16 year old vote

Former Member

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3637953.stm


its been recommeded by elections commision that the voting age should stay at 18 for the time being and age of being able to apply to be councillor or mp is lowered from 21 to 18 since controls on candidates removes less serious competitors anyway so an age limit isnt required

whats your take on this? apparantly labour and lib dems want it lowered

i dont think it should be lowered to 16, sure there are some remarkably polically aware 16 yr old but lets face it by that age not a big enough matured have matured to make proper decisions
(btw studies show decison making skills develop in most people by about 18/19)

and we should get more people involved in politics but by getting the policians to be more transparant and errr willing to listen to the people, since they are our servants

Former Member

I don't see any good reason to lower it to 16.

Former Member

Originally posted by dantheman
I don't see any good reason to lower it to 16.

a 16 year old in employment has to pay tax, yet they do not have any chance to vote on taxation policies.

Former Member

that was the argument if your old enough to have kids, then surely you should have some say on their future

Former Member

Originally posted by wheresmyplacebo
that was the argument if your old enough to have kids, then surely you should have some say on their future

I would argue that is not such a strong argument. I don't think many 16 year olds want to start a family at 16. It seems kids born to people at that age are usually as a result of unprotected sex and are unwanted.

Former Member

Originally posted by Renzokuken
a 16 year old in employment has to pay tax, yet they do not have any chance to vote on taxation policies.

So? They're not yet an adult.

Former Member

but the thing is kids pay vat on the sweets they buy in the shops so the tax argument is silly

about the kids one though even if it is an unplanned pregnency, if your going to have a kis im sure still youd like some say in how your child was brought up whether or not it was planned

Former Member

Originally posted by dantheman
So? They're not yet an adult.

According to things such as bus fares and every other service or location with prices that change dependent on age they are.

Former Member

for petes sake you pay adult fare on planes if your 12+ yet they wont give you alcohol on board :P damn them :P

Former Member

Well the study has shown that most people do not want the age lowered, so there you go, good enough reason?

Former Member

well no point having a debate thread then is there if every debate has one side on the majority

Former Member

I think many 16 year olds would actually be wise and mature enough to use their vote, so why dont we give it to them? why make these people wait maybe an election or so until they become and adult if they in their mind feel old and big enough to handle it?
just my viewpoint anyway

Former Member

Originally posted by lukesh
I'm 16 and I believe we shouldn't be allowed to vote. This is a Labour con to win more votes. Labour will say... eh we have given you the vote, now do us a favour. Crafty that party are.

Bullshit.

Former Member

Originally posted by lukesh
you lot are excellent at swearing arn't you.


Whats rubbish?

I'm 16, and I know I sure as hell wouldn't vote Labour.

Former Member

Originally posted by lukesh
same here. who would you vote for? Liberal Democrats?


You didn't read my point properly. This is a Labour con, that is what Blair wanst people to feel.

No, I did read it properly. Lowering the voting age would, obviously, give Labour more votes, but the amount of votes that other parties would get would cancel that out.

Former Member

that was the argument if your old enough to have kids, then surely you should have some say on their future

You can be old enough to have a baby at 13, yet children don't vote, so have much of a say in their future, at that age.
I think that the voting age should remain at 18, because the majority of 16 year olds are not mature enough to vote, or have much interest in politics. There's no real need to lower it, and people may just vote the same way as their parents, or vote for extremist parties because they like the sound of some of their policies, but haven't considered others.

Former Member

Originally posted by J
To be perfectly honest I think the idea is lunacy!
In my opinion the age should go up to 21 if anything, in ancient Greece the age for voting was something like 30, voting saved for those who had gained some real wisdom and seen how larger systems were working, and who'd had enough time to look back into history as well as forwards to understand where their votes were going to take them, and their children who they had a parental duty to look after.

Women and slaves were also not allowed to vote back then, and not all of those "free men" who were left could even afford to.

Personally I don't think I would have been mature enough to vote at sixteen.

Former Member

Originally posted by Renzokuken
a 16 year old in employment has to pay tax, yet they do not have any chance to vote on taxation policies.

Funny that... kinda like the fact that you can have sex at 16 but not buy material to watch people and look at pictures in magazines doing the same thing until you're 18

Former Member

Originally posted by MoonRat
Funny that... kinda like the fact that you can have sex at 16 but not buy material to watch people and look at pictures in magazines doing the same thing until you're 18

Indeed! Apparantly you are mature enough to drive before that! The age laws in this country are seriously weird.

Former Member

Originally posted by ~*STRESSED*~
I think the voting age should stay as it is because I think people at 16 are a bit immature to vote and have only just left school, etc.

yet society expects these people who have left school to go to work to be adults. So why not be able to make adult desiscions on votes? Its rediculous, at 16 you are expected to be an adult and pay adult fares for things yet you don't have a say in anything at all.