invited audience of young people at Downing Street that he had no strict view about the way forward.
He said: "On voting at 16, I’m undecided myself. If you had asked me two or three years ago I would have answered ‘no’. Now I’m not sure about the arguments.
"There is obviously a case for saying, ‘Look, people grow up a lot more quickly - there are many things you can do at the age of 16 - so why shouldn't you be able to vote?’"
When the consultation began in the summer, Glyn Mathias, the electoral commissioner, urged people who were not normally interested in politics to get involved before the exercise closed in October.
The commission sought views from people attending party political conferences, the annual sitting of the UK Youth Parliament and youth interest groups.
The review came after the commission found that just 16 per cent of voters aged under-25 voted in the elections to the Welsh assembly.
Not only did under-25s fail to vote in significant numbers but equally badly, only 21 per cent of the next age group, the 25-to-34 year olds, exercised their democratic rights.
In Scotland, the turnout for the parliamentary elections also fell overall from just over 58 per cent in 1999 to around 49.5 per cent this year.
Matthew Green, the youth spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, backed changing the voting age to 16.
He said: "Denying 16-year-olds the vote because some consider them politically immature is trite nonsense.
"If 16-year-olds can marry, have children of their own, pay taxes and join the army, why should they not be able to vote for the government they want?"
But David Willetts, the shadow cabinet member in charge of policy development, was cautious over the idea.
He told the Sky News Sunday with Adam Boulton programme: "I personally think that 18 has been a reasonable age - I don't particularly see any need to lower it.
"It is important to engage younger people in the political process but I'm not sure that lowering the age to 16 would be the right way to do it."
ALISON HARDIE POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT
THE voting age may be lowered to 16 in a ground-breaking move the government believes would re-engage young people in politics.
Tony Blair ordered a senior political ally to float the idea at the weekend to gauge how popular it would be.
The direct involvement of the Prime Minister is a sign of how seriously the proposal is being taken.
The government is increasingly concerned that the political process has alienated so many people at such a young age it must take drastic action to reverse the trend.
Lord Falconer, the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs, who is very close to the Prime Minister, said the debate was "vital" and part of the government’s agenda of reform.
He said: "We expect more and more of people in relation to personal participation; we expect more and more in terms of social responsibility, in my view rightly, from young people - particularly young people.
"If we want to engage young people and make them discharge their responsibilities then I think there has got to be a quid pro quo of letting them see greater influence in the political process.
"One might well be able to give teenagers the vote at 16 rather than 18. We need to have a debate about that," he added.
Lord Falconer’s statement follows comments from Mr Blair last week that he was undecided about the current arrangements for the voting age, suggesting he was no longer opposed to lowering it.
The Electoral Commission is due to report on changes to the voting age in the New Year.
The independent body, which advises ministers on how elections can be modernised, began consulting on the voting age in the summer following concern over falling turnouts among young voters.
At present, a 16-year-old can marry and join the army but cannot vote in elections until reaching the age of 18.
In addition, the bar on standing as an election candidate is set at 21 years.
At the general election in 2001, only 39 per cent of 18-24 year olds bothered to vote, according to the pollsters MORI.
That coincided with a survey by the British Household Panel which suggested nearly 30 per cent of 15-17 year olds said they were either very interested or fairly interested in politics - higher than the equivalent figure for the 18-20 age bracket.
Last week, Mr Blair told an invited audience of young people at Downing Street that he had no strict view about the way forward.
He said: "On voting at 16, I’m undecided myself. If you had asked me two or three years ago I would have answered ‘no’. Now I’m not sure about the arguments.
"There is obviously a case for saying, ‘Look, people grow up a lot more quickly - there are many things you can do at the age of 16 - so why shouldn't you be able to vote?’"
When the consultation began in the summer, Glyn Mathias, the electoral commissioner, urged people who were not normally interested in politics to get involved before the exercise closed in October.
The commission sought views from people attending party political conferences, the annual sitting of the UK Youth Parliament and youth interest groups.
The review came after the commission found that just 16 per cent of voters aged under-25 voted in the elections to the Welsh assembly.
Not only did under-25s fail to vote in significant numbers but equally badly, only 21 per cent of the next age group, the 25-to-34 year olds, exercised their democratic rights.
In Scotland, the turnout for the parliamentary elections also fell overall from just over 58 per cent in 1999 to around 49.5 per cent this year.
Matthew Green, the youth spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, backed changing the voting age to 16.
He said: "Denying 16-year-olds the vote because some consider them politically immature is trite nonsense.
"If 16-year-olds can marry, have children of their own, pay taxes and join the army, why should they not be able to vote for the government they want?"
But David Willetts, the shadow cabinet member in charge of policy development, was cautious over the idea.
He told the Sky News Sunday with Adam Boulton programme: "I personally think that 18 has been a reasonable age - I don't particularly see any need to lower it.
"It is important to engage younger people in the political process but I'm not sure that lowering the age to 16 would be the right way to do it."
Most 16 year olds are assclowns. Then agian, so are most 46 year olds 
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