Plan to lower voting age to 16 set to fail as it runs out of parliamentary time

A plan by MPs to lower the voting age to 16, seems to have been scuppered after plans to introduce a potentially groundbreaking bill appear to have run out of parliamentary time.

A private member’s bill, introduced by Labour MP Jim McMahon, hoped to lower the voting age at General Elections by two years from the current 18.

Supporters say the move is long overdue to boost and interest and involvement in politics among young people.

But that now seems unlikely.

The proposal now has little chance of becoming law after it ran out of debating time in the House of Commons, before it could be put to a vote.

Westminster insiders say the bill will come before the House of Commons again next month, but it is unlikely to be debated as it will now be so far down the list.

However the idea does have cross-party support.

Labour, the Lib Dems, SNP, Plaid Cymru and Greens have all signalled their backing.

The Government though is not supporting the bill.

And Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has released a video on Twitter adding his support for the move, which is widely predicted to help opposition parties at the polls if it is enshrined into law.

In the video, Corbyn says people can get married, pay taxes and join the army at 16, but are denied the right to vote.

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In 2015, Scotland allowed people aged 16 and 17 to vote in both local and Scottish elections.

The experiment proved to be a success. Researchers found a 75% turnout for the age group was apparently achieved during those votes.

And the Welsh government is currently considering giving the vote to those aged 16 and over for national elections.

MP McMahon told the Guardian: ‘The fact there is cross-party support to lower the voting age shows that the political appetite for change is there.

‘It has been discussed in the past, but now the time has come to make it a reality.’

Earlier this year Theresa May said: ‘We expect people to continue in education or training until the age of 18, and I think that is the right point for the voting age.’

During Friday’s debate, Tory MP Bernard Jenkin said the voting age should stay at 18.

‘The UK’s voting age is in line with the norm,’ he said, adding that lowering the age would not guarantee a ‘better democracy’.

Alistair Carmichael, the Lib Dems’ chief whip, told the Guardian that young people could have determined a different outcome in last year’s Brexit vote.

‘It was a travesty that 16-to-17-year-olds weren’t allowed to vote in the EU referendum,’ he said.

‘With young people now set to be hit especially hard by an extreme Conservative Brexit, it’s more important than ever that we give them a say over their future.’