Sweet Sixteen...

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So, the government is acting on its pledge to lower the voting age in the UK to sixteen from eighteen, a move that has created much debate amongst the chatterati and on social and linear media alike. For myself I have long thought that if you are considered old enough to work and pay taxes, join the armed forces and in years past, potentially fight and die for your country, you should at least be granted the courtesy of having the franchise to vote in governmental elections. No brainer. The Conservative pundits and Nigel Farage have said that the Labour government is trying to rig the electoral system in favour of the Left. Really? 

Give the youth of this archipelago some credit for having political thoughts of their own - I know I did at that age, and the two years left before my enfranchisement kicked in changed not a whit of my thinking, nor has it altered since. Given that one's mental acuity peaks before the age of twenty, and even given a teenager's relative lack of experience and world knowledge,  I would suggest that a person in that age group - and we were all in that age group at one point in our lives, after all - has valid opinions and political views of their own. Let's just get on with extending the franchise to include all who actively contribute to our society, and let the bones be picked out of it all as we go...

Comments

  1. Anonymous19 July 2025 at 14:57

    How about DENYING the franchise to those who do not want to "join in" with the rest of us?
    ATB
    Joe

    ReplyDelete

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