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voting at 16?
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
well i'm new here and i was thinking of something that may spark an interesting debate that i can get into. so thats it......
there are considerations about lowering the voting age to 16 in the UK. what do you all think about it? i'm kinda swaying in the middle at the moment. i used to think it was a gd idea but now i'm 17 and studying politics i'm not sure one way or the other. i don't like the way that at 16 you can come across a lot of the problems of adults. like you can leave school and work and leave home but you aren't necessarily eligible for certain benefits. at 16 if you're hetreosexual you can sleep with someone and get married but you aren't allowed to have a say in how the country is run and you don't have to be paid the minimum wage.
yea well there are some ideas....i'll come back later wen i've read some more of my politics textbook!!!:p
there are considerations about lowering the voting age to 16 in the UK. what do you all think about it? i'm kinda swaying in the middle at the moment. i used to think it was a gd idea but now i'm 17 and studying politics i'm not sure one way or the other. i don't like the way that at 16 you can come across a lot of the problems of adults. like you can leave school and work and leave home but you aren't necessarily eligible for certain benefits. at 16 if you're hetreosexual you can sleep with someone and get married but you aren't allowed to have a say in how the country is run and you don't have to be paid the minimum wage.
yea well there are some ideas....i'll come back later wen i've read some more of my politics textbook!!!:p
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I get really frustrated sometimes when my local youth council, which I chair, meets up with the local councillors. Basically they are so out of touch and they don't know what teenagers want. Although i haven't met my local mp yet i presume she will be the same. However, if at 16, I could vote, they would have to take us into consideration if they didn't want to lose votes.
I agree with those above and think that it should be sorted out about when you officially, in the eyes of the law, become an adult. I mean, I don't understand why you should be able to have sex at 16 but not watch graphic sex on film until your 18. A 16 year old could live the life of an adult so they should have the same rights as an adult.
No one does listen to the youth of the country. It is true. Unless of course you make yourself heard. Youth Councils are ways of fobbing people off. Making them think they are important. I never go for committees unless i'm sure I'll be making a difference. When I wont be I go more freelance. Go pester your councillers (My friends are my County and District councillers so thats easy for me) Write to your council/MP and tell them what is wrong with life for youth today. More importantly give them a way in which you think life for youth can be improved. Don't let it stop when you reach 18 either. Always go for it.
As for not being mature enough - that's complete bollocks. Ok you can say cos im nearly 16 i'm gonna say that but the fact is that lots of people even at the age of 18 cannot make an informed choice when voting - because they aren't interested. Does that mean that these people - and there are thousands of them - don't deserve the vote?
Sorry, but it's fact. It's not nice to hear, but sometimes the truth isn't.
Winston Chuchill once wrote - when I was sixteen I couldn't believe how little my parents knew. When I was 21, I was surprised at how much they had learned in the last five years.
What he is referring to is the fact that school and teenage life insulated people from the harsh reality. In the main. Once people get out to work, starting having to make a place for themselves in the world, they learn so much.
Ask one of them who the chancellor is, or what an MEP is, or some other topical question.
You're reply will be "who gives a toss".
The only issues a 16 year old has to deal with are homework, exams and 2 week relaitonships. Tax at 16 isn't an issue because it is virtually non-existent anyway, and the grand majority of 16 year olds don't have the knowledge to make informed decisions about their future or the future of the country.